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Page
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PART I
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ITEM 1.
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3
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ITEM 2.
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4
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ITEM 3.
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4
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A.
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4
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B.
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4
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C.
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4
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D.
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4
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ITEM 4.
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73
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A.
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73
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B.
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74
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C.
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100
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D.
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100
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ITEM 4A.
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100
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ITEM 5.
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100
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A.
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101
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B.
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110
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C.
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115
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D.
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115
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E.
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115
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ITEM 6.
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116
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A.
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116
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B.
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119
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C.
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123
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D.
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127
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E.
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128
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F.
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128
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ITEM 7.
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128
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A.
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128
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B.
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130
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C.
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131
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ITEM 8.
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131
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A.
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131
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B.
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132
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ITEM 9.
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133
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A.
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133
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B.
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133
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C.
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133
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D.
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133
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E.
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133
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F.
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133
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ITEM 10.
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133
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A.
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133
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B.
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133
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C.
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133
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D.
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134
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E.
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134
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F.
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141
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G.
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141
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H.
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141
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I.
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141
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ITEM 11.
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142
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ITEM 12.
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143
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A.
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143
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B.
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143
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C.
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143
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D.
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143
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144 |
ITEM 13.
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144 |
ITEM 14.
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144 |
ITEM 15.
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144 |
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A.
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144 |
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B.
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145 |
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C.
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145
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D.
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146
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ITEM 16
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146
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A.
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146
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B.
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146
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C.
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147
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D.
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147
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E.
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147
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F.
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147
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G.
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148 |
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H.
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148 |
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I.
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148
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148 |
ITEM 17.
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148
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ITEM 18.
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148
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ITEM 19.
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149
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Unless context otherwise requires, all references in this Annual Report on Form 20-F, or Annual Report, to “Immunocore,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Immunocore
Holdings plc and, where appropriate, its consolidated subsidiaries.
KIMMTRAK® is our registered trademark. This Annual Report includes trademarks, tradenames and
service marks, certain of which belong to us and others that are the property of other organizations. Solely for convenience, trademarks, tradenames and service marks referred to in this Annual Report appear without the ®, ™ and SM symbols, but the absence of those symbols is not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert our rights or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights to
these trademarks, tradenames and service marks to the fullest extent under applicable law. We do not intend our use or display of other parties’ trademarks, trade names or service marks to imply, and such use or display should not be construed to
imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other parties.
PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Our financial statements in this Annual Report were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board, or IASB. None of our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Our financial information is presented in pounds sterling. For the convenience of the reader, in this Annual Report, unless otherwise indicated, translations from pounds sterling
into U.S. dollars were made at the rate of £1.00 to $1.2077 on December 31, 2022. Such U.S. dollar amounts are not necessarily
indicative of the amounts of U.S. dollars that could actually have been purchased upon exchange of pounds sterling at the dates indicated or any other date. All references in this Annual Report to “$” mean U.S. dollars and all references to “£” and
“GBP” mean pounds sterling.
We have historically conducted our business through Immunocore Limited, and therefore, our historical consolidated statements presented the consolidated results of operations of
Immunocore Limited. Following the completion of our corporate reorganization and initial public offering in February 2021, our consolidated financial statements present the consolidated financial results of operations of Immunocore Holdings plc.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words
“may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “objective,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” and “ongoing,” or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology
intended to identify statements about the future. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially
different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and opinions contained in this Annual Report are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report
and, while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of,
all potentially available relevant information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
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the therapeutic potential and expected clinical benefits of KIMMTRAK, including the ability of KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) to transform the treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma, or mUM, for
patients and extended overall survival benefit;
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the safety, efficacy and clinical progress of our various clinical programs, including those for IMC-F106C and IMC-M113V;
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our ability to continue to generate revenues, which is dependent upon maintaining significant market acceptance among physicians, patients and healthcare payers;
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our ability to maintain regulatory approval of KIMMTRAK (tebentafusp-tebn) for mUM, in the United States, European Union and other territories, as well as our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval in
additional jurisdictions, and the timing thereof;
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our expectations regarding the continued commercialization and marketing of KIMMTRAK for mUM, including expanding into and the related timing of reaching patients in additional territories;
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our ability to build a sustainable pipeline of new medicine candidates, including but not limited to future generations of KIMMTRAK and additional product candidates identified and developed using our IMMTAX
platform;
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our ability to successfully execute our sales and marketing strategy of KIMMTRAK in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, including continuing to successfully recruit and retain sales and marketing personnel and to successfully build
the market for our medicines
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our expectations about the willingness of healthcare providers to recommend KIMMTRAK to people with mUM;
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the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates among physicians, patients, patient advocacy groups, third-party payors and the medical community and our ability and our distribution and marketing partners’ ability to
obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement and pricing for, our medicines from government and third-party payers and risks relating to the success of our patient assistance programs;
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the initiation, timing, progress and results of our ongoing clinical trials and any planned clinical trials, including the expansion arms of such trials, for tebentafusp in advanced melanoma, IMF-F106C, IMC-I109V
and IMC-M113V, and our research and development programs, including delays or disruptions in clinical trials, non-clinical experiments and investigational new drug application-enabling studies;
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our estimates regarding the period of time for which our current capital resources will be sufficient to fund our continued operations, our future expenses, including the impact thereon of rising inflation,
fluctuating exchange rates and other macroeconomic factors, and our future revenues and our needs for and ability to obtain additional financing;
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our expectations regarding timing of regulatory filings for, or our ability to obtain regulatory approval of, our product candidates other than KIMMTRAK;
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our ability to obtain accelerated approval for current and future product candidates from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, or other comparable
regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions;
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our ability to identify and develop additional product candidates using our ImmTAX platform;
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our expectations regarding business disruptions affecting the initiation, patient enrollment, clinical trial site monitoring, development and operation of our current and proposed clinical trials, including as a
result of a public health emergency, such as the coronavirus 2019, or COVID-19, pandemic, or other global and macroeconomic factors, such as the war in Ukraine, global geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, rising interest rates
and rising inflation;
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our business strategies and goals;
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our plans to collaborate, or statements regarding our current collaborations, including with Genentech, and our ability to find future partners and collaborators;
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the performance of our third-party suppliers and manufacturers,
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our expectations regarding our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection for our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing, misappropriating or
otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others;
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our expectations regarding competition with respect to KIMMTRAK or any of our other current or future product candidates, as well as innovations by current and future competitors in our industry;
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our expectations regarding regulatory developments in the United States and other countries, including potential changes in healthcare laws and regulations;
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our financial performance and our ability to effectively manage our anticipated growth;
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our ability to identify, recruit and retain qualified employees, including key commercial or management personnel; and
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whether we are classified as a PFIC for current and future periods;
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You should refer to the section titled “Item 3.D Risk Factors” for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be
inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our
objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. You should,
therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this Annual Report.
Item 1. |
Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers.
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Not applicable.
Item 2. |
Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable.
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Not applicable.
B. |
Capitalization and indebtedness.
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Not applicable.
C. |
Reasons for the offer and use of proceeds.
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Not applicable.
An investment in our American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, and all other information appearing
elsewhere in this Annual Report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes hereto, before making an investment decision regarding our securities. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could
harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us may also adversely affect
our business.
Summary Risk Factors
Our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition and results of
operations could be materially and adversely affected. You should carefully review and consider the full discussion of our risk factors in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 3.D. of this Annual Report. Set forth below is a summary
list of the principal risk factors as of the date of the filing this Annual Report:
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We have incurred significant losses in every year since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses over the next several years and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
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Our ability to continue to generate revenues from KIMMTRAK and any future approved product candidates is subject to their consideration as effective drugs with advantages over other therapies, and their timely attaining and maintaining
significant market acceptance among physicians, patients and healthcare payers.
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Our revenues from KIMMTRAK may be significantly reduced by both existing and future legislation for drug pricing reforms requiring the payment of rebates.
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Our future prospects are highly dependent on our ability to continue to successfully develop and execute our commercialization strategy for KIMMTRAK. Failure to do so would adversely impact our financial condition and prospects.
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We will require substantial additional funding to achieve our business goals. If we are unable to obtain this funding when needed and on acceptable terms, we could be forced to delay, limit or terminate our
product development efforts.
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We are heavily dependent on the success of our ImmTAX platform to identify and develop product candidates. If we or our collaborators are unable to successfully develop and commercialize our platforms or
experience significant delays in doing so, our business may be harmed.
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We face substantial competition, which may result in others developing or commercializing drugs before or more successfully than us.
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We may be unable to successfully complete additional large-scale, pivotal clinical trials for any product candidates we develop after KIMMTRAK.
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Our product candidates utilize a novel mechanism of action and involve novel targets which may result in greater research and development expenses, regulatory issues that could delay or prevent approval, or
discovery of unknown or unanticipated adverse effects.
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Clinical product development involves a lengthy and expensive process, with an uncertain outcome.
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Success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful; interim, “top-line” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish
from time to time may change materially.
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We are subject to manufacturing and supply chain risks that could substantially increase our costs and limit supply of our products and components used in the preparation and administration of our product and
product candidates. If we, or our third party manufacturers, fail to comply with manufacturing regulations, our financial results and financial condition will be adversely affected.
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Reports of adverse events or safety concerns involving KIMMTRAK or our product candidates could delay or prevent us from obtaining or maintaining regulatory approvals or could negatively impact sales of our
products or the prospects for our product candidates.
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For existing KIMMTRAK approvals, and if we obtain further regulatory approvals to market KIMMTRAK and any other future approved products, we will remain subject to extensive ongoing regulatory obligations and
oversight, including post-approval requirements, that could result in significant additional expense and could negatively impact our ability to commercialize our current and any future approved products.
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Failure or perceived failure to comply with existing or future laws, regulations, contracts, self-regulatory schemes, industry standards and other obligations related to internal controls, healthcare sector compliance, anti-bribery and
anti-corruption, data privacy and security (including security incidents) could harm our business.
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If we are unable to adequately protect our proprietary technology or obtain, maintain, protect and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for our technology and products or if the scope of the
protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors and other third parties could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our technology and
products may be impaired.
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Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating their intellectual property or proprietary rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and
could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.
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The FDA and other local regulators’ approval pathways can be difficult to predict and whether, for example, further unanticipated clinical trials are required, will depend on the data obtained in our ongoing
clinical trials.
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Our future success depends on our ability to retain key executives and experienced scientists and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
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Our existing collaborations are important to our business, and future collaborations may also be important to us. If we are unable to maintain any of these collaborations, or if these collaborations are not
successful, our business could be adversely affected.
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As a company based and operating partly outside of the United States, we are subject to economic, political, regulatory and other risks associated with international operations.
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Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Capital
We have incurred significant losses in every year since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses over the next several years and may never achieve or
maintain profitability.
While we are a commercial-stage biotechnology company, we have incurred net losses in each year since our inception. Our losses were £41.2 million, £131.5 million and £74.1 million
for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of £261.3 million as of December 31, 2022. We have funded our operations to date primarily
with proceeds from private placements of our ordinary and preferred shares, payments from our collaboration partners, KIMMTRAK revenue, debt financing, our initial public offering (“IPO”) and subsequent private investment in Immunocore Holdings Plc
(the “PIPE”).
While we have received regulatory approval for KIMMTRAK for mUM in the United States, the European Union, and certain other significant jurisdictions in 2022, we do not have approvals for any other
indications or in any other jurisdictions for KIMMTRAK, or have approvals for our other product candidates. Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. Since inception, we
have focused substantially all of our efforts and financial resources on developing our drug discovery platform and research and development of our product candidates. We have not obtained regulatory approvals for any of our product candidates
other than KIMMTRAK, and there is no assurance that we will obtain further approvals in the future for KIMMTRAK in additional territories or any of our other product candidates. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating
losses over the next several years and for the foreseeable future.
These losses will adversely impact our shareholders’ equity and net assets and may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. We anticipate that our expenses will increase
substantially if, and as, we:
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further commercialize KIMMTRAK and any future product candidate for which we may obtain marketing approval in the United States and expanded territories and countries;
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continue our ongoing and planned development of our clinical stage programs and our preclinical pipeline assets;
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initiate pre-clinical studies and clinical trials for any additional product candidates that we may pursue in the future;
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seek regulatory approvals for our existing and potential future product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;
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build a portfolio of product candidates through the discovery, development, or acquisition or in-license of drugs, product candidates or technologies;
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maintain, protect, enforce and expand our intellectual property portfolio;
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acquire or in-license other product candidates, intellectual property and technologies;
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hire additional clinical, regulatory, scientific and sales and marketing personnel;
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add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support commercial development of KIMMTRAK, our product development and planned future commercialization efforts
of existing and future product candidates; and
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incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses associated with operating as a public company.
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To become and remain profitable, we must succeed in developing and commercializing further products that generate significant revenue. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging
activities, including continuing to market and sell KIMMTRAK and any future products for which we may obtain regulatory approval, our global regulatory submissions for any existing or future product candidates that we may pursue, obtaining
regulatory approval, procuring commercial-scale manufacturing, as well as discovering or acquiring and then developing additional product candidates. We may never succeed in these activities and, even if we do, may never generate revenues that are
significant enough to achieve profitability.
Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with drug development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of expenses or when, or if, we will be able to achieve
profitability. Our expenses could increase beyond our expectations if we are required by the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, or other regulatory authorities to perform studies in addition to those we currently expect, if issues
associated with KIMMTRAK arise following FDA approval, or if there are any delays in the initiation and completion of our clinical trials or the development of tebentafusp or any future product candidates.
Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our
ADSs and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our ADSs could also cause you to lose all or part of your investment.
Our future prospects are highly dependent on our ability to continue to successfully develop and execute our commercialization strategies for KIMMTRAK and any future products for
which we may obtain regulatory approval. Failure to do so would adversely impact our financial condition and prospects.
We focus substantial resources on the commercialization of KIMMTRAK and will have to focus substantial resources on the commercialization of any product for which we may obtain regulatory approval
in the future. Our ability to generate significant medicine revenues and to achieve commercial success in the near-term will initially depend on our ability to continue to commercialize KIMMTRAK.
We are focusing a significant portion of our commercial activities and resources on KIMMTRAK, and we believe our ability to grow our long-term revenues, and a significant portion of the value of
our company, relates to our ability to successfully commercialize KIMMTRAK in the United States and Europe. While we have established commercial teams, we expect to develop these teams further and otherwise continue to develop commercialization
strategies in order to continue to successfully commercialize KIMMTRAK in the longer term. There are many factors that could cause commercialization of KIMMTRAK to be unsuccessful, including many that are outside our control. For example, the mUM
patient population could be lower than estimated, patient and physician acceptance and adoption of KIMMTRAK could change, and physicians’ willingness to prescribe or patients’ willingness to take KIMMTRAK could change, each of which could limit
the commercial potential of KIMMTRAK. Thus, there is uncertainty regarding the full commercial potential of KIMMTRAK. If the continued commercialization of KIMMTRAK became less successful or was perceived as disappointing, the price of our ADSs
could decline significantly and long-term success of the medicine and our company could be harmed.
Our ability to continue to generate revenues from KIMMTRAK is subject to attaining and maintaining continued market acceptance among physicians, patients and healthcare payers.
KIMMTRAK, and other product candidates that we may develop or acquire, may not attain or maintain market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payers or the medical community, even if
they receive marketing approval by relevant authorities. We believe that the degree of continued market acceptance and our ability to continue to generate revenues from KIMMTRAK will depend on a number of factors, including:
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timing of competitive medicines;
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continued efficacy and safety of KIMMTRAK;
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continued projected growth of the markets in which KIMMTRAK competes;
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the extent to which physicians diagnose and treat the conditions that KIMMTRAK is approved to treat;
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prevalence and severity of any side effects;
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if and when we are able to obtain regulatory approvals for additional indications for KIMMTRAK;
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continued acceptance by patients, physicians and applicable specialists;
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availability of, and ability to maintain, coverage and adequate reimbursement and pricing from government and other third-party payers;
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potential or perceived advantages or disadvantages of KIMMTRAK over alternative treatments, including cost of treatment and relative convenience and ease of administration;
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strength of sales, marketing and distribution support;
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the price of KIMMTRAK, both in absolute terms and relative to alternative treatments;
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impact of past and limitation of future medicine price increases;
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our ability to maintain a continuous supply of KIMMTRAK for commercial sale;
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the effect of current and future healthcare laws;
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disruptions caused by health pandemics or epidemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, including the extent to which physicians and patients delay visits or writing or filling prescriptions for KIMMTRAK;
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the performance of third-party distribution partners, over which we have limited control; and
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medicine labeling or medicine insert requirements of the FDA or other regulatory authorities
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Our ability to grow KIMMTRAK sales will be affected by the success of our sales, access, marketing and medical strategies. If KIMMTRAK or any other products that we may seek approval for, or acquire,
fail to attain, or fail to maintain, market acceptance, we may not be able to generate significant revenue to sustain profitability, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and
prospects (including, possibly, the value of our ADSs).
Our revenues from KIMMTRAK may be reduced by both enacted and proposed legislation for drug pricing reforms requiring the payment of rebates.
Effective January 1,
2023, the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires certain manufacturers to refund the government for discarded amounts of certain drugs covered under Medicare Part B (which could include KIMMTRAK) from single use containers. The
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has finalized most of the regulations required by this law. Without further action, the final rule would characterize the dead loss volume that exceeds an applicable percentage in small vial
drug administration as wastage and thus trigger a corresponding rebate. We are concerned that this requirement conflicts with FDA guidance providing for accurate and efficient administration of medicines produced in small vials and have outlined
our concerns for CMS. CMS is considering a framework for reviewing products with unique circumstances along with potential increased percentages that might be appropriate for each circumstance. In furtherance of this, CMS has requested additional
information from the public about drugs with unique circumstances and expressed its intention to revisit this applicable percentage issue through further rulemaking. We believe KIMMTRAK has unique circumstances to warrant an exemption or
increased percentage threshold. However, at this time, the process and criteria for unique circumstances remain unclear. If not adequately addressed in future rulemaking, or if the government does not otherwise consider KIMMTRAK to be a unique
circumstance warranting an exemption or increased percentage threshold, our revenue in the United States could be impacted from the fourth quarter of 2023 and continuing in subsequent years.
Additional drug pricing legislation has or may be proposed in further countries, which may also reduce our future revenues if such laws are made effective in those countries.
We will require substantial additional funding to achieve our business goals. If we are unable to obtain this funding when needed and on acceptable terms, we could be forced to
delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts.
Developing biopharmaceutical products is expensive and time-consuming, and we expect to require substantial additional capital to conduct research, pre-clinical testing and human studies, establish
pilot scale and commercial scale manufacturing processes and facilities, and establish and develop quality control, regulatory, marketing, sales and administrative capabilities to support our existing programs and pursue potential additional
programs. We are also responsible for the payments to third parties of expenses that may include milestone payments, license maintenance fees and royalties, including in connection with certain agreements with academic institutions or other
companies with respect to the in-licensing or acquisition of their intellectual property rights. Because the outcome of any pre-clinical or clinical development and regulatory approval process is highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the
actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development, regulatory approval process and commercialization of any existing or future product candidates. In addition, global macroeconomic factors, such as supply chain disruptions and
rising inflation, may increase these expenses beyond what we currently anticipate. In recent months, inflation has begun to impact our costs more identifiably, and we anticipate this could increase our expenses in 2023 and future years.
As of December 31, 2022, we had working capital (defined as total current assets less total current
liabilities) of £308.8 million and cash and cash equivalents of £332.5 million. We expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents with the inclusion of expected revenue for KIMMTRAK will provide sufficient funds to continue to meet our
liabilities as they fall due into 2026. However, it is possible that our revenue may be lower than our estimates, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, our operating plan may change as a result of many
factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources, such as strategic collaborations or license and development agreements. Any
additional fundraising efforts for us may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize product candidates that we may identify and pursue. Moreover, such financing may
result in dilution to our shareholders, imposition of debt covenants and repayment obligations, or other restrictions that may affect our business. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic
considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
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our ability to continue to execute our commercialization strategies for KIMMTRAK and, if approved, our other product candidates;
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progress, timing, scope and costs of our clinical trials, including the ability to timely initiate clinical sites, enroll subjects and manufacture soluble bispecific TCR product candidates for our ongoing, planned
and potential future clinical trials, including our clinical trials of IMC-F106C (PRAME) in multiple solid tumors, IMC-I109V targeting hepatitis b virus, or HBV; and IMC-M113V targeting human immunosuppression virus, or HIV;
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time and costs required to perform research and development to identify and characterize new product candidates from our research programs;
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the time and cost necessary to pursue regulatory authorizations and approvals that may be required by regulatory authorities to execute clinical trials or commercialize our products;
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our ability to have clinical and commercial products successfully manufactured consistent with FDA, EMA and other authorities’ regulations;
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amount of sales and other revenues from product candidates that we may commercialize, if any, including the selling prices for such potential products and the availability of adequate third-party coverage and
reimbursement for patients;
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sales and marketing costs associated with commercializing our products, if approved, including the cost and timing of scaling our marketing and sales capabilities;
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cost of building, staffing and validating our manufacturing processes, which may include capital expenditure;
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terms and timing of any revenue we may receive under existing or future collaborations;
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costs of operating as a public company;
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time and cost necessary to respond to technological, regulatory, political and market developments;
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costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights;
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the impact of global and macroeconomic factors, including heightened inflation;
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costs, associated with, and terms and timing of, any future any potential acquisitions, strategic collaborations, licensing agreements or other arrangements that we may establish; and
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inability of clinical sites to enroll patients as healthcare capacities are required to cope with natural disasters, epidemics or other health system emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A change in the outcome of any of these or other variables with respect to the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of any of our current and future product
candidates could significantly change the costs and timing associated with the development and commercialization of that product candidate. Furthermore, our operating plans may change in the future, and we may need additional funds to meet
operational needs and capital requirements associated with such operating plans.
Additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable, or at all, particularly in light of recently worsening macroeconomic conditions, including
rising interest rates and volatility in the capital markets. If adequate funds are not available to us on a timely basis, we may be required to delay, limit or terminate one or more research or development programs or the commercialization of any
product candidates or be unable to expand operations or otherwise capitalize on business opportunities, as desired, which could materially affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing shareholders, restrict our operations or cause us to relinquish valuable rights.
We may seek additional capital through a combination of public and private equity offerings, debt financings, strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise
additional capital through the sale of equity, convertible debt securities or other equity-based derivative securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your
rights as holder of ADSs. Any indebtedness we incur would result in increased fixed payment obligations and could involve restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire or
license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Any debt or additional equity financing that we raise may contain terms that are not favorable to us or our
shareholders. Furthermore, the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our ADSs to decline and existing shareholders may not agree with our financing plans
or the terms of such financings. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships, collaborations, and alliances and licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our intellectual property,
technologies or our product candidates, or grant licenses on terms unfavorable to us.
Risks Related to KIMMTRAK and the Development of Our Product Candidates
In order to increase adoption and sales of KIMMTRAK, we will need to continue developing our commercial organization as well as recruit and retain qualified
field representatives.
In order to continue our commercialization of KIMMTRAK, we must continue to build our sales, marketing, distribution, managerial and other non-technical capabilities. We currently
have limited resources compared to some of our competitors, and the continued development of our own commercial organization to market our medicines and any additional medicines we may acquire will be expensive and time-consuming. We also cannot be
certain that we will be able to continue to successfully develop this capability.
In addition, none of the members of our sales force have promoted any medicine for the treatment of mUM prior to the launch of KIMMTRAK. We are required to expend significant time
and resources to train our sales force to be credible and able to educate physicians on the benefits of prescribing and pharmacists dispensing KIMMTRAK. Furthermore, we must train our sales force to ensure that a consistent and appropriate message
about KIMMTRAK is being delivered to our potential customers. We may experience turnover of the sales representatives that we hired or will hire, requiring us to train new sales representatives. If we are unable to effectively train our sales force
and equip them with effective materials, including medical and sales literature to help them inform and educate physicians about the benefits of KIMMTRAK and their proper administration and label indication, as well as our patient assistance
programs, our efforts to successfully commercialize KIMMTRAK could be put in jeopardy, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, share price and operations.
The incidence and prevalence for target patient populations for some of our product candidates have not been established with precision. If the market
opportunities for our product candidates are smaller than we estimate, our revenue and ability to achieve profitability will be adversely affected, possibly materially.
We received approval from the FDA and EC for KIMMTRAK for the treatment of HLA-A*02:01-positive adult patients with unresectable or mUM in 2022. We estimate that there are
approximately 1,000 mUM patients per annum in the United States and Western Europe who test positive for HLA-A*02:01 and might benefit from KIMMTRAK as a monotherapy.
We are evaluating the safety and tolerability of IMC-F106C in Phase 1/2 dose escalation trials in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors who express PRAME and test
positive for HLA-A*02:01. We estimate that, across all solid tumors, the annual number of patients worldwide who test positive for HLA-A*02:01 and can potentially benefit from our IMC-F106C programs is up to 150,000. There is no assurance, however,
as to what percentage of this population ultimately might benefit from monotherapy.
We are evaluating the safety and tolerability of IMC-M113V in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with chronic HIV who are virally suppressed on anti-retroviral c therapy. We
estimate that there are more than one million HIV patients globally who test positive for HLA-A*02:01. There is no assurance, however, as to what percentage of this population might benefit from this therapy.
We are evaluating the safety and tolerability of IMC-I109V in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with chronic HBV who are non-cirrhotic, hepatitis B e-Antigen negative, and
virally suppressed on chronic nucleot(s)ide analogue therapy. We estimate that there are more than one million chronic HBV patients globally who test positive for HLA-A*02:01.
The total addressable market opportunity for KIMMTRAK and our programs will ultimately depend upon, among other things, acceptance by the medical community and patient access,
product pricing and reimbursement as well as expansion into additional markets. The number of patients with cancers, solid tumors, HIV, and chronic HBV and test positive for HLA-A*02:01 may turn out to be lower than expected, patients may not be
otherwise amenable to treatment with our products, or new patients may become increasingly difficult to identify or gain access to, all of which would adversely affect our results of operations and our business. We may not be successful in our
efforts to identify additional product candidates. Due to our limited resources and access to capital, we must prioritize development of certain product candidates, which may prove to be the wrong choice and may adversely affect our business.
We are heavily dependent on the success of our ImmTAX platform to identify and develop product candidates. If we or our collaborators are unable to successfully
develop and commercialize our platforms or experience significant delays in doing so, our business may be harmed.
We are heavily dependent on the success of our ImmTAX platform technology, KIMMTRAK and the product candidates currently in our core programs. Our ImmTAC, ImmTAV and ImmTAAI
platforms were developed from the foundation of our ImmTAX platform and are our primary platform technologies. Our commercial prospects will be heavily dependent on product candidates identified and developed using our ImmTAX platform. To date, we
have invested substantially all of our efforts and financial resources to identify, acquire intellectual property for, and develop our ImmTAX platform technology and our programs, including conducting pre-clinical studies and early-stage clinical
trials, and providing general and administrative support for these operations.
We may not be successful in our efforts to further develop our ImmTAX platform technology and current product candidates. With the exception of KIMMTRAK, which has been approved by
the FDA, EC, and a limited number of comparable regulatory authorities, we are not permitted to market or promote any of our product candidates until we receive regulatory approval from the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, and
we may never receive such regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. Each of our product candidates will require significant additional clinical development, management of preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing activities, regulatory
approval, adequate manufacturing supply, a commercial organization, and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenue from product sales, if at all.
We, and the third parties on whom we rely in part for sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, may not be able to continue to effectively market, sell and
distribute KIMMTRAK or effectively market, sell and distribute our other product candidates, if approved.
We obtained marketing approval for KIMMTRAK in the United States, Europe and certain other territories in 2022. We may not be able to continue to effectively market,
sell and distribute KIMMTRAK. We have invested, and expect to continue to invest, significant financial and management resources to further develop internal sales, distribution and marketing capabilities, some of which will be committed prior to
any confirmation that tebentafusp will be approved in a territory. We utilize a hybrid model that includes in-house and contracted resources in the United States and Europe, and we have engaged third parties
and may engage additional third parties to provide these services. We have entered into agreements with Syneos Health, Inc., or Syneos, Medison Pharma, and other third parties, to develop our commercial infrastructure for the commercial launch
and continued sale of KIMMTRAK, including to potentially retain, train and deploy a direct sales force, but we have limited experience operating or managing a third-party sales force as a company. There can be no assurance that the capabilities
of the Syneos sales organization or other third parties will be more effective than an internally developed sales organization. In addition, Syneos can terminate our agreement under certain circumstances. If Syneos or other third parties fail to
hire, train, and retain qualified sales personnel, market our product successfully or on a cost-effective basis or otherwise terminates our relationship, our ability to generate revenue will be limited and we will need to identify and retain an
alternative organization or develop our own sales and marketing capability. This could involve significant delays and costs, including the diversion of our management’s attention from other activities. We may also need to retain additional
consultants or external service providers to assist us in sales, marketing and distribution functions, and may be unsuccessful in retaining such services on acceptable financial terms or at all.
For our other product candidates, there are risks involved with both establishing our own sales and marketing capabilities and entering into arrangements with third parties to
perform these services. For example, recruiting and training a commercial organization is expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch. If the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and
establish marketing capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. This may be costly and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or
reposition our sales and marketing personnel.
Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our product candidates on our own include:
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the inability to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;
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the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or educate adequate numbers of physicians on the benefits of prescribing any future product that we may develop;
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the lack of complementary treatments to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to
companies with more extensive product lines; and
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unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization.
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If we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing and distribution services, our product revenue or the profitability to us from these revenue streams is
likely to be lower than if we were to market and sell any product candidates that we develop ourselves. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into arrangements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates or may be
unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. We likely will have little control over such third parties and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our product candidates effectively. If we do
not establish sales and marketing capabilities successfully, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates.
Health epidemics or pandemics could materially adversely impact our business, including the commercialization of KIMMTRAK, our supply chain, our pre-clinical
studies and our clinical trials, our liquidity and access to capital markets and our business development activities, as well as the business or operations of our CROs or other third parties with whom we conduct business.
Our business could be adversely affected by health epidemics or pandemics in regions where we have concentrations of clinical trial sites or other business operations, and could
cause significant disruption in the operations of third-party manufacturers and CROs upon whom we rely. We experienced significant impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and could experience similar or additional impacts from COVID-19 or other health
epidemics or pandemics in the future.
In response to these public health directives and orders, we implemented work-from-home policies to support the community efforts to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and protect
employees, complying with guidance from federal, state/provincial or municipal government and health authorities. We also implemented a number of measures to ensure employee safety and business continuity.
The effects of executive orders and our work-from-home policies may negatively impact productivity, disrupt our business and delay our clinical programs and timelines (for example,
our timeline for tebentafusp), the magnitude of which will depend, in part, on the length and severity of the restrictions and other limitations on our ability to conduct our business in the ordinary course. These and similar, and perhaps more
severe, disruptions in our operations could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
Quarantines, shelter-in-place and similar government orders, or the perception that such orders, shutdowns or other restrictions on the conduct of business operations have occurred
and could occur in the future, related to COVID-19 or other infectious diseases and could impact personnel at third-party manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, United States and other countries, or the availability or cost of materials,
which would disrupt our supply chain.
The continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or other future health epidemics or pandemics may also further negatively impact our clinical trials and the operations or our CROs or
CMOs in the future, including:
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delays or difficulties in enrolling and retaining patients in our clinical trials, including patients that may not be able or willing to
comply with clinical trial protocols such as weekly dosing regimens if quarantines impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services;
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delays or difficulties in clinical site initiation, including difficulties in recruiting and retaining clinical site investigators and
clinical site staff;
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increased rates of patients withdrawing from our clinical trials following enrollment as a result of risks of exposure to disease, being forced to quarantine or being unable to visit clinical trial locations or
otherwise comply with clinical trial protocols;
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diversion or prioritization of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials and towards the epidemic or pandemic,
including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials, including because they, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to disease, which would
adversely impact our clinical trial operations;
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interruption of our clinical supply chain or key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site monitoring, due to limitations
on travel imposed or recommended by federal, state/provincial or municipal governments, employers and others; and
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limitations in employee resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of our clinical trials, including because of sickness
of employees or their families or the desire of employees to avoid contact with large groups of people.
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For our clinical trials that we expect to conduct at sites outside the United States, particularly in countries which are experiencing or in the future experience heightened impact
from COVID-19 or other future pandemics, in addition to the risks listed above, we may also experience the following adverse impacts:
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delays in receiving approval from local regulatory authorities to initiate our planned clinical trials;
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delays in clinical sites receiving the supplies and materials needed to conduct our clinical trials;
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interruption in global shipping that may affect the transport of clinical trial materials, such as investigational drug product and
comparator drugs used in our clinical trials;
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changes in federal, state/provincial or municipal regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 or other outbreak of disease which
may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or to discontinue the clinical trials altogether;
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delays in necessary interactions with local regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to
limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government employees; and
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the refusal of the FDA to accept data from clinical trials in these affected geographies.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, and it or other epidemics or pandemics may in the future, impact our business and clinical trials, and such impact will depend on future
developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the duration of the outbreak, the emergence, infectiousness and severity of new variants, travel restrictions and social distancing in the United Kingdom,
United States, and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United Kingdom, United States, and other countries to contain and treat the disease. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19
pandemic or a similar epidemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. New health epidemics or pandemics may emerge that result in similar or more severe disruptions to our business.
Even though KIMMTRAK has received approval from the FDA, EC, and certain comparable regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions, and even if tebentafusp
receives approval in additional countries, or if any of our other product candidates receives marketing approval, these may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical
community necessary for continued commercial success.
Even though KIMMTRAK has received FDA and EC approval, and even if we obtain approvals from the FDA, the EMA or other comparable regulatory agencies and are able to initiate
commercialization of our other product candidates, the product candidate may not achieve or maintain market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals, including pharmacy directors, and third-party payors and, ultimately, may not become or
remain commercially successful. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:
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the clinical indications for which our product candidates are approved;
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physicians, hospitals, cancer treatment centers, and patients considering our product candidates as a safe and effective treatment;
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hospitals and cancer treatment centers establishing the infrastructure required for the administration of the product candidate;
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the potential and perceived advantages of our product candidates over alternative treatments;
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the prevalence and severity of any side effects, including CRS, for which KIMMTRAK has a boxed warning recommending at least 16 hours of
patient monitoring after each of the first three infusions, and as clinically indicated thereafter;
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product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities;
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limitations or warnings contained in the labeling approved by the FDA or the EMA;
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the timing of market introduction of our product candidates as well as competitive products;
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the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;
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the amount of upfront costs or training required for physicians to administer our product candidates;
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the pricing of our products and the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors and government
authorities;
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the willingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of comprehensive coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party
payors and government authorities;
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relative convenience and ease of administration, including as compared to alternative treatments and competitive therapies; and
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the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts and distribution support.
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Our efforts to educate physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community on the benefits of our products, if approved, may require significant resources
and may never be successful. Such efforts may require more resources than are typically required due to the complexity and uniqueness of our product candidates. Even if our products achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to maintain that
market acceptance over time, including if new products or technologies are introduced that are more favorably received than our products, are more cost effective or render our products obsolete. Because we expect sales of KIMMTRAK and our other
product candidates, if approved, to generate substantially all of our product revenue for the foreseeable future, the failure of our product candidates to find or maintain market acceptance would harm our business and could require us to seek
additional financing.
We may be unable to successfully complete additional large-scale, pivotal clinical trials for any product candidates we develop after KIMMTRAK.
We may be unable to successfully complete additional large-scale, pivotal clinical trials for any product candidates we develop after KIMMTRAK. We cannot be sure that issues will
not arise that require us to suspend or terminate our clinical trials. Guidance we have received from the FDA or other regulatory authorities on clinical trial design is subject to change. These regulatory authorities could change their position,
including, on the acceptability of our trial designs or the clinical endpoints selected, which may require us to complete additional clinical trials or impose stricter approval conditions than we currently expect. Successful completion of our
clinical trials is a prerequisite to submitting a Biologics License Application, or BLA, to the FDA and a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, to the EMA, for each product candidate and, consequently, the ultimate approval and commercial
marketing of each product candidate. We do not know whether any of our future clinical trials will begin on time or ever be completed on schedule, if at all.
If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully
complete clinical trials of our product candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we may:
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be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;
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not obtain marketing approval at all;
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obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;
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be subject to post-marketing testing requirements; or
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have the product removed from the market after obtaining marketing approval.
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Our product candidates utilize a novel mechanism of action and involve novel targets which may result in greater research and development expenses, regulatory
issues that could delay or prevent approval, or discovery of unknown or unanticipated adverse effects.
Our product candidates utilize novel mechanisms of action and involve novel targets which may result in greater research and development expenses, regulatory issues that could delay
or prevent approval, or discovery of unknown or unanticipated adverse effects. Our ImmTAX platform uses advanced computational models in tight integration with our structural biology, protein engineering, affinity maturation and binding efficacy
capabilities to predict and design the compounds that will achieve the most desirable characteristics, including potency, selectivity, bioavailability, and drug-like properties. A disruption in any of these capabilities may have significant adverse
effects in our abilities to expand our ImmTAX platform, and we cannot predict whether we will continue to have access to these capabilities in the future to support our ImmTAX platform. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to
rapidly identify, design and synthesize the necessary compounds or that these or other problems related to the development of this novel mechanism will not arise in the future, which may cause significant delays or raise problems we may not be able
to resolve.
Regulatory approval of novel product candidates such as ours can be more expensive, riskier and take longer than for other, more well-known or extensively studied pharmaceutical or
biopharmaceutical product candidates due to our and regulatory agencies’ lack of experience with them. The novelty of our mechanism of action may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to conduct additional studies or clinical trials,
increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. The novel
mechanism of action also means that fewer people are trained in or experienced with product candidates of this type, which may make it more difficult to find, hire and retain personnel for research, development and manufacturing positions. Because
our soluble bispecific T cell receptors, or TCRs, utilize a novel mechanism of action and involve novel targets, there is also an increased risk that we may discover previously unknown or unanticipated adverse effects during our pre-clinical
studies and clinical trials. Any such events could adversely impact our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Although we intend to explore other therapeutic opportunities, in addition to the product candidates that we are currently developing, we may fail to identify
viable new product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons. If we fail to identify additional potential product candidates, our business could be materially harmed.
Research programs to pursue the development of our existing and planned product candidates for additional indications and to identify new product candidates and disease targets
require substantial technical, financial and human resources whether or not they are ultimately successful. For example, we develop various protein models and make predictions as to how molecules might target antigens, with subsequent validation
efforts in our labs and labs of our CROs. There can be no assurance that we will find potential additional targets using this approach, that any such targets will be tractable, or that such clinical validations will be successful. Our research
programs may initially show promise in identifying potential indications and/or product candidates, yet fail to yield results for clinical development for a number of reasons, including:
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the research methodology used may not be successful in identifying potential indications and/or product candidates;
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potential product candidates may, after further study, be shown to have harmful adverse effects or other characteristics that indicate they are unlikely to be effective products; or
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it may take greater human and financial resources than we will possess to identify additional therapeutic opportunities for our product candidates or to develop suitable potential product candidates through
internal research programs, thereby limiting our ability to develop, diversify and expand our product portfolio.
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Because we have limited financial and human resources, we intend to initially focus on research programs and product candidates for a limited set of indications. As a result, we may
forgo or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential or a greater likelihood of success. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to
capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities.
Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will ever be able to identify additional therapeutic opportunities for our product candidates or to develop suitable potential product
candidates through internal research programs, which could materially adversely affect our future growth and prospects. We may focus our efforts and resources on potential product candidates or other potential programs that ultimately prove to be
unsuccessful.
Clinical product development involves a lengthy and expensive process, with an uncertain outcome.
While we plan to pursue additional regulatory approvals, it is uncertain whether tebentafusp will receive further marketing approval beyond the approval which KIMMTRAK has received
in the United States, the European Union, Canada and other territories. Furthermore, it is impossible to predict when or if tebentafusp for the treatment of advanced melanoma, IMC-F106C, IMC-I109V, IMC-M113V, IMC-P115C, IMC-T119C, or IMC-R117C, or
any of our future product candidates, will prove effective and safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any product candidate, we must complete pre-clinical
studies and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is uncertain as to
outcome. A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. The outcome of pre-clinical development testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of a
clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. Moreover, pre-clinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily
in pre-clinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their product candidates. Our pre-clinical studies and future clinical trials may not be successful. From time to time, we may publish interim
top-line or preliminary data from our clinical trials. Interim data from clinical trials are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available.
Preliminary or top-line data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, interim and preliminary data should
be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects.
We also rely, and expect to continue to rely in part on, outside vendors (for example, independent contractors and CROs) to conduct, supervise or monitor some or all aspects of
clinical trials involving our products. We will have less control over the timing and other aspects of these clinical trials than if we conducted them entirely on our own. If we fail to commence or complete, or experience delays in, any of our
planned clinical trials, our stock price and our ability to conduct our business as currently planned could be harmed.
We currently rely on, and expect to continue to rely in part on, CMOs to manufacture our products for clinical trials. If they fail to commence or complete, or experiences delays
in, manufacturing our products and product candidates, our planned clinical trials will be delayed, which will adversely affect our stock price and our ability to conduct our business as currently planned.
If we are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals for our product candidates, we will not be able to
commercialize, or will be delayed in commercializing, our product candidates, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
Our product candidates and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, recordkeeping,
labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale, distribution, import and export are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies in the United States and by comparable authorities in the European Union and
other territories. Before we can commercialize further product candidates, we must obtain marketing approval. Currently, the majority of our product candidates are in development, and we have not received approval to market any of our product
candidates from regulatory authorities, with the exception of KIMMTRAK. It is possible that our product candidates, including any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future, will never obtain regulatory approval. We have only limited
experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain regulatory approvals and expect to rely on third-party CROs and/or regulatory consultants to assist us in this process. Securing regulatory approval requires the submission of
extensive pre-clinical and clinical data and supporting information to the various regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing regulatory approval also requires the
submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authority. Our product candidates may not be effective, may be only moderately effective or may prove to
have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that may preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use. In addition, regulatory authorities may find fault with our manufacturing
process or facilities or that of third-party contract manufacturers. We may also face greater than expected difficulty in manufacturing our product candidates.
The process of obtaining regulatory approvals, both in the United States, the European Union and other territories, is expensive and often takes many years. If the FDA, EMA or a
comparable foreign regulatory authority requires that we perform additional pre-clinical or clinical trials, approval, if obtained at all, may be delayed. The length of such a delay varies substantially based upon a variety of factors, including
the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved. Changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations, or changes in regulatory review for each
submitted application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. The FDA and comparable authorities in other countries have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide
that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical, clinical or other studies. Furthermore, our ability to enroll patients may continue to be delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is not possible to know the extent and
scope of such delays at this point.
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the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical trials;
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we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that a product
candidate is safe and effective for its proposed indication or a related companion diagnostic is suitable to identify appropriate patient populations;
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the results of clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign
regulatory authorities for approval;
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we may be unable to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;
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the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from pre-clinical studies or
clinical trials;
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the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission a BLA or other
submission or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere;
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the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may find deficiencies with or fail to approve the manufacturing processes or
facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and
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the approval policies or regulations of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change such that our
clinical data are insufficient for approval.
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Even if we were to obtain approval for further product candidates, regulatory authorities may approve any of our product candidates for fewer or more limited indications than we
request, thereby narrowing the commercial potential of the product candidate. In addition, regulatory authorities may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials, or may approve a product candidate with a
label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate. Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for our product candidates.
If we experience delays in obtaining approval or if we fail to obtain approval of our product candidates, the commercial prospects for our product candidates may be harmed and our
ability to generate revenues will be materially impaired.
Positive results from early pre-clinical studies of our product candidates are not necessarily predictive of the results of later pre-clinical studies and any
future clinical trials of our product candidates. If we cannot replicate the positive results from our earlier pre-clinical studies of our product candidates in our later pre-clinical studies and future clinical trials, we may be unable to
successfully develop, obtain regulatory for and commercialize our product candidates.
Any positive results from our pre-clinical studies of our product candidates may not necessarily be predictive of the results from required later pre-clinical studies and clinical
trials. Similarly, even if we are able to complete our planned pre-clinical studies or any future clinical trials of our product candidates according to our current development timeline, the positive results from such pre-clinical studies and
clinical trials of our product candidates may not be replicated in subsequent pre-clinical studies or clinical trial results. In addition, positive results in later stage clinical trials of one of our product candidates in an indication may not be
predictive of the safety or efficacy of our other product candidates in other indications, even if they employ a similar mechanism of action.
Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in early-stage
development and we cannot be certain that we will not face similar setbacks. These setbacks have been caused by, among other things, pre-clinical and other nonclinical findings made while clinical trials were underway, or safety or efficacy
observations made in pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, including previously unreported adverse events. Moreover, preclinical, nonclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses and many companies
that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in pre-clinical studies and clinical trials nonetheless failed to obtain FDA or EMA approval.
Interim, “top-line” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available
and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
From time to time, we may publish interim, “top-line” or preliminary data from our planned clinical trials. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the
risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Preliminary or “top-line” data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in
the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, interim and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Differences between preliminary or interim data
and final data could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the trading price of our ADSs to fluctuate significantly.
We may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
We may experience delays in completing our pre-clinical studies and initiating or completing clinical trials, and we may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result
of, any future clinical trials that we could conduct that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates, including:
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regulators or institutional review boards, or IRBs, or ethics committees may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a
clinical trial or conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site;
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we may experience delays in reaching, or fail to reach, agreement on acceptable terms with prospective trial sites and prospective CROs,
the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;
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clinical trials of our product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us,
to conduct additional pre-clinical studies or clinical trials or we may decide to abandon product development programs;
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the number of patients required for clinical trials of our product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these
clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate, or participants may drop out of these clinical trials or fail to return for post-treatment follow-up at a higher rate than we anticipate;
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our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely
manner, or at all, or may deviate from the clinical trial protocol or drop out of the trial, which may require that we add new clinical trial sites or investigators;
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we may elect to, or regulators or IRBs or ethics committees may require us or our investigators to, suspend or terminate clinical
research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;
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the cost of clinical trials of our product candidates may be greater than we anticipate;
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the supply or quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates may be
insufficient or inadequate; and
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our product candidates may have undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics, causing us or our investigators,
regulators or IRBs or ethics committees to suspend or terminate the trials, or reports may arise from pre-clinical or clinical testing of other cancer therapies that raise safety or efficacy concerns about our product candidates.
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We could encounter delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us, by the IRBs of the institutions at which such trials are being conducted, by the Data Safety
Monitoring Board, or DSMB, for such trial or by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. Such authorities may impose such a suspension or termination or clinical hold due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in
accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a
benefit from using a product, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial. 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. Further, the FDA may disagree with our clinical trial design and our interpretation of data from clinical trials, or may change the
requirements for approval even after it has reviewed and commented on the design for our clinical trials.
Our product development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or regulatory approvals. We do not know whether any of our future clinical trials will begin as
planned, or whether any of our current or future clinical trials will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, if at all. Significant delays in pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, including those caused by the COVID-19
pandemic, also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our
product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations. Any delays in our pre-clinical or future clinical development programs may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in 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, EMA, or similar regulatory authorities. In particular, because we will be deploying our drug discovery platform across a broad target space, our ability to enroll eligible patients may be limited or may
result in slower enrollment than we anticipate. In addition, some of our competitors have ongoing clinical trials for product candidates that treat the same indications as our product candidates, and patients who would otherwise be eligible for our
clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors’ product candidates. Furthermore, our ability to enroll patients may be significantly delayed by new or ongoing public health crises, such as those we experienced as a result
of the COVID-19 pandemic and could again in the future.
In addition to the competitive trial environment, the eligibility criteria of our planned clinical trials will further limit the pool of available study participants as we will
require that patients have specific characteristics that we can measure to assure their cancer is either severe enough or not too advanced to include them in a study. Additionally, the process of finding patients may prove costly. We also may not
be able to identify, recruit and enroll a sufficient number of patients to complete our clinical studies because of the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidates under study, the availability and efficacy of competing therapies and
clinical trials, the proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients, and the patient referral practices of physicians. If patients are unwilling to participate in our studies for any reason, the timeline for recruiting
patients, conducting studies and obtaining regulatory approval of potential products may be delayed.
We may also engage third parties to develop companion diagnostics for use in our clinical trials, but such third parties may not be successful in developing such companion
diagnostics, furthering the difficulty in identifying patients with the targeted genetic mutations for our clinical trials. Further, if we are required to develop companion diagnostics and are unable to include patients with the targeted genetic
mutations, this could compromise our ability to seek participation in the FDA’s expedited review and development programs, including Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Fast Track Designation, or otherwise to seek to accelerate clinical
development and regulatory timelines. Patient enrollment may be affected by other factors including:
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the severity of the disease under investigation;
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the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial in question;
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the availability of an appropriate genomic screening test;
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the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study;
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the efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;
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the patient referral practices of physicians;
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the ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment;
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the proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients; and
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factors we may not be able to control, such as current or potential pandemics that may limit patients, principal investigators or staff
or clinical site availability (e.g., of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic).
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Our planned clinical trials or those of our future collaborators may reveal significant adverse events not seen in our pre-clinical or nonclinical studies and
may result in a safety profile that could inhibit regulatory approval or market acceptance of any of our product candidates.
Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any products, we must demonstrate through lengthy, complex and expensive pre-clinical studies and clinical trials
that our product candidates are both safe and effective for use in each target indication. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical
trial process. The results of pre-clinical studies and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. In addition, initial success in clinical trials may not be indicative of
results obtained when such trials are completed. There is typically an extremely high rate of attrition from the failure of product candidates proceeding through clinical trials. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials also may fail
to show the desired safety and efficacy profile despite having progressed through nonclinical studies and initial clinical trials. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical
trials due to lack of efficacy or unacceptable safety issues, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. Most product candidates that commence clinical trials are never approved as products and there can be no assurance that any of our
current or future clinical trials will ultimately be successful or support further clinical development of any of our product candidates.
We may develop future product candidates, in combination with one or more cancer therapies. The uncertainty resulting from the use of our product candidates in combination with
other cancer therapies may make it difficult to accurately predict side effects in future clinical trials.
As is the case with many treatments for cancer, infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases, it is likely that there may be side effects associated with the use of our product
candidates. If significant adverse events or other side effects are observed in any of our current or future clinical trials, we may have difficulty recruiting patients to our clinical trials, patients may drop out of our trials, or we may be
required to abandon the trials or our development efforts of one or more product candidates altogether. We, the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities, or an IRB may suspend or terminate clinical trials of a product candidate at any time
for various reasons, including a belief that subjects in such trials are being exposed to unacceptable health risks or adverse side effects. Some potential therapeutics developed in the biotechnology industry that initially showed therapeutic
promise in early-stage trials have later been found to cause side effects that prevented their further development. Even if the side effects do not preclude the product from obtaining or maintaining marketing approval, undesirable side effects may
inhibit market acceptance of the approved product due to its tolerability versus other therapies. Any of these developments could materially harm our business, financial condition and prospects.
We are at risk of a clinical hold at any time based on the evaluation of the data and information submitted to the governing regulatory authorities.
For example, in 2020, we received notice from the FDA of a partial clinical hold on our IMC-F106C clinical trial after the second patient (with baseline elevated risk factors for
pulmonary embolus) experienced a fatal adverse event of respiratory failure due to multiple pulmonary emboli 24 hours after receiving the first dose (0.3 mcg). In accordance with our own internal guidelines, we put our clinical trial on hold to
investigate this unexplained death and informed the FDA. The FDA subsequently put our clinical trial on a partial clinical hold and allowed us the option to continue dosing the first patient. After autopsy, including expert review, and other
investigations, the primary investigator concluded that the cause of death was respiratory failure and not related to study drug. We modified the trial protocol to add a lower dose cohort and additional screening and on-treatment precautions. The
FDA accepted our changes and removed the partial clinical hold enabling the trial to continue. However, if in the future we are delayed in addressing, or unable to address, any FDA concerns, we could be delayed, or prevented, from conducting our
clinical trials.
Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could halt their clinical development, prevent their regulatory approval,
require expansion of the trial size, limit their commercial potential, or result in significant negative consequences.
Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities, including IRBs, to interrupt, delay, or halt clinical trials and could result in
a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Further, clinical trials by their nature utilize a sample of the potential patient population. With a limited
number of subjects and limited duration of exposure, rare and severe side effects of our product candidates may only be uncovered with a significantly larger number of patients exposed to the drug. Because of our planned dose escalation design for
our clinical trials, undesirable side effects could also result in an expansion in the size of our clinical trials, increasing the expected costs and timeline of our clinical trials. Additionally, results of our clinical trials could reveal a high
and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or unexpected characteristics, which may stem from our therapies specifically or may be due to an illness from which the clinical trial subject is suffering.
For example, our oncology clinical trials include cancer patients who are very sick and whose health is deteriorating, and we expect that additional clinical trials of our other
product candidates will include similar patients with deteriorating health. In clinical trials conducted by other companies involving CAR T cells, TCR T or T cell redirecting bispecifics, the most prominent acute toxicities included symptoms
thought to be associated with cytokine release syndrome, or CRS, such as fever, low blood pressure and kidney dysfunction. KIMMTRAK has a boxed warning regarding CRS, recommending patient monitoring for at least 16 hours following the first three
infusions, and as clinically indicated thereafter. It is possible that some of these patients may experience similar adverse side effects as were observed in clinical trials conducted by other companies and academic institutions, and that
additional patients may die during our clinical trials for various reasons, including as a result of receiving our product candidates, because the patient’s disease is too advanced, or because the patient experiences medical problems that may not
be related to our product candidate. Even if the deaths are not related to our product candidate, the deaths could affect perceptions regarding the safety of our product candidate.
Patient deaths and severe side effects caused by our product candidates, or by products or product candidates of other companies that are thought to have similarities with our
therapeutic candidates, could result in the delay, suspension, clinical hold or termination of clinical trials by us, the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities for a number of reasons. If we elect or are required to delay, suspend or
terminate any clinical trial of any product candidates that we develop, the commercial prospects of such product candidates will be harmed and our ability to generate product revenues from any of these product candidates would be delayed or
eliminated. Serious adverse events observed in clinical trials could hinder or prevent market acceptance of the product candidate at issue. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations
significantly.
Our product candidates may have serious and potentially fatal cross-reactivity to other peptides or protein sequences within the body.
Our product candidates may recognize and bind to a peptide unrelated to the target antigen to which it is designed to bind. If this peptide is expressed within normal tissues, our
product candidates may target and kill the normal tissue in a patient, leading to serious and potentially fatal adverse effects. Detection of any cross-reactivity may halt or delay any ongoing clinical trials for any TCR-based product candidate and
prevent or delay regulatory approval. Unknown cross-reactivity of the TCR binding domain to related proteins could also occur. We have also developed a pre-clinical screening process to identify cross-reactivity of the TCR binders. Any
cross-reactivity that impacts patient safety could materially impact our ability to advance our product candidates into clinical trials or to proceed to marketing approval and commercialization.
We intend to develop our tebentafusp, IMC-F106C and other programs, and potentially future product candidates, in combination with other therapies, which
exposes us to additional risks.
We intend to develop our tebentafusp, IMC-F106C and other programs, and may develop future product candidates, for use in combination with one or more currently approved cancer
therapies. We entered into an agreement with Sanofi in 2022 under which Sanofi will develop tebentafsup in combination with SAR444245, non-alpha IL-2, for the potential treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma. In addition, we have
begun enrollment in multiple combination arms of our IMC-F106C Phase 1 clinical trial, including evaluation of IMC-F106C in combination with standards of care including checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy and tebentafusp. Even if any product
candidate we, or our collaboration partners, develop, was to receive marketing approval or be commercialized for use in combination with other existing therapies, we would continue to bear the risks that the FDA or similar foreign regulatory
authorities could revoke approval of the therapy used in combination with our product candidate or that safety, efficacy, manufacturing or supply issues could arise with these existing therapies. Combination therapies are commonly used for the
treatment of cancer, and we would be subject to similar risks if we develop any of our product candidates for use in combination with other drugs or for indications other than cancer. This could result in our own products being removed from the
market or being less successful commercially.
We may also evaluate our IMC-F106C programs, or any other future product candidates, in combination with one or more other cancer, infectious disease or autoimmune disease therapies
that have not yet been approved for marketing by the FDA or similar foreign regulatory authorities. We will not be able to market and sell our IMC-F106C and other programs, or any product candidate we develop in combination with any such unapproved
cancer, infectious disease or autoimmune therapies, that do not ultimately obtain marketing approval.
If the FDA, EMA or similar foreign regulatory authorities do not approve these other drugs or revoke their approval of, or if safety, efficacy, manufacturing, or supply issues arise
with, the drugs we choose to evaluate in combination with our or any product candidate we develop, we may be unable to obtain approval of or market our IMC-F106C and other programs, or any product candidate we develop.
If we do not achieve our projected development and commercialization goals within the timeframes we announce and expect, the commercialization of our product
candidates or any future product candidates may be delayed, and our business will be harmed.
For planning purposes, we estimate the timing of achieving various scientific, clinical, regulatory, and other product development objectives. These milestones may include our
expectations regarding the commencement or completion of scientific studies and clinical trials, regulatory submissions or commercialization objectives. From time to time, we may publicly announce the expected timing of some of these milestones,
such as the completion of an ongoing clinical trial, the initiation of clinical trials, announcement of trial data, receipt of regulatory approval, or the commercial launch of a product. The achievement of many of these milestones may be affected
by factors outside of our control. All of these milestones are based on a variety of assumptions, which may cause the timing of achieving the milestones to vary considerably from our estimates, including:
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our available capital resources or capital constraints we experience;
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the rate of progress, costs, and results of our clinical trials and research and development activities, including the extent of
scheduling conflicts with participating clinicians and collaborators;
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our ability to identify and enroll patients who meet clinical trial eligibility criteria;
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our receipt of approvals by the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, and the timing thereof;
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other actions, decisions, or rules issued by regulators;
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our ability to access sufficient, reliable, and affordable supplies of materials used in the manufacture of our product candidates;
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our ability to manufacture and supply clinical trial materials to our clinical sites on a timely basis;
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the efforts of our collaborators with respect to the commercialization of our approved products, if any; and
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the securing of, costs related to, and timing issues associated with, commercial product manufacturing, as well as sales and marketing
activities.
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If we fail to achieve announced milestones in the timeframes we expect, the commercialization of our lead product candidate and any other current or future product candidates may
be delayed, and our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects may be adversely affected.
Due to our limited resources and access to capital, we must, and have in the past decided to, prioritize development of certain product candidates over other
potential product candidates. These decisions may prove to have been wrong and may adversely affect our ability to develop our own programs and our attractiveness as a commercial partner and may ultimately have an impact on our commercial success.
Because we have limited resources and access to capital to fund our operations, we must decide which product candidates to pursue and the amount of resources to allocate to each.
Our decisions concerning the allocation of research, collaboration, management and financial resources toward particular proprietary molecules in our library, product candidates or therapeutic areas are subject to change over time, and these
decisions may not lead to the development of viable commercial products and may divert resources away from better opportunities. Similarly, our decisions to delay, terminate or collaborate with third parties in respect of certain product
development programs may also prove not to be optimal and could cause us to miss valuable opportunities. If we make incorrect determinations regarding the market potential of our product candidates, abandon products that we have devoted significant
resources toward in favor of other product candidates, or misread trends in the biopharmaceutical industry, in particular for our lead product candidate, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely
affected.
We conduct clinical trials for our product candidates outside the United States, and the FDA and similar foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data from
such trials.
We conduct clinical trials outside the United States including in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Asia, and are likely to continue to do so in these or other foreign
jurisdictions. The acceptance of trial data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States by the FDA may be subject to certain conditions. In cases where data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States are intended to serve
as the sole basis for marketing approval in the United States, the FDA will generally not approve the application on the basis of foreign data alone unless (i) the data are applicable to the United States population and United States medical
practice; (ii) the trials were performed by clinical investigators of recognized competence and (iii) the data may be considered valid without the need for an on-site inspection by the FDA or, if the FDA considers such an inspection to be
necessary, the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means. Additionally, the FDA’s clinical trial requirements, including sufficient size of patient populations and statistical powering, must be met.
Many foreign regulatory bodies have similar approval requirements. In addition, such foreign trials would be subject to the applicable local laws of the foreign jurisdictions where the trials are conducted. There can be no assurance that the FDA or
any similar foreign regulatory authority will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States or the applicable jurisdiction. If the FDA or any similar foreign regulatory authority does not accept such data, it would result in the
need for additional trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay aspects of our business plan, and which may result in our product candidates not receiving approval or clearance for commercialization in the applicable jurisdiction.
A variety of risks associated with conducting research and clinical trials in multiple countries and marketing our product candidates internationally could
materially adversely affect our business.
Clinical trials are currently being conducted in multiple countries throughout the world, and we plan to globally develop our current and future product candidates. Accordingly, we
expect that we will be subject to additional risks related to operating in foreign countries, including:
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differing regulatory requirements in foreign countries;
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unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers, price and exchange controls and other regulatory requirements;
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differing standards for the conduct of clinical trials;
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increased difficulties in managing the logistics and transportation of storing and shipping product candidates produced in the United
States or elsewhere and shipping the product candidate to patients in other countries;
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import and export requirements and restrictions;
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economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in foreign economies and markets, particularly in light of recently worsening global macroeconomic conditions;
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compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad;
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foreign taxes, including withholding of payroll taxes;
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foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue, and other obligations incident to
doing business in another country;
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difficulties staffing and managing foreign operations;
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workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United Kingdom or the United States;
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differing payor reimbursement regimes, governmental payors or patient self-pay systems, and price controls;
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potential liability under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or comparable foreign
regulations;
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challenges enforcing or protecting our contractual and intellectual property rights, especially in those foreign countries that do not
respect and protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the United States or the United Kingdom;
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the impacts Brexit may have with respect to the cross-border acknowledgment of clinical trial results and marketing authorizations as
well as recruitment of scientific personnel;
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production shortages resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad; and
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business interruptions resulting from geopolitical actions, including the Ukraine war, other wars and acts of terrorism, and the outbreak of and international responses to global health crises such as the COVID-19
pandemic.
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These and other risks associated with our international operations may materially adversely affect our ability to attain or maintain profitable operations.
Risks Related to the Commercialization of Our Product Candidates
If we fail to comply with manufacturing regulations, our financial results and financial condition will be adversely affected.
KIMMTRAK and our product candidates are biologics and the process of manufacturing our products is complex, highly regulated and subject to multiple risks. We may encounter
difficulties in production, particularly with respect to process development, quality control, upscaling or scaling-out of our manufacturing capabilities. If we or any of our third-party manufacturers encounter such difficulties, our ability to
provide supply of our product candidates for clinical trials or our products for patients, if approved, could be delayed or stopped, or we may be unable to maintain a commercially viable cost structure.
Before we can begin commercial manufacture of our products, regulatory authorities must approve marketing applications that identify manufacturing facilities operated by us or
third-party manufacturers that have passed regulatory inspection and manufacturing processes that are acceptable to the regulatory authorities. Any failure to follow current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, or other regulatory requirements or
any delay, interruption or other issues that arise in the manufacture, fill and finish, packaging, or storage of our product candidates as a result of a failure of our facilities or the facilities or operations of third parties to comply with
regulatory requirements or pass any regulatory authority inspection could significantly impair our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, including leading to significant delays in the availability of drug product for our
clinical trials or the termination of or hold on a clinical trial, or the delay or prevention of a filing or approval of marketing applications for our product candidates. In addition, our pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are continuously
subject to scheduled and unannounced inspection by the FDA, and other comparable EU and other international regulatory authorities, before and after product approval, to monitor and ensure compliance with cGMP and other regulations. Our
manufacturing facility in the United States has been approved by the FDA, the EC and health agencies in other countries for the manufacture of KIMMTRAK. In addition, our third-party manufacturers’ facilities involved with the manufacture of
KIMMTRAK or our product candidates have also been inspected and approved by various regulatory authorities. Although we are not involved in the day-to-day operations of our contract manufacturers, we are ultimately responsible for ensuring that our
products are manufactured in accordance with cGMP regulations.
Due to the complexity of the processes used to manufacture our products and product candidates, we may be unable to continue to pass or initially pass federal or international
regulatory inspections in a cost-effective manner. For the same reason, any potential third-party manufacturer of our products or our product candidates may be unable to comply with cGMP regulations in a cost-effective manner and may be unable to
initially or continue to pass a federal or international regulatory inspection.
Our TCR bispecific product candidates that have been produced and are stored for later use may degrade, become contaminated or suffer other quality defects, which may cause the
affected product candidates to no longer be suitable for their intended use in clinical trials or other development activities. If the defective product candidates cannot be replaced in a timely fashion, we may incur significant delays in our
development programs that could adversely affect the value of such product candidates.
A failure to comply with these requirements may result in regulatory enforcement actions against our manufacturers or us, including fines and civil and criminal penalties, which
could result in imprisonment, suspension or restrictions of production, suspension, injunctions, delay or denial of product approval or supplements to approved products, clinical holds or termination of clinical trials, warning or untitled letters,
regulatory authority communications warning the public about safety issues with the biologic, refusal to permit the import or export of the products, product seizure, detention, or recall, operating restrictions, suits under the civil False Claims
Act, or FCA, corporate integrity agreements, consent decrees, or withdrawal of product approval. For example, our IMC-C103C program was temporarily placed on partial clinical hold in 2020 due to insufficient specifications on a drug release assay
in the corresponding IND.
If we, or third-party manufacturers with whom we contract, are unable to comply with manufacturing regulations, we may be subject to delay of approval of our product candidates,
warning or untitled letters, fines, unanticipated compliance expenses, recall or seizure of our products, total or partial suspension of production and/or enforcement actions, including injunctions, and criminal or civil prosecution. These possible
sanctions would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects
If we are unable to successfully develop and maintain manufacturing processes for KIMMTRAK or our product candidates, or unable to produce sufficient quantities
at acceptable costs, we may be unable to support a clinical trial or be forced to terminate a program, or if we are unable to produce sufficient quantities of our products at acceptable costs, we may be unable to meet commercial demand, lose
potential revenue, have reduced margins or be forced to terminate a program.
Due to the complexity of manufacturing KIMMTRAK and our product candidates, we may not be able to manufacture sufficient quantities. Our
inability to produce enough of our product candidate at acceptable costs may result in the delay or termination of development programs. With respect to our commercial portfolio, we may not be able to manufacture KIMMTRAK successfully with a
commercially viable process or at a scale large enough to support their respective commercial markets or at acceptable margins.
The development of commercially viable manufacturing processes typically is very difficult to achieve and is often very expensive and may require extended periods of time. Changes in manufacturing
processes (including manufacturing cell lines), equipment or facilities (including moving manufacturing from one of our facilities to another one of our facilities or a third-party facility, or from a third-party facility to one of our facilities)
may require us to complete clinical trials to receive regulatory approval of any manufacturing modifications.
Even a developed manufacturing process can encounter difficulties. Problems may arise during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including human error, mechanical breakdowns, problems with raw
materials and cell banks, malfunctions of internal information technology systems, and other events that cannot always be prevented or anticipated. Many of the processes include biological systems, which add significant complexity, as compared to
chemical synthesis. We expect that, from time to time, consistent with biotechnology industry expectations, certain production lots will fail to produce product that meets our quality control release acceptance criteria. To date, our historical
failure rates for KIMMTRAK have been within our expectations, which are based on industry norms. If the failure rate increased substantially, we could experience increased costs, lost revenue, damage to customer relations, time and expense
investigating the cause and, depending upon the cause, similar losses with respect to other lots or products. If problems are not discovered before the product is released to the market, recall and product liability costs may also be incurred.
In order to produce product within our time and cost parameters, we must continue to produce product within our expected success rate and yield expectations. Because of the complexity of our
manufacturing processes, it may be difficult or impossible for us to determine the cause of any particular lot failure and we must effectively take corrective action in response to any failure in a timely manner.
We currently rely on third parties for portions of the manufacture of each of our commercial products. If those manufacturers are unwilling or unable to fulfill their contractual obligations or
satisfy demand outside of or in excess of the contractual obligations, we may be unable to meet demand for these products or sell these products at all and we may lose potential revenue. Further, the availability of suitable contract manufacturing
capacity at scheduled or optimum times is not certain.
In addition, our manufacturing processes subject us to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of
hazardous materials and wastes resulting from their use. We incur significant costs in complying with these laws and regulations.
We face substantial competition, which may result in others developing or commercializing drugs before or more successfully than us.
The biotechnology industry is characterized by intense competition and rapid innovation. Our competitors may be able to develop other compounds or drugs that are able to achieve
similar or better results. Our potential competitors include major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and universities and other research institutions. Many of our
competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations and well-established sales forces. Smaller or early-stage
companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly as they develop novel approaches to treating disease indications that our product candidates are also focused on treating. Established pharmaceutical companies may also invest
heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel therapeutics or to acquire or in-license novel therapeutics that could make the product candidates that we develop obsolete. Mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these
industries. Our competitors, either alone or with collaborative partners, may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis drug or biologic products that are more effective, safer, more easily commercialized or less costly
than our product candidates or may develop proprietary technologies or secure patent or other proprietary protection that we may need for the development of our technologies and products. We believe the key competitive factors that will affect the
development and commercial success of our product candidates are efficacy, safety, tolerability, reliability, convenience of use, price and reimbursement.
We face competition from segments of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other related markets that pursue the development of therapeutics to address unmet needs in cancer including: Adaptimmune
Therapeutics plc, or Adaptimmune, Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, or Immatics (alone and in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb), Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation, or Adaptive, pure MHC, LLC, BioNTech SE, Genentech, Matterhorn, Anocca, Enara
Bio and Regeneron, who are also seeking to identify peptide HLA targets and develop product candidates; Adaptimmune, T-Knife GmbH, Adaptive, 3T Biosciences, Inc., MediGene, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Regeneron, Gilead Sciences, Inc.,
bluebird Bio, Inc., or bluebird bio, Takara Bio Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, GSK, Kite Pharma, Lion TCR, TCR Cure, Corregene Biotechnology Co. LTD, and Tscan who are developing TCR-based cell therapies; Immatics, Regeneron, F. Hoffmann-La
Roche Ltd, Amgen, Inc., Genmab, Inc., Molecular Partners, 3T Biosciences, Inc., and CDR-Life Inc. are developing CD3-based TCR bispecific compounds or TCR mimetic antibodies.
We are aware of various companies and academic institutions that are developing TCR transduced cell therapies against a range of pHLA targets, some of which may overlap with product candidates in
our pipeline such as PRAME. Specifically in regards to PRAME, we are aware that Immatics and Medigene are both conducting Phase 1 clinical trials of PRAME-directed cellular therapies and Immatics also have communicated plans for Phase 1 development
of a PRAME TCRxCD3 approach.
We anticipate that we will continue to face intense and increasing competition as new treatments enter the market and advanced technologies become available. There can be no
assurance that our competitors are not currently developing, or will not in the future develop, products that are equally or more effective or are more economically attractive than any of our current or future product candidates. Competing products
may gain faster or greater market acceptance than our products, if any, and medical advances or rapid technological development by competitors may result in our product candidates becoming non-competitive or obsolete before we are able to recover
our research and development and commercialization expenses. If we or our product candidates do not compete effectively, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Continued coverage and adequate reimbursement may not be available for KIMMTRAK, or our other current or any future product candidates, which could make it
difficult for us to sell profitably, if approved.
Continued market acceptance and sales of KIMMTRAK or any product candidates that we commercialize, if approved, will depend in part on the extent to which reimbursement for these
products and related treatments will be available from third-party payors, including government health administration authorities, managed care organizations and private health insurers. While we have established third-party payor coverage for
KIMMTRAK in the United States, this coverage may change at any time and we may not be able to maintain it in the future or obtain or maintain similar coverage in additional territories or for additional indications. Third-party payors decide which
therapies they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. Third-party payors in the United States often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own coverage and reimbursement policies. However, decisions
regarding the extent of coverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided for any product candidates that we develop will be made on a payor-by-payor basis. One payor’s determination to provide coverage for a drug does not assure that other
payors will also provide coverage for the drug. Additionally, a third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a therapy does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the
price, examining the medical necessity and reviewing the cost-effectiveness of medical products, therapies and services, in addition to questioning their safety and efficacy. We may incur significant costs to conduct expensive pharmaco-economic
studies in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of our product candidates, in addition to the costs required to obtain FDA approvals. Our product candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost-effective.
Each payor determines whether or not it will provide coverage for a therapy, what amount it will pay the manufacturer for the therapy, and on what tier of its list of covered drugs,
or formulary, it will be placed. The position on a payor’s formulary, generally determines the co-payment that a patient will need to make to obtain the therapy and can strongly influence the adoption of such therapy by patients and physicians.
Patients who are prescribed treatments for their conditions and providers prescribing such services generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the associated healthcare costs. Patients are unlikely to use our products, and
providers are unlikely to prescribe our products, unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our products and their administration. Therefore, coverage and adequate reimbursement is
critical to new medical product acceptance.
A primary trend in the U.S. healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of
reimbursement for particular medications. We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any drug that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Inadequate coverage and
reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any drug for which we obtain marketing approval. If coverage and adequate reimbursement are not available, or are available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully
commercialize our current and any future product candidates that we develop. Coverage policies and third party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and adequate reimbursement status is attained for one or more
products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.
Additionally, we may use or develop a proprietary diagnostic test for use with certain of our product candidates. We will be required to obtain coverage and reimbursement for this
test separate and apart from the coverage and reimbursement we seek for our product candidates, if approved. There is significant uncertainty regarding our ability to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement for this proprietary diagnostic test
for reasons similar to those applicable to our product candidates.
We face potential product liability, and, if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability and costs. If the
use of our product candidates harms patients, or is perceived to harm patients even when such harm is unrelated to our product candidates, our regulatory approvals could be revoked or otherwise negatively impacted and we could be subject to costly
and damaging product liability claims.
The use of our product candidates in clinical trials and the sale of any products for which we obtain marketing approval exposes us to the risk of product liability claims. Product
liability claims might be brought against us by consumers, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products. There is a risk that our product candidates may induce adverse events.
If we cannot successfully defend against product liability claims, we could incur substantial liability and costs. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:
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the impairment of our business reputation;
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the withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
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costs due to related litigation;
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the distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;
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substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;
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the inability to commercialize our product candidates; and
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decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale.
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We believe our product liability insurance coverage is sufficient in light of our current commercial and clinical programs; however, we may not be able to maintain insurance
coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. We intend to expand our insurance coverage each time we commercialize an additional product; however, we may be unable to obtain 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 or medical treatments that had unanticipated adverse effects. A successful product liability
claim or series of claims brought against us could adversely affect our results of operations and business.
Patients with the diseases targeted by certain of our product candidates are often already in severe and advanced stages of disease and have both known and unknown significant
pre-existing and potentially life-threatening health risks. During the course of treatment, patients may suffer adverse events, including death, for reasons that may be related to our product candidates. Such events could subject us to costly
litigation, require us to pay substantial amounts of money to injured patients, delay, negatively impact or end our opportunity to receive or maintain regulatory approval to market our products, or require us to suspend or abandon our
commercialization efforts. Even in a circumstance in which we do not believe that an adverse event is related to our products, the investigation into the circumstance may be time-consuming or inconclusive. These investigations may interrupt our
sales efforts, delay our regulatory approval process in other countries, or impact and limit the type of regulatory approvals our product candidates receive or maintain. As a result of these factors, a product liability claim, even if successfully
defended, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
Our existing therapeutic collaborations are important to our business, and future collaborations may also be important to us. If we are unable to maintain any of
these collaborations, or if these collaborations are not successful, our business could be adversely affected.
We have relatively limited capabilities for drug development and have limited experience of carrying out sales, marketing and distribution activities for KIMMTRAK. We have entered
into collaborations with other companies that we believe can provide similar capabilities, including for example with Genentech and Sanofi. Our collaborations have previously provided us with important funding for our development programs and
technology platforms, and we could receive additional funding under our collaborations in the future. Our existing therapeutic collaborations, and any future collaborations we enter into, may pose a number of risks, including the following:
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collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations;
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collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected;
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collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of any product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect
not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding, or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or
create competing priorities;
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collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a
product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;
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collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our products
or product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours; this may also happen if the
collaborators’ development of competing products is substantially faster than our development timelines;
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collaborators may not further develop product candidates developed by us or co-developed with us under the collaboration;
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product candidates discovered in collaboration with us may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product
candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to cease to devote resources to the commercialization of our product candidates;
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a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not
commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such product or products;
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disagreements with collaborators, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation or the preferred course of
development, might cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of product candidates, might lead to additional responsibilities for us with respect to product candidates, or might result in litigation or
arbitration, any of which would be time-consuming and expensive;
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collaborators have certain defined rights to change or expand the scope of development programs during the course of the collaboration.
This may lead to additional research work for us that may be time-consuming and expensive. Such work may compete with our own development programs and may delay timelines to market or proof-of-concept for our product candidates. If
development programs under the collaboration turn out to be more costly and time-consuming, such unanticipated costs and work could likewise compete with our internal development programs;
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collaborators may not properly maintain, enforce or defend our intellectual property or proprietary information or may use them in such
a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation;
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collaborators may infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property or proprietary rights of third parties, which
may expose us to litigation and potential liability, and collaborators may also allege that we are liable for potential infringement, misappropriation or other violations of third-party intellectual property or proprietary rights during the
research and development work for the collaboration;
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certain collaborations may be terminated for the convenience of the collaborator and, if terminated, we could be required to raise
additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates. For example, certain of our collaboration and license agreements may be terminated for convenience upon the completion of a
specified notice period; and
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collaborators may discontinue the development of product candidates within the collaboration, for example if they consider the results
achieved so far or the product candidates not promising enough or if their development strategies change.
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If our therapeutic collaborations do not result in the successful development and commercialization of products or if one of our collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we
may not receive any future research funding or milestone or royalty payments under the collaboration. All of the risks relating to product development, regulatory approval and commercialization described in this Annual Report also apply to the
activities of our program collaborators.
Additionally, subject to its contractual obligations to us, if one of our collaborators is involved in a business combination, the collaborator might deemphasize or terminate the
development or commercialization of any product candidate licensed to it by us. If one of our collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may find it more difficult to attract new collaborators.
For some of our product candidates, we may in the future determine to collaborate with additional pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for development and potential
commercialization of therapeutic products. We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Our ability to reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the
collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. These factors may include the design or results of clinical trials, the likelihood of
approval by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States, the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to patients, the potential of
competing products, and the existence of uncertainty with respect to our ownership of technology, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge and industry and market conditions generally.
The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product
candidate.
Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical
companies that reduced the number of potential future collaborators. If we are unable to reach agreements with suitable collaborators on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all, we may have to curtail the development of a product candidate,
reduce or delay one or more of our other development programs, delay our potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at
our own expense. If we elect to fund and undertake development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional expertise and additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we fail
to enter into collaborations and do not have sufficient funds or expertise to undertake the necessary development and commercialization activities, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market or continue to
develop our technology platforms and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
We may also be restricted under existing collaboration agreements from entering into future agreements on certain terms with potential collaborators. Subject to certain specified
exceptions, each of our existing therapeutic collaborations contains an exclusivity restriction on our engaging in activities that are the subject of the collaboration with third parties for specified periods of time.
We rely on CROs and other third parties to conduct our Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 pivotal clinical trials and expect to rely on CROs and other third parties to
conduct future clinical trials, as well as investigator-sponsored clinical trials of our product candidates. If these CROs and other third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements or meet
expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.
We rely and expect to continue to rely on CROs, medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract laboratories and other third parties to conduct or otherwise support clinical
trials for our product candidates, including our Phase 2/3 advanced melanoma tebentafusp trial, our Phase 1/2 clinical trial of IMC-F106C, and our Phase 1 clinical trial of IMC-I109V. We may also rely on academic and private non-academic
institutions to conduct and sponsor clinical trials relating to our product candidates. We will not control the design or conduct of the investigator-sponsored trials, and it is possible that the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities will not view
these investigator-sponsored trials as providing adequate support for future clinical trials, whether controlled by us or third parties, for any one or more reasons, including elements of the design or execution of the trials or safety concerns or
other trial results.
Such arrangements will likely provide us certain information rights with respect to the investigator-sponsored trials, including access to and the ability to use and reference the
data, including for our own regulatory filings, resulting from the investigator-sponsored trials. However, we would not have control over the timing and reporting of the data from investigator-sponsored trials, nor would we own the data from the
investigator-sponsored trials. If we are unable to confirm or replicate the results from the investigator-sponsored trials or if negative results are obtained, we would likely be further delayed or prevented from advancing further clinical
development of our product candidates. Further, if investigators or institutions breach their obligations with respect to the clinical development of our product candidates, or if the data proves to be inadequate compared to the first-hand
knowledge we might have gained had the investigator-sponsored trials been sponsored and conducted by us, then our ability to design and conduct any future clinical trials ourselves may be adversely affected.
We rely and expect to continue to rely heavily on CROs, medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract laboratories and other third parties for execution of clinical trials
for our product candidates and control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal and regulatory
requirements and scientific standards, and our reliance on CROs will not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. For any violations of laws and regulations during the conduct of our clinical trials, we could be subject to warning letters or
enforcement action that may include civil penalties up to and including criminal prosecution.
We, our principal investigators and our CROs are required to comply with regulations, including Good Clinical Practices, or GCPs, for conducting, monitoring, recording and reporting
the results of clinical trials to ensure that the data and results are scientifically credible and accurate, and that the trial patients are adequately informed of the potential risks of participating in clinical trials and their rights are
protected. These regulations are enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for any products in clinical development. The FDA enforces GCP
regulations through periodic inspections of clinical trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we, our principal investigators or our CROs fail to comply with applicable GCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may
be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that, upon inspection, the FDA will determine that
any of our future clinical trials will comply with GCPs. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product candidates produced under cGMP regulations. Our failure or the failure of our principal investigators or CROs to comply with
these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process and could also subject us to enforcement action. We also are required to register ongoing clinical trials and post the results of
completed clinical trials on a government-sponsored database, ClinicalTrials.gov, within certain timeframes. Failure to do so can result in fines, adverse publicity and civil and criminal sanctions.
Although we designed our Phase 2/3 advanced melanoma trial for tebentafusp, our Phase 1/2 clinical trial of IMC-F106C, and our Phase 1 clinical trials of IMC-I109V and IMC-M113V,
and intend to design the future clinical trials for our product candidates, we expect that CROs will conduct all of our clinical trials. As a result, many important aspects of our development programs, including their conduct and timing, are
outside of our direct control. Our reliance on third parties to conduct future clinical trials also results in less direct control over the management of data developed through clinical trials than would be the case if we were relying entirely upon
our own staff. Communicating with outside parties can also be challenging, potentially leading to mistakes as well as difficulties in coordinating activities. Outside parties may:
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have staffing difficulties;
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fail to comply with contractual obligations;
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experience regulatory compliance issues;
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undergo changes in priorities or become financially distressed; or
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form relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors.
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These factors may materially adversely affect the willingness or ability of third parties to conduct our clinical trials and may subject us to unexpected cost increases that are
beyond our control. If the principal investigators or CROs do not perform clinical trials in a satisfactory manner, breach their obligations to us or fail to comply with regulatory requirements, the development, regulatory approval and
commercialization of our product candidates may be delayed, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval and commercialize our product candidates, or our development program materially and irreversibly harmed. If we are unable to rely on
clinical data collected by our principal investigators or CROs, we could be required to repeat, extend the duration of, or increase the size of any clinical trials we conduct and this could significantly delay commercialization and require
significantly greater expenditures.
If any of our relationships with these third-party principal investigators or CROs terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs. If principal
investigators or 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 clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to
adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, any clinical trials such principal investigators or CROs are associated with may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory
approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates. As a result, we believe that our financial results and the commercial prospects for our product candidates in the subject indication would be harmed, our costs could increase and
our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.
We contract with third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for pre-clinical development, clinical testing, and commercial supply. This reliance
on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or products or such quantities at an acceptable cost, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.
We do not currently own or operate, nor do we currently have any plans to establish, any manufacturing facilities or personnel. We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third
parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for pre-clinical development and clinical testing, and the commercial manufacture of our products. This reliance on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities
of our product candidates or products or such quantities at an acceptable cost or quality, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.
The facilities used by our contract manufacturers to manufacture our product candidates must be inspected by the FDA pursuant to pre-approval inspections that will be conducted
after we submit our marketing applications to the FDA. We do not control the manufacturing process of, and will be completely dependent on, our contract manufacturers for compliance with cGMPs in connection with the manufacture of our product
candidates. If our contract manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or others, they will not be able to pass regulatory inspections and/or maintain
regulatory compliance for their manufacturing facilities. In addition, we have no control over the ability of our contract manufacturers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. If the FDA or a comparable
foreign regulatory authority finds deficiencies with or does not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates or if it finds deficiencies or withdraws any such approval in the future, we may need to find alternative
manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved. Further, our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with
applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including clinical holds, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of product candidates or
products, if approved, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect our business and supplies of our product candidates.
We may be unable to establish any agreements with third-party manufacturers or to do so on acceptable terms. Even if we are able to establish agreements with third-party
manufacturers, reliance on third -party manufacturers entails additional risks, including:
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reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance and quality assurance;
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the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party;
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the possible misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure of our proprietary information, including our trade secrets and know-how; and
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the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us.
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Our product candidates and any products that we may develop may compete with other product candidates and approved products for access to manufacturing facilities. There are a
limited number of manufacturers that operate under cGMP regulations and that might be capable of manufacturing for us.
Any performance failure on the part of our existing or future manufacturers could delay clinical development or marketing approval. If our current contract manufacturers cannot
perform as agreed, we may be required to replace such manufacturers. We may incur added costs and delays in identifying and qualifying any such replacement.
Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of our product candidates or products may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to
commercialize any products that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.
The third parties upon whom we rely for the supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient used in our product candidates are our sole source of supply, and the
loss of any of these suppliers could significantly harm our business.
The active pharmaceutical ingredients, or API, used in our product candidates are supplied to us from single-source suppliers. Our ability to successfully develop our product
candidates, and to ultimately supply our commercial products in quantities sufficient to meet the market demand, depends in part on our ability to obtain the API for these products in accordance with regulatory requirements and in sufficient
quantities for clinical testing and commercialization. We do not currently have arrangements in place for a redundant or second-source supply of any such API in the event any of our current suppliers of such API cease their operations for any
reason. We are also unable to predict how changing global and macroeconomic conditions such as public health crises (including the COVID-19 pandemic), the war in Ukraine, global geopolitical tension and rising inflation will affect our third-party
suppliers and manufacturers. Any negative impact of such matters on our third-party suppliers and manufacturers may also have an adverse impact on our results of operations or financial condition.
For all of our product candidates, we intend to identify and qualify additional manufacturers to provide such API prior to submission of a BLA to the FDA and/or an MAA to the EMA.
We are not certain, however, that our single-source suppliers will be able to meet our demand for their products, either because of the nature of our agreements with those suppliers, our limited experience with those suppliers or our relative
importance as a customer to those suppliers. It may be difficult for us to assess their ability to timely meet our demand in the future based on past performance. While our suppliers have generally met our demand for their products on a timely
basis in the past, they may subordinate our needs in the future to their other customers.
Establishing additional or replacement suppliers for the API used in our product candidates, if required, may not be accomplished quickly. If we are able to find a replacement
supplier, such replacement supplier would need to be qualified and may require additional regulatory inspection or approval, which could result in further delay. While we seek to maintain adequate inventory of the API used in our product
candidates, any interruption or delay in the supply of components or materials, or our inability to obtain such API from alternate sources at acceptable prices in a timely manner could impede, delay, limit or prevent our development efforts, which
could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
We may seek to establish additional collaborations, and, if we are not able to establish them on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, we may have to alter
our development and commercialization plans.
Our product development programs and the potential commercialization of our product candidates will require substantial additional cash to fund expenses. For some of our product
candidates, we may decide to collaborate with additional pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the development and potential commercialization of those product candidates.
We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our
assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the design or results of clinical trials,
the likelihood of approval by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States, the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to
patients, the potential of competing products, the existence of uncertainty with respect to our ownership of technology, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge and industry and market
conditions generally. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us
for our product candidate. The terms of any additional collaborations or other arrangements that we may establish may not be favorable to us.
We may also be restricted under collaboration agreements from entering into future agreements on certain terms with potential collaborators. Collaborations are complex and
time-consuming to negotiate and document. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of potential future collaborators.
We may not be able to negotiate additional collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of the
product candidate for which we are seeking to collaborate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or
increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional
capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market and generate product revenue.
In addition, any future collaborations that we enter into may not be successful. 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 regarding clinical
development and commercialization matters can lead to delays in the development process or commercializing the applicable product candidate and, in some cases, termination of the collaboration arrangement. These disagreements can be difficult to
resolve if neither of the parties has final decision-making authority. Collaborations with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies and other third parties often are terminated or allowed to expire by the other party. Any such termination or
expiration would adversely affect us financially and could harm our business reputation.
Where we license technology from a third party, the prosecution, maintenance, enforcement and defense of the patent or other intellectual property or proprietary
rights licensed from such third party may be controlled by the third party, which may impact the scope of patent or other protection.
Where we license patent rights, technology or other intellectual property or proprietary rights from a third party, control of such third-party rights may vest in the licensor,
particularly where the license is non-exclusive or field-restricted. This may mean that we are not able to control or affect the scope of the claims of any relevant third-party patent or other intellectual property protection or have control over
the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement and defense of such patents and patent applications. Therefore, we cannot be certain that such patents and patent applications will be prepared, filed, prosecuted, maintained, enforced,
and defended in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If our licensors fail to prosecute, maintain, enforce, and defend such patents, or lose rights to those patents or patent applications, the rights we have licensed may be
reduced or eliminated, and our right to develop and commercialize any of our products that are subject to such licensed rights could be adversely affected. Where a licensor brings an enforcement action with respect to licensed patents or other
intellectual property, this could negatively impact our business or result in additional restrictions being imposed on the license we have and the scope of such license, or result in invalidation or limitation of the scope of the licensed patents
or other intellectual property rights. In addition, should we wish to enforce the relevant patent or other intellectual property rights against a third person, we may be reliant on consent from the relevant licensor or the cooperation of the
licensor. The licensor may refuse to bring such action and leave us unable to restrict competitor entry into the market. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and
prospects.
If we or our third-party suppliers use hazardous, non-hazardous, biological or other materials in a manner that causes injury or violates applicable law, we may
be liable for damages.
Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of potentially hazardous substances, including chemical and biological materials, potentially infectious material
and genetically modified cells. We and our suppliers are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations in the United Kingdom and United States governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of such hazardous materials.
Although we believe that we and our suppliers’ procedures for using, handling, storing and disposing of these materials comply with legally prescribed standards, and that we and our suppliers have all necessary permits, we and our suppliers cannot
completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from hazardous chemical or biological materials. As a result of any such contamination or injury, we may incur liability or local, city, state or federal authorities may curtail the
use of these materials and interrupt our business operations. In the event of an accident, we could be held liable for damages or penalized with fines, and the liability could exceed our resources. We have insurance in place for liabilities arising
from handling biological and hazardous substances, but it may not or may not fully cover all costs from such accidents. Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may
impair our research, development and production efforts, which could impact our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
If we are unable to adequately protect our proprietary technology or obtain, maintain, protect and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for
our technology and products or if the scope of the protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors and other third parties could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to
successfully commercialize our technology and products may be impaired.
Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain proprietary or intellectual property protection in the United States and other countries for our
product candidates and our core technologies, including our novel target discovery technology, our proprietary compound library and other know-how. We seek to protect our proprietary and intellectual property position by, among other methods,
filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are important to the development and implementation of our business. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how and
continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our proprietary and intellectual property position.
The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has in recent years been the
subject of much litigation. The degree of patent protection we require to successfully commercialize our product candidates may be unavailable or severely limited in some cases and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep
any competitive advantage. We cannot provide any assurances that any of our current or future pending patent applications will issue or will mature into issued patents that include claims with a scope sufficient to protect tebentafusp, IMC-F106C,
IMC-I109V, IMC-M113V, IMC-P115C, IMC-T119C, IMC-R117C, or any other current or future product candidates or technologies, in whole or in part, or effectively prevent others from commercializing competing product candidates and technologies. While
we own issued patents relating to tebentafusp and pending patent applications relating to our other product candidates, including IMC-F106C, IMC-I109V, IMC-M113V, IMC-P115C, IMC-T119C and IMC-R117C, we do not own or in-license any issued patents
relating to such other product candidates, and we can provide no assurance that any of our current or future patent applications will result in issued patents or that any issued patents will provide us with any competitive advantage. In addition,
the laws of foreign jurisdictions may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Furthermore, patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States and countries of the European Union, the natural expiration of a
patent is generally twenty years after it is filed. Various extensions may be available; however, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review
of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our patent portfolio may not provide us with adequate and continuing patent protection sufficient to
exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to our product candidates, including generic versions of such products.
Furthermore, certain of our patents and technology were funded in part by investments from non-profit third parties, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or the Gates
Foundation. We are required to fulfill certain contractual obligations with respect to products created using such grant funding, including making certain products available at an affordable price in a list of clearly defined low and lower-middle
income countries. For more information, see “Item 4B. Business overview—Our Collaborations and License Agreements—Gates Collaboration.”
Other parties may have developed technologies that are related or competitive to our own, and such parties may have filed or may file patent applications, or may have received or
may receive issued patents, claiming inventions that may overlap or conflict with those claimed in our own patent applications or issued patents, with respect to either the same methods or formulations or the same subject matter. Publications of
discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. Therefore,
we cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our pending patent applications or any patent application we may license, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. In
addition, although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to confidential or patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside
scientific collaborators, CROs, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors, and other third parties, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose such output before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability
to seek patent protection. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights cannot be predicted with any certainty.
In addition, the patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a
reasonable cost or in a timely manner. Further, with respect to most of the pending patent applications covering our product candidates, prosecution has yet to commence. Patent prosecution is a lengthy process, during which the scope of the claims
initially submitted for examination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or its global equivalents, are often significantly narrowed by the time they issue, if they issue at all. It is also possible that we will fail to identify
patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.
Moreover, in some circumstances, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering technology
that we may license from third parties. Therefore, these patents and applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business.
Even if we acquire patent protection that we expect should enable us to maintain a competitive advantage, third parties may challenge the validity, enforceability or scope thereof,
which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable. The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our patents or any patent we may license may be challenged
in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. For example, we may be subject to a third-party submission of prior art to the USPTO challenging the priority of an invention claimed within one of our patents, which submissions may
also be made prior to a patent’s issuance, precluding the granting of any of our pending patent applications. We may become involved in opposition, derivation, re-examination, revocation, inter partes review,
post-grant review, interference or other proceedings challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others from whom we have obtained licenses to such rights.
Competitors or other third parties may claim that they invented the inventions claimed in our issued patents or patent applications prior to us, or may file patent applications
before we do. Third parties may also claim that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating their patents or other intellectual property rights and that we therefore cannot practice our technology as claimed under our patents, if
issued. Competitors and other third parties may also contest our patents, if issued, by showing the patent examiner that the invention was not original, was not novel or was obvious. In litigation, a competitor or other third party could claim that
our patents, if issued, are not valid for a number of reasons. If a patent office or court agrees, we would lose our rights to those challenged patents, in whole or in part.
In addition, we may in the future be subject to claims by our former employees or consultants asserting an ownership right in our patents or patent applications, as a result of the
work they performed on our behalf. Although we generally require all of our employees, consultants and advisors and any other third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology to assign or grant similar rights to
their inventions to us, we cannot be certain that we have executed such agreements with all parties who may have contributed to our intellectual property, nor can we be certain that our agreements with such parties will be upheld in the face of a
potential challenge, or that they will not be breached, for which we may not have an adequate remedy.
An adverse determination in any such submission or proceeding 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, without payment to us, or could limit the duration of the patent protection covering our
technology and product candidates. Such challenges may also result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize our product candidates without infringing third-party patent rights. In addition, if the breadth or strength of protection provided
by our patents and patent applications is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to license, develop or commercialize current or future product candidates. Such proceedings also may result in substantial cost and require
significant time and attention from our scientists and management.
In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, testing, and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before
or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our intellectual property may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products or technology similar or identical to ours. Moreover, some of our
patents and patent applications are, and may in the future be, co-owned with third parties. In-licensed patents and patent applications may also be co-owned with third parties. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to any such third-party
co-owners’ interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their interest to other parties, including our competitors, who could market competing products and technology. In addition, we may need the
cooperation of any such co-owners of our patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us.
Even if unchallenged, our patent portfolio may not provide us with any meaningful protection or prevent competitors from designing around our patent claims to circumvent our patents
or any patents we may license by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner. For example, a third party may develop a competitive product that provides benefits similar to one or more of our product
candidates but that has a different composition that falls outside the scope of our patent protection. If the patent protection provided by the patents and patent applications we hold or pursue with respect to our product candidates is not
sufficiently broad to impede such competition, our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates could be negatively affected. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial
conditions, results of operations, and prospects.
Obtaining and maintaining patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by
patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.
The USPTO and various foreign patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application
process. In addition, periodic maintenance and renewal fees on issued patents often must be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies over the lifetime of the patent. While an unintentional lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late
fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which non-compliance 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. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and
failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents within prescribed time limits. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our product candidates and technologies, we may not be able to stop a
competitor from marketing products that are the same as or similar to our product candidates, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position may be harmed.
In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely upon unpatented trade secret protection, unpatented know-how, proprietary information and continuing technological
innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. With respect to the building of our ImmTAX platform, we consider trade secrets and know-how to be our primary intellectual property. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and
processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our collaborators, scientific advisors, employees, CROs and consultants, and invention assignment agreements with our consultants and employees. We may not be able to prevent the
unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical know-how or other trade secrets by the parties to these agreements, however, despite the existence generally of confidentiality agreements and other contractual restrictions. Monitoring unauthorized
uses and disclosures of trade secrets and other confidential information is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary technologies will be effective. If any of the collaborators, scientific advisors,
employees, CROs and consultants who are parties to these agreements breaches or violates the terms of any of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach or violation, and we could lose our trade secret protection as a
result. In addition, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally
obtained and is using our trade secrets, like patent litigation, is expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts, especially outside the United States, are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets.
We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these
individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach.
Our trade secrets could otherwise become known, obtained or independently discovered by our competitors or other third parties, who could purchase our products and product
candidates and attempt to replicate some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate our intellectual property rights, design around our protected technology
or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to
prevent them, or those to whom they communicate such information, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If our trade secrets are not adequately protected so as to protect our market against competitors’ products, our
competitive position could be adversely affected, as could our business. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating our trade
secrets. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating their intellectual property or proprietary
rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.
Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates and use our proprietary
technologies without infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating the intellectual property and proprietary rights of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive and frequent litigation
regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. We are subject to, and may in the future become party to or threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our product
candidates and technology, including interference, post-grant review, inter partes review and derivation proceedings before the USPTO and similar proceedings in foreign jurisdictions, such as oppositions
before the European Patent Office, or EPO. Our competitors or other third parties may assert infringement claims against us, alleging that our products or technologies are covered by their patents. Given the vast number of patents in our field of
technology, we cannot be certain that we do not infringe existing patents or that we will not infringe patents that may be granted in the future. Many companies have filed, and continue to file, patent applications related to soluble, bispecific
TCRs. Some of these patent applications have already been allowed or issued, and others may issue in the future. Since these areas are competitive and of strong interest to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, there will likely be additional
patent applications filed and additional patents granted in the future, as well as additional research and development programs expected in the future. Furthermore, because patent applications can take many years to issue and may be confidential
for 18 months or more after filing, and because pending patent claims can be revised before issuance, there may be applications now pending which may later result in issued patents that may be infringed by the manufacture, use or sale of our
product candidates, or the practice of our technology. If a patent holder believes our product or product candidate infringes on its patent, the patent holder may sue us even if we have received patent protection for our technology. Moreover, we
may face patent infringement claims from non-practicing entities that have no relevant product revenue and against whom our own patent portfolio may thus have no deterrent effect.
Even if we believe that such claims are without merit, there is no assurance that a court or patent office would find in our favor on questions of infringement, validity,
enforceability, or priority. A court of competent jurisdiction could hold that third-party patents are valid, enforceable, and infringed, which could materially and adversely affect our ability to commercialize any product candidates we may develop
and any other product candidates or technologies covered by the asserted third-party patents. In order to successfully challenge the validity of a U.S. patent in federal court, we would need to overcome a presumption of validity. As this burden is
a high one requiring us to present clear and convincing evidence as to the invalidity of any such U.S. patent claim, there is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent. If we are found
to infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing and marketing our product candidates and technology. We may also
attempt to obtain a license even in the absence of an action or finding of infringement. In either case, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain such a license, it
could be granted on non-exclusive terms, thereby providing our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. Without such a license,
we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing and commercializing the infringing technology or product candidates. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we
are found to have wilfully infringed such third-party patent rights. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our
business. If we lose a foreign lawsuit alleging our infringement, misappropriation of other violation of a competitor’s patents or other intellectual property or proprietary rights, we could be prevented from marketing our products in one or more
foreign countries. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
We may be subject to damages resulting from claims that we or our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets or other confidential
information of our competitors or other third parties or are in breach of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements with our competitors or other third parties, or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.
We could in the future be subject to claims that we or our employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of
former employers or competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees and consultants do not use the intellectual property, proprietary information, know-how or trade secrets of others in their work for us, we may in the future be subject
to claims that we caused an employee to breach the terms of his or her non-competition or non-solicitation agreement, or that we or these individuals have, inadvertently or otherwise, used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary
information of a former employer or competitor. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and could be a distraction to
management. If our defenses to these claims fail, in addition to requiring us to pay monetary damages, a court could prohibit us from using technologies or features that are essential to our product candidates, if such technologies or features are
found to incorporate or be derived from the trade secrets or other proprietary information of the former employers. An inability to incorporate such technologies or features would have a material adverse effect on our business, and may prevent us
from successfully commercializing our product candidates. In addition, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel as a result of such claims. Moreover, any such litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our ability
to hire employees or contract with independent sales representatives. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our product candidates.
In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements
assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. The assignment of intellectual property rights
may not be self-executing, or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual
property. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time consuming and
unsuccessful.
Competitors and other third parties may infringe, misappropriate, challenge the validity of or otherwise violate our patents and other intellectual property rights. We may become
involved in opposition, derivation, re-examination, revocation, inter partes review, post-grant review, interference or other proceedings challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others from
whom we have obtained licenses to such rights. For example, our European patents may be involved in opposition proceedings at the European Patent Office, challenging the validity of those patents. Opposition proceedings may involve issues
including, but not limited to, priority, patentability of the claims involved, and certain procedural formalities. As a result of the opposition proceedings, the European Patent Office’s Opposition Division, or the Opposition Division, can revoke a
patent, maintain the patent as granted, or maintain the patent in an amended form. Decisions made by the Opposition Division can be appealed to the European Patent Office’s Appeal Board. Challenges to our patents, including in such opposition
proceedings, may result in loss of patent rights, exclusivity, 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 scope and duration of the patent protection of our ImmTAX platform technology and product candidates. For more information, see “Item 8.A Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal
Proceedings.”
Additionally, our patents or the patents of our licensing or collaboration partners may in the future become, involved in inventorship or priority disputes, and our ability to
commercialize our product candidates could be adversely affected if we do not obtain a license to any patents material to the development of our product candidates. We may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms
or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be nonexclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty
payments. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, we may be unable to commercialize our platform technology or product candidates or such commercialization efforts may be
significantly delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business.
To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we or our licensing or collaboration partners may be required to file infringement claims. A court may disagree with such allegations,
however, and may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that the applicable patents or other intellectual property do not cover the third-party technology in question. Further, such third parties could
counterclaim that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate their intellectual property or that a patent or other intellectual property right asserted against them is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States,
defendant counterclaims challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of asserted patents are commonplace. In addition, third parties may initiate legal proceedings against us to assert such challenges to our intellectual property rights. The
outcome of any such proceeding is generally unpredictable. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness or non-enablement. Patents may be
unenforceable if someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO or made a misleading statement during prosecution. It is possible that prior art of which we and the patent examiner were unaware during
prosecution exists, which could render any patents that may issue invalid. Moreover, it is also possible that prior art may exist that we are aware of but do not believe is relevant to our future patents, should they issue, but that could
nevertheless be determined to render our patents invalid.
An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal
assertion of invalidity or unenforceability of our patents covering one of our product candidates, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection covering such product candidate. Competing products may also be sold in other
countries in which our patent coverage might not exist or be as strong. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Intellectual property litigation and proceedings could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.
Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims, with or without merit, are unpredictable and generally expensive and
time-consuming and are likely to divert significant resources from our core business, including distracting our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. 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 this type of litigation. 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 substantial adverse effect on the price of our ADSs. Such litigation or
proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities.
We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. 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 and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from
infringing upon, misappropriating or otherwise violating, or from successfully challenging, our intellectual property rights. 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.
We may not be able to effectively enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights throughout the world.
Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on our product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. The requirements for patentability may
differ in certain jurisdictions, particularly in developing countries. Moreover, our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights may be adversely affected by unforeseen changes in foreign intellectual property laws.
Additionally, the patent laws of some foreign jurisdictions do not afford intellectual property protection to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending
intellectual property rights in certain foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of some countries, particularly developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property rights. This could make it difficult for
us to stop the infringement, misappropriation or other violation of our patents and other intellectual property rights. For example, many foreign countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner must grant licenses to third
parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such
patent. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to
develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, if our ability to enforce our patents to stop infringing activities is inadequate. These products may compete with our
product candidates, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and resources from other
aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, or our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits
that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant
commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in the major markets for our product candidates, we cannot ensure that we will be able to
initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market our product candidates. Accordingly, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate. Any of the foregoing could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
If we do not obtain patent term extension and data exclusivity for any product candidates we may develop, our business may be materially harmed.
Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of any FDA marketing approval of any product candidates we may develop, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited
patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Action of 1984, or Hatch-Waxman Amendments. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent extension term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost
during the FDA regulatory review process. A patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent may be extended and only those claims covering the approved
drug, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. However, we may not be granted an extension because of, for example, failing to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, 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 term of any such extension is less than we request, our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our business, financial condition,
results of operations and prospects could be materially harmed.
We may need to license certain intellectual property from third parties, and such licenses may not be available or may not be available on commercially
reasonable terms.
A third party may hold intellectual property, including patent rights, that are important or necessary to the development of our product candidates. It may be necessary for us to
use the patented or proprietary technology of third parties to commercialize our products, in which case we would be required to obtain a license from these third parties on commercially reasonable terms, or our business could be harmed, possibly
materially. If we are not able to obtain a license, or not able to obtain a license on commercially reasonable terms, our business could be harmed, possibly materially. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, which may
allow our competitors or other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us.
The licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and more established companies may pursue strategies to license or acquire
third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive or necessary. These companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, capital 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 rights to us. In cases where we are unable to procure sufficient rights to third-party intellectual property rights, we might need to
cease use of the compositions or methods covered by such third-party intellectual property rights and/or develop alternative approaches that do not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate such intellectual property rights. This could entail
additional costs and development delays, and the development of such alternatives may not be feasible. Any of the foregoing could prevent us from developing or commercializing one or more of our product candidates, or force us to modify such
product candidates, or to cease some aspect of our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
If we fail to comply with our obligations in the agreements under which we collaborate with or license intellectual property rights from third parties, or
otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our collaborators or licensors, we could lose rights that are important to our business.
Our current and any future collaboration and license agreements impose, or we expect will impose, various development, diligence, commercialization, payment, and other obligations
on us. In spite of our efforts, a collaborator or licensor might conclude that we have materially breached our obligations under such agreement and seek to terminate the agreement, thereby removing or limiting our ability to develop and
commercialize products and technology covered by these agreements. If these agreements are terminated, or if the underlying patent or other intellectual property rights licensed thereunder fail to provide the intended exclusivity, competitors or
other third parties would have the freedom to seek regulatory approval of, and to market, products identical or similar to ours and we may be required to cease our development and commercialization of certain of our product candidates. Any of the
foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.
Moreover, disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a collaboration or licensing agreement, including:
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the scope of rights granted under the agreement and other interpretation-related issues;
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the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the counterparty that is not subject to the
agreement;
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the sublicensing of patent and other intellectual or proprietary rights under our collaborative development relationships;
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our diligence obligations under the agreement and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;
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the inventorship and ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our
counterparty and us and our partners; and
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the priority of invention of patented technology.
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These agreements may be complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement
that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Moreover, if disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our licensing arrangements
on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations,
and prospects.
Changes to the patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect
our product candidates.
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 involve both technological and legal complexity and is therefore costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. Recent patent reform legislation in the United States and other countries, including the Leahy-Smith
America Invents Act, or Leahy-Smith Act, signed into law in 2011, could increase those uncertainties and costs.
The Leahy-Smith Act includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These include provisions that affect the way patent applications are prosecuted, redefine prior art
and provide more efficient and cost-effective avenues for competitors to challenge the validity of patents. For example, the Leahy-Smith Act limits where a patentee may file a patent infringement suit and provides opportunities for third parties to
challenge any issued patent with the USPTO. Because of a lower evidentiary standard in USPTO proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in U.S. federal courts necessary to invalidate a patent claim, a third party could potentially provide
evidence in a USPTO proceeding sufficient for the USPTO to hold a patent claim invalid even though the same evidence would be insufficient to invalidate the claim if first presented in a district court action. Accordingly, a third party may attempt
to use the USPTO procedures to invalidate our patent claims that would not have been invalidated if first challenged by the third party as a defendant in a district court action. The Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the
uncertainties and costs surrounding the enforcement or defense of our or our collaboration or licensing partners’ issued patents.
In addition, the Leahy-Smith Act has transformed the U.S. patent system into a “first to file” system for deciding which party should be granted a patent when two or more patent
applications are filed by different parties claiming the same invention. Under a “first-to-file” system, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application generally will be entitled to a
patent on the invention regardless of whether another inventor had made the invention earlier. This will require us to be cognizant of the time from invention to filing of a patent application and be diligent in filing patent applications, but
circumstances could prevent us from promptly filing patent applications on our inventions. Therefore, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could make it more difficult to obtain patent protection for our inventions and increase the
uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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. Additionally, there have been recent proposals for additional changes to the patent laws of the United States and other countries that, if adopted, could impact our ability to obtain patent protection for our
proprietary technology or our ability to enforce rights in our proprietary technology. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. courts, the USPTO and the relevant law-making bodies in other countries, the laws and regulations
governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce any existing patents and patents that we may obtain in the future.
Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats.
The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protect our
business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:
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others may be able to make products that are similar to our product candidates or utilize similar technology but that are not covered by
the claims of the patents that we own or license now or in the future;
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we or our licensors or collaborators might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by the issued patents or pending
patent applications that we own or license now or in the future;
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we or our licensors or collaborators might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our or their
inventions;
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others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our
intellectual property rights or any intellectual property rights we may license;
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it is possible that our present or future pending patent applications (whether owned or licensed) will not lead to issued patents;
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it is possible that there are or will be prior public disclosures that could invalidate our or our licensors’ or collaboration partners’
patents;
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issued patents that we hold rights to may fail to provide us with any competitive advantage, or may be held invalid or unenforceable,
including as a result of legal challenges by our competitors or other third parties;
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our competitors or other third parties might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights
or in countries where research and development safe harbor laws exist, and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;
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we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;
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the ownership, validity or enforceability of our patents or patent applications may be challenged by third parties;
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the patents or pending or future applications of others, if issued, may harm our business; and
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we may choose not to file a patent in order to maintain certain trade secrets or know-how, and a third party may subsequently file a
patent covering such intellectual property.
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Should any of these events occur, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Issued patents covering our product candidates or technologies could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or in administrative proceedings.
If we initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our product candidates or technologies, should such a patent issue, the defendant could
counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge
could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, written description or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with
prosecution of the patent withheld information material to patentability from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. Third parties also may raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad,
even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post grant review, inter partes review and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g.,
opposition proceedings). An adverse determination in any of the foregoing proceedings could result in the revocation or cancellation of, or amendment to, our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our product candidates or technology. The
outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which the patent examiner and we or our
licensing partners were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant or third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we could lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on one or more of our
product candidates or technologies. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.
If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then this may impede our ability to build and sustain name recognition in our markets of interest
and our business may be adversely affected.
We may rely on trademarks and trade names to protect our business. If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, this may impede our ability to build and sustain
name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to support name recognition among potential partners or customers in
our markets of interest. At times, competitors may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or
trademark oppositions or infringement claims brought by owners of other registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names that incorporate elements which are identical or similar to our trademarks or trade names. For example, our U.S. trademark
application for IMMTAX is currently subject to an opposition filed by Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, or Immatics, and we have brought counterclaims against three of Immatics’s U.S. registered trademarks for IMMATICS. In addition, Immatics have
filed invalidation actions against UK and EU trademark registration for IMMTAX. If we are unsuccessful in defending this opposition, we may be required to change our branding for our ImmTAX platform which could cause us to incur substantial costs
and impede our ability to build and sustain name recognition for such platform. For more information on the opposition proceeding see “Item 8.A Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information.” Over the long term, if we are unable to
successfully register our trademarks and trade names and establish name recognition based on effective use of our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to
enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely impact
our financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
The FDA regulatory pathways can be difficult to predict and whether, for example, further unanticipated clinical trials are required, will depend on the data
obtained in our ongoing clinical trials.
The regulatory approval pathway and the amount of time it takes us to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates will depend on the data that are obtained in our ongoing
clinical trials and any future clinical trials, including future registrational or pivotal clinical trials. We may attempt to seek approval on a per indication basis for our product candidates on the basis of a single pivotal trial or on the basis
of data from one or more uncontrolled trials. While the FDA requires in most cases two adequate and well-controlled pivotal clinical trials to demonstrate the efficacy of a product candidate, a single trial with strong confirmatory evidence may be
sufficient in instances where the trial is a large multicenter trial demonstrating internal consistency and a statistically very persuasive finding of a clinically meaningful effect on mortality, irreversible morbidity or prevention of a disease
with a potentially serious outcome and if confirmation of the result in a second trial would be practically or ethically impossible. In rare cancer indications with very limited treatment options, a large and/or controlled trial is often not
feasible and thus data from smaller and even uncontrolled trials may be sufficient for regulatory approval. Depending on the data we obtain, the FDA or other regulatory authorities may require additional clinical trials to be carried out or further
patients to be treated prior to the granting of any regulatory approval for marketing of our product candidates. It is difficult for us to predict with such a novel technology exactly what will be required by the regulatory authorities in order to
take our product candidates to market or the timeframes under which the relevant regulatory approvals can be obtained.
The process of obtaining marketing approvals, both in the United States and abroad, is expensive, may take many years if additional clinical trials are required, if approval is
obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved. For example, clinical trials may be required in pediatric populations before any marketing
approval can be obtained, which can be time-consuming and costly. Changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations, or changes in regulatory review for each
submitted product application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. The FDA and foreign regulatory authorities also have substantial discretion in the drug and biologics approval processes. The number and types of
pre-clinical programs and clinical trials that will be required for regulatory approval varies depending on the product candidate, the disease or condition that the product candidate is designed to address, and the regulations applicable to any
particular product candidate. Approval policies, regulations or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions, and there
may be varying interpretations of data obtained from pre-clinical programs or clinical trials, either of which may cause delays or limitations in the approval or the decision not to approve an application. In addition, approval of our product
candidates could be delayed or refused for many reasons, including the following:
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the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our or our collaborators’
clinical trials;
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we or our collaborators may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that
our product candidates are safe, pure, potent and have a favorable risk/benefit profile for any of their proposed indications;
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the results of clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory
authorities for approval;
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the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from pre-clinical programs or clinical
trials;
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data collected from clinical trials of product candidates may not be sufficient to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign
regulatory authorities to support the submission of a BLA or other comparable submission in foreign jurisdictions or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere;
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manufacturing processes or facilities or those of the third-party manufacturers we use may not be adequate to support approval of our
product candidates; and
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the approval policies or regulations of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner
rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.
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It is possible that no product candidates will ever obtain the appropriate regulatory approvals necessary to be commercialized. Any delay in obtaining, or failure to obtain,
required approvals would materially adversely affect our ability to generate revenue from the particular product candidate, which would result in significant harm to our business.
Even though we have received regulatory approval for KIMMTRAK, and even if we receive regulatory approval for any of our other product candidates, we will be
subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense. Additionally, our product candidates, if approved, could be subject to post-market study requirements, marketing and
labeling restrictions, and even recall or market withdrawal if unanticipated safety issues are discovered following approval. In addition, we may be subject to penalties or other enforcement action if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements.
We are subject to extensive ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review with respect to KIMMTRAK, such as continued adverse event reporting requirements. Any problems with a
product or any violation of ongoing regulatory obligations could result in restrictions on the applicable product, including the withdrawal of the applicable product from the market.
If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority approves any of our product candidates, the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage,
advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for the product will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, establishment registration
and listing, as well as continued compliance with cGMPs and GCPs for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated
uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing studies, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the
product. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory
requirements, may result in, regulatory action, delays in regulatory timelines and additional costs to us.
Failure to comply with applicable FDA and other regulatory requirements may subject us to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions, including:
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issuance of Form FDA 483 notices or Warning Letters by the FDA or other regulatory agencies;
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imposition of fines and other civil penalties;
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injunctions, suspensions or revocations of regulatory approvals;
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suspension of any ongoing clinical trials;
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total or partial suspension of manufacturing;
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delays in commercialization;
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refusal by the FDA to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications submitted by us;
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refusals to permit drugs to be imported into or exported from the United States;
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restrictions on operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements;
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product recalls or seizures; and
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requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials.
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The policies of the FDA and other regulatory agencies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent or delay regulatory approval of our product
candidates or of KIMMTRAK in any additional indications or territories, or further restrict or regulate post-approval activities. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of adverse government regulation that may arise from future
legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we or our collaborators might not be permitted to market our current or any future approved products and our business
would suffer.
Reports of adverse events or safety concerns involving KIMMTRAK or our product candidates could delay or prevent us from obtaining or maintaining regulatory approvals or could negatively impact
sales of our products or the prospects for our product candidates.
Reports of adverse events or safety concerns involving our products could interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials of our products. In addition, reports of adverse events or safety concerns involving
our products could result in regulatory authorities requiring that we update the applicable product’s prescribing information, or limiting, denying or withdrawing approval of our products for any or all indications, including previously approved
indications. There are no assurances that patients receiving our products will not experience serious adverse events, including fatal events, in the future, whether the serious adverse events are disclosed in the prescribing information or are
newly reported. Further, there are no assurances that patients receiving our products with co-morbid diseases not previously studied, will not experience new or different serious adverse events in the future.
The prescribing information for KIMMTRAK includes warnings and precautions for various toxicities, as well as a boxed warning related to the risk of cytokine release syndrome, or CRS. We may be required
to update the prescribing information for our products, including boxed warnings, limitations of use, contraindications, warnings and precautions, and adverse reactions, based on reports of adverse events or safety concerns, or implement a Risk
Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS. Side effects and toxicities associated with our products could affect the willingness of physicians to prescribe, and patients to utilize, our products and thus harm commercial sales of our products.
Implementation of a REMS could advantage products that compete with ours or make it more difficult or expensive for us to distribute our products.
Likewise, reports of adverse events or safety concerns involving our product candidates could interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials of our product candidates, or could result in our or our
collaborators’ inability to obtain regulatory approvals of our product candidates. Additional and/or unexpected safety events could be observed in these or other trials that could delay or prevent us from advancing the clinical development of, or
obtaining regulatory approvals for, our products and product candidates or require us to alter the approved labeling of our products, and may adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.
Concerns regarding the safety of our products or product candidates as a result of undesirable side effects identified during clinical testing or otherwise could cause the FDA to order us to cease
further development or commercialization of our products or the product candidates. Undesirable side effects caused by our products or product candidates could also result in denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities
for any or all targeted indications, the requirement of additional trials, implementation of a REMS or the inclusion of unfavorable information in our product labeling, and in turn delay or prevent us from commercializing the applicable product or
product candidate. In addition, actual or potential drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete a trial for our products or product candidates or result in potential product liability
claims. Any of these events could prevent us from developing or commercializing the applicable product or product candidate, and could significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.
The FDA and other regulatory agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses.
If any of our product candidates are approved and we are found to have improperly promoted off-label uses of those products, we may become subject to significant liability. The FDA
and other regulatory agencies strictly regulate the promotional claims that may be made about approved prescription drug products. In particular, while the FDA permits the dissemination of truthful and non-misleading information about an approved
product, a manufacturer may not promote a product for uses that are not approved by the FDA. If we are found to have promoted such off-label uses, we may become subject to significant liability. Physicians, on the other hand, may prescribe products
for off-label uses. Although the FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate a physician’s choice of drug treatment made in the physician’s independent medical judgment, they do restrict promotional communications from companies or their
sales force with respect to off-label uses of products for which marketing clearance has not been issued. However, companies may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA approved labeling. The
federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion of regulated products for off-label uses and has enjoined several companies from engaging in off-label promotion. The FDA and other
regulatory agencies have also requested that companies enter into consent decrees, corporate integrity agreements or permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct must be changed or curtailed. If we cannot successfully manage the
promotion of our product candidates, if approved, we could become subject to significant liability, which would materially adversely affect our business and financial condition.
We are subject to stringent and changing obligations related to data privacy and security. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could
lead to regulatory investigations and actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions to our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue and profits; loss of customers and sales; and otherwise adversely affect our business and
prospects.
In the ordinary course of business, we process personal data and other sensitive information (including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual
property, clinical trial participant data, and sensitive third-party data). We are subject to data privacy and security obligations such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal policies, contracts and other
obligations that govern the processing of personal data by us and on our behalf. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve in jurisdictions worldwide, and there has been an increasing focus on
privacy and data protection issues with the potential to affect our business. Our obligations related to data privacy and security are quickly changing in an increasingly stringent fashion, creating some uncertainty as to the effective legal
frameworks. Additionally, these obligations may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or in conflict among jurisdictions. Preparation for and compliance with these obligations requires us to devote
significant resources (including, without limitation, financial and time-related resources). These obligations may necessitate changes to our business including our information technologies, systems and practices and to those of any third parties
that process personal data on our behalf. Although we strive to comply with all applicable data privacy and security obligations, we may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed) to do so. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third
parties upon whom we rely may fail to comply with such obligations. If we (or third parties upon we rely) fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address and comply with data privacy and security obligations, we could face significant
consequences. These consequences may include but are not limited to: government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections and similar consequences); litigation (including class-related claims); additional
reporting requirements and oversight; bans on processing personal data; orders to destroy and not to use personal data; and imprisonment of company officials. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and our
business and financial condition, including but not limited to: loss of customers; interruptions or stoppages in our business operations (including, our clinical trial activities); inability to process personal data; inability to operate in
specific jurisdictions; limitations in our ability to develop and commercialize our products; time and other resource expenditures; adverse publicity; and revisions to our operations.
Globally, virtually every jurisdiction in which we operate has established its own data privacy and security frameworks.
In particular, as a company established in the United Kingdom, our processing of personal data is subject to the United Kingdom’s implementation of the European Union’s General Data Protection
Regulation (“UK GDPR”); it is also, or may also become, in certain circumstances subject to the European Union’s own General Data Protection Regulation (“EU GDPR”). Each of these regulations requires stringent standards of data privacy and security
concerning personal data and potentially significant sanctions. For example, companies may face: temporary or definitive bans on processing of personal data and other corrective actions; fines of up to 17.5 million pounds sterling under the UK GDPR
/ 20 million Euros under the EU GDPR, or, in each case, 4% of annual global revenue, whichever is greater; or private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by classes of data subjects or consumer protection organizations
authorized at law to represent their interests.
In addition, we may be unable to transfer personal data that is processed subject to the UK GDPR and/or EU GDPR, or certain other data privacy and security regimes, to the United States or other
countries due to limitations on cross-border data flows and/or actual or de facto data localization requirements. In particular, the UK GDPR and EU GDPR significantly restrict the transfer of personal data
to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws are considered ‘inadequate’ for the purposes of either or both of those regulations, as they may apply. Other jurisdictions relevant to our operations may similarly implement, or adopt
stringent interpretations of, their own data localization and cross-border data transfer laws. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal data to the United States in compliance with the UK GDPR and EU
GDPR, such as the United Kingdom’s ‘International Data Transfer Agreement’ and the European Commission’s ‘Standard Contractual Clauses’, all these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can always satisfy or
rely on these measures to lawfully effect cross-border transfers of personal data where required. If there is no lawful manner for us to effect cross-border transfers of personal data in compliance with the UK GDPR, EU GDPR and/or other applicable
data privacy and security obligations, as applicable, or if the requirements for a compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate
certain parts of our operations, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to work with certain collaborators, partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or
transferring of personal data necessary to operate our business. Some regulators have ordered certain companies to suspend or permanently cease certain transfers of personal data to recipients outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) for
allegedly violating the EU GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations. Additionally, companies that transfer personal data to recipients outside of the EEA and/or UK to other jurisdictions, particularly to the United States, are subject to
increased scrutiny from regulators, individual litigants and activist groups. Similarly, following ‘Brexit’, we can rely upon the European Commission’s adequacy decision in favor of the UK under the EU GDPR, which allows most transfers of personal
data from the EEA to the United Kingdom to continue without cross-border transfer-specific restrictions until June 27, 2025. If that adequacy decision is withdrawn or not renewed, transfers of personal data from the EEA to the United Kingdom will
require a valid ‘transfer mechanism’, which could significantly impact our ability to receive personal data from third parties (including partners, collaborators, principal investigators and trial sites) who are subject to the EU GDPR.
In the United States, federal, state and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws (including data breach notification laws, personal data
privacy laws and consumer protection laws). For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) imposes obligations on businesses to which it applies. These obligations include but are not limited to providing specific disclosures
in privacy notices and affording California residents with certain rights related to their personal data. The CCPA allows for statutory fines for non-compliance (up to $7,500 per violation). Other states have similarly enacted data privacy laws.
If we become subject to new data privacy or security laws, at the state level, the risk of enforcement action against us could increase because we may become subject to additional obligations, and the number of individuals or entities that
can initiate actions against us may increase (including individuals, via a private right of action, and state actors).
Additionally, regulations promulgated pursuant to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, as amended, establish privacy and security
standards that limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information and protected health information, and require the implementation of administrative, physical and technological safeguards to protect the privacy of such
information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. These provisions may apply to our business or that of third parties upon whom we rely (such as our clinical trial sites,
collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants). Determining whether such health information has been handled in compliance with applicable obligations can be complex and may be subject to changing interpretation. If we are unable to
protect properly the privacy and security of such information, we could be found to have violated our statutory, contractual and other obligations.
Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory
approval of our product candidates in other jurisdictions.
Regulatory authorities in jurisdictions outside of the United States have requirements for approval of product candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those
jurisdictions. Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain
countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our product
candidates will be harmed.
Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in one jurisdiction does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain regulatory approval in any
other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval of a product
candidate, comparable regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the product candidate in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve
requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the United States, including additional nonclinical studies or clinical trials as clinical trials conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by
regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In short, the foreign regulatory approval process involves all of the risks associated with FDA approval. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for
reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we may intend to charge for our products will also be subject to approval.
If we are unable to successfully validate, develop and obtain regulatory approval for companion diagnostic tests for our product candidates that require or would
commercially benefit from such tests, or experience significant delays in doing so, we may not realize the full commercial potential of these product candidates.
In connection with the clinical development of our product candidates for certain indications, we may engage third parties to develop or obtain access to in vitro companion diagnostic tests to identify patient subsets within a disease category who may derive selective and meaningful benefit from our product candidates. Such companion diagnostics would be used during our clinical
trials as well as in connection with the commercialization of our product candidates. To be successful, we or our collaborators will need to address a number of scientific, technical, regulatory and logistical challenges. The FDA and comparable
foreign regulatory authorities regulate in vitro companion diagnostics as medical devices and, under that regulatory framework, will likely require the conduct of clinical trials to demonstrate the safety
and effectiveness of any diagnostics we may develop, which we expect will require separate regulatory clearance or approval prior to commercialization.
We intend to rely on third parties for the design, development and manufacture of companion diagnostic tests for our therapeutic product candidates that may require such tests. If
we enter into such collaborative agreements, we will be dependent on the sustained cooperation and effort of our future collaborators in developing and obtaining approval for these companion diagnostics. It may be necessary to resolve issues such
as selectivity/specificity, analytical validation, reproducibility, or clinical validation of companion diagnostics during the development and regulatory approval processes. Moreover, even if data from pre-clinical studies and early clinical trials
appear to support development of a companion diagnostic for a product candidate, data generated in later clinical trials may fail to support the analytical and clinical validation of the companion diagnostic. We and our future collaborators may
encounter difficulties in developing, obtaining regulatory approval for, manufacturing and commercializing companion diagnostics similar to those we face with respect to our therapeutic candidates themselves, including issues with achieving
regulatory clearance or approval, production of sufficient quantities at commercial scale and with appropriate quality standards, and in gaining market acceptance. If we are unable to successfully develop companion diagnostics for these therapeutic
product candidates, or experience delays in doing so, the development of these therapeutic product candidates may be adversely affected, these therapeutic product candidates may not obtain marketing approval, and we may not realize the full
commercial potential of any of these therapeutics that obtain marketing approval. As a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially harmed. In addition, a diagnostic company with whom we contract may
decide to discontinue selling or manufacturing the companion diagnostic test that we anticipate using in connection with development and commercialization of our product candidates or our relationship with such diagnostic company may otherwise
terminate. We may not be able to enter into arrangements with another diagnostic company to obtain supplies of an alternative diagnostic test for use in connection with the development and commercialization of our product candidates or do so on
commercially reasonable terms, which could adversely affect and/or delay the development or commercialization of our therapeutic candidates.
We are subject to the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or the Bribery Act, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the FCPA, and other
anti-corruption laws, as well as export control laws, import and customs laws, trade and economic sanctions laws and other laws governing our operations. Violations of such laws and regulations could subject us to liability.
Our operations are subject to anti-corruption laws, including the Bribery Act, the FCPA, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. §201, the U.S. Travel Act, and
other anti-corruption laws that apply in countries where we do business. The Bribery Act, the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws generally prohibit us and our employees and intermediaries from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing,
directly or indirectly, improper or prohibited payments, or anything else of value, to government officials or other persons to obtain or retain business or gain some other business advantage. Under the Bribery Act, we may also be liable for
failing to prevent a person associated with us from committing a bribery offense. In addition, the FCPA requires public companies to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the transactions of the corporation and to
devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls. We and our commercial partners operate in a number of jurisdictions that pose a high risk of potential Bribery Act or FCPA violations, and we participate in collaborations and
relationships with third parties whose corrupt or illegal activities could potentially subject us to liability under the Bribery Act, FCPA or local anti-corruption laws, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such
activities. In addition, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our international operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.
We are also subject to other laws and regulations administered by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States, and authorities in the European Union governing our
international operations, including applicable export control regulations, economic sanctions and embargoes on certain countries and persons, anti-money laundering laws, import and customs requirements and currency exchange regulations,
collectively referred to as the Trade Control laws. Exports of our products and product candidates must be made in compliance with these laws and regulations. In addition, these laws may restrict or prohibit altogether the provision or supply of
certain of our products and product candidates to certain governments, persons, entities, countries, and territories, including those that are the target of comprehensive sanctions, unless there are license exceptions that apply or specific
licenses are obtained.
As disclosed elsewhere in this Annual Report, we conducted an internal investigation in the summer and fall of 2020 as a result of receiving a whistleblower complaint alleging
employee misconduct and other improper activities related to a kickback scheme involving an employee and two third-party vendors between 2018 and 2020. Our audit committee led the investigation utilizing outside counsel, during which the named
employee resigned. After the investigation, we terminated the one remaining open contract with the third-party vendors and issued proceedings in October 2020 against the involved parties. The amount in question was estimated to be in the range of
£1.1 million to £1.8 million, and we recovered our estimated losses of £1.8 million from the employee and third-party vendors in December 2020. In the course of auditing our 2019 financial statements for our initial public offering, we and our
independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting relating to our procurement processes and application of delegation of authority approval limits due to insufficient risk
assessment procedures. Since then, we enhanced our overall control environment, including adding finance and accounting personnel to drive and implement required additional processes and procurement controls, implementing improvements in software
relating to approvals of purchase orders and contracts, adding additional layers of review of contracts and journal entries and delegation of contract authority limits. We also further developed and documented our accounting policies and financial
reporting procedures, including ongoing executive management review and audit committee oversight. We remediated the material weakness as of December 31, 2020. While we have policies and procedures to address compliance with anti-corruption laws
and Trade Control laws, we cannot assure you that these measures will be completely effective in ensuring our compliance in the future with all applicable anti-corruption laws, including the Bribery Act, the FCPA or other legal requirements and
Trade Control laws. If we are not in compliance with the Bribery Act, the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws or Trade Control laws, we may be subject to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement and other sanctions and remedial measures, and
legal expenses, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Likewise, any investigation of any potential violations of the Bribery Act, the FCPA, other anti-corruption laws or Trade
Control laws by United Kingdom, United States or other authorities could also have an adverse impact on our reputation, our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Because we are organized under the laws of England and Wales with principal executive offices in the United Kingdom and have a U.S. subsidiary and operations in the United States,
we are subject to U.S. laws that regulate foreign investments in U.S. businesses and real estate as well as those that regulate access by foreign persons to technology developed and produced in the United States. These laws include section 721 of
the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, and its implementing regulations at 31 C.F.R. Parts 800 and 802, administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, as implemented by
the Export Administration Regulations, and through additional U.S. Commerce Department rulemakings to impose new export control restrictions on “emerging and foundational technologies”, yet to be fully identified. Application of these laws,
including as they are implemented through regulations being developed, may negatively impact our business in various ways, including by restricting our access to capital and markets; limiting the collaborations we may pursue; regulating the export,
re-export, or transfer of our products, services, and technology from the United States and abroad; increasing our costs and the time necessary to obtain required authorizations and to ensure compliance with U.S. law; and threatening monetary fines
and other penalties if we do not.
If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a
material adverse effect on the success of our business.
We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and
disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We generally contract with third
parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for
any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and
have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and
safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other
sanctions.
Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials
or other work-related injuries, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and
regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions or
liabilities, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may seek priority review designation for one or more of our other product candidates, but we might not receive such designation, and even if we do, such
designation may not lead to a faster regulatory review or approval process.
If the FDA determines that a product candidate offers a treatment for a serious condition and, if approved, the product would provide a significant improvement in safety or
effectiveness, the FDA may designate the product candidate for priority review. A priority review designation means that the goal for the FDA to review an application is six months, rather than the standard review period of ten months. We may
request priority review for our product candidates. The FDA has broad discretion with respect to whether or not to grant priority review status to a product candidate, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for such
designation or status, the FDA may decide not to grant it. Moreover, a priority review designation does not necessarily result in an expedited regulatory review or approval process or necessarily confer any advantage with respect to approval
compared to conventional FDA procedures. Receiving priority review from the FDA does not guarantee approval within the six-month review cycle or at all.
We may seek Orphan Drug Designation for certain of our product candidates, and we may be unsuccessful or may be unable to maintain the benefits associated with
Orphan Drug Designation, including the potential for market exclusivity.
As part of our business strategy, we have obtained Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for tebentafusp in uveal melanoma, and we may also seek Orphan Drug Designation for certain
of our other product candidates in the future which could be unsuccessful. Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, may designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan
drugs. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a drug 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, or a patient population of 200,000 or more in the United States where there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the drug will be recovered from sales in the United States. In the United States, Orphan Drug
Designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers.
As part of our business strategy, in Europe, the European Commission, upon the recommendation of the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, granted Orphan Drug Designation
for tebentafusp in uveal melanoma. We may also seek Orphan Drug Designation for certain of our other product candidates in the future to promote the development of drugs that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of
life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than 5 in 10,000 persons in the European Union and for which no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention, or treatment has been authorized (or the product would be a
significant benefit to those affected). Additionally, designation is granted for drugs intended for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives,
it is unlikely that sales of the drug in European Union would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the drug. In the European Union, Orphan Drug Designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of
fees or fee waivers.
Generally, if a drug with an Orphan Drug Designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the drug is entitled to
a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the FDA or the EMA from approving another marketing application for the same drug and indication for that time period, except in limited circumstances. The applicable period is seven years in the
United States and ten years in the European Union. The European Union 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.
Even when and if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a drug, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the drug from competition because different drugs can be approved for the
same condition. Even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve the same drug 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. In addition, a designated orphan drug may not receive orphan drug exclusivity if it is approved for a use that is broader than the indication for which it received orphan designation. Moreover, orphan drug
exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be lost if the FDA later 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 or if another drug with the same active moiety is determined to be safer, more effective, or represents a major contribution to patient care. Orphan Drug Designation neither shortens the development time
or regulatory review time of a drug nor gives the drug any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process. While we may seek Orphan Drug Designation for our product candidates, we may never receive such designations. Even if we do receive
such designations, there is no guarantee that we will enjoy the benefits of those designations.
A breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA, even if granted for any of our product candidates, may not lead to a faster development, regulatory review or
approval process, and each designation does not increase the likelihood that any of our product candidates will receive marketing approval in the United States.
We may seek a breakthrough therapy designation for some of our product candidates. A breakthrough therapy is defined as a drug that is intended, alone or in combination with one or
more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant
endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. For drugs that have been designated as breakthrough therapies, interaction and communication between the FDA and the sponsor of the trial can help to identify
the most efficient path for clinical development while minimizing the number of patients placed in ineffective control regimens. Drugs designated as breakthrough therapies by the FDA may also be eligible for priority review and accelerated
approval.
Designation as a breakthrough therapy is within the discretion of the FDA. Accordingly, even if we believe one of our product candidates meets the criteria for designation as a
breakthrough therapy, the FDA may disagree and instead determine not to make such designation. In any event, the receipt of a breakthrough therapy designation for a product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review or
approval compared to therapies considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and does not assure ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, even if one or more of our product candidates qualify as breakthrough therapies, the FDA may
later decide that such product candidates no longer meet the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened.
The FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities may implement additional regulations or restrictions, and legislative bodies may enact new policies, including
unfavorable pricing restrictions, that may adversely affect the development and commercialization of our product candidates, and such changes can be difficult to predict.
The FDA, the EMA and regulatory authorities in other countries have each expressed interest in further regulating biotechnology products. Agencies at both the federal and state
level in the United States, as well as the U.S. Congressional committees and other governments or governing agencies, have also expressed interest in further regulating the biotechnology industry. Such action may delay or prevent commercialization
of some or all of our product candidates. Adverse developments in clinical trials of products conducted by others may cause the FDA or other oversight bodies to change the requirements for approval of any of our product candidates. These regulatory
review agencies and committees and the new requirements or guidelines they promulgate may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies or trials, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory
positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As we advance our product candidates, we will be required to consult with
these regulatory agencies and comply with applicable requirements and guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of such product candidates. These additional processes may result in a review and approval
process that is longer than we otherwise would have expected. Delays as a result of an increased or lengthier regulatory approval process or further restrictions on the development of our product candidates can be costly and could negatively impact
our ability to complete clinical trials and commercialize our current and future product candidates in a timely manner, if at all.
The United States and many foreign jurisdictions have enacted or proposed legislative and regulatory changes affecting the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing
approval of our current or future product candidates or any future product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell a product for which we obtain marketing approval. Changes in regulations,
statutes or the interpretation of existing regulations could impact our business in the future by requiring, for example: (i) changes to our manufacturing arrangements, (ii) additions or modifications to product labeling, (iii) the recall or
discontinuation of our products or (iv) additional record-keeping requirements. If any such changes were to be imposed, they could adversely affect the operation of our business.
In the United States, there have been and continue to be a number of legislative initiatives to contain healthcare costs. For example, in March 2010, the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively the ACA, was passed, which substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and
significantly impacted the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
There have been executive, judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. For example, on June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a challenge on
procedural grounds that argued the ACA is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate” was repealed by Congress. Further, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or IRA, into law, which
among other things, extends enhanced subsidies for individuals purchasing health insurance coverage in ACA marketplaces through plan year 2025. The IRA also eliminates the "donut hole" under the Medicare Part D program beginning in 2025 by
significantly lowering the beneficiary maximum out-of-pocket cost and creating a new manufacturer discount program. It is unclear what effect any such challenges or the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will have on the status
of the ACA. Litigation and legislation over the ACA are likely to continue, with unpredictable and uncertain results.
Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created
measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals,
thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers up to 2% per fiscal year, and, due to subsequent legislative amendments, will remain in
effect until 2031, unless additional Congressional action is taken. Under current legislation, the actual reduction in Medicare payments will vary from 1% in 2022 to up to 4% in the final fiscal year of this sequester. The American Taxpayer Relief
Act of 2012 among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to
providers from three to five years.
There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent
U.S. Congressional inquiries and federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer
patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. For example, in July 2021, the Biden administration released an executive order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” with multiple provisions aimed
at prescription drugs. In response to Biden’s executive order, on September 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, released a Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices that outlines principles for drug pricing
reform and sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue to advance these principles. No legislation or administrative actions have been finalized to implement these principles. Further, the IRA, among other
things: (i) directs HHS to negotiate the price of certain high-expenditure, single-source drugs and biologics covered under Medicare and (ii) imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace
inflation. These provisions will take effect progressively starting in fiscal year 2023, although they may be subject to legal challenges. It is currently unclear how the IRA will be implemented but it is likely to have a significant impact on the
pharmaceutical industry. In addition, the Biden administration released an additional executive order on October 14, 2022, directing HHS to report on how the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation can be further leveraged to test new models
for lowering drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
At the state level, individual states are increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product
pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and
bulk purchasing. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other
healthcare programs. These measures could reduce the ultimate demand for KIMMTRAK and our product candidates, if approved, or put pressure on our product pricing.
We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will
pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our current or future product candidates or additional pricing pressures. Further, it is possible that additional governmental action is taken in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic or future epidemics or pandemics.
Our revenue prospects could be affected by changes in healthcare spending and policy in the United States and abroad. We operate in a highly regulated industry and new laws,
regulations or judicial decisions, or new interpretations of existing laws, regulations or decisions, related to healthcare availability, the method of delivery or payment for healthcare products and services could negatively impact our business,
operations and financial condition.
There have been, and likely will continue to be, legislative and regulatory proposals at the foreign, federal and state levels directed at broadening the availability of healthcare
and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. We cannot predict the initiatives that may be adopted in the future, including repeal, replacement or significant revisions to the ACA. The continuing efforts of the government, insurance
companies, managed care organizations and other payors of healthcare services to contain or reduce costs of healthcare and/or impose price controls may adversely affect:
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the demand for our current or future product candidates, if we obtain regulatory approval;
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our ability to set a price that we believe is fair for our products;
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our ability to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement for a product;
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our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability;
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the level of taxes that we are required to pay; and
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the availability of capital.
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Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors, which may adversely affect our future
profitability.
Our relationships with customers and third-party payors are subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, which
could expose us to significant penalties, including criminal sanctions, civil penalties, exclusion from government healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits and future earnings.
Healthcare providers and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our
arrangements with third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market,
sell and distribute our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, include the following:
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the federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering,
receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service, for which payment may be made
under federal and state healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;
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the federal civil and criminal false claims and civil monetary penalties laws, including the federal False Claims Act, or FCA, imposes
criminal and civil penalties, including through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, against individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment that are false or
fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items and services resulting from a violation of the
federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false of fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act;
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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, imposes criminal and civil liability for, among other
things, executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in connection with the delivery of or payment
for healthcare benefits, items or services; similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;
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the federal physician payment transparency requirements, sometimes referred to as the “Sunshine Act” under the ACA, require certain
manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies that are reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program to report to CMS information related to transfers of value made to physicians
(currently defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and
investment interests of such physicians and their immediate family members;
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HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 and its implementing regulations,
impose obligations on certain covered entity healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses as well as their business associates that perform certain services involving the use or disclosure of individually identifiable
health information and their subcontractors that use, disclose or otherwise process individually identifiable health information, including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of
individually identifiable health information; and
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analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and
claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers. Some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance
guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government in addition to requiring drug manufacturers to report information related to payments to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing
expenditures. Further, many state laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
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Ensuring that our future business arrangements with third parties comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations could involve substantial costs. It is possible that
governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations, including
anticipated activities to be conducted by our sales team, were to be found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative
penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, integrity oversight and reporting obligations, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If any of the
physicians or other providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found not to be in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to significant criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government
funded healthcare programs.
We may not be able to file applications to commence additional clinical trials on the timelines we expect, and even if we are able to, the FDA or applicable
competent authorities may not permit us to proceed.
We plan to submit investigational new drug applications, or INDs, for additional product candidates to the FDA in the future. We also plan to submit applications to start clinical
trials of additional product candidates outside the United States to the national competent authorities (for example, a clinical trial authorization, or CTA, to Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, in the United Kingdom).
The filing of INDs to the FDA and the filing of applications outside the United States is dependent on additional data that have to be generated to support such regulatory filings.
Hence, these filings may be delayed if the tests to generate those data show unexpected results or if technical issues arise in generating those data in the first place.
We cannot be sure that submission of an IND, IND amendment or CTA will result in the FDA or any other competent authority outside the United States allowing testing and clinical
trials to begin, or that, once begun, issues will not arise that suspend or terminate such clinical trials. The manufacturing and pre-clinical safety and efficacy testing requirements of both ImmTAC® and ImmTAAI® remain emerging and evolving fields. Accordingly, we expect chemistry, manufacturing and control related topics,
including product specification, as well as pre-clinical safety testing, will be a focus of IND reviews, which may delay the allowance of INDs by the FDA or CTA approval by other competent authorities outside the United States.
If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a
material adverse effect on the success of our business.
We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and
disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological and radioactive materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We generally
contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we
could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties.
Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials,
this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us in connection with our storage or disposal of biological,
hazardous or radioactive materials.
Changes in funding for the FDA, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and other government agencies could hinder their ability to hire and retain key
leadership and other personnel, prevent new products and services from being developed or commercialized in a timely manner or otherwise prevent those agencies from performing normal functions on which the operation of our business may rely, which
could negatively impact our business.
The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, ability to hire and retain key
personnel and accept payment of user fees, and statutory, regulatory, and policy changes. Average review times at the agency have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of the FDA and other government agencies on
which our operations may rely are subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable.
Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely
affect our business. For example, over the last several years, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA and the SEC, have had to furlough critical FDA and other government employees and stop
critical activities. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Further, future government shutdowns could impact our ability to access the public markets and obtain necessary capital in order to properly capitalize and continue our operations
due to insufficient funding of the SEC and other government agencies or due to a government shutdown that affects the SEC.
Risks Relating to our Business Operations, Employee Matters and Managing Growth
Our future success depends on our ability to retain key executives and experienced scientists and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
We are highly dependent on the research and development, clinical and business development expertise of Dr. Bahija Jallal, Chief Executive Officer, Brian Di Donato, our Chief
Financial Officer, and Dr. David Berman, our Head of Research and Development, as well as the other principal members of our management, scientific, clinical and commercial team. Although we have entered into employment letter agreements with our
executive officers, each of them may terminate their employment with us at any time. We do not maintain “key person” insurance for any of our executives or other employees. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and
clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with
other entities that may limit their availability to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to pursue our growth strategy will be limited.
Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing and sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success. The loss of the services of our
executive officers or other key employees, including temporary loss due to illness, could impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives and seriously harm our ability to successfully implement our business
strategy. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to
successfully develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize products. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these key personnel on acceptable terms given the
competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. Failure to succeed in
clinical trials may make it more challenging to recruit and retain qualified scientific personnel.
In particular, we have experienced competitive hiring environments in our three locations: Oxfordshire, England where we are headquartered, Pennsylvania and Maryland. We may also
experience further competition as a result of Brexit. Many of the other pharmaceutical companies that we compete against for qualified personnel have greater financial and other resources, different risk profiles and a longer history in the
industry than we do. They also may provide more diverse opportunities and better chances for career advancement. Some of these characteristics may be more appealing to high-quality candidates than what we have to offer. If we are unable to continue
to attract and retain high-quality personnel, the rate and success with which we can discover and develop product candidates and our business will be limited.
We have incurred and may continue to incur increased costs in offering and maintaining competitive salaries to attract the personnel required to execute our strategy, and these
costs could be significantly further impacted by the effects of rising global inflation.
We expect to continue to expand our development, commercial and regulatory capabilities and have recently developed sales, marketing and distribution
capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.
As of December 31, 2022, we had 408 full-time employees. We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our
employees and the scope of our operations, particularly as we continue to function and grow as a public company and in the areas of product development, regulatory affairs and, if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, sales,
marketing and distribution. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified
personnel. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train
additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or
disrupt our operations.
We may acquire additional businesses or products, form strategic alliances or create joint ventures with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our existing
business. If we acquire businesses with promising markets or technologies, we may not be able to realize the benefit of acquiring such businesses if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. We
may encounter numerous difficulties in developing, manufacturing and marketing any new products resulting from a strategic alliance or acquisition that delay or prevent us from realizing their expected benefits or enhancing our business. We cannot
assure you that, following any such acquisition, we will achieve the expected synergies to justify the transaction.
Our employees, principal investigators, CROs, partners, vendors and consultants may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance
with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading.
We are exposed to the risk that our employees, principal investigators, CROs, partners, vendors and consultants may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity.
Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violate the regulations of the FDA and other regulatory authorities, including those laws requiring the
reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities; healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad; or laws that require the reporting of financial information or data accurately. In
particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, 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 commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use of information
obtained in the course of clinical trials or creating fraudulent data in our pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation.
For example, in the summer and fall of 2020, we conducted an internal investigation as a result of receiving a whistleblower complaint alleging employee misconduct and other
improper activities related to a kickback scheme involving an employee and two third-party vendors between 2018 and 2020. Our audit committee led the investigation utilizing outside counsel, during which the named employee resigned. After the
investigation, we terminated the one remaining open contract with the third-party vendors and issued proceedings in October 2020 against the involved parties. We recovered our estimated losses of £1.8 million from the employee and third-party
vendors in December 2020. In the course of auditing our 2019 financial statements for our initial public offering, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, relating to our procurement processes and
application of delegation of authority approval limits due to insufficient risk assessment procedures. Since then, we enhanced our overall control environment, including adding finance and accounting personnel to drive and implement required
additional processes and procurement controls, implementing improvements in software relating to approvals of purchase orders and contracts, adding additional layers of review of contracts and journal entries and delegation of contract authority
limits. We also further developed and documented our accounting policies and financial reporting procedures, including ongoing executive management review and audit committee oversight. We remediated the material weakness as of December 31, 2020.
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to all of our employees, but it is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third
parties, 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 comply with these laws or regulations. Additionally, we are subject to the risk that a person could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. 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 significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, imprisonment, disgorgement,
additional reporting obligations and oversight, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of
our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
Our indebtedness may adversely affect our business, including by limiting our flexibility to operate our business and adversely affecting our financial health
and competitive position.
On November 8, 2022, we entered into a loan agreement with investment funds managed by Pharmakon Advisors, LP (“Pharmakon”), or the Loan Agreement (“Pharmakon Loan Agreement”), that
is secured by a lien covering substantially all of our assets, including intellectual property, providing for term loans to the Group in an aggregate principal amount of up to $100 million to be funded in two tranches. The first tranche, in the
amount of $50 million, bears interest at a fixed rate of 9.75% and will mature on November 8, 2028. We used the proceeds from the first tranche, together with cash on hand, to repay in full our existing $50 million loan from Oxford Finance LLC,
which was terminated upon such repayment. As of December 31, 2022, the outstanding principal balance under the Loan Agreement was $50.0 million. An additional $50.0 million is available to
us at our option, subject to certain conditions precedent. The Loan Agreement contains customary covenants and events of default applicable to us.
In addition, the Loan Agreement contains, and any agreements evidencing or governing other future indebtedness may contain, certain covenants that limit our ability to engage in
certain transactions that may be in our long-term best interests. Subject to certain limited exceptions, these covenants limit our ability to, among other things:
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convey, sell, lease, transfer, assign, dispose of or otherwise make cash payments consisting of all or any part of our business or
property;
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effect certain changes in our business, management, ownership or business locations;
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merge or consolidate with, or acquire all or substantially all of the capital stock or assets of, any other company;
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create, incur, assume or be liable for any additional indebtedness, or create, incur, allow or permit to exist any additional liens;
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pay cash dividends on, make any other distributions in respect of, or redeem, retire or repurchase, any shares of our capital stock;
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make certain investments; and
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enter into transactions with our affiliates.
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While we have not previously breached and are not currently in breach of these or any of the other covenants contained in our credit agreement, there can be no assurance that we
will not breach these covenants in the future. Our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events and factors beyond our control. In the event that we breach one or more covenants, our lender may choose to declare an event of
default and require that we immediately repay all amounts outstanding, terminate any commitment to extend further credit and foreclose on the collateral granted to it that secure such indebtedness. The occurrence of any of these events could have a
material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase costs and expenses.
Our operations and those of our third-party suppliers and collaborators could be subject to earthquakes, fire, explosion, power shortages, telecommunications failures, water
shortages, floods, hurricanes or other extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics or pandemics, armed conflicts and geopolitical tension, acts of terrorism, labor disputes or other business interruptions, or other natural or man-made accidents
or incidents. Any of the foregoing may result in us being unable to fully utilize our facilities, or the manufacturing facilities of our third-party contract manufacturers, and may have a material and adverse effect on our ability to operate our
business, particularly on a daily basis, and have significant negative consequences on our financial and operating conditions. Loss of access to these facilities may result in increased costs, delays in the development of our product candidates or
interruption of our business operations. If a natural disaster, power outage or other event occurred that prevented us from using all or a significant portion of our headquarters, that damaged critical infrastructure, such as our research
facilities or the manufacturing facilities of our third-party contract manufacturers, or that otherwise disrupted operations, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible, for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time.
The disaster recovery and business continuity plans we have in place may prove inadequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event.
Although we have limited business interruption insurance policies in place, any interruption could come with high costs for us, as salaries and loan payments would usually
continue. Moreover, any interruption could seriously harm our ability to timely proceed with any clinical programs or to supply product candidates for use in our clinical programs or during commercialization. For example, the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic has, at times, caused an interruption in our clinical trial activities. Specifically, we had to reduce our business activities including those in the laboratory according to governmental orders in the United States as well as in the United
Kingdom. Additionally, supply chains disruptions may continue to impact our research activities. Moreover, due to the Russia and Ukraine conflict, the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and other nations announced various sanctions
against Russia and Belarus. The war in Ukraine and the retaliatory measures that have been taken, or could be taken in the future, by the United States, the European Union, and other countries have created global security concerns and geopolitical
tension that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies, any or all of which could disrupt our supply chain, adversely affect our ability to conduct ongoing and future clinical trials of our product candidates, and adversely
affect our ability to commercialise our products (subject to regulatory approval) in this region and have wider implications globally that could impact our business outside of this region. For example, ongoing military conflict will likely impact
our ability to conduct clinical trials in Ukraine, Russia and potentially in other Eastern European countries, and may prevent us from continuing follow-up for patients previously enrolled or enrolling patients in future trials at sites in these
countries, and may also prevent us from commercialising our products (subject to regulatory approval) in this region. This could negatively impact the anticipated timing and completion of future clinical trials and/or analyses of future clinical
results, and negatively impact our plans to commercialise our product (subject to regulatory approval) in this region, which could harm our business.
If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences
resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to regulatory investigations and actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions to our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue and profits; loss of customers and
sales; and other adverse consequences
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store, use, transmit, disclose and otherwise process proprietary, confidential and sensitive data (including personal data such as
health-related data), intellectual property and trade secrets. We may rely upon third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process such information in a variety of contexts (including, without limitation,
third-party providers of cloud-based infrastructure, personnel email and other functions). Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited and these third parties may not have adequate information security
measures in place.
We and the third parties upon whom we rely face a variety of evolving threats including but not limited to breakdown; breach; interruption or damage from computer viruses; computer
hackers; malicious code (such as worms); social-engineering attacks (including phishing attacks); personnel error or malfeasance; theft or misuse; denial-of-service attacks; sophisticated nation-state and nation-state-supported actors; malware
(including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions); denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing); ransomware attacks; software bugs; server malfunctions; software and hardware failures; natural disasters; fires; floods;
terrorism; war; telecommunication and electrical failures; and other compromise. Despite our security practices, there is a risk that we may be subject to phishing and other cyberattacks in the future. Ransomware attacks, including those
perpetrated by organized criminal threat actors, nation-states, and nation-state-supported actors, are becoming increasingly prevalent and severe and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of data and income, reputational
harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. The
COVID-19 pandemic and our remote workforce increases risks to our information technology systems and data as more of our personnel work from remote locations and use network connections outside of our control. Any of the previously identified or
similar threats could cause a security breach or other interruption. A security breach or other interruption could result in unauthorized, unlawful or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of,
or access to data. A security breach or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties upon whom we rely) to provide our goods and otherwise operate our business. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed
or future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Likewise, we may rely on third parties for the manufacturing of our product candidates and
any future product candidates and to conduct clinical trials, and similar events relating to their computer systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business.
The risk of security breaches has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. We may
not be able to anticipate all types of security threats, and we may not be able to implement preventive measures effective against all such security threats. The techniques used by threat actors change frequently, may not be recognized until
launched, and can originate from a wide variety of sources. While we have implemented security measures designed to protect our information technology systems and data, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. We have not
always been able in the past to protect against security breaches (for example, we incurred two minor phishing attacks in 2018 and 2019).We may expend significant resources and modify our business activities (including our clinical trial
activities) in an effort to protect against security breaches. Certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures (including industry-standard or reasonable security measures) to
protect our information technology systems and data.
To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to occur (or be perceived to have occurred), we may experience adverse consequences. These consequences may include:
government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing data (including personal data); litigation (including class
claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary expenditures; financial loss; harm to our competitive position; delays to the further development and commercialization of our product candidates or any future
product candidates; and other similar harms. Security breaches and attendant consequences may cause customers to stop using our goods; limit our ability to conduct clinical trials; and otherwise negatively impact our business. If we were to
experience a significant cybersecurity breach of our information systems or data, the costs associated with the investigation, remediation and potential notification of the breach (under applicable privacy and security obligations) to
counterparties, data subjects, regulators or others could be material. The failure to comply with such notification obligations could lead to adverse consequences.
The financial exposure from the events referenced above could either not be insured against or not be fully covered through any insurance that we maintain. There can be no assurance
that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages as a result of the events referenced above.
If we engage in future acquisitions or strategic partnerships, this may increase our capital requirements, dilute our shareholders, cause us to incur debt or
assume contingent liabilities, and subject us to other risks.
We may evaluate various acquisitions and strategic partnerships, including licensing or acquiring complementary products, intellectual property rights, technologies, or businesses.
Any potential acquisition or strategic partnership may entail numerous risks, including:
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increased operating expenses and cash requirements;
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the assumption of additional indebtedness or contingent liabilities;
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assimilation of operations, intellectual property and products of an acquired company or product, including difficulties associated with
integrating new personnel;
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the diversion of our management’s attention from our existing product programs and initiatives in pursuing such a strategic merger or
acquisition;
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retention of key employees, the loss of key personnel, and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships;
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risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party and their existing
products or product candidates and regulatory approvals; and
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our inability to generate revenue from acquired technology and/or products sufficient to meet our objectives in undertaking the
acquisition or even to offset the associated acquisition and maintenance costs.
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Depending on the size and nature of future strategic acquisitions, we may acquire assets or businesses that require us to raise additional capital or to operate or manage businesses
in which we have limited experience. Making larger acquisitions that require us to raise additional capital to fund the acquisition will expose us to the risks associated with capital raising activities. Acquiring and thereafter operating larger
new businesses will also increase our management, operating and reporting costs and burdens. In addition, if we undertake acquisitions, we may issue dilutive securities, assume or incur debt obligations, incur large one-time expenses and acquire
intangible assets that could result in significant future amortization expense. Moreover, we may not be able to locate suitable acquisition opportunities and this inability could impair our ability to grow or obtain access to technology or products
that may be important to the development of our business.
Our insurance policies are expensive and protect only from some business risks, which leaves us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities.
We do not carry insurance for all categories of risks that our business may encounter, and insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive. We do not know if we will be able
to maintain existing insurance with adequate levels of coverage, and any liability insurance coverage we acquire in the future may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. If we obtain marketing approval for any
product candidates that we or our collaborators may develop, we intend to acquire insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products, but we may be unable to obtain such insurance on commercially reasonable terms or in adequate amounts.
Required coverage limits for such insurances are difficult to predict and may not be sufficient. If potential losses exceed our insurance coverage, our financial condition would be adversely affected. In the event of contamination or injury, we
could be held liable for damages or be penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources. Clinical trials or regulatory approvals for any of our product candidates could be suspended, which could adversely affect our results of operations
and business, including by preventing or limiting the development and commercialization of any product candidates that we or our collaborators may develop. Additionally, operating as a public company will make it more expensive for us to obtain
director and officer liability insurance. As a result, it may be more difficult to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our board of directors or the board committees.
Risks Related to Our International Operations
As a company based outside of the United States, we are subject to economic, political, regulatory and other risks associated with international operations.
As a company based in the United Kingdom, our business is subject to risks associated with conducting business outside of the United States. Many of our suppliers and clinical trial
relationships are located outside the United States. Accordingly, our future results could be harmed by a variety of factors, including:
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economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular non-U.S. economies and markets;
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differing and changing regulatory requirements for product approvals;
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differing jurisdictions could present different issues for securing, maintaining or obtaining freedom to operate in such jurisdictions;
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potentially reduced protection for intellectual property and proprietary rights;
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difficulties in compliance with different, complex and changing laws, regulations and court systems of multiple jurisdictions and
compliance with a wide variety of foreign laws, treaties and regulations;
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changes in non-U.S. regulations and customs, tariffs and trade barriers;
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changes in non-U.S. currency exchange rates of the pound sterling, U.S. dollar, euro and currency controls;
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changes in a specific country’s or region’s political or economic environment, including the longer-term implications of Brexit;
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trade protection measures, import or export licensing requirements or other restrictive actions by governments;
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differing reimbursement regimes and price controls in certain non-U.S. markets;
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negative consequences from changes in tax laws;
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compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad, including, for example, the
variable tax treatment in different jurisdictions of options granted under our share option schemes or equity incentive plans;
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workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States;
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litigation or administrative actions resulting from claims against us by current or former employees or consultants individually or as
part of class actions, including claims of wrongful terminations, discrimination, misclassification or other violations of labor law or other alleged conduct;
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difficulties associated with staffing and managing international operations, including differing labor relations;
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production shortages resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad; and
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business interruptions resulting from geo-political actions, including war and terrorism, or natural disasters including earthquakes,
typhoons, floods and fires.
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Moreover, due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and other nations announced various sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The
military conflict and the retaliatory measures that have been taken, or could be taken in the future, by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and other countries have created global security concerns and global geopolitical tension
that could result have a lasting impact on regional and global economies, any or all of which could disrupt our supply chain, adversely affect our ability to conduct ongoing and future clinical trials of our product candidates, and adversely affect
our ability to commercialize our products (subject to regulatory approval) in this region and have wider implications globally that could impact our business outside of this region.
The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union may adversely impact our ability to obtain regulatory approvals of our product candidates in the European
Union and may require us to incur additional expenses in order to develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates in the European Union.
Our principal office space is located in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom formally exited the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit, on January 31, 2020. Under the
terms of its departure, the United Kingdom entered a transition period, or the Transition Period, during which it continued to follow all European Union rules. The Transition Period ended on December 31, 2020. On December 30, 2020, the United
Kingdom and European Union signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which includes an agreement on free trade between the two parties, which provisionally applied from January 1, 2021, and formally entered into force on May 1, 2021.
Since a significant proportion of the regulatory framework in the United Kingdom applicable to our business and our product candidates is derived from EU directives and regulations,
Brexit has had, and will continue to have, a material impact upon the regulatory regime with respect to the development, manufacture, importation, approval and commercialization of our product candidates in the United Kingdom and the European
Union. For example, following the Transition Period, Great Britain is no longer covered by the centralized procedures for obtaining EU-wide marketing authorizations and our products will therefore require a separate marketing authorization to allow
us to market such products in Great Britain. Any delay in obtaining, or an inability to obtain, any marketing approvals, as a result of Brexit or otherwise, would prevent us from or delay us commercializing our product candidates in the United
Kingdom and/or the EEA and restrict our ability to generate revenue and achieve and sustain profitability. In the short term, there is ongoing disruption to import and export processes due to a lack of administrative processing capacity by the
respective United Kingdom and EU customs agencies that may delay time-sensitive shipments and may negatively impact our product supply chain. In addition, there are non-tariff costs to such trade that did not exist prior to the expiry of the
Transition Period. Orphan designation in Great Britain following Brexit is, unlike in the EU, not available pre-marketing authorization. Applications for orphan designation in Great Britain (or the United Kingdom, if there is not a prior
centralized marketing authorisation in the EU) are now made at the same time as an application for marketing authorization. The criteria to be granted orphan designation are essentially identical to those in the EU but based on the prevalence of
the condition in Great Britain as opposed to prevalence in the EU. It is therefore possible that conditions that were or would have been designated as orphan conditions in Great Britain prior to the end of the Transition Period are or would no
longer be and that conditions that were not currently designated as orphan conditions in the European Union will be designated as such in Great Britain.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022, which is currently progressing through the United Kingdom Parliament seeks to allow the Government of the United Kingdom to
repeal or replace certain European Union Law that was incorporated into the law of the United Kingdom, effective as of the end of the Transition Period. Repealing or replacing such European Union Law would be likely cause further uncertainty.
As a result of Brexit or otherwise, other European countries may seek to conduct referenda with respect to their continuing membership with the European Union. Given these
possibilities and others we may not anticipate, as well as the absence of comparable precedent, it is unclear what financial, regulatory and legal implications the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will have and how such
withdrawal will affect us, and the full extent to which our business could be adversely affected.
Exchange rate fluctuations may materially affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Owing to the international scope of our operations, fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly between the pound sterling and the U.S. dollar, may adversely affect us. Although
the majority of our employees, offices and research facilities are based in the United Kingdom, we source some of our research and development, manufacturing, consulting and other services from the United States and the European Union. Further,
significant current and future revenue is and may continue to be derived from abroad, including the United States, European Union and further territories. As a result, our business and the price of our ADSs may be affected by fluctuations in
foreign exchange rates not only between the pound sterling and the U.S. dollar, but also the euro, and other currencies, which may impact our results of operations and cash flows from period to period. Currently, we do not have any exchange rate
hedging arrangements in place.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities and Our Status as a Public Company
An active trading market for our ADSs may not continue to develop or be sustained.
Prior to our initial public offering in February 2021, there was no public trading market for our ordinary shares or ADSs. Although our ADSs are listed on The Nasdaq Global Select
Market, we cannot assure you that an active trading market for our ADSs will continue to develop or be sustained. If an active market for our ADSs does not continue to develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult to for investors to sell ADSs
without depressing the market price for the ADSs or to sell the ADSs at all. You may not be able to sell your ADSs quickly or at the market price if trading in our ADSs is not active.
The trading price of our ADSs has been and may continue to be highly volatile and may fluctuate due to factors beyond our control.
We completed our initial public offering in February 2021. From February 4, 2021 to January 31, 2023, the closing price of our ADSs ranged from a high of $65.08 to a low of $18.94
per ADS. The trading price of our ADSs has and is likely to continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control, including limited trading volume. In addition to the factors discussed in
this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Annual Report, these factors include but not limited to:
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our failure to successfully execute our commercialization strategy with respect to KIMMTRAK;
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actions or announcements by third-party or government payers with respect to coverage and reimbursement of KIMMTRAK;
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adverse regulatory decisions, or our ability to obtain regulatory approval of, tebentafusp in other jurisdictions, or any of our other product candidates;
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adverse results or delays in pre-clinical studies or clinical trials;
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reports of adverse events in products similar or perceived to be similar to those we are developing or clinical trials of such products;
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an inability to obtain additional funding on favorable terms or at all, including as a result of recently worsening macroeconomic
conditions;
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failure by us to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates;
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failure by us to maintain our existing strategic collaborations or enter into new collaborations;
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failure by us to identify additional product candidates for our pipeline;
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failure by us or our licensors and strategic partners to prosecute, maintain, protect or enforce our intellectual property and
proprietary rights;
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disputes or other developments relating to intellectual and other proprietary rights, including litigation
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matters and our ability to obtain patent and other intellectual property protection for our technologies;
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changes in laws or regulations applicable to future products;
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an inability to obtain adequate product supply for our product candidates or the inability to do so at acceptable prices;
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the introduction of new products, services or technologies by our competitors;
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failure by us to meet or exceed financial projections we may provide to the public;
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failure by us to meet or exceed the financial projections of the investment community;
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the perception of the pharmaceutical industry by the public, legislatures, regulators and the investment community;
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changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
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inability to obtain adequate commercial supply for any approved product or inability to do so at acceptable prices;
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announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us, our strategic partner or
our competitors;
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inability to comply with our debt covenants and to make payments as they become due;
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additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;
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significant lawsuits, including patent or shareholder litigation;
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changes in the market valuations of similar companies;
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general economic, industry, political and market conditions, including, but not limited to, the war in Ukraine, ongoing impacts of COVID-19, global geopolitical tension, rising inflation and interest rates, supply
chain disruptions, and volatility in the capital markets;
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sales of our ADSs or ordinary shares by us or our shareholders in the future;
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the trading volume of our ADSs; and
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other events or factors, many of which are beyond our control.
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These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for our ADSs to fluctuate substantially, regardless of our actual operating performance, which may
limit or prevent investors from selling their ADSs and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our ADSs. In addition, the stock market in general, and the securities of 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, including impacts thereon of the war in Ukraine, COVID-19, and global geopolitical tension, as well as rising inflation and interest rates, supply
chain disruptions, and volatility in the capital markets, may negatively affect the market price of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. Further, a decline in the financial markets and related factors beyond our control may
cause the price of our ADSs to decline rapidly and unexpectedly. For example, negative publicity regarding drug pricing and price increases by pharmaceutical companies has negatively impacted, and may continue to negatively impact, the markets for
biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in
substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our ADS price and trading volume
could decline.
The trading market for our ADSs is influenced, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. As a newly public company,
we have only limited research coverage by equity research analysts. Securities or industry analysts may elect not to provide research coverage of our ADSs, and such lack of research coverage may adversely impact the market price of our ADSs. Even
if we have equity research analyst coverage, we will not have any control over the analysts, or the content and opinions included in their reports. The price of our ADSs could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our ADSs or
issue other unfavorable commentary or research about us. If one or more equity research analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our ADSs could decrease, which in turn could cause the trading price or
trading volume of our ADSs to decline.
Our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders, if they choose to act together, have the ability to control or significantly influence all matters
submitted to our shareholders for approval.
As of December 31, 2022, our executive officers, directors and current beneficial owners of five percent or more of our ordinary shares and their respective affiliates beneficially
owned, in the aggregate, approximately 40% of our outstanding ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs). The voting power of this group may increase to the extent any shareholders holding non-voting ordinary shares convert
their non-voting ordinary shares into ordinary shares.
As a result, depending on the level of attendance at our general meetings of shareholders, these persons, acting together, would be able to significantly influence all matters
requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election, re-election and removal of directors, any merger, scheme of arrangement, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other significant corporate transactions, and amendments
to our articles of association.
In addition, these persons, acting together, may have the ability to control the management and affairs of our company. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may harm the
market price of our ADSs by:
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delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control;
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entrenching our management and/or the board of directors;
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impeding a merger, scheme of arrangement, takeover, or other business combination involving us; or
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discouraging a potential acquirer from making a takeover offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
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In addition, some of these persons or entities may have interests different than yours. For example, because many of these shareholders purchased their ordinary shares at prices
substantially below our current trading price and have held their ordinary shares for a longer period, they may be more interested in selling our company to an acquirer than other investors or they may want us to pursue strategies that deviate from
the interests of other shareholders.
We may be required to repurchase for cash all, or to facilitate the purchase by a third party of all, the shares of our company held by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation if we default under the global access commitments agreement, which could have an adverse impact on us and limit our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.
We entered into a global access commitments agreement with our shareholder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or the Gates Foundation, in September 2017, which was amended
and restated in March 2020 and February 2021, pursuant to which we are required to take certain actions to support the Gates Foundation’s mission. In the event that we are in breach of certain provisions of the global access commitments agreement,
following a cure period, we may be required to repurchase for cash all, or to facilitate the purchase by a third party of all, the securities of our company held by the Gates Foundation at certain terms that may not be favorable to us. This would
also include the ADSs acquired in the concurrent private placement, if any. If this occurs, cash used for this purpose may, adversely affect our liquidity, cause us to reduce expenditures in other areas of our business, or curtail our growth plans.
If we do not have sufficient cash on hand to purchase the securities, we could have to seek financing alternatives in order to meet our obligations, and there is no certainty that financing would be available on reasonable terms or at all. For the
period that we are unable to repurchase the securities held by the Gates Foundation or arrange for a third party to purchase such securities, we would not likely be allowed to pay dividends, repurchase the securities of any other shareholder or
otherwise make any other distribution to any of our shareholders in connection with their securities. Therefore, meeting this purchase obligation, if necessary, could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. For more
information on the Gates Foundation’s withdrawal rights, see “Item 4B. Business overview—Our Collaborations and License Agreements—Gates Collaboration.”
The sale of a substantial number of our ADSs in the public market could cause the market price of our ADSs to drop significantly, even if our business is doing
well.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our ADSs and could impair
our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.
We have filed a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register ordinary shares subject to options or other equity awards issued or reserved for future
issuance under our equity incentive plans. Shares registered under this registration statement on Form S-8 will be available for sale in the public market subject to vesting arrangements and exercise of options, as well as, in the case of our
affiliates, the restrictions of Rule 144 under the Securities Act.
We have registered approximately 9.3 million of our ordinary shares for resale by certain holders of our ordinary shares pursuant to registration rights agreements with such
holders. Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, the holders of an aggregate of approximately 5.2 million of our ordinary shares, or their transferees, have rights, subject to conditions, to require us to file one or more registration statements
covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other shareholders, as well as to cooperate in certain public offerings of such ordinary shares. Upon registration, these shares are, or
will be, as applicable, available to be freely sold in the public market subject, in the case of our affiliates, to the restrictions of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be
sold, in the public market, the trading price of our ADSs could decline.
Holders of our ADSs do not have the same voting rights as the holders of our ordinary shares and may not receive voting materials in time to be able to exercise
their right to vote.
Holders of the ADSs do not have the same rights as our shareholders and in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement, will not be able to exercise voting rights
attaching to the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs on an individual basis. The depositary or its nominee will act as the representative for the holders of the ADSs and will exercise the voting rights attached to the ordinary shares
represented by the ADSs. Holders of our ADSs may not receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote, and it is possible that they, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have
the opportunity to exercise a right to vote. Furthermore, the depositary will not be liable for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, holders of
our ADSs may not be able to exercise voting rights and may lack recourse if their ADSs are not voted as requested. In addition, holders of our ADSs will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting. See “Item 12.D American Depositary Shares.”
Holders of ADSs may be subject to limitations on the transfer of their ADSs and the withdrawal of the underlying ordinary shares.
ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the
performance of its duties. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary think it is advisable to do so
because of any requirement of law, government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason, subject to the right of ADS holders to cancel their ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares.
Temporary delays in the cancellation of your ADSs and withdrawal of the underlying ordinary shares may arise because the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books, the transfer of ordinary shares is blocked to
permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting or we are paying a dividend on our ordinary shares. In addition, ADS holders may not be able to cancel their ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares when they owe money for fees, taxes and similar
charges and when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of ordinary shares or other deposited securities. See “Item 12.D American Depositary
Shares.”
We are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, or to terminate the deposit agreement,
without the prior consent of the ADS holders.
We are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of the ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders. We and
the depositary may agree to amend the deposit agreement in any way we decide is necessary or advantageous to us or to the depositary. Amendments may reflect, among other things, operational changes in the ADS program, legal developments affecting
ADSs or changes in the terms of our business relationship with the depositary. In the event that the terms of an amendment are materially disadvantageous to ADS holders, ADS holders will only receive 30 days’ advance notice of the amendment, and no
prior consent of the ADS holders is required under the deposit agreement. Furthermore, we may decide to direct the depositary to terminate the ADS facility at any time for any reason. For example, terminations may occur when we decide to list our
ordinary shares on a non-U.S. securities exchange and determine not to continue to sponsor an ADS facility or when we become the subject of a takeover or a going-private transaction. If the ADS facility will terminate, ADS holders will receive at
least 30 days’ prior notice, but no prior consent is required from them. Under the circumstances that we decide to make an amendment to the deposit agreement that is disadvantageous to ADS holders or terminate the deposit agreement, the ADS holders
may choose to sell their ADSs or surrender their ADSs and become direct holders of the underlying ordinary shares, but will have no right to any compensation whatsoever.
ADSs holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the
plaintiff(s) in any such action.
The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our ordinary shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, holders and beneficial owners of ADSs irrevocably
waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to the ADSs or the deposit agreement.
If this jury trial waiver provision is not permitted by applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. If we or the depositary
opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the
enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual
pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a federal or state court in the City of New York, which has non-exclusive jurisdiction over
matters arising under the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury
trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement.
If you or any other holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs,
including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us and/or the
depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us and/or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may
result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have had, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action, depending on, among other things, the nature of the claims, the judge or justice hearing such
claims, and the venue of the hearing.
No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with
any substantive provision of the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Moreover, as the jury trial waiver relates to claims arising out of or relating to the ADSs or the deposit agreement, we believe that, as a matter of construction of the clause, the
waiver would likely to continue to apply to ADS holders who withdraw the ordinary shares from the ADS facility with respect to claims arising before the cancellation of the ADSs and the withdrawal of the ordinary shares, and the waiver would most
likely not apply to ADS holders who subsequently withdraw the ordinary shares represented by ADSs from the ADS facility with respect to claims arising after the withdrawal. However, to our knowledge, there has been no case law on the applicability
of the jury trial waiver to ADS holders who withdraw the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs from the ADS facility.
Holders of our ADSs may not receive distributions on our ordinary shares represented by the ADSs or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical to make
them available to holders of ADSs.
The depositary for the ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities
after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of our ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, in accordance with the limitations set forth in the deposit agreement, it may be unlawful
or impractical to make a distribution available to holders of ADSs. We have no obligation to take any other action to permit distribution on the ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of the ADSs. This means that you may not
receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value from them if it is unlawful or impractical to make them available to you. These restrictions may have an adverse effect on the value of your ADSs.
Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our ADSs in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gains and
you may never receive a return on your investment.
Under current English law, a company’s accumulated realized profits must exceed its accumulated realized losses (on a non-consolidated basis) before dividends can be declared and
paid. Therefore, we must have distributable profits before declaring and paying a dividend. In addition, as a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales, we will only be able to make a distribution if the amount of our net assets is
not less than the aggregate of our called-up share capital and undistributable reserves and if, and to the extent that, the distribution does not reduce the amount of those assets to less than that aggregate.
Although we do not have any present plans to declare or pay any dividends, in the event we declare and pay any dividend, the depositary for the ADSs has agreed to pay to holders of
our ADSs the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses and applicable taxes required to be withheld in connection with any such
dividend distribution. Holders of our ADSs will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of our ordinary shares their ADSs represent. However, in accordance with the limitations set forth in the deposit agreement, it may be unlawful
or impractical to make a distribution available to holders of the ADSs. We have no obligation to take any other action to permit distribution on the ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of the ADSs. This means that holders of
our ADSs may not receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value from them if it is unlawful or impractical to make them available to you. These restrictions may have an adverse effect on the value of the ADSs.
Claims of U.S. civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.
We are incorporated under English law and have our registered office in England. Certain members of our board of directors and senior management are non-residents of the United
States, and all or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible to serve process on such persons or us in the United States or to enforce judgments
obtained in U.S. courts against them or us based on civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States.
The United States and the United Kingdom do not currently have a treaty providing for recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and
commercial matters. Consequently, a final judgment for payment given by a court in the United States, whether or not predicated solely upon U.S. securities laws, would not automatically be recognized or enforceable in the United Kingdom. In
addition, uncertainty exists as to whether U.K. courts would entertain original actions brought in the United Kingdom against us or our directors or senior management predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the
United States. Any final and conclusive monetary judgment for a definite sum obtained against us in U.S. courts would be treated by the courts of the United Kingdom as a cause of action in itself and sued upon as a debt at common law so that no
retrial of the issues would be necessary, provided that certain requirements are met. Whether these requirements are met in respect of a judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws, including whether the award of
monetary damages under such laws would constitute a penalty, is an issue for the court making such decision. If an English court gives judgment for the sum payable under a U.S. judgment, the English judgment will be enforceable by methods generally
available for this purpose. These methods generally permit the English court discretion to prescribe the manner of enforcement.
As a result, U.S. investors may not be able to enforce against us or our senior management, board of directors or certain experts named herein who are residents of the United
Kingdom or countries other than the United States any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities laws.
Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.
We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make rights available to you in the United States
unless we register the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Also, under the deposit agreement, the depositary bank will not make rights
available to you unless either both the rights and any related securities are registered under the Securities Act, or the distribution of them to ADS holders is exempted from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file
a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective. Moreover, we may not be able to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities
Act. If the depositary does not distribute the rights, it may, under the deposit agreement, either sell them, if possible, or allow them to lapse. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in
your holdings.
As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from a number of rules under the U.S. securities laws and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than
U.S. public companies.
We are a “foreign private issuer,” as defined in the SEC rules and regulations and, consequently, we are not subject to all of the disclosure requirements applicable to companies
organized within the United States. For example, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that regulate disclosure obligations and procedural requirements related to the
solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations applicable to a security registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers and directors are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the
Exchange Act and related rules with respect to their purchases and sales of our securities. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. public companies.
Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning our company than there is for U.S. public companies.
As a foreign private issuer, we will file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the close of each fiscal year ended December 31 and reports on Form 6-K relating to
certain material events promptly after we publicly announce these events. However, because of the above exemptions for foreign private issuers, our shareholders will not be afforded the same protections or information generally available to
investors holding shares in public companies organized in the United States.
While we are a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to certain Nasdaq corporate governance rules applicable to public companies organized in the United
States.
We are entitled to rely on a provision in Nasdaq’s corporate governance rules that allows us to follow English corporate law with regard to certain aspects of corporate governance.
This allows us to follow certain corporate governance practices that differ in significant respects from the corporate governance requirements applicable to domestic issuers listed on Nasdaq.
We are not subject to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(b)(2) because English law does not require that independent directors regularly have scheduled meetings at which only independent
directors are present. Similarly, we have adopted a compensation committee, but English law does not require that we adopt a compensation committee or that such committee be fully independent. As a result, our practice varies from the requirements
of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(d), which sets forth certain requirements as to the responsibilities, composition and independence of compensation committees. English law requires that we disclose information regarding compensation of our directors for
services as a director of an undertaking that is our subsidiary undertaking and as a director of any other undertaking of which a director is appointed by virtue of our nomination (directly or indirectly) but not other third-party compensation of
our directors or director nominees. As a result, our practice varies from the third-party compensation disclosure requirements of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(b)(3). Additionally, we are not subject to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(e) because, under English
law, director nominees are not required to be selected or recommended for selection by either a majority of the independent directors or a nominations committee comprised solely of independent directors.
Furthermore, English law does not have a regulatory regime for the solicitation of proxies applicable to us, thus our practice varies from the requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule
5620(b), which sets forth certain requirements regarding the solicitation of proxies. In addition, we have opted out of shareholder approval requirements for the issuance of securities in connection with certain events such as the acquisition of
stock or assets of another company, the establishment of or amendments to equity-based compensation plans for employees, a change of control of us and certain private placements. To this extent, our practice will vary from the requirements of
Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635, which generally requires an issuer to obtain shareholder approval for the issuance of securities in connection with such events. In addition, while we have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics, English law does
not require us to publicly disclose waivers from this code that have been approved by our board within four business days. We expect to report any such waivers in the subsequent Annual Report on Form 20-F. Moreover, we are not required to comply
with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information, although we have voluntarily adopted a corporate disclosure policy substantially similar to Regulation FD. These exemptions and leniencies will reduce the
frequency and scope of information and protections to which you may otherwise have been eligible in relation to a U.S. domestic issuer.
As a result, our practice varies from the requirements for domestic issuers pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5610.
In accordance with our Nasdaq listing, our audit committee is required to comply with the provisions of Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and
Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act, both of which are also applicable to Nasdaq listed U.S. companies. Because we are a foreign private issuer, however, our audit committee is not subject to additional requirements applicable to Nasdaq listed U.S.
companies, including an affirmative determination that all members of the audit committee are “independent,” using more stringent criteria than those applicable to us as a foreign private issuer, subject to certain phase-in requirements permitted
by Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.
We have incurred significant costs as a public company, and operating as a public company also places significant demands upon our management.
As a public company listed in the United States, we have and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In
addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq have imposed various requirements on publicly traded companies of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our
management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For
example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance.
We previously identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, which has since been remediated. We may discover additional
material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, which may impair our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or prevent fraud. If we fail to maintain an effective system of
internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, shareholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business
and the trading price of our ADSs
Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, requires that beginning with this Annual Report, management assess and report annually on
the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and identify any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. As a large accelerated filer, under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act our independent
registered public accounting firm is required to issue an annual report that addresses the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
In the course of auditing our 2019 financial statements for our initial public offering, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in
our internal control over financial reporting.
In the summer and fall of 2020, we conducted an internal investigation as a result of receiving a whistleblower complaint alleging employee misconduct and other improper activities related to a kickback
scheme involving an employee and two third-party vendors between 2018 and 2020. Our audit committee led the investigation utilizing outside counsel, during which the named employee resigned. After the investigation, we terminated the one remaining
open contract with the third-party vendors and issued proceedings in October 2020 against the involved parties. We recovered our estimated losses of £1.8 million from the employee and the third-party vendors in December 2020. In the course of
auditing our 2019 financial statements for our initial public offering, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness relating to our procurement processes and application of delegation of authority
approval limits due to insufficient risk assessment procedures. We determined that our internal controls did not operate effectively to prevent or timely detect unauthorized contracts and purchase orders. This resulted in the inability to prevent
and timely detect these fraudulent activities. We remediated the material weakness as of December 31, 2020.
While we remediated our prior material weakness, we may identify additional material weaknesses or otherwise fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls. Effective
internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved
controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404, or any subsequent testing by our independent registered
public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas
for further attention or improvement. Inadequate internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our ADSs.
If we are a controlled foreign corporation, there could be adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to certain U.S. holders.
If a U.S. holder is treated as owning, directly, indirectly or constructively, at least 10% of the value or voting power of our ordinary shares or ADSs, such U.S. holder may be
treated as a “United States shareholder” with respect to each “controlled foreign corporation” in our group, if any. Because our group includes U.S. subsidiaries, our current non-U.S. subsidiaries and any future newly formed or acquired non-U.S.
subsidiaries will be treated as controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we are treated as a controlled foreign corporation. A United States shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation may be required to annually report and
include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income” and investments in U.S. property by controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we make any distributions. An individual
that is a United States shareholder with respect to a controlled foreign corporation generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a United States shareholder that is a U.S. corporation.
Failure to comply with controlled foreign corporation reporting obligations may subject a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties. We cannot provide any assurances that we will furnish to any United States shareholder
information that may be necessary to comply with the reporting and tax paying obligations applicable under the controlled foreign corporation rules of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code. U.S. holders should consult their tax
advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to their investment in our ordinary shares or ADSs. Based on our analysis, we believe that we did not meet the definition of a controlled foreign corporation under Section 957(a) of the
Code in 2022.
If we are a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for any taxable year, there could be adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
Under the Code, we will be a PFIC, for any taxable year in which (1) 75% or more of our gross income consists of passive income or (2) 50% or more of the value of our assets
(generally determined in the basis of a weighted quarterly average) consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income (including cash). For purposes of these tests, passive income includes dividends, interest, gains
from the sale or exchange of investment property and certain rents and royalties. Cash and cash-equivalents are passive assets for these purposes. In addition, for purposes of the above calculations, a non-U.S. corporation that directly or
indirectly owns at least 25% by value of the shares of another corporation is treated as holding and receiving directly its proportionate share of assets and income of such corporation. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S.
investor holds our shares, the U.S. investor may be subject to adverse tax consequences regardless of whether we continue to qualify as a PFIC, including ineligibility for any preferred tax rates on capital gains or on actual or deemed dividends,
interest charges on certain taxes treated as deferred and additional reporting requirements.
Based on our analysis of our activities and the composition of our income and assets, we believe that we were not a PFIC for our taxable year ending December 31, 2022. However, the
determination of whether we are a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis applying principles and methodologies that in some circumstances are unclear and subject to varying interpretation. As a result, there can be no
assurance that we will not be treated as a PFIC for the current or any future taxable year. In addition, for our current and future taxable years, the total value of our assets (including goodwill) for PFIC testing purposes may be determined in
part by reference to the market price of our ordinary shares or ADSs from time to time, which may fluctuate considerably. Accordingly, if our market capitalization declines while we hold a substantial amount of cash and cash-equivalents for any
taxable year we may be a PFIC for that taxable year. Under the income test, our status as a PFIC depends on the composition of our income for the relevant taxable year which will depend on the transactions we enter into in the future and our
corporate structure. The composition of our income and assets is also affected by how we spend the cash we raise in any offering. We have only recently begun to generate product revenues and therefore we may be a PFIC for any taxable year in which
we do not generate sufficient amounts of active income to offset our passive financing income. Therefore, we cannot express an expectation regarding our PFIC status for the current or any future taxable year. Even if we determine that we are not a
PFIC for a taxable year, there can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, will agree with our conclusion and that the IRS would not successfully challenge our position. Accordingly, our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with
respect to our PFIC status for any prior, current or future taxable year.
For further discussion of the PFIC rules and the adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences in the event we are classified as a PFIC, as well as certain elections that may be
available to U.S. investors, see “Item 10.E Taxation—Material United States Federal Income Considerations for U.S. Holders.”
We may be unable to use net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses to reduce future tax payments or benefit from favorable U.K.
tax legislation.
As a U.K. incorporated and tax resident entity, we are subject to U.K. corporate taxation. Due to the nature of our business, we have generated losses since
inception and therefore have not paid any U.K. corporation tax. As of December 31, 2022, we had cumulative carryforward tax losses of £241 million. Subject to any relevant utilization criteria and restrictions (including the Corporate
Income Loss Restriction and the Corporate Capital Loss Restriction that, broadly, restrict the amount of carried forward losses that can be utilized to 50% of group profits or gains arising above £5.0 million per tax year), we expect these to be eligible for carry forward and utilization against future operating profits.
As a company that carries out extensive research and development activities, or R&D, we seek to benefit from the U.K. research and development tax relief programs, being the
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises R&D tax relief program, or SME Program, and, for certain specific categories of expenditure, the Research and Development Expenditure Credit program, or RDEC Program. The tax reliefs we have obtained under
these programs have generated a meaningful proportion of our cash flow, amounting to £40.3 million and £12.4 million in the accounting periods ending December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2021, respectively. We further received £9.9 million in January
2023, relating to R&D activities in the year ended December 31, 2021. We anticipate receiving tax credits relating to the year ended December 31, 2022 later in 2023.
While the SME Program has been particularly beneficial to us, as under such program the trading losses that arise from our qualifying R&D activities can be surrendered for a cash rebate of
up to 33.35% of qualifying expenditure, amendments to the U.K. R&D tax credit regime have recently been enacted, or proposed. These amendments (amongst other things) (i) will reduce the cash rebate that may be claimed under the SME Program to
18.6% of qualifying expenditure, and (ii) may (unless limited exceptions apply) introduce restrictions on the tax relief that can be claimed for expenditure incurred on sub-contracted R&D activities or externally
provided workers, where such sub-contracted activities are not carried out in the U.K. or such workers are not subject to U.K. payroll taxes. These amendments are expected to take effect from April 2023. In addition, the U.K. Government
has recently launched a consultation on its proposal to merge the SME Program and the RDEC Program into a single scheme with effect from April 2024; if such proposal is implemented, it may be the case that we are no longer able to make claims in
respect of sub-contracted R&D activities, and that different (and potentially lower) caps are imposed on the amount of tax relief that we can claim. These and other potential future changes to the U.K. R&D tax
relief programs may mean we no longer qualify. or have a material impact on the extent to which we can make claims.
We may benefit in the future from the United Kingdom’s “patent box” regime, which allows certain profits attributable to revenues from patented products (and other qualifying
income) to be taxed at an effective rate of 10% by giving an additional tax deduction. We are the exclusive licensee or owner of several patent applications which, if issued, would cover our product candidates, and accordingly, future upfront fees,
milestone fees, product revenues and royalties could be eligible for this deduction. When taken in combination with the enhanced relief available on our R&D expenditures, we expect a long-term rate of corporation tax lower than the statutory to
apply to us. If, however, there are unexpected adverse changes to the U.K. R&D tax credit regime or the “patent box” regime, or for any reason we are unable to qualify for such advantageous tax legislation, or we are unable to use net operating
loss and tax credit carryforwards and certain built-in losses to reduce future tax payments then our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. This may impact our ongoing requirement for investment and the
timeframes within which additional investment is required.
Changes and uncertainties in the tax system in the countries in which we have operations, could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results
of operations, and reduce net returns to our shareholders.
We conduct business globally and file income tax returns in multiple jurisdictions. Our consolidated effective income tax rate, and the tax treatment of our ADSs and ordinary
shares, could be materially adversely affected by several factors, including: changing tax laws, regulations and treaties, or the interpretation thereof; tax policy initiatives and reforms under consideration or being implemented at national
(including the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States) or international level (such as those related to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s, or OECD, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, or BEPS, Project (including “BEPS
2.0”), the European Commission’s state aid investigations and other initiatives); the practices of tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate; the resolution of issues arising from tax audits or examinations and any related interest or
penalties. Such changes may include (but are not limited to) the taxation of operating income, investment income, dividends received or (in the specific context of withholding tax) dividends paid, or the stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax
treatment of our ADSs or ordinary shares.
A bill is currently proceeding through the UK parliament (the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill) which provides for the revocation of EU laws and rights which, notwithstanding Brexit,
currently remain effective in the UK, except where the UK Government and/or parliament take active steps to preserve the EU law position within UK law. Certain aspects of the stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax treatment of our ordinary shares
and ADSs are based on EU law which could be affected by this Bill. Accordingly, if this Bill is enacted, and steps are not taken by the UK Government and/or parliament to preserve the current position, this could, in particular, result in a charge
to stamp duty reserve tax on the issuance of new ADSs, at the rate of 1.5% of the issue price, potentially with effect from December 31, 2023, which would represent an additional cost if we seek to raise further capital in this way.
We are unable to predict what tax reform may be proposed or enacted in the future or what effect such changes would have on our business, but such changes, to the extent they are
brought into tax legislation, regulations, policies or practices in jurisdictions in which we operate, could increase the estimated tax liability that we have expensed to date and paid or accrued on our statement of financial position, and
otherwise affect our financial position, future results of operations, cash flows in a particular period and overall or effective tax rates in the future in countries where we have operations, reduce post-tax returns to our shareholders and
increase the complexity, burden and cost of tax compliance.
Tax authorities may disagree with our positions and conclusions regarding certain tax positions, or may apply existing rules in an unforeseen manner, resulting
in unanticipated costs, taxes or non-realization of expected benefits.
A tax authority may disagree with tax positions that we have taken, which could result in increased tax liabilities. For example, His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, or HMRC, the
IRS or another tax authority could challenge our allocation of income by tax jurisdiction and the amounts paid between our affiliated companies pursuant to our intercompany arrangements and transfer pricing policies, including amounts paid with
respect to our intellectual property development. Similarly, a tax authority could assert that we are subject to tax in a jurisdiction where we believe we have not established a taxable connection, often referred to as a “permanent establishment”
under international tax treaties, and such an assertion, if successful, could increase our expected tax liability in one or more jurisdictions.
A tax authority may take the position that material income tax liabilities, interest and penalties are payable by us, for example where there has been a technical violation of
contradictory laws and regulations that are relatively new and have not been subject to extensive review or interpretation, in which case we expect that we might contest such assessment. High-profile companies can be particularly vulnerable to
aggressive application of unclear requirements. Many companies must negotiate their tax bills with tax inspectors who may demand higher taxes than applicable law appears to provide. Contesting such an assessment may be lengthy and costly and if we
were unsuccessful in disputing the assessment, the implications could increase our anticipated effective tax rate, where applicable.
Shareholder protections found in provisions under the U.K. City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, or the Takeover Code, will not apply if our place of management
and control remains outside the United Kingdom.
On February 1, 2021, Immunocore Holdings Limited was re-registered as a public limited company with the name Immunocore Holdings plc. Depending on meeting the jurisdictional
criteria, the Takeover Code can be applicable to public limited companies incorporated in England and Wales. We believe that, as of the date of this Annual Report, our place of central management and control is not in the United Kingdom (or the
Channel Islands or the Isle of Man) for the purposes of the jurisdictional criteria of the Takeover Code. Accordingly, we believe that we are currently not subject to the Takeover Code and, as a result, our shareholders are not currently entitled
to the benefit of certain takeover offer protections provided under the Takeover Code, including the rules regarding mandatory takeover bids.
In the event that this changes, or if the interpretation and application of the Takeover Code by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, or Takeover Panel, changes (including changes to
the way in which the Takeover Panel assesses the application of the Takeover Code to English companies whose shares are listed outside of the United Kingdom), the Takeover Code may apply to us in the future.
The Takeover Code provides a framework within which takeovers of companies are regulated and conducted. The following is a brief summary of some of the most important rules of the
Takeover Code:
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In connection with a potential offer, if following an approach by or on behalf of a potential bidder, the company is “the subject of
rumor or speculation” or there is an “untoward movement” in the company’s share price, there is a requirement for the potential bidder to make a public announcement about a potential offer for the company, or for the company to make a
public announcement about its review of a potential offer.
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When a person or group of persons acting in concert (a) acquires, whether by a series of transactions over a period of time or not,
interests in shares carrying 30% or more of the voting rights of a company (which percentage is treated by the Takeover Code as the level at which effective control is obtained) or (b) acquires an interest in any other shares which
increases the percentage of shares carrying voting rights in which they are interested when they are already interested in shares which carry not less than 30% of the voting rights but do not hold shares carrying more than 50% of such
voting rights, they must make a cash offer to all other shareholders at the highest price paid by them or any person acting in concert with them in the 12 months before the offer was announced.
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When interests in shares carrying 10% or more of the voting rights of a class have been acquired by an offeror (i.e., a bidder) and any
person acting in concert with it in the offer period (i.e., before the shares subject to the offer have been acquired) or within the previous 12 months, the offer must be in cash or be accompanied by a cash alternative for all shareholders
of that class at the highest price paid by the offeror or any person acting in concert with them in that period. Further, if an offeror or any person acting in concert with them acquires any interest in shares during the offer period, the
offer for the shares must be in cash or accompanied by a cash alternative at a price at least equal to the price paid for such shares during the offer period.
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If after an announcement is made, the offeror or any person acting in concert with them acquires an interest in shares in an offeree
company (i.e., a target) at a price higher than the value of the offer, the offer must be increased to not less than the highest price paid for the interest in shares so acquired.
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The board of directors of the offeree company must appoint a competent independent adviser whose advice on the financial terms of the
offer must be made known to all the shareholders, together with the opinion of the board of directors of the offeree company.
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Special or favorable deals for selected shareholders are not permitted, except in certain circumstances where independent shareholder
approval is given and the arrangements are regarded as fair and reasonable in the opinion of the financial adviser to the offeree.
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All shareholders must be given the same information.
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Each document published in connection with an offer by or on behalf of the offeror or offeree must state that the directors of the
offeror or the offeree, as the case may be, accept responsibility for the information contained therein.
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Profit forecasts, quantified financial benefits statements and asset valuations must be made to specified standards and must be reported
on by professional advisers.
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Misleading, inaccurate or unsubstantiated statements made in documents or to the media must be publicly corrected immediately.
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Actions during the course of an offer by the offeree company, which might frustrate the offer are generally prohibited unless
shareholders approve these plans. Frustrating actions would include, for example, lengthening the notice period for directors under their service contract or agreeing to sell off material parts of the target group.
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Stringent and detailed requirements are laid down for the disclosure of dealings in relevant securities during an offer, including the
prompt disclosure of positions and dealing in relevant securities by the parties to an offer and any person who is interested (directly or indirectly) in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities.
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Employees of both the offeror and the offeree company and the trustees of the offeree company’s pension scheme must be informed about an
offer. In addition, the offeree company’s employee representatives and pension scheme trustees have the right to have a separate opinion on the effects of the offer on employment appended to the offeree board of directors’ circular or
published on a website.
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The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights typically offered to shareholders of a U.S. corporation.
We are incorporated under English law. The rights of holders of ordinary shares and, therefore, certain of the rights of holders of ADSs, are governed by English law, including the
provisions of the U.K. Companies Act, or the Companies Act, and by our articles of association. These rights differ in certain respects from the rights of shareholders in typical U.S. corporations. See “Item 10.B Memorandum and Articles of
Association—Differences in Corporate Law” in this Annual Report for a description of the principal differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and, for example, the Delaware General Corporation Law relating to
shareholders’ rights and protections.
The principal differences include the following:
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under our articles of association, any resolution put to the vote of a general meeting must be decided exclusively on a poll. Under
English law, it would be possible for our articles of association to be amended such that each shareholder present at a meeting has only one vote unless demand is made for a vote on a poll, in which case each holder gets one vote per share
owned. Under U.S. law, each shareholder typically is entitled to one vote per share at all meetings;
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under English law, subject to certain exceptions and disapplications, each shareholder generally has preemptive rights to subscribe on a
proportionate basis to any issuance of ordinary shares or rights to subscribe for, or to convert securities into, ordinary shares for cash. Under U.S. law, shareholders generally do not have preemptive rights unless specifically granted in
the certificate of incorporation or otherwise;
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under English law and our articles of association, certain matters require the approval of 75% of the shareholders who vote (in person
or by proxy) on the relevant resolution (or on a poll of shareholders representing 75% of the ordinary shares voting (in person or by proxy)), including amendments to the articles of association. This may make it more difficult for us to
complete corporate transactions deemed advisable by our board of directors. Under U.S. law, generally only majority shareholder approval is required to amend the certificate of incorporation or to approve other significant transactions;
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in the United Kingdom, takeovers may be structured as takeover offers or as schemes of arrangement. Under English law, a bidder seeking
to acquire us by means of a takeover offer would need to make an offer for all of our outstanding ordinary shares/ADSs. If acceptances are not received for 90% or more of the ordinary shares/ADSs under the offer, under English law, the
bidder cannot complete a “squeeze out” to obtain 100% control of us. Accordingly, acceptances of 90% of our outstanding ordinary shares/ADSs will likely be a condition in any takeover offer to acquire us, not 50% as is more common in tender
offers for corporations organized under Delaware law. By contrast, a scheme of arrangement, the successful completion of which would result in a bidder obtaining 100% control of us, requires the approval of a majority of shareholders voting
at the meeting and representing 75% of the ordinary shares voting for approval;
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under English law and our articles of association, shareholders and other persons whom we know or have reasonable cause to believe are,
or have been, interested in our shares may be required to disclose information regarding their interests in our shares upon our request, and the failure to provide the required information could result in the loss or restriction of rights
attaching to the shares, including prohibitions on certain transfers of the shares, withholding of dividends and loss of voting rights. Comparable provisions generally do not exist under U.S. law; and
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the quorum requirement for a shareholders’ meeting is a minimum of two shareholders entitled to vote at the meeting and present in
person or by proxy or, in the case of a shareholder which is a corporation, represented by a duly authorized representative. Under U.S. law, a majority of the shares eligible to vote must generally be present (in person or by proxy) at a
shareholders’ meeting in order to constitute a quorum. The minimum number of shares required for a quorum can be reduced pursuant to a provision in a company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, but typically not below one-third of the
shares entitled to vote at the meeting.
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As an English public limited company, certain capital structure decisions will require shareholder approval, which may limit our flexibility to manage our
capital structure.
On February 1, 2021, Immunocore Holdings Limited was re-registered as a public limited company with the name Immunocore Holdings plc. English law provides that a board of directors
may only allot shares (or rights to subscribe for or convert any security into shares) with the prior authorization of shareholders, such authorization stating the aggregate nominal amount of shares that it covers and being valid for a maximum
period of five years, each as specified in the articles of association or relevant shareholder resolution. At a general meeting of shareholders held on February 3, 2021, we obtained authority from our shareholders to allot new shares or to grant
rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the company up to a maximum aggregate nominal amount of £150,000 for a period of five years from the date of such general meeting of shareholders, which authorization will need to be
renewed upon expiration (i.e., at least every five years) but may be sought more frequently for additional five-year terms (or any shorter period).
English law also generally provides shareholders with preemptive rights when new shares are issued for cash. However, it is possible for the articles of association, or for
shareholders to pass a special resolution at a general meeting, being a resolution passed by at least 75% of the votes cast, to disapply preemptive rights. Such a disapplication of preemptive rights may be for a maximum period of up to five years
from the date of adoption of the articles of association, if the disapplication is contained in the articles of association, or from the date of the shareholder special resolution, if the disapplication is by shareholder special resolution but not
longer than the duration of the authority to allot shares to which the disapplication relates. In either case, this disapplication would need to be renewed by our shareholders upon its expiration (i.e., at least every five years). At a general
meeting of shareholders held on February 3, 2021, we obtained authority from our shareholders to disapply preemptive rights for a period of five years from the date of such general meeting of shareholders which disapplication will need to be
renewed upon expiration (i.e., at least every five years), but may be sought more frequently for additional five-year terms (or any shorter period).
English law also generally prohibits a public company from repurchasing its own shares without the prior approval of shareholders by ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed
by a simple majority of votes cast, and other formalities. Such approval may be for a maximum period of up to five years. See “Item 10.B Memorandum and Articles of Association.”
Our articles of association provide that the courts of England and Wales are the exclusive forum for the resolution of all shareholder complaints other than
complaints asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any shareholder complaint
asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
Our articles of association provide that the courts of England and Wales are to be the exclusive forum for resolving all shareholder complaints (i.e., any derivative action or
proceeding brought on behalf of us, any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees, any action or proceeding asserting a claim arising out of any provision of the
Companies Act or our articles of association or any action or proceeding asserting a claim or otherwise related to the affairs of our company) other than shareholder complaints asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the
Exchange Act, and that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York will be the exclusive forum for resolving any shareholder complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. In addition,
our articles of association provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our shares is deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions.
This choice of forum provision may limit a shareholder’s 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. The enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions (including exclusive federal forum provisions for actions, suits or proceedings asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act) in other
companies’ organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and there is uncertainty as to whether courts would enforce the exclusive forum provisions in our articles of association. Additionally, our shareholders cannot waive
compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. If a court were to find either choice of forum provision contained in our articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur
additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Item 4. |
Information on the Company.
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History and development of the company.
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Immunocore Holdings plc was incorporated on January 7, 2021. On February 9, 2021, we completed our IPO, and we have been a publicly listed company for over two years.
We were originally incorporated under the laws of England and Wales in December 2007 as a private company with limited liability called Immunocore Limited. Immunocore Holdings
Limited was incorporated on January 7, 2021 as a private limited company under the laws of England and Wales with nominal assets and liabilities for the purpose of becoming the holding company of Immunocore Limited and consummating the corporate
reorganization. On January 22, 2021, each holder of series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares, series C preferred shares, G1 shares, G2 shares and ordinary shares in Immunocore Limited sold and transferred their shares to Immunocore
Holdings Limited (now Immunocore Holdings plc) in exchange for receiving 100 shares of the same class in Immunocore Holdings Limited. We refer to this as our “Share Exchange”. Immediately following the Share Exchange, the holders of shares in
Immunocore Limited held shares in Immunocore Holdings plc of the same class and in the same proportions as their holding in Immunocore Limited, except for that they each held 100 times as many shares. Immunocore Limited became a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Immunocore Holdings plc as a result of the Share Exchange. Following the Share Exchange, Immunocore Limited undertook a reorganization of its share capital to re-designate its series A preferred shares, series B preferred shares,
series C preferred shares, G1 shares and G2 shares into a single class of ordinary shares. Subsequent to the Share Exchange, Immunocore Limited reduced its share capital by way of the cancellation of all amounts standing to the credit of Immunocore
Limited’s share premium account and the cancellation of 6,414,412 ordinary shares resulting from the reorganization of capital referred to above pursuant to Part 17 of the Companies Act in order to create distributable reserves. On February 1,
2021, Immunocore Holdings Limited re-registered as a public limited company and was re-named Immunocore Holdings plc.
On February 9, 2021, immediately prior to the completion of our initial public offering, the different classes of our issued share capital were converted into a single class of
ordinary shares (and a class of deferred shares and a class of non-voting ordinary shares) on a 20 to 1 basis, and we completed our initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Our ADSs are traded under the symbol IMCR. Our ordinary
shares are not listed. Our registered office in the United Kingdom is located at 92 Park Drive, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RY, United Kingdom, and the telephone number of our registered office is +44 (0)1235 438600.
Our agent for service of process in the United States is Immunocore, LLC, Six Tower Bridge, Suite 200, 181 Washington Street, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428.
Our actual capital expenditures for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 amounted to £1.8 million, £1.0 million and £3.1 million, respectively. These capital
expenditures primarily consisted of property, plant and equipment, leasehold improvements, lab equipment and computer equipment and software in the United Kingdom.
The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of
that site is http://www.sec.gov. Our website address is www.immunocore.com. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of, and shall not be incorporated by reference into, this document. We have included
our website address in this document solely as an inactive textual reference.
We are a commercial-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a novel class of TCR bispecific immunotherapies called ImmTAX – Immune mobilizing monoclonal TCRs Against X disease – designed to treat a broad range of diseases, including cancer, infectious and autoimmune. Leveraging our proprietary, flexible, off-the-shelf ImmTAX platform, we are developing a deep pipeline in multiple
therapeutic areas, including four clinical stage programs in oncology and infectious disease, advanced pre-clinical programs in autoimmune conditions and multiple earlier pre-clinical programs.
In January and April 2022, we received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and European Commission, or EC, respectively, for our lead product candidate, KIMMTRAK, for the
treatment of unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma, or mUM. We then received approval in June 2022 from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA, and Health
Canada. KIMMTRAK is now approved in over 30 countries and we have commercially launched in the United States, Germany and France, among other territories, with further commercial launches underway in additional territories where we have received
approval. The Company plans to launch KIMMTRAK in additional countries, if approved in those countries, in 2023-2024.
KIMMTRAK is the lead product from our ImmTAX platform and is the first approved new therapy in uveal melanoma in four decades. To date, we have dosed over 1,000 cancer patients with KIMMTRAK,
tebentafusp, and our other ImmTAX product candidates, which we believe is the largest clinical data set of any T cell engager bispecific in a solid tumor and any TCR therapeutic. Our clinical programs are being conducted with patients with a broad
range of cancers including melanoma, lung, gastric and ovarian, among others. We believe that these other ImmTAX product candidates have the potential to address other tumor types with larger addressable patient populations and significant unmet
need.
KIMMTRAK is manufactured at facilities located in Denmark and Germany. We are supporting the appropriate use of KIMMTRAK in the United States and Europe through a well-equipped and fit-for-purpose trained commercial
team that includes medical, sales, and value access team members. We utilize a hybrid model that includes in-house and contracted resources in the United States and Europe. To support our commercial efforts, we have entered into an exclusive
multi-regional agreement with Medison to help seek regulatory authorization and commercialize Immunocore’s KIMMTRAK in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Central and Eastern Europe, South and Central America, and the Caribbean.
Our clinical programs are being conducted with patients with a broad range