424B5 1 d801851d424b5.htm 424B5 424B5
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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)

Registration No. 333-220759

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of Securities Being

Registered

 

Amount

to be

Registered

 

Proposed

Maximum

Offering Price

Per Share

 

Proposed

Maximum
Aggregate

Offering Price

  Amount of
Registration Fee

Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share

  1,595,025(1)   $42.54(2)   $67,852,363.50   $8,223.71(3)

 

 

(1)

Payment of the registration fee at the time of filing of the registrant’s registration statement on Form S-3, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 2, 2017 (File No. 333-220759), was deferred pursuant to Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and is paid herewith.

(2)

The proposed maximum offering price per common stock will be determined from time to time in connection with, and at the time of, the sale by the holder of such securities.

(3)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, based upon the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant’s common stock as reported on The Nasdaq Global Market on September 4, 2019.


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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

(To Prospectus Dated October 2, 2017)

1,595,025 Shares

 

LOGO

Common Stock

 

 

This prospectus supplement relates to the possible resale or other disposition from time to time of up to 1,595,025 shares of our common stock issued to the selling stockholders listed herein pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 23, 2019 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Zogenix, Inc., Modis Therapeutics, Inc., Xena Merger Sub, Inc. and Shareholder Representative Services, solely in its capacity as the shareholders’ representative. The merger contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Merger”), closed on September 6, 2019.

We are not selling any shares of our common stock under this prospectus supplement, and we will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders may sell the shares of common stock described in this prospectus supplement through public or private transactions at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at negotiated prices. We provide more information about how the selling stockholders may sell their shares of common stock in the section of this prospectus supplement entitled “Plan of Distribution.”

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “ZGNX.” On September 9, 2019, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market was $41.39 per share.

Investing in our securities involves risks. See the “Risk Factors” on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement concerning factors you should consider before investing in our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus supplement is September 10, 2019.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Prospectus Supplement   

About this Prospectus Supplement

   S-ii

Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference

   S-iii

The Company

   S-1

Risk Factors

   S-3

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

   S-44

Use of Proceeds

   S-45

Selling Stockholders

   S-46

Plan of Distribution

   S-49

Legal Matters

   S-50

Experts

   S-50
Prospectus   
    

Page

About this Prospectus

   1

Zogenix

   1

Risk Factors

   2

Forward-Looking Statements

   3

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

   3

Use of Proceeds

   4

Dividend Policy

   4

Description of Capital Stock

   5

Description of Debt Securities

   9

Description of Depositary Shares

   17

Description of Warrants

   20

Description of Units

   22

Description of Rights

   23

Global Securities

   24

Selling Securityholders

   27

Plan of Distribution

   27

Legal Matters

   27

Experts

   27

Where You Can Find More Information

   27

Information Incorporated by Reference

   29

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This prospectus supplement relates to the offering of our common stock by the selling stockholders named herein. Before buying any of the common stock that the selling stockholders are offering, we urge you to carefully read this prospectus supplement, together with the accompanying prospectus and information incorporated by reference as described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.” These documents contain important information that you should consider when making your investment decision.

We provide information to you about this offering of our common stock in two separate documents that are bound together: (1) this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific details regarding this offering; and (2) the accompanying base prospectus, which provides general information, some of which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer to this “prospectus,” we are referring to both documents combined. If information in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with the accompanying base prospectus, you should rely on this prospectus supplement. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement, on the one hand, and the information contained in any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement. If any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date—for example, a document incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement—the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement. You should read this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the information incorporated by reference, in their entirety before making an investment decision.

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized, and no selling stockholder has authorized, anyone to provide you with information that is different. The selling stockholders will not make an offer to sell or seek offers to buy shares of our common stock in any jurisdiction where offers and sales are not permitted. The information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are accurate only as of their respective dates, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus supplement or of any sale of our common stock.

When we refer to “Zogenix,” “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” in this prospectus supplement, we mean Zogenix, Inc., including its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise specified. When we refer to “you,” we mean the holders of the applicable series of securities.

We use our registered trademarks, Fintepla® and Zogenix, in this prospectus supplement. All other trademarks, trade names and service marks appearing in this prospectus supplement or the documents incorporated by reference herein are the property of their respective owners. Use or display by us of other parties’ trademarks, trade dress or products is not intended to and does not imply a relationship with, or endorsements or sponsorship of, us by the trademark or trade dress owner. Solely for convenience, trademarks and tradenames referred to in this prospectus supplement appear without the ® and symbols, but those references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights, to these trademarks and tradenames.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Available Information

We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.

Our web site address is www.zogenix.com. The information on our web site, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the SEC and does not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Other documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement. Statements in this prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement through the SEC’s website, as provided above.

Incorporation by Reference

The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus supplement, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus supplement, and subsequent information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede that information. Any statement contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus supplement to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus supplement modifies or replaces that statement.

We incorporate by reference our documents listed below and any future filings made by us with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), in this prospectus supplement, between the date of this prospectus supplement and the termination of the offering of the securities described in this prospectus supplement. We are not, however, incorporating by reference any documents or portions thereof, whether specifically listed below or filed in the future, that are not deemed “filed” with the SEC, including our Compensation Committee report and performance graph or any information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or related exhibits furnished pursuant to Item 9.01 of Form 8-K.

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus incorporate by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC:

 

   

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2019;

 

   

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2019, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2019 and August 6, 2019, respectively;

 

   

our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 6, 2019, February 12, 2019, March  19, 2019, March 28, 2019, April  8, 2019, May 22, 2019, June 27, 2019, July 23, 2019, August 26, 2019 and September 9, 2019;

 

   

the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 9, 2019; and

 

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the description of our Common Stock contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on November 12, 2010, and any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating the description.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of this offering, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and deemed to be part of this prospectus supplement the accompanying prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents.

You may request a free copy of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus (other than exhibits, unless they are specifically incorporated by reference in the documents) by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Zogenix, Inc.

Attn: Corporate Secretary

5959 Horton Street, Suite 500

Emeryville, CA 94608

(510) 550-8300

Exhibits to the filings will not be sent, however, unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

 

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THE COMPANY

The summary description about us and our business highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and in the accompanying prospectus. This summary provides an overview of selected information and does not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. Therefore, you should read the entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering carefully, including the “Risk Factors” section, and other documents or information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus before making any investment decision.

Zogenix, Inc.

Company Overview

We are a global pharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing transformative therapies to improve the lives of patients and their families living with rare diseases. We are currently focused on developing and commercializing therapies to address rare or orphan disorders.

We own and control worldwide development and commercialization rights to Fintepla, our lead product candidate, other than in Japan where we have entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd. (“Shinyaku”). Fintepla is low-dose fenfluramine under development for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare and catastrophic forms of childhood-onset epilepsy: Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (“LGS”).

Dravet syndrome is a rare form of pediatric-onset epilepsy with life threatening consequences for patients and for which current treatment options are limited. Fintepla has received orphan drug designation in the United States and the European Union for the treatment of Dravet syndrome. In February 2019, we completed our rolling submission of a new drug application (“NDA”), with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and submitted a marketing authorization application (“MAA”), to the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”), for Fintepla for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome. The EMA has accepted the MAA and initiated its review. We held a Type A meeting with the FDA on May 30, 2019 to review the two issues identified in the Refusal to File (“RTF”), letter issued by the FDA on April 5, 2019: first, certain non-clinical studies were not submitted to allow assessment of the chronic administration of fenfluramine; and, second, the application contained an incorrect version of a clinical dataset. Based on the final meeting minutes received, the FDA has agreed with our plan to resubmit the NDA for Fintepla without the inclusion of the new chronic toxicity studies requested in the RTF letter. With regards to the second issue, we conducted and discussed with the FDA a root cause analysis identifying the issue with the incorrect clinical dataset submitted in the original NDA, and the FDA has requested that we include certain findings from analysis in the resubmitted NDA. We intend to resubmit the NDA for Fintepla in the third quarter of 2019.

LGS is another rare, refractory, debilitating pediatric-onset epilepsy with life threatening consequences for patients and for which current treatment options are limited and suboptimal. In November 2017, we announced the initiation of our multicenter global Phase 3 clinical trial of Fintepla as an adjunctive treatment for seizures in patients with LGS (Study 1601). In July 2019, we completed enrollment for Study 1601 and expect top-line data from this study will be available in the first quarter of 2020.

 

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Recent Developments – Modis Acquisition

On September 6, 2019, we closed the previously announced acquisition of Modis Therapeutics, Inc. (“Modis”), pursuant to the Merger Agreement. At the closing, Xena Merger Sub, Inc. merged with and into Modis, with Modis being renamed Zogenix TK2d Corp. and surviving as our wholly-owned subsidiary. Modis’ lead product candidate, MT1621, an investigational deoxynucleoside substrate enhancement therapy, is in late-stage development for the treatment of thymidine kinase 2 deficiency (“TK2d”), an inherited mitochondrial DNA depletion disorder that predominantly affects children and is often fatal. There are currently no approved therapies for this disease.

MT1621 is designed to restore mitochondrial function by targeting the underlying pathophysiology of TK2d. Deoxynucleoside substrate enhancement therapy has been shown to improve cell function and prolong life in preclinical models of TK2d. Data from a Phase 2 retrospective treatment clinical study called RETRO demonstrated increased survival probability and improved functional abilities for patients treated with MT1621 compared with untreated natural history control patients, and suggest that MT1621 may meaningfully alter the course of the disease. MT1621 has received Breakthrough Therapy designation and access to the PRIME scheme and therefore be eligible for an accelerated regulatory path in both the United States and Europe. We plan to continue to work with regulatory authorities in the United States and Europe to further develop MT1621.

At the closing, we paid approximately $175 million in cash and issued 1,595,025 shares of our common stock. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we agreed to file this prospectus supplement covering the resale of such shares within two business days of the closing and to use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the availability of such registration statement for the resale of the shares. We will also be obligated to pay (a) up to an aggregate amount of $150.0 million upon the achievement of specified regulatory milestones, consisting of $100.0 million upon FDA approval and $50.0 million upon EMA approval for MT1621, and (b) a 5% royalty on net sales of Modis products. The royalty term expires on a country-by-country basis upon the later of 15 years after the first commercial sale of a Modis product, expiration of regulatory exclusivity, and the expiration of the last to expire valid patent claim covering a Modis product. We are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts (as defined in the Merger Agreement) to develop and seek marketing approval of (so as to achieve the regulatory milestones) and to commercialize MT1621 in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Italy after marketing approval, if any, has been obtained in the applicable country.

Corporate Information

We were formed as a Delaware corporation on May 11, 2006 as SJ2 Therapeutics, Inc. We commenced our operations on August 25, 2006 and changed our name to Zogenix, Inc. on August 28, 2006. Our principal executive offices are located at 5959 Horton Street, Suite 500, Emeryville, California 94608, and our telephone number is (510) 550-8300.

 

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RISK FACTORS

You should consider carefully the risks described below and discussed under the section captioned “Risk Factors” contained in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in their entirety, together with other information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information and documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, before you make a decision to invest in our common stock. If any of the following events actually occur, our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. This could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below are not the only ones that we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business operations.

Risks Related to the Merger

We may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisition of Modis, those benefits may take longer to realize than expected, and we may encounter significant integration difficulties.

On September 6, 2019, we completed our acquisition (the “Acquisition”), of Modis, pursuant to the Merger Agreement. Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition will depend, to a large extent, on our ability to integrate Modis and its lead product candidate MT1621 into our business and business strategy and realize anticipated growth opportunities and synergies. The integration process may be disruptive to our business and the expected benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame, or at all. The failure to meet the challenges involved and to realize the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition could cause an interruption of, or a loss of momentum in, our development and commercialization efforts and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition is expected to entail numerous additional potential difficulties, including, among others:

 

   

any delay or failure in obtaining marketing approvals for MT1621, or any delay or failure to commercialize MT1621 in the United States or Europe thereafter;

 

   

increased scrutiny from third parties, including regulators, legislative bodies and enforcement agencies, including with respect to product pricing and commercialization matters;

 

   

changes in laws or regulations that adversely impact the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition;

 

   

challenges related to the perception by patients, the medical community and third-party payors of MT1621 for the treatment of TK2d;

 

   

disruptions to our manufacturing arrangements with third-party manufacturers, including our manufacturing and supply arrangements with respect to MT1621 and disruptions to our third-party distribution channel;

 

   

difficulties in managing the expanded operations of a larger and more complex company following the Acquisition;

 

   

the diversion of management attention to integration matters;

 

   

difficulties in achieving the anticipated business opportunities and growth prospects from the Acquisition;

 

   

the size of the treatable patient population for MT1621 may be smaller than we believe it is;

 

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difficulties in assimilating Modis employees and in attracting and retaining key personnel; and

 

   

potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences, unforeseen increased expenses or other unanticipated problems associated with the Acquisition.

Many of these factors are outside of our control, and any one of them could result in increased costs, decreased expected revenues and further diversion of management time and energy, which could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, former holders of Modis capital stock, options and restricted stock units are also entitled to receive from us, subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, up to $150.0 million in contingent consideration, of which $100.0 million would become payable upon the first marketing approval by the FDA for MT1621 and $50.0 million upon the first marketing approval by the EMA for MT1621. In addition, we expect to incur expenses related to the continued development, regulatory approval process and commercialization with respect to MT1621.

Acquisitions involve risks, including inaccurate assessment of undisclosed, contingent or other liabilities or problems. Following the completion of the Acquisition, the surviving corporation, which is now our wholly-owned subsidiary, possesses not only all of the assets, but also all of the liabilities of Modis. It is possible that undisclosed, contingent or other liabilities or problems may arise in the future of which we were previously unaware. These undisclosed liabilities could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects.

Because we have limited financial resources, by investing in the Acquisition, we may forgo or delay pursuit of other opportunities that may have proven to have greater commercial potential. Further, it is possible that undisclosed, contingent, or other liabilities or problems may arise in the future of which we were previously unaware. These undisclosed liabilities could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

All of these factors could decrease or delay the expected accretive effect of the Acquisition and negatively impact our stock price. As a result, it cannot be assured that the Acquisition will result in the full realization of the benefits anticipated from the Acquisition or in the anticipated time frames or at all.

If the selling stockholders immediately sell our common stock received in the Merger, they could cause our common stock price to decline.

The issuance of our common stock in connection with the Merger could have the effect of depressing the market price for our common stock. All of the shares of common stock issued to the former holders of capital stock of Modis in connection with the closing of the Merger will be available for resale in the public market, without restriction, pursuant to this prospectus supplement.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our success depends substantially on our product candidates in development, Fintepla and MT1621. We cannot be certain that Fintepla, MT1621 or any future product candidates will receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized.

We have only two product candidates in clinical development, Fintepla and MT1621, and our business depends substantially on the successful development and commercialization of these product candidates. We currently have no drug products approved for sale, and we may not be able to develop marketable drug products in the future. Fintepla, MT1621 and any future product candidates will require additional clinical and pre-clinical development, regulatory review and approval in multiple jurisdictions, substantial investment, access to

 

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sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity and significant marketing efforts before we can generate any revenues from product sales. The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, sale, marketing, distribution and promotion of drug products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States and other countries, whose regulations differ from country to country.

We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the United States until we receive approval of a NDA from the FDA, or in any foreign countries until we receive the requisite approval from the regulatory authorities of such countries, and we may never receive such regulatory approvals. In February 2019, we completed our rolling submission of a NDA with the FDA and submitted an MAA to the EMA for Fintepla for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome. The EMA has accepted the MAA and initiated its review. However, on April 5, 2019, we received a refusal to file (“RTF”) letter from the FDA regarding our NDA for Fintepla for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome. The RTF letter provided the FDA’s determination that the NDA, as submitted on February 5, 2019, was not sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review of the NDA. In the RTF letter, the FDA cited two reasons for the RTF decision: first, certain non-clinical studies were not submitted to allow assessment of the chronic administration of fenfluramine; and, second, the application contained an incorrect version of a clinical dataset, which prevented the completion of the review process that is necessary to support the filing of the NDA. The FDA did not request or recommend in the RTF letter that we conduct any additional clinical efficacy or safety studies.

We held a Type A meeting with the FDA in May 2019 to review the two issues identified in the RTF letter. Based on the final meeting minutes received, the FDA has concurred with our plan to resubmit the NDA for Fintepla without the inclusion of the new chronic toxicity studies requested in the RTF letter. With regards to the second issue, we conducted and discussed with the FDA a root cause analysis identifying the issue with the incorrect clinical dataset submitted in the original NDA, and the FDA has requested that we include certain findings from our analysis in the resubmitted NDA. We intend to resubmit the NDA for Fintepla in the third quarter of 2019. However, we cannot provide any assurance that we be able to adequately address the issues raised to FDA’s satisfaction or that the FDA will accept the resubmitted Fintepla NDA for filing, or that the FDA will ultimately approve our NDA following a substantive review. The FDA may determine later to require us to conduct additional non-clinical or clinical studies or may otherwise impose other requirements to be completed before or after approval of the NDA. In addition, the RTF letter could cause potential delays by the EMA on an approvability decision, or otherwise negatively affect such decision.

MT1621 has been evaluated in a Phase 2 retrospective treatment clinical study called RETRO, which demonstrated increased survival probability and improved functional abilities for patients treated with MT1621 compared with untreated natural history control patients. However, the FDA or EMA may disagree with the design of the RETRO and the reliance on a natural history dataset as the comparator, and we may be required to conduct additional trials prior to seeking regulatory approval.

Obtaining regulatory approval for a product candidate is a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process, and may not be successful. Any failure to obtain regulatory approval of Fintepla, MT1621 or any future product candidate, or failure to obtain such approval for all of the indications and labeling claims we deem desirable, would limit our ability to generate future revenues, would potentially harm the development prospects of Fintepla and MT1621 and would have a material and adverse impact on our business.

Even if we successfully obtain regulatory approvals to market our product candidates, our revenues will be dependent, in part, on our ability to commercialize such products as well as the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval. If the markets for our product candidates are not as significant as we estimate, our business and prospects will be harmed.

Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate acceptable levels of safety and efficacy for Fintepla, MT1621 or any future product candidates, which could prevent or significantly delay their regulatory approval.

 

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Fintepla, MT1621 and any future product candidates are prone to the risks of failure inherent in drug development. Before obtaining U.S. regulatory approval for the commercial sale of Fintepla, MT1621 or any future product candidates, we must gather substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical trials that demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA that the product candidate in question is safe and effective, and similar regulatory approvals would be necessary to commercialize our product candidates in other countries. Failure can occur at any stage of our clinical trials, and we could encounter problems that cause us to abandon or repeat clinical trials.

A number of companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after promising results in earlier trials. If Fintepla or MT1621 is not shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials, the programs could be delayed or terminated, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

The results of previous clinical trials may not be predictive of future results, and the results of our current and planned clinical trials may not satisfy the requirements of the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities.

The results from the prior clinical trials of Fintepla or MT1621 may not necessarily be predictive of the results of future clinical trials or preclinical studies. The results of prior clinical trials of Fintepla or MT1621 may not be replicated in any future clinical trials of these product candidates. Clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in prior clinical trials nonetheless have failed to obtain FDA approval. If we fail to produce positive results in our clinical trials of our product candidates, the development timeline and regulatory approval and commercialization prospects for our product candidates and our business and financial prospects, would be adversely affected.

Further, Fintepla may not be approved even though recent, positive top-line results showed that Fintepla met its primary and all key secondary endpoints in our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials. Similarly, MT1621 may not be approved even though the Phase 2 retrospective treatment study called RETRO demonstrated improved survival probability of patients treated with MT1621 compared with a natural history patient control group. The FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities may disagree with our trial design and our interpretation of data from preclinical studies and clinical trials, including with the design of the Phase 2 retrospective study comparing the outcomes from the MT1621 active treatment group against outcomes from a natural history dataset. In addition, any of these regulatory authorities may change its requirements for the approval of a product candidate even after reviewing and providing comments or advice on a protocol for a pivotal clinical trial that, if successful, would potentially form the basis for an application for approval by the FDA or another regulatory authority. Furthermore, any of these regulatory authorities may also approve our product candidates for fewer or more limited indications than we request or may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials.

Top-line data may not accurately reflect the complete results of a particular study or trial.

We may publicly disclose top-line or interim data from time to time, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available efficacy and safety data such as the reported RETRO data which is based on preliminary analysis of key efficacy and safety data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the top-line results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. 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, top-line data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Further, others, including regulatory agencies, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimations, calculations, conclusions

 

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or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular drug candidate or drug and our company in general. In addition, the information we may publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and you or others may not agree with what we determine is the material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure, and any information we determine not to disclose may ultimately be deemed significant with respect to future decisions, conclusions, views, activities or otherwise regarding a particular drug, drug candidate or our business. If the top-line data that we report differ from actual results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for, and commercialize, our product candidates may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.

Delays in the commencement or completion of clinical testing for Fintepla or MT1621 or pre-clinical or clinical testing for any future product candidates could result in increased costs to us and delay or limit our ability to pursue regulatory approval for, or generate revenues from, such product candidates.

Clinical trials are very expensive, time consuming and difficult to design and implement. Delays in the commencement or completion of clinical testing for Fintepla or MT1621 or pre-clinical or clinical testing for any future product candidates could significantly affect our product development costs and business plan.

Our Phase 3 program for Fintepla includes three randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials of Fintepla as adjunctive therapy for patients with uncontrolled seizures who have Dravet syndrome and one randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of Fintepla for patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS). In September 2017, we announced positive top line data from two identical clinical trials, Study 1501 in the U.S. and Canada and Study 1502 in Europe and Australia, which we collectively refer to as Study 1. Study 1 evaluated two dose levels of Fintepla (0.2 mg/kg/day and 0.8 mg/kg/day, up to a maximum daily dose of 30 mg) and met its primary efficacy endpoint of reducing convulsive seizures experienced by patients after treatment of Fintepla compared to treatment with a placebo. In December 2017, we reported additional data from Study 1. Study 1504 is evaluating a single dose a Fintepla (0.5 mg/kg/day, up to a maximum daily dose of 20 mg, which has been shown to be equivalent to 0.8mg/kg/day in patients not taking stiripentol), in patients taking stiripentol, valproate and/or clobazam. Study 1504 is a multi-national study commenced in the third quarter 2016 and is being conducted in western Europe and North America. We reported top-line results from the trial in July 2018. Notwithstanding the aforementioned plans, we may not be able to identify and enroll sufficient number of study participants and interpret results on these time frames, and consequently the completion of our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials may be delayed.

In July 2019, we announced that we had completed enrollment in our Phase 3 clinical trial of Fintepla as an adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with LGS, Study 1601. Study 1601 is divided in two parts. Part 1 is a double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation to assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of Fintepla, low-dose fenfluramine, when added to a patient’s current anti-epileptic therapy. The trial will include two dose levels of Fintepla (0.2 mg/kg/day and 0.8 mg/kg/day, up to a maximum daily dose of 30 mg), as well as placebo. After establishing baseline seizure frequency for 4 weeks, randomized patients will be titrated to their dose over a 2-week titration period, followed by a 12-week fixed dose maintenance period. We are targeting a total of 225 patients (75 per treatment arm) in the trial. The primary endpoint of the clinical trial is change in the number of seizures that result in drops between baseline and the combined titration and maintenance periods at the 0.8 mg/kg/day dose. Part 2 of Study 1601 will be a 12-month open-label extension to evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability and effectiveness of Fintepla.

The completion of clinical trials can be delayed for a number of reasons, including delays related to:

 

 

obtaining regulatory authorization to commence a clinical trial;

 

 

reaching agreement on acceptable terms with clinical research organization (“CROs”), clinical investigators and trial sites;

 

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manufacturing or obtaining sufficient quantities of a product candidate and placebo for use in clinical trials;

 

 

obtaining institutional review board (“IRB”) approval to initiate and conduct a clinical trial at a prospective site;

 

 

identifying, recruiting and training suitable clinical investigators;

 

 

identifying, recruiting and enrolling subjects to participate in clinical trials for a variety of reasons, including competition from other clinical trial programs for the treatment of similar indications;

 

 

retaining patients who have initiated a clinical trial but may be prone to withdraw due to side effects from the therapy, lack of efficacy, personal issues, or for any other reason they choose, or who are lost to further follow-up;

 

 

uncertainty regarding proper dosing; and

 

 

scheduling conflicts with participating clinicians and clinical institutions.

In addition, if a significant number of patients fail to stay enrolled in any of our current or future clinical trials of Fintepla and such failure is not adequately accounted for in our trial design and enrollment assumptions, our clinical development program could be delayed. Clinical trials may also be delayed or repeated as a result of ambiguous or negative interim results or unforeseen complications in testing. In addition, a clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, the FDA, the IRB overseeing the clinical trial at issue, any of our clinical trial sites with respect to that site, or other regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including:

 

 

inability to design appropriate clinical trial protocols;

 

 

inability by us, our employees, our CROs or their employees to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with all applicable FDA, drug enforcement administration (“DEA”) or other regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols;

 

 

inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial sites by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold;

 

 

discovery of serious or unexpected toxicities or side effects experienced by study participants or other unforeseen safety issues;

 

 

lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial, including the incurrence of unforeseen costs due to enrollment delays, requirements to conduct additional trials and studies and increased expenses associated with the services of our CROs and other third parties;

 

 

lack of effectiveness of any product candidate during clinical trials;

 

 

slower than expected rates of subject recruitment and enrollment rates in clinical trials;

 

 

inability of our CROs or other third-party contractors to comply with all contractual requirements or to perform their services in a timely or acceptable manner;

 

 

inability or unwillingness of medical investigators to follow our clinical protocols; and

 

 

unfavorable results from on-going clinical trials and pre-clinical studies.

Additionally, changes in applicable regulatory requirements and guidance may occur and we may need to amend clinical trial protocols to reflect these changes. Amendments may require us to resubmit our clinical trial protocols to the FDA and IRBs for reexamination, which may impact the costs, timing or successful completion of a clinical trial. If we experience delays in the completion of, or if we terminate, any of our clinical trials, the commercial prospects for Fintepla, MT1621 and any future product candidates may be harmed, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

 

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Fast Track designation for Fintepla may not lead to a faster development or review process.

We have been granted a Fast Track designation for Fintepla in the United States for the treatment of Dravet syndrome. The Fast Track program is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for reviewing new drug candidates that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new drugs are eligible for Fast Track designation if they are intended, alone or in combination with one or more drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the disease or condition. Fast Track designation applies to the combination of the drug candidate and the specific indication for which it is being studied. With a Fast Track drug candidate, the FDA may consider for review sections of the NDA on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the NDA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the NDA and determines that the schedule is acceptable and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the NDA.

Obtaining a Fast Track designation does not change the standards for product approval, but may expedite the development or approval process. Even though the FDA has granted such designation for Fintepla, it may not actually result in faster clinical development or regulatory review or approval. Furthermore, such a designation does not increase the likelihood that Fintepla will receive marketing approval in the United States.

Breakthrough therapy designation and access to the PRIME scheme for MT1621 may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and it does not increase the likelihood that MT1621 or any of our product candidates will receive marketing approval.

In February 2019, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation for MT1621 in the United States for the treatment of TK2d. 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. 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 are also eligible for 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. We cannot be sure that any evaluation we may make of our product candidates as qualifying for breakthrough therapy designation will meet the FDA’s expectations. 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 drugs considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and does not assure ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, even though MT1621 qualifies as a breakthrough therapy, the FDA may later decide that MT1621, or any other product that qualifies as a breakthrough therapy, no longer meet the conditions for qualification, or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened. For example, the FDA rescinded breakthrough therapy designation for Fintepla for Dravet syndrome because there are now two approved therapies for Dravet syndrome and, therefore, the administrative criteria for designation are no longer met.

The EMA has established the PRIME scheme to expedite the development and review of product candidates that show a potential to address to a significant extent an unmet medical need, based on early clinical data. In November 2018, MT1621 for the treatment of patients with TK2d was admitted to the PRIME scheme of the EMA. Even though we have access to PRIME for MT1621, this may not result in a materially faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional EMA procedures. Further, obtaining access to PRIME does not assure or increase the likelihood of EMA’s grant of a marketing authorization.

If the FDA does not conclude that certain of our product candidates satisfy the requirements for the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory approval pathway, or if the requirements for such product candidates under

 

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Section 505(b)(2) are not as we expect, the approval pathway for those product candidates will likely take significantly longer, cost significantly more and entail significantly greater complications and risks than anticipated, and in either case may not be successful.

We are developing proprietary product candidates, including Fintepla, for which we may seek FDA approval through the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, also known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, added Section 505(b)(2) to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Section 505(b)(2) permits the filing of an NDA where at least some of the information required for approval comes from trials that were not conducted by or for the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference. Section 505(b)(2), if applicable to us under the FDCA, would allow an NDA we submit to the FDA to rely in part on data in the public domain or the FDA’s prior conclusions regarding the safety and effectiveness of approved compounds, which could expedite the development program for our product candidates by potentially decreasing the amount of clinical data that we would need to generate in order to obtain FDA approval. If the FDA does not allow us to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway as we anticipated, we may need to conduct additional clinical trials, provide additional data and information and meet additional standards for regulatory approval.

Even if we are allowed to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we cannot assure you that our product candidates will receive the requisite approvals for commercialization. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, and Section 505(b)(2) NDAs are subject to special requirements designed to protect the patent rights of sponsors of previously approved drugs that are referenced in a Section 505(b)(2) NDA. These requirements may give rise to patent litigation and mandatory delays in approval of our NDAs for up to 30 months or longer depending on the outcome of any litigation. It is not uncommon for a manufacturer of an approved product to file a citizen petition with the FDA seeking to delay approval of, or impose additional approval requirements for, pending competing products. If successful, such petitions can significantly delay, or even prevent, the approval of the new product. However, even if the FDA ultimately denies such a petition, the FDA may substantially delay approval while it considers and responds to the petition. In addition, even if we are able to utilize the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, there is no there is no guarantee this would ultimately lead to accelerated product development or earlier approval.

Moreover, even if our product candidates are approved under Section 505(b)(2), the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the products may be marketed or to other conditions of approval, or may contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products.

We have limited sales and marketing resources, and we may not be able to effectively market and sell our products.

We do not currently have all the necessary components of an organization for sales, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products, and therefore we must build this organization or make arrangements with third parties to perform these functions in order to commercialize any products that we successfully develop and for which we obtain regulatory approvals. We will have to compete with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to recruit, hire, train and retain sales and marketing personnel. We will also face competition in our search for collaborators and potential co-promoters, if we choose such an option. To the extent we may rely on third parties to co-promote or otherwise commercialize any product candidates in one or more regions that may receive regulatory approval, we are likely to receive less revenue than if we commercialized these products ourselves. Further, by entering into strategic partnerships or similar arrangements, we may rely in part on such third parties for financial and commercialization resources. Even if we are able to identify suitable partners to assist in the commercialization of our product candidates, they may be unable to devote the resources necessary to realize the full commercial potential of our products.

 

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Further, we may lack the financial and managerial resources to establish a sales and marketing organization to adequately promote and commercialize any product candidates that may be approved. The establishment of a sales force will result in an increase in our expenses, which could be significant before we generate revenues from any newly approved product candidate. Even though we may be successful in establishing future partnership arrangements, such sales force and marketing teams may not be successful in commercializing our products, which would adversely affect our ability to generate revenue for such products, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We face intense competition, and if our competitors market and/or develop treatments for any of our product candidates’ indications that are marketed more effectively, approved more quickly than our product candidates or demonstrated to be safer or more effective than our products, our commercial opportunities will be reduced or eliminated.

The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary therapeutics. We face competition from a number of sources, some of which may target the same indications as our product candidates, including large pharmaceutical companies, smaller pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, academic institutions, government agencies and private and public research institutions, many of which have greater financial resources, sales and marketing capabilities, including larger, well-established sales forces, manufacturing capabilities, experience in obtaining regulatory approvals for product candidates and other resources than we do.

If approved for the chronic treatment of Dravet syndrome, Fintepla may compete against other products and product candidates. In June 2018, the FDA approved the first treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome, as well as LGS, GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex® (cannabidiol). Epidiolex is a liquid drug formulation of plant-derived purified cannabidiol (“CBD”), which is a chemical component of the Cannabis sativa plant, more commonly known as marijuana. In August 2018, the FDA approved a second treatment, Biocodex’s Diacomit® (stiripentol), for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome in patients who are also taking clobazam. Stiripentol is approved in Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan for the treatment of Dravet syndrome when used in conjunction with valproate and/or clobazam. GW Pharmaceuticals plc has filed a MAA in Europe for CBD in Dravet syndrome and LGS. Insys Therapeutics (Insys) is developing a synthetic CBD for the treatment of pediatric epilepsies, including Dravet syndrome. Insys previously advanced its synthetic CBD program, which has received orphan drug designation and Fast Track status by the FDA for use of CBD as a potential treatment for Dravet syndrome, into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. Insys initiated Phase 2 development of its CBD product candidate for childhood absence epilepsy in December of 2017 and initiated a Phase 3 trial in infantile spasms, a pediatric epilepsy syndrome, in the first quarter of 2018. Ovid Therapeutics, Inc. is currently evaluating its product candidate OV935, a first-in-class inhibitor of the enzyme cholesterol 24-hydroxylase, for the potential treatment of adult and pediatric patients with Dravet syndrome and LGS in Phase 2 clinical trials.

We expect Fintepla, if approved, to compete on the basis of, among other things, product efficacy and safety, time to market, price, coverage and reimbursement by third-party payors, extent of adverse side effects and convenience of treatment procedures. One or more of our competitors may develop other products that compete with ours, obtain necessary approvals for such products from the FDA, or other agencies, if required, more rapidly than we do or develop alternative products or therapies that are safer, more effective and/or more cost effective than any products developed by us. The competition that we will encounter with respect to any of our product candidates that receive the requisite regulatory approval and classification and are marketed will have an effect on our product prices, market share and results of operations. We may not be able to successfully differentiate any products that we are able to market from those of our competitors, successfully develop or introduce new products that are less costly or offer better results than those of our competitors or offer purchasers of our products payment and other commercial terms as favorable as those offered by our competitors. In addition, competitors may seek to develop alternative formulations of our product candidates and/or alternative drug delivery technologies that address our targeted indications.

 

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The commercial opportunity for our product candidates could be significantly harmed if competitors are able to develop alternative formulations and/or drug delivery technologies outside the scope of our products. Compared to us, many of our potential competitors have substantially greater:

 

 

capital resources;

 

 

research and development resources, expertise and experience, including personnel and technology;

 

 

drug development, clinical trial and regulatory resources and experience;

 

 

sales and marketing resources and experience;

 

 

manufacturing and distribution resources and experience;

 

 

name recognition; and

 

 

resources, experience and expertise in prosecution and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

As a result of these factors, our competitors may obtain regulatory approval of their products more rapidly than we are able to or may obtain patent protection or other intellectual property rights that limit or block us from developing or commercializing our product candidates. Our competitors may also develop drugs that are more effective, more useful, better tolerated, subject to fewer or less severe side effects, more widely prescribed or accepted or less costly than ours and may also be more successful than we are in manufacturing and marketing their products. If we are unable to compete effectively with the marketed therapeutics of our competitors or if such competitors are successful in developing products that effectively compete with any of our product candidates that are approved, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects may be materially adversely affected.

If Fintepla or MT1621 receive regulatory approval but do not achieve broad market acceptance or coverage by third-party payors, the revenues that we generate will be limited.

The commercial success of Fintepla or MT1621, if approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, will depend upon the acceptance of these products by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and the medical community. Adequate coverage and reimbursement of our approved product by third-party payors will also be critical for commercial success. The degree of market acceptance of any product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval will depend on a number of factors, including:

 

 

acceptance by physicians and patients of the product as a safe and effective treatment;

 

 

any negative publicity or political action related to our or our competitors’ products;

 

 

the relative convenience and ease of administration;

 

 

the prevalence and severity of adverse side effects;

 

 

demonstration to authorities of the pharmacoeconomic benefits;

 

 

demonstration to authorities of the improvement in burden of illness;

 

 

limitations or warnings contained in a product’s FDA-approved or EMA approved labeling;

 

 

the clinical indications for which a product is approved;

 

 

availability and perceived advantages of alternative treatments;

 

 

the effectiveness of our or any current or future collaborators’ sales, marketing and distribution strategies;

 

 

pricing and cost effectiveness;

 

 

our ability to obtain sufficient U.S. third-party payor coverage and reimbursement;

 

 

our ability to obtain European countries’ pricing authorities’ coverage and reimbursement; and

 

 

the willingness of patients to pay out of pocket in the absence of third-party payor coverage.

 

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Our efforts to educate the medical community, U.S. third-party payors and European countries’ health authorities on the benefits of Fintepla or any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval from the FDA or other regulatory authorities and gain broad market acceptance may require significant resources and may never be successful. If our products do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, third-party payors, pharmacists, patients, and the medical community, we may not generate sufficient revenue from these products to become or remain profitable.

We have a history of significant net losses and negative cash flow from operations. We cannot predict if or when we will become profitable and anticipate that our net losses and negative cash flow from operations will continue for at least the next year.

We were organized in 2006, began commercialization of Sumavel DosePro in January 2010 and launched the commercial sale of Zohydro ER in the United States in March 2014. We sold our Sumavel DosePro business in April 2014 and sold our Zohydro ER business in April 2015. Our business and prospects must be considered in light of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by pharmaceutical companies developing and commercializing new products.

Excluding gains from two discrete business divestitures, we have incurred significant net losses from our operations since the inception and have an accumulated deficit of $696.0 million as of December 31, 2018. In 2018, we used $111.7 million of cash in operations. We expect to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flow from operating activities for at least the next year primarily as a result of costs incurred related to the development and commercialization of Fintepla and MT1621. Additionally, in the event that Fintepla or MT1621 is approved in the United States or the EU, we will owe milestone payments related to our 2014 acquisition of development and commercialization rights to Fintepla and our 2019 acquisition of development and commercialization rights to MT1621, respectively. Our ability to generate revenues from Fintepla or MT1621 will depend on a number of factors including our ability to successfully complete clinical trials, obtain necessary regulatory approvals and negotiate arrangements with third parties to help finance the development of, and market and distribute, any product candidates that receive regulatory approval. In addition, we are subject to the risk that the marketplace will not accept our products.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with our commercialization and product development efforts, we are unable to predict the extent of our future losses or when or if we will become profitable, if at all. If we do not generate significant sales from Fintepla or MT1621 or any future product candidate that may receive regulatory approval, there would likely be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects which could result in our inability to continue operations.

We rely on third parties to conduct our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties 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 have agreements with third-party CROs to conduct our ongoing Phase 3 program for Fintepla and our clinical development program of MT1621. We rely heavily on these parties for the execution of our clinical trials and pre-clinical studies, and control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol and regulatory requirements. We and our CROs are required to comply with good clinical practice (“GCP”) requirements for clinical studies of our product candidates, and good laboratory practice (“GLP”) requirements for certain pre-clinical studies. The FDA enforces these regulations through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we or our CROs fail to comply with applicable regulations, the data generated in our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA may require us to perform additional pre-clinical studies or clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that, upon inspection, the FDA and similar foreign regulators will determine that any of our clinical trials

 

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comply or complied with GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product produced under current good manufacturing practice (“cGMP”), regulations, and require a large number of test subjects. Our inability to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs terminates, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate additional revenues could be delayed.

Switching or adding additional CROs can involve substantial cost and require extensive management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work. As a result, delays may occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

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

From time to time we may consider strategic transactions, such as acquisitions of companies, asset purchases and out-licensing or in-licensing of products, product candidates or technologies. For example, in September 2019, we completed the acquisition of Modis Therapeutics, Inc., which owned worldwide development and commercialization rights to MT1621. Additional potential transactions that we may consider include a variety of different business arrangements, including spin-offs, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, divestitures, business combinations and investments. Any such transaction may require us to incur non-recurring or other charges, may increase our near and long-term expenditures and may pose significant integration challenges or disrupt our management or business, which could adversely affect our operations and financial results. For example, these transactions may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including:

 

 

exposure to unknown liabilities;

 

 

disruption of our business and diversion of our management’s time and attention in order to develop acquired products, product candidates or technologies;

 

 

incurrence of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of equity securities to pay for acquisitions;

 

 

significant or higher than expected acquisition and integration costs;

 

 

write-downs of assets or goodwill or impairment charges;

 

 

increased amortization expenses;

 

 

difficulty and cost in combining the operations and personnel of any acquired businesses with our operations and personnel;

 

 

impairment of relationships with key suppliers or customers of any acquired businesses due to changes in management, personnel and ownership; and

 

 

inability to retain key employees of any acquired businesses.

 

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

We are dependent on numerous third parties in our manufacturing supply chain, all of which are currently single source suppliers, for the clinical supply of Fintepla and MT1621, and if we experience problems with any of these suppliers, the development of Fintepla or MT1621 could be delayed.

We outsource all manufacturing and packaging of the clinical trial materials for Fintepla and MT1621 to third parties. For example, in February 2019, we entered into a master supply agreement with Aptuit (Oxford) Limited, an Evotec company (“Aptuit”), pursuant to which Aptuit will be our commercial manufacturer and supplier of the fenfluramine active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”). In addition, in July 2019 we entered into supply agreement with Penn Pharmaceutical Services Limited, trading as PCI Pharma Services (“PCI Pharma”), pursuant to which PCI Pharma will be our commercial manufacturer and supplier for Fintepla. Fintepla, if approved, would require us to complete process validation under FDA regulations, for which there can be no assurance of success. We may never be able to establish additional sources of supply for Fintepla.

Suppliers, including Aptuit and PCI Pharma, are subject to regulatory requirements covering, among other things, testing, quality control and record keeping relating to our product candidate, and are subject to ongoing inspections by regulatory agencies. Failure by any of our suppliers to comply with applicable regulations may result in long delays and interruptions, and increase our costs, while we seek to secure another supplier who meets all regulatory requirements, including obtaining regulatory approval to utilize the new supplier. Accordingly, the loss of any of our current suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Reliance on suppliers entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured our product candidate ourselves, including:

 

 

reliance on the third parties for regulatory compliance and quality assurance;

 

 

the possible breach of the manufacturing agreements by the third parties because of factors beyond our control or the insolvency of any of these third parties or other financial difficulties, labor unrest, natural disasters or other factors adversely affecting their ability to conduct their business; and

 

 

the possibility of termination or non-renewal of the agreements by the third parties, at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us, because of our breach of the manufacturing agreement or based on their own business priorities.

If our contract manufacturers or suppliers are unable to provide the quantities of our product candidate required for our clinical trials and, if approved, for commercial sale, on a timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices, and we are unable to find one or more replacement manufacturers or suppliers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, in substantially equivalent volumes and quality, and on a timely basis, we would likely be unable to meet demand for our products and would have to delay or terminate our pre-clinical or clinical trials, and we would lose potential revenue. It may also take a significant period of time to establish an alternative source of supply for our products, product candidates and components and to have any such new source approved by the FDA or any applicable foreign regulatory authorities. Furthermore, any of the above factors could cause the delay or suspension of initiation or completion of clinical trials, regulatory submissions or required approvals of our product candidates, cause us to incur higher costs and could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates successfully.

If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel, we may not be able to manage our business effectively or develop our product candidates or commercialize our products.

 

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Our success depends on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management and key clinical development, regulatory, sales and marketing and other personnel. As of September 9, 2019, we employed 139 full-time employees. Of the full-time employees, 73 were engaged in product development, quality assurance and clinical and regulatory activities, 43 were engaged in sales and marketing and 23 were engaged in general and administrative activities (including business and corporate development). If we are not able to retain our employee base, we may not be able to effectively manage our business or be successful in commercializing our products.

We are highly dependent on the development, regulatory, commercial and financial expertise of our senior management team. We may not be able to attract or retain qualified management and scientific and clinical personnel in the future due to the intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area where we operate. If we are not able to attract, retain and motivate necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience constraints that will significantly impede the achievement of our development and commercialization objectives, our ability to raise additional capital, our ability to implement our business strategy and our ability to maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). The loss of the services of any members of our senior management team, especially our Chief Executive Officer and President, Stephen J. Farr, Ph.D., could delay or prevent the development and commercialization of Fintepla and our product candidates. Further, if we lose any members of our senior management team, we may not be able to find suitable replacements, and our business may be harmed as a result.

Although we have employment agreements with each of our executive officers, these agreements are terminable by them at will at any time with or without notice and, therefore, do not provide any assurance that we will be able to retain their services. We do not maintain “key man” insurance policies on the lives of our senior management team or the lives of any of our other employees. In addition, we have clinical advisors who assist us in formulating our clinical strategies. These advisors are not our employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability to us, or may have arrangements with other companies to assist in the development of products that may compete with ours. If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects will be adversely affected.

Our business and operations would suffer in the event of system failures.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our current and our partners, contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from cyber-attacks, computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. For example, we have in the past experienced failures in our information systems and computer servers, which may have been the result of a cyber-attack. These failures resulted in an interruption of our normal business operations and required substantial expenditure of financial and administrative resources to remedy. We cannot be sure that similar failures will not occur in the future. System failures, accidents or security breaches can cause interruptions in our operations, and can result in a material disruption of our commercialization activities, drug development programs and our business operations. The loss of clinical trial data from completed or future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval and post-market study compliance efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Similarly, we rely on a large number of third parties to supply components for and manufacture our product candidates and conduct clinical trials, and similar events relating to their computer systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the development of our product candidates could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.

 

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Cyber-attacks or other failures in telecommunications or information technology systems could result in information theft, data corruption and significant disruption of our business operations.

We use information technology, computer systems and networks to process, transmit and store electronic information in connection with our business activities. Cyber incidents, including deliberate attacks and attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks, have increased in frequency, scope and sophistication in every industry. These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data, and may cause a disruption in our operations, harm our reputation and increase our stock trading risk. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in preventing cyber-attacks or successfully mitigating their effects. Similarly, there can be no assurance that our third-party collaborators, distributors and other contractors and consultants will be successful in protecting our data that is stored on their systems. A cyberattack or destruction or loss of data could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects. In addition, we may suffer reputational harm or face litigation or adverse regulatory action as a result of cyber-attacks or other data security breaches and may incur significant additional expense to implement further data protection measures.

Fluctuations in the value of the Euro or UK pound sterling could negatively impact our results of operations and increase our costs.

We conduct research and development activities in the UK and other European countries and some of the payments for these activities are denominated in Euros and UK pounds sterling. As a result, we are exposed to foreign exchange risk, and our results of operations may be impacted by fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro or UK pound sterling, such as the decline in value of the UK pound sterling following the results of the UK’s referendum on withdrawal from the EU. A significant appreciation in the Euro or UK pound sterling relative to the U.S. dollar will result in higher expenses and cause increases in our net losses. Likewise, to the extent that we generate any revenues denominated in foreign currencies, or become required to make payments in other foreign currencies, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and those foreign currencies could also negatively impact our results of operations. We currently have not entered into any foreign currency hedging contracts to reduce the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and foreign currency hedging is inherently risky and may result in unanticipated losses.

If we are unable to achieve and maintain adequate levels of coverage and reimbursement for any of our other product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval on reasonable pricing terms, their commercial success may be severely hindered.

Successful sales of any product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval will depend on the availability of adequate coverage and reimbursement from third-party payors. Patients who are prescribed medicine for the treatment of their conditions generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their prescription drugs. Adequate coverage and reimbursement from governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and commercial payors are critical to new product acceptance. Coverage decisions may depend upon clinical and economic standards that disfavor new drug products when more established or lower cost therapeutic alternatives are already available or subsequently become available. Assuming coverage is approved, the resulting reimbursement payment rates might not be adequate or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Patients are unlikely to use our products unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our products.

In addition, the market for our products will depend significantly on access to third-party payors’ drug formularies, or lists of medications for which third-party payors provide coverage and reimbursement. The industry competition to be included in such formularies often leads to downward pricing pressures on pharmaceutical companies. Also, third-party payors may refuse to include a particular branded drug in their formularies or otherwise restrict patient access to a branded drug when a less costly generic equivalent or other alternative is available.

 

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In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using competitive bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. This can reduce demand for our products or put pressure on our product pricing, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Third-party payors, whether foreign or domestic, or governmental or commercial, are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs. In addition, in the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for drug products exists among third-party payors. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor.

Further, we believe that future coverage and reimbursement will likely be subject to increased restrictions both in the United States and in international markets. Third-party coverage and reimbursement for any of our product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval may not be available or adequate in either the United States or international markets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We face potential product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability if our insurance coverage for those claims is inadequate.

The commercial use of our products and clinical use of our products and product candidates expose us to the risk of product liability claims. This risk exists even if a product or product candidate is approved for commercial sale by the FDA and manufactured in facilities regulated by the FDA such as the case with Zohydro ER, or an applicable foreign regulatory authority. Our products and product candidates are designed to affect important bodily functions and processes. Any side effects, manufacturing defects, misuse or abuse associated with Zohydro ER or our product candidates could result in injury to a patient or even death. For example, Zohydro ER is an opioid pain reliever that contains hydrocodone, which is a regulated “controlled substance” under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (“CSA”), and could result in harm to patients relating to its potential for abuse. Although we no longer sell Zohydro ER following the sale of the Zohydro ER business in April 2015, we retain all liabilities associated with the Zohydro ER business arising prior to such sale, including possible product liability exposure in connection with sales of Zohydro ER made prior to the sale of the Zohydro ER business. In addition, a liability claim may be brought against us even if our products or product candidates merely appear to have caused an injury.

Product liability claims may be brought against us by consumers, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products or product candidates, if approved, among others. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we will incur substantial liabilities. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

 

 

the inability to commercialize our product candidates;

 

 

decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved;

 

 

impairment of our business reputation;

 

 

product recall or withdrawal from the market;

 

 

withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

 

 

costs of related litigation;

 

 

distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;

 

 

substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants; or

 

 

loss of revenues.

 

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We have obtained product liability insurance coverage for commercial product sales and clinical trials with a $20.0 million per occurrence and annual aggregate coverage limit. Our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all of our product liability related expenses or losses and may not cover us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive, and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost, in sufficient amounts or upon adequate terms to protect us against losses due to product liability. If we determine that it is prudent to increase our product liability coverage based on approval of Fintepla, or otherwise, we may be unable to obtain this increased product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Large judgments have been awarded in class action or individual lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated side effects, including side effects that are less severe than those of Zohydro ER and our product candidates. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We may never receive regulatory approval or commercialize our product candidate outside of the United States.

We intend to market Fintepla and MT1621 outside of the United States, if approved. For example, Fintepla has received orphan drug designation in the EU and MT1621 has access to the PRIME scheme in the European Union. In addition, we completed a Phase 3 clinical trial, which included sites in Europe and Australia, in 2017, and submitted a MAA to the EMA for Fintepla for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome in February 2019. The EMA has accepted the MAA and initiated its review. In order to market our products outside of the United States, we, or any potential partner, must obtain separate regulatory approvals and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries regarding safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials and commercial sales, pricing and distribution of our products. The time required to obtain approval in other countries might differ from and be longer than that required to obtain FDA approval. The regulatory approval process in other countries may include all of the risks detailed in these “Risk Factors” regarding FDA approval in the United States, as well as other risks.

For example, in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), which comprised of 28 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, medicinal products can only be commercialized after obtaining a Marketing Authorization (“MA”). There are two types of MAs:

 

 

The Community MA, which is issued by the European Commission through the Centralized · Procedure, based on the opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (“CHMP”) of the EMA and which is valid throughout the entire territory of the EEA. The Centralized Procedure is mandatory for certain types of products, such as biotechnology medicinal products, orphan medicinal products, and medicines that contain a new active substance indicated for the treatment of AIDS, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, auto-immune and viral diseases. The Centralized Procedure is optional for products containing a new active substance not yet authorized in the EEA, or for products that constitute a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation or which are in the interest of public health in the EU. Under the Centralized Procedure the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of a marketing authorization application is 210 days (excluding clock stops, when additional written or oral information is to be provided by the applicant in response to questions asked by the CHMP). Accelerated evaluation might be granted by the CHMP in exceptional cases, when the authorization of a medicinal product is of major interest from the point of view of public health and in particular from the viewpoint of therapeutic innovation. Under the accelerated procedure the standard 210-day review period is reduced to 150 days.

 

 

National MAs, which are issued by the competent authorities of the member states of the EEA and only cover their respective territory, are available for products not falling within the mandatory scope of the Centralized Procedure. Where a product has already been authorized for marketing in a member state of the EEA, this National MA can be recognized in other member states through the Mutual Recognition Procedure. If the product has not received a National MA in any member state at the time of application, it can be approved simultaneously in various Member States through the Decentralized Procedure.

 

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In the EEA, upon receiving marketing authorization, new chemical entities generally receive eight years of data exclusivity and an additional two years of market exclusivity. If granted, data exclusivity prevents regulatory authorities in the EU from referencing the innovator’s data to assess a generic application. During the additional two-year period of market exclusivity, a generic marketing authorization can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but no generic product can be marketed until the expiration of the market exclusivity. However, there is no guarantee that a product will be considered by the EU’s regulatory authorities to be a new chemical entity and qualify for data exclusivity.

In the EEA, we have taken advantage of the hybrid application pathway of the EU Centralized Procedure, which is similar to the FDA’s 505(b)(2) pathway. Hybrid applications may rely in part on the results of pre-clinical tests and clinical trials contained in the authorization dossier of the reference product, but must be supplemented with additional data. In territories where data is not freely available, we or our partners may not have the ability to commercialize our products without negotiating rights from third parties to refer to their clinical data in our regulatory applications, which could require the expenditure of significant additional funds. We, or any potential partner, may be unable to obtain rights to the necessary clinical data and may be required to develop our own proprietary safety effectiveness dossiers. Regulatory approval in one country does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in others.

Inability to obtain regulatory approval in other countries or any delay or setback in obtaining such approval could have the same adverse effects detailed in these “Risk Factors” regarding FDA approval in the United States. As described above, such effects include the risks that our product candidates may not be approved at all or for all requested indications, which could limit the uses of our product candidates and have an adverse effect on their commercial potential or require costly, post-marketing studies. In addition, we, or any potential partner, may be subject to fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution if we are unable to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements.

Our business involves the use of hazardous materials and we and our third-party manufacturers and suppliers must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which can be expensive and restrict how we do business.

Our research and development activities and our third-party manufacturers’ and suppliers’ activities involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials owned by us, including the components of our product candidates and other hazardous compounds. We and our manufacturers and suppliers are subject to laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. In some cases, these hazardous materials and various wastes resulting from their use are stored at our and our manufacturers’ facilities pending use and disposal. We cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination, which could cause an interruption of our research and development efforts and business operations, injury to our employees and others, environmental damage resulting in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. Although we believe that the safety procedures utilized by our third-party manufacturers for handling and disposing of these materials generally comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that this is the case or eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In such an event, we may be held liable for any resulting damages and such liability could exceed our resources. We do not currently carry biological or hazardous waste insurance coverage.

In connection with the reporting of our financial condition and results of operations, we are required to make estimates and judgments which involve uncertainties, and any significant differences between our estimates and actual results could have an adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

 

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Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Any significant differences between our actual results and our estimates and assumptions could negatively impact our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Changes in accounting standards and their interpretations could adversely affect our operating results.

Generally accepted accounting principles in the United States are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the SEC, and various other bodies that promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. These principles and related implementation guidelines and interpretations can be highly complex and involve subjective judgments. A change in these principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported financial results, and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement of a change.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Requirements

We have never generated net income from operations or positive cash flow from operations and are dependent upon external sources of financing to fund our business and development.

We launched our first approved product, Sumavel DosePro, in January 2010 and subsequently sold the business in April 2014. We launched our approved product, Zohydro ER, in March 2014 and subsequently sold the business in April 2015. After our agreement to manufacture and supply Sumavel DosePro to Endo International plc, our only customer, was terminated in September 2017, we have not generated any revenue from contracts with customers. We have financed our operations primarily through the proceeds from the issuance of equity securities, the sale of the Sumavel DosePro and Zohydro ER businesses, and debt, and have incurred negative cash flow from operations in each year since our inception. For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, we incurred net losses of $123.9 million, $126.8 million and $69.7 million, respectively, and our cash used in operating activities was $111.7 million, $75.9 million and $72.9 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $696.0 million. The losses and negative cash flow from operations have had a material adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.

We expect to continue to incur net losses and negative cash flow from operating activities for at least the next year to conduct clinical trials to support regulatory approval of our product candidates. As a result, we will remain dependent upon external sources of financing to fund our business and the development and commercialization of any approved products and product candidates. To the extent we need to raise additional capital in the future, we cannot ensure that debt or equity financing will be available to us in amounts, at times or on terms that will be acceptable to us, or at all. Any shortfall in our cash resources could require that we delay or abandon certain development and commercialization activities and could otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We will require additional funding in the future to carry out our plan of operations and if we are unable to raise capital when needed, we may be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or future commercialization efforts.

Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. We will require additional capital in the future to fund our operations, including:

 

 

further development of our product candidates to support potential regulatory approval; and

 

 

commercialize any of our product candidates, or any products or product candidates that we may develop, in-license or otherwise acquire, if any such product candidates receive regulatory approval.

 

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In addition, our estimates of the amount of cash necessary to fund our business and development activities may prove to be wrong, and we could spend our available financial resources much faster than we currently expect. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:

 

 

the rate of progress and cost of our clinical trials and other product development programs for our product candidates and any future product candidates that we may develop, in-license or acquire;

 

 

the timing of regulatory approval for any of our product candidates and the commercial success of any approved products;

 

 

the costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights associated with our product candidates;

 

 

the costs of establishing or outsourcing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, should we elect to do so;

 

 

the costs, terms and timing of completion of outsourced commercial manufacturing supply arrangements for any product candidate;

 

 

the effect of competing technological and market developments; and

 

 

the terms and timing of any additional collaborative, licensing, co-promotion or other arrangements that we may establish, including our ability to secure a global strategic development and commercialization partner for Fintepla.

Until we can generate a sufficient amount of product revenue and cash flow from operations and achieve profitability, we expect to finance future cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, receivables financings or corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements. We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unsuccessful in raising additional funds when needed, we may be required to significantly delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more of our development programs or our commercialization efforts, or cease operating as a going concern. We also may be required to relinquish, license or otherwise dispose of rights to product candidates or products that we would otherwise seek to develop or commercialize ourselves on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, substantial dilution to existing stockholders would likely result. If we raise additional funds by incurring debt financing, the terms of the debt may involve significant cash payment obligations as well as covenants and specific financial ratios that may restrict our ability to operate our business. If we are unable to maintain sufficient financial resources, including by raising additional funds when needed, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected and we may be unable to continue as a going concern.

Our results of operations and liquidity needs could be materially negatively affected by market fluctuations and economic downturn.

Our results of operations and liquidity could be materially negatively affected by economic conditions generally, both in the United States and elsewhere around the world. Domestic and international equity and debt markets have experienced and may continue to experience heightened volatility and turmoil based on domestic and international economic conditions and concerns. In the event these economic conditions and concerns continue or worsen and the markets continue to remain volatile, our results of operations and liquidity could be adversely affected by those factors in many ways, including making it more difficult for us to raise funds if necessary, and our stock price may decline. In addition, we maintain significant amounts of cash and cash equivalents at one or more financial institutions that are not federally insured. If economic instability continues, we cannot provide assurance that we will not experience losses on these investments.

Raising additional funds by issuing securities may cause dilution to existing stockholders and raising funds through lending and licensing arrangements may restrict our operations or require us to relinquish proprietary rights.

 

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We may need to raise additional funds through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, receivables or royalty financings or corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements. For example, we currently have an at-the-market sales agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co (“Cantor”) for the offer and sale of up to $75.0 million of shares of our common stock from time to time. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities or convertible debt, your ownership interest in us will be diluted. Debt financing typically contains covenants that restrict operating activities.

If we raise additional funds through collaboration, licensing or other similar arrangements, it may be necessary to relinquish potentially valuable rights to our current product or product candidates or proprietary technologies, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If adequate funds are not available, our ability to achieve profitability or to respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited and we may be required to delay, significantly curtail or eliminate the commercialization and development of our product or product candidates.

We may be unable to benefit from favorable UK tax legislation.

As a company that carries out extensive research and development activities, we benefit from the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) R&D tax relief scheme. For each discrete tax year, we have an option to receive an enhanced UK tax deduction on our eligible R&D activities or, when we are in a net operating loss position for that year, we can elect to surrender net operating losses that arose from our eligible R&D activities in exchange for a cash payment from the UK tax authorities for amounts up to 33.35% of qualifying expenditures. Qualifying expenditures largely comprise employment costs for research staff, consumables and certain internal overhead costs incurred as part of research projects. The majority of our R&D activities consist of qualifying expenditures under the UK’s SME R&D tax relief scheme. To date, aggregate cash payments received under this tax relief scheme were approximately $10.1 million. We may not be able to continue to benefit from the UK’s SME R&D tax relief scheme in the future as we increase our personnel and expand our business as this means we may no longer qualify as an SME. In addition, changes in UK tax legislation may reduce or limit any future claims. For example, on October 29, 2018, the UK Government proposed that from April 1, 2020, the amount of cash claims that a qualifying loss-making SME may receive through the SME R&D tax relief scheme in any one year will be capped at three times that SME’s total Pay As You Earn and National Insurance Contributions liability for that year.

Our ability to utilize our net operating loss and research and development income tax credit carryforwards may be limited.

Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“IRC”), substantial changes in our ownership may limit the amount of net operating loss and research and development income tax credit carryforwards, and certain other attributes (such as any future carryovers resulting from any business interest deductions that are disallowed under the recently-enacted U.S. tax legislation) (collectively, “tax attributes”) that could be utilized annually in the future to offset taxable income, if any. Specifically, this limitation may arise in the event of a cumulative change in ownership of our company of more than 50% within a three-year period as determined under the Code, which we refer to as an ownership change. Any such annual limitation may significantly reduce the utilization of these tax attributes before they expire. Prior to our initial public offering in November 2010, we performed an IRC Section 382 and 383 analysis and determined that we had one ownership change, which occurred in August 2006 upon the issuance of convertible preferred stock. We performed an additional IRC Section 382 and 383 analysis upon the issuance of common stock in our follow-on public offering in September 2011, and together with the issuance of common stock in our initial public offering and certain other transactions involving our common stock, resulted in an additional ownership change. We had a third ownership change as defined by IRC Sections 382 and 383, which occurred in January 2014. There was no forfeiture in federal and California net operating loss carryforwards or research and development income tax credits as a result of the third ownership change. Based on the Company’s most recent assessment through December 31, 2018, no reduction was made to the federal and state net operating loss carryforwards or federal

 

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and state tax income tax credit carryforwards under these rules. Any future equity financing transactions, private placements and other transactions that occur within the specified three-year period may trigger additional ownership changes, which could further limit our use of such tax attributes. Any such limitations, whether as the result of prior or future offerings of our common stock or sales of common stock by our existing stockholders, could have an adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations in future years. Furthermore, under recently enacted U.S. tax legislation, although the treatment of tax losses generated before December 31, 2017 has generally not changed, tax losses generated in calendar year 2018 and beyond may only offset 80% of our taxable income. This change may require us to pay federal income taxes in future years despite generating a loss for federal income tax purposes in prior years.

Recent U.S. tax legislation may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Tax Act”) has significantly changed the U.S. federal income taxation of U.S. corporations, including by reducing the U.S. corporate income tax rate, limiting interest deductions, adopting elements of a territorial tax system, imposing a one-time transition tax (repatriation tax) on all undistributed earnings and profits of certain U.S.-owned foreign corporations, revising the rules governing net operating losses and the rules governing foreign tax credits, and introducing new anti-base erosion provisions. Many of these changes are effective immediately, without any transition periods or grandfathering for existing transactions. While we have completed the accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Act on our financial statements as of December 31, 2018, the Tax Act is unclear in many respects and could be subject to potential amendments and technical corrections, as well as interpretations and implementing regulations by the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), any of which could lessen or increase certain adverse impacts of the legislation. In addition, it is unclear how these U.S. federal income tax changes will affect state and local taxation, which often uses federal taxable income as a starting point for computing state and local tax liabilities. If clarifying guidance is provided in the future, it may have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

We are exposed to fluctuations in the market values of our investments.

As of December 31, 2018, our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $514.2 million. Our cash equivalents and marketable securities include money market funds and certificate of deposits, securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies, corporate debt securities and commercial paper meeting the criteria of our investment policy, which prioritizes the preservation of capital. These investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks, instability in the global financial markets, or other factors. As a result, the value or liquidity of our investments could decline and result in a material impairment, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and the availability of cash to fund our operations.

Risks Related to Government Regulation

Fintepla, MT1621 and any of our future product candidates are subject to extensive regulation, and we cannot give any assurance that it will receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized.

We currently are developing Fintepla for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome and LGS and MT1621 for the treatment of TK2 deficiency. The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, sale, marketing, distribution and promotion of drug products, among other things, are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States. We are not permitted to market Fintepla or any of our product candidates in the United States unless and until we receive regulatory approval from the FDA. We cannot provide any assurance that we will obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, or that any such product candidates will be successfully commercialized.

 

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Under the policies agreed to by the FDA under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”), the FDA is subject to a two-tiered system of review times for new drugs: standard review and priority review. For drugs that do not contain a new molecular entity, such as Fintepla, a standard review means the FDA has a goal to complete its review of the NDA and respond to the applicant within ten months from the date of receipt of an NDA. The review process and the PDUFA target action date may be extended if the FDA requests or the NDA sponsor otherwise provides additional information or clarification regarding information already provided in the submission. The FDA’s review goals are subject to change, and the duration of the FDA’s review may depend on the number and type of other NDAs that are submitted to the FDA around the same time period.

The FDA may also refer applications for novel products or products which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved. Although the FDA is not bound by the recommendation of an advisory committee, the matters discussed at the advisory committee meeting, and in particular any concerns regarding safety, could limit our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates subject to advisory committee review.

As part of its review of an NDA, the FDA may inspect the facility or facilities where the drug is manufactured. If the FDA’s evaluations of the NDA and the clinical and manufacturing procedures and facilities are favorable, the FDA will issue an action letter, which will be either an approval letter, authorizing commercial marketing of the drug for a specified indication, or a Complete Response letter containing the conditions that must be met in order to secure approval of the NDA. These conditions may include deficiencies identified in connection with the FDA’s evaluation of the NDA submission or the clinical and manufacturing procedures and facilities. Until any such conditions or deficiencies have been resolved, the FDA may refuse to approve the NDA. If and when those conditions have been met to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA will issue an approval letter. The FDA has substantial discretion in the drug approval process, including the ability to delay, limit or deny approval of a product candidate for many reasons. For example:

 

 

the FDA may not deem a product candidate safe and effective;

 

 

the FDA may not find the data from pre-clinical studies and clinical trials sufficient to support approval;

 

 

the FDA may require additional pre-clinical studies or clinical trials;

 

 

the FDA may not approve of our third-party manufacturers’ processes and facilities; or

 

 

the FDA may change its approval policies or adopt new regulations.

Our lead product candidate Fintepla and any of our other product candidates may not achieve their specified endpoints in clinical trials. Further, Fintepla and our other product candidates may not be approved even if they achieve their specified endpoints in clinical trials. The FDA may disagree with our 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. The FDA may also approve a product candidate for fewer or more limited indications than we request or may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-approval clinical trials. In addition, the FDA may not approve the labeling claims that we believe are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our product candidates. Approval may also be contingent on a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (“REMS”) program, which can limit the labeling and distribution of a drug product.

The safety and effectiveness of Fintepla has been evaluated in a single, continuing, long-term, open-label, study in patients with Dravet syndrome in Belgium. We initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial for Fintepla as an adjunctive treatment of seizures in children with Dravet syndrome in North America in January 2016 (Study 1501) and in Europe and Australia in June 2016 (Study 1502). In September 2017, we announced positive top-line results from Study 1501 and Study 1502 via a prospective merged study analysis approach whereby top-line results from the first approximately 120 subjects randomized into either Study 1501 or 1502 would have

 

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their study results analyzed and be reported initially as “Study 1”. In September 2016, we initiated Cohort 1 of Study 1504 that investigated the pharmacokinetic profile and safety of Fintepla when co-administered with the stiripentol regimen (stiripentol, valproate and/or clobazam). Based on the results of the Cohort 1 pharmacokinetic and safety portion of the trial, in February 2017 we initiated the Cohort 2 safety and efficacy portion of Study 1504 at multiple sites located in France, the Netherlands, United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. In July 2018, we reported positive top-line results from Study 1504, which are consistent with those reported in Study 1.

If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for Fintepla or any of our product candidates on the timeline we anticipate, we may not be able to execute our business strategy effectively and our ability to generate revenues may be limited.

We may not be able to maintain orphan drug designation or obtain or maintain orphan drug exclusivity for Fintepla or MT1621.

We have obtained orphan drug designation for Fintepla in the United States and Europe for both the treatment of Dravet syndrome and LGS. We have also received orphan drug designation for MT1621 for the treatment of TK2 deficiency. In the United States, under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product as an orphan drug if it is intended to treat a rare disease or condition affecting fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States or, if it affects more than 200,000 people, there is no reasonable expectation that costs of research and development of the drug for the indication can be recovered by sales in the United States. In the EU, a drug may receive orphan designation if the prevalence of the condition in the EU is of no more than five in 10,000 or it if is unlikely that marketing of the medicine would generate sufficient returns to justify the investment needed for its development. Orphan drug designation in the United States confers certain benefits, including tax incentives and waiver of the applicable application fee upon submission of the product for approval in the rare disease or condition. In the EU, sponsors who obtain orphan designation benefit from a number of incentives, including protocol assistance and fee reductions.

If a product with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is eligible for a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the FDA or EMA from approving another marketing application for the same drug to treat the same rare disease or condition for that time period, except in limited circumstances. The applicable period is seven years in the United States and ten years in Europe. Also, we are only able to attain orphan drug status in Europe if we are able to demonstrate to EMA that Fintepla or MT1621 has incremental benefit over any other approved product for that orphan disorder. In July 2018, we reported positive top-line results from Study 1504 and in February 2019, we submitted a MAA to the EMA for Fintepla for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome. The EMA has accepted the MAA and initiated its review. Currently in Europe, only stiripentol has orphan drug status, which has been approved for treatment of seizures in Dravet syndrome, but others could be approved.

The European exclusivity period can be reduced to six years if a drug no longer meets the criteria for orphan drug designation or if the drug is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified. Orphan drug exclusivity may be lost if the FDA or EMA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.

Orphan drug exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition in the United States because different drugs can be approved for the same condition. Even after an orphan drug is approved and granted exclusivity, the FDA and EMA can subsequently approve the same or a similar drug for the same condition during the exclusivity period if the FDA or the EMA 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. 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.

 

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Any of our product candidates that receive regulatory approval will be subject to ongoing and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant expense and limit our ability to commercialize such products.

Even after we achieve U.S. regulatory approval for a product, the FDA may still impose significant restrictions on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or on the conditions of approval. For example, a product’s approval may contain requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies and surveillance, including Phase 4 clinical trials, to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product, or the implementation of a REMS program. We may also be subject to ongoing FDA obligations and continued regulatory review with respect to the manufacturing, processing, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for any approved product. These requirements may include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, establishment registration and drug listing, as well as continued compliance with cGMP for our marketed and investigational products, and with GCP and GLP requirements, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA for all of our products in clinical and pre-clinical development, and for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. To the extent that a product is approved for sale in other countries, we may be subject to similar restrictions and requirements imposed by laws and government regulators in those countries.

In the case of any product candidates containing controlled substances, we and our contract manufacturers will also be subject to ongoing DEA regulatory obligations, including, among other things, annual registration renewal, security, recordkeeping, theft and loss reporting, periodic inspection and annual quota allotments for the raw material for commercial production of our products. In addition, manufacturers of drug products and their facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP regulations, quality system regulation requirements for medical device components or similar requirements, if applicable. If we or a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with an approved product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where, or processes by which, the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product, the manufacturer or us, including requiring product recall, notice to physicians, withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing.

If we, our product candidates or the manufacturing facilities for our product candidates fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:

 

 

impose restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of a product, suspend or withdraw product approvals or revoke necessary licenses;

 

 

issue warning letters, show cause notices or untitled letters describing alleged violations, which may be publicly available;

 

 

commence criminal investigations and prosecutions;

 

 

impose injunctions, suspensions or revocations of necessary approvals or other licenses;

 

 

impose fines or other civil or criminal penalties;

 

 

suspend any ongoing clinical trials;

 

 

deny or reduce quota allotments for the raw material for commercial production of our controlled substance products;

 

 

delay or refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us;

 

 

refuse to permit drugs or precursor chemicals to be imported or exported to or from the United States;

 

 

suspend or impose restrictions on operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements; or

 

 

seize or detain products or require us to initiate a product recall.

 

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In addition, labeling, advertising and promotion of any approved products are subject to regulatory requirements and continuing regulatory review. The FDA strictly regulates the promotional claims that may be made about prescription drug products. In particular, a drug may not be promoted for uses that are not approved by the FDA as reflected in the product’s approved labeling, although the FDA does not regulate the prescribing practices of physicians. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability, including substantial monetary penalties and criminal prosecution.

The FDA’s regulations, policies or guidance may change and new or additional statutes or government regulations may be enacted that could prevent or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates or further restrict or regulate post-approval activities. For example, in December 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law, which is intended, among other things, to modernize the regulation of drugs and biologics and to spur innovation. If we are not able to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance, we may not be permitted to market our drugs, which would adversely affect our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability.

In addition, we cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of adverse government regulation that may arise from pending or future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. For example, certain policies of the current presidential administration may impact our business and industry. Namely, the current presidential administration has taken several executive actions, including the issuance of a number of Executive Orders, that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, FDA’s ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities such as implementing statutes through rulemaking, issuance of guidance, and review and approval of marketing applications. It is difficult to predict how these requirements will be implemented, and the extent to which they will impact the FDA’s ability to exercise its regulatory authority. If these executive actions impose constraints on FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively impacted.

Changes in funding for the FDA and other government agencies could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, or otherwise prevent new products and services from being developed or commercialized in a timely manner, 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 the 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 other government agencies that fund research and development activities is 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, including for 35 days beginning on December 22, 2018, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical FDA 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.

Fintepla or MT1621 may cause undesirable side effects or have other unexpected properties that could delay or prevent approval or result in post-approval regulatory action.

If we or others identify undesirable side effects, or other previously unknown problems, caused by Fintepla, MT1621 or any of our future product candidates with the same or related active ingredients, during development or after obtaining U.S. regulatory approval, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

 

 

regulatory authorities may not permit us to initiate our studies or could put them on hold;

 

 

regulatory authorities may not approve, or may withdraw their approval of the product;

 

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regulatory authorities may require us to recall the product;

 

 

regulatory authorities may add new limitations for distribution and marketing of the product;

 

 

regulatory authorities may require the addition of warnings in the product label or narrowing of the indication in the product label;

 

 

we may be required to create a Medication Guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients;

 

 

we may be required to change the way the product is administered or modify the product in some other way;

 

 

we may be required to implement a REMS program;

 

 

the FDA may require us to conduct additional clinical trials or costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product;

 

 

we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and

 

 

our reputation may suffer.

Any of the above events resulting from undesirable side effects or other previously unknown problems could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product, if approved, and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our product candidates.

Healthcare reform measures and changes in policies, funding, staffing and leadership at the FDA and other agencies could hinder or prevent the commercial success of any of our product candidates that may be approved by the FDA.

In the United States, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system in ways that could affect our future results of operations and the future results of operations of our customers. There have been and continue to be a number of initiatives at the federal and state levels that seek to reduce healthcare costs. In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively the “PPACA”), was signed into law, which includes measures to significantly change the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Among the provisions of the PPACA of greatest importance to the pharmaceutical industry are the following:

 

 

an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drugs and biologic agents, apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs;

 

 

an increase in the statutory minimum rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to 23% and 13% of the average manufacturer price for most branded and generic drugs, respectively;

 

 

a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected;

 

 

a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% point-of-sale discounts, which, through subsequent legislative amendments, was be increased to 70%, starting in 2019, off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D;

 

 

extension of manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations;

 

 

expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals and by adding new mandatory eligibility categories for certain individuals with income at or below 133% of the Federal Poverty Level, thereby potentially increasing both the volume of sales and manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability;

 

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expansion of the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program;

 

 

new requirements to report certain financial arrangements with physicians and others, including reporting any “transfer of value” made or distributed to prescribers and other healthcare providers and reporting any investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members during each calendar year. Manufacturers are required to report such data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), by the 90th day of each calendar year;

 

 

a new requirement to annually report drug samples that manufacturers and distributors provide to physicians;

 

 

a licensure framework for follow-on biologic products;

 

 

a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research; and

 

 

establishment of a Center for Medicare Innovation at CMS to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending.

There have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the PPACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the PPACA in the future, particularly in light of the current presidential administration and U.S. Congress. In addition, Congress could consider subsequent legislation to replace repealed elements of the PPACA. Recently, the Tax Act was enacted, which, among other things, removes penalties for not complying with the PPACA’s individual mandate to carry health insurance. Further, on December 14, 2018, a U.S. District Court Judge in the Northern District of Texas, ruled that the individual mandate is a critical and inseverable feature of the PPACA, and therefore, because it was repealed as part of the Tax Act, the remaining provisions of the PPACA are invalid as well. While the Trump Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have both stated that the ruling will have no immediate effect, it is unclear how this decision, subsequent appeals, if any, will impact the law. At this time, the full effect that the PPACA and any subsequent legislation would have on our business remains unclear.

Other legislative changes have also been proposed and adopted in the United States since the PPACA was enacted. For example, in August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect on April 1, 2013, and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, will remain in effect through 2027 unless additional Congressional action is taken. In January 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other things, further 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.

Recently, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which drug manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. For example, in an effort to lower prescription drug prices, on January 31, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule that removes from existing anti-kickback statute safe harbor protection certain reductions in price paid by pharmaceutical manufacturers to Medicare Part D plan sponsors, Medicaid managed care organizations, and those entities’ pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) and instead, adds two new safe harbors that protect certain point-of-sale price reductions offered directly to patients by pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as certain fixed fee service payments from pharmaceutical manufacturer to PBMs. Individual states have also become increasingly active in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access, and to encourage importation

 

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from other countries and bulk purchasing. These new laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other health care funding, which could have a material adverse effect on our customers and accordingly, our financial operations.

Furthermore, regulatory authorities’ assessment of the data and results required to demonstrate safety and efficacy can change over time and can be affected by many factors, such as the emergence of new information, including on other products, changing policies and agency funding, staffing and leadership. We cannot be sure whether future changes to the regulatory environment will be favorable or unfavorable to our business prospects. For example, average review times at the FDA for marketing approval applications have fluctuated over the last ten years, and we cannot predict the review time for any of our submissions with any regulatory authorities. In addition, review times can be affected by a variety of factors, including budget and funding levels and statutory, regulatory and policy changes.

In the European Union, similar political, economic and regulatory developments may affect our ability to profitably commercialize our product candidates, if approved. In addition to continuing pressure on prices and cost containment measures, legislative developments at the European Union or member state level may result in significant additional requirements or obstacles that may increase our operating costs. The delivery of healthcare in the European Union, including the establishment and operation of health services and the pricing and reimbursement of medicines, is almost exclusively a matter for national, rather than European Union, law and policy. National governments and health service providers have different priorities and approaches to the delivery of health care and the pricing and reimbursement of products in that context. In general, however, the healthcare budgetary constraints in most European Union member states have resulted in restrictions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines by relevant health service providers. Coupled with ever-increasing European Union and national regulatory burdens on those wishing to develop and market products, this could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates, if approved. In markets outside of the United States and European Union, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies.

We may incur liability if our continuing medical or health education programs and/or product promotions are determined, or are perceived, to be inconsistent with regulatory guidelines.

The FDA provides guidelines with respect to appropriate promotion and continuing medical and health education activities. Although we endeavor to follow these guidelines, the FDA or the Office of the Inspector General U.S. Department of Health and Human Services may disagree, and we may be subject to significant liability, including civil and administrative remedies as well as criminal sanctions. In addition, management’s attention could be diverted and our reputation could be damaged.

If we do not comply with federal and state healthcare laws, including fraud and abuse and health information privacy and security laws, we could face substantial penalties and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.

As a pharmaceutical company, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients’ rights are applicable to our business. We could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse and patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include:

 

 

the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which constrains our marketing practices, educational programs, pricing policies, and relationships with healthcare providers or other entities, by prohibiting, among other things, soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce, or in return for, the purchase or recommendation of an item or service reimbursable under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual

 

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knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal anti-kickback statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act;

 

 

federal civil and criminal false claims laws and civil monetary penalty laws, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payors that are false or fraudulent, and which may apply to entities like us which provide coding and billing advice to customers;

 

 

federal civil monetary penalties laws, which impose civil fines for, among other things, the offering or transfer of remuneration to a Medicare or state healthcare program beneficiary if the person knows or should know it is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider, practitioner, or supplier of services reimbursable by Medicare or a state healthcare program, unless an exception applies;

 

 

federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers;

 

 

the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), which created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;

 

 

HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and its implementing regulations, which impose certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information;

 

 

federal “sunshine” requirements that require drug manufacturers to report and disclose any “transfer of value” made or distributed to physicians and teaching hospitals, and any investment or ownership interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members. Manufacturers are required to report data to the government by the 90th day of each calendar year;

 

 

federal price reporting laws, which require us to calculate and report complex pricing metrics to government programs, where such reported prices may be used in the calculation of reimbursement and/or discounts on our commercial products;

 

 

state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers, and state laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts; and

 

 

similar healthcare laws and regulations in the European Union and other jurisdictions, including reporting requirements detailing interactions with and payments to healthcare providers and requirements regarding the collection, distribution, use, security, and storage of personally identifiable information and other data relating to individuals (including the European Union enacted Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation)).

Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available under the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws.

In addition, there has been a recent trend of increased state regulations that require drug manufacturers to file reports with states regarding pricing and marketing information, and require the tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation and other remuneration to physicians. Certain states mandate implementation of commercial compliance programs to ensure compliance with these laws and impose restrictions on drug manufacturer

 

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marketing practices and tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation and other remuneration to physicians. The shifting commercial compliance environment and the need to build and maintain robust and expandable systems to comply with multiple jurisdictions with different compliance and/or reporting requirements increases the possibility that a healthcare company may be found out of compliance of one or more of the requirements.

To the extent that any product we make is sold in a foreign country, we may be subject to similar foreign laws and regulations. If we or our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from participation in governmental health care programs, additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, imprisonment, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Any penalties, damages, fines, curtailment or restructuring of our operations could materially adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Although compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and prosecution for violations of these laws, the risks cannot be entirely eliminated. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. Moreover, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable federal and state privacy, security and fraud laws may prove costly.

Import/export regulations and tariffs may change and increase our costs.

We are subject to risks associated with the regulations relating to the import and export of products and materials. We cannot predict whether the import and/or export of our products will be adversely affected by changes in, or enactment of, new quotas, duties, taxes or other charges or restrictions imposed by any country in the future. Any of these factors could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

Our success depends in part on our ability to protect our intellectual property. It is difficult and costly to protect our proprietary rights and technology, and we may not be able to ensure their protection.

Our commercial success depends in large part on obtaining and maintaining patent, trademark and trade secret protection of our product candidates, their respective components, formulations, methods used to manufacture them and methods of treatment, as well as successfully defending these patents against third-party challenges. Our ability to stop unauthorized third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing our product candidates is dependent upon the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities.

With respect to Fintepla, we in-licensed certain data from a continuing, long-term, open-label study in 15 Dravet syndrome patients, as well as certain intellectual property related to fenfluramine for the treatment of Dravet syndrome from the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven in Belgium (the “Universities”).

Prior to receiving rights to four U.S. patents in 2017, we did not own or control any issued patents covering Fintepla or its use. There is no guarantee that any of our pending applications will issue as patents. The patents covering the API in Fintepla have expired and therefore the API is not subject to patent protection. With respect to our MT1621 product candidate, we have certain patent rights that we obtained through our acquisition of Modis. In September 2016, Modis entered into a license agreement (the “Columbia Agreement”), with the Trustees of Columbia University (“Columbia”), under which Modis was granted an exclusive worldwide license and sublicense to certain intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Columbia to develop and commercialize MT1621 and certain backup compounds for any application or purpose. These licensed patent

 

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rights include patents owned by Columbia and patents jointly owned by Columbia and Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (“VHIR”). VHIR delegated to Columbia the rights to enter into the Columbia Agreement on VHIR’s behalf. The patent family owned by Columbia is directed to the use of monophosphate analogs of MT1621 to treat TK2d and includes a granted U.S. patent and a pending U.S. patent application. The patent family jointly owned by Columbia and VHIR is directed to the use of MT1621 to treat TK2d and includes an issued European patent and pending applications in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Russia. There are no composition of matter patents covering the APIs in MT1621.

The initial applications covering MT1621 or the methods of treatment using Fintepla were licensed by us and not written by our attorneys. Neither we nor our licensors had control over the drafting and initial prosecution of these applications. Further, the counsel previously handling the Fintepla and MT1621 matters might not have given the same attention to the drafting and prosecution to these applications as we would have if we had been the owners and originators of the applications and had control over the drafting and prosecution. In addition, the former counsel handling these matters may not have been completely familiar with U.S. patent law or the patent law in various countries, possibly resulting in inadequate disclosure, improperly claiming inventions and/or filing of applications at times which do not meet appropriate priority requirements. The named inventors on the pending applications and others involved in the protection of the intellectual property related to Fintepla and MT1621 did not and may still not have sufficient knowledge relating to the preferred procedures and the legal requirements related to the protection of intellectual property. They published papers which adversely affected our rights. Although they have been advised with respect to procedures going forward, we cannot directly control their actions. All of these factors and others could result in the inability to obtain the issuance of additional applications in the United States or elsewhere in the world. Even if additional patents issue, such issued patents may later be found invalid or unenforceable or may be modified or revoked in proceedings instituted by third parties before various patent offices or in courts.

The patent positions of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical device companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in patents in these fields has emerged to date in the United States. There have been recent changes regarding how patent laws are interpreted, and both the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), and Congress have recently made significant changes to the patent system. There have been three U.S. Supreme Court decisions that now show a trend of the Supreme Court which is distinctly negative on patents. The trend of these decisions along with resulting changes in patentability requirements being implemented by the USPTO could make it increasingly difficult for us to obtain and maintain patents on our products. We cannot accurately predict future changes in the interpretation of patent laws or changes to patent laws which might be enacted into law. Those changes may materially affect our patents, our ability to obtain patents and/or the patents and applications of our collaborators and licensors. The patent situation in these fields outside the United States is even more uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection. Accordingly, we cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be allowed or enforced in the patents we own or to which we have a license or third-party patents.

The degree of future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain because legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep our competitive advantage. For example:

 

 

others may be able to make or use compounds that are the same or similar to the pharmaceutical compounds used in our product candidates but that are not covered by the claims of our patents or our in-licensed patents;

 

 

the APIs in Fintepla are, or may soon become, commercially available in generic drug products, and no patent protection will be available without regard to formulation or method of use;

 

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the APIs in MT1621 are well-known and available commercially for research purposes from many sources, and no patent protection claiming the APIs as a composition of matter will be available;

 

 

we or our licensors, as the case may be, may not be able to detect infringement against our patents or in-licensed patents, which may be especially difficult for manufacturing processes or formulation patents;

 

 

we or our licensors, as the case may be, might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by our owned or in-licensed issued patents or pending patent applications;

 

 

we or our licensors, as the case may be, might not have been the first to file patent applications for these inventions;

 

 

others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies;

 

 

it is possible that our pending patent applications will not result in issued patents;

 

 

it is possible that our owned or in-licensed U.S. patents are not Orange-Book eligible;

 

 

it is possible that there are dominating patents to Fintepla and MT1621 of which we are not aware;

 

 

it is possible that there are prior public disclosures that could invalidate our or our licensors’ patents, as the case may be, or parts of our or their patents;

 

 

it is possible that others may circumvent our owned or in-licensed patents;

 

 

it is possible that there are unpublished applications or patent applications maintained in secrecy that may later issue with claims covering our products or technology similar to ours;

 

 

the claims of our owned or in-licensed issued patents or patent applications, if and when issued, may not cover our system or products or our system of product candidates;

 

 

our owned or in-licensed issued patents may not provide us with any competitive advantages, or may be narrowed in scope, be held invalid or unenforceable as a result of legal administrative challenges by third parties;

 

 

we may not develop additional proprietary technologies for which we can obtain patent protection; or

 

 

the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.

We also may rely on trade secrets to protect our technology, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our licensors, collaborators and suppliers. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our information to competitors. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained and is using any of our trade secrets is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, state laws in the Unites States vary, and their courts as well as courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how. If our confidential or proprietary information is divulged to or acquired by third parties, including our competitors, our competitive position in the marketplace will be harmed and our ability to successfully penetrate our target markets could be severely compromised.

If any of our owned or in-licensed patents are found to be invalid or unenforceable, or if we are otherwise unable to adequately protect our rights, it could have a material adverse impact on our business and our ability to commercialize or license our technology and products.

If we fail to comply with our obligations in our intellectual property licenses with third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

 

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Our existing license with the Universities and Columbia impose various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with these obligations, our licensors may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to develop or market the affected products. If we lose such license rights, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects may be materially adversely affected. We may enter into additional licenses in the future and if we fail to comply with obligations under those agreements, we could suffer similar consequences.

We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights, and we may be unable to protect our rights to our products and technology.

If we or our collaborators or licensors choose to go to court to stop a third party from using the inventions claimed in our owned or in-licensed patents, that third party may ask the court to rule that the patents are not infringed, invalid and/or should not be enforced against that third party. These lawsuits are expensive and would consume time and other resources even if we or they, as the case may be, were successful in stopping the infringement of these patents. In addition, there is a risk that the court will decide that these patents are not valid and that we or they, as the case may be, do not have the right to stop others from using the inventions.

There is also the risk that, even if the validity of these patents is upheld, the court will refuse to stop the third party on the ground that such third-party’s activities do not infringe our owned or in-licensed patents. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently changed some tests regarding granting patents and assessing the validity of patents. As a consequence, issued patents may be found to contain invalid claims according to the newly revised standards. Some of our own or in-licensed patents may be subject to challenge and subsequent invalidation or significant narrowing of claim scope in a reexamination or other post-grant proceeding before the USPTO, or during litigation, under the revised criteria which make it more difficult to obtain patents.

We may also not be able to detect infringement of our own or in-licensed patents, which may be especially difficult for methods of manufacturing or formulation products. While we intend to take actions reasonably necessary to enforce our patent rights, we depend, in part, on our licensors and collaborators to protect a substantial portion of our proprietary rights.

If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, it will be costly and time consuming, and an unfavorable outcome in that litigation would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidate and use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields relating to Fintepla and MT1621. As the medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that others may assert that our products or product candidates infringe the patent rights of others. Moreover, it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of medical devices, drugs, products or their methods of use. Thus, because of the large number of patents issued and patent applications filed in our fields, there may be a risk that third parties may allege they have patent rights encompassing our products, product candidates, technology or methods.

In addition, there may be issued patents of third parties of which we are currently unaware, that are infringed or are alleged to be infringed by our product candidate or proprietary technologies. Because some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until eighteen months after filing, and publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our owned and in-licensed issued patents or our pending applications, or that we or, if applicable, a licensor were the first to invent the technology. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering our product candidates or technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our owned and in-licensed patent

 

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applications or patents, which could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. If another party has filed a U.S. patent application on inventions similar to those owned or in-licensed to us, we or, in the case of in-licensed technology, the licensor may have to participate in an interference proceeding declared by the USPTO to determine priority of invention in the United States. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that such proceedings may be decided against us if the other party had independently arrived at the same or similar invention prior to our own or, if applicable, our licensor’s invention, resulting in a loss of our U.S. patent position with respect to such inventions. In addition, if another party has reason to assert a substantial new question of patentability against any of our claims in our owned and in-licensed U.S. patents, the third party can request that the USPTO reexamine the patent claims, which may result in a loss of scope of some claims or a loss of the entire patent. In addition to potential infringement claims, interference and reexamination proceedings, we may become a party to patent opposition proceedings in the European Patent Office, Australian Patent Office or other jurisdictions where either our patents are challenged, or we are challenging the patents of others. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that our efforts would be unsuccessful. We may be exposed to, or threatened with, future litigation by third parties having patent or other intellectual property rights alleging that our product candidates and/or proprietary technologies infringe their intellectual property rights. These lawsuits are costly and could adversely affect our results of operations and divert the attention of managerial and technical personnel. There is a risk that a court would decide that we or our commercialization partners are infringing the third party’s patents and would order us or our partners to stop the activities covered by the patents. In addition, there is a risk that a court will order us or our partners to pay the other party damages for having violated the other party’s patents.

If a third-party’s patent was found to cover our product candidate, proprietary technologies or their uses, we or our collaborators could be enjoined by a court and required to pay damages and could be unable to commercialize our product candidates or use our proprietary technologies unless we or they obtained a license to the patent. A license may not be available to us or our collaborators on acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, during litigation, the patent holder could obtain a preliminary injunction or other equitable relief which could prohibit us from making, using or selling our products, technologies or methods pending a trial on the merits, which could be years away.

There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries generally. If a third party claims that we or our collaborators infringe its intellectual property rights, we may face a number of issues, including, but not limited to:

 

 

infringement and other intellectual property claims which, regardless of merit, may be expensive and time-consuming to litigate and may divert our management’s attention from our core business;

 

 

substantial damages for infringement, which we may have to pay if a court decides that the product at issue infringes on or violates the third party’s rights, and if the court finds that the infringement was willful, we could be ordered to pay treble damages and the patent owner’s attorneys’ fees;

 

 

a court order prohibiting us from selling or licensing the product unless the third party licenses its patent rights to us, which it is not required to do;

 

 

if a license is available from a third party, we may have to pay substantial royalties, upfront fees and/or grant cross-licenses to intellectual property rights for our products; and

 

 

redesigning our products or processes so they do not infringe, which may not be possible or may require substantial monetary expenditures and time.

Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

 

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

Periodic maintenance fees on our owned and in-licensed patents are due to be paid to the USPTO in several stages over the lifetime of the patents. Future maintenance fees will also need to be paid on other patents which may be issued to us or our licensors. We have systems in place to remind us to pay these fees, and we employ outside firms to remind us or our in-licensor to pay annuity fees due to foreign patent agencies on our pending foreign patent applications. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. However, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, our competitors might be able to enter the market and this circumstance would have a material adverse effect on our business.

We also may rely on trade secrets and confidentiality agreements to protect our technology and know-how, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our licensors, collaborators and suppliers. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our information to competitors. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained and is using any of our trade secrets is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how. If our confidential or proprietary information is divulged to or acquired by third parties, including our competitors, our competitive position in the marketplace will be harmed and our ability to successfully generate revenues from our product candidates, if approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, could be adversely affected.

We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.

As is common in the device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other device, biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although no claims against us are currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these employees or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. 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 be a distraction to management, which would adversely affect our financial condition.

Risks Relating to the Securities Markets and an Investment in Our Stock

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated and is likely to continue to fluctuate substantially.

The market prices for securities of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have historically been highly volatile, and the market has recently experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. Since the commencement of trading in connection with our initial public offering in November 2010, the publicly traded shares of our common stock have themselves experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the price per share for our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market has ranged from a low sale price of $33.42 to a high sale price of $62.75. This market volatility is likely to continue. These and other factors could

 

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reduce the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In addition, the trading price of our common stock could change significantly, both over short periods of time and the longer term, due to many factors, including those described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section and the following:

 

 

FDA or international regulatory actions and whether and when we receive regulatory approval for Fintepla or MT1621;

 

 

the development status of Fintepla or MT1621, including the results from our clinical trials;

 

 

variations in the level of expenses related to Fintepla or MT1621 clinical development programs, including relating to the timing of invoices from, and other billing practices of, our CROs and clinical trial sites;

 

 

changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other pharmaceutical companies and price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market;

 

 

deviations from securities analysts’ estimates or the impact of other analyst comments;

 

 

ratings downgrades by any securities analysts who follow our common stock;

 

 

additions or departures of key personnel;

 

 

third-party payor coverage and reimbursement policies;

 

 

developments concerning current or future strategic collaborations, and the timing of payments we may make or receive under these arrangements;

 

 

developments affecting our contract manufacturers, component fabricators and service providers;

 

 

the development and sustainability of an active trading market for our common stock;

 

 

future sales of our common stock by our officers, directors and significant stockholders;

 

 

other events or factors, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism, natural disasters, security breaches, system failures or responses to these events;

 

 

changes in accounting principles; and

 

 

discussion of us or our stock price by the financial and scientific press and in online investor communities.

In addition, the stock markets, and in particular the Nasdaq Global Market, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many pharmaceutical companies. Stock prices of many pharmaceutical companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. The realization of any of the above risks or any of a broad range of other risks, including those described in these “Risk Factors” could have a dramatic and material adverse impact on the market price of our common stock.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly.

Our quarterly operating results are difficult to predict and may fluctuate significantly from period to period, particularly because the success and costs of our Fintepla and MT1621 development programs are uncertain and therefore our future prospects are uncertain. Our net loss and other operating results will be affected by numerous factors, including:

 

 

variations in the level of development and/or regulatory expenses related to Fintepla and MT1621 development programs;

 

 

results of clinical trials for Fintepla or MT1621;

 

 

any intellectual property infringement lawsuit in which we may become involved;

 

 

the level of underlying demand for any of our product candidates that may receive regulatory approval;

 

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our ability to control production spending and underutilization of production capacity;

 

 

those of our competitors; and

 

 

our execution of any collaborative, licensing or similar arrangements, and the timing of payments we may make or receive under these arrangements.

If our quarterly operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Furthermore, any quarterly fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate substantially.

Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict.

Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly in the future, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. From time to time, in addition to the existing Shinyaku Agreement, we may enter into collaborative arrangements with other companies that include development funding and significant upfront and milestone payments and/or royalties, which may become an important source of our revenue. Accordingly, our revenue may depend on development funding and the achievement of development and clinical milestones under current and any potential future collaborative arrangements and sales of our products, if approved. Furthermore, revenues may consist of the recognition of deferred revenue from upfront, nonrefundable payments that we received from Shinyaku or payments we may receive under future collaboration agreements and the timing of recognizing deferred revenue is subject to significant management judgments, including estimating total costs at completion. These upfront and milestone payments may vary significantly from period to period and any such variance could cause a significant fluctuation in our operating results from one period to the next. As a result, any period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful. Accordingly, the results of any one period should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance.

We may become involved in securities class action litigation that could divert management’s attention and adversely affect our business and could subject us to significant liabilities.

The stock markets have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices for the common stock of pharmaceutical companies. These broad market fluctuations as well a broad range of other factors, including the realization of any of the risks described in these “Risk Factors,” may cause the market price of our common stock to decline. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally experience significant stock price volatility. We may become involved in this type of litigation in the future. Litigation often is expensive and diverts management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our business. Any adverse determination in any such litigation or any amounts paid to settle any such actual or threatened litigation could require that we make significant payments.

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

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. As of December 31, 2018, we had research coverage by only 10 securities analysts. If these securities analysts cease coverage of our company, the trading price for our stock would be negatively impacted. If one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

 

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Future sales of our common stock or securities convertible or exchangeable for our common stock may depress our stock price.

Persons who were our stockholders prior to the sale of shares in our initial public offering in November 2010 continue to hold a substantial number of shares of our common stock that they are able to sell in the public market, subject in some cases to certain legal restrictions. Significant portions of these shares are held by a small number of stockholders. If these stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline. The perception in the market that these sales may occur could also cause the trading price of our common stock to decline. As of December 31, 2018, we had 42,078,164 shares of common stock outstanding. The majority of these shares are freely tradeable, without restriction, in the public market.

In addition, shares of common stock that are either subject to outstanding options or reserved for future issuance under our employee benefit plans are eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting schedules and Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and, in any event, we have filed a registration statement permitting shares of common stock issued on exercise of options to be freely sold in the public market. If these additional shares of common stock are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

Certain of our directors and executive officers have established, or may establish programmed selling plans under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act for the purpose of effecting sales of our common stock. Any sales of securities by these stockholders, warrantholders or executive officers and directors, or the perception that those sales may occur, could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.

Anti-takeover provisions under our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change of control which could limit the market price of our common stock and may prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our board of directors that our stockholders might consider favorable. Some of these provisions include:

 

 

a board of directors divided into three classes serving staggered three-year terms, such that not all members of the board will be elected at one time;

 

 

a prohibition on stockholder action through written consent, which requires that all stockholder actions be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;

 

 

a requirement that special meetings of stockholders be called only by the chairman of the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or by a majority of the total number of authorized directors;

 

 

advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and nominations for election to our board of directors;

 

 

a requirement that no member of our board of directors may be removed from office by our stockholders except for cause and, in addition to any other vote required by law, upon the approval of not less than 66 2/3% of all outstanding shares of our voting stock then entitled to vote in the election of directors;

 

 

a requirement of approval of not less than 66 2/3% of all outstanding shares of our voting stock to amend any bylaws by stockholder action or to amend specific provisions of our certificate of incorporation; and

 

 

the authority of the board of directors to issue preferred stock on terms determined by the board of directors without stockholder approval and which preferred stock may include rights superior to the rights of the holders of common stock.

 

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In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law, which may prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by the then- current board of directors and could also delay or impede a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing or cause us to take other corporate actions you desire. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our board of directors could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

We have never paid dividends on our capital stock, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

The continued operation and expansion of our business will require substantial funding. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock. We have paid no cash dividends on any of our classes of capital stock to date and we currently intend to retain our available cash to fund the development and growth of our business. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board of directors deems relevant. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation in the market price of their stock, which may never occur.

We have incurred and will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to meet compliance obligations.

As a public company, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC that impose significant requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and changes in corporate governance practices. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. In addition, on July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), was enacted. There are significant corporate governance and executive compensation-related provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act that require the SEC to adopt additional rules and regulations in these areas. The requirements of these rules and regulations have increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and may also place considerable strain on our personnel, systems and resources. Our management and other personnel have devoted and will continue to devote a substantial amount of time to these new compliance initiatives. In addition, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. In particular, commencing in fiscal 2011, we performed system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting which allowed management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404”). Our future testing may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be

 

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material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our consolidated financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. We expect to incur significant expense and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with Section 404. Pursuant to Section 404(c) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to deliver an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. We currently do not have an internal audit function, and we may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may require specific compliance training for our directors, officers and employees, entail substantial costs to modify our existing accounting systems, and take a significant period of time to complete. Such changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls, and any failure to maintain that adequacy, or consequent inability to produce accurate consolidated financial statements or other reports on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and could materially impair our ability to operate our business. Moreover, effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent fraud. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies deficiencies in our internal controls that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would entail expenditure of additional financial and management resources.

The United Kingdom’s proposed withdrawal from the European Union may have a negative effect on global economic conditions, financial markets and our business, which could reduce the price of our common stock.

We are a company with worldwide operations, including significant business operations in Europe, and our wholly owned subsidiary Zogenix Europe Limited is incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. Following a national referendum in which a majority of voters in the United Kingdom elected to withdraw from the European Union, the government of the United Kingdom formally initiated the process for withdrawal in March 2017. The terms of any withdrawal are subject to a complex and ongoing negotiation between the United Kingdom and the European Union whose result and timing remain unclear and which has created significant political and economic uncertainty about the future trading relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union in the event of a withdrawal, particularly in light of the possibility that an immediate, so-called “no deal” withdrawal could occur without a negotiated agreement.

These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, have had and may continue to have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and could significantly reduce global market liquidity and restrict the ability of key market participants to operate in certain financial markets. Asset valuations, currency exchange rates and credit ratings have been and may continue to be subject to increased market volatility. Lack of clarity about future United Kingdom laws and regulations as the United Kingdom determines which European Union laws to replace or replicate in the event of a withdrawal, including financial laws and regulations, tax and free trade agreements, tax and customs laws, intellectual property rights, environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, immigration laws, employment laws and transport laws could increase costs, disrupt supply chains, depress economic activity and restrict our access to capital.

If the United Kingdom and the European Union are unable to negotiate acceptable withdrawal terms, barrier-free access between the United Kingdom and other European Union member states or among the European economic area overall could be diminished or eliminated. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, affect our strategy in the European pharmaceutical market. and reduce the price of our common stock.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations and future results of anticipated products. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein also contain estimates and other statistical data made by independent parties and by us relating to market size and growth and other data about our industry. This data involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the markets in which we operate are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus supplement and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We are filing this prospectus supplement pursuant to our contractual obligation under the Merger Agreement to the holders named in the section entitled “Selling Stockholders.” We will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale of shares of our common stock from time to time by such selling stockholders.

The selling stockholders will pay any expenses incurred by the selling stockholders for brokerage, accounting, tax or legal services or any other expenses incurred by the selling stockholders in disposing of these shares. We will bear all other costs, fees and expenses incurred in effecting the registration of the shares covered by this prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, all registration fees, listing fees of the Nasdaq Global Market and fees and expenses of our counsel and our accountants.

 

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SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

In connection with the Merger Agreement we issued 1,595,025 shares of our common stock to previous holders of capital stock of Modis. In accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement, the recipients of such common stock, whom we refer to herein as the selling stockholders, including their transferees, pledgees or donees or their successors, may use this prospectus supplement to resell from time to time the shares of our common stock that we issued to them in connection with the Merger Agreement.

The following table sets forth information with respect to the selling stockholders and the number of shares of our common stock that are beneficially owned by each selling stockholder. The selling stockholders may offer all, some or none of the shares of our common stock which we have issued in connection with the Merger Agreement. Because the selling stockholders may offer all or some portion of such shares of our common stock, we cannot estimate the number of shares of our common stock that will be held by the selling stockholders after completion of this offering. However, for purposes of this table, we have assumed that all of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus supplement will be sold by the selling stockholders and that any other shares of our common stock beneficially owned by these selling stockholders will continue to be beneficially owned.

The information in the table is based on 44,247,270 shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 9, 2019 and was prepared based on information supplied to us by the selling stockholders. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities and including any securities that grant the selling stockholder the right to acquire shares of common stock within 60 days of September 9, 2019. Other than the transactions referred to herein and in documents filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the selling stockholders have not within the past three years had any position, office or other material relationship with us or any of our subsidiaries other than as a holder of our securities

To the extent any of the selling stockholders identified below are broker-dealers, they may be deemed to be, under interpretations of the staff of the SEC, “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes below, we believe that the persons and entities named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our common stock beneficially owned.

 

Name    Number of Share
Beneficially
Owned Prior to
the Offering
     Percentage of
Shares Beneficially
Owned Prior to the
Offering
    Number of
Shares Offered
Hereby
     Number of Shares
Beneficially
Owned After the
Offering
     Percentage of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned After the
Offering
 

Aceras Life Sciences, LLC(1)

     625,213        1.4     625,213        —          —    

F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP(2)

     430,956        *       430,956        —          —    

OrbiMed Private Investments VI, LP(3)

     258,574        *       258,574        —          —    

Osage University Partners II, LP(4)

     30,605        *       30,605        —          —    

Michael Chill

     5,986        *       5,986        —          —    

Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York(5)

     40,981        *       40,981        —          —    

Dan Oppenheimer

     3,150        *       3,150        —          —    

Joshua Grass

     97,138        *       97,138        —          —    

 

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Name    Number of Share
Beneficially
Owned Prior to
the Offering
     Percentage of
Shares Beneficially
Owned Prior to the
Offering(1)
    Number of
Shares Offered
Hereby
     Number of Shares
Beneficially
Owned After the
Offering(2)
     Percentage of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned After the
Offering(1)(2)
 

Joanne Quan, M.D.

     19,427        *       19,427        —          —    

Paul Glidden

     6,186        *       6,186        —          —    

Laurie Tsuruda, Ph.D.

     6,186        *       6,183        —          —    

Stacy Harte

     6,984        *       6,984        —          —    

Aaron Mishel

     8,094        *       8,094        —          —    

Tristen Moors

     4,047        *       4,047        —          —    

Peter Barber

     16,689        *       16,189        500        *  

Daniel DiPietro

     16,189        *       16,189        —          —    

Matthew Patterson

     4,856        *       4,856        —          —    

Magda Morton

     3,683        *       3,683        —          —    

Dawn Blessing

     7,806        *       7,806        —          —    

Laura Chan

     2,775        *       2,775        —          —    

TOTAL

     1,595,025        3.60     1,595,525        500        *  

 

*

Less than 1%

(1)

Aceras Life Sciences Partnership LLC is the managing member of Aceras Life Sciences, LLC. Peter Barber and Daniel DiPietro are the sole members of Aceras Life Sciences Partnership LLC. Each person and entity listed above expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities listed above except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein. The address for Aceras Life Sciences LLC is 61 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

(2)

F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Advisors Fund V LP is the general partner of F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP. F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Advisors Fund V LP is solely managed by Impresa Management LLC, the general partner of its general partner and its investment manager. Impresa Management LLC is owned, directly or indirectly, by various shareholders and employees of FMR LLC, including certain members of the Johnson family. Abigail P. Johnson is a Director, the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of FMR LLC. Members of the Johnson family including Abigail P. Johnson, are the predominant owners, directly or through trusts, of Series B voting common shares of FMR LLC, representing 49% of the voting power of FMR LLC. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders’ voting agreement under which all Series B voting common shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B voting common shares. Accordingly, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders’ voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC. Each person and entity listed above expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities listed above except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein. The address for F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP is 245 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210.

(3)

OrbiMed Advisors LLC (“OrbiMed Advisors”) is the managing member of OrbiMed Capital GP VI LLC (“GP VI”), which is a general partner of OrbiMed Private Investments VI, LP (“OPI VI”). Carl L. Gordon, Sven H. Borho and Jonathan T. Silverstein are members of OrbiMed Advisors’ management committee and share voting and dispositive power over the shares directly owned by OPI VI. Each person and entity listed above expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities listed above except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein. The address for OPI VI is c/o OrbiMed Advisors LLC, 601 Lexington Ave. 54th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

(4)

The general partner of Osage University Partners II, LP is Osage University GP II, LLC. Osage University GP II, LLC has sole authority to invest the assets of Osage University Partners II, LP. Osage University GP II, LLC has only individual owners. No such individual has the power, acting alone, to cause Osage University GP II, LLC to vote or dispose of (or direct the voting or disposition of) securities held by Osage University Partners II, LP. Each of Robert Adelson, Marc Singer and William Harrington, who are members of Osage University GP II, LLC, have shared power to vote and/or dispose of securities held by

 

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  Osage University Partners II, LP. Each person and entity listed above expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities listed above except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein. The address of Osage University Partners II, LP is c/o Osage University Partners, 50 Monument Road, Suite 201, Bala Cynwyd PA 19004.
(5)

Voting or dispositive power is held by Columbia Technology Ventures and its Executive Director, Orin Herskowitz, subject to the authority of the officers and trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and applicable university policies. Each person and entity listed above expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities listed above except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein. The address for the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York is 80 Claremont Avenue, #4F, Mail Code 9606, New York, NY 10027.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

Each selling stockholder of our common stock and any of their pledgees, assignees and successors-in-interest may, from time to time, sell any or all of their common stock covered hereby on the principal trading market or any other stock exchange, market or trading facility on which our common stock is traded or in private transactions. These sales may be at fixed or negotiated prices. A selling stockholder may use any one or more of the following methods when selling securities:

 

   

ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers;

 

   

block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell common stock as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;

 

   

purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account;

 

   

an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange;

 

   

privately negotiated transactions;

 

   

settlement of short sales;

 

   

in transactions through broker-dealers that agree with the selling stockholders to sell a specified number of such common stock at a stipulated price per share;

 

   

through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise;

 

   

a combination of any such methods of sale; or

 

   

any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

The selling stockholders may also sell common stock under Rule 144 or any other exemption from registration under the Securities Act, if available, rather than under this prospectus.

Broker-dealers engaged by the selling stockholders may arrange for other brokers-dealers to participate in sales. Broker-dealers may receive commissions or discounts from the selling stockholders (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of common stock, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated, but, except as set forth in a supplement to this prospectus, in the case of an agency transaction not in excess of a customary brokerage commission in compliance with FINRA Rule 2440; and in the case of a principal transaction a markup or markdown in compliance with FINRA IM-2440.

In connection with the sale of common stock therein, the selling stockholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may in turn engage in short sales of common stock in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The selling stockholders may also sell common stock short and deliver these shares to close out their short positions, or loan or pledge common stock to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these shares. The selling stockholders may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or create one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of common stock offered by this prospectus, which common stock such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).

The selling stockholders and any broker-dealers or agents that are involved in selling the common stock may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the common stock purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act. Selling stockholders who are deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. Each selling stockholder has informed us that it does not have any written or oral agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the common stock.

 

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We are required to pay certain fees and expenses incurred by us incident to the registration of the common stock.

We agreed to keep this prospectus effective until the earlier of (i) one year, or (ii) the date on which all of the shares covered by this registration statement (A) have been disposed of in accordance with this registration statement; (B) are eligible to be sold, without volume or manner of sale limitations, pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act or any successor rule or regulation thereto that may be adopted by the SEC, (C) has ceased to be outstanding, whether as a result of redemption, repurchase, cancellation, exchange or otherwise, or (D) have been sold to the public pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act or any successor rule or regulation thereto that may be adopted by the SEC. If required by applicable state securities laws, the resale shares will be sold only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in certain states, the resale shares covered hereby may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the applicable state or an exemption from the registration or qualification requirement is available and is complied with.

Under applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, any person engaged in the distribution of the resale shares may not simultaneously engage in market making activities with respect to the common stock for the applicable restricted period, as defined in Regulation M, prior to the commencement of the distribution. In addition, the selling stockholders will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of the common stock by the selling stockholders or any other person. We will make copies of this prospectus available to the selling stockholders and have informed them of the need to deliver a copy of this prospectus to each purchaser at or prior to the time of the sale (including by compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act).

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares offered by this prospectus supplement will be passed upon by Latham & Watkins LLP, San Diego, California.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2018, as set forth in their reports, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our consolidated financial statements and related notes are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s reports, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

 

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PROSPECTUS

 

LOGO

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Depositary Shares

Warrants

Units

Rights

 

 

We may offer and sell the securities identified above, and any selling securityholders may offer and sell shares of common stock identified above, in each case from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of our common stock by any selling securityholders.

Each time we or any of the selling securityholders offer and sell securities, we or such selling securityholders will provide a supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the offering and, if applicable, the selling securityholders, as well as the amounts, prices and terms of the securities. The supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the documents we incorporate by reference, before you invest in any of our securities.

We may offer and sell the securities described in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, or through a combination of these methods. In addition, any selling securityholders may offer and sell shares of our common stock from time to time, together or separately. If any underwriters, dealers or agents are involved in the sale of any of the securities, their names and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between or among them will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in the applicable prospectus supplement. See the sections of this prospectus entitled “About this Prospectus” and “Plan of Distribution” for more information. No securities may be sold without delivery of this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such securities.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol ZGNX. On September 29, 2017, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $35.05 per share.

 

 

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES RISKS. SEE THE “RISK FACTORS” ON PAGE 2 OF THIS PROSPECTUS AND ANY SIMILAR SECTION CONTAINED IN THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT CONCERNING FACTORS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

The date of this prospectus is October 2, 2017


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

About this Prospectus

     1  

Zogenix

     1  

Risk Factors

     2  

Forward-Looking Statements

     3  

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

     3  

Use of Proceeds

     4  

Dividend Policy

     4  

Description of Capital Stock

     5  

Description of Debt Securities

     9  

Description of Depositary Shares

     17  

Description of Warrants

     20  

Description of Units

     22  

Description of Rights

     23  

Global Securities

     24  

Selling Securityholders

     27  

Plan of Distribution

     27  

Legal Matters

     27  

Experts

     27  

Where You Can Find More Information

     27  

Information Incorporated by Reference

     29  

 

 


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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

Whenever we refer to “Zogenix,” “we,” “our” or “us” in this prospectus, we mean Zogenix, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires. When we refer to “you” or “yours,” we mean the holders of the applicable series of securities.

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) as a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act) using a “shelf” registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, we may sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus from time to time and in one or more offerings. In addition, selling securityholders to be named in a supplement to this prospectus may sell shares of our common stock from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time that we or the selling securityholders offer and sell securities, we or the selling securityholders will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the securities being offered and sold and the specific terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, you should rely on the prospectus supplement. Before purchasing any securities, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, in an accompanying prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference herein or therein. Neither we, nor any selling securityholders, have authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which they relate, and this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where, or to any person to whom, it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus is accurate as of the date on its respective cover, and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

ZOGENIX

We are a pharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing central nervous system, or CNS, therapies that address specific clinical needs for people living with orphan and other CNS disorders who need innovative treatment alternatives to help them improve their daily functioning. Our current primary area of focus is orphan or rare childhood-onset epilepsy disorders.

We currently own and control worldwide development and commercialization rights to ZX008, our lead product candidate. ZX008 is low-dose fenfluramine for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome. Dravet syndrome is a rare and catastrophic form of pediatric epilepsy with life threatening consequences for patients and for which current treatment options are very limited. ZX008 has received orphan drug designation in the United States and European Union, or the EU, for the treatment of Dravet syndrome. In January 2016, we received notification of Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, for ZX008 for the treatment of Dravet syndrome. We initiated our Phase 3 clinical trials in North America (Study 1501) in January 2016 and in Europe and Australia in June 2016 (Study 1502). Study 1501 and Study 1502 are each identical randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled studies of ZX008 as adjunctive therapy for patients with uncontrolled seizures who have Dravet syndrome. In January 2017, we announced our

 

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plan to report top-line results from Study 1501 and Study 1502 via a prospective merged study analysis approach whereby top-line results from the first 119 subjects randomized into either Study 1501 or 1502 would be reported initially as “Study 1.” In April 2017, we completed enrollment of Study 1 and, in September 2017, we announced positive top-line results for Study 1. In September 2016, we initiated the pharmacokinetic and safety profile portion of Study 1504, a double blind, randomized, two arm pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of ZX008 in Dravet syndrome patients who are taking stiripentol, valproate and clobazam as part of their baseline standard care. In February 2017, we initiated the safety and efficacy portion of Study 1504, a two-arm study that compares ZX008 versus placebo across the titration and 12-week maintenance periods at multiple sites, which currently includes sites in France, the Netherlands, United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. Study 1504 will enroll 40 patients per treatment group. We expect to report top-line results from Study 1504 in the first half of 2018. We believe we are on track to submit applications for regulatory approvals for ZX008 in the United States and Europe in the second half of 2018.

Beginning in first quarter of 2016, we funded an open-label dose-finding twenty-patient investigator initiated study in patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, or LGS, another rare and catastrophic form of pediatric epilepsy with life threatening consequences for patients and for which current treatment options are very limited. In December 2016, we presented initial data from an interim analysis of the first 13 patients to have completed at least 12 weeks of this Phase 2 open-label, dose-finding clinical trial at the American Epilepsy Society Meeting. These data demonstrated that ZX008 provided clinically meaningful improvement in major motor seizure frequency in patients with severe refractory LGS, with seven out of 13 patients (54%) achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of major motor seizures, at doses below the 0.8 mg/kg/day maximum. In addition, ZX008 was generally well tolerated, as expected based on our epilepsy program to date. We believe these data indicate that ZX008 has the potential to be a safe and effective adjunctive treatment for LGS. Based on the strength of the LGS data generated, in the first quarter of 2017, we submitted an investigational new drug, or IND, application to the FDA to initiate a Phase 3 program of ZX008 in LGS, which became effective in April 2017. We intend to initiate a Phase 3 program of ZX008 in LGS in the fourth quarter of 2017. In February 2017, ZX008 received orphan drug designation for the treatment of LGS in the EU. In June 2017, ZX008 received orphan drug designation for the treatment of LGS in the United States from the FDA.

We were formed as a Delaware corporation on May 11, 2006 as SJ2 Therapeutics, Inc. We commenced our operations on August 25, 2006 and changed our name to Zogenix, Inc. on August 28, 2006. Our principal executive offices are located at 5858 Horton Street, Suite 455, Emeryville, California 94608, and our telephone number is 1-866-ZOGENIX (1-866-964-3649). We formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, Zogenix Europe Limited, in June 2010, a company organized under the laws of England and Wales and which is located in the United Kingdom, and whose principal operations were to support the manufacture of the DosePro technology. Zogenix International Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zogenix Europe Limited which was acquired in October 2014. Our website address is www.zogenix.com. The information on, or accessible through, our website is not part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus and should not be considered part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

RISK FACTORS

Investment in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors incorporated by reference to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K we file after the date of this prospectus, and all other information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and the risk factors and other information contained in the applicable prospectus supplement before acquiring any of such securities. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities. Please also refer to the section below entitled “Forward-Looking Statements.”

 

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference herein, contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations and future results of anticipated products. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein also contain estimates and other statistical data made by independent parties and by us relating to market size and growth and other data about our industry. This data involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the markets in which we operate are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which we discuss in greater detail in the documents incorporated by reference herein, including under the heading “Risk Factors.” The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

Our ratios of earnings to fixed charges are as follows for the periods indicated:

 

     Six months ended
June 30,
        
     Year ended December 31,  
     2017      2016      2015      2014      2013      2012  

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges and preferred stock dividends(1)

     —          —          —          20.2:1        —          —    

 

(1) 

Our earnings were inadequate to cover combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 by $33.9 million, $72.6 million, $57.6 million and $69.6 million, respectively. Our earnings from continuing operations were inadequate to cover combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the six months ended June 30, 2017 by $43.6 million.

 

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For purposes of calculating the ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends, earnings represent net income (loss) from continuing operations before provision for income taxes plus fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of interest expense (including amortization of debt issuance costs and debt discount) and estimated interest component of rent. For the periods indicated above, we had no outstanding shares of preferred stock with required dividend payments. Therefore, the ratios of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends are identical to the ratios presented in the table above.

USE OF PROCEEDS

We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common stock being offered by any of the selling securityholders.

DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We expect to retain available cash to finance ongoing operations and the potential growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant, and subject to the restrictions contained in any future financing instruments.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following description of our capital stock is not complete and may not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our capital stock. This description is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which has been publicly filed with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation by Reference.”

Our authorized capital stock as of June 30, 2017 consists of:

 

   

50,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value; and

 

   

10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value.

Common Stock

As of June 30, 2017, there were 24,839,141 shares of our common stock outstanding.

Voting Rights

The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors, and do not have cumulative voting rights. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they so choose, other than any directors that holders of any preferred stock we may issue may be entitled to elect.

Dividends

Subject to limitations under Delaware law and preferences that may be applicable to any then outstanding preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably those dividends, if any, as may be declared by our board of directors out of legally available funds.

Liquidation

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock will be entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of or provision for all of our debts and other liabilities, subject to the prior rights of any preferred stock then outstanding.

Rights and Preferences

Holders of common stock have no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights and there are no redemption or sinking funds provisions applicable to the common stock.

The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

Fully Paid and Nonassessable

All outstanding shares of common stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC.

 

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Preferred Stock

We currently have no outstanding shares of preferred stock. Prior to issuance of shares of each series of our undesignated preferred stock, our board of directors is required by the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to adopt resolutions and file a Certificate of Designations with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, fixing for each such series the designations, powers, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations and restrictions of the shares of such series. Our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction which holders of some, or a majority, of such shares might believe to be in their best interests or in which holders of some, or a majority, of such shares might receive a premium for their shares over the then-market price of such shares.

Subject to limitations prescribed by the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, our board of directors is authorized to fix the number of shares constituting each series of preferred stock and the designations, powers, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations and restrictions of the shares of such series, including such provisions as may be desired concerning voting, redemption, dividends, dissolution or the distribution of assets, conversion or exchange, and such other subjects or matters as may be fixed by resolution of the board of directors. Each series of preferred stock that we offer under this prospectus will, when issued, be fully paid and nonassessable and will not have, or be subject to, any preemptive or similar rights.

We will describe in a prospectus supplement relating to the class or series of preferred stock being offered the following terms:

 

   

the title and stated value of the preferred stock;

 

   

the number of shares of the preferred stock offered, the liquidation preference per share and the offering price of the preferred stock;

 

   

the dividend rate(s), period(s) or payment date(s) or method(s) of calculation applicable to the preferred stock;

 

   

whether dividends are cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends on the preferred stock will accumulate;

 

   

the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any, for the preferred stock;

 

   

the provisions for a sinking fund, if any, for the preferred stock;

 

   

the provision for redemption, if applicable, of the preferred stock;

 

   

any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange;

 

   

the terms and conditions, if applicable, upon which the preferred stock will be convertible into common stock, including the conversion price or manner of calculation and conversion period;

 

   

voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock;

 

   

whether interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary shares;

 

   

a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock;

 

   

the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs;

 

   

any limitations on issuance of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the class or series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs; and

 

   

any other specific terms, preferences, rights, limitations or restrictions of the preferred stock.

 

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Unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the preferred stock will rank, relating to dividends and upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up:

 

   

senior to all classes or series of our common stock and to all of our equity securities ranking junior to the preferred stock;

 

   

on a parity with all of our equity securities the terms of which specifically provide that the equity securities rank on a parity with the preferred stock; and

 

   

junior to all of our equity securities the terms of which specifically provide that the equity securities rank senior to the preferred stock.

The term equity securities does not include convertible debt securities.

Warrants

As of June 30, 2017, there were outstanding warrants to purchase 1,974,842 shares of our common stock, of which warrants exercisable for 1,901,918 shares of common stock expired unexercised on July 27, 2017. The warrants contain customary anti-dilution and net issuance provisions and are not callable by us. 1,974,842 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants with a weighted average exercise price of $20.92 per share, of which warrants exercisable for 1,901,918 shares of common stock expired unexercised on July 27, 2017.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Some provisions of Delaware law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could make the following transactions more difficult: an acquisition of us by means of a tender offer; an acquisition of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or the removal of our incumbent officers and directors. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish or could deter transactions that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interest or in our best interests, including transactions which provide for payment of a premium over the market price for our shares.

These provisions, summarized below, are intended to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of the increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

Undesignated Preferred Stock

The ability of our board of directors, without action by the stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences as designated by our board of directors could impede the success of any attempt to change control of us. These and other provisions may have the effect of deferring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of our company.

Stockholder Meetings

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by our chairman of the board, chief executive officer or president, or by a resolution adopted by a majority of our board of directors.

 

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Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals

Our amended and restated bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals to be brought before a stockholder meeting and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors.

Elimination of Stockholder Action by Written Consent

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws eliminate the right of stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting.

Staggered Board

Our board of directors is divided into three classes. The directors in each class will serve for a three-year term, one class being elected each year by our stockholders. This system of electing and removing directors may tend to discourage a third-party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us, because it generally makes it more difficult for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors.

Removal of Directors

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that no member of our board of directors may be removed from office by our stockholders except for cause and, in addition to any other vote required by law, upon the approval of not less than two-thirds of the total voting power of all of our outstanding voting stock then entitled to vote in the election of directors.

Stockholders Not Entitled to Cumulative Voting

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not permit stockholders to cumulate their votes in the election of directors. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they choose, other than any directors that holders of our preferred stock may be entitled to elect.

Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits persons deemed to be “interested stockholders” from engaging in a “business combination” with a publicly held Delaware corporation for three years following the date these persons become interested stockholders unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by the board of directors.

Amendment of Charter Provisions

The amendment of any of the above provisions, except for the provision making it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock, would require approval by holders of at least two-thirds of the total voting power of all of our outstanding voting stock.

The provisions of Delaware law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they may also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in the composition of our board and management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes certain general terms and provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus. When we offer to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms of the series in a supplement to this prospectus. We will also indicate in the supplement to what extent the general terms and provisions described in this prospectus apply to a particular series of debt securities. To the extent the information contained in the prospectus supplement differs from this summary description, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement.

We may issue debt securities either separately, or together with, or upon the conversion or exercise of or in exchange for, other securities described in this prospectus. Debt securities may be our senior, senior subordinated or subordinated obligations and, unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be our direct, unsecured obligations and may be issued in one or more series.

The debt securities will be issued under an indenture between us and a trustee named in the prospectus supplement. We have summarized select portions of the indenture below. The summary is not complete. The form of the indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement and you should read the indenture for provisions that may be important to you. In the summary below, we have included references to the section numbers of the indenture so that you can easily locate these provisions. Capitalized terms used in the summary and not defined herein have the meanings specified in the indenture.

General

The terms of each series of debt securities will be established by or pursuant to a resolution of our board of directors and set forth or determined in the manner provided in a resolution of our board of directors, in an officer’s certificate or by a supplemental indenture. (Section 2.2) The particular terms of each series of debt securities will be described in a prospectus supplement relating to such series (including any pricing supplement or term sheet).

We can issue an unlimited amount of debt securities under the indenture that may be in one or more series with the same or various maturities, at par, at a premium, or at a discount. (Section 2.1) We will set forth in a prospectus supplement (including any pricing supplement or term sheet) relating to any series of debt securities being offered, the aggregate principal amount and the following terms of the debt securities, if applicable:

 

   

the title and ranking of the debt securities (including the terms of any subordination provisions);

 

   

the price or prices (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount) at which we will sell the debt securities;

 

   

any limit on the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities;

 

   

the date or dates on which the principal on a particular series of debt securities is payable;

 

   

the rate or rates (which may be fixed or variable) per annum or the method used to determine the rate or rates (including any commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index) at which the debt securities will bear interest, the date or dates from which interest will accrue, the date or dates on which interest will commence and be payable and any regular record date for the interest payable on any interest payment date;

 

   

the place or places where principal of, and interest, if any, on the debt securities will be payable (and the method of such payment), where the debt securities of such series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange, and where notices and demands to us in respect of the debt securities may be delivered;

 

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the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which we may redeem the debt securities;

 

   

any obligation we have to redeem or purchase the debt securities pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions or at the option of a holder of debt securities and the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which the debt securities of a particular series shall be redeemed or purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;

 

   

the dates on which and the price or prices at which we will repurchase debt securities at the option of the holders of debt securities and other detailed terms and provisions of these repurchase obligations;

 

   

the denominations in which the debt securities will be issued, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof;

 

   

whether the debt securities will be issued in the form of certificated debt securities or global debt securities;

 

   

the portion of principal amount of the debt securities payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity date, if other than the principal amount;

 

   

the currency of denomination of the debt securities, which may be U.S. Dollars or any foreign currency, and if such currency of denomination is a composite currency, the agency or organization, if any, responsible for overseeing such composite currency;

 

   

the designation of the currency, currencies or currency units in which payment of principal of, and premium and interest on the debt securities will be made;

 

   

if payments of principal of, or premium or interest on the debt securities will be made in one or more currencies or currency units other than that or those in which the debt securities are denominated, the manner in which the exchange rate with respect to these payments will be determined;

 

   

the manner in which the amounts of payment of principal of, and premium, if any, and interest on, the debt securities will be determined, if these amounts may be determined by reference to an index based on a currency or currencies or by reference to a commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index;

 

   

any provisions relating to any security provided for the debt securities;

 

   

any addition to, deletion of or change in the Events of Default described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities and any change in the acceleration provisions described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities;

 

   

any addition to, deletion of or change in the covenants described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities;

 

   

any depositaries, interest rate calculation agents, exchange rate calculation agents or other agents with respect to the debt securities;

 

   

the provisions, if any, relating to conversion or exchange of any debt securities of such series, including if applicable, the conversion or exchange price and period, provisions as to whether conversion or exchange will be mandatory, the events requiring an adjustment of the conversion or exchange price and provisions affecting conversion or exchange;

 

   

any other terms of the debt securities, which may supplement, modify or delete any provision of the indenture as it applies to that series, including any terms that may be required under applicable law or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of the securities; and

 

   

whether any of our direct or indirect subsidiaries will guarantee the debt securities of that series, including the terms of subordination, if any, of such guarantees. (Section 2.2)

 

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We may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on the federal income tax considerations and other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.

If we denominate the purchase price of any of the debt securities in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, or if the principal of, and premium, if any, and interest on, any series of debt securities is payable in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, we will provide you with information on the restrictions, elections, general tax considerations, specific terms and other information with respect to that issue of debt securities and such foreign currency or currencies or foreign currency unit or units in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Transfer and Exchange

Each debt security will be represented by either one or more global securities registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company (DTC or the Depositary) or a nominee of the Depositary (we will refer to any debt security represented by a global debt security as a “book-entry debt security”), or a certificate issued in definitive registered form (we will refer to any debt security represented by a certificated security as a “certificated debt security”) as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Except as set forth under the heading “Global Debt Securities and Book-Entry System” below, book-entry debt securities will not be issuable in certificated form.

Certificated Debt Securities. You may transfer or exchange certificated debt securities at any office we maintain for this purpose in accordance with the terms of the indenture. (Section 2.4) No service charge will be made for any transfer or exchange of certificated debt securities, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with a transfer or exchange. (Section 2.7)

You may effect the transfer of certificated debt securities and the right to receive the principal of, premium and interest on certificated debt securities only by surrendering the certificate representing those certificated debt securities and either reissuance by us or the trustee of the certificate to the new holder or the issuance by us or the trustee of a new certificate to the new holder.

Global Debt Securities and Book-Entry System. Each global debt security representing book-entry debt securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, the Depositary, and registered in the name of the Depositary or a nominee of the Depositary. Please see the section entitled “Global Securities” for more information.

Covenants

We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement any restrictive covenants applicable to any issue of debt securities. (Article IV).

No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change in control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change in control) that could adversely affect holders of debt securities.

 

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Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets

We may not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our properties and assets to, any person (a “successor person”) unless:

 

   

we are the surviving corporation or the successor person (if other than Zogenix) is a corporation organized and validly existing under the laws of any U.S. domestic jurisdiction and expressly assumes our obligations on the debt securities and under the indenture;

 

   

immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing; and

 

   

certain other conditions are met.

Notwithstanding the above, any of our subsidiaries may consolidate with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties to us. (Section 5.1)

Events of Default

“Event of Default” means with respect to any series of debt securities, any of the following:

 

   

default in the payment of any interest upon any debt security of that series when it becomes due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days (unless the entire amount of the payment is deposited by us with the trustee or with a paying agent prior to the expiration of the 30-day period);

 

   

default in the payment of principal of any debt security of that series at its maturity;

 

   

default in the performance or breach of any other covenant or warranty by us in the indenture or any debt security (other than a covenant or warranty that has been included in the indenture solely for the benefit of a series of debt securities other than that series), which default continues uncured for a period of 60 days after we receive written notice from the trustee or Zogenix and the trustee receive written notice from the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series as provided in the indenture;

 

   

certain voluntary or involuntary events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of Zogenix; or

 

   

any other Event of Default provided with respect to debt securities of that series that is described in the applicable prospectus supplement. (Section 6.1)

No Event of Default with respect to a particular series of debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an Event of Default with respect to any other series of debt securities. (Section 6.1) The occurrence of certain Events of Default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain indebtedness of ours or our subsidiaries outstanding from time to time.

We will provide the trustee written notice of any Default or Event of Default within 30 days of becoming aware of the occurrence of such Default or Event of Default, which notice will describe in reasonable detail the status of such Default or Event of Default and what action we are taking or propose to take in respect thereof. (Section 6.1)

If an Event of Default with respect to debt securities of any series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal of (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) and accrued and unpaid interest, if

 

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any, on all debt securities of that series. In the case of an Event of Default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, the principal (or such specified amount) of and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all outstanding debt securities will become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or any holder of outstanding debt securities. At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to debt securities of any series has been made, but before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may rescind and annul the acceleration if all Events of Default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the indenture. (Section 6.2) We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an Event of Default.

The indenture provides that the trustee may refuse to perform any duty or exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture, unless the trustee receives indemnity satisfactory to it against any cost, liability or expense that might be incurred by it in performing such duty or exercising such right or power. (Section 7.1(e)) Subject to certain rights of the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series. (Section 6.12)

No holder of any debt security of any series will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any remedy under the indenture, unless:

 

   

that holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to debt securities of that series; and

 

   

the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request, and offered indemnity or security satisfactory to the trustee, to the trustee to institute the proceeding as trustee, and the trustee has not received from the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series a direction inconsistent with that request and has failed to institute the proceeding within 60 days. (Section 6.7)

Notwithstanding any other provision in the indenture, the holder of any debt security will have an absolute and unconditional right to receive payment of the principal of, and premium and any interest on, that debt security on or after the due dates expressed in that debt security and to institute suit for the enforcement of payment. (Section 6.8)

The indenture requires us, within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year, to furnish to the trustee a statement as to compliance with the indenture. (Section 4.3) If a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing with respect to the securities of any series and if it is known to a responsible officer of the trustee, the trustee shall mail to each holder of the securities of that series notice of a Default or Event of Default within 90 days after it occurs or, if later, after a responsible officer of the trustee has knowledge of such Default or Event of Default. The indenture provides that the trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any series of any Default or Event of Default (except in payment on any debt securities of that series) with respect to debt securities of that series if the trustee determines in good faith that withholding notice is in the interest of the holders of those debt securities. (Section 7.5)

Modification and Waiver

We and the trustee may modify, amend or supplement the indenture or the debt securities of any series without the consent of any holder of any debt security:

 

   

to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency;

 

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to comply with covenants in the indenture described above under the heading “Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets”;

 

   

to provide for uncertificated securities in addition to or in place of certificated securities;

 

   

to add guarantees with respect to debt securities of any series or secure debt securities of any series;

 

   

to surrender any of our rights or powers under the indenture;

 

   

to add covenants or Events of Default for the benefit of the holders of debt securities of any series;

 

   

to comply with the applicable procedures of the applicable depositary;

 

   

to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any holder of debt securities;

 

   

to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of debt securities of any series as permitted by the indenture;

 

   

to effect the appointment of a successor trustee with respect to the debt securities of any series and to add to or change any of the provisions of the indenture to provide for or facilitate administration by more than one trustee; or

 

   

to comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualification of the indenture under the Trust Indenture Act. (Section 9.1)

We may also modify and amend the indenture with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the modifications or amendments. We may not make any modification or amendment without the consent of the holders of each affected debt security then outstanding if that amendment will:

 

   

reduce the amount of debt securities whose holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

 

   

reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest (including default interest) on any debt security;

 

   

reduce the principal of or premium on or change the fixed maturity of any debt security or reduce the amount of, or postpone the date fixed for, the payment of any sinking fund or analogous obligation with respect to any series of debt securities;

 

   

reduce the principal amount of discount securities payable upon acceleration of maturity;

 

   

waive a Default or Event of Default in the payment of the principal of, or premium or interest on, any debt security (except a rescission of acceleration of the debt securities of any series by the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding debt securities of that series and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);

 

   

make the principal of, or premium or interest on any debt security payable in currency other than that stated in the debt security;

 

   

make any change to certain provisions of the indenture relating to, among other things, the right of holders of debt securities to receive payment of the principal of, and premium and interest on, those debt securities and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment and to waivers or amendments; or

 

   

waive a redemption payment with respect to any debt security. (Section 9.3)

Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. (Section 9.2) The holders of a majority in principal amount of

 

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the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or any interest on, any debt security of that series; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration. (Section 6.13)

Defeasance of Debt Securities and Certain Covenants in Certain Circumstances

Legal Defeasance. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, we may be discharged from any and all obligations in respect of the debt securities of any series (subject to certain exceptions). We will be so discharged upon the deposit with the trustee, in trust, of money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. Dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money or U.S. government obligations in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each installment of principal of, premium and interest on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of, the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities.

This discharge may occur only if, among other things, we have delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel stating that we have received from, or there has been published by, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service a ruling or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable U.S. federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred. (Section 8.3)

Defeasance of Certain Covenants. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, upon compliance with certain conditions:

 

   

we may omit to comply with the covenant described under the heading “Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets” and certain other covenants set forth in the indenture, as well as any additional covenants that may be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement; and

 

   

any omission to comply with those covenants will not constitute a Default or an Event of Default with respect to the debt securities of that series (“covenant defeasance”).

The conditions include:

 

   

depositing with the trustee money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. Dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each installment of principal of, premium and interest on, and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of, the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities; and

 

   

delivering to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that we have received from, or there has been published by, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service a ruling or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable U.S. federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of that

 

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series will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit and related covenant defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit and related covenant defeasance had not occurred. (Section 8.4)

No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees or Stockholders

None of our past, present or future directors, officers, employees or stockholders, as such, will have any liability for any of our obligations under the debt securities or the indenture or for any claim based on, or in respect or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. By accepting a debt security, each holder waives and releases all such liability. This waiver and release is part of the consideration for the issue of the debt securities. However, this waiver and release may not be effective to waive liabilities under U.S. federal securities laws, and it is the view of the SEC that such a waiver is against public policy.

Governing Law

The indenture and the debt securities, including any claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the indenture or the debt securities, will be governed by the laws of the State of New York. (Section 10.10)

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES

We may, at our option, elect to offer depositary shares rather than full shares of preferred stock. Each depositary share will represent ownership of and entitlement to all rights and preferences of a fraction of a share of preferred stock of a specified series (including dividend, voting, redemption and liquidation rights). The applicable fraction will be specified in a prospectus supplement. The shares of preferred stock represented by the depositary shares will be deposited with a depositary named in the applicable prospectus supplement, under a deposit agreement among us, the depositary and the holders of the certificates evidencing depositary shares, or depositary receipts. Depositary receipts will be delivered to those persons purchasing depositary shares in the offering. The depositary will be the transfer agent, registrar and dividend disbursing agent for the depositary shares. Holders of depositary receipts agree to be bound by the deposit agreement, which requires holders to take certain actions such as filing proof of residence and paying certain charges.

The summary of the terms of the depositary shares contained in this prospectus does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the deposit agreement and our certificate of incorporation and the certificate of designation that are, or will be, filed with the SEC for the applicable series of preferred stock.

Dividends

The depositary will distribute all cash dividends or other cash distributions received in respect of the series of preferred stock represented by the depositary shares to the record holders of depositary receipts in proportion to the number of depositary shares owned by such holders on the relevant record date, which will be the same date as the record date fixed by us for the applicable series of preferred stock. The depositary, however, will distribute only such amount as can be distributed without attributing to any depositary share a fraction of one cent, and any balance not so distributed will be added to and treated as part of the next sum received by the depositary for distribution to record holders of depositary receipts then outstanding.

In the event of a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute property received by it to the record holders of depositary receipts entitled thereto, in proportion, as nearly as may be practicable, to the number of depositary shares owned by such holders on the relevant record date, unless the depositary determines (after consultation with us) that it is not feasible to make such distribution, in which case the depositary may (with our approval) adopt any other method for such distribution as it deems equitable and appropriate, including the sale of such property (at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem equitable and appropriate) and distribution of the net proceeds from such sale to such holders.

Liquidation Preference

In the event of the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of Zogenix, whether voluntary or involuntary, the holders of each depositary share will be entitled to the fraction of the liquidation preference accorded each share of the applicable series of preferred stock as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Redemption

If the series of preferred stock represented by the applicable series of depositary shares is redeemable, such depositary shares will be redeemed from the proceeds received by the depositary resulting from the redemption, in whole or in part, of the preferred stock held by the depositary. Whenever we redeem any preferred stock held by the depositary, the depositary will redeem as of the same redemption date the number of depositary shares representing the shares of preferred stock so redeemed. The depositary will mail the notice of redemption promptly upon receipt of such notice from us and not less than 30 nor more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for redemption of the preferred stock and the depositary shares to the record holders of the depositary receipts.

 

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Voting

Promptly upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of the series of preferred stock represented by the applicable series of depositary shares are entitled to vote, the depositary will mail the information contained in such notice of meeting to the record holders of the depositary receipts as of the record date for such meeting. Each such record holder of depositary receipts will be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the number of shares of preferred stock represented by such record holder’s depositary shares. The depositary will endeavor, insofar as practicable, to vote such preferred stock represented by such depositary shares in accordance with such instructions, and we will agree to take all action which may be deemed necessary by the depositary in order to enable the depositary to do so. The depositary will abstain from voting any of the preferred stock to the extent that it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary receipts.

Withdrawal of Preferred Stock

Upon surrender of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary and payment of any unpaid amount due the depositary, and subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, the owner of the depositary shares evidenced thereby is entitled to delivery of the number of whole shares of preferred stock and all money and other property, if any, represented by such depositary shares. Partial shares of preferred stock will not be issued. If the depositary receipts delivered by the holder evidence a number of depositary shares in excess of the number of depositary shares representing the number of whole shares of preferred stock to be withdrawn, the depositary will deliver to such holder at the same time a new depositary receipt evidencing such excess number of depositary shares. Holders of preferred stock thus withdrawn will not thereafter be entitled to deposit such shares under the deposit agreement or to receive depositary receipts evidencing depositary shares therefor.

Amendment and Termination of Deposit Agreement

The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement may at any time and from time to time be amended by agreement between us and the depositary. However, any amendment which materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders (other than any change in fees) of depositary shares will not be effective unless such amendment has been approved by at least a majority of the depositary shares then outstanding. No such amendment may impair the right, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, of any owner of any depositary shares to surrender the depositary receipt evidencing such depositary shares with instructions to the depositary to deliver to the holder of the preferred stock and all money and other property, if any, represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law.

The deposit agreement will be permitted to be terminated by us upon not less than 30 days prior written notice to the applicable depositary if a majority of each series of preferred stock affected by such termination consents to such termination, whereupon such depositary will be required to deliver or make available to each holder of depositary receipts, upon surrender of the depositary receipts held by such holder, such number of whole or fractional shares of preferred stock as are represented by the depositary shares evidenced by such depositary receipts together with any other property held by such depositary with respect to such depositary receipts. In addition, the deposit agreement will automatically terminate if (a) all outstanding depositary shares thereunder shall have been redeemed, (b) there shall have been a final distribution in respect of the related preferred stock in connection with any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of Zogenix and such distribution shall have been distributed to the holders of depositary receipts evidencing the depositary shares representing such preferred stock, or (c) each share of the related preferred stock shall have been converted into stock of Zogenix not so represented by depositary shares.

Charges of Depositary

We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of the depositary arrangements. We will pay charges of the depositary in connection with the initial deposit of the

 

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preferred stock and initial issuance of the depositary shares, and redemption of the preferred stock and all withdrawals of preferred stock by owners of depositary shares. Holders of depositary receipts will pay transfer, income and other taxes and governmental charges and certain other charges as are provided in the deposit agreement to be for their accounts. In certain circumstances, the depositary may refuse to transfer depositary shares, may withhold dividends and distributions and sell the depositary shares evidenced by such depositary receipt if such charges are not paid. The applicable prospectus supplement will include information with respect to fees and charges, if any, in connection with the deposit or substitution of the underlying securities, the receipt and distribution of dividends, the sale or exercise of rights, the withdrawal of the underlying security, and the transferring, splitting or grouping of receipts. The applicable prospectus supplement will also include information with respect to the right to collect the fees and charges, if any, against dividends received and deposited securities.

Miscellaneous

The depositary will forward to the holders of depositary receipts all notices, reports and proxy soliciting material from us which are delivered to the depositary and which we are required to furnish to the holders of the preferred stock. In addition, the depositary will make available for inspection by holders of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary, and at such other places as it may from time to time deem advisable, any notices, reports and proxy soliciting material received from us which are received by the depositary as the holder of preferred stock. The applicable prospectus supplement will include information about the rights, if any, of holders of receipts to inspect the transfer books of the depositary and the list of holders of receipts.

Neither the depositary nor Zogenix assumes any obligation or will be subject to any liability under the deposit agreement to holders of depositary receipts other than for its negligence or willful misconduct. Neither the depositary nor Zogenix will be liable if it is prevented or delayed by law or any circumstance beyond its control in performing its obligations under the deposit agreement. The obligations of Zogenix and the depositary under the deposit agreement will be limited to performance in good faith of their duties thereunder, and they will not be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares or preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. Zogenix and the depositary may rely on written advice of counsel or accountants, on information provided by holders of the depositary receipts or other persons believed in good faith to be competent to give such information, and on documents believed to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.

In the event the depositary shall receive conflicting claims, requests or instructions from any holders of depositary receipts, on the one hand, and us, on the other hand, the depositary shall be entitled to act on such claims, requests or instructions received from us.

Resignation and Removal of Depositary

The depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its election to do so, and we may at any time remove the depositary, any such resignation or removal to take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. Such successor depositary must be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice for resignation or removal and must be a bank or trust company having its principal office in the United States and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $150,000,000.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

We may issue warrants for the purchase of shares of our common stock or preferred stock or of debt securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and the investors or a warrant agent. The following summary of material provisions of the warrants and warrant agreements is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to a particular series of warrants. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants.

The particular terms of any issue of warrants will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to the issue. Those terms may include:

 

   

the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock purchasable upon the exercise of warrants to purchase such shares and the price at which such number of shares may be purchased upon such exercise;

 

   

the designation, stated value and terms (including, without limitation, liquidation, dividend, conversion and voting rights) of the series of preferred stock purchasable upon exercise of warrants to purchase preferred stock;

 

   

the principal amount of debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a debt warrant and the exercise price for the warrants, which may be payable in cash, securities or other property;

 

   

the date, if any, on and after which the warrants and the related debt securities, preferred stock or common stock will be separately transferable;

 

   

the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants;

 

   

the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire;

 

   

U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable to the warrants; and

 

   

any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the warrants.

Holders of equity warrants will not be entitled to:

 

   

vote, consent or receive dividends;

 

   

receive notice as stockholders with respect to any meeting of stockholders for the election of our directors or any other matter; or

 

   

exercise any rights as stockholders of Zogenix.

Each warrant will entitle its holder to purchase the principal amount of debt securities or the number of shares of preferred stock or common stock at the exercise price set forth in, or calculable as set forth in, the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants at any time up to the specified time on the expiration date that we set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.

 

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A holder of warrant certificates may exchange them for new warrant certificates of different denominations, present them for registration of transfer and exercise them at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement. Until any warrants to purchase debt securities are exercised, the holder of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the debt securities that can be purchased upon exercise, including any rights to receive payments of principal, premium or interest on the underlying debt securities or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture. Until any warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock are exercised, the holders of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the underlying common stock or preferred stock, including any rights to receive dividends or payments upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up on the common stock or preferred stock, if any.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. We may evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we will issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into unit agreements with a unit agent. Each unit agent will be a bank or trust company that we select. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of units.

The following description, together with the additional information included in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the general features of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. You should read any prospectus supplement that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the series of units being offered, as well as the complete unit agreements that contain the terms of the units. Specific unit agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and we will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from another report that we file with the SEC, the form of each unit agreement relating to units offered under this prospectus.

If we offer any units, certain terms of that series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following, as applicable:

 

   

the title of the series of units;

 

   

identification and description of the separate constituent securities comprising the units;

 

   

the price or prices at which the units will be issued;

 

   

the date, if any, on and after which the constituent securities comprising the units will be separately transferable;

 

   

a discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the units; and

 

   

any other terms of the units and their constituent securities.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS

General

We may issue rights to purchase our common stock, preferred stock, warrants or units. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the certificates relating to the rights of the series of certificates and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights. The statements made in this section relating to the rights are summaries only. These summaries are not complete. When we issue rights, we will provide the specific terms of the rights and the applicable rights agreement in a prospectus supplement. To the extent the information contained in the prospectus supplement differs from this summary description, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement. For more detail, we refer you to the applicable rights agreement itself, which we will file as an exhibit to, or incorporate by reference in, the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

If we offer any series of rights, certain terms of that series of rights will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following:

 

   

the date of determining the stockholders entitled to the rights distribution;

 

   

the title and aggregate number of shares of common stock, preferred stock, warrants or units purchasable upon exercise of the rights;

 

   

the exercise price;

 

   

the aggregate number of rights issued;

 

   

the date, if any, on and after which the rights will be separately transferable;

 

   

the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence and the date on which the right will expire;

 

   

a discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to an investment in the rights; and

 

   

any other terms of the rights, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the distribution, exchange and exercise of the rights.

Exercise of Rights

Each right will entitle the holder of rights to purchase for cash the principal amount of shares of common stock, preferred stock, warrants or units at the exercise price provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised rights will be void.

Holders may exercise rights as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Upon receipt of payment and the rights certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the rights agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as practicable, forward the shares of common stock, preferred stock, warrants or units purchasable upon exercise of the rights. If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than stockholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby underwriting arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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GLOBAL SECURITIES

Book-Entry, Delivery and Form

Unless we indicate differently in a prospectus supplement, the securities initially will be issued in book-entry form and represented by one or more global notes or global securities, or, collectively, global securities. The global securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, as depositary (DTC), and registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of DTC. Unless and until it is exchanged for individual certificates evidencing securities under the limited circumstances described below, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary.

DTC has advised us that it is:

 

   

a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law;

 

   

a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law;

 

   

a member of the Federal Reserve System;

 

   

a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code; and

 

   

a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act.

DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement among its participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in participants’ accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. “Direct participants” in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, including underwriters, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other organizations. DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others, which we sometimes refer to as indirect participants, that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.

Purchases of securities under the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for the securities on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of the actual purchaser of a security, which we sometimes refer to as a beneficial owner, is in turn recorded on the direct and indirect participants’ records. Beneficial owners of securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchases. However, beneficial owners are expected to receive written confirmations providing details of their transactions, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which they purchased securities. Transfers of ownership interests in global securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the global securities, except under the limited circumstances described below.

To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities deposited by direct participants with DTC will be registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other nominee will not change the beneficial ownership of the securities. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the securities. DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the securities are credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants are responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

 

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So long as the securities are in book-entry form, you will receive payments and may transfer securities only through the facilities of the depositary and its direct and indirect participants. We will maintain an office or agency in the location specified in the prospectus supplement for the applicable securities, where notices and demands in respect of the securities and the indenture may be delivered to us and where certificated securities may be surrendered for payment, registration of transfer or exchange.

Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any legal requirements in effect from time to time.

Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the securities of a particular series are being redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in the securities of such series to be redeemed.

Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (or such other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to the securities. Under its usual procedures, DTC will mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns the consenting or voting rights of Cede & Co. to those direct participants to whose accounts the securities of such series are credited on the record date, identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy.

So long as securities are in book-entry form, we will make payments on those securities to the depositary or its nominee, as the registered owner of such securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. If securities are issued in definitive certificated form under the limited circumstances described below, we will have the option of making payments by check mailed to the addresses of the persons entitled to payment or by wire transfer to bank accounts in the United States designated in writing to the applicable trustee or other designated party at least 15 days before the applicable payment date by the persons entitled to payment, unless a shorter period is satisfactory to the applicable trustee or other designated party.

Redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments on the securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit direct participants’ accounts upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” Those payments will be the responsibility of participants and not of DTC or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC, is our responsibility, disbursement of payments to direct participants is the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of payments to the beneficial owners is the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.

Except under the limited circumstances described below, purchasers of securities will not be entitled to have securities registered in their names and will not receive physical delivery of securities. Accordingly, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights under the securities and the indenture.

The laws of some jurisdictions may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. Those laws may impair the ability to transfer or pledge beneficial interests in securities.

DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depositary with respect to the securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor depositary is not obtained, securities certificates are required to be printed and delivered.

 

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As noted above, beneficial owners of a particular series of securities generally will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in those securities. However, if:

 

   

DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a depositary for the global security or securities representing such series of securities, or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act at a time when it is required to be registered and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days of the notification to us or of our becoming aware of DTC’s ceasing to be so registered, as the case may be;

 

   

we determine, in our sole discretion, not to have such securities represented by one or more global securities; or

 

   

an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to such series of securities,

we will prepare and deliver certificates for such securities in exchange for beneficial interests in the global securities. Any beneficial interest in a global security that is exchangeable under the circumstances described in the preceding sentence will be exchangeable for securities in definitive certificated form registered in the names that the depositary directs. It is expected that these directions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the global securities.

We have obtained the information in this section and elsewhere in this prospectus concerning DTC and DTC’s book-entry system from sources that are believed to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.

 

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SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS

Information about selling securityholders, where applicable, will be set forth in a prospectus supplement, in a post-effective amendment or in filings we make with the SEC under the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We or any of the selling securityholders may sell the offered securities from time to time:

 

   

through underwriters or dealers;

 

   

through agents;

 

   

directly to one or more purchasers; or

 

   

through a combination of any of these methods of sale.

We will identify the specific plan of distribution, including any underwriters, dealers, agents or direct purchasers and their compensation in the applicable prospectus supplement.

LEGAL MATTERS

Latham & Watkins LLP, San Diego, California, will pass upon certain legal matters relating to the issuance and sale of the securities offered hereby on behalf of Zogenix. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us, the selling securityholders or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016, as set forth in their reports, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our consolidated financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s reports, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Information filed with the SEC by us can be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain copies of this information by mail from the Public Reference Room of the SEC at prescribed rates. Further information on the operation of the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. You may also access filed documents at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by accessing the Investor Relations section of our website at www.zogenix.com. The information found on or accessed through our website is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus.

 

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This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided above. Forms of the indenture and other documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters.

 

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INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, and subsequent information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede that information. Any statement contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus modifies or replaces that statement.

We incorporate by reference our documents listed below and any future filings made by us with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act between the date of this prospectus and the termination of the offering of the securities described in this prospectus. We are not, however, incorporating by reference any documents or portions thereof, whether specifically listed below or filed in the future, that are not deemed “filed” with the SEC, including our Compensation Committee report and performance graph or any information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or related exhibits furnished pursuant to Item 9.01 of Form 8-K.

This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement incorporate by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC:

 

   

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed with the SEC on March 10, 2017;

 

   

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017, filed with the SEC on May 4, 2017 and August 8, 2017, respectively;

 

   

our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2017January 30, 2017, March 1, 2017April 28, 2017May 23, 2017June 22, 2017August 3, 2017September  22, 2017 and September 29, 2017;

 

   

our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A (other than information furnished rather than filed), filed with the SEC on April 12, 2017; and

 

   

the description of our Common Stock contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on November 12, 2010 and any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating the description.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of this offering, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents.

You may request a free copy of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Zogenix, Inc.

Attn: Corporate Secretary

5858 Horton Street, Suite 455

Emeryville, California 94608

(510) 550-8300

Exhibits to the filings will not be sent, however, unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

1,595,025 Shares

 

LOGO

Common Stock

 

 

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

 

 

 

 

September 10, 2019