Exhibit 99.3

Unless otherwise provided in this Business Update, references to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” and similar references refer to Celcuity Inc., a Delaware corporation. We own various unregistered trademarks and service marks, including our corporate logo. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, trade names and service marks in this Business Update, including those owned by third parties, may be referred to without the ®,TM or SM symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that the owner of such trademarks, trade names and service marks will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend the use or display of other companies’ trademarks, trade names and service marks to imply an endorsement or sponsorship of us by any other companies.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company seeking to extend the lives of cancer patients by pursing an integrated companion diagnostic (CDx) and therapeutic (Rx) strategy that leverages our CELsignia CDx platform. CELsignia is uniquely able to analyze live patient tumor cells to identify new groups of cancer patients likely to benefit from targeted therapies. This enables a CELsignia CDx to support advancement of new indications for already approved targeted therapies. Our therapeutic strategy aims to utilize CELsignia’s unique insights into tumor cell biology to identify, in-license, and develop potential first-in-class or best-in-class targeted therapies that treat the same cancer driver a CELsignia CDx can identify. We believe this integrated CDx and Rx strategy will maximize the impact our CELsignia platform has on the treatment landscape for cancer patients.

Our proprietary CELsignia diagnostic platform is the only commercially ready technology we are aware of that uses a patient’s living tumor cells to identify the specific abnormal cellular process driving a patient’s cancer and the targeted therapy that best treats it. This enables us to identify patients whose tumors may respond to a targeted therapy, even though they lack a previously associated molecular mutation. By identifying cancer patients whose tumors lack an associated genetic mutation but have abnormal cellular activity a matching targeted therapeutic is designed to inhibit, CELsignia CDx can expand the markets for a number of already approved targeted therapies. Our current CDx identifies breast and ovarian cancer patients whose tumors have cancer drivers potentially responsive to treatment with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2), mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-MET), or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K) targeted therapeutics.

Our CELsignia platform provides an important advantage over traditional molecular diagnostics. Current molecular diagnostics analyze fragmented cells to obtain a snapshot of the genetic mutations present in a patient’s tumor. Using cell fragments prevents molecular diagnostics from analyzing the dynamic cellular activities, known as cell signaling, that regulate cell proliferation or survival. Cancer can develop when critical cell signaling, regulating physiologic activity such as cell proliferation, becomes abnormal or dysregulated. Since genetic mutations are often only weakly correlated to the dysregulated cell signaling activity driving a patient’s cancer, a molecular diagnostic is prone to providing an incomplete diagnosis. CELsignia tests overcome this limitation by measuring dynamic cell signaling activity in a cancer patient’s living tumor cells. When a CELsignia test detects abnormal signaling activity, a more accurate diagnosis of the patient’s cancer driver is obtained.

We are supporting the advancement of new potential indications for six different targeted therapies, controlled by other pharmaceutical companies, that would rely on a CELsignia CDx to select patients. Five Phase 2 trials are underway to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these therapies in CELsignia selected patients. These patients are not currently eligible to receive these drugs and are not identifiable with a molecular test.

The first drug candidate we are developing internally is gedatolisib, a potent, well-tolerated, small molecule dual inhibitor, administered intravenously, that selectively targets all Class 1 isoforms of PI3K and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). In April 2021, we obtained exclusive global development and commercialization rights to gedatolisib under a license agreement with Pfizer, Inc. Our interest in gedatolisib was prompted after we conducted a study of various PI3K targeted therapeutics while developing our CELsignia PI3K Activity test. Our CELsignia platform allows us to obtain proprietary insights about the relative effectiveness of PI3K targeted therapies. This study found that gedatolisib inhibited higher levels of PI3K-involved signaling activity than the other PI3K targeted therapeutics we evaluated and demonstrated superior drug synergy when combined with other targeted therapies. Gedatolisib’s initial clinical development program will focus on the treatment of patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+), HER2-negative, advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Additional clinical development programs are expected to focus on other tumor types that involve a hormonal signaling pathway, such as endometrial, ovarian, or prostate cancer.

-1-

Supporting the development of a potential first-in-class targeted therapy for breast cancer, like gedatolisib, with our CELsignia platform is a natural extension of our strategy to use our CELsignia CDx to enable new indications for other companies’ targeted therapies. By combining companion diagnostics designed to enable proprietary new drug indications with targeted therapies that treat signaling dysregulation our CDx identifies, we believe we are uniquely positioned to improve the standard-of-care for many early- and late-stage breast cancer patients. Our goal is to play a key role in the multiple treatment approaches required to treat breast cancer patients at various stages of their disease. With each program, we are:

●

Leveraging the proprietary insights CELsignia provides into live patient tumor cell function

●

Using a CELsignia CDx to identify new patients likely to respond to the paired targeted therapy

●

Developing a new targeted therapeutic option for breast cancer patients.

●

Maximizing the probability of getting regulatory approval to market the targeted therapy indication

CELsignia CDx Programs

We are collaborating with Genentech, Pfizer, Novartis, and Puma to conduct five Phase 2 clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of our collaboration partners’ targeted therapies in patients selected with one of our CELsignia tests. The goal of these trials is to support the development of five potential new drug indications to treat patient groups found responsive by our CELsignia test to their approved targeted therapies. Our CELsignia Multi-Pathway Activity Test, or CELsignia MP Test, analyzes HER2, c-MET, and PI3K signaling activity using a patient’s live tumor cells. These tests have the potential to diagnose oncogenic signaling activity undetectable by molecular tests in up to one in three HER2-negative breast cancer patients and one in five ovarian cancer patients. We intend to use this test to identify HER2-negative breast cancer patients whose tumors have either abnormal HER2 signaling, abnormal c-Met and HER2 signaling, or abnormal PI3K signaling. Our overall commercialization strategy for our CELsignia CDx is to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to advance the clinical development of their targeted therapies with the eventual goal of obtaining FDA approval of a new drug indication.

Our current programs include:

●

Herceptin® and Perjeta® for HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer patients. Each drug targets the HER2 receptor and is owned by Genentech, Inc. These drugs are only currently approved to treat cancer patients who are HER2+.

●

Vizimpro® and Xalkori® for HER2-negative late-stage breast cancer patients. Vizimpro, a pan-HER inhibitor, and Xalkori, a c-Met inhibitor, are owned by Pfizer, Inc. These drugs are currently only approved to treat patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have specific molecular mutations.

●

Tabrecta® and Nerlynx® for HER2-negative late-stage breast cancer patients. Tabrecta, a c-Met inhibitor, is owned by Novartis AG and Nerlynx is owned by Puma Biotechnology, Inc. Tabrecta is currently only approved to treat patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have specific molecular mutations. Nerlynx is currently only approved to treat HER2+ breast cancer patients.

●

Nerlynx and Faslodex for ER+/HER2-negative late-stage breast cancer patients. Faslodex, a selective estrogen receptor degrader, is owned by AstraZeneca.

●

Nerlynx for ER-/HER2- early-stage breast cancer patients.

Gedatolisib

We are initially developing gedatolisib for the treatment of patients with ER+/HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The PI3K/mTOR pathway is one of the most important signal transduction pathways driving breast cancer growth in the setting of resistance to endocrine and CDK4/6 therapies. Inhibition of this pathway by gedatolisib may thus provide an important new therapeutic strategy to delay tumor progression by reversing therapeutic resistance. Our strategy is to treat metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer with a combination of gedatolisib, palbociclib, an oral CDK 4/6 inhibitor, marketed as Ibrance® by Pfizer, and an existing endocrine therapy, to enable a more complete blockade of endocrine and CDK4/6 resistance. We believe gedatolisib in combination with palbociclib and an endocrine therapy has the potential to become a standard of care treatment for patients with ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer, if approved.

-2-

Gedatolisib is currently being evaluated in combination with palbociclib and an endocrine therapy, either letrozole, or fulvestrant in an on-going Phase 1b clinical trial that has enrolled 138 patients with ER+/HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Based on preliminary results from the on-going dose expansion portion of this Phase 1b trial as of the database cutoff date of January 11, 2021, 53 of the 88 evaluable patients had either a confirmed or unconfirmed partial response, an objective response rate of 60%. In addition, 66 of the 88 evaluable patients had either a confirmed PR or had stable disease for 24 weeks, a 75% clinical benefit rate (CBR). In light of the results reported to date from the Phase 1b trial, we intend to initiate, subject to feedback from the FDA, a Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating gedatolisib in combination with palbociclib and an endocrine therapy in patients with ER+/HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer in the first half of 2022.

The remainder of this Business Update will focus on the specific impacts of Gedatolisib on our business. For more information on our ongoing CELsignia CDx programs, please see Part I, Item 1 of our Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Our Pipeline

Our integrated CDx and Rx approach has allowed us to develop a broad pipeline of potential new targeted therapy options for breast cancer patients. Our current focus is supporting the development of new drug indications for already approved targeted therapies or developing our own drug candidates for breast cancer. The following table summarizes our current pipeline of targeted therapy development efforts.

Strategy

Our strategy is to pursue the development of complementary companion diagnostics and therapeutics that leverage our CELsignia platform. CELsignia companion diagnostics are uniquely able to analyze live patient tumor cells to identify new groups of cancer patients likely to benefit from targeted therapies. We aim to utilize CELsignia’s unique insights into tumor cell biology to identify, in-license, and develop potential first-in-class or best-in-class targeted therapies that treat the same cancer driver a CELsignia CDx can identify. We believe this integrated CDx and Rx strategy will maximize the impact our CELsignia platform has on the treatment landscape for cancer patients.

-3-

 Key elements of our strategy include:

●

Leverage the proprietary insights CELsignia provides into live patient tumor cell function.

Determining the dysfunction driving most patient’s cancer using molecular tests remains elusive. Less than 20% of Americans who died of cancer in 2018 had actionable genetic or proteomic mutations that made them eligible for treatment with a targeted therapy. This reflects the limitations of using static measurements of proteins or genetic mutations in cell fragments to characterize the dynamic and complex cell signaling activity that may be driving a patient’s cancer.

Our CELsignia platform represents a significant departure from molecular-based analyses. CELsignia companion diagnostics directly measure dynamic cell signaling activity in patient tumors lacking actionable genomic or proteomic mutations. Unlike molecular tests that use cell fragments and can only measure the static composition of a cell, our CELsignia platform measures real-time signaling activity in a patient’s live tumor cells. This enables us to (1) identify the cellular signaling dysfunction driving a patient’s cancer; and (2) identify the targeted therapy that matches the dysfunction in the patient’s cells.

●

Use a CELsignia CDx to enable new indications for the paired targeted therapy.

Our CELsignia platform enables us to discover new groups of patients that, we believe, are likely to respond positively to a matching targeted therapy. Since these new patient groups cannot otherwise be identified, each CELsignia CDx creates an opportunity to expand the number of patients approved for treatment with the targeted therapy. Our current commercial strategy is to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials to confirm the efficacy of their already approved therapeutics in patients selected with a CELsignia CDx. If these collaborations are successful, we believe our CELsignia tests would expand the market for the targeted therapy because they enable approval of new drug indications that a pharmaceutical company would not otherwise be able to obtain.

●

In-license additional drug candidates that CELsignia is uniquely able to evaluate.

Supporting the development of potential first-in-class targeted therapies for breast cancer, such as gedatolisib, with our CELsignia platform is a natural extension of our strategy to develop CELsignia CDx for other breast cancer therapies. We intend to focus on drug candidates with mechanisms of action CELsignia is uniquely able to evaluate. We believe this gives a proprietary advantage to identify potential first-in-class or best-in-class drug candidates for patient populations that are most likely to respond to the compound.

●

Maximize the impact of our CELsignia platform.

We believe developing targeted therapies for breast cancer that benefit from the CELsignia platform while also offering companion diagnostics that enable new drug indications for breast cancer patients, creates a synergistic advantage for each program. Our goal is to play a direct role in improving the outcomes of breast cancer patients at all stages of their disease.

●

Use CELsignia to maximize the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approval.

CELsignia tests enable enrollment of patients in clinical trials who we believe are most likely to benefit because their tumors have the same cellular dysfunction the targeted therapy being evaluated is designed to inhibit. We believe this will improve patient response rates, increasing the likelihood the trial meets its endpoint target and thus the likelihood the drug receives FDA approval. Improved patient response rates would also help reduce the size, cost, and length of clinical trials. Thus, we believe CELsignia tests uniquely enable us to pursue indications simultaneously for unselected patient populations and CELsignia selected patient sub-groups. This approach can greatly reduce the risk of pursuing an indication for a large, but unselected patient population, as we plan to do for the initial gedatolisib indication. Thus, our CELsignia platform gives us the unique ability to pursue indications for unselected patient populations with a back-up indication for a CELsignia selected patient sub-group.

-4-

●

Employ efficient and flexible approaches to accelerate clinical development.

The members of our development leadership team have successfully identified, developed and obtained regulatory approval of oncology products. These experiences provide our team with the knowledge to test multiple clinical hypotheses in a single trial that can be accelerated once a signal of clinical benefit is observed. This approach may increase the likelihood of seeing results early in clinical trials with fewer patients, reducing our clinical development risk and development costs, and allowing us to potentially accelerate the development of our product pipeline.

Gedatolisib

Overview

Gedatolisib (PF-05212384) is a potent, reversible dual inhibitor that selectively targets PI3K and mTOR. Gedatolisib was originally developed by Wyeth and clinical development was continued by Pfizer after it acquired Wyeth. We exclusively licensed global rights to gedatolisib from Pfizer in April 2021. An on-going Phase 1b trial evaluating patients with ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer was initiated in 2016 and subsequently enrolled 138 patients. Patient enrollment for the four expansion arms of the trial is complete. Based on the favorable preliminary results reported to date from the Phase 1b trial, we intend to initiate, subject to feedback from the FDA, a Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating gedatolisib in combination with palbociclib and an endocrine therapy in patients with ER+/HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer in the first half of 2022.

Background on Breast Cancer and Current Treatments

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women, accounting for 30% of all female cancers and 13% of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The National Cancer Institute estimated that approximately 270,000 new cases of breast cancer would be diagnosed in the United States in 2019, and approximately 42,000 breast cancer patients would die of the disease. Approximately 190,000, or 70%, of these new cases are for ER+/HER2- breast cancer.

Four different breast cancer subtypes are currently identified using molecular tests that determine the level of ER and HER2 expression. About 70% of breast cancers are ER+/HER2-, which is indicative of hormone dependency. Despite progress in treatment strategies, metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer (mBC) remains an incurable disease, with a median overall survival (OS) of three years and a five-year survival rate of 25%.

Four different classes of targeted therapies are currently used to treat ER+/HER2- tumors. These drugs generated revenues of nearly $10 billion globally in 2019.

Endocrine-based therapies. Selective ER modulators (tamoxifen), selective ER degrader (fulvestrant), and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are established standards of care in women with HR+/HER2- mBC. The choice between these regimens when treating mBC depends on the type and duration of prior endocrine therapy treatment as well as the time elapsed from the end of prior endocrine therapy. Besides the well-known efficacy of these treatments as first-line therapies in women without visceral crisis, most patients develop endocrine resistance leading to therapeutic failure. Primary endocrine resistance is defined as relapse during the first two years of prior endocrine therapy or progressive disease within the first six months of first-line endocrine therapy for mBC. Secondary resistance is present (1) when a relapse occurs after the first two years of adjuvant endocrine therapy; (2) when a relapse occurs within 12 months of completing adjuvant endocrine therapy; or (3) when a progressive disease occurs after more than six months from the beginning of endocrine therapy for mBC.

Several mechanisms are responsible for endocrine resistance, including the dysregulation of multiple components of the ER pathway (aberration in ER expression, over-expression of ER co-activators, and down-regulation of co-repressors), altered regulation of signaling molecules involved in cell cycle or cell survival, and the activation of escape pathways that can provide cell replication.

CDK4/6 inhibitors. One common mechanism of resistance to endocrine therapies is the activation of the cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) pathway. These kinases drive cell cycle progression and division. Inhibiting activation of the CDK4/6 prevents estrogen from activating the cyclin D1-CDK4/6-Rb complex, thus blockading an important mechanism of resistance to endocrine therapies. The resulting cell cycle arrest induces a significant delay in tumor progression.

-5-

CDK 4/6 inhibitors were first introduced in 2015. Endocrine therapies administered in combination with oral CDK4/6 inhibitors lead to improved clinical efficacy when compared with endocrine therapies as monotherapy. In two randomized, double-blind clinical trials, treatment of HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients with a combination of palbociclib and either letrozole or fulvestrant demonstrated a significant increase in the median progression free survival (PFS) period for patients who received palbociclib in combination with either letrozole or fulvestrant compared to patients who received letrozole or fulvestrant as single agents. These patients had previously progressed on or after prior endocrine therapy. Worldwide sales of currently marketed CDK4/6 inhibitors, which are indicated for the treatment of breast cancer, were $6.0 billion in 2019, and are expected to grow to $14.4 billion in 2026. Worldwide sales of Pfizer’s leading CDK4/6 inhibitor, palbocicib, or Ibrance®, were $5.4 billion in 2020.

PI3K inhibitors. Another common mechanism of resistance to endocrine inhibitors is the activation of the PI3K pathway, an important intracellular pathway that regulates cell growth and metabolism. Approximately one third of HR+ breast cancer tumors resistant to endocrine therapy harbor activating mutations of the catalytic subunit of PI3K, referred to as PIK3CA. Fulvestrant used in combination with alpelisib, an oral PI3K-α inhibitor marketed as Piqray® by Novartis approved by the FDA in May 2019, has demonstrated improved clinical efficacy in patients whose tumors had a PIK3CA mutation and had not yet received treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor. These patients had previously progressed on or after prior endocrine therapy. Worldwide sales of Piqray®, currently the only FDA-approved for the treatment of breast cancer, limited to patients with PIK3CA mutations, were approximately $320.0 million in 2020.

mTOR inhibitors. Similar to CDK4/6 and PI3K, the mTOR pathway has also been identified as a mechanism of resistance to endocrine therapy. Everolimus is an mTOR inhibitor that is currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer in combination with exemestane, an AI. Everolimus has also shown clinical benefit in combination with fulvestrant. These patients had previously progressed on or after prior AI therapy. Worldwide sales in breast cancer of everolimus, marketed as Afinitor® by Novartis and a leading mTOR inhibitor, were approximately $831.0 million in 2019.

The Importance of Targeting PI3K and mTOR in Cancer

Activation of the PI3K/mTOR pathway has been implicated in a wide variety of human cancers, involving either activating mutations, or other unknown drivers of pathway amplification. These include cancers of the breast, prostate, endometrial, colon, rectum, and lung, among others.

PI3K constitutes a lipid kinase family involved in the regulation of diverse cellular processes, including cell proliferation, survival, cytoskeletal organization, and glucose transport. Class I PI3Ks are of particular therapeutic interest. They are heterodimers, comprising a catalytic (p110α, p110β, p110δ, or p110γ) and a regulatory (p85α, p55α, p50α, p85β, p55γ, or p101) subunit. Oncogenic PI3K signaling is activated by cell-surface receptors such as receptor tyrosine kinases, G-protein-coupled receptors, and also by well-known oncogenic proteins such as RAS.

Activities associated with PI3K involve complex essential cell regulatory mechanisms including feedforward and feedback signaling loops. Overactivation of the pathway is frequently present in human malignancies and plays a key role in cancer progression. Each of the four catalytic isoforms of class I PI3K preferentially mediate signal transduction and tumor cell survival based on the type of malignancy and the genetic or epigenetic alterations an individual patient harbors. For example, studies have demonstrated the p110α catalytic isoform is necessary for the growth of tumors driven by PIK3CA mutations and/or oncogenic RAS and receptor tyrosine kinases; the p110β catalytic isoform mediates tumorigenesis arising from the loss of the dephosphorylase activity of PTEN; and the p110δ catalytic isoform is highly expressed in leukocytes, making it a desirable target for inhibition in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. Due to the multiple subcellular locations, activities, and importance of the different PI3K complexes in regulating many types of cancer cell proliferation, control of PI3K activity is an important target in cancer therapy.

mTOR is as a critical effector in cell-signaling pathways commonly dysregulated in human cancers. The mTOR signaling pathway integrates both intracellular and extracellular signals and serves as a central regulator of cell metabolism, growth, proliferation, and survival. mTOR is a serine/threonine protein kinase, a downstream effector of PI3K, and regulated by hormones, growth factors, and nutrients, that is contained in two functionally distinct protein assemblies: mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2). mTORC1 belongs to a complex network of regulatory feedback loops, and once certain levels of activation are reached, is normally responsible for limiting the proliferative signals transmitted by upstream effectors such as PI3K/AKT activity. Equally complex mTORC2 regulates AKT phosphorylation, GSK3β, and control over glycolysis, and participates in organizing the cellular actin cytoskeleton. In addition, mTORC1 activation leads to the direct reduction of mTORC2 activity and mTOR can activate the functional domain of the ER, leading to ligand-independent hormone receptor activation. In cancer, dysfunctional signaling leads to various constitutive activities of mTOR complexes, making mTOR a good therapeutic target.

-6-

The illustration below depicts the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and various pathway activation mechanisms.

PI3K/mTOR as Resistance Mechanism to Endocrine and CDK4/6 Inhibitors

The upregulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway promotes hormone dependent and independent ER transcriptional activity, which contributes to endocrine resistance, leading to tumor cell growth, survival, motility, and metabolism. It has also been demonstrated in vivo that PI3K and mTOR inhibition can restore sensitivity to endocrine therapy, providing a strong rationale for the combination of the two therapies.

In addition, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, like other mitogenic pathways, can also promote the activities of cyclin D and CDK4/6 to drive proliferative cell cycling. Internal preclinical studies conducted by Pfizer provided evidence in cell-line xenograft models that the combination of PI3K and CDK4/6 inhibitors may overcome both intrinsic and adaptive resistance to endocrine therapy, leading to tumor regressions. In an MCF7 xenograft model (ER+/HER2-/PIK3CA mutant) the combination of gedatolisib with palbociclib and fulvestrant led to durable tumor regressions. Importantly, tumors regressed to minimal volumes within 20 days of triplet therapy, and continued to remain dormant, without further therapy, for up to 90 days.

-7-

Advantages of Gedatolisib over other PI3K and mTOR inhibitors

The important role the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway plays in cancer has led to significant investment in the development of many different PI3K and mTOR inhibitors for solid tumors. However, developing efficacious and well-tolerated therapies that target this pathway has been challenging. This reflects the inherent adaptability and complexity of the PI3K pathway, where numerous feedforward and feedback loops, crosstalk with other pathways, and compensatory pathways enable resistance to PI3K inhibition. Another major hurdle for the development of PI3K pathway inhibitors has been the inability to achieve optimal drug-target blockade in tumors while avoiding undue toxicities in patients. These challenges may explain why PI3K and mTOR inhibitors have not yielded the outstanding clinical activity many researchers expected.

We believe there is significant potential for gedatolisib to address previously treated breast cancer tumors and has the potential to be used in other tumor types where the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is either: i) driving tumorigenesis directly; ii) cooperating with other dysregulated signaling pathways; or iii) a mechanism of resistance to other drug therapies.

As result, we believe gedatolisib’s unique mechanism of action and intravenous formulation offer distinct advantages over currently approved and investigational therapies that target PI3K or mTOR alone or together.

● Overcomes drug resistance that can occur with isoform-specific PI3K inhibitors.

Gedatolisib is a pan-class I isoform PI3K inhibitor with low nanomolar potency for the p110α, p110β, p110γ, and p110δ isoforms. Each isoform is known to preferentially affect different signal transduction events that involve tumor cell survival, depending upon the aberrations associated with the linked pathway. A pan-PI3K inhibitor can thus treat tumors harboring abnormalities that signal through different PI3K isoforms, which would potentially induce anti-tumor activity in a broader population of patients than an isoform-specific PI3K inhibitor. In addition, it has been reported that inhibition of one PI3K isoform may be offset by the increased activity of the other isoforms through different adaptive mechanisms. Inhibiting all four PI3K isoforms, as gedatolisib does, can thus prevent the confounding effect of isoform interaction that may occur with isoform-specific PI3K inhibitors.

● Overcomes paradoxical activation of PI3K induced by mTOR inhibition.

As a potent inhibitor of mTOR, in addition to PI3K, gedatolisib, inhibits the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway both upstream and downstream of AKT. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the PI3K pathway is activated following selective mTOR inhibition by relief of normal feedback regulatory mechanisms, thus providing a compelling rationale for simultaneous inhibition of PI3K and mTOR.

● Better tolerated by patients than oral PI3K and mTOR drugs.

Gedatolisib is administered intravenously (IV) once weekly or on a four-week cycle of three weeks-on, one week-off, in contrast to the orally administered pan-PI3K or dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors that are no longer being clinically developed. Oral pan-PI3K or PI3K/mTOR inhibitors have repeatably been found to induce significant side effects that were not well tolerated by patients. This typically leads to a high proportion of patients requiring dose reductions or treatment discontinuation. The challenging toxicity profile of these drug candidates ultimately played a significant role in the decisions to halt their development, despite showing promising efficacy. By contrast, gedatolisib stabilizes at lower concentration levels in plasma compared to orally administered PI3K inhibitors, resulting in less toxicity, while maintaining concentrations sufficient to inhibit PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling.

Isoform-specific PI3K inhibitors administered orally were developed to reduce toxicities in patients. While the range of toxicities associated with isoform-specific inhibitors is narrower than oral pan-PI3K or PI3K/mTOR inhibitors, administering them orally on a continuous basis still leads to challenging toxicities. The experience with an FDA approved oral p110-α specific inhibitor, Piqray, illustrates the challenge. In its Phase 3 pivotal trial Piqray was found to induce a Grade 3 or 4 adverse event related to hyperglycemia in 39% of patients evaluated. In addition, 26% of patients discontinued treatment. By contrast, in the 103-patient dose expansion portion of the Phase 1b clinical trial with gedatolisib, only 7% of patients experienced Grade 3 or 4 hyperglycemia and less than 10% discontinued treatment.

-8-

Clinical Experience with Gedatolisib

As of January 11, 2021, 457 patients with solid tumors have received gedatolisib in eight clinical trials sponsored by Pfizer. Of the 457 patients, 129 were treated with gedatolisib as a single agent in three clinical trials. The remaining 328 patients received gedatolisib in combination with other anti-cancer agents in five clinical trials. Additional patients received gedatolisib in combination with other anti-cancer agents in nine investigator sponsored clinical trials.

Phase 1 First-in-Human Study

Pfizer conducted a Phase 1, open-label, dose-escalation first-in human study of single-agent gedatolisib in patients with advanced solid tumors. The primary objective of Part 1 of the study was to determine the safety, tolerability, and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of single-agent gedatolisib administered once weekly as an intravenous (IV) infusion. Seventy-seven patients with advanced solid tumors received doses of gedatolisib and the MTD was determined to be 154 mg IV once weekly (n = 42). Subsequent analysis determined that the recommended Phase 2 dose could be increased to 180 mg IV once weekly.

At the MTD, the majority of patients enrolled in the MTD group experienced only grade 1 treatment-related adverse events (AEs). Grade 3 treatment-related adverse events were noted in 23.8% of patients, and the most frequently reported included mucosal inflammation and stomatitis (7.1%), increased ALT (7.1%), and increased AST (4.8%). No treatment-related AEs of grade 4 or 5 severity were reported at any dose level.

Phase 1b ER+/HER2- mBC Clinical Trial Results (preliminary)

In 2016, Pfizer initiated a Phase 1b trial dose-finding trial with an expansion portion for safety and efficacy to evaluate gedatolisib when added to either the standard doses of palbociclib plus letrozole or palbociclib plus fulvestrant in patients with ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. PI3K mutation status was not used as an eligibility criterion. Patient enrollment for the trial is complete.

The illustration below depicts how the combination of gedatolisib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant is intended to simultaneously block interdependent ER, PI3K, mTOR & CDK signaling pathways in ER+ breast cancer to address ER and CDKi resistance mechanisms.

A total of 138 patients with ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer were dosed in the clinical trial.

●

35 patients were enrolled in two dose escalation arms to evaluate the safety and tolerability and determine the MTD of gedatolisib when used in combination with the standard doses of palbociclib and endocrine therapies. The MTD was determined to be 180 mg administered intravenously once weekly.

-9-

●

103 patients were enrolled in one of four expansion arms (A, B, C, D) to determine if the triplet combination of gedatolisib plus palbociclib and letrozole or gedatolisib plus palbociclib and fulvestrant produced a superior objective response (OR), compared to historical control data of the doublet combination (palbociclib plus endocrine therapy). All patients received gedatolisib in combination with standard doses of palbociclib and endocrine therapy (either letrozole or fulvestrant). In Arms A, B and C, patients received an intravenous dose of 180 mg of gedatolisib once weekly. In Arm D, patients received an intravenous dose of 180mg of gedatolisib on a four-week cycle of three weeks-on, one week-off. Objective response was determined using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.0, or RECIST v1.0.

o

Arm A: mBC with progression and no prior endocrine-based systemic therapy or a CDK4/6 inhibitor in the metastatic setting. First-line endocrine-based therapy for metastatic disease (CDK4/6 treatment naive).

o

Arm B: mBC with progression during one or two prior endocrine-based systemic therapy in the metastatic setting, with no prior therapy with any CDK inhibitor. Second- or third-line endocrine-based therapy for metastatic disease.

o

Arm C: mBC with progression during one or two prior endocrine-based systemic therapies in the metastatic setting and following prior therapy with a CDK inhibitor. Second- or third-line endocrine-based therapy for metastatic disease.

o

Arm D: mBC having progressed on a CDK inhibitor in combination with endocrine therapy as the most recent regimen for metastatic disease. Second- or third-line endocrine-based therapy for metastatic disease.

A preliminary analysis for the 103 patients enrolled in the expansion portion of the Phase 1b clinical trial, as of the database cutoff date of January 11, 2021, showed:

●

Efficacy analysis for all arms in aggregate:

o

60% objective response rate (ORR): 53 of the 88 evaluable patients had either a confirmed or unconfirmed partial response, or PR (48 confirmed, 5 unconfirmed).

o

75% clinical benefit rate (CBR): 66 of the 88 evaluable patients had either a confirmed PR or had stable disease for 24 weeks.

●

Best responses, as measured by RECIST v1.0, are shown in the following chart. The dotted line represents the cutoff for PR (defined as a 30% reduction from baseline).

-10-

●

Preliminary safety analysis:

o

For all arms in aggregate, patients experienced at least one Grade 1 or Grade 2 treatment-emergent adverse event. The most commonly reported adverse events regardless of grade and occurring in at least 30% of patients included stomatitis (81%), neutropenia (80%), nausea (75%), fatigue (68%), dysegeusia (46%), vomiting (45%), anemia (40%), diarrhea (34%), decreased appetite (32%), leukopenia (32%).

o

For all arms in aggregate, the Grade 3 and 4 treatment-emergent adverse events occurring in at least 20% of patients were neutropenia (67%), stomatitis (27%) and rash (20%). Neutropenia is a known class effect of CDK4/6 inhibitors. Stomatitis was reversible in most patients with a steroidal mouth rinse. All grades of treatment-related adverse events related to hyperglycemia was reported in 22% of patients; Grade 3 or 4 hyperglycemia was reported in 7% of patients. Gedatolisib was discontinued in 10% of patients.

o

For the patients in Arm D, who received the recommended phase two dose, Grade 3 and 4 treatment-emergent adverse events occurring in at least 20% of patients were neutropenia (67%) stomatitis and (22%). All grades of treatment-related adverse events related to hyperglycemia was reported in 22% of patients; Grade 3 or 4 hyperglycemia was reported in 7% of patients. Gedatolisib was discontinued in 7% of patients

o

22 patients were continuing to receive gedatolisib in combination with the other study drugs, 17 of whom have been on study treatment for more than two years.

●

Preliminary best overall response data for each arm is presented in the table below:

Arm (evaluable patients)	A(N=24)	B(N=12)	C(N=27)	D(N=25)
Patients	1L: CDKi-Naïve	2L+: CDKi-naïve	2L/3L: CDKi-pretreated	2L/3L: Immediately prior CDKi
Overall Response Rate (evaluable patients)	84%	75%1	33%2	60%3
Clinical Benefit Rate (evaluable patients)	92%	92%	48%	76%

1.

Arm A: 20 of the 24 evaluable patients had a confirmed PR.

2.

Arm B: 9 of the 12 evaluable patients had either a confirmed PR or unconfirmed PR (7 confirmed PR, 2 unconfirmed PR).

3.

Arm C: 9 of the 27 evaluable patients had either a confirmed PR or unconfirmed PR (7 confirmed PR, 2 unconfirmed PR).

4.

Arm D: 15 of the 25 evaluable patients had either a confirmed PR or unconfirmed PR (14 confirmed PR, 1 unconfirmed PR).

●

Preliminary progression free survival (PFS) data for each arm is presented in the table below:

Arm (enrolled patients)	A(N=31)	B(N=13)	C(N=32)	D(N=27)
Median PFS (months) (95% CI)	>29 (Not Yet Reached)	11.9 (3.7, NR)	5.1 (3.4, 7.5)	13.2 (9.0, 16.7)

-11-

In light of the preliminary results reported to date from the Phase 1b trial, we intend to initiate, subject to feedback from the FDA, a Phase 2/3 clinical trial evaluating gedatolisib in combination with palbociclib and an endocrine therapy in patients with ER+/HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer in the first half of 2022.

We expect to use the CELsignia PI3K activity test to help support development of gedatolisib for breast cancer indications. Our internal studies demonstrate how measurement of PI3K-involved signaling may provide a sensitive and specific method of identifying patients most likely to benefit from PI3K inhibitors. We believe CELsignia tests uniquely enable us to pursue indications simultaneously for unselected patient populations and CELsignia selected patient sub-groups. This approach can greatly reduce the risk of pursing an indication for a large, but unselected patient population, as we plan to do for the initial gedatolisib indication. By combining the capabilities of CELsignia PI3K Activity test with a potent pan-PI3k/mTOR inhibitor like gedatolisib, we believe we are uniquely suited to maximize the probability of obtaining regulatory approval to market gedatolisib.

Phase 2 Pilot Clinical Trial for HER2+/PIK3CA+ Patients

The Korean Cancer Study Group sponsored a Phase 2 pilot clinical trial to evaluate gedatolisib combined with a trastuzumab biosimilar (Herzuma®), in patients with HER2+/PIK3CA+ metastatic breast cancers whose disease had progressed after treatment with three or more prior HER2 targeted therapy regimens. The clinical trial commenced in December 2019 and interim efficacy data from the first 16 patients enrolled was presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2020. Patients received a trastusumab biosimilar (8 mg/kg IV for 1st cycle loading dose, and then 6 mg/kg IV every 3 weeks) plus gedatolisib (180 mg, weekly IV). The primary endpoint was objective response, a reduction of at least 30% in tumor volume by RECIST v1.1.

As of a data cutoff date of October 30, 2020, nine of 16 patients achieved a partial response, an ORR of 56%, and four patients had stable disease. Thirteen of 16 patients thus received either a partial response or stable disease, resulting in a clinical benefit rate of 81%. Best responses are shown in the following chart. The dotted lines represent the cutoff for progressive disease (>20% tumor growth) and for partial response (>30% tumor regression).

Best Response

* Patient whose target lesion decreased by 63% but a new leptomeningeal seeding occurred.

The duration of treatment for the 16 patients evaluated is shown in the chart below. As of the October 30, 2020 data cutoff, 16 patients (80%) remained on therapy. Four patients discontinued treatment, one due to disease progression, one due to an adverse event of Grade 1 diarrhea, one participant decision, and one patient being unable to undergo the required MRI imaging due to a titanium rod implant from non-treatment related worsening of scoliosis. At the time of data cut-off, the median time on treatment for these 20 patients was 10.1 cycles (approximately 10 months) and all 10 patients who had achieved an objective response remained on therapy assessment. At the time of the analysis, nine patients had a continuing response. The dashed lines show the response at 3 months and 6 months.

-12-

Duration of Treatment

Pfizer License Agreement

In April 2020, we entered into a license agreement, or the Gedatolisib License Agreement, with Pfizer pursuant to which we acquired exclusive (including as to Pfizer) worldwide sublicensable rights to research, develop and manufacture, and commercialize gedatolisib for the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of all diseases. Pursuant to the Gedatolisib License Agreement, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and seek regulatory approval for at least one product in the U.S. and if regulatory approval is obtained, to commercialize such product in the U.S and at least one international major market.

We paid Pfizer a $5.0 million upfront fee upon execution of the Gedatolisib License Agreement and issued to Pfizer $5.0 million of our common stock. We are also required to make milestone payments to Pfizer upon achievement of certain development and commercial milestone events, up to an aggregate of $330.0 million. We will pay Pfizer tiered royalties on sales of gedatolisib at percentages ranging from the low to mid-teens, that may be subject to deductions for expiration of valid claims, amounts due under third-party licenses and generic competition. Unless earlier terminated, the Gedatolisib License Agreement will expire upon the expiration of all royalty obligations. The royalty period will expire on a country-by-country basis upon the later of (a) 12 years following the date of First Commercial Sale of such Product in such country, (b) the expiration of all regulatory or data exclusivity in such country for such Product or (c) the date upon which the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or importation of such Product in such country would no longer infringe, but for the license granted herein, a Valid Claim of a Licensed Patent Right. Capitalized terms in this paragraph have the meanings set forth in the Gedatolisib License Agreement.

We have the right to terminate the Gedatolisib License Agreement for convenience upon 90 days’ prior written notice. Pfizer may not terminate the agreement for convenience. Either we or Pfizer may terminate the Gedatolisib License Agreement if the other party is in material breach and such breach is not cured within the specified cure period. In addition, either we or Pfizer may terminate the Gedatolisib License Agreement in the event of specified insolvency events involving the other party.

Manufacturing

We rely on third parties to manufacture gedatolisib. We expect to enter into agreements with contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, to produce drug substance for gedatolisib. We require all of our CMOs to conduct manufacturing activities in compliance with current good manufacturing practice, or cGMP, requirements. We anticipate that these CMOs will have the capacity to support both clinical supply and commercial-scale production, but we do not have any formal agreements at this time to cover commercial production. We may also elect to enter into agreements with other CMOs to manufacture supplies of drug substance and finished drug product.

-13-

Sales and Marketing

If any of our product candidates are approved, we intend to market and commercialize them in the U.S. and select international markets, either alone or in partnership with others. Cancer patients are managed by oncologists, medical geneticists and neurologists, and therefore we believe can be reached with a targeted sales force.

Competition for Gedatolisib

The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapid evolution of technologies and intense competition. While we believe that our product candidates, technology, knowledge, experience and scientific resources provide us with competitive advantages, we face competition from major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, governmental agencies and public and private research institutions, among others. Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with approved treatment options, including off-label therapies, and new therapies that may become available in the future. Key considerations that would impact our ability to effectively compete with other therapies include the efficacy, safety, method of administration, cost, level of promotional activity and intellectual property protection of our products. Many of the companies against which we may compete have significantly greater financial resources and expertise than we do in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved products.

There are several PI3K and mTOR inhibitors approved by the FDA, including Piqray and Afinitor from Novartis AG, Aliqopa from Bayer Corporation, Copiktra from Verastem, Inc. Zydelig from Gilead Sciences, Inc. and we are aware that other companies are, or may be, developing products for this indication, including AstraZeneca plc, BridgeBio Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Kazia Therapeutics Limited, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Revolution Medicines Inc., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. There may be additional companies with programs suitable for addressing these patient populations that could be competitive with our efforts but that have not yet disclosed specific clinical development plans. Smaller or early-stage companies, including oncology-focused therapeutics companies, may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These companies may also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites, enrolling patients in clinical trials and acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. The availability of reimbursement from government and private payors will also significantly impact the pricing and competitiveness of our products. Our competitors may obtain FDA or other regulatory approvals for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approvals for our product candidates, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to commercialize our product candidates.

Intellectual Property for Gedatolisib

Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain proprietary protection for our product candidates, manufacturing on discoveries and other know-how, to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of others, and to prevent others from infringing our proprietary rights. We plan to protect our proprietary position using a variety of methods, which include pursuit of U.S. and foreign patent applications related to proprietary technology, inventions and improvements, such as compositions of matter and methods-of-use, that we determine are important to the development and implementation of our business. For example, we, our licensors, or our collaborators currently have, or are pursuing, patents covering the composition of matter for our product candidates and we plan to generally pursue patent protection covering methods-of-use for one or more clinical programs. We also rely on trade secrets, trademarks, know-how, continuing technological innovation and potential in-licensing opportunities to develop and maintain our proprietary position.

Patents

We entered into the Gedatolisib License Agreement with Pfizer in April 2021, pursuant to which we acquired exclusive worldwide rights under Pfizer patents and know-how to develop, manufacture and commercialize gedatolisib. We have exclusive licenses under the Gedatolisib License Agreement to patent rights in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions relating to gedatolisib. The patent rights in-licensed under the Gedatolisib License Agreement include 11 granted patents in the U.S. and more than 290 patents granted in foreign jurisdictions including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and Japan. A U.S. patent covering gedatolisib as a composition of matter has a statutory expiration date in December 2029 and a U.S. composition of matter patent that covers the lactic acid form of gedatolisib that is currently in clinical development expires in December 2035, in each case, not including patent term adjustment or any patent term extension, and relevant foreign counterparts.

-14-

Trade Secrets

In addition to patents, we rely on trade secrets and know-how to develop and maintain our competitive position. We typically rely on trade secrets to protect aspects of our business that are not amenable to, or that we do not consider appropriate for, patent protection. We protect trade secrets and know-how by establishing confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, contractors and partners. These agreements generally provide that all confidential information developed or made known during the course of an individual or entity’s relationship with us must be kept confidential during and after the relationship. These agreements also generally provide that all inventions resulting from work performed for us or relating to our business and conceived or completed during the period of employment or assignment, as applicable, shall be our exclusive property. In addition, we take other appropriate precautions, such as physical and technological security measures, to guard against misappropriation of our proprietary information by third parties.

Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement

Successful commercialization of new drug products depends in part on the extent to which reimbursement for those drug products will be available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. Government authorities and other third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drug products they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. The availability and extent of reimbursement by governmental and private payors is essential for most patients to be able to afford a drug product. Sales of drug products depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of drug products are paid for by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government health administration authorities, private health coverage insurers and other third-party payors.

A primary trend in the U.S. healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Government authorities and other third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular drug products. In many countries, the prices of drug products are subject to varying price control mechanisms as part of national health systems. In general, the prices of drug products under such systems are substantially lower than in the U.S. Other countries allow companies to fix their own prices for drug products, but monitor and control company profits. Accordingly, in markets outside the U.S., the reimbursement for drug products may be reduced compared with the U.S. In the U.S., the principal decisions about reimbursement for new drug products are typically made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. CMS decides whether and to what extent a new drug product will be covered and reimbursed under certain federal governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare, and private payors tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree. However, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for drug products exists among third-party payors and coverage and reimbursement levels for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor. In the U.S., the process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a biological product typically is separate from the process for setting the price of such product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that the payor will pay for the product once coverage is approved. With respect to biologics, third-party payors may limit coverage to specific products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved products for a particular indication, or place products at certain formulary levels that result in lower reimbursement levels and higher cost sharing obligation imposed on patients. A decision by a third-party payor not to cover our product candidates could reduce physician utilization of a product. Moreover, a third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Adequate third-party reimbursement may not be available to enable a manufacturer to maintain price levels sufficient to realize an appropriate return on its investment in product development. Additionally, coverage and reimbursement for products can differ significantly from payor to payor. One third-party payor’s decision to cover a particular medical product does not ensure that other payors will also provide coverage for the medical product, or will provide coverage at an adequate reimbursement rate. As a result, the coverage determination process usually requires manufacturers to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of their products to each payor separately and is a time-consuming process.

-15-

Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services, examining the medical necessity and reviewing the cost-effectiveness of pharmaceutical products, in addition to questioning safety and efficacy. If third-party payors do not consider a product to be cost-effective compared to other available therapies, they may not cover that product after FDA approval or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow a manufacturer to sell its product at a profit.

In addition, in many foreign countries, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing drug pricing and reimbursement vary widely from country to country. In the European Union, or EU, governments influence the price of products through their pricing and reimbursement rules and control of national healthcare systems that fund a large part of the cost of those products to consumers. Some jurisdictions operate positive and negative list systems under which products may only be marketed once a reimbursement price has been agreed to by the government. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost effectiveness of a particular product to currently available therapies. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for medicines, but monitor and control company profits. There can be no assurance that any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription products, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. In addition, in some countries, cross border imports from low-priced markets exert a commercial pressure on pricing within a country.

Government Regulation

Government authorities in the U.S. at the federal, state and local level and in other countries and jurisdictions, including the EU, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of drug products, such as gedatolisib. Generally, before a new drug can be marketed, considerable data demonstrating its quality, safety and efficacy must be obtained, organized into a format specific for each regulatory authority and submitted for review and approved by the regulatory authority.

Clinical Trials

The clinical stage of development involves the administration of the investigational product to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by, or under control of, the trial sponsor, in accordance with Good Clinical Practices, or GCPs, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety and assess efficacy. Each protocol, and any subsequent amendments to the protocol, must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Furthermore, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board, or IRB, for each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted to ensure that the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves the informed consent form that must be provided to each clinical trial subject or his or her legal representative and must monitor the clinical trial until completed. There also are requirements governing the reporting of ongoing clinical trials and completed clinical trial results to public registries. Information about most clinical trials must be submitted within specific timeframes for publication on the www.clinicaltrials.gov website. Information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, trial sites and investigators and other aspects of the clinical trial is made public as part of the registration of the clinical trial. Sponsors are also obligated to discuss the results of their clinical trials after completion. Disclosure of the results of these trials can be delayed in some cases for up to two years after the date of completion of the trial. Competitors may use this publicly available information to gain knowledge regarding the progress of development programs. Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases, which may overlap or be combined:

-16-

●

Phase 1 clinical trials generally involve a small number of healthy volunteers or disease-affected patients who are initially exposed to a single dose and then multiple doses of the product candidate. The primary purpose of these clinical trials is to assess the metabolism, pharmacologic action, side effect tolerability and safety of the drug.

●

Phase 2 clinical trials involve studies in disease-affected patients to determine the dose required to produce the desired benefits. At the same time, safety and further pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic information is collected, possible adverse effects and safety risks are identified, and a preliminary evaluation of efficacy is conducted.

●

Phase 3 clinical trials generally involve a larger number of patients at multiple sites and are designed to provide the data necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product for its intended use, its safety in use and to establish the overall benefit/risk relationship of the product and provide an adequate basis for product approval. These trials may include comparisons with placebo and/or other comparator treatments. The duration of treatment is often extended to mimic the actual use of a product during marketing.

A registrational trial is a clinical trial that adequately meets regulatory agency requirements for the evaluation of a drug candidate’s efficacy and safety such that it can be used to justify the approval of the drug. Generally, registrational trials are Phase 3 trials but may be Phase 2 trials if the trial design provides a reliable assessment of clinical benefit, particularly in situations where there is an unmet medical need.

Post-approval trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, may be conducted after initial marketing approval. These trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication, particularly for long-term safety follow up. In certain instances, the FDA may mandate the performance of Phase 4 clinical trials as a condition of approval of a Biologics License Application, or BLA.

Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and more frequently if serious adverse events occur. The FDA or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time, or the FDA may impose other sanctions on various grounds, including a finding that the research patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the requirements of the IRB or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. There are also requirements related to registration and reporting of certain clinical trials and completed clinical trial results to public registries.

U.S. – FDA regulation

Approval Process

In the U.S., pharmaceutical products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDC Act, and other federal and state statutes and regulations, govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, and import and export of pharmaceutical products. Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve pending New Drug Applications, or NDAs, warning or untitled letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties and criminal prosecution.

Pharmaceutical product development for a new product or certain changes to an approved product in the U.S. typically involves preclinical laboratory and animal tests, the submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before clinical testing may commence, and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of the drug for each indication for which FDA approval is sought. Satisfaction of FDA pre-market approval requirements typically takes many years and the actual time required may vary substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product or disease.

Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, formulation and toxicity, as well as animal trials to assess the characteristics and potential safety and efficacy of the product. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements, including good laboratory practices. The results of preclinical testing are submitted to the FDA as part of an IND along with other information, including information about product chemistry, manufacturing and controls and a proposed clinical trial protocol. Long term preclinical tests, such as animal tests of reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity, may continue after the IND is submitted.

-17-

A 30-day waiting period after the submission of each IND is required prior to the commencement of clinical testing in humans. If the FDA has neither commented on nor questioned the IND within this 30-day period, the clinical trial proposed in the IND may begin.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of a qualified investigator. Clinical trials must be conducted: (i) in compliance with federal regulations; (ii) in compliance with GCP, an international standard meant to protect the rights and health of patients and to define the roles of clinical trial sponsors, administrators, and monitors; as well as (iii) under protocols detailing the objectives of the trial, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Each protocol involving testing on U.S. patients and subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND.

The FDA may order the temporary, or permanent, discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time, or impose other sanctions, if it believes that the clinical trial either is not being conducted in accordance with FDA requirements or presents an unacceptable risk to the clinical trial patients. The trial protocol and informed consent information for patients in clinical trials must also be submitted to an IRB for approval. An IRB may also require the clinical trial at the site to be halted, either temporarily or permanently, for failure to comply with the IRB’s requirements, or may impose other conditions. Clinical trials to support NDAs for marketing approval are typically conducted in three sequential phases, but the phases may overlap. In Phase 1, the initial introduction of the drug into healthy human subjects or patients, the drug is tested to assess metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacological actions, side effects associated with increasing doses, and, if possible, early evidence on effectiveness. Phase 2 usually involves trials in a limited patient population to determine the effectiveness of the drug for a particular indication, dosage tolerance and optimum dosage, and to identify common adverse effects and safety risks. If a compound demonstrates evidence of effectiveness and an acceptable safety profile in Phase 2 evaluations, Phase 3 trials are undertaken to obtain the additional information about clinical efficacy and safety in a larger number of patients, typically at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites, to permit FDA to evaluate the overall benefit-risk relationship of the drug and to provide adequate information for the labeling of the drug. In most cases FDA requires two adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials to demonstrate the efficacy of the drug. A single Phase 3 trial with other confirmatory evidence may be sufficient in rare instances where the trial is a large multi-center trial demonstrating internal consistency and a statistically very persuasive finding of a clinically meaningful effect on mortality, irreversible morbidity or prevention of a disease with a potentially serious outcome and confirmation of the result in a second trial would be practically or ethically impossible.

Pursuant to the 21st Century Cures Act, which was enacted on December 13, 2016, the manufacturer of an investigational drug for a serious or life-threatening disease is required to make available, such as by posting on its website, its policy on evaluating and responding to requests for expanded access. This requirement applies on the later of 60 days after the date of enactment or the first initiation of a Phase 2 or Phase 3 trial of the investigational drug. After completion of the required clinical testing, an NDA is prepared and submitted to the FDA. FDA approval of the NDA is required before marketing of the product may begin in the U.S. The NDA must include the results of all preclinical, clinical and other testing and a compilation of data relating to the product’s pharmacology, chemistry, manufacture and controls. The cost of preparing and submitting an NDA is substantial. The submission of most NDAs is additionally subject to a substantial application user fee, currently $2,875,842 for Fiscal Year 2021, and the manufacturer and/or sponsor under an approved NDA are also subject to annual program fees for eligible products, which are currently $336,432 for Fiscal Year 2021.

The FDA has 60 days from its receipt of an NDA to determine whether the application will be accepted for filing based on the agency’s threshold determination that it is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review. The FDA has agreed to certain performance goals in the review of new drug applications. Most such applications for standard review drug products are reviewed within ten to twelve months; most applications for priority review drugs are reviewed in six to eight months. Priority review can be applied to drugs that the FDA determines offer major advances in treatment or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. The review process for both standard and priority review may be extended by FDA for three additional months to consider certain late-submitted information, or information intended to clarify information already provided in the submission.

-18-

The FDA may also refer applications for novel drug products, or drug products that 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. The FDA is not bound by the recommendation of an advisory committee, but it generally follows such recommendations. Before approving an NDA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP. Additionally, the FDA will inspect the facility or the facilities at which the drug is manufactured. FDA will not approve the product unless compliance with cGMP is satisfactory and the NDA contains data that provide substantial evidence that the drug is safe and effective in the indication studied.

After the FDA evaluates the NDA and the manufacturing facilities, it issues either an approval letter or a complete response letter. A complete response letter generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional testing, or information, in order for the FDA to reconsider the application. If, or when, those deficiencies have been addressed to the FDA’s satisfaction in a resubmission of the NDA, the FDA will issue an approval letter. FDA has committed to reviewing such resubmissions in two or six months depending on the type of information included.

An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications. As a condition of NDA approval, the FDA may require a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, to help ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh the potential risks. REMS can include medication guides, communication plans for healthcare professionals and elements to assure safe use, or ETASU. ETASU can include, but are not limited to, special training or certification for prescribing or dispensing, dispensing only under certain circumstances, special monitoring and the use of patient registries. The requirement for a REMS can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the drug. Moreover, product approval may require substantial post-approval testing and surveillance to monitor the drug’s safety or efficacy. Once granted, product approvals may be withdrawn if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained or problems are identified following initial marketing.

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

Exclusivity

Upon NDA approval of a new chemical entity, or NCE, which is a drug that contains no active moiety that has been approved by FDA in any other NDA, that drug receives five years of marketing exclusivity during which FDA cannot receive any Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, seeking approval of a generic version of that drug. Certain changes to a drug, such as the addition of a new indication to the package insert, are associated with a three-year period of exclusivity during which FDA cannot approve an ANDA for a generic drug that includes the change. An ANDA may be submitted one year before NCE exclusivity expires if a Paragraph IV certification is filed. If there is no listed patent in the Orange Book, there may not be a Paragraph IV certification, and, thus, no ANDA may be filed before the expiration of the exclusivity period.

Patent Term Extension

After NDA approval, owners of relevant drug patents may apply for up to a five-year patent extension for one patent. The allowable patent term extension is calculated as half of the drug’s testing phase—the time between IND and NDA submission—and all of the review phase—the time between NDA submission and approval up to a maximum of five years. The time can be shortened if FDA determines that the applicant did not pursue approval with due diligence. The total patent term after the extension may not exceed 14 years from approval.

For patents that might expire during the application phase, the patent owner may request an interim patent extension. An interim patent extension increases the patent term by one year and may be renewed up to four times. For each interim patent extension granted, the post-approval patent extension is reduced by one year. The director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office must determine that approval of the drug covered by the patent for which a patent extension is being sought is likely. Interim patent extensions are not available for a drug for which an NDA has not been submitted.

-19-

Fast Track Designation and Accelerated Approval

The FDA is required to facilitate the development, and expedite the review, of drugs that are intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening disease or condition for which there is no effective treatment, and which demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the condition. Under the Fast Track program, the sponsor of a new drug candidate may request that the FDA designate the drug candidate for a specific indication as a Fast Track drug concurrent with, or after, the filing of the IND for the drug candidate. The FDA must determine if the drug candidate qualifies for Fast Track Designation within 60 days of receipt of the sponsor’s request.

Under the Fast Track program and the FDA’s accelerated approval regulations, the FDA may approve a drug for a serious or life-threatening illness that provides meaningful therapeutic benefit to patients over existing treatments based upon a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments.

In clinical trials, a surrogate endpoint is a measurement of laboratory or clinical signs of a disease or condition that substitutes for a direct measurement of how a patient feels, functions or survives. Surrogate endpoints can often be measured more easily or more rapidly than clinical endpoints. A drug candidate approved on this basis is subject to rigorous post-marketing compliance requirements, including the completion of Phase 4 or post-approval clinical trials to confirm the effect on the clinical endpoint. Failure to conduct required post-approval studies, or confirm a clinical benefit during post-marketing studies, will allow the FDA to withdraw the drug from the market on an expedited basis. All promotional materials for product candidates approved under accelerated regulations are subject to prior review by the FDA.

In addition to other benefits such as the ability to use surrogate endpoints and engage in more frequent interactions with the FDA, the FDA may initiate review of sections of a Fast Track drug’s NDA before the application is complete. This rolling review is available if the applicant provides, and the FDA approves, a schedule for the submission of the remaining information and the applicant pays applicable user fees. However, the FDA’s time period goal for reviewing an application does not begin until the last section of the NDA is submitted. Additionally, the Fast Track Designation may be withdrawn by the FDA if the FDA believes that the designation is no longer supported by data emerging in the clinical trial process.

Breakthrough Therapy Designation

Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA provides more extensive development consultation opportunities with FDA senior staff, allows for the rolling review of the drug’s application for approval and indicates that the product could be eligible for priority review if supported by clinical data at the time of application submission for drugs that are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition where preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints. Under the breakthrough therapy program, the sponsor of a new drug candidate may request that the FDA designate the drug candidate for a specific indication as a breakthrough therapy concurrent with, or after, the filing of the IND for the drug candidate. The FDA must determine if the drug candidate qualifies for Breakthrough Therapy Designation within 60 days of receipt of the sponsor’s request.

Disclosure of Clinical Trial Information

Sponsors of clinical trials of FDA regulated products, including drugs, are required to register and disclose certain clinical trial information. Information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, trial sites and investigators and other aspects of the clinical trial is then made public as part of the registration. Sponsors are also obligated to discuss the results of their clinical trials after completion. Disclosure of the results of these trials can be delayed in certain circumstances for up to two years after the date of completion of the trial. Competitors may use this publicly available information to gain knowledge regarding the progress of development programs.

EU Regulation

In the EU, our product candidates also may be subject to extensive regulatory requirements. As in the U.S., medicinal products can be marketed only if a marketing authorization from the competent regulatory agencies has been obtained. Similar to the U.S., the various phases of preclinical and clinical research in the EU are subject to significant regulatory controls.

-20-

The Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC, the Directive 2005/28/EC on GCP, and the related national implementing provisions of the individual EU Member States govern the system for the approval of clinical trials in the EU. Under this system, an applicant must obtain prior approval from the competent national authority of the EU Member States in which the clinical trial is to be conducted. Furthermore, the applicant may only start a clinical trial at a specific trial site after the competent ethics committee has issued a favorable opinion. The clinical trial application must be accompanied by, among other documents, an IMPD, or the Common Technical Document, with supporting information prescribed by Directive 2001/20/EC, Directive 2005/28/EC, where relevant the implementing national provisions of the individual EU Member States and further detailed in applicable guidance documents. All suspected unexpected serious adverse reactions to the investigated drug that occur during the clinical trial have to be reported to the competent national authority and the Ethics Committee of the Member State where they occurred.

In April 2014, the new Clinical Trials Regulation, (EU) No 536/2014 was adopted. Currently, the regulation is anticipated not to come into effect before December 2021. The Clinical Trials Regulation will be directly applicable in all the EU Member States, repealing the current Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC. Conduct of all clinical trials performed in the EU will continue to be bound by currently applicable provisions until the new Clinical Trials Regulation becomes applicable. The extent to which ongoing clinical trials will be governed by the Clinical Trials Regulation will depend on when the Clinical Trials Regulation becomes applicable and on the duration of the individual clinical trial. If a clinical trial continues for more than three years from the day on which the Clinical Trials Regulation becomes applicable the Clinical Trials Regulation will at that time begin to apply to the clinical trial.

The new Clinical Trials Regulation aims to simplify and streamline the approval of clinical trials in the EU. The main characteristics of the regulation include: a streamlined application procedure via a single-entry point, the “EU portal”; a single set of documents to be prepared and submitted for the application as well as simplified reporting procedures for clinical trial sponsors; and a harmonized procedure for the assessment of applications for clinical trials, which is divided in two parts. Part I is assessed by the competent authorities of all EU Member States in which an application for authorization of a clinical trial has been submitted (Member States concerned). Part II is assessed separately by each Member State concerned. Strict deadlines have been established for the assessment of clinical trial applications. The role of the relevant ethics committees in the assessment procedure will continue to be governed by the national law of the concerned EU Member State. However, overall related timelines will be defined by the Clinical Trials Regulation.

To obtain a marketing authorization of a drug in the EU, we may submit Marketing Authorization Applications, or MAA, either under the so-called centralized or national authorization procedures.

Centralized Procedure

The centralized procedure provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization following a favorable opinion by the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, that is valid in all EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The centralized procedure is compulsory for medicines produced by specified biotechnological processes, products designated as orphan medicinal products, advanced therapy medicines (such as gene-therapy, somatic cell-therapy or tissue-engineered medicines) and products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of specified diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders or autoimmune diseases and other immune dysfunctions and viral diseases. The centralized procedure is optional for products that represent a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation, or whose authorization would be in the interest of public health. Under the centralized procedure the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of an MAA by the EMA 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 Committee of Medicinal Products for Human Use, or the CHMP. Accelerated assessment might be granted by the CHMP in exceptional cases, when a medicinal product is expected to be of a major public health interest, particularly from the point of view of therapeutic innovation. The timeframe for the evaluation of an MAA under the accelerated assessment procedure is of 150 days, excluding stop-clocks.

-21-

National Authorization Procedures

There are also two other possible routes to authorize medicinal products in several EU countries, which are available for investigational medicinal products that fall outside the scope of the centralized procedure:

●

Decentralized procedure. Using the decentralized procedure, an applicant may apply for simultaneous authorization in more than one EU country of medicinal products that have not yet been authorized in any EU country and that do not fall within the mandatory scope of the centralized procedure.

●

Mutual recognition procedure. In the mutual recognition procedure, a medicine is first authorized in one EU Member State, in accordance with the national procedures of that country. Following this, further marketing authorizations can be sought from other EU countries in a procedure whereby the countries concerned agree to recognize the validity of the original, national marketing authorization.

Under the above described procedures, before granting an MAA, the EMA or the competent authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area, or EEA, make an assessment of the risk-benefit balance of the product on the basis of scientific criteria concerning its quality, safety and efficacy.

EU Regulatory Exclusivity

In the EU, new products authorized for marketing (i.e., reference products) qualify for eight years of data exclusivity and an additional two years of market exclusivity upon marketing authorization. The data exclusivity period prevents generic applicants from relying on the preclinical and clinical trial data contained in the dossier of the reference product when applying for a generic marketing authorization in the EU during a period of eight years from the date on which the reference product was first authorized in the EU. The market exclusivity period prevents a successful generic applicant from commercializing its product in the EU until ten years have elapsed from the initial authorization of the reference product in the EU. The ten-year market exclusivity period can be extended to a maximum of eleven years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies.

Other Regulations – Rest of the World

For other countries outside of the EU and the U.S., such as countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America or Asia, the requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Additionally, the clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with cGCP requirements and the applicable regulatory requirements and the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki. If we fail to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, we may be subject to, among other things, fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution.

Other Healthcare Laws

Manufacturing, sales, promotion and other activities following product approval are also subject to regulation by numerous regulatory authorities in the U.S. in addition to the FDA, including CMS, the HHS Office of Inspector General and HHS Office for Civil Rights, other divisions of the HHS and the Department of Justice.

Healthcare providers, physicians, and third-party payors will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any products for which we obtain marketing approval. Our current and future arrangements with third-party payors, healthcare providers and physicians may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell and distribute any drugs for which we obtain marketing approval. In the U.S., these laws include, without limitation, state and federal anti-kickback, false claims, physician transparency, and patient data privacy and security laws and regulations, including but not limited to those described below.

-22-

The U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, or AKS, prohibits, among other things, any person or entity from knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting, receiving or providing any remuneration, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, to induce or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for or recommending the purchase, lease or order of any good, facility, item or service reimbursable, in whole or in part, under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. The term “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value. The AKS has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers, formulary managers and beneficiaries on the other hand. Although there are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly. Failure to meet all of the requirements of a particular applicable statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor does not make the conduct per se illegal under the AKS. Instead, the legality of the arrangement will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on a cumulative review of all its facts and circumstances. Several courts have interpreted the statute’s intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered business, the statute has been violated. In addition, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. Moreover, a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the AKS constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act. On November 20, 2020, the Office of Inspector General, or OIG finalized further modifications to the AKS. Under the final rule, OIG added safe harbor protections under the AKS for certain coordinated care and value-based arrangements among clinicians, providers, and others. The final rule (with some exceptions) became effective January 19, 2021. We continue to evaluate what effect, if any, this rule will have on our business.

Although we would not submit claims directly to payors, drug manufacturers can be held liable under the federal False Claims Act, which imposes civil penalties, including through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, against individuals or entities (including manufacturers) for, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented to federal programs (including Medicare and Medicaid) claims for items or services, including drugs, that are false or fraudulent, claims for items or services not provided as claimed, or claims for medically unnecessary items or services. The government may deem manufacturers to have “caused” the submission of false or fraudulent claims by, for example, providing inaccurate billing or coding information to customers or promoting a product off-label. Several biopharmaceutical, medical device and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under federal false claims and civil monetary penalty laws for, among other things, allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal programs for the product. Other companies have been prosecuted for causing false claims to be submitted because of the companies’ marketing of products for unapproved (e.g., or off-label), and thus non-covered, uses. In addition, the civil monetary penalties statute imposes penalties against any person who is determined to have presented or caused to be presented a claim to a federal health program that the person knows or should know is for an item or service that was not provided as claimed or is false or fraudulent.

Our future marketing and activities relating to the reporting of wholesaler or estimated retail prices for our products, if approved, the reporting of prices used to calculate Medicaid rebate information and other information affecting federal, state and third-party reimbursement for our products, and the sale and marketing of our product candidates, are subject to scrutiny under these laws.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, created additional federal criminal statutes that prohibit, among other actions, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud or to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, any money or property owned by, or under the control or custody of, any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors, knowingly and willfully embezzling or stealing from a healthcare benefit program, willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. Similar to the AKS, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.

-23-

In addition, there has been a recent trend of increased federal and state regulation of payments made to physicians and certain other healthcare providers. The Affordable Care Act, or the ACA, imposed, among other things, new annual reporting requirements through the Physician Payments Sunshine Act for covered manufacturers for certain payments and “transfers of value” provided to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. Effective January 1, 2022, these reporting obligations will extend to include transfers of value made to certain non-physician providers such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Failure to submit timely, accurately and completely the required information for all payments, transfers of value and ownership or investment interests may result in civil monetary penalties. Covered manufacturers must submit reports by the 90th day of each subsequent calendar year and the reported information is publicly made available on a searchable website.

We may also be subject to data privacy and security regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, including the Final HIPAA Omnibus Rule published on January 25, 2013, impose specified requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information held by covered entities and their business associates. Among other things, HITECH made HIPAA’s security standards directly applicable to “business associates,” defined as independent contractors or agents of covered entities that create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information in connection with providing a service for or on behalf of a covered entity, although it is unclear that we would be considered a “business associate” in the normal course of our business. HITECH also increased the civil and criminal penalties that may be imposed against covered entities, business associates and possibly other persons, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorney’s fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. In addition, state laws govern the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same requirements, thus complicating compliance efforts. See “European Data Collection” below for a discussion of data privacy and security enactments of the EU.

For example, California’s Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, went into effect in January 2020, and the California Attorney General has since promulgated final regulations. The law provides broad rights to California consumers with respect to the collection and use of their personal information and imposes data protection obligations on certain businesses. While the CCPA does not apply to protected health information that is subject to HIPAA or personal information collected, used or disclosed in research, as defined by federal law, the CCPA may still affect our business activities. Moreover, on November 3, 2020, California voters passed the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, under a ballot initiative. The CPRA amends the existing CCPA to include new consumer rights and additional data protection obligations. The new data protection requirements under the CPRA apply to information collected on or after January 1, 2022. With the promulgation of final regulations, the California State Attorney General has commenced enforcement actions against CCPA violators. The uncertainty surrounding the implementation of CCPA and the amendments under the CPRA exemplifies the vulnerability of our business to the evolving regulatory environment related to personal data and protected health information. The California law further expands the need for privacy and process enhancements and commitment of resources in support of compliance. Moreover, more than ten states have proposed bills in the last year with provisions similar to the CCPA and CPRA. It is likely that other states will pass laws similar to the CCPA and the CPRA in the near future and a federal data protection law may also be on the horizon.

Similar state and foreign fraud and abuse laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services. Such laws are generally broad and are enforced by various state agencies and private actions. Also, many states have similar fraud and abuse statutes or regulations that may be broader in scope and may apply regardless of payor, in addition to items and services reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs. Some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant federal government compliance guidance, and require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers, marketing expenditures or drug pricing.

-24-

In order to distribute products commercially, we must comply with state laws that require the registration of manufacturers and wholesale distributors of drug and biological products in a state, including, in certain states, manufacturers and distributors who ship products into the state even if such manufacturers or distributors have no place of business within the state. Some states also impose requirements on manufacturers and distributors to establish the pedigree of product in the chain of distribution, including some states that require manufacturers and others to adopt new technology capable of tracking and tracing product as it moves through the distribution chain. Several states have enacted legislation requiring pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to establish marketing compliance programs, file periodic reports with the state, make periodic public disclosures on sales, marketing, pricing, clinical trials and other activities, and/or register their sales representatives, as well as to prohibit pharmacies and other healthcare entities from providing certain physician prescribing data to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for use in sales and marketing, and to prohibit certain other sales and marketing practices. All of our activities are potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws.

The scope and enforcement of each of these laws is uncertain and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform, especially in light of the lack of applicable precedent and regulations. Federal and state enforcement bodies have recently increased their scrutiny of interactions between healthcare companies and healthcare providers, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and settlements in the healthcare industry. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, imprisonment, exclusion of drugs from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, as well as 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, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. If any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to significant criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs. Ensuring business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws, as well as responding to possible investigations by government authorities, can be time- and resource consuming and can divert a company’s attention from the business.

European Data Collection

The collection and use of personal health data in or arising from the EU are governed by the provisions of the Data Protection Directive, and the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. This directive imposes several requirements relating to the consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, the information provided to the individuals, notification of data processing obligations to the competent national data protection authorities and the security and confidentiality of the personal data. The Data Protection Directive and GDPR also impose strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the EU, to the U.S. Failure to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Directive, the GDPR and the related national data protection laws of the EU Member States may result in fines and other administrative penalties. The GDPR introduces new data protection requirements in the EU and substantial fines for breaches of the data protection rules. The GDPR regulations may impose additional responsibility and liability in relation to personal data that we process, including in respect of clinical trials, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms ensuring compliance with the new data protection rules. This may be onerous and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Current and Future Legislation

In the U.S. and other jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. We expect that current laws, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and additional downward pressure on the price that we, or any collaborators, may receive for any approved products.

-25-

The ACA, for example, contains provisions that subject biological products to potential competition by lower-cost biosimilars and may reduce the profitability of drug products through increased rebates for drugs reimbursed by Medicaid programs address 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, increase the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and extends the rebate program to individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, establish annual fees and taxes on manufacturers of certain branded prescription drugs, and create a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 70% (increased pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, effective as of 2019) point-of-sale discounts 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.

Since its enactment, there have been numerous judicial, administrative, executive, and legislative challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. For example, various portions of the ACA are currently undergoing legal and constitutional challenges in the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Trump Administration issued various Executive Orders which eliminated cost sharing subsidies and various provisions that would impose a fiscal burden on states or a cost, fee, tax, penalty or regulatory burden on individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices. Additionally, Congress has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at significantly revising or repealing the ACA. In December 2018, the CMS published a final rule permitting further collections and payments to and from certain ACA qualified health plans and health insurance issuers under the ACA risk adjustment program in response to the outcome of the federal district court litigation regarding the method CMS uses to determine this risk adjustment. Since then, the ACA risk adjustment program payment parameters have been updated annually. It is unclear whether the ACA will be overturned, repealed, replaced, or further amended. We cannot predict what affect further changes to the ACA would have on our business, especially given the new Biden Administration.

Additionally, other federal health reform measures have been proposed and adopted in the U.S. since the ACA was enacted:

●

The Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. These changes included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect in April 2013 and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, including the BBA, will remain in effect through 2027, unless additional Congressional action is taken. However, pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, and subsequent legislation, these Medicare sequester reductions are suspended from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposed legislation, if passed, would extend this suspension until the end of the pandemic.

●

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several providers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years.

-26-

Further, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which have resulted in several recent Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted bills 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 products. In addition, the U.S. government, state legislatures, and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost containment programs, including price-controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products for branded prescription drugs to limit the growth of government paid healthcare costs. For example, the U.S. government has passed legislation requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide rebates and discounts to certain entities and governmental payors to participate in federal healthcare programs. The Trump administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 included a $135 billion allowance to support legislative proposals seeking to reduce drug prices, increase competition, lower out-of-pocket drug costs for patients, and increase patient access to lower-cost generic and biosimilar drugs. On March 10, 2020, the Trump administration sent “principles” for drug pricing to Congress, calling for legislation that would, among other things, cap Medicare Part D beneficiary out-of-pocket pharmacy expenses, provide an option to cap Medicare Part D beneficiary monthly out-of-pocket expenses, and place limits on pharmaceutical price increases. Further, the Trump administration also previously released a “Blueprint” to lower drug prices and reduce out-of-pocket costs of drugs that contains additional proposals to increase manufacturer competition, increase the negotiating power of certain federal healthcare programs, incentivize manufacturers to lower the list price of their products and reduce the out-of-pocket costs of drug products paid by consumers. The Blueprint contains certain measures that HHS is already working to implement. For example, in May 2019, CMS issued a final rule to allow Medicare Advantage Plans the option of using step therapy for Part B drugs beginning January 1, 2020. This final rule codified CMS’s policy change that was effective January 1, 2019. However, it is unclear whether the Biden administration will challenge, reverse, revoke or otherwise modify these executive and administrative actions after January 20, 2021.

Individual states in the U.S. have also increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. Congress and the Trump administration have each indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs. Individual states in the U.S. have also been increasingly passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

-27-