e10vq
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
Form 10-Q
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QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For The Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2009
or
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o |
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the Transition Period From to
Commission File Number: 000-50767
CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
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Delaware
(State or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation or Organization)
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04-3523569
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
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1255 Crescent Green Drive, Suite 250
Cary, North Carolina
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
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27518
(Zip Code) |
(919) 678-6611
(Registrants Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed
by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been
subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ
No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its
corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted
pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Yes o No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated
filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large
accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the
Exchange Act. (Check one):
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Large accelerated filer o |
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Accelerated filer o |
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Non-accelerated filer o
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
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Smaller Reporting Company þ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ
As
of May 1, 2009, the registrant had 12,499,102 shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par
value per share, outstanding.
CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.
FORM 10-Q
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART IFINANCIAL INFORMATION
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This quarterly report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. For this
purpose, any statements contained herein, other than statements of historical fact, including
statements regarding the progress and timing of our product development programs and related
trials; our future opportunities; our strategy, future operations, financial position, future
revenues and projected costs; our managements prospects, plans and objectives; and any other
statements about managements future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. We may, in some cases, use words such as anticipate, believe, could, estimate,
expect, intend, may, plan, project, should, target, will, would or other words
that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements.
Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a
result of various important factors, including our critical accounting estimates and risks
relating to our ability to realize anticipated synergies and cost savings from our merger with
Cornerstone BioPharma Holdings, Inc., or Cornerstone BioPharma; our ability to develop and maintain
the necessary sales, marketing, supply chain, distribution and manufacturing capabilities to
commercialize our products, including difficulties relating to the manufacture of ZYFLO
CR® tablets; the possibility that the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, will take
enforcement action against us or one or more of our marketed drugs that do not have FDA-approved
marketing applications; patient, physician and third-party payor acceptance of our products as safe
and effective therapeutic products; our heavy dependence on the commercial success of a relatively
small number of currently marketed products; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory
approvals to market and sell our products that have FDA-approved marketing applications; our
ability to enter into additional strategic licensing, collaboration or co-promotion transactions on
favorable terms, if at all; our ability to maintain compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements;
adverse side effects experienced by patients taking our products; difficulties relating to clinical
trials, including difficulties or delays in the completion of patient enrollment, data collection
or data analysis; the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials with respect to our
products under development and whether such results will be indicative of results obtained in later
clinical trials; our ability to satisfy FDA and other regulatory requirements; and our ability to
obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for our products and
product candidates. If one or more of these factors materialize, or if any underlying assumptions
prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These and other risks are described in greater detail below in Part IIItem 1A. Risk
Factors. If one or more of these factors materialize, or if any underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In
addition, any forward-looking statements in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q represent our views
only as of the date of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q and should not be relied upon as
representing our views as of any subsequent date. We anticipate that subsequent events and
developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these
forward-looking statements publicly at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any
obligation to do so, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Our
forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers,
dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.
ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
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March 31, |
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December 31, |
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2009 |
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2008 |
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(Unaudited) |
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(Note
1) |
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Assets |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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$ |
10,736 |
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$ |
9,286 |
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Marketable securities |
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300 |
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Accounts receivable, net |
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16,981 |
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13,660 |
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Inventories, net |
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12,840 |
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11,222 |
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Prepaid expenses |
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1,985 |
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1,081 |
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Deferred income tax asset |
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2,839 |
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2,428 |
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Total current assets |
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45,381 |
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37,977 |
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Property and equipment, net |
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979 |
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895 |
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Product rights, net |
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17,191 |
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17,702 |
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Goodwill |
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13,231 |
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13,231 |
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Amounts due from related parties |
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38 |
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38 |
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Deposits |
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46 |
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46 |
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Total assets |
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$ |
76,866 |
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$ |
69,889 |
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Liabilities and Stockholders Equity |
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Current liabilities: |
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Accounts payable |
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$ |
8,723 |
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$ |
10,288 |
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Accrued expenses |
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20,088 |
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19,052 |
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Current portion of license agreement liability |
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2,654 |
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2,543 |
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Current portion of capital lease |
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9 |
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Income taxes payable |
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3,580 |
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2,937 |
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Total current liabilities |
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35,054 |
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34,820 |
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Long-term liabilities: |
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License agreement liability, less current portion |
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2,313 |
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2,313 |
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Capital lease, less current portion |
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47 |
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Deferred income tax liability |
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3,457 |
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3,330 |
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Total long-term liabilities |
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5,817 |
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5,643 |
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Total liabilities |
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40,871 |
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40,463 |
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Commitments
and contingencies, Note 11 |
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Stockholders equity |
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Preferred stock $0.001 par value, 5,000,000 shares
authorized; no shares issued and outstanding |
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Common stock $0.001 par value, 90,000,000 shares
authorized; 12,023,747 shares issued and outstanding as
of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, respectively |
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12 |
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12 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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33,773 |
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33,519 |
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Retained
earnings / (accumulated deficit) |
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2,210 |
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(4,105 |
) |
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Total stockholders equity |
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35,995 |
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29,426 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders equity |
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$ |
76,866 |
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$ |
69,889 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
2
CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(UNAUDITED)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
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Three months ended March 31, |
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2009 |
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2008 |
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Net revenues |
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$ |
30,705 |
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$ |
9,445 |
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Costs and expenses: |
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Cost of product sales (exclusive of amortization of product rights) |
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3,201 |
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565 |
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Sales and marketing |
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5,395 |
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3,908 |
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Royalties |
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6,291 |
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1,245 |
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General and administrative |
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3,760 |
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1,523 |
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Research and development |
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1,162 |
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98 |
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Amortization of product rights |
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511 |
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739 |
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Other charges |
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26 |
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Total costs and expenses |
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20,346 |
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8,078 |
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Income from operations |
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10,359 |
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1,367 |
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Other expenses: |
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Interest expense, net |
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(72 |
) |
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(379 |
) |
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Total other expenses |
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(72 |
) |
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(379 |
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Income before income taxes |
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10,287 |
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988 |
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Provision for income taxes |
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(3,972 |
) |
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(319 |
) |
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Net income |
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$ |
6,315 |
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$ |
669 |
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Net income per share, basic |
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$ |
0.53 |
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$ |
0.11 |
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Net income per share, diluted |
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$ |
0.48 |
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$ |
0.10 |
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Weighted-average common shares, basic |
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12,023,747 |
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5,934,496 |
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Weighted-average common shares, diluted |
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13,114,505 |
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6,837,122 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
3
CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)
(In thousands)
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2009 |
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2008 |
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Cash flows from operating activities |
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Net income |
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$ |
6,315 |
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$ |
669 |
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Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: |
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Amortization and depreciation |
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564 |
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758 |
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Change in allowance for prompt payment discounts |
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63 |
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15 |
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Change in allowance for inventory obsolescence |
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77 |
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(32 |
) |
Stock-based compensation |
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254 |
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84 |
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Benefit for deferred income taxes |
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(284 |
) |
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Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
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Accounts receivable |
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(3,384 |
) |
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|
609 |
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Inventories |
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(1,695 |
) |
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(824 |
) |
Prepaid expenses |
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(904 |
) |
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(169 |
) |
Accounts payable |
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(1,565 |
) |
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(5 |
) |
Accrued expenses |
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1,147 |
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|
807 |
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Income taxes payable |
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643 |
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281 |
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Net cash provided by operating activities |
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1,231 |
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2,193 |
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Cash flows from investing activities |
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Advances to related parties |
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(13 |
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Proceeds from sale of marketable securities |
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300 |
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Purchase of property and equipment |
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(79 |
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(15 |
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Purchase of product rights |
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(1,000 |
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Collection of deposits |
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10 |
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Net cash
provided by / (used in) investing activities |
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221 |
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(1,018 |
) |
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Cash flows from financing activities |
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Proceeds from line of credit |
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4,000 |
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Principal payments on line of credit |
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(5,000 |
) |
Principal payments on capital lease obligation |
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(2 |
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Net cash used in financing activities |
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(2 |
) |
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(1,000 |
) |
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Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
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1,450 |
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|
175 |
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Cash and
cash equivalents as of beginning of period |
|
|
9,286 |
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|
241 |
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Cash and cash equivalents as of end of period |
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$ |
10,736 |
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$ |
416 |
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Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information |
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Cash paid during the period for interest |
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$ |
3 |
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$ |
24 |
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Cash paid during the period for income taxes |
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$ |
3,613 |
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$ |
38 |
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Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities |
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Purchase of equipment under capital lease obligation |
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$ |
58 |
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|
$ |
|
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|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
4
CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1: ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Nature of Operations
Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the Company),
is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing
significant products primarily for the respiratory market. Key elements of the Companys strategy are to
in-license or acquire rights to under-promoted, patent-protected, branded respiratory
pharmaceutical products, or late-stage product candidates; implement life cycle management
strategies to maximize the potential value and competitive position of the Companys currently
marketed products, newly acquired products and product candidates that are currently in
development; grow product revenue through the Companys specialty sales force which is focused on
the respiratory market; and maintain and strengthen the intellectual property position of the
Companys currently marketed products, newly acquired products and product candidates.
Principles of Consolidation
The Companys consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Cornerstone
Therapeutics Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its wholly owned subsidiaries: Cornerstone BioPharma
Holdings, Inc. (Cornerstone BioPharma), a Delaware corporation; Cornerstone BioPharma, Inc., a
Nevada corporation; Aristos Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation; and CTI Securities
Corporation, a Massachusetts corporation. The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2008 has been derived from the Companys
audited consolidated financial statements included in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2008, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
March 26, 2009.
CTI Securities Corporation was dissolved effective December 31, 2008. All significant
intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
NOTE 2: SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Use of Estimates
The
preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
(GAAP) requires
management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and
liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated
financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting
period. The more significant estimates reflected in the Companys consolidated financial statements
include certain judgments regarding revenue recognition, product rights, inventory valuation,
accrued expenses and stock based compensation. Actual results could differ from those estimates or
assumptions.
Concentrations of Credit Risk and Limited Suppliers
The financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit
risk are cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Companys cash and cash equivalents
are maintained with various financial institutions and are monitored against the Companys
investment policy, which limits concentrations of investments in individual securities and issuers.
The Company relies on certain materials used in its development and manufacturing processes,
some of which are procured from a single source. The Company purchases its pharmaceutical
ingredients pursuant to long-term supply agreements with a limited number of suppliers. The failure
of a supplier, including a subcontractor, to deliver on schedule could delay or interrupt the
development or commercialization process and thereby adversely affect the Companys operating
results. In addition, a disruption in the commercial supply of or a significant increase in the
cost of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) from these sources could have a material
adverse effect on the Companys business, financial position and results of operations.
The Company sells primarily to large national wholesalers, which in turn, may resell the
product to smaller or regional wholesalers, retail pharmacies or chain drug stores. The following
tables list all of the Companys customers that individually comprise greater than 10% of total
gross product sales and their aggregate percentage of
the Companys total gross product sales for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, and all
customers that comprise more than 10% of total accounts receivable and such customers aggregate
percentage of the Companys total accounts receivable as of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008:
5
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Three months ended March 31, |
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2009 |
|
2008 |
|
|
Gross Product |
|
Gross Product |
|
|
Sales |
|
Sales |
Cardinal
Health, Inc. |
|
|
36 |
% |
|
|
31 |
% |
McKesson Corporation |
|
|
34 |
% |
|
|
44 |
% |
Amerisource
Bergen Drug Corporation |
|
|
16 |
% |
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|
17 |
% |
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|
|
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|
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Total |
|
|
86 |
% |
|
|
92 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
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March 31, |
|
December 31, |
|
|
2009 |
|
2008 |
|
|
Accounts |
|
Accounts |
|
|
Receivable |
|
Receivable |
Cardinal Health, Inc. |
|
|
39 |
% |
|
|
35 |
% |
McKesson Corporation |
|
|
29 |
% |
|
|
32 |
% |
Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation |
|
|
9 |
% |
|
|
16 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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Total |
|
|
77 |
% |
|
|
83 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less
when purchased to be cash equivalents.
The Company maintains cash deposits with federally insured banks that may at times exceed
federally insured limits. As of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, the Company had balances of
$0 and $1.3 million, respectively, in excess of federally insured limits.
Marketable Securities
Marketable
securities as of December 31, 2008 consisted primarily of auction rate securities.
The auction rate securities are of investment-grade quality and have an original maturity date
greater than 90 days and can be sold within one year. The Company recorded its investments in
marketable securities in accordance with Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt
and Equity Securities (SFAS 115). The classification of marketable securities is generally
determined at the date of purchase. The Companys marketable securities are classified as
available-for-sale and reported at fair value with unrealized losses recognized net of tax in other
comprehensive income (loss). Gains and losses on sales of investments in marketable securities,
which are computed based on specific identification of the adjusted cost of each security, are
included in investment income at the time of the sale.
In
February 2009, the Company sold its investment in the auction
rate securities for $300,000,
which was the carrying value of the securities.
Accounts Receivable
The Company typically requires customers of branded and generic products to remit payments
within 31 days and 61 days, respectively. In addition, the Company offers wholesale distributors a
prompt payment discount as an incentive to remit payment within the first 30 days after the invoice
date for branded products and 60 days after the invoice date for generic products. This discount is
generally 2%, but may be higher in some instances due to product launches or customer and/or
industry expectations. Because the Companys wholesale distributors typically take the prompt
payment discount, the Company accrues 100% of the prompt payment discounts, based on the gross
amount of each invoice, at the time of sale, and the Company applies earned discounts at the time
of payment. The Company adjusts the accrual periodically to reflect actual experience.
Historically, these adjustments have not been material.
The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations and does not require collateral. As
appropriate, the Company establishes provisions for potential credit losses. In the opinion of
management, no allowance for doubtful accounts was necessary as of March 31, 2009 or December 31,
2008. The Company writes off accounts receivable when management determines they are uncollectible
and credits payments subsequently received on such receivables to bad debt expense in the period
received. There were no write offs during the periods ending March 31,
2009 or March 31, 2008.
6
The following table represents accounts receivable as of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008
(in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Trade accounts receivable |
|
$ |
16,534 |
|
|
$ |
13,289 |
|
Royalties receivable |
|
|
134 |
|
|
|
427 |
|
Other receivables |
|
|
678 |
|
|
|
246 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total accounts receivable |
|
|
17,346 |
|
|
|
13,962 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less allowance for prompt payment discounts |
|
|
(365 |
) |
|
|
(302 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts receivable, net |
|
$ |
16,981 |
|
|
$ |
13,660 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market value with cost determined under the
first-in, first-out method and consist of raw materials, work in process and finished goods. Raw
materials include the API for a product to be manufactured, work in process includes the bulk
inventory of tablets that are in the process of being coated and/or packaged for sale and finished
goods include pharmaceutical products ready for commercial sale or distribution as samples.
On a quarterly basis, the Company analyzes its inventory levels and writes down inventory that
has become obsolete, inventory that has a cost basis in excess of the expected net realizable value
and inventory that is in excess of expected requirements based upon anticipated product revenues.
The
following table represents net trade inventories as of March 31, 2009
and December 31, 2008 (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Raw materials |
|
$ |
7,508 |
|
|
$ |
6,393 |
|
Work in process |
|
|
1,540 |
|
|
|
1,832 |
|
Finished goods: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pharmaceutical products trade |
|
|
3,472 |
|
|
|
3,182 |
|
Pharmaceutical products samples |
|
|
1,074 |
|
|
|
492 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
13,594 |
|
|
|
11,899 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventory allowances |
|
|
(754 |
) |
|
|
(677 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventories, net |
|
$ |
12,840 |
|
|
$ |
11,222 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property and Equipment
The Company records property and equipment at cost. Major replacements and improvements are
capitalized, while general repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. The Company
depreciates its property and equipment over the estimated useful lives of the assets ranging from
three to seven years using the straight-line method. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the
lesser of their estimated useful lives or the lives of the underlying leases. Amortization expense
for leasehold improvements has been included in depreciation expense in these consolidated
financial statements.
The following table represents property and equipment as of March 31, 2009 and December 31,
2008 (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
Useful Life (Years) |
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Computers and software |
|
|
35 |
|
|
$ |
398 |
|
|
$ |
365 |
|
Machinery and equipment |
|
|
37 |
|
|
|
193 |
|
|
|
113 |
|
Furniture and fixtures |
|
|
57 |
|
|
|
533 |
|
|
|
523 |
|
Leasehold improvements |
|
|
Lesser of lease term or 7 |
|
|
|
96 |
|
|
|
82 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,220 |
|
|
|
1,083 |
|
Less accumulated depreciation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(241 |
) |
|
|
(188 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property and equipment, net |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
979 |
|
|
$ |
895 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7
Revenue Recognition
The Companys consolidated net revenues represent the Companys net product sales and royalty
agreement revenues. The following table sets forth the categories of the Companys net revenues (in
thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three months ended |
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Gross product sales |
|
$ |
38,912 |
|
|
$ |
10,470 |
|
Sales allowances |
|
|
(8,443 |
) |
|
|
(1,470 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net product sales |
|
|
30,469 |
|
|
|
9,000 |
|
Royalty agreement revenue |
|
|
236 |
|
|
|
445 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net revenues |
|
$ |
30,705 |
|
|
$ |
9,445 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Accounting Pronouncements
In
April 2008, the Financial Accounting Standards Board
(FASB) issued FASB Staff Position Financial Accounting
Standard (FSP FAS) 142-3, Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible
Assets (FSP FAS 142-3). FSP FAS 142-3 amends the factors that should be considered in developing
renewal or extension assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset
under SFAS No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
(SFAS 142). In developing assumptions about renewal or extension, FSP FAS 142-3 requires an
entity to consider its own historical experience or, if it has no experience, market participant
assumptions, adjusted for entity-specific factors. FSP FAS 142-3 expands the disclosure
requirements of SFAS 142 and is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years
beginning after December 15, 2008, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early
adoption prohibited. The guidance for determining the useful life of a recognized intangible asset
must be applied prospectively to intangible assets acquired after the effective date. The
disclosure requirements must be applied prospectively to all intangible assets recognized as of,
and subsequent to, the effective date.
The adoption of FSP FAS 142-3 on January 1, 2009 did not have a
material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In
November 2007, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) issued EITF Issue No. 07-1, Accounting for Collaborative
Arrangements (EITF 07-1). EITF 07-1 requires collaborators to present the results of activities
for which they act as the principal on a gross basis and report any payments received from or made
to other collaborators based on other applicable generally accepted accounting principles or, in
the absence of other applicable generally accepted accounting principles, based on analogy to
authoritative accounting literature or a reasonable, rational and consistently applied accounting
policy election. EITF 07-1 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008.
The adoption of EITF 07-1 on January 1, 2009 did not have a
material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations (SFAS
141(R)). SFAS 141(R) requires the acquiring entity in a business combination to record all assets
acquired and liabilities assumed at their respective acquisition-date fair values and changes other
practices under SFAS No. 141, Business Combinations (SFAS 141), some of which could have a
material impact on how an entity accounts for its business combinations. SFAS 141(R) also requires
additional disclosure of information surrounding a business combination so that users of the
entitys financial statements can fully understand the nature and financial impact of the business
combination. SFAS 141(R) is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. The
provisions of SFAS 141(R) will impact the Companys financial statements if the Company is a party
to a business combination on or after January 1, 2009. In addition, for periods beginning on or
after January 1, 2009, SFAS 141(R) requires the Company to report the impact of certain adjustments
to valuation allowances on deferred tax assets acquired in business combinations occurring prior to
January 1, 2009 as adjustments to income tax expense rather than as adjustments to goodwill.
In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated
Financial Statements an amendment of ARB No. 51 (SFAS 160). SFAS 160 requires entities to
report non-controlling minority interests in subsidiaries as equity in consolidated financial
statements. SFAS 160 is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2008. SFAS
160 is applied prospectively as of the beginning of the fiscal year in which it is initially
applied, except for presentation and disclosure requirements, which are applied retrospectively for
all periods presented.
The adoption of SFAS 160 on January 1, 2009 did not have a
material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
NOTE 3: MERGER
On October 31, 2008, the Company completed the merger
whereby the Company, which was then known as Critical Therapeutics,
Inc. (Critical Therapeutics), merged (through a transitory
subsidiary) with Cornerstone BioPharma (the Merger), which was accounted for in accordance with SFAS 141. The
Companys reasons for the
Merger included, among other things, the following considerations: the
opportunity to expand the Companys respiratory product portfolio, the potential for enhanced
future growth and value and the ability to access additional capital. Because former Cornerstone
BioPharma stockholders owned, immediately following the Merger, approximately 70% of the combined
company on a fully diluted basis and as a result of certain other factors, Cornerstone BioPharma
was deemed to be the acquiring company for accounting purposes and the transaction was accounted
for as a reverse acquisition in accordance with GAAP. Accordingly, Critical Therapeutics assets
and liabilities were recorded as of the Merger closing date at their estimated fair values.
8
A summary of the purchase price is as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
Fair value of Critical Therapeutics shares outstanding |
|
$ |
23,479 |
|
Acquiring company transaction costs incurred |
|
|
1,753 |
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase price |
|
$ |
25,232 |
|
|
|
|
|
Under the purchase method of accounting, the total purchase price is allocated to the acquired
tangible and intangible assets and assumed liabilities of Critical Therapeutics based on their
estimated fair values as of the closing date of the Merger. The excess of the purchase price over
the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is allocated to goodwill.
The allocation of the total purchase price, as shown above, to the acquired tangible and
intangible assets and assumed liabilities of Critical Therapeutics based on their estimated fair
values as of the closing date of the Merger are as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
|
$ |
3,871 |
|
Accounts receivable |
|
|
2,302 |
|
Inventory |
|
|
6,300 |
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
|
|
701 |
|
Fixed assets |
|
|
315 |
|
Other assets |
|
|
40 |
|
Intangible assets: |
|
|
|
|
Product rights |
|
|
11,500 |
|
Acquired in-process research and development |
|
|
1,900 |
|
Goodwill |
|
|
13,231 |
|
Assumed liabilities |
|
|
(14,928 |
) |
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
$ |
25,232 |
|
|
|
|
|
The amount allocated to acquired inventory has been attributed to the following categories (in
thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
Raw materials |
|
$ |
5,314 |
|
Work in process |
|
|
393 |
|
Finished goods |
|
|
593 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
$ |
6,300 |
|
|
|
|
|
In accordance with SFAS 141, the estimated fair value of raw materials was determined based on
their replacement cost. The estimated fair values of work in process and finished goods were
determined by estimating
the selling prices of those goods less the costs of disposal, a reasonable profit allowance
and, with respect to work in process, the costs of completion.
The amount allocated to acquired identifiable intangible assets has been attributed to the
following categories (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
ZYFLO CR® product rights |
|
$ |
11,500 |
|
Alpha-7 program |
|
|
1,900 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
$ |
13,400 |
|
|
|
|
|
The estimated fair value attributed to the ZYFLO CR product rights was determined based on a
discounted forecast of the estimated net future cash flows to be generated from the ZYFLO CR
product rights and is estimated to have a 7.2 year useful life from the closing date of the Merger.
The amount allocated to in-process research and development for the alpha-7 program represents
an estimate of the fair value of purchased in-process technology for this research program that, as
of the closing date of the Merger, had not reached technological feasibility and had no alternative
future use. The alpha-7 program is the only Critical Therapeutics research program that had
advanced to a stage of development where management believed reasonable net future cash flow
forecasts could be prepared and a reasonable likelihood of technical success existed.
The estimated fair value of in-process research and development related to the alpha-7 program
was determined based on a discounted forecast of the estimated net future royalties from the
anticipated out- licensing of this program considering the estimated probability of technical
success and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Following the closing of the Merger, the amount allocated to the alpha-7
program was immediately charged to research and development expenses.
NOTE 4: GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Goodwill
The Companys goodwill balance as of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 was $13.2 million
and relates to the Merger. No amount of the goodwill balance at March 31, 2009 will be deductible
for income tax purposes.
9
Intangible Assets
The following table represents intangible assets as of March 31, 2009 and December 31,
2008 (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Product rights |
|
$ |
26,730 |
|
|
$ |
26,730 |
|
Less accumulated amortization |
|
|
(9,539 |
) |
|
|
(9,028 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Product rights net |
|
$ |
17,191 |
|
|
$ |
17,702 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Company amortizes the product rights related to its currently marketed products over their
estimated useful lives, which, as of March 31, 2009, ranged from seven to nine years. As of March
31, 2009, the Company had $3.1 million of product rights related to products it expects to launch
in the future. The Company expects to begin amortizing these rights upon the commercial launch of
the first product using these rights (which, if approved, is targeted to be in late 2010 or early
2011) over an estimated useful life of approximately 14 years. The weighted-average amortization
period for the Companys product rights related to its currently marketed products is approximately
six years. Amortization expense for the quarters ended March 31, 2009 and 2008 was $511,000 and
$739,000, respectively.
Future estimated amortization expense (excluding the rights related to products expected to be
launched) subsequent to March 31, 2009 is as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
2009 |
|
$ |
1,531 |
|
2010 |
|
|
2,042 |
|
2011 |
|
|
2,031 |
|
2012 |
|
|
2,025 |
|
2013 |
|
|
2,025 |
|
Thereafter |
|
|
4,437 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
14,091 |
|
|
|
|
|
NOTE 5: LINE OF CREDIT
In April 2005, the Company obtained financing under a bank line of credit for up to $4.0
million. Interest is due monthly with all outstanding principal and interest due on maturity. The
initial maturity of the line of credit was April 2006 and
thereafter was successively renewed
on an annual basis on each maturity date. Amounts outstanding under the line of credit bear interest at a variable rate equal to
the Wall Street Journal prime rate, which was 3.25% as of March 31, 2009.
Because the Companys borrowing base under the line of credit exceeded $4.0 million as of
March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, the full amount of the line of credit was available for
borrowings and the issuance of letters of credit on each of these dates. As of March 31, 2009, the
Company had no borrowings outstanding and had issued letters of credit totaling $68,000, resulting
in $3.9 million of available borrowing capacity.
Effective
May 4, 2009, the Company exercised its right to terminate its
bank line of credit. There were no penalties associated with the
early termination of the line of credit.
NOTE 6: STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
Stock Option Activity
The following table summarizes the Companys stock option activity during the quarter ended
March 31, 2009 under all of the Companys stock-based compensation plans:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted Average |
|
|
|
Number of Shares |
|
|
Exercise Price |
|
Outstanding at January 1, 2009 |
|
|
2,437,572 |
|
|
$ |
5.45 |
|
Granted |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(83,672 |
) |
|
|
4.14 |
|
Expired |
|
|
(182,153 |
) |
|
|
39.54 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding at March 31, 2009 |
|
|
2,171,747 |
|
|
|
2.64 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vested or expected to vest at March 31, 2009 |
|
|
2,155,588 |
|
|
|
2.64 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercisable March 31, 2009 |
|
|
1,255,031 |
|
|
$ |
2.77 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There were no options issued or exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2009.
As of March 31, 2009, the aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding and exercisable was
$5.2 million and $3.5 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2008, the aggregate intrinsic value of
options outstanding and exercisable was $1.8 million and $1.1 million, respectively.
As of March 31, 2009 and 2008, there was approximately $1.6 million and $1.0 million,
respectively, of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock options, which is
expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.19 and 2.84 years, respectively.
10
Restricted Stock Activity
As of March 31, 2009 and 2008, there were 475,355 and 51,039 restricted common shares
outstanding, respectively.
There were no issuances or vesting of restricted stock during the three months ended March 31,
2009 and 2008.
As of March 31, 2009 and 2008, the intrinsic value of the restricted stock outstanding was
$1.9 million and $143,000, respectively.
As of March 31, 2009, there was approximately $1.6 million of total unrecognized compensation
cost related to unvested restricted stock issued under the Companys equity compensation plans,
which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.32 years.
Stock-Based Compensation Expense
During the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, the Company recorded approximately
$252,000 and $81,000 in employee stock-based compensation expense and $2,000 and $3,000 in
non-employee stock-based compensation expense, respectively, based on
the total grant date fair value of
shares vested. During the three months ended March 31, 2009, $253,000 and $1,000 of the
stock-based compensation expense was charged against general and administrative and sales and
marketing costs, respectively. During the three months ended March 31, 2008, $62,000 and $22,000 of
the stock-based compensation expense was charged against general and administrative and
sales and marketing costs, respectively.
NOTE 7: NET INCOME PER SHARE
The Company computes net income per share in accordance with SFAS No. 128, Earnings per Share
(SFAS 128). Under the provisions of SFAS 128, basic net income per share is computed by dividing
net income by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net income per
share is computed by dividing net income by the sum of the weighted-average number of common shares
and dilutive common share equivalents then outstanding. Common share equivalents consist of the
incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options and warrants and the impact
of non-vested restricted stock grants.
The following table reconciles the numerator and denominator used to calculate diluted net
income per share (in thousands, except share data):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Numerator: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income |
|
$ |
6,315 |
|
|
$ |
669 |
|
Denominator: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average common shares, basic |
|
|
12,023,747 |
|
|
|
5,934,496 |
|
Dilutive effect of stock options, warrants and restricted stock |
|
|
1,090,758 |
|
|
|
902,626 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average common shares, diluted |
|
|
13,114,505 |
|
|
|
6,837,122 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, there were 390,024 and zero, respectively,
potential common shares outstanding that were excluded from the diluted net income per share
calculation because their effect would have been anti-dilutive.
NOTE 8: LEASES
Lease Obligations
The Company leases its facilities, certain equipment and automobiles under non-cancelable
leases expiring at various dates through 2016. Rent expense was $208,000 and $129,000 for the three
months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
11
Future minimum aggregate payments under non-cancelable lease obligations as of March 31, 2009
are as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating |
|
|
Capital |
|
Year Ending |
|
Leases |
|
|
Leases |
|
2009 |
|
$ |
456 |
|
|
$ |
12 |
|
2010 |
|
|
377 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
2011 |
|
|
348 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
2012 |
|
|
343 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
2013 |
|
|
383 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
Thereafter |
|
|
976 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total minimum lease payments |
|
$ |
2,883 |
|
|
|
74 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less amount representing interest |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(18 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Present value of future minimum lease payments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
56 |
|
Less current portion |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term portion |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
47 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTE 9: ACCRUED EXPENSES
The
components of accrued expenses are as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Accrued product returns |
|
$ |
6,161 |
|
|
$ |
5,043 |
|
Accrued rebates |
|
|
1,266 |
|
|
|
884 |
|
Accrued price adjustments and chargebacks |
|
|
4,661 |
|
|
|
4,307 |
|
Accrued compensation and benefits |
|
|
1,491 |
|
|
|
2,507 |
|
Accrued royalties |
|
|
6,375 |
|
|
|
6,259 |
|
Accrued expenses, other |
|
|
134 |
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total accrued expenses |
|
$ |
20,088 |
|
|
$ |
19,052 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTE 10: INCOME TAXES
As discussed in Note 1, the Companys consolidated financial statements include the accounts
of Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., Cornerstone BioPharma, Cornerstone BioPharma, Inc.
and Aristos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes and APB Opinion No. 28, Interim Financial Reporting
generally require that for interim periods results of operations are to be computed using an
effective tax rate method that
requires estimates of annual ordinary income and other tax preference items.
12
The provision for income taxes includes the following (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Current: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Federal |
|
$ |
3,679 |
|
|
$ |
260 |
|
State |
|
|
577 |
|
|
|
59 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
4,256 |
|
|
|
319 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Federal |
|
|
(252 |
) |
|
|
|
|
State |
|
|
(32 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
(284 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total tax provision |
|
$ |
3,972 |
|
|
$ |
319 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the
carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used
for income tax purposes. Significant components of the Companys deferred tax assets as of March
31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 are as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
Current: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred tax assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts receivable, net |
|
$ |
141 |
|
|
$ |
116 |
|
Inventories, net |
|
|
397 |
|
|
|
400 |
|
Accrued expenses |
|
|
2,931 |
|
|
|
2,542 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total current deferred tax assets |
|
|
3,469 |
|
|
|
3,058 |
|
Deferred tax liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquired intellectual property |
|
|
(630 |
) |
|
|
(630 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net current deferred tax assets |
|
$ |
2,839 |
|
|
$ |
2,428 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Noncurrent: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred tax assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax loss carryforwards |
|
$ |
61,610 |
|
|
$ |
61,888 |
|
Deferred compensation |
|
|
259 |
|
|
|
293 |
|
Product license rights, net |
|
|
280 |
|
|
|
315 |
|
Tax credits |
|
|
1,900 |
|
|
|
1,900 |
|
Valuation allowance |
|
|
(63,510 |
) |
|
|
(63,788 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total noncurrent deferred tax assets |
|
|
539 |
|
|
|
608 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred tax liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquired intellectual property |
|
|
(3,783 |
) |
|
|
(3,783 |
) |
Property and equipment, net |
|
|
(213 |
) |
|
|
(155 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total noncurrent deferred tax liabilities |
|
|
(3,996 |
) |
|
|
(3,938 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net deferred tax liability noncurrent |
|
|
(3,457 |
) |
|
|
(3,330 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total net deferred tax liability |
|
$ |
(618 |
) |
|
$ |
(902 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13
Income taxes computed at the statutory federal income tax rate of 35% are reconciled to the
provision for income taxes as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
March 31 |
|
|
|
2009 |
|
|
2008 |
|
United States federal tax at statutory rate |
|
$ |
3,498 |
|
|
$ |
336 |
|
State taxes (net of federal benefit) |
|
|
451 |
|
|
|
42 |
|
Nondeductible expenses |
|
|
104 |
|
|
|
66 |
|
Other |
|
|
197 |
|
|
|
(34 |
) |
Decrease in valuation allowance |
|
|
(278 |
) |
|
|
(91 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Provision for income taxes |
|
$ |
3,972 |
|
|
$ |
319 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Companys acquisition of Critical Therapeutics in 2008 resulted in certain additional
deferred tax assets, including assets from federal net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs), state
net economic loss carryforwards (NELs), and federal tax credits. The Company determined that it
was more likely than not that utilization of these assets would not occur. This determination was
based on the limitations on the utilization of NOLs and tax credits imposed by Section 382 and 383,
respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code). Sections 382 and 383 of the Code impose
limitations on a corporations ability to utilize its NOLs and tax credits, respectively, if it
experiences an ownership change. Therefore, the $63.5 million of deferred tax assets resulting
from these NOLs and tax credits are offset by a full valuation allowance. The reversal of the
valuation allowance that relates to the Companys use of these deferred tax assets for the period
ended March 31, 2009 was recorded as a reduction of tax expense.
As of March 31, 2009, the Company has federal NOLs of approximately $162.2 million that begin
to expire in the year 2021, state NELs of approximately $154.0 million that begin to expire in 2009
and federal tax credits of approximately $1.9 million that begin to expire in 2021. The Company
maintains a valuation allowance with respect to the entire amount of these loss carryforwards and
tax credit carryforwards.
Critical Therapeutics filed Form 3115 as an attachment to its 2007 tax return, a period that
preceded the date of acquisition by the Company. This filing requested a change in Critical
Therapeutics method of accounting, for tax purposes only, of the cost of certain acquired
intangible assets. The Company, as the successor to Critical Therapeutics, could be impacted by
the requested change, if granted. The requested change would result in capitalization of certain
previously-deducted costs, with subsequent amortization of the amounts so capitalized. The initial
adjustment would be reflected as an increase to taxable income over four taxable years, including
periods of less than one year. The filing required permission from the Internal Revenue Service
and a signed agreement from the taxpayer indicating receipt of that permission prior to the
taxpayer reflecting the change for tax purposes; this permission has not been received by the
Company or acknowledged by the Company. Accordingly, the Company has not reflected any impact from
the requested change in its results of operations.
NOTE 11: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Royalties
The Company has contractual obligations to pay royalties to the former owners of certain
product rights that have been acquired by or licensed to the Company, some of which are described
in Note 15 to the Companys consolidated financial statements
included in the Companys annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2008. These royalties are based on a percentage of net sales of the particular licensed
product.
In August 2006, the Company entered into an agreement with Pharmaceutical Innovations, LLC
(Pharmaceutical Innovations) for an exclusive license to a U.S. patent and know-how to
manufacture, package, market and
distribute various day-night products. In exchange for these rights, the Company was required
to pay Pharmaceutical Innovations a special royalty of 8.5% of initial net sales of day-night
products up to a total of $250,000. The Company paid this special royalty in the years ended
December 31, 2006 and 2007. In addition, the Company is obligated to pay royalties based on a
percentage of the products annual net sales. The royalty rate increases as the annual net sales
increase. Minimum annual royalties are $300,000 per year under this agreement during the life of
14
the licensed patent based on the products currently marketed by the Company. The Company exceeded
the minimum annual royalty during the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2008 and expects to do so
in the year ending December 31, 2009.
On July 1, 2001, the Company acquired from The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
(formerly known as The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Research Institute) (The Feinstein
Institute), an exclusive worldwide license, under patent rights and know-how controlled by The
Feinstein Institute relating to a cytokine called HMGB1, to make, use and sell products covered by
the licensed patent rights and know-how. As partial consideration for the license, among other
things, the Company agreed to make payments to The Feinstein Institute ranging from $50,000 to
$275,000 for each additional distinguishable product depending on whether it was covered by the
licensed patent rights or by the licensed know-how, in each case upon the achievement of specified
development and regulatory milestones for the applicable licensed product. As of December 31, 2008,
none of these milestones had been achieved. In addition, the Company is obligated to pay royalties
to The Feinstein Institute based on product sales. In the event of no product sales, the Company
will be required to pay minimum annual royalties of $15,000 in years 2009 through 2011 and $75,000
in years 2012 through the expiration of the patent in 2023.
The Company also has entered into two sponsored research and license agreements with The
Feinstein Institute, one agreement in July 2001 related to identifying identify inhibitors and
antagonists of HMGB1 and related proteins and a second agreement in January 2003 in the field of
cholinergic anti-inflammatory technology, including alpha-7. Under the terms of these agreements,
the Company acquired an exclusive worldwide license to make, use and sell products covered by the
patent rights and know-how arising from the sponsored research. In connection with the July 2001
sponsored research and license agreement, the Company agreed to make payments to The Feinstein
Institute ranging from $50,000 to $200,000 for each additional distinguishable product depending on
whether it was covered by the licensed patent rights or by the licensed know-how. In connection
with the January 2003 sponsored research and license agreement, the Company agreed to pay
additional amounts in connection with the filing of any U.S. patent application or issuance of a
U.S. patent relating to the field of cholinergic anti-inflammatory technology. The Company also
agreed to make aggregate milestone payments to The Feinstein Institute of up to $1.5 million in
both cash and shares of the Companys common stock upon the achievement of specified development
and regulatory approval milestones with respect to any licensed product. As of December 31, 2008,
none of these milestones had been achieved. In addition, the Company is obligated to pay royalties
to The Feinstein Institute based on product sales. Under the January 2003 sponsored research and
license agreement, the Company agreed to pay minimum annual royalties beginning in 2008 to The
Feinstein Institute, regardless of whether the Company sells any licensed products, of $100,000 in
2008, which minimum annual royalties amount will increase by $50,000 annually to a maximum of
$400,000 in 2014, with a minimum annual royalty payment of $400,000 thereafter payable through the
expiration of the patent in 2023. The required minimum annual royalty for the year ended December
31, 2008 was paid by Critical Therapeutics prior to the completion of the merger.
Supply Agreements
Concentrations
The Company purchases inventory from pharmaceutical manufacturers. During the three months
ended March 31, 2009, two vendors accounted for 59% of the Companys inventory purchases. During
the three months ended March 31, 2008, one vendor accounted for 39% of the Companys inventory
purchases. Three vendors accounted for 24% and 25% of the Companys accounts payable as of March
31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, respectively. As of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, the
Company had outstanding purchase orders related to inventory totaling approximately $7.3 million
and $4.3 million, respectively.
Vintage
The Company has entered into an agreement with Vintage Pharmaceuticals, LLC (Vintage) to
exclusively manufacture BALACET® 325, APAP 325 and APAP 500 for prices established by the agreement,
subject to renegotiation at each anniversary date. The agreement expires in July 2010 and may be
renewed for subsequent one-year terms.
15
Meiji
In connection with the license agreement with Meiji
Seika Kaisha, Ltd. (Meiji) dated October 12, 2006, as described in Note 15
to the Companys consolidated financial statements included in the Companys annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, Meiji is the
Companys exclusive supplier of cefditoren pivoxil and, through October 2018, of SPECTRACEF 400 mg
so long as Meiji is able to supply 100% of the Companys requirements for SPECTRACEF 400 mg.
Additionally, Meiji will be a non-exclusive supplier of SPECTRACEF 200 mg through October 2018. The
Company is required to purchase from Meiji combined amounts of the API cefditoren pivoxil,
SPECTRACEF 200 mg, SPECTRACEF 400 mg and sample packs of SPECTRACEF 400 mg exceeding $15.0 million
for the first year beginning October 2008, $20.0 million for year two, $25.0 million for year
three, $30.0 million for year four and $35.0 million for year five. If the Company does not meet
its minimum purchase requirement in a given year, the Company must pay Meiji an amount equal to 50%
of the shortfall in that year. The Company expects to exceed the minimum purchase requirements.
These minimum purchase requirements cease to apply if a generic cefditoren product is launched in
the United States prior to October 12, 2011.
Shasun
Shasun Pharma Solutions (Shasun) manufactures all of the Companys commercial supplies of
the zileuton API pursuant to an agreement dated February 8, 2005. The Company has committed to
purchase zileuton API from Shasun in the amounts of $5.8 million in 2009 and $1.6 million in 2010,
respectively, which are in excess of the Companys minimum purchase requirements. The agreement
will expire on the earlier of the date on which the Company has purchased a specified amount of the
API for zileuton or December 31, 2010. The agreement will automatically extend for successive
one-year periods after December 31, 2010, unless Shasun provides the Company with 18-months prior
written notice of cancellation.
Jagotec
Jagotec
AG (Jagotec) manufactures all of the Companys bulk, uncoated tablets of ZYFLO CR pursuant to a
manufacture and supply agreement dated August 20, 2007. The Company has agreed to purchase from
Jagotec a minimum of 20.0 million ZYFLO CR tablet cores in each of the four 12-month periods
starting May 30, 2008. The Company expects to exceed the minimum purchase requirements. The
agreements initial term extends to May 22, 2012, and will automatically continue thereafter,
unless the Company provides Jagotec with 24-months prior written notice of termination or Jagotec
provides the Company with 36-months prior written notice of termination.
Patheon
Patheon
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Patheon) coats, conducts quality
control, quality
assurance and stability testing and packages commercial supplies of ZYFLO CR for the Company using
uncoated ZYFLO CR tablets the Company supplies to Patheon. The Company has agreed to purchase from
Patheon at least 50% of the Companys requirements for such manufacturing services for ZYFLO CR for
sale in the United States each year during the term of this agreement. The agreements initial term
extends to May 9, 2010, and will automatically continue for successive one-year periods thereafter,
unless the Company provides Patheon with 12-months prior written notice of termination or Patheon
provides the Company with 18-months prior written notice of termination.
Patheon also manufactures all of the Companys ZYFLO® immediate release tablets pursuant to a
commercial manufacturing agreement. The Company has agreed to purchase from Patheon at least 50% of
the Companys commercial supplies of ZYFLO immediate-release tablets for sale in the United States
each year for the term of the agreement. The agreements current term extends to September 15,
2009, and will automatically continue for successive one-year periods thereafter, unless the
Company provides Patheon with 12-months prior written notice of termination or Patheon provides
the Company with 18-months prior written notice of termination.
Sovereign
Sovereign Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Sovereign) manufactures all of the Companys requirements
of three HYOMAX
® products pursuant to an exclusive supply and marketing
agreement that the Company entered into in May 2008. Additionally, the Company purchases all of its
requirements for HYOMAX DT tablets pursuant to purchase orders it places from time to time with
Sovereign, which manufactures and supplies the HYOMAX DT tablets to the Company pursuant to an
agreement between Sovereign and Capellon Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. to which the Company is not a party.
The Company pays Sovereign its costs to manufacture the HYOMAX products
16
exclusively for the
Company, as well as a royalty based on a share of the net profits realized from the sale of the
products. The term of the agreement expires in April 2011 and will be automatically renewed for
successive one-year terms unless either party provides written notice of termination at least 90
days prior to the end of the then current term.
DEY Co-Promotion and Marketing Services Agreement
On March 13, 2007, the Company entered into an agreement with Dey, L.P. (DEY), a wholly
owned subsidiary of Mylan Inc., under which the Company and DEY agreed to jointly promote ZYFLO CR
and ZYFLO. Under the co-promotion and marketing services agreement, the Company granted DEY an
exclusive right to promote and detail ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO in the United States, together with the
Company.
Under the co-promotion agreement, DEY paid the Company $12.0 million in non-refundable
aggregate payments in 2007 and the Company committed to fund at least $3 million in promotional
expenses in 2007. In addition, the Company and DEY each agreed to contribute 50% of approved
out-of-pocket promotional expenses during 2008 for ZYFLO CR that are approved by the parties joint
commercial committee. From January 1, 2009 through the expiration or termination of the
co-promotion agreement, DEY is responsible for the costs associated with its sales representatives
and the product samples distributed by its sales representatives, and the Company is responsible
for all other promotional expenses related to the products.
Prior to January 1, 2009, the Company paid DEY a co-promotion fee equal to thirty five percent
(35%) of quarterly net sales of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, after third-party royalties, in excess of $1.95
million. Beginning January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013, the Company has agreed to pay DEY a
co-promotion fee equal to the ratio of total prescriptions written by certain pulmonary specialists
to total prescriptions during the applicable period multiplied by a percentage of quarterly net
sales of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, after third-party royalties. The co-promotion agreement expires on
December 31, 2013 and may be extended upon mutual agreement by the parties.
Other Co-promotion Agreements
In February 2006, the Company signed a co-promotion agreement with Ascend Therapeutics, Inc.
(Ascend) to provide detailing of a product to a specific physician population. As compensation,
the Company paid a fee for detailing the product equal to 50% of net sales. This agreement was
terminated in March 2008 at no additional cost to the Company.
In March 2007 and June 2007, the Company entered into co-promotion agreements, as amended,
with SJ Pharmaceuticals, LLC
(
SJ Pharmaceuticals
)
to co-promote the Companys ALLERX® Dose Pack
products and SPECTRACEF products, respectively. Under these agreements, the Company pays SJ
Pharmaceuticals fees based on a percentage of the net profits of the products sold above a
specified baseline based upon prescriptions by assigned, targeted prescribers within assigned sales
territories. The Company terminated its ALLERX Dose Pack co-promotion agreement with SJ
Pharmaceuticals effective December 31, 2008. In connection with that termination, the Company is
obligated to pay SJ Pharmaceuticals a termination fee on a quarterly basis for six months following
termination equal to the average amount paid per month during the final six months preceding the
termination date. The Company recorded the entire amount of the termination fee in accrued expenses
in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2008. On February 25, 2009, SJ
Pharmaceuticals terminated the SPECTRACEF co-promotion agreement effective April 24, 2009. Neither
SJ Pharmaceuticals nor the Company is required to pay the other party any termination fee in
connection with the termination.
In April 2007, the Company entered into a co-promotion agreement, as amended, with Atley
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Atley Pharmaceuticals) to co-promote a prescription pain product beginning
July 1, 2007. Under the agreement, the Company pays Atley Pharmaceuticals fees based on a
percentage of the net profits from sales of the product (as well as an authorized generic
equivalent of the product marketed by the Company) above a specified baseline within assigned sales
territories. Like the ALLERX Dose Packs co-promotion agreement with SJ Pharmaceuticals that the
Company terminated, the Companys co-promotion agreement with Atley Pharmaceuticals is subject to
sunset fees that requires the Company to pay additional fees for up to one year in the event of
certain defined terminations of the agreement.
Settlements
Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc.
In October 2004, the Company and a related party, Carolina Pharmaceuticals, Inc., were named
as co-defendants in litigation brought by Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc. (Adams) that
alleged trademark infringement, false
advertising and unfair competition claims and sought damages
and injunctive relief. The Company vigorously defended these allegations and filed various
counterclaims. In January 2005, Adams and the Company entered into an agreement under which in
February 2005 the Company received all of the rights to the ALLERX products held by Adams and Adams
received all of the rights to the Humibid® family of products held by the Company. Additionally, the
parties released each other from all claims and damages in the above mentioned lawsuit. The
agreement required the Company to assume the financial responsibility for the first $1.0 million of
returned Humibid product that was sold by the Company prior to February 15, 2005 and returned to
Adams during the 18-month period beginning February 15, 2005. Conversely, Adams was financially
responsible for the first $1.0 million of ALLERX product returns for the same 18-month period.
After the 18-month period or the $1.0 million threshold is met, the agreement provided that Adams
would have the responsibility for all Humibid product returns whether sold by the Company or Adams.
In connection with this agreement, Adams is obligated to pay the Company a royalty ranging from 1%
to 2% of net Humibid sales for a period of three years after February 15, 2005 with a minimum
annual royalty of $50,000.
17
In 2006, a major wholesaler indicated that it was in possession of a significant amount of
Humibid prescription inventory. Adams filed a complaint alleging that the Company and Carolina
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. did not disclose the outstanding inventory in accordance with the prior
agreement and are therefore financially responsible for the returns. The Company and Carolina
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. believed they were not liable for these returns under the agreement and filed
a counterclaim. Since all Humibid prescription products were sold by Carolina Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., the Company did not accrue any amounts related to this claim.
In May 2008, the Company settled the dispute with Adams. The agreement provides that all
parties to the settlement are to be released from all legal claims made prior to January 2008 and
that the Company and Carolina Pharmaceuticals, Inc. would pay to Reckitt Benckiser Inc., the parent
of Adams, $1.5 million in three installments to be paid as follows: $500,000 by June 20, 2008;
$500,000 by June 30, 2008; and $500,000 by September 30, 2008. In exchange, the Company is released
from all liabilities. All amounts were paid by September 30, 2008 as required. The Company paid
$290,000 of the final $500,000 installment and the balance of $210,000 was paid by Carolina
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Legal Proceedings
In
2007, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) ordered a re-examination of a patent licensed to
the Company that covers one or more of the Companys day-night products. Subsequently, in October
2007, the Company filed suit against a pharmaceutical company in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of North Carolina alleging infringement of the patent. In November 2007, before a
response to the Companys claims was due, the defendant moved to stay the litigation pending the
re-examination of the Companys patent. The court granted defendants motion and stayed the
litigation pending the re-examination of the patent in February 2008. In cooperation with its
licensor, the Company intends to vigorously pursue its claims and to vigorously defend against any
counterclaims that might be asserted. Additionally, in June 2008, the defendant requested that the
USPTO re-examine a related second patent licensed to the Company by an
affiliate of the licensor of the first patent. The USPTO granted this
request and ordered a re-examination of the second patent in August 2008. The Companys
intellectual property counsel has concluded that valid arguments exist for distinguishing the
claims of the Companys patents over the references cited in the requests for re-examination.
In an unrelated action, another pharmaceutical company filed suit in November 2008 against the
Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland seeking, among other things, a
declaratory judgment that the second patent is invalid. Because no monetary relief has been
requested in this action, no amount has been accrued in these consolidated financial statements. In
cooperation with the licensor, the Company intends to vigorously defend against the declaratory
judgment claim and to vigorously pursue appropriate counterclaims.
On September 17, 2008, a purported shareholder class action lawsuit was filed by a single
plaintiff against Critical Therapeutics and each of its then current directors in the Court of
Chancery of the State of Delaware. The action is captioned Jeffrey Benison IRA v. Critical
Therapeutics, Inc., Trevor Phillips, Richard W. Dugan, Christopher Mirabelli, and Jean George, Case
No. 4039, Court of Chancery, State of Delaware. The plaintiff, which claimed to be one of Critical
Therapeutics stockholders, brought the lawsuit on its own behalf, and sought certification of the
lawsuit as a class action on behalf of all of Critical Therapeutics then current stockholders,
except the defendants and their affiliates. The complaint alleged, among other things, that the
defendants breached fiduciary duties of loyalty and good faith, including a fiduciary duty of
candor, by failing to provide Critical Therapeutics stockholders with a proxy statement/prospectus
adequate to enable them to cast an informed vote on the proposed merger, and by possibly failing to
maximize stockholder value by entering into an agreement that effectively discourages competing
offers. The complaint sought, among other things, an order (i) enjoining the defendants from
proceeding with or implementing the proposed merger on the terms and under the circumstances as
they then existed, (ii) invalidating the provisions of the proposed merger that purportedly
improperly limited the effective exercise of the defendants continuing fiduciary duties, (iii)
ordering defendants to explore alternatives and to negotiate in good faith with all bona fide
interested parties, (iv) in the event the proposed merger was consummated, rescinding it and
setting it aside or awarding rescissory damages, (v) awarding compensatory damages against
defendants, jointly and severally, and (vi) awarding the plaintiff and the purported class their
costs and fees.
On October 17, 2008, Critical Therapeutics and the other defendants entered into a memorandum
of understanding with the plaintiff regarding the settlement of the lawsuit. In connection with the
settlement, the parties agreed that Critical Therapeutics would make certain additional disclosures
to Critical Therapeutics stockholders, which are contained in a supplement to the proxy
statement/prospectus that was mailed to Critical Therapeutics stockholders. After the completion
of certain confirmatory discovery by counsel to the plaintiff, as contemplated by the memorandum of
understanding, the parties entered into a stipulation and agreement of compromise, settlement and
release on November 24, 2008. On December 3, 2008, the court entered a scheduling order
preliminarily approving class treatment of the case and setting a briefing and hearing schedule to
consider the proposed settlement of the case. On December 23, 2008, the Company caused a
court-approved notice of pendency of class action, proposed class action determination, proposed
settlement of class action, settlement hearing and right to appear to be mailed to all persons that
held Critical Therapeutics stock during the period May 1, 2008 through October 31, 2008, other
than the defendants and their affiliates. On February 26, 2009, the court approved the settlement
resolving all of the claims that were or could have been brought in the action being settled,
including all claims relating to the Merger, the merger agreement and any disclosure made in
connection therewith. In addition, in connection with the settlement, the court awarded plaintiffs
counsel $175,000 for attorneys fees and expenses to be paid by the Company, which was accrued as
of December 31, 2008.
18
Product Agreements
In August 2006, the Company loaned Neos Therapeutics, L.P. (Neos) $500,000 under a secured
subordinated promissory note agreement. In December 2006, the Company entered into a product
development agreement with Neos providing the Company with an exclusive license to certain products
under development utilizing Neoss patent-pending time release suspension technology. Under the
terms of the agreement, the note with Neos was forgiven. The Company has recorded the $500,000
consideration as product rights related to the time release suspension technology. The agreement,
as amended and restated in August 2008, requires Neos to develop the first product at its own
expense up to a defined milestone. After that milestone is achieved, the Company is required to
reimburse Neos 110% of all direct costs incurred and pay $150 per hour for personnel time incurred
in the development of the products. The Company will also make milestone payments up to $1.0
million for each product based on specific events. As of March 31, 2009, the Company had not made any milestone payments. Upon commercialization, the
Company would also pay Neos royalties based on a percentage of net sales.
In December 2008, the Company entered into an additional development, license and services
agreement with Neos to license certain Neos patent-pending technology. Under the agreement, Neos
will perform development work on a new product candidate. The Company is required to pay hourly
fees for the development work in addition to up to an aggregate of $400,000 in fees.
As of March 31, 2009, the Company had outstanding commitments related to ongoing
research and development contracts totaling approximately $1.5 million.
Severance
Selected executive employees of the Company have employment agreements which provide for
severance payments ranging from three to 24 months of salary, benefits and, with respect to certain
executives, bonuses, upon termination, depending on the reasons for the termination. The executive
would also be required to execute a release and settlement agreement. No amount has been accrued
for severance as of March 31, 2009 or 2008.
NOTE 12: SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On May 6, 2009, the Company entered into a series of agreements for a strategic transaction,
which is subject to approval by the Companys stockholders, with Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA (Chiesi)
whereby the Company will receive gross proceeds of $15.5 million in cash, an exclusive license for
the U.S. commercial rights to Chiesis CUROSURF® product and a right of first offer on
all drugs Chiesi intends to market in the United States. The Companys license agreement with
Chiesi, which includes the right of first offer, is for a ten-year initial term and thereafter will
be automatically renewed for successive one-year renewal terms, unless earlier terminated by either
party upon six months prior written notice. Pursuant to this transaction, the Company will issue to
Chiesi 11.9 million shares of common stock. Additionally, the Companys president and chief
executive officer and its executive vice president of manufacturing and trade have agreed to sell
to Chiesi an aggregate of 1.6 million shares of their common stock in the Company and enter into
lockup, right of first refusal and option agreements with respect to their remaining shares. In
addition, certain of the Companys other executive officers will enter into lockup and right of
first refusal agreements with Chiesi with respect to their shares of common stock in the Company
and will be entitled to receive certain equity incentives from the Company.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of
operations together with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related
notes included in Part I, Item 1 of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q and the consolidated
financial statements and notes thereto and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations contained in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2008. In addition to historical information, the following discussion contains
forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements due to important
factors including, but not limited to, those set forth under Risk Factors in Part II, Item 1A of
this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
Overview
Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (Cornerstone, we, our, or us) is a specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing significant products
primarily for the respiratory market. Our commercial strategy is to in-license or acquire rights to
non-promoted or underperforming, patent-protected, branded pharmaceutical products, or late stage
product candidates, and then maximize their potential value and competitive position by promoting
the products using our sales and marketing capabilities and applying various life cycle management
techniques to extend the period we can sell the product and related derivative products. We
currently market our products only in the United States.
On October 31, 2008, Critical Therapeutics, Inc., or Critical Therapeutics, and Cornerstone
BioPharma,
completed their previously announced merger.
Cornerstone BioPharmas reasons for the merger included, among other things, the opportunity to
expand Cornerstone BioPharmas respiratory product portfolio, the potential for enhanced future
growth and value and the ability to access additional capital. Following the closing of the merger,
former Cornerstone BioPharma stockholders owned approximately 70%, and former Critical Therapeutics
stockholders owned approximately 30%, of our common stock, after giving effect to shares issuable
pursuant to outstanding options and warrants held by Cornerstone BioPharmas stockholders
immediately prior to the effective time of the merger, but without giving effect to any shares
issuable pursuant to options and warrants held by Critical Therapeutics stockholders immediately
prior to the effective time of the merger. Because former Cornerstone BioPharma stockholders owned,
immediately following the merger, approximately 70% of the combined company on a fully diluted
basis and as a result of certain other factors, Cornerstone BioPharma was deemed to be the
acquiring company for accounting purposes and the transaction was treated as a reverse acquisition
in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States, or GAAP. Accordingly, for all purposes, our financial statements for periods prior
to the merger reflect the historical results of Cornerstone BioPharma, and not Critical
Therapeutics, and our financial statements for all subsequent periods reflect the results of the
combined company. In addition, unless specifically noted otherwise, discussions of our financial
results throughout this document do not include the historical financial results of Critical
Therapeutics (including sales of ZYFLO CR® and ZYFLO®) prior to the completion of the merger.
19
Current Marketed Products
We
currently promote SPECTRACEF®
ZYFLO CR and the ALLERX® Dose Pack family of products. In
addition, we have a co-promotion agreement with Dey, L.P., or DEY, for the exclusive co-promotion
along with us of ZYFLO CR. Under the DEY co-promotion agreement, we pay DEY a co-promotion fee equal to the ratio of total
prescriptions written by certain pulmonary specialists to total prescriptions during the applicable
period multiplied by a percentage of quarterly net sales of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, after third-party
royalties. We currently generate revenues from product sales and
royalties from the sale of other products that we do not actively promote. Of these, HYOMAX® ,
BALACET® 325, APAP 500 and DECONSAL® have generated the most net revenues to date for us. Of our
marketed products that we do not promote, only our BALACET 325 and APAP 325 products are currently
promoted by a third party.
The HYOMAX line of products consists of generic formulations of four antispasmodic medications
containing the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, hyoscyamine sulfate, an anticholinergic,
which may be prescribed for various gastrointestinal disorders. We launched our first HYOMAX
product in May 2008. We pay Sovereign Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., or Sovereign, its costs to manufacture
the HYOMAX products exclusively for us, as well as a royalty based on a share of the net profits
realized from the sale of the products. Although our HYOMAX line of products consists of generic
formulations without patent protection, until the second quarter of 2009, this product line
experienced limited generic competition. However, we are now experiencing increased generic
competition with respect to a number of our HYOMAX products, and we may experience additional
competition in the future. As competition for our HYOMAX line of products increases, we expect
that our market share and the price of our HYOMAX products will decline. The extent of any
decline will depend on several factors, including, among others, the number of competitors and
the pricing strategy of the new competitors.
In September 2005, we entered into a supply and marketing agreement with Pliva relating to
APAP 500. Under this agreement, which we terminated effective December 31, 2008, Pliva sold APAP
500 that was supplied to it by Vintage Pharmaceuticals, LLC, or Vintage, and paid us royalties
based on the quarterly net sales of APAP 500.
Financial Operations Overview
Net Revenues
Our net revenues are comprised of net product sales and royalty agreement revenues. We
recognize product sales net of estimated allowances for product returns; estimated rebates in
connection with contracts relating to managed care, Medicaid and Medicare; estimated chargebacks;
price adjustments; product vouchers; co-pay vouchers; and prompt payment and other discounts. The
primary factors that determine our net product sales are the level of demand for our products, unit
sales prices and the amount of sales adjustments that we recognize. Royalty agreement revenues
consist of royalties we receive under license agreements with third parties that sell products to
which we have rights. The primary factors that affect royalty agreement revenues are the demand and
sales prices for such products and the royalty rates that we receive on the sales of such products
by third parties.
From time to time, we implement price increases on our branded products. Our branded and
generic products are subject to rebates, chargebacks and other sales allowances that have the
effect of decreasing the net revenues that we ultimately realize from product sales. Our generic
products may also be subject to substantial price competition from equivalent generic products
introduced by other pharmaceutical companies. Such competition may also decrease our net revenues
from the sale of our generic products.
Cost of Product Sales
Our cost of product sales is primarily comprised of the costs of manufacturing and
distributing our pharmaceutical products. In particular, cost of product sales includes third-party
manufacturing and distribution costs, the cost of API, freight and shipping, reserves for excess or
obsolete inventory and labor, benefits and related employee expenses for personnel involved with
overseeing the activities of our third-party manufacturers. Cost of product sales excludes
amortization of product rights.
We contract with third parties to manufacture all of our products and product candidates.
Changes in the price of raw materials and manufacturing costs could adversely affect our gross
margins on the sale of our products. Changes in our mix of products sold also will result in
variations in our cost of product sales. Accordingly, our management expects gross margins will
change as our product mix is altered by changes in demand for our existing products or the launch
of new products.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Our sales and marketing expenses consist of labor, benefits and related employee expenses for
personnel in our sales, marketing and sales operations functions; advertising and promotion costs,
including the costs of samples; and the fees we pay under our co-promotion agreements to third
parties to promote our products, which are based on a percentage of net profits from product sales,
determined in accordance with the particular agreement. The most significant component of our sales
and marketing expenses is labor, benefits and related employee expenses. We expect that our sales
and marketing expenses will increase as we expand our sales and marketing infrastructure to
support additional products and product lines and as a result of increased co-promotion fees
due to greater product sales.
20
Royalty Expenses
Royalty expenses include the contractual amounts we are required to pay the licensors from
which we have acquired the rights to our marketed products or third-parties to whom we pay
royalties under settlement agreements relating to our products. Royalties are generally based on a
percentage of the products net sales. With respect to the HYOMAX line of products, royalties are
based on a percentage of the net profits earned by us on the sale of the products. Although product
mix affects our royalties, we generally expect that our royalty expenses will increase as total net
product sales increase.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses primarily include labor, benefits and related employee
expenses for personnel in executive, finance, accounting, business development, information
technology, regulatory/medical affairs and human resource functions. Other costs include facility
costs not otherwise included in sales and marketing or research and development expenses and
professional fees for legal and accounting services. General and administrative expenses also
consist of the costs of maintaining and overseeing our intellectual property portfolio, which
include the cost of external legal counsel and the mandatory fees of the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, or USPTO, and foreign patent and trademark offices. General and administrative expense also includes
depreciation expense for our property and equipment, which we depreciate over the estimated useful
lives of the assets using the straight-line method. We expect that general and administrative
expenses will increase as we continue to build the infrastructure necessary to support our
commercialization and product development activities and to meet our compliance obligations as a
public company. In addition, for the three months ended March 31, 2009, we have continued to incur
additional legal, accounting and related costs relating to our October 2008 merger.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist of product development expenses incurred in
identifying, developing and testing our product candidates and the write-off of in-process research
and development expenses related to the alpha-7 program acquired from Critical Therapeutics in
connection with our merger. Product development expenses consist primarily of labor, benefits and
related employee expenses for personnel directly involved in product development activities; fees
paid to professional service providers for monitoring and analyzing clinical trials; expenses
incurred under joint development agreements; regulatory costs; costs of contract research and
manufacturing; and the cost of facilities used by our product development personnel. We expense
product development costs as incurred. We believe that significant investment in product
development is important to our competitive position and plan to increase our expenditures for
product development to realize the potential of the product candidates that we are developing or
may develop.
Our product development expenses reflect costs directly attributable to product candidates in
development during the applicable period and to product candidates for which we have discontinued
development. Additionally, product development expenses include our costs of qualifying new current
Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, third-party manufacturers for our products, including
expenses associated with any related technology transfer. We do not allocate indirect costs (such
as salaries, benefits or other costs related to our accounting, legal, human resources, purchasing,
information technology and other general corporate functions) to the research and development
expenses associated with individual product candidates. Rather, we include these costs in general
and administrative expenses.
Amortization of Product Rights
We capitalize our costs to license product rights from third parties as such costs are
incurred and amortize these amounts on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the
product or the remaining trademark or patent life. We re-evaluate the useful life of our products
on an annual basis to determine whether the value of our product rights assets have been impaired
and appropriately adjust amortization to account for such impairment. Amortization of product
rights is expected to increase in the future as we begin amortizing product rights related to new
products.
Other Charges
Other charges include expenses related
to settlements of litigation.
21
Critical Accounting Estimates
Managements discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are
based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP.
The preparation of our financial statements requires our management to make estimates and
assumptions that affect our reported assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses and other
financial information. Actual results may differ significantly from these estimates under different
assumptions and conditions. In addition, our reported financial condition and results of operations
could vary due to a change in the application of a particular accounting standard.
We regard an accounting estimate or assumption underlying our financial statements as a
critical accounting estimate where:
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the nature of the estimate or assumption is material due to the level of subjectivity
and judgment necessary to account for highly uncertain matters or the susceptibility of
such matters to change; and |
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|
the impact of the estimates and assumptions on our financial condition or operating
performance is material. |
Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in the notes to our consolidated
financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2008. Not all of these significant accounting policies, however, fit the definition of critical
accounting estimates. We believe that our estimates relating to revenue recognition, product
rights, inventory, accrued expenses and stock-based compensation described below fit the definition
of critical accounting estimates.
Revenue Recognition
Net Product Sales
Product Sales. We recognize revenue from our product sales in accordance with Securities and
Exchange Commission, or SEC, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, Revenue Recognition, and Statement
of Financial Accounting Standards, or SFAS, No. 48, Revenue Recognition When Right of Return
Exists, or SFAS 48, upon transfer of title, which occurs when product is received by our customers.
We sell our products primarily to large national wholesalers, which have the right to return the
products they purchase. Under SFAS 48, we are required to reasonably estimate the amount of future
returns at the time of revenue recognition. We recognize product sales net of estimated allowances
for product returns, rebates, price adjustments, chargebacks, and prompt payment and other
discounts.
Product Returns. Consistent with industry practice, we offer contractual return rights that
allow our customers to return product within an 18-month period, from six months prior to and up to
twelve months subsequent to the expiration date of our products. Our products have a 24 to 36 month
expiration period from the date of manufacture. We adjust our estimate of product returns if we
become aware of other factors that we believe could significantly impact our expected returns.
These factors include our estimate of inventory levels of our products in the distribution channel,
the shelf life of the product shipped, review of consumer consumption data as reported by external
information management companies, actual and historical return rates for expired lots, the
remaining time to expiration of the product, and the forecast of future sales of the product, as
well as competitive issues such as new product entrants and other known changes in sales trends. We
evaluate this reserve on a quarterly basis, assessing each of the factors described above, and
adjust the reserve accordingly.
Rebates. The liability for commercial managed care rebates is calculated based on historical
and current rebate redemption and utilization rates with respect to each commercial contract. The
liability for Medicaid and Medicare rebates is calculated based on historical and current rebate
redemption and utilization rates contractually submitted by each state.
Price Adjustments and Chargebacks. Our estimates of price adjustments and chargebacks are
based on our estimated mix of sales to various third-party payors, which are entitled either
contractually or statutorily to discounts from the listed prices of our products. We make these
judgments based on the facts and circumstances known to us in accordance with GAAP. In the event
that the sales mix to third-party payors is different from our estimates, we may be required to pay
higher or lower total price adjustments and/or chargebacks than we have estimated.
22
Special Promotional Programs. From time to time, we offer certain promotional incentives to
our customers for our products, and we expect that we will continue this practice in the future.
These programs include sample cards to retail consumers, certain product incentives to pharmacy
customers and other sales stocking allowances. We account for these programs in accordance with
Emerging Issues Task Force, or EITF, Issue No. 01-9, Accounting for Consideration Given by a Vendor
to a Customer (Including a Reseller of the Vendors Products). We have initiated three voucher
programs for SPECTRACEF whereby we offer a point-of-sale subsidy to retail consumers. We estimate
our liability for these voucher programs based on the historical redemption rates for similar
completed programs used by other pharmaceutical companies as reported to us by a third-party claims
processing organization and actual redemption rates for our completed programs. The first program
expired on December 31, 2008. The second and third programs are still ongoing, and we have no
present intention to cancel these programs. We account for the costs of these special promotional
programs as price adjustments.
Prompt Payment Discounts. We typically require customers of branded and generic products to
remit payments within 31 days and 61 days, respectively. In addition, we offer wholesale
distributors a prompt payment discount as an incentive to remit payment within the first 30 days
after the date of our invoice for branded products and 60 days after the date of our invoice for
generic products. This discount is generally 2%, but may be higher in some instances due to product
launches or customer and/or industry expectations. Because our wholesale distributors typically
take the prompt payment discount, we accrue 100% of the prompt payment discounts, based on the
gross amount of each invoice, at the time of our original sale to them, and we apply earned
discounts at the time of payment. We adjust the accrual periodically to reflect actual experience.
Historically, these adjustments have not been material. We do not anticipate that future changes to
our estimates of prompt payment discounts will have a material impact on our net revenue.
The following table provides a summary of activity with respect to our sales allowances (in
thousands):
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|
|
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|
Price |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjustments |
|
|
Prompt |
|
|
|
Product |
|
|
|
|
|
|
and |
|
|
Payment |
|
|
|
Returns |
|
|
Rebates |
|
|
Chargebacks |
|
|
Discounts |
|
Balance at December 31, 2008 |
|
$ |
5,043 |
|
|
$ |
884 |
|
|
$ |
4,307 |
|
|
$ |
302 |
|
Current provision related
to sales in current period |
|
|
1,931 |
|
|
|
790 |
|
|
|
4,029 |
|
|
|
827 |
|
Current provision related
to sales made in prior
periods |
|
|
865 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments and credits |
|
|
(1,678 |
) |
|
|
(408 |
) |
|
|
(3,675 |
) |
|
|
(764 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at March 31, 2009 |
|
$ |
6,161 |
|
|
$ |
1,266 |
|
|
$ |
4,661 |
|
|
$ |
365 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Expense recognized for product returns was $2.8 million and $1.1 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, representing 7% and 10% of gross product sales for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Expense recognized for product returns
related to current period provisions were $1.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009,
or 5% of gross product sales. Expense recognized for product returns related to changes in
estimates prior to the three months ended March 31, 2009 were $865,000 million and related
primarily to product returns of ZYFLO CR and SPECTRACEF.
Expense recognized for rebates was $790,000 and $101,000 in for the three months ended March
31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, representing approximately 2% and 1% of gross product sales for
the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The increase in rebates is primarily
due to the overall increase in sales and our entry into additional supplemental Medicaid rebate
programs after March 31, 2008.
23
Expense recognized for price adjustments and chargebacks was $4.0 million and $104,000 for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, representing approximately 10% and 1% of
gross product sales for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. This increase
was primarily due to $1.4 million and $1.6 million of increases in price adjustments and
chargebacks, respectively, related to the launch of our generic products, which typically have
higher levels of price adjustments and chargebacks than branded products. Price adjustments were
also increased by $866,000 due to the costs of additional SPECTRACEF point-of-sale voucher programs
for retail customers that we launched after July 31, 2008 and by $106,000 due to increases in price
adjustments and chargebacks related to our branded products.
Expense recognized for prompt payment discounts was $827,000 and $201,000 for the three months
ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, representing approximately 2%of gross product sales
for each of the quarters ended March 31, 2009 and 2008.
Royalty Agreement Revenues
We receive royalties under license agreements with a number of third parties that sell
products to which we have rights. The license agreements provide for the payment of royalties based
on sales of the licensed product. These revenues are recorded based on estimates of the sales that
occurred in the relevant period. The relevant period estimates of sales are based on interim data
provided by the licensees and analysis of historical royalties paid, adjusted for any changes in
facts and circumstances, as appropriate. We maintain regular communication with our licensees to
gauge the reasonableness of our estimates. Differences between actual royalty agreement revenues
and estimated royalty agreement revenues are reconciled and adjusted for in the period in which
they become known, typically the following quarter.
Product Rights
Product rights are capitalized as incurred and are amortized over the estimated useful life of
the product or the remaining trademark or patent life on a straight-line or other basis to match
the economic benefit received. Amortization begins once FDA approval has been obtained and
commercialization of the product begins. We evaluate our product rights annually to determine
whether a revision to their useful lives should be made. This evaluation is based on our
managements projection of the future cash flows associated with the products. At March 31, 2009,
we had an aggregate of $17.2 million in capitalized product rights, which we expect to amortize
over a period of seven to fourteen years.
Inventory
Inventory consists of raw materials, work in process and finished goods. Raw materials include
the API for a product to be manufactured, work in process includes the bulk inventory of tablets
that are in the process of being coated and/or packaged for sale, and finished goods include
pharmaceutical products ready for commercial sale or distribution as samples. Inventory is stated
at the lower of cost or market value with cost determined under the first-in, first-out, or FIFO,
method. Our estimate of the net realizable value of our inventories is subject to judgment and
estimation. The actual net realizable value of our inventories could vary significantly from our
estimates and could have a material effect on our financial condition and results of operations in
any reporting period. In evaluating whether inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market, we
consider such factors as the amount of inventory on hand and in the distribution channel, estimated
time required to sell such inventory, remaining shelf life and current and expected market
conditions, including levels of competition. On a quarterly basis, we analyze our inventory levels
and write down inventory that has become obsolete, inventory that has a cost basis in excess of the
expected net realizable value and inventory that is in excess of expected requirements based upon
anticipated product revenues. As of March 31, 2009, we had $13.6 million in inventory and an
inventory reserve of $754,000. The inventory reserve includes provisions for inventory that
management believes will become short-dated before being sold. Short-dated inventory is inventory
that has not expired yet, but which wholesalers or pharmacies refuse to purchase because of its
near-term expiration date.
Accrued Expenses
As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to
estimate certain expenses. This process involves identifying services that have been performed on
our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for such
services as of each balance sheet date in our consolidated financial statements. Examples of
estimated expenses for which we accrue include product development expenses; reserves for product
returns; rebates to third parties, including private insurers and government programs such as
Medicaid; royalties owed to third-parties on sales of products; interest owed on debt instruments;
and compensation and benefits for employees.
24
Stock-Based Compensation
Effective January 1, 2006, we adopted the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123
(revised 2004), Share-Based Payment, or SFAS 123(R), using the prospective application method,
which requires us to recognize compensation cost for all awards granted or modified after January
1, 2006. Awards outstanding at January 1, 2006 continue to be accounted for using the accounting
principles originally applied to the award. The expense associated with stock-based compensation is
recognized on a straight-line basis over the service period of each award.
Prior to the adoption of SFAS 123(R), we recognized employee stock-based compensation expense
using the intrinsic value method, which measures stock-based compensation expense as the amount at
which the market price of the stock at the date of grant exceeds the exercise price. Because the
exercise price for options awarded to employees is equal to the fair value at the grant date, we
did not recognize compensation expense for stock options granted to employees prior to 2006.
We account for transactions in which services are received in exchange for equity instruments
based on the fair value of such services received from non-employees or of the equity instruments
issued, whichever is more reliably measured, in accordance with SFAS 123(R). We use the
Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model to calculate the fair value of stock-based compensation
under SFAS 123(R). There are a number of assumptions used to calculate the fair value of stock
options or restricted stock issued to employees under this pricing model.
Accounting for equity instruments granted by us under SFAS 123(R) and EITF Issue No. 96-18,
Accounting for Equity Instruments That Are Issued to Other Than Employees for Acquiring, or in
Conjunction with Selling, Goods or Services, requires us to estimate the fair value of the equity
instruments granted. If our estimates of the fair value of these equity instruments are too high or
too low, stock-based compensation expense will be overstated or understated, respectively. When
equity instruments are granted or sold in exchange for the receipt of goods or services and the
value of those goods or services can be readily estimated, we use the value of such goods or
services to determine the fair value of the equity instruments. When equity instruments are granted
or sold in exchange for the receipt of goods or services and the value of those goods or services
cannot be readily estimated, as is true in connection with most compensatory stock options and
warrants granted to employees and non-employees, our board of directors determines fair value
contemporaneously with the issuance or grant.
The two factors that most affect stock-based compensation are the estimate of the underlying
fair value of our common stock and the estimate of the stock price volatility. Prior to the
completion of the merger on October 31, 2008, Cornerstone BioPharmas board of directors determined
the underlying fair value of Cornerstone BioPharmas common stock (which was exchanged in the
merger for shares of our common stock) based on Cornerstone BioPharmas results of operations; the
book value of its stock; its available cash, assets and financial condition; its prospects for
growth; the economic outlook in general and the condition and outlook of the pharmaceutical
industry in particular; its competitive position in the market; the market price of stocks of
corporations engaged in the same or similar line of business that are actively traded in a free and
open market, either on an exchange or over-the-counter; positive or negative business developments
since the boards last determination of fair value; and such additional factors that it deemed
relevant at the time of the grant or issuance.
For example, in addition to the factors enumerated above, Cornerstone BioPharmas board of
directors specifically considered the following in making its determination of fair value. With
respect to the grants on March 16, 2007, May 24, 2007, September 14, 2007 and December 5, 2007,
Cornerstone BioPharmas financial
performance was improving due to growing product sales, relatively strong gross margins, and
leveraging of its sales force and fixed overhead. With respect to the grants made on October 31,
2008, the date of the merger, Cornerstone BioPharmas board of directors considered the fair market
value of Critical Therapeutics common stock.
25
Following the completion of the merger, our board of directors determines the underlying fair
value of our common stock based on the market price of our common stock as traded on the NASDAQ
Capital Market.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2009 and 2008
Net Revenues
The following table sets forth a summary of our net revenues for the three months ended March
31, 2009 and 2008:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Change |
|
Change |
|
|
2009 |
|
2008 |
|
($) |
|
(%) |
|
|
(In thousands, except percentages) |
Net Product Sales |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ALLERX 10 Dose Pack/ALLERX 30 Dose Pack |
|
$ |
6,712 |
|
|
$ |
3,266 |
|
|
$ |
3,446 |
|
|
|
105 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ALLERX Dose Pack DF/ALLERX Dose Pack DF 30 |
|
|
1,970 |
|
|
|
1,167 |
|
|
|
803 |
|
|
|
69 |
% |
ALLERX Dose Pack PE/ALLERX Dose Pack PE 30 |
|
|
2,211 |
|
|
|
2,099 |
|
|
|
112 |
|
|
|
5 |
% |
SPECTRACEF |
|
|
3,717 |
|
|
|
182 |
|
|
|
3,535 |
|
|
|
1942 |
% |
BALACET 325 |
|
|
929 |
|
|
|
2,145 |
|
|
|
(1,216 |
) |
|
|
(57 |
%) |
HYOMAX |
|
|
8,560 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8,560 |
|
|
NA |
|
ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO (1) |
|
|
5,313 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5,313 |
|
|
NA |
|
Other currently marketed products |
|
|
1,057 |
|
|
|
141 |
|
|
|
916 |
|
|
|
650 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Net Product Sales |
|
|
30,469 |
|
|
|
9,000 |
|
|
|
21,469 |
|
|
|
239 |
% |
Royalty Agreement Revenues |
|
|
236 |
|
|
|
445 |
|
|
|
(209 |
) |
|
|
(47 |
%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Revenues |
|
$ |
30,705 |
|
|
$ |
9,445 |
|
|
$ |
21,260 |
|
|
|
225 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
|
Does not include the historical sales of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO made by
Critical Therapeutics. |
Net
Product Sales. Net product sales were $30.5 million for the three months ended March 31,
2009, compared to $9.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, an increase of
approximately $21.5 million, or 239%. This increase was primarily due to:
|
|
|
$8.6 million in net product sales of the HYOMAX line of products, the first of which
was launched in May 2008; |
|
|
|
|
a $4.4 million increase in net product sales of the ALLERX Dose Pack family of
products, primarily due to increased sales volume and price increases on all ALLERX Dose
Pack products; |
|
|
|
|
$3.5 million in net product sales of SPECTRACEF during the first three months of 2009,
which was attributable to the launch of our SPECTRACEF 400 mg product in November
2008; |
|
|
|
|
a $1.2 million decrease in Balacet net product sales resulting from the July 2008
launch of our generic equivalent product, the net product sales of which
amount to $708,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and are included in Other currently
marketed products in the table above; and |
|
|
|
|
$5.3 million in net product sales of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO during the first three months
of 2009. As noted above, our historical financial results during the first three months of
2008 do not include sales of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO by Critical Therapeutics prior to the
completion of our October 31, 2008 merger. |
Royalty Agreement Revenues. Royalty agreement revenues were $236,000 for the three months
ended March 31, 2009, compared to $445,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2008, a decrease of
approximately $209,000, or
47%. This decrease was primarily due to a net decrease in royalty agreement revenues based on
the underlying volume of sales pursuant to our license agreements with third parties.
26
Costs and Expenses
Cost of Product Sales. Cost of product sales (exclusive of amortization of product rights of
$511,000 and $739,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively) was $3.2
million for the three months ended March 31, 2009, compared to $565,000 for the three months ended
March 31, 2008, an increase of approximately $2.6 million, or 466%. Gross margin (exclusive of
amortization of product rights of $511,000 and $739,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2009
and 2008, respectively) was 90% and 94% for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008,
respectively. Cost of product sales in the first three months of 2009 and 2008 consisted primarily
of the expenses associated with manufacturing and distributing
products, including shipping and handling costs, and reserves established
for excess or obsolete inventory.
The decrease in our gross margin was
primarily due to the increased sales contribution of ZYFLO CR and the
SPECTRACEF products, which typically have
lower gross margins than our other products. We recorded inventory write-offs of
$130,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and a reversal of previously recognized
obsolescence expense of $9,000 for the three months ended
March 31, 2008. These
adjustments were necessary to adequately state reserves related to excess or obsolete inventory that,
due to its expiration dating, would not be sold.
Sales and Marketing Expenses. Sales and marketing expenses were $5.4 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2009, compared to $3.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, an
increase of approximately $1.5 million, or 38%. This increase was primarily due to the following:
|
|
|
a $776,000 increase in co-promotion expenses primarily
relating to ZYFLO CR; |
|
|
|
|
a $314,000 increase in labor and benefits related costs that was primarily due to the
reorganization of our commission-based sales force in May 2008, whereby we consolidated all
of our sales functions under one national sales director, reduced the size of our sales
force, and began compensating all of our sales professionals with salaries; |
|
|
|
|
a $127,000 increase in travel related expenses; and |
|
|
|
|
a $122,000 increase in consulting expense primarily relating to increased market
research. |
Royalty Expenses. Royalty expenses were $6.3 million for the three months ended March 31,
2009, compared to $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, an increase of
approximately $5.1 million, or 405%. This increase was primarily due to the launch of our HYOMAX
line of products, the first of which occurred in May 2008, increased net product sales of the
ALLERX family of products, and royalties relating to ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, which were acquired in our
October 31, 2008 merger.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses were $3.8 million
for the three months ended March 31, 2009, compared to $1.5 million for the three months ended
March 31, 2008, an increase of approximately $2.3 million, or 147%. This increase was primarily due
to the following:
|
|
|
$1.0 million increase related to legal and accounting
costs, much of which relates to increased requirements as a result of
becoming a public company; |
|
|
|
|
$0.6 million increase in labor and benefits related employee expenses and
travel-related expenses due to our growth; |
|
|
|
|
$198,000 increase in FDA regulatory related fees; and |
|
|
|
|
$192,000 increase in product liability and other insurance related costs. |
Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses were $1.2 million for
the three months ended March 31, 2009, compared to $98,000 for the three months ended March 31,
2008, an increase of approximately $1.1 million, or, 1086%. Our product development expenses for
particular product candidates vary
significantly from period to period depending on the product development stage and the nature
and extent of the activities undertaken to advance the product candidates development in a given
reporting period.
Research and development expenses of $954,000 were incurred during the three months ended
March 31, 2009 for the manufacturing of non-GMP and GMP batches of
CRTX 067 and CRTX 069, product candidates for the treatment of cough and for the conduct of two
bioequivalence studies related to these product candidates.
27
Amortization
of Product Rights. Amortization of product rights was $511,000 for the three
months ended March 31, 2009, compared to $739,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2008, a
decrease of approximately $228,000, or 31%. This decrease was primarily due to the BALACET product
rights becoming fully amortized as of March 31, 2008.
Other Charges. Other charges were $26,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2009, compared
to $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2008, an increase of approximately $26,000. This
increase was primarily due to settlement of litigation.
Other
Expenses
Interest
Expense, Net. Net interest expense was $72,000 for the three months ended March 31,
2009, compared to $378,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2008, a decrease of
approximately $306,000, or 81%. This decrease was primarily due to the conversion of our
promissory note with Carolina Pharmaceuticals Ltd., or the Carolina Note, into common stock
on October 31, 2008 in connection with our merger.
Provision for Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes was $4.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009,
compared to $319,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2008. The increase in the provision for
income taxes was due to an $9.3 million increase in income before income taxes. Our effective tax
rate was 39% for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 32% for the three months ended March 31,
2008. The increase in the effective rate primarily relates to the utilization of the Companys net
operating loss carryforward during the period ended March 31, 2008. As the deferred tax asset
associated with this net operating loss was offset by a valuation allowance prior to utilization,
the release of this valuation allowance as of March 31, 2008 reduced the effective tax rate for the
period. For the period ending March 31, 2009, the only net operating loss carry forward remaining
was that which was acquired pursuant to the Merger and is subject to an annual IRC Section 382
limitation.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We
require cash to meet our operating expenses and for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and
in-licenses of rights to products and principal and interest payments on our debt. To date, we have
funded our operations primarily from product sales, royalty agreement revenues and borrowings under
the Carolina Note and our line of credit with Paragon Commercial Bank, or Paragon. We borrowed $13.0 million under the Carolina Note
in April 2004. In connection with the closing of our merger, all of the outstanding principal
amount of the Carolina Note of approximately $9.0 million was exchanged for 6,064,731 shares of
Cornerstone BioPharmas common stock (which was exchanged for 1,443,913 shares of our common stock
in the merger). As of March 31, 2009, we had $10.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and $3.9
million in borrowing availability under the Paragon line of credit.
There were no borrowings on the line of credit during the three
months ended March 31, 2009. Effective May 4, 2009, we exercised
our right to terminate the Paragon line of credit.
Cash Flows
The following table provides information regarding our cash flows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
2009 |
|
2008 |
Cash provided by (used in): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating activities |
|
$ |
1,231 |
|
|
$ |
2,193 |
|
Investing activities |
|
|
221 |
|
|
|
(1,018 |
) |
Financing activities |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(1,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
|
$ |
1,450 |
|
|
$ |
175 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Cash Provided By Operating Activities
Our primary sources of operating cash flows are product sales and royalty agreement revenues.
Our primary uses of cash in our operations are for inventories and other costs of product sales,
sales and marketing expenses, royalties, general and administrative expenses and interest.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2009 reflected
our net income of $6.3 million, adjusted by non-cash expenses
totaling $674,000 and changes in
accounts receivable, inventories, income taxes payable, accrued expenses and other operating assets
and liabilities totaling $5.8 million. Non-cash items primarily included amortization and
depreciation of $564,000, stock-based compensation of $254,000 and
changes in deferred income tax of $284,000. Accounts receivable increased
by $3.4 million from December 31, 2008 to March 31, 2009, primarily due to increased net product
sales, including increased sales of generic products, which have longer payment terms.
28
Inventories
increased by $1.7 million from December 31, 2008 to March 31, 2009, primarily due to the purchase
of ZYFLO CR inventory in the first quarter of 2009. Prepaid expenses increased by $904,000,
primarily due to voucher programs and prepayments in respect of
future zileuton API purchases.
Accounts payable decreased by $1.6 million from December 31, 2008 to March 31, 2009, primarily due
to decreased payables for manufacturing, product development and marketing expenses. Accrued
expenses increased by $1.1 million from December 31, 2008 to March 31, 2009, primarily due to
increased royalties, rebates and chargebacks resulting from increased product sales, offset, in
part, by a decrease in accrued interest due to the conversion of the Carolina Note and payment of
accrued interest in connection with our merger. Income taxes payable (exclusive of income taxes
payable assumed in the merger) increased by $643,000 from December 31, 2008 to March 31, 2009.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2008 reflected
our net income of $669,000, adjusted by non-cash expenses totaling
$825,000 and changes in accounts
receivable, inventories, accrued expenses and other operating assets
and liabilities totaling $699,000. Non-cash
items included amortization and depreciation of $758,000 and stock-based compensation of $84,000.
Net
Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2009 primarily
reflected the purchase of property and equipment for $79,000, offset by net proceeds from the sale
of marketable securities of $300,000.
Net cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2008 primarily
reflected net advances to related parties of $13,000, the purchase of product rights for $1.0
million and the purchase of property and equipment of $15,000, offset, in part, by net proceeds
received from the net collection of deposits of $10,000.
Net
Cash Used in Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2009 reflected
principal payments on capital leases of $2,000.
Net cash used in financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2008 reflected net
payments on the Paragon line of credit of $1.0 million.
Funding Requirements
We expect to continue to incur significant development and commercialization expenses as we
seek FDA approval for the SPECTRACEF line extensions, CRTX 068 and
CRTX 062, advance the development of our other product
candidates, including
CRTX 058, our product candidate for the treatment of symptoms of
allergic rhinitis, and CRTX 067 and CRTX 069, our product candidates
for the treatment of cough;
seek regulatory approvals for our
product candidates that successfully complete clinical testing; and expand our sales team and
marketing capabilities to prepare for the commercial launch of future products, subject to FDA
approval. We also expect to incur additional expenses to add operational, financial and management
information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our product development efforts.
Accordingly, we will need to increase our revenues to be able to sustain and increase our
profitability on an annual and quarterly basis. There is no assurance that we will be able to do
so. Our failure to achieve consistent profitability could impair our ability to raise capital,
expand our business, diversify our product offerings and continue our operations.
Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
|
|
|
the level of product sales of our currently marketed products and any additional
products that we may market in the future; |
|
|
|
|
the scope, progress, results and costs of development activities for our current
product candidates; |
|
|
|
|
the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates; |
29
|
|
|
the number of, and development requirements for, additional product candidates that we
pursue; |
|
|
|
|
the costs of commercialization activities, including product marketing, sales and
distribution; |
|
|
|
|
the costs and timing of establishing manufacturing and supply arrangements for clinical
and commercial supplies of our product candidates and products; |
|
|
|
|
the extent to which we acquire or invest in products, businesses and technologies; |
|
|
|
|
the extent to which we choose to establish collaboration, co-promotion, distribution or
other similar arrangements for our marketed products and product candidates; and |
|
|
|
|
the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications and maintaining,
enforcing and defending claims related to intellectual property owned by or licensed to us. |
To the extent that our capital resources are insufficient to meet our future capital
requirements, we will need to finance our cash needs through public or private equity offerings,
debt financings, corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements or other financing
alternatives, which may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.
As of March 31, 2009, we had approximately $10.7 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand
and borrowing availability of $3.9 million under the Paragon line of credit.
Effective May 4, 2009, we exercised our right to terminate our line of credit with
Paragon. There were no penalties associated with the early termination of the line of credit.
Based on our current
operating plans, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and revenues from product
sales are sufficient to continue to
fund our existing level of operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for the
foreseeable future.
30
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Since inception, we have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements, including
structured finance, special purpose entities or variable interest entities.
Effects of Inflation
We do not believe that inflation has had a significant impact on our revenues or results of
operations since inception. We expect our cost of product sales and other operating expenses will
change in the future in line with periodic inflationary changes in price levels. Because we intend
to retain and continue to use our property and equipment, we believe that the incremental inflation
related to the replacement costs of such items will not materially affect our operations. However,
the rate of inflation affects our expenses, such as those for employee compensation and contract
services, which could increase our level of expenses and the rate at which we use our resources.
While our management generally believes that we will be able to offset the effect of price-level
changes by adjusting our product prices and implementing operating efficiencies, any material
unfavorable changes in price levels could have a material adverse affect on our financial
condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in Part I, Item 1 in this quarterly
report on Form 10-Q for a description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected
dates of adoption and estimated effects, if any, on our consolidated financial statements.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not required for smaller reporting companies.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Not applicable.
ITEM 4T. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial
officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31,
2009. The term disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)
under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to
ensure that information required to be disclosed by the company in the reports that it files or
submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time
periods specified in the SECs rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without
limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by
a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and
communicated to the companys management, including its principal executive and principal financial
officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management
recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide
only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and management necessarily applies
its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2009, our chief
executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure
controls and procedures were not effective at the reasonable assurance level as a result of the
material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described in our annual report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 filed with the SEC on March 26, 2009.
31
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
As discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, our management
has initiated a comprehensive assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, which to
date has identified a material weakness related to our lack of a sufficient number of personnel in
our accounting and finance department with appropriate accounting knowledge and experience to
record our financial results in conformity with GAAP, which prevents us from being able to timely
and effectively close our books at the end of each interim and annual period. The assessment of
our internal control over financial reporting is not complete, and, accordingly, our management may
identify additional material weaknesses as part of its assessment. We expect the assessment
process to be completed during the second quarter of 2009.
Also as discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, in
connection with the assessment, our Audit Committee and our president and chief executive officer
have previously directed our management to particularly review the expertise, training and
sufficiency of our finance and accounting personnel so that we can take appropriate steps to
remediate the presently identified material weakness, as well as any further steps necessary to
remediate any additional material weaknesses identified as part of the assessment, promptly after
we complete the assessment. As part of that review, our management is also assessing the impact on
our internal control over financial reporting of the resignation of Chenyqua M. Baldwin, our Vice
President, Finance, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller, which is expected to become effective
on or about May 6, 2009. We expect that the duties and responsibilities currently being performed
by Ms. Baldwin will be reassigned to other current or newly hired personnel in our finance and
accounting department.
Except as noted above, there was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as
defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarter ended March 31,
2009 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal
control over financial reporting.
PART IIOTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In November 2006, we were named as a defendant in an action filed in New York County, New York
by Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc., or Adams, captioned Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc. (f/k/a Adams Laboratories, Inc.) v.
Cornerstone BioPharma, Inc. and Carolina Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Supreme Court of the State of New
York, New York County, Index No. 603969/2006. The complaint alleged breach of contract concerning a
settlement agreement between Adams and us dated January 14, 2005. The complaint also alleged claims
concerning the settlement agreement for failure to pay the agreed amount, fraudulent
misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation. We filed an answer to the complaint in which we
denied the material allegations of the complaint and asserted counterclaims against Adams for
breach of contract concerning the settlement agreement. Following mediation in March 2008, we
reached an agreement with Adams to settle all matters, which resulted in the execution of a new
settlement agreement in May 2008. We and Carolina Pharmaceuticals, Inc. completed payment of the
$1.5 million settlement amount to Reckitt Benckiser Inc., the parent of Adams, on or about
September 30, 2008, and the litigation was dismissed with prejudice on October 6, 2008.
Prior to March 2008, we used a different formulation for ALLERX 10 Dose Pack and ALLERX 30
Dose Pack that we believe was protected under claims in U.S. patent number 6,270,796, or the 796
Patent. In 2007, the USPTO ordered a re-examination of the 796 Patent
as a result of a third-party request for ex parte re-examination. We and J-Med Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., or J-Med, the licensor of the 796 Patent, have asserted infringements of the 796 Patent in
litigation with each of Everton Pharmaceuticals, LLC, or Everton, Breckenridge Pharmaceutical,
Inc., or Breckenridge, and Vision Pharma, LLC, or Vision, and manufacturers and related parties of each, alleging that
those parties had infringed the 796 Patent by making, using, selling, offering for sale or
importing into the United States pharmaceutical products intended as generic equivalents to the
former formulation of ALLERX 10 Dose Pack and ALLERX 30 Dose Pack protected under claims in the
796 Patent. Everton and Breckenridge entered into settlement agreements in January 2007 and July
2007, respectively, and agreed to cease selling the infringing products. In October 2007, we and
J-Med filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina against
Vision and Nexgen Pharma, Inc. captioned Cornerstone BioPharma, Inc. and J-Med Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. v. Vision Pharma, LLC and Nexgen Pharma, Inc., No. 5:07-CV-00389-F. In this action, we and
J-Med alleged that the product known as VisRx infringes the 796 Patent. On November 19, 2007, we
and J-Med filed an amended complaint asserting claims against Visions principals, Sander Busman,
Thomas DeStefano and Michael McAloose. On November 30, 2007, defendants moved to stay the
litigation pending the re-examination of the 796 Patent. The Court granted defendants motion and
stayed the litigation pending the re-examination of the 796 Patent on February 15, 2008.
In proceedings before a re-examination
examiner in the USPTO, the
examiner rejected claims of the 796 Patent as failing to satisfy novelty and non-obviousness
criteria for U.S. patent claims. J-Med appealed to the USPTO Board of
Patent Appeals and Interferences, or Board of Patent Appeals, on June 13, 2008, seeking reversal of
the examiners rejections. On the same date, J-Med filed additional documents with the USPTO for review by the examiner. If the examiner does not reverse his prior
rejections, then the Board of Patent Appeals will act on the case and can take various actions,
including affirming or reversing the examiners rejections in whole or part, or introducing new
grounds of rejection of the 796 Patent claims. If the Board of Patent Appeals thereafter affirms
the examiners rejections, J-Med can take various
further actions, including requesting reconsideration by the Board of Patent Appeals, filing a
further appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or instituting a reissue of the
796 Patent with narrowed claims. The further proceedings involving the 796 Patent therefore may
be lengthy in duration, and may result in invalidation of some or all of the claims of the 796
Patent.
On June 13, 2008,
counsel for Vision filed in the USPTO a request
for re-examination of certain claims under U.S. patent number
6,843,372, or the 372 Patent, which we believe covers ALLERX 10 Dose
Pack,
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ALLERX 30 Dose Pack, ALLERX Dose Pack PE and ALLERX Dose Pack PE 30. Our counsel reviewed the
request for re-examination and the patents and publications cited by counsel for Vision, and our
counsel have concluded that valid arguments exist for distinguishing the claims of the 372 Patent
over the references cited in the request for re-examination. On August 21, 2008, the USPTO determined that a substantial new question of patentability was raised by the
patents and publications cited by Vision. We will have the opportunity in coordination with the
patent owner, Pharmaceutical Innovations, LLC, or
Pharmaceutical Innovations,
to present substantive arguments supporting the
patentability of the claims issued in the 372 Patent. If the re-examination examiner in the USPTO rejects
claims of the 372 Patent, Pharmaceutical Innovations may appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals to seek reversal of the
examiners rejections. If Pharmaceutical Innovations does not receive relief from the Board of
Patent Appeals, Pharmaceutical Innovations could file a further appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit or could institute a reissue of the 372 Patent with narrowed claims. The
further proceedings involving the 372 Patent therefore may be lengthy in duration, and may result
in invalidation of some or all of the claims of the 372 Patent.
In February 2008, we filed a notice of opposition before the
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or
TTAB, in relation to Application
No. 77/226,994 filed in the USPTO by Vision, seeking registration of the
mark VisRx. The opposition proceeding is captioned Cornerstone BioPharma, Inc. v. Vision Pharma,
LLC, Opposition No. 91182604. In April 2008, Vision filed an Answer to Notice of Opposition and
Counterclaims in which it requested cancellation of U.S. Registrations No. 3,384,232 and 2,448,112
for the mark ALLERX owned by us. Vision did not request monetary relief. We responded to Visions
counterclaims on May 16, 2008. Discovery is ongoing in this proceeding. We intend to defend our
interests vigorously against the counterclaims asserted by Vision.
On May 15, 2008, the USPTO sent written notice to us that a
cancellation proceeding had been initiated by Bausch & Lomb,
Incorporated, or Bausch & Lomb, against the ALLERX trademark
registration. The petition to cancel filed in this proceeding alleges that the ALLERX registration
dilutes the distinctive quality of Bausch & Lombs Alrex® trademark and that Bausch &
Lomb is likely to be damaged by the ALLERX registration. We are currently engaged in settlement
discussions with Bausch & Lomb concerning a refinement of the product description in the ALLERX
trademark registration to distinguish it from the product marketed by Bausch & Lomb under the Alrex
trademark. We responded to the TTAB on June 24, 2008, opposing the claims in the Bausch & Lomb
cancellation petition, while concurrently continuing to seek settlement of the cancellation
proceeding on favorable terms. We could take any of numerous courses of action, including
continuing to oppose Bausch & Lombs claims, undertaking action to cancel Bausch & Lombs
registration of its Alrex trademark or entering into discovery. A final decision by the TTAB could
take several years.
On September 17, 2008, a purported shareholder class action lawsuit was filed by a single
plaintiff against us and each of our then current directors in the Court of Chancery of the State
of Delaware. The action is captioned Jeffrey Benison IRA v. Critical Therapeutics, Inc., Trevor
Phillips, Richard W. Dugan, Christopher Mirabelli, and Jean George, Case No. 4039, Court of
Chancery, State of Delaware. The plaintiff, which claimed to be one of our stockholders, brought
the lawsuit on its own behalf, and sought certification of the lawsuit as a class action on behalf
of all stockholders of Critical Therapeutics, except the defendants and their affiliates. The
complaint alleged, among other things, that the defendants breached fiduciary duties of loyalty and
good faith, including a fiduciary duty of candor, by failing to provide Critical Therapeutics
stockholders with a proxy statement/prospectus adequate to enable them to cast an informed vote on
the proposed merger, and by possibly failing to maximize stockholder value by entering into an
agreement that effectively discourages competing offers. The complaint sought, among other things,
an order (i) enjoining the defendants from proceeding with or implementing the proposed merger on
the terms and under the circumstances as they then existed, (ii) invalidating the provisions of the
proposed merger that purportedly improperly limited the effective exercise of the defendants
continuing fiduciary duties, (iii) ordering defendants to explore alternatives and to negotiate in
good faith with all bona fide interested parties, (iv) in the event the proposed merger was
consummated, rescinding it and setting it aside or awarding rescissory damages, (v)
awarding compensatory damages against defendants, jointly and severally, and (vi) awarding the
plaintiff and the purported class their costs and fees.
On October 17, 2008, we and the other defendants entered into a memorandum of understanding
with the plaintiff regarding the settlement of the lawsuit. In connection with the settlement, the
parties agreed that we would make certain additional disclosures to Critical Therapeutics
stockholders, which are contained in a supplement to the proxy statement/prospectus that was mailed
to Critical Therapeutics stockholders. After the completion of certain
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confirmatory discovery by
counsel to the plaintiff, as contemplated by the memorandum of understanding, the parties entered
into a stipulation and agreement of compromise, settlement and release on November 24, 2008. On
December 3, 2008, the court entered a scheduling order preliminarily approving class treatment of
the case and setting a briefing and hearing schedule to consider the proposed settlement of the
case. On December 23, 2008, we caused a court-approved notice of pendency of class action, proposed
class action determination, proposed settlement of class action, settlement hearing and right to
appear to be mailed to all persons that held Critical Therapeutics stock during the period May 1,
2008 through October 31, 2008, other than the defendants and their affiliates. On February 26,
2009, the court approved the settlement resolving all of the claims that were or could have been
brought in the action being settled, including all claims relating to the merger, the merger
agreement and any disclosure made in connection therewith. In addition, in connection with the
settlement, we paid plaintiffs counsel $175,000 for
attorneys fees and expenses that had been awarded by the court.
On November 10, 2008, we were named as a defendant in an action filed by Breckenridge in the
United States District Court for the District of Maryland captioned Breckenridge Pharmaceutical,
Inc. v. Cornerstone BioPharma, Inc., J-Med Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Allan M. Weinstein, No.
8:08-CV-02999-DKC. Breckenridge seeks a declaratory judgment that the 372 Patent and U.S. Patent
No. 6,651,816, or the 816 patent, are invalid. The 372 Patent is licensed to us by Pharmaceutical
Innovations, an affiliate of J-Med. We do not have an interest in the 816 Patent. Breckenridge
also seeks a declaratory judgment that its Allergy DN II and Allergy DN PE products do not
infringe the 372 and 816 Patents. Breckenridge also seeks a declaratory judgment that our claimed
copyrights in the product informational inserts for ALLERX® DF and ALLERX® PE
are invalid and/or not infringed by the product informational inserts for Allergy DN II and Allergy
DN PE. Breckenridge does not request monetary relief. We have not yet responded to Breckenridges
complaint but we intend to defend our interests vigorously against the claims asserted by
Breckenridge.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the following risk factors, in addition to other information
included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q and the other reports that we file with the SEC, in
evaluating Cornerstone Therapeutics and our business. If any of the following risks occur, our
business, financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected. The
following risk factors include any material changes to and supersede the risk factors previously
disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 filed with the SEC
on March 26, 2009.
Risks Relating to Commercialization and Product Acquisitions
We expect to derive substantially all of our revenues from sales of the SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO
CR, the ALLERX Dose Pack products, the HYOMAX line of products and the propoxyphene/acetaminophen
products.
We have derived and expect for the foreseeable future to continue to derive substantially all
of our revenues from sales of the SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO CR, the ALLERX Dose Pack products, the
HYOMAX line of products and the propoxyphene/acetaminophen products. If commercial, regulatory or
other developments adversely affect our ability to market these products or if demand for these
products is reduced, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially
harmed. Until one or more of our product candidates receives FDA approval and is successfully
commercialized, the success of our business and operating results will depend substantially on the
demand for and continued marketability of these products.
The commercial success of our currently marketed products and any additional products that we
successfully develop depends on the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, health
care payors and others in the medical community.
Any products that we bring to the market may not gain market acceptance by physicians,
patients, health care payors and others in the medical community. If our products do not achieve an
adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenue and may not be able
to sustain or increase our profitability. The degree of market acceptance of our products,
including our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of
factors, including:
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the prevalence and severity of the products side effects; |
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the efficacy and potential advantages of the products over alternative treatments; |
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the ability to offer the products for sale at competitive prices, including in relation
to any generic or re-imported products or competing treatments; |
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the relative convenience and ease of administration of the products; |
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the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians
to prescribe these therapies; |
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the perception by physicians and other members of the health care community of the
safety and efficacy of the products and competing products; |
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the availability and level of third-party reimbursement for sales of the products; |
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the continued availability of adequate supplies of the products to meet demand; |
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the strength of marketing and distribution support; |
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any unfavorable publicity concerning us, our products or the markets for these
products, such as information concerning product contamination or other safety issues in
the markets for our products, whether or not directly involving our products; |
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regulatory developments related to our marketing and promotional practices or the
manufacture or continued use of our products; and |
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changes in intellectual property protection available for the products or competing
treatments. |
For example, the SPECTRACEF products are indicated for, and we are developing our product
candidates CRTX 068 and CRTX 062 for, the treatment of certain respiratory infections. Products
used to treat respiratory infections are, from time to time, subject to negative publicity,
including with respect to antibiotic resistance and overuse.
In 2008, we experienced supply chain issues in manufacturing ZYFLO CR. If we are unable to
manufacture or release ZYFLO CR on a timely and consistent basis, some physicians may prescribe
ZYFLO to ensure that their patients with asthma continue to have access to zileuton as a treatment
option. ZYFLO, which is dosed four times per day, contains the same zileuton API as ZYFLO CR, which
is dosed two tablets twice daily.
Despite being approved by the FDA since 1996, ZYFLO did not achieve broad market acceptance.
We experienced difficulty expanding the prescriber and patient bases for ZYFLO, in part, we
believe, because it requires dosing of one tablet four times per day, which some physicians and
patients may find inconvenient or difficult to comply with compared to other available asthma
therapies that require dosing only once or twice daily. If any existing negative perceptions about
ZYFLO persist, we will have difficulty achieving market acceptance for ZYFLO CR.
In addition, if physicians do not prescribe ZYFLO CR for the recommended dosing regimen of two
tablets twice daily, or if patients do not comply with the dosing schedule and take less than the
prescribed number of tablets, sales of ZYFLO CR will be limited and our revenues will be adversely
affected.
Concerns regarding the safety profile of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO may limit market acceptance of ZYFLO
CR.
Market perceptions about the safety of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO also may limit the market acceptance
of ZYFLO CR. In the clinical trials that were reviewed by the FDA prior to its approval of ZYFLO,
3.2% of the approximately 5,000 patients who received ZYFLO experienced increased levels of alanine
transaminase, or ALT, of over three times the levels normally seen in the bloodstream. In these
trials, one patient developed symptomatic hepatitis with
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jaundice, which resolved upon
discontinuation of therapy, and three patients developed mild elevations in bilirubin. In clinical
trials for ZYFLO CR, 1.94% of the patients taking ZYFLO CR in a three-month efficacy trial and 2.6%
of the patients taking ZYFLO CR in a six-month safety trial experienced ALT levels greater than or
equal to three times the level normally seen in the bloodstream. Because ZYFLO CR can elevate liver
enzyme levels, its product labeling, which was approved by the FDA in May 2007, contains the
recommendation that periodic liver function tests be performed on patients taking ZYFLO CR. Some
physicians and patients may perceive liver function tests as inconvenient or indicative of safety
issues, which could make them reluctant to prescribe or accept ZYFLO CR and any other zileuton
product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize, which could limit their
commercial acceptance.
In March 2008, the FDA issued an early communication regarding an ongoing safety review of the
leukotriene montelukast relating to suicide and other behavior related adverse events. In that
communication, the FDA stated that it was also reviewing the safety of other leukotriene
medications. On May 27, 2008, we received a request from the FDA that we gather and provide to the
FDA data from the clinical trial database to evaluate behavior-related adverse events for ZYFLO and
ZYFLO CR. On January 13, 2009, the FDA announced that company data do not show any association
between these drugs that act through the leukotriene pathway (for example, montelukast, zafirlukast
and zileuton) and suicide although the FDA noted that the company studies it reviewed were not
designed to detect those events. The FDA also reviewed clinical
trial data to assess other mood and behavioral adverse events related
to such drugs. On April 23, 2009, the FDA requested that we add wording to the precaution section of the ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO labeling to include post marketing reports of sleep disorders and behavior changes. It is our understanding that other leukotriene modulator manufacturers were asked to make similar changes. There is a risk that this labeling change may cause physicians and other members of the health care community to prefer competing products without such labeling over ZYFLO CR and
ZYFLO, which would cause sales of these products could suffer.
Concerns regarding the potential toxicity and addictiveness of propoxyphene and the known liver
toxicity of acetaminophen may limit market acceptance of our propoxyphene/acetaminophen products
or cause the FDA to remove these products from the market.
Periodically, there is negative publicity related to the potential toxicity and addictiveness
of propoxyphene. Propoxyphene is one of two APIs, together with acetaminophen, in BALACET 325, APAP
325 and APAP 500. For example, the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen filed suit in June
2008 against the FDA based on the FDAs failure to act on Public Citizens February 2006 citizen
petition that had requested that the FDA immediately begin the phased removal of all drugs
containing propoxyphene from the marketplace based on propoxyphenes toxicity relative to its
efficacy and its tendency to induce psychological and physical dependence. A Joint Status Report on
the Case of Public Citizen v. Food and Drug Administration issued by the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia on February 2, 2009 stated that the FDA anticipates that it will
issue a final determination approving or denying the citizens petition by May 4, 2009. On January
30, 2009, an FDA Advisory Committee voted 14-to-12 in favor of a phased removal from the market of
all drugs containing propoxyphene. If the FDA acts upon the Advisory Committees recommendation and
begins the phased removal of propoxyphene products from the market, product sales of our
propoxyphene/acetaminophen products would be eliminated and we would be forced to terminate our
co-promotion agreement with Atley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Atley Pharmaceuticals.
In December 2006, the FDA recognized concerns about the known liver toxicity of
over-the-counter pain relievers, including acetaminophen, which is found in BALACET 325, APAP 325
and APAP 500. The FDA has scheduled a meeting of advisory committees to discuss acetaminophen risk
management on June 29 and 30, 2009. The FDA could act on these concerns by changing its policies
with respect to acetaminophen as a single ingredient and in combination with opioid products. Any
such future policy change could adversely affect our ability to market our
propoxyphene/acetaminophen products.
Our strategy of obtaining, through product acquisitions and in-licenses, rights to products and
product candidates for our development pipeline and to proprietary drug delivery and formulation
technologies for our life cycle management of current products may not be successful.
Part of our business strategy is to acquire rights to FDA-approved products, pharmaceutical
product candidates in the late stages of development and proprietary drug delivery and formulation
technologies. Because we do not have
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discovery and research capabilities, the growth of our
business will depend in significant part on our ability to acquire or in-license additional
products, product candidates or proprietary drug delivery and formulation technologies that we
believe have significant commercial potential and are consistent with our commercial objectives.
However, we may be unable to license or acquire suitable products, product candidates or
technologies from third parties for a number of reasons.
The licensing and acquisition of pharmaceutical products, product candidates and related
technologies is a competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing
strategies to license or acquire products, product candidates and drug delivery and formulation
technologies, which may mean fewer suitable acquisition opportunities for us, as well as higher
acquisition prices. Many of our competitors have a competitive advantage over us due to their size,
cash resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities.
Other factors that may prevent us from licensing or otherwise acquiring suitable products,
product candidates or technologies include:
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We may be unable to license or acquire the relevant products, product candidates or
technologies on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on investment; |
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Companies that perceive us as a competitor may be unwilling to license or sell their
product rights or technologies to us; |
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We may be unable to identify suitable products, product candidates or technologies
within our areas of expertise; and |
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We may have inadequate cash resources or may be unable to obtain financing to acquire
rights to suitable products, product candidates or technologies from third parties. |
If we are unable to successfully identify and acquire rights to products, product candidates
and proprietary drug delivery and formulation technologies and successfully integrate them into our
operations, we may not be able to increase our revenues in future periods, which could result in
significant harm to our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
If we are unable to attract, hire and retain qualified sales and marketing personnel, the
commercial opportunity for our products and product candidates may be diminished.
We have built a commercial organization, consisting of our sales department, including our
sales force, sales management, sales logistics and sales administration, and our marketing
department. As of April 30, 2009, our sales force consists of 82 sales representatives. We may not
be able to attract, hire, train and retain qualified sales and marketing personnel to augment our
existing capabilities in the manner or on the timeframe that we plan. If we are not successful in
our efforts to expand our sales force and marketing capabilities, our ability to independently
market and promote any product candidates that we successfully bring to market will be impaired. In
such an event, we would likely need to establish a collaboration, co-promotion, distribution or
other similar arrangement to market and sell the product candidate. However, we might not be able
to enter into such an arrangement on favorable terms, if at all. Even if we are able to effectively
expand our sales force and marketing capabilities, our sales force and marketing teams may not be
successful in commercializing our products.
We face competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing
products before or more successfully than us.
The development and commercialization of drugs is highly competitive. We face competition with
respect to our currently marketed products, our current product candidates and any products that we
may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. Our competitors include major pharmaceutical
companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. Potential
competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other private and public
research organizations that seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for
development, manufacturing and commercialization. We face significant competition
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for our currently
marketed products. Some of our currently marketed products do not have patent protection and in
most cases face generic competition. All of these products face significant price competition from
a range of branded and generic products for the same therapeutic indications.
Given that our product development approach is to develop new formulations of existing drugs,
some or all of our product candidates, if approved, may face competition from other branded and
generic drugs approved for the same therapeutic indications, approved drugs used off label for such
indications and novel drugs in clinical development. For example, our product candidate CRTX 068,
which is for the treatment of certain respiratory infections, may not demonstrate sufficient
additional clinical benefits to physicians to justify a higher price compared to generic
equivalents within the same therapeutic class. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or
eliminated if competitors develop and commercialize products that are more effective, safer, have
fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that
we may develop.
Our patents will not protect our products if competitors devise ways of making products that
compete with our products without legally infringing our patents. The Federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, and FDA regulations and policies provide certain exclusivity incentives to
manufacturers to create modified, non-infringing versions of a drug in order to facilitate the
approval of abbreviated new drug applications, or ANDAs, for generic substitutes. These same types
of exclusivity incentives encourage manufacturers to submit new drug
applications, or NDAs, that rely, in part, on literature
and clinical data not prepared for or by such manufacturers. Manufacturers might only be required
to conduct a relatively inexpensive study to show that their product has the same API, dosage form,
strength, route of administration and conditions of use or labeling as our product and that the
generic product is absorbed in the body at the same rate and to the same extent as our product, a
comparison known as bioequivalence. Such products would be significantly less costly than our
products to bring to market and could lead to the existence of multiple lower-priced competitive
products, which would substantially limit our ability to obtain a return on the investments we have
made in those products.
Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their product candidates
more rapidly than we may obtain approval for our product candidates. If NDA approval is received
for a new drug containing an API that was previously approved by the FDA but the NDA is for a drug
that includes an innovation over the previously approved drug, for example, an NDA approval for a
new indication or formulation of the drug with the same API, and if such NDA approval was dependent
upon the submission to the FDA of new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies,
then the Hatch-Waxman Act prohibits the FDA from making effective the approval of an ANDA or
505(b)(2) NDA for a generic version of such drug for a period of three years from the date of the
NDA approval. This three-year exclusivity, however, only covers the innovation associated with the
NDA to which it attaches.
The FDCA also provides a five-year period of exclusivity for a drug approved under the first
NDA of which no API has previously been approved. If the drug approval for any of our product
candidates were blocked by such a period of marketing exclusivity, we would not be able to receive
FDA approval until the applicable exclusivity period expired.
Our products compete, and our product candidates, if approved, will compete, principally with
the following:
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The SPECTRACEF products and CRTX 068 second and third generation cephalosporins,
such as Shinogi USA, Inc.s Cedax ® (ceftibuten), Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s
Suprax®
(cefixime) and generic formulations of Abbott Laboratories, or
Abbott, Omnicef®
(cefdinir) and GlaxoSmithKline plcs, or GSK, Ceftin® (cefuroxime); macrolides,
such as generic formulations of Pfizer Inc.s Zithromax®
(azithromycin) and
Abbotts Biaxin® (clarithromycin); and quinolones, such
as Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s Levaquin® (levofloxacin) and
generic formulations of Bayer Schering AGs Cipro® (ciprofloxacin). |
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CRTX 062 Suprax and generic formulations of Omnicef and Ceftin. |
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ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO bronchodilatory drugs, such as Teva Specialty Pharmaceuticals
LLCs ProAir® HFA (albuterol sulfate) Inhalation Aerosol and Schering-Plough
Corporations Proventil® HFA (albuterol sulfate) Inhalation Aerosol; LTRAs, such
as Merck & Co., Inc.s Singulair® (montelukast sodium); inhaled corticosteroids,
such as GSKs Flovent® Diskus (fluticasone proprionate inhalation powder); and
combination products, such as GSKs Advair Diskus® (fluticasone propionate and
salmetorol inhalation powder) and AstraZeneca PLCs Symbicort®, a twice-daily
asthma therapy combining budesonide, an |
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inhaled corticosteroid, and formoterol, a
long-acting beta2-agonist. In addition, we may face competition from pharmaceutical
companies seeking to develop new drugs for the asthma market. |
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ALLERX and RESPIVENT Dose Pack Products prescription products, including first
generation antihistamine and antihistamine combination products, such as Capellon
Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.s, or Capellon, Rescon ® (phenylephrine, chlorpheniramine
and methscopolamine) and Laser Pharmaceuticals, LLCs Dallergy ® (phenylephrine,
chlorpheniramine and methscopolamine), and over-the-counter products, such as McNeil-PPC,
Inc.s Benadryl ® (diphenhydramine) and Schering-Plough Corporations
Chlor-Trimeton ® (chlorpheniramine). |
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HYOMAX Products belladonna and derivative antispasmodics, such as the generic
formulations of Alaven Pharmaceutical LLCs Levsin ® (hyoscyamine sulfate) and
Levbid ® (hyoscyamine sulfate) products and of PBM Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s
Donnatal ® (belladonna alkaloids /phenobarbital); urinary incontinence
antispasmodics, such as Pfizer Inc.s Detrol ® LA (tolterodine tartrate),
Astellas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and GSKs VESIcare ® (solifenacin) and the
generic formulations of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s Ditropan ®
and Ditropan XL ® (oxybutynin); and synthetic gastrointestinal antispasmodics,
such as the generic formulations of Axcan Pharma Inc.s Bentyl ® (dicyclomine)
and Bradley Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s Pamine ® (methscopolamine bromide). |
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BALACET 325, APAP 325 and APAP 500 generic formulations of propoxyphene and
acetaminophen, the APIs in BALACET 325, APAP 325 and APAP 500, and many other drugs on the
market or in development for the treatment of mild to moderate pain. |
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CRTX 058 second generation antihistamines, such as Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLCs
Allegra ® (fexofenadine); third generation antihistamines, such as UCB, Inc. and
Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLCs Xyzal ® (levocetirizine) and Schering-Plough
Corporations Clarinex ® (desloratadine); and over-the-counter products such as
Benadryl, Chlor-Trimeton, Schering-Plough Corporations Claritin ® (loratadine)
and McNeil-PPC, Inc.s Zyrtec ® (cetirizine). |
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CRTX 067 and CRTX 069 various narcotic and non-narcotic antitussives, such as King
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s Tussigon® (hydrocodone and homatropine), Mallinckrodt
Brand Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s TussiCaps® (hydrocodone polistirex and
chlorpheniramine polistirex), UCB, Inc.s Tussionex® (hydrocodone polistirex and
chlorpheniramine polistirex) and generic formulations of Wyeths Phenergan® with
codeine (codeine and promethazine); over-the-counter antitussives, such as Reckitt
Benckiser Inc.s Delsym® (dextromethorphan polistirex), Schering-Plough
Corporations Coricidin HBP® Cough & Cold (dextromethorphan and
chlorpheniramine); and prescription antitussives, such as Sciele Pharma, Inc.s
Rondec® DM Syrup (dextromethorphan, phenylephrine and chlorpheniramine) and Meda
Pharmaceuticals Inc.s Tussi-12D® (carbetapentane, pyrilamine and
phenylephrine). |
Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources
than we have and superior expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical
testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved products
and thus may be better equipped than us to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize
products. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific
and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites, registering patients for clinical
trials and acquiring technologies. Many of our competitors have collaborative arrangements in our
target markets with leading companies and research institutions. In many cases, products that
compete with our currently marketed products and product candidates have already received
regulatory approval or are in late-stage development, have well known brand names, are distributed
by large pharmaceutical companies with substantial resources and have achieved widespread
acceptance among physicians and patients. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be
significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established
companies.
We will face competition based on the safety and effectiveness of our products, the timing and
scope of regulatory approvals, the availability and cost of supply, marketing and sales
capabilities, reimbursement coverage, price, patent position and other factors. Our competitors may
develop or commercialize more effective, safer or more affordable products, or products with more
effective patent protection, than our products. Accordingly, our competitors may commercialize
products more rapidly or effectively than we are able to, which would adversely
39
affect our
competitive position, the likelihood that our product candidates will achieve initial market
acceptance and our ability to generate meaningful revenues from our product candidates. Even if our
product candidates achieve initial market acceptance, competitive products may render our products
noncompetitive. If our product candidates are rendered noncompetitive, we may not be able to
recover the expenses of developing and commercializing those product candidates.
As our competitors introduce their own generic equivalents of our generic products, our net
revenues from such products are expected to decline.
Product sales of generic pharmaceutical products often follow a particular pattern over time
based on regulatory and competitive factors. The first company to introduce a generic equivalent of
a branded product is often able to capture a substantial share of the market. However, as other
companies introduce competing generic products, the first entrants market share, and the price of
its generic product, will typically decline. The extent of the decline generally depends on several
factors, including the number of competitors, the price of the branded product and the pricing
strategy of the new competitors. Our inability to introduce additional generic products or our
withdrawal of existing generic products from the market due to increased competition would have a
material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
For example, in the generic drug industry, when a company is the first to introduce a generic
drug, the pricing of the generic drug is typically set based on a discount from the published price
of the equivalent branded product. Other generic manufacturers may enter the market and, as a
result, the price of the drug may decline significantly. In such event, we may in our discretion
provide our customers a credit with respect to the customers remaining inventory for the
difference between our new price and the price at which we originally sold the product to our
customers. There are circumstances under which we may, as a matter of business strategy, not
provide price adjustments to certain customers and, consequently, we may lose future sales to
competitors.
If we fail to manage successfully our product acquisitions, our ability to develop our product
candidates and expand our product pipeline may be harmed.
Our failure to address adequately the financial, operational or legal risks of our product
acquisitions or in-license arrangements could harm our business. These risks include:
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the overuse of cash resources; |
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higher than anticipated acquisition costs and expenses; |
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potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities; |
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the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, impairment losses and/or
restructuring charges; |
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the assumption of or exposure to unknown liabilities; |
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the development and integration of new products that could disrupt our business and
occupy our managements time and attention; |
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the inability to preserve key suppliers or distributors of any acquired products; and |
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the acquisition of products that could substantially increase our amortization
expenses. |
If we are unable to successfully manage our product acquisitions, our ability to develop new
products and expand our product pipeline may be limited, and we could suffer significant harm to
our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
A failure to maintain optimal inventory levels could harm our reputation and subject us to
financial losses.
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We are obligated to make aggregate combined purchases of cefditoren pivoxil API, the
SPECTRACEF products and sample packs of SPECTRACEF 400 mg exceeding specified dollar amounts
annually over a five-year period under our supply agreement with Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd , or
Meiji. Under the agreement, the required annual aggregate combined purchases of cefditoren pivoxil
API, the SPECTRACEF products and sample packs of SPECTRACEF 400 mg are $15.0 million for the first
year beginning with the commercial launch in October 2008 of SPECTRACEF 400 mg manufactured by
Meiji, $20.0 million for year two, $25.0 million for year three, $30.0 million for year four and
$35.0 million for year five. If we do not meet our minimum purchase requirement in a given year, we
must pay Meiji an amount equal to 50% of the shortfall in that year.
We are also subject to minimum purchase obligations under supply agreements, which require us
to buy inventory of the tablet cores for ZYFLO CR. We have committed to purchase a minimum of 20
million ZYFLO CR tablet cores from Jagotec AG, or Jagotec, in each of the four 12-month periods starting May 30,
2008. If ZYFLO CR does not achieve the level of demand we anticipate, we may not be able to use the
inventory we are required to purchase. Based on our current expectations regarding demand for ZYFLO
CR, we expect that inventory levels could increase substantially in the future as a result of
minimum purchase obligations under supply agreements with third-party manufacturers and orders we
have submitted to date.
Because accurate product planning is necessary to ensure that we maintain optimal inventory
levels, significant differences between our current estimates and judgments and future estimated
demand for our products and the useful life of inventory may result in significant charges for
excess inventory or purchase commitments in the future. If we are required to recognize charges for
excess inventories, such charges could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition
and results of operations.
In 2008, we experienced difficulties in the supply for ZYFLO CR, including an aggregate of
eight batches of ZYFLO CR that could not be released into our commercial supply chain, consisting
of one batch of ZYFLO CR that did not meet our product release specifications and an additional
seven batches of ZYFLO CR that were on quality assurance hold and that could not complete
manufacturing within the NDA-specified manufacturing timelines. We cannot assure you that we will
not have similar manufacturing issues in producing ZYFLO CR or our other products in the future.
Our ability to maintain optimal inventory levels also depends on the performance of
third-party contract manufacturers. In some instances, third-party manufacturers have encountered
difficulties obtaining raw materials needed to manufacture our products as a result of U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, or DEA, regulations and because of the limited number of suppliers of
hyoscyamine sulfate and methscopolamine nitrate. Although these difficulties have not had a
material adverse impact on us, such problems could have a material adverse impact on us in the
future. If we are unable to manufacture and release inventory on a timely and consistent basis, if
we fail to maintain an adequate level of product inventory, if inventory is destroyed or damaged or
if our inventory reaches its expiration date, patients might not have access to our products, our
reputation and our brands could be harmed and physicians may be less likely to prescribe our
products in the future, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial
condition, results of operations and cash flows.
If our third-party manufacturers and packagers do not obtain the necessary quota for controlled
substances needed to supply us with our products or the quotas are not sufficient, we may be
unable to meet commercial demand for the products.
Certain of our products, including ALLERX 10 Dose Pack, ALLERX 30 Dose Pack, ALLERX-D,
RESPIVENT-D, BALACET 325, APAP 325 and APAP 500, contain controlled substances, which are regulated
by the DEA under the Controlled Substances Act. DEA quota requirements limit the amount of
controlled substance drug products a manufacturer can manufacture and the amount of API it can use
to manufacture those products. We rely on Sovereign, the manufacturer of bulk tablets for ALLERX 10
Dose Pack, ALLERX 30 Dose Pack, ALLERX-D
and RESPIVENT-D, Legacy and Carton Service, the manufacturers of trade and sample packaging
for ALLERX 10 Dose Pack, ALLERX 30 Dose Pack, ALLERX-D and RESPIVENT-D, and Vintage, the
manufacturer and packager of BALACET 325, APAP 325 and APAP 500, to annually request and obtain
from the DEA the quota allocation needed to meet our production requirements. If our manufacturers
and packagers are unsuccessful in obtaining quotas, our supply chain for controlled substance
products could be at risk.
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If we or our contract manufacturers fail to comply with regulatory requirements for our controlled
substance products and product candidates, the DEA may take regulatory actions detrimental to our
business, resulting in temporary or permanent interruption of distribution, withdrawal of products
from the market or other penalties.
We, our contract manufacturers and certain of our products and product candidates, including
those containing propoxyphene and pseudoephedrine, are subject to the Controlled Substances Act and
DEA regulations thereunder. Accordingly, we and our contract manufacturers must adhere to a number
of requirements with respect to our controlled substance products and product candidates, including
registration, recordkeeping and reporting requirements; labeling and packaging requirements;
security controls, procurement and manufacturing quotas; and certain restrictions on prescription
refills. Failure to maintain compliance with applicable requirements can result in enforcement
action that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and
financial condition. The DEA may seek civil penalties, refuse to renew necessary registrations or
initiate proceedings to revoke those registrations. In certain circumstances, violations could
result in criminal proceedings.
Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit
commercialization of any products that we may develop.
We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the sale of our currently
marketed products, any other products that we successfully develop and the testing of our product
candidates in human clinical trials. If we cannot successfully defend against claims that our
products or product candidates caused injuries, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless
of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
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decreased demand for our products or any products that we may develop; |
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injury to our reputation; |
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the withdrawal of clinical trial participants; |
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the withdrawal of a product from the market; |
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costs to defend the related litigation; |
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substantial monetary awards to clinical trial participants or patients; |
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diversion of management time and attention; |
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loss of revenue; and |
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inability to commercialize the products that we may develop. |
The consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen filed suit in June 2008 against the FDA
based on the FDAs failure to act on Public Citizens February 2006 citizen petition that had
requested that the FDA immediately begin the phased removal of all drugs containing propoxyphene
from the marketplace based on propoxyphenes toxicity relative to its efficacy and its tendency to
induce psychological and physical dependence. A Joint Status Report on the Case of Public Citizen
v. Food and Drug Administration issued by the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia on February 2, 2009 stated that the FDA anticipates that it will issue a final
determination approving or denying the citizens petition by May 4, 2009. On January 30, 2009, an
FDA Advisory Committee voted 14-to-12 in favor of a phased removal of all drugs containing
propoxyphene. Propoxyphene is one of two APIs, together with acetaminophen, in BALACET 325, APAP
325 and APAP 500. In addition, in December 2006, the FDA recognized concerns about the known liver
toxicity of over-the-counter pain relievers, including
acetaminophen, which is found in BALACET 325, APAP 325 and APAP 500. While we are not aware of
any pending or threatened product liability claims against us related to propxyphene or
acetaminophen, we cannot assure you that such claims will not arise in the future.
Our contracts with wholesalers and other customers require us to carry product liability
insurance. We have product liability insurance coverage with a $10 million annual aggregate limit
and a $10 million individual claim
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limit, and which is subject to a per claim deductible and a
policy aggregate deductible. The annual cost of this products liability insurance was approximately
$265,000 for the policy year beginning September 13, 2008. The amount of insurance that we
currently hold may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur. Insurance coverage
is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost
and may not be able to obtain insurance coverage that will be adequate to satisfy any liability
that may arise.
Risks Relating to Product Development and Regulatory Matters
If we are unable to develop safe and efficacious formulations of our product candidates, or our
clinical trials for CRTX 062 or our other product candidates are not successful, we may not be
able to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize these product candidates
successfully.
Our product candidates are still in various stages of development. Our product development
pipeline includes CRTX 068 and CRTX 062, product candidates for the treatment of certain
respiratory infections. Our product development pipeline also includes the following three
additional product candidates: CRTX 058, a product candidate for the treatment of symptoms of
allergic rhinitis; CRTX 067, a product candidate for the treatment of cough; and CRTX 069, also a
product candidate for the treatment of cough. All of our product candidates remain subject to
pharmaceutical formulation development and clinical testing necessary to obtain the regulatory
approvals or clearances required for commercial sale. Depending on the nature of the product
candidate, to demonstrate a product candidates safety and efficacy, we and our collaborators
generally must either demonstrate bioequivalence with a drug already approved by the FDA or
complete human clinical trials. We may not be able to obtain permission from the FDA, institutional
review boards, or IRBs, or other authorities to commence or complete necessary clinical trials. If
permitted, such clinical testing may not prove that our product candidates are safe and effective
to the extent necessary to permit us to obtain marketing approvals or clearances from regulatory
authorities. One or more of our product candidates may not exhibit the expected therapeutic results
in humans, may cause harmful side effects or may have other unexpected characteristics that may
delay or preclude submission and regulatory approval or clearance, or cause imposition of
burdensome post-approval requirements or limit commercial use if approved or cleared. For example,
CRTX 067 and CRTX 069 contain a narcotic, which has been associated with abuse and can lead to
serious illness, injury or death if improperly used. Furthermore, we, one of our collaborators,
IRBs or regulatory agencies may order a clinical hold or suspend or terminate clinical trials at
any time if it is believed that the subjects or patients participating in such trials are being
exposed to unacceptable health risks or for other reasons.
For example, Guidance for Industry issued by the FDA in 2007 regarding, among other things,
the design of clinical trials of drug candidates for the treatment of acute bacterial otitis media,
noted that investigators or IRBs may consider a placebo-controlled study to be unethical where the
trial would involve the withholding of known effective antimicrobial treatment to the placebo
control group unless the investigators and IRBs determine that the withholding of known effective
treatment would result in no more than a minor increase over minimal risk. The FDA suggested that
the ethical dilemma might be bridged by using a superiority study of the investigational
antimicrobial compared to a known effective antimicrobial treatment. While the FDA did not
absolutely prohibit placebo-controlled trials in such cases, we believe this FDA guidance may make
placebo-controlled trials more difficult to design and complete, especially in pediatric
populations.
Adverse or inconclusive clinical trial results concerning any of our product candidates could
require us to conduct additional clinical trials, result in increased costs and significantly delay
the submission for marketing approval or clearance for such product candidates with the FDA or
other regulatory authorities or result in failure to obtain approval or approval for a narrower
indication. If clinical trials fail, our product candidates would not receive regulatory approval
or achieve commercial viability.
If clinical trials for our product candidates are delayed, we would be unable to obtain regulatory
approval and commercialize our product candidates on a timely basis, which would require us to
incur additional costs and delay the receipt of any revenues from product sales.
We currently expect to commence clinical trials with respect to CRTX 068 in 2009, CRTX 062 in
2010, CRTX 058 in 2009 and CRTX 067 and CRTX 069 in 2009. We cannot predict whether we will
encounter problems with
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any of our completed or planned clinical trials that will delay or cause
regulatory authorities, IRBs or us to suspend those clinical trials or the analysis of data from
such trials.
Any of the following could delay the completion of our planned clinical trials:
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we or FDA, a third party assisting us with product development or an IRB suspending or
stopping a clinical trial; |
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discussions with the FDA regarding the scope or design of our clinical trials; |
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delay in obtaining, or the inability to obtain, required approvals from regulators,
IRBs or other governing entities at clinical sites selected for participation in our
clinical trials; |
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the number of patients required for our clinical trials may be larger than we
anticipate, enrollment in our clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate or
participants may drop out of our clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate; |
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our clinical trials may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or
regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials, or we may abandon
projects that had appeared to be promising; |
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our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet
their contractual obligations in a timely manner; |
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insufficient supply or deficient quality of product candidate materials or other
materials necessary to conduct clinical trials; |
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unfavorable FDA inspection and review of a clinical trial site or records of any
clinical investigation; |
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serious and unexpected drug-related side effects experienced by participants in past
clinical trials for the same or a different indication; or |
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exposure of participants to unacceptable health risks. |
Our ability to enroll patients in our clinical trials in sufficient numbers and on a timely
basis will be subject to a number of factors, including the size of the patient population, the
nature of the protocol, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the seasonality of the
disease, the availability of effective treatments for the relevant disease, competing trials with
other product candidates and the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial. Delays in patient
enrollment can result in increased costs and longer development times. In addition, subjects may
drop out of clinical trials and thereby impair the validity or statistical significance of the
trials.
Delays in patient enrollment and the related increase in costs also could cause us to decide
to discontinue a clinical trial prior to completion. For example, in March 2008, we discontinued
our Phase IV clinical trial for ZYFLO CR designed to generate data in the current patient treatment
setting because patient enrollment was significantly slower than we had anticipated. We initiated
the trial in July 2007 and had enrolled only approximately 25% of the patients prior to
discontinuing the trial. We had planned to use data from this trial to support ZYFLO CRs market
position, and we may have increased difficulty promoting ZYFLO CR to physicians without this data.
We expect to rely on academic institutions and contract research organizations to supervise or
monitor some or all aspects of the clinical trials for the product candidates we advance into
clinical testing. Accordingly, we have less control over the timing and other aspects of these
clinical trials than if we conducted them entirely on our own.
Although we have not previously experienced most of the foregoing risks with respect to our
clinical trials, as a result of these risks, we or third parties upon whom we rely may not
successfully begin or complete our clinical trials in the time periods forecasted, if at all. If
the results of our planned clinical trials for our product candidates are not available when we
expect or if we encounter any delays in the analysis of data from our clinical trials, we may
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be
unable to submit results for regulatory approval or clearance or to conduct additional clinical
trials on the schedule that we anticipate.
If clinical trials are delayed, the commercial viability of our product candidates may be
reduced. If we incur costs and delays in our programs, or if we do not successfully develop and
commercialize our products, our future operating and financial results will be materially affected.
If our clinical trials do not demonstrate safety and efficacy in humans, we may experience delays,
incur additional costs and ultimately be unable to commercialize our product candidates.
Depending upon the nature of the product candidate, obtaining regulatory approval for the sale
of our product candidates may require us and our collaborators to fund and conduct clinical trials
to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is
expensive, difficult to design and implement, uncertain as to outcome and, depending upon the
design of the trial, takes several years or more to complete. Clinical data is often susceptible to
varying interpretations, and many companies that have believed their products performed
satisfactorily in clinical trials were nonetheless unable to obtain FDA approval for their product
candidates. Similarly, even if clinical trials of a product candidate are successful in one
indication, clinical trials of that product candidate for other indications may be unsuccessful.
One or more of our clinical trials could fail at any stage of testing.
We expect to submit an NDA to the FDA in 2011 for CRTX 062 for use of this product candidate
by children with pharyngitis, tonsillitis or otitis media. All of the preclinical studies and
clinical trials of CRTX 062 were conducted previously. We intend to rely on the results of these
prior clinical trials to support our NDA for CRTX 062 for certain indications. The previous company
conducted its clinical trials of CRTX 062 using a non-inferiority design, meaning that the
objective was to demonstrate that the safety and effectiveness of CRTX 062 is not inferior relative
to the control drug. However, current FDA guidelines request superiority design clinical trials,
meaning that the objective of the clinical trials is to demonstrate that the test drugs safety and
effectiveness are superior to the control drug. If the FDA does not permit us to rely on the prior
clinical data for CRTX 062, we would be required to repeat some or all of the clinical trials,
which would lead to unanticipated costs and delays. Problems with the previous trials, such as
incomplete, outdated or otherwise unacceptable data also could cause this NDA to be delayed or
rejected.
If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product
candidates in addition to those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully
complete our clinical trials or other testing, or if the results of these trials or tests are not
positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we may:
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be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for product candidates; |
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not be able to obtain marketing approval; |
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obtain approval for indications that are not as broad as intended; or |
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have the product removed from the market after obtaining marketing approval. |
Product development costs also will increase if we experience delays in testing or obtaining
approvals. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten the patent protection period during
which we may have the exclusive right to
commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we
do and impair our ability to commercialize our products or product candidates.
If we are not able to obtain required regulatory approvals, we will not be able to commercialize
our product candidates, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
The process of obtaining regulatory approvals is expensive, often takes many years, if
approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including
the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved and the nature of the disease
or condition to be treated. Changes in regulatory approval policies
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during the development period,
changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations or medical and technical
developments during the review process may delay the approval or cause the rejection of an
application. The FDA has substantial discretion in the approval process and may require additional
clinical or other data as a condition of reviewing or approving an application. In addition,
varying interpretations of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing could delay,
limit or prevent regulatory approval of a product candidate. Any regulatory approval we ultimately
obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the
approved product not commercially viable.
Our limited experience in obtaining regulatory approvals could delay, limit or prevent such
approvals for our product candidates.
We have only limited experience in preparing and submitting the applications necessary to gain
regulatory approvals and expect to rely on third-party contract research organizations to assist us
in this process. We acquired the rights to most of our currently marketed products and product
candidates through four licensing transactions, two related to ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO in 2003 and 2004
respectively, one for the ALLERX Dose Pack products in February 2005 and one for SPECTRACEF in
October 2006. Personnel who are no longer with Cornerstone obtained approval to market ZYFLO and
ZYFLO CR in the United States from the FDA in September 2005 and May 2007, respectively. The FDA
approved our sNDA for SPECTRACEF 400 mg in July 2008 and we launched this product in October 2008.
We do not have other experience gaining FDA approval of product candidates.
Our limited experience in this regard could delay or limit approval of our product candidates
if we are unable to effectively manage the applicable regulatory process with either the FDA or
foreign regulatory authorities. In addition, significant errors or ineffective management of the
regulatory process could prevent approval of a product candidate, especially given the substantial
discretion that the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities have in this process.
Some of our specialty pharmaceutical products are now being marketed without approved NDAs or
ANDAs.
Even though the FDCA requires pre-marketing approval of all new drugs, as a matter of history
and regulatory policy, the FDA has historically refrained from taking enforcement action against
some marketed, unapproved new drugs. The FDA has adopted a risk-based enforcement policy concerning
these unapproved drugs. Although the FDA considers all such drugs to require its approval, FDA
enforcement against such products as unapproved drugs prioritizes products that pose potential
safety risks, lack evidence of effectiveness, prevent patients from seeking effective therapies or
are marketed fraudulently. In addition, the FDA is less likely to exercise enforcement discretion
regarding unapproved new drugs if it finds that the marketer and its manufacturers are also
allegedly in non-compliance with cGMP requirements. Also, the FDA has indicated that approval of an
NDA for one drug within a class of drugs marketed without FDA approval may also trigger agency
enforcement of the new drug requirements against all other drugs within that class that have not
been so approved. While the FDA generally provides sponsors with a one-year grace period during
which time they are permitted to continue selling the unapproved drug, it is not statutorily
required to do so and could ask or require that the products be removed from the market
immediately. Although we may be given the benefit of a grace period to submit a marketing
application before the agency would take enforcement action, the time it takes us to complete the
necessary clinical trials and submit an NDA or ANDA to the FDA may exceed this time period, which
would result in an interruption of sales of our products.
As of April 30, 2009, our only products that are subject to approved NDAs or ANDAs are the
SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO CR, ZYFLO and our propoxyphene/acetaminophen products. All of our other
products are
marketed in the United States without an FDA-approved marketing application. Our net revenues
from the sale of unapproved products were $21.7 million, or 71% of total net revenues, in the
quarter ended March 31, 2009, and were $49.8 million, or 77% of total net revenues, in the year
ended December 31, 2008.
Our net revenues from sales of the ALLERX Dose Pack products were $10.9 million in the quarter
ended March 31, 2009 and $26.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2008. Our net revenues from
sales of our HYOMAX products, which we launched beginning in May 2008, were $8.6 million in the
quarter ended March 31, 2009 and $23.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2008. If the FDA
required us to remove our unapproved products from the market, particularly our ALLERX Dose Pack
family of products and our HYOMAX line of products, our
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revenue from product sales would be
significantly reduced. For example, when the FDA announced in May 2007 that it was directing that
all non-approved extended-release guaifenesin products, including Cornerstones DECONSAL II
product, be removed from the market within 180 days, the FDA noted that Adams was the only company to date that had obtained FDA approval for
timed-release products containing guaifenesin. Our net revenues from sales of DECONSAL II were
$177,000 in 2007 and $1.2 million in 2006.
Our sales depend on payment and reimbursement from third-party payors, and a reduction in the
payment rate or reimbursement could result in decreased use or sales of our products.
Our sales of currently marketed products are, and any future sales of our product candidates
will be, dependent, in part, on the availability of coverage and reimbursement from third-party
payors, including government health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and private
insurance plans. All of our products are generally covered by managed care and private insurance
plans. Generally, the status or tier within managed care formularies, which are lists of approved
products developed by managed care organizations, or MCOs, varies but coverage is similar to other
products within the same class of drugs. For example, the SPECTRACEF products are covered by
private insurance plans, similar to other marketed, branded cephalosporins. However, the position
of ZYFLO CR may make it more difficult to expand the current market share for this product. In most
instances, ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO have been placed in formulary positions that require a higher
co-payment for patients. In some cases, MCOs may require additional evidence that a patient had
previously failed another therapy, additional paperwork or prior authorization from the MCO before
approving reimbursement for ZYFLO CR. Some Medicare Part D plans also cover some or all of our
products, but the amount and level of coverage varies from plan to plan. We also participate in the
Medicaid Drug Rebate program with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and submit all of
our products for inclusion in this program. Coverage of our products under individual state
Medicaid plans varies from state to state.
There have been, there are and we expect there will continue to be federal and state
legislative and administrative proposals that could limit the amount that government health care
programs will pay to reimburse the cost of pharmaceutical and biologic products. For example, the
Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, or the MMA, created a new
Medicare benefit for prescription drugs. More recently, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
significantly reduced reimbursement for drugs under the Medicaid program. Legislative or
administrative acts that reduce reimbursement for our products could adversely impact our business.
In addition, private insurers, such as MCOs, may adopt their own reimbursement reductions in
response to federal or state legislation. Any reduction in reimbursement for our products could
materially harm our results of operations. In addition, we believe that the increasing emphasis on
managed care in the United States has and will continue to put pressure on the price and usage of
our products, which may adversely impact our product sales. Furthermore, when a new product is
approved, governmental and private coverage for that product, and the amount for which that product
will be reimbursed, are uncertain. We cannot predict the availability or amount of reimbursement
for our product candidates, and current reimbursement policies for marketed products may change at
any time.
The MMA established a voluntary prescription drug benefit, called Part D, which became
effective in 2006 for all Medicare beneficiaries. We cannot be certain that our currently marketed
products will continue to be, or any of our product candidates still in development will be,
included in the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Even if our products are included, the private
health plans that administer the Medicare drug benefit can limit the number of prescription drugs
that are covered on their formularies in each therapeutic category and class. In addition, private
managed care plans and other government agencies continue to seek price discounts. Because many of
these same private health plans administer the Medicare drug benefit, they have the ability to
influence prescription decisions for a larger segment of the population. In addition, certain
states have proposed or adopted various programs under
their Medicaid programs to control drug prices, including price constraints, restrictions on
access to certain products and bulk purchasing of drugs.
If we succeed in bringing additional products to the market, these products may not be
considered cost-effective, and reimbursement to the patient may not be available or sufficient to
allow us to sell our product candidates on a competitive basis to a sufficient patient population.
Because our product candidates are in the development stage, we do not know whether payors will
cover the products and the level of reimbursement, if any, we will receive for these product
candidates if they are successfully developed, and we are unable at this time to determine the
cost-
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effectiveness of these product candidates. We may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic
trials in order to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of products.
If the reimbursement we receive for any of our product candidates is inadequate in light of
its development and other costs, our ability to realize profits from the affected product candidate
would be limited. If reimbursement for our marketed products changes adversely or if we fail to
obtain adequate reimbursement for our other current or future products, health care providers may
limit how much or under what circumstances they will prescribe or administer them, which could
reduce use of our products or cause us to reduce the price of our products.
If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements for our products or if we experience
unanticipated problems with them, the FDA may take regulatory actions detrimental to our business,
resulting in temporary or permanent interruption of distribution, withdrawal of products from the
market or other penalties.
We and our products are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA. These requirements
include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information; record-keeping and reporting;
annual registration of manufacturing facilities and listing of products with the FDA; ongoing
compliance with cGMP regulations; and requirements regarding advertising, promotion and the
distribution of samples to physicians and related recordkeeping. For example, we received a warning letter from the FDAs Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising
and Communications, or DDMAC, on May 4, 2009 relating to two sales aids that we formerly used to
promote SPECTRACEF. The FDA asserted that the sales aids are misleading because they broaden the
approved indication for SPECTRACEF, omit risks related to its use, make unsubstantiated superiority
claims, overstate the efficacy of SPECTRACEF and make misleading dosing claims. While we no longer
use the sales aids reviewed by the FDA, in response to the warning letter, we have initiated a
review of all of our current SPECTRACEF promotional materials for deficiencies similar to those
identified by the FDA in the warning letter to ensure that we take effective action to immediately
cease and avoid the future dissemination of such deficient promotional materials. As requested by
the FDA, we will provide a written response to the FDA by May 18, 2009. As part of our response,
we will provide a description of our plan to disseminate corrective messages about the promotional
material to those who received any deficient promotional materials. We plan to incorporate
appropriate revisions into new SPECTRACEF promotional materials and to work with FDAs DDMAC to
address their stated concerns. If we were to receive any additional warning letters, we could be
subject to additional regulatory actions by the FDA, including product seizure, injunctions, and
other penalties and our reputation in the market could be harmed.
The manufacturer and the
manufacturing facilities used to make our products and product candidates are also subject to
comprehensive regulatory requirements. The FDA periodically inspects sponsors, marketers and
manufacturers for compliance with these requirements. Additional, potentially costly, requirements
may apply to specific products as a condition of FDA approval or subsequent regulatory
developments. For example, as part of the approval of the NDA for ZYFLO CR in May 2007, the FDA
required us to conduct a pediatric clinical trial of ZYFLO CR as a post-approval commitment and
report the results to the FDA by June 2010. If we do not successfully begin and complete this
clinical trial in the time required by the FDA, our ability to market and sell ZYFLO CR may be
hindered, and our business may be harmed as a result.
On April 28, 2009, the FDA issued us a Notice of Inspectional Observations, or Form 483, in
connection with an inspection of our ZYFLO CR regulatory procedures by the FDA conducted during
April 2009. The Form 483 stated that our processes related to ZYFLO CR for review of batch
specific documentation, analytical information, deviations, and investigations prior to finished
product release for distribution, our staffing levels relating to quality assurance and controls,
and our late filing of a ZYFLO CR Field Alert Report are areas of possible non-compliance with FDA
regulations. We have not yet responded to the Form 483 but we intend to take appropriate action to
effectively address all the observations identified by the FDA in the Form 483 as quickly as
practicable.
If the FDA makes additional inspectional observations, or if the FDA is not satisfied with the
corrective actions we take in response to the Form 483, we could be subject to further FDA action
including sanctions. We may also be subject to sanctions as a result of discovery of previously
unknown problems with our products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply
with applicable regulatory requirements. Possible sanctions include:
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withdrawal of the products from the market; |
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restrictions on the marketing or distribution of such products; |
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restrictions on the manufacturers or manufacturing processes; |
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warning letters; |
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refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we
submit; |
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recalls; |
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fines; |
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suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals; |
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refusal to permit the import or export of our products; |
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product seizures; or |
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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties. |
Any of these actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition
and results of operations.
State and federal pharmaceutical marketing and promotional compliance and reporting requirements
may expose us to regulatory and legal action by government authorities.
In recent years, several states, including California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Nevada, Vermont and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia, have enacted legislation
requiring pharmaceutical companies to establish marketing and promotional compliance programs or
file periodic reports with the state on sales and marketing activities and expenditures, including
but not limited to, the provision of gifts to healthcare practitioners. For example, a California
statute effective July 1, 2005 requires pharmaceutical companies to adopt and post on their public
web site a comprehensive compliance program that complies with the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the Office of
Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services Compliance Program Guidance for
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. In addition, such a compliance program must establish a specific
annual dollar limit on gifts or other items given to individual health care professionals in
California. Other states have also enacted statutes of varying scope that impose reporting and
disclosure requirements on pharmaceutical companies pertaining to drug pricing. Similar legislation
is being considered in a number of other states and the U.S. Congress is also considering
legislation that would require drug manufacturers to report to the federal government their
payments and other transfers of value to physicians.
Many of the existing requirements are new and have not been definitively interpreted by state
authorities or courts, and available guidance is limited. Unless and until we are in full
compliance with these laws, we could face enforcement action and fines and other penalties, and
could receive adverse publicity, all of which could materially harm our business.
We may be subject to investigations or other inquiries concerning our compliance with reporting
obligations under federal health care program pharmaceutical pricing requirements.
There have been a number of government enforcement actions under the federal health care
programs, primarily Medicare and Medicaid, against numerous pharmaceutical companies alleging that
the reporting of prices for pharmaceutical products has resulted in false and overstated prices,
such as average wholesale and best price, which are alleged to have improperly inflated the
reimbursements paid by Medicare, state Medicaid programs and other payors to health care providers
who prescribed and administered those products or pharmacies that dispensed those products. These
actions have been brought by both the federal government and individual states. Failure to comply
with these government health care program pharmaceutical pricing requirements may lead to federal
or state investigations, criminal or civil liability, exclusion from government health care
programs, contractual damages and otherwise materially harm our reputation, business and prospects.
Our corporate compliance and corporate governance programs cannot guarantee that we are in
compliance with all potentially applicable regulations.
The development, manufacturing, pricing, marketing, sales and reimbursement of our products
and product candidates, together with our general operations, are subject to extensive regulation
by federal, state and other
authorities within the United States. We are a relatively small company and had approximately
129 employees as of April 30, 2009. We rely heavily on third parties to conduct many important
functions. We have developed and instituted a corporate compliance program designed to comply with
current best practices for pharmaceutical companies and continue to update the program in response
to newly implemented and changing regulatory requirements. However, our compliance program does not
and cannot guarantee that we are in compliance with all potentially applicable federal and state
regulations. If we fail to comply with any of these regulations, we may be subject to a range of
enforcement actions, including significant fines, litigation or other sanctions. Any action against
us for a violation of these regulations, even if we successfully defend against such actions, could
cause us to incur significant legal expenses, divert our managements attention and harm our
reputation.
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We will spend considerable time and money complying with federal and state laws and
regulations, and, if we are unable to fully comply with such laws and regulations, we could face
substantial penalties.
Health care providers, physicians and others play a primary role in the recommendation and
prescription of our products. Our arrangements with third-party payors and customers may expose us
to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other health care laws and regulations that may constrain
the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we will market, sell and
distribute our products. Applicable federal and state health care laws and regulations, include,
but are not limited to, the following:
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The federal anti-kickback statute is a criminal statute that makes it a felony for
individuals or entities knowingly and willfully to offer or pay, or to solicit or receive,
direct or indirect remuneration, in order to induce the purchase, order, lease, or
recommending of items or services, or the referral of patients for services, that are
reimbursed under a federal health care program, including Medicare and Medicaid; |
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The federal False Claims Act imposes liability on any person who knowingly submits, or
causes another person or entity to submit, a false claim for payment of government funds.
Penalties include three times the governments damages plus civil penalties of $5,500 to
$11,000 per false claim. In addition, the False Claims Act permits a person with knowledge
of fraud, referred to as a qui tam plaintiff, to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government
against the person or business that committed the fraud, and, if the action is successful,
the qui tam plaintiff is rewarded with a percentage of the recovery; |
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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, imposes obligations,
including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security
and transmission of individually identifiable health information; |
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The Social Security Act contains numerous provisions allowing the imposition of a civil
money penalty, a monetary assessment, exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, or
some combination of these penalties; and |
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Many states have analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and
false claims laws. In some cases, these state laws impose more strict requirements than the
federal laws. Some state laws also require pharmaceutical companies to comply with certain
price reporting and other compliance requirements. |
We are a participant in the Medicaid rebate program established by the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended, effective in 1993. Under the Medicaid rebate program, we
pay a rebate for each unit of our product reimbursed by Medicaid. The amount of the rebate for each
product is set by law. We are also required to pay certain statutorily defined rebates on Medicaid
purchases for reimbursement on prescription drugs under state Medicaid plans. Both the federal
government and state governments have initiated investigations into the rebate practices of many
pharmaceutical companies to ensure compliance with these rebate programs. Any investigation of our
rebate practices could be costly, could divert the attention of our management and could damage our
reputation.
Efforts to help ensure that our business arrangements comply with these extensive federal and
state health care fraud and abuse laws could be costly. It is possible that governmental
authorities may conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes
or regulations involving applicable fraud and abuse or other health care laws and regulations. If
our past or present operations, including activities conducted by our sales team or agents, are
found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other applicable governmental regulations, we
may
be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines,
exclusion from government health care programs and the curtailment or restructuring of our
operations. If any of the physicians or other providers or entities with whom we do business is
found not to be in compliance with applicable laws, they may also be subject to criminal, civil or
administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government health care programs.
Many aspects of the above-described laws have not been definitively interpreted by the
regulatory authorities or the courts, and their provisions are open to a variety of subjective
interpretations, which increases the risk of potential violations. In addition, these laws and
their interpretations are subject to change. Any action against us for
50
violation of these laws,
even if we successfully defend against the action, could cause us to incur significant legal
expenses, divert our managements attention from the operation of our business and damage our
reputation.
Recent proposed legislation may permit re-importation of drugs from foreign countries into the
United States, including foreign countries where the drugs are sold at lower prices than in the
United States, which could force us to lower the prices of our products and impair our ability to
derive revenue from our products.
Legislation has been introduced in the United States Congress that, if enacted, would permit
more widespread re-importation of FDA-approved drugs from foreign countries into the United States.
This could include re-importation from foreign countries where the drugs are sold at lower prices
than in the United States. While we do not currently sell any of our products outside the United
States, legislation or other factors that increase such sales by our direct competitors could
adversely affect our pricing and revenues. Alternatively, in response to legislation such as this,
we might elect not to seek approval for or market our products in foreign jurisdictions in order to
minimize the risk of re-importation, which could also reduce the revenue generated from our product
sales.
Risks Relating to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We use third parties to manufacture all of our products and product candidates. This may increase
the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our products or product candidates at an
acceptable cost, which could result in clinical development and commercialization of product
candidates being delayed, prevented or impaired.
We have no manufacturing facilities and rely on third parties to manufacture and supply all of
our products. We currently rely on these third parties for the purchase of raw materials and the
manufacture and packaging of our products. Many of the agreements we have entered into are
exclusive agreements in which the manufacturer is a single-source supplier, preventing us from
using alternative sources.
We obtain all of our BALACET 325, APAP 500 and APAP 325 supply from Vintage, which has the
exclusive right to supply all of our requirements for these products. Meiji has the exclusive right
to supply all of our requirements for cefditoren pivoxil, the API in SPECTRACEF. We also acquire
all of our requirements for the SPECTRACEF products from Meiji. We acquire all of our requirements
for the HYOMAX line of products and all of the bulk tablets for our ALLERX Dose Pack products from
Sovereign. We also have qualified two packagers of the ALLERX product line.
We have contracted with Shasun Pharma Solutions, or Shasun, for commercial production of the
zileuton API, subject to specified limitations, through December 31, 2010. Zileuton API is used in
our FDA-approved oral zileuton products, ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, as well as in our zileuton injection
product candidate. Our only source of supply for zileuton API is Shasun, which manufactures the
zileuton API in the United Kingdom. In addition, there is only one qualified supplier of a chemical
known as 2-ABT, which is one of the starting materials for zileuton, and if that manufacturer stops
manufacturing 2-ABT, is unable to manufacture 2-ABT or is unwilling to manufacture 2-ABT on
commercially reasonable terms or at all, Shasun may be unable to manufacture API for us.
We have contracted with Jagotec, a subsidiary of SkyePharma PLC, for the
manufacture of core tablets for ZYFLO CR for commercial sale. Our only source of supply for the
core tablets of ZYFLO CR is Jagotec, which manufactures them in France. We have contracted with
Patheon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Patheon, to coat and package the core tablets of ZYFLO CR for
commercial sale. Patheon is currently our only source of finished ZYFLO CR tablets. We have
contracted with Patheon to manufacture ZYFLO tablets for commercial sale. Patheon is currently our
only source of finished ZYFLO tablets.
If any of the third-party manufacturers with whom we contract fails to perform their
obligations, we may be adversely affected in a number of ways, including the following:
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We may not be able to meet commercial demands for our products; |
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We may be required to cease distribution or issue recalls; |
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We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials of product candidates that
are under development; and |
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We may be delayed in submitting applications for regulatory approvals for product
candidates. |
We may not be able to enter into alternative supply arrangements at commercially acceptable
rates, if at all. If we were required to change manufacturers, we would be required to obtain FDA
approval of an sNDA covering the new manufacturing site. In addition, we would be required to
conduct additional clinical bioequivalence trials to demonstrate that the products manufactured by
the new manufacturer are equivalent to the products manufactured by the current manufacturer, which
could take 12 to 18 months or possibly longer. The technical transfer of manufacturing capabilities
can be difficult. For example, in the second quarter of 2007, we initiated the qualification
process for two new manufacturing sites for the five different tablet formulations that are used in
the various AM/PM dosing combinations in the different ALLERX Dose Pack products in order to have
additional manufacturing capacity and to mitigate the risks associated with relying on a single
supplier. Both facilities initially encountered difficulties in developing stable tablet
formulations, which were later resolved. Any delays associated with the approval of an sNDA
covering a new manufacturer or conducting additional clinical bioequivalence trials could adversely
affect the production schedule or increase our production costs and could ultimately lead to a
shortage of supply in the market.
Additionally, FDA regulations restrict the manufacture of penicillin products in the same
facility that manufactures a cephalosporin such as the SPECTRACEF products. These restrictions
reduce the number of cGMP FDA-approved facilities that are able to manufacture cephalosporins,
which could complicate our ability to qualify manufacturers for CRTX 062 and CRTX 068 or quickly
qualify a new manufacturer for the SPECTRACEF products.
We also rely on third-party manufacturers to purchase the necessary raw materials to
manufacture our products, with the exception of cefditoren pivoxil, the API in SPECTRACEF, which we
are required to purchase from Meiji. In some instances, third-party manufacturers have encountered
difficulties obtaining raw materials needed to manufacture our products as a result of DEA
regulations and because of the limited number of suppliers of hyoscyamine sulfate and
methscopolamine nitrate. Although these difficulties have not had a material adverse impact on us,
such problems could have a material adverse impact on us in the future. In addition, supply
interruptions or delays could occur that require us or our manufacturers to obtain substitute
materials or products, which would require additional regulatory approvals. Changes in our raw
material suppliers could result in delays in production, higher raw material costs and loss of
sales and customers because regulatory authorities must generally approve raw material sources for
pharmaceutical products. Any significant supply interruption could have a material adverse effect
on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
In addition, we import the API, tablet cores and finished product for certain of our products
from third parties that manufacture such items outside the United States, and we expect to do so
from outside the United States in the future. This may give rise to difficulties in obtaining API,
tablet cores or finished product in a timely manner as a result of, among other things, regulatory
agency import inspections, incomplete or inaccurate import documentation or defective packaging.
For example, in January 2009, the FDA released draft guidance on Good Importer Practices, which, if
adopted, will impose additional requirements on us with respect to oversight of our third-party
manufacturers outside the United States. The FDA has stated that it will inspect 100% of API,
tablet cores and finished product that is imported into the United States. If the FDA requires
additional documentation from third-party manufacturers relating to the safety or intended use of
the API or finished product, the importation of the API or finished product could be delayed. While
in transit from outside the United States or while stored with our third-party logistics provider,
DDN/Obergfel, LLC, or DDN, our API, tablet cores or finished product could be lost or
suffer damage, which would render such items unusable. We have attempted to take appropriate
risk mitigation steps and to obtain transit or casualty insurance. However, depending upon when the
loss or damage occurs, we may have limited recourse for recovery against our manufacturers or
insurers. As a result, our financial performance could be impacted by any such loss or damage.
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We rely on third-party manufacturers for compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
This may increase the risk of sanctions being imposed on us or on a manufacturer of our
products or product candidates, which could result in our inability to obtain sufficient
quantities of these products or product candidates.
Our third-party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMP regulations or other United
States regulatory requirements or similar regulatory requirements outside the United States. DEA
regulations also govern facilities where controlled substances are manufactured. Our third-party
manufacturers are subject to DEA registration requirements and unannounced inspections by the FDA,
the DEA, state regulators and similar regulators outside the United States. While we generally
negotiate for the right under our long-term manufacturing contracts to periodically audit our
third-party manufacturers performance, we do not have control over our third-party manufacturers
compliance with these regulations. We cannot assure you that our current quality assurance program
is reasonably designed to, or would, discover all instances of non-compliance by our third-party
manufacturers with these regulations. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers,
to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including:
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fines; |
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injunctions; |
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civil penalties; |
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the failure of regulatory authorities to grant marketing approval of our product
candidates; |
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delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals; |
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suspension of manufacturing operations; |
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license revocation; |
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seizures or recalls of products or product candidates; |
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operating restrictions; and |
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criminal prosecutions. |
Any of these sanctions could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our products and
product candidates.
Difficulties relating to the supply chain for ZYFLO CR tablets could significantly inhibit our
ability to meet, or prevent us from meeting, commercial demand for the product.
In 2008, we experienced difficulties in the supply chain for ZYFLO CR, including an aggregate
of eight batches of ZYFLO CR that could not be released into our commercial supply chain,
consisting of one batch of ZYFLO CR that did not meet our product release specifications and an
additional seven batches of ZYFLO CR that were on quality assurance hold and that could not
complete manufacturing within the NDA-specified manufacturing timelines. In conjunction with our
three third-party manufacturers for zileuton API, tablet cores and coating and release, we
initiated an investigation to determine the cause of this issue and we believe that we have
resolved the supply chain issue. Any delays or difficulties associated with our supply chain for
ZYFLO CR could adversely affect our production schedule or increase our production costs and could
ultimately lead to a shortage of supply in the market. If we are not able to supply ZYFLO CR at a
commercially acceptable cost and level, we could experience difficulties in maintaining or
increasing market share for ZYFLO CR.
We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, and those third parties may not perform
satisfactorily, including failing to meet established deadlines for the completion of such trials.
We do not independently conduct clinical trials for our product candidates. We rely on third
parties, such as contract research organizations, clinical data management organizations, medical
institutions and clinical investigators, to perform this function. Reliance on these third parties
for clinical development activities reduces our
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control over these activities. We are responsible
for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the general
investigational plan and protocols for the trial. Moreover, the FDA requires us to comply with
standards, commonly referred to as Good Clinical Practices, for conducting, recording, and
reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and
accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of trial participants are protected.
Our reliance on third parties that we do not control does not relieve us of these responsibilities
and requirements. Furthermore, these third parties may also have relationships with other entities,
some of which may be our competitors. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their
contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our clinical trials in accordance with
regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, we will not be able to obtain, or may be delayed
in obtaining, regulatory approvals for our product candidates and will not be able to, or may be
delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize our product candidates.
We rely on third parties to market and promote some products, and these third parties may not
successfully commercialize these products.
We may seek to enter into co-promotion arrangements to enhance our promotional efforts and,
therefore, sales of our products. By entering into agreements with pharmaceutical companies that
have experienced sales forces with strong management support, we can reach health care providers in
areas where we have limited or no sales force representation, thus expanding the reach of our sales
and marketing programs.
We also seek to enter into co-promotion arrangements for the marketing of products that are
not aligned with our respiratory focus and, therefore, are not promoted by our sales force. For
example, in July 2007, Atley Pharmaceuticals began marketing and promoting BALACET 325 to pain
specialists and other high prescribers of pain products through a co-promotion agreement. We rely
on MedImmune, Inc., or MedImmune, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca PLC, for the commercialization of any
products of monoclonal antibodies directed toward a cytokine called HMGB1, which we believe may be
an important target for the development of products to treat diseases mediated by the bodys
inflammatory response, and we plan to rely on Beckman Coulter, Inc., or Beckman Coulter, for the
commercialization of any diagnostic assay for HMGB1. We may not be successful in entering into
additional marketing arrangements in the future and, even if successful, we may not be able to
enter into these arrangements on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, we may have limited
or no control over the sales, marketing and distribution activities of these third parties. If
these third parties are not successful in commercializing the products covered by these
arrangements, our future revenues may suffer.
We rely on DEY to jointly promote and market ZYFLO CR. DEY initiated promotional detailing
activities for ZYFLO CR in October 2007. Both DEY and we may terminate the co-promotion agreement
on or after October 1, 2012 with six months advance written notice. DEY also has the right to
terminate the co-promotion agreement upon two (2) months prior written notice to us if in any two
consecutive calendar quarters we are unable to deliver to DEY at least seventy five percent (75%)
of the ZYFLO CR samples forecast by DEY for such quarters, or if at any time commercial supplies of
ZYFLO CR remain on back order for more than one calendar quarter. In addition, DEY has the right
to terminate the co-promotion agreement after January 1, 2010 with two months prior written notice
if ZYFLO CR cumulative net sales for any four consecutive calendar quarters beginning on or after
January 1, 2009 are less than $20 million. Both parties have agreed to use diligent efforts to
promote the applicable products in the United States during the term of the co-promotion agreement.
In particular, both parties have agreed to provide a minimum number of details per month for ZYFLO
CR.
If DEY were to terminate or breach the co-promotion agreement, and we were unable to enter
into a similar co-promotion agreement with another qualified party in a timely manner or devote
sufficient financial resources or capabilities to independently promote and market ZYFLO CR, then
our sales of ZYFLO CR would be limited and we would not be able to generate significant revenues
from product sales. In addition, DEY may choose not to devote time, effort or resources to the
promotion and marketing of ZYFLO CR beyond the minimum required by the terms of the co-promotion
agreement. DEY is a subsidiary of Mylan Inc., or Mylan. Mylan acquired DEY in October 2007 as part
of its acquisition of Merck KGaAs generic business, of which DEY was a part. We cannot predict
what impact Mylans acquisition of DEY may have on our co-promotion arrangement. Any decision by
DEY or Mylan not to devote sufficient resources to the co-promotion arrangement or any future
reduction in efforts under the co-promotion arrangement, including as a result of the sale or
potential sale of DEY by Mylan, would limit our ability to generate significant revenues from
product sales. Furthermore, if DEY does not have sufficient sales capabilities, then DEY may not be
able to meet its minimum detailing obligations under the co-promotion agreement.
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The concentration of our product sales to only a few wholesale distributors increases the risk
that we will not be able to effectively distribute our products if we need to replace any of these
customers, which would cause our sales to decline.
The majority of our sales are to a small number of pharmaceutical wholesale distributors,
which in turn sell our products primarily to retail pharmacies, which ultimately dispense our
products to the end consumers. Sales to our three primary wholesale distributors, AmerisourceBergen
Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., or Cardinal Health, and McKesson Corporation, collectively
accounted for at least 86% of our gross product sales during 2008.
The loss of any of these wholesaler customers accounts or a material reduction in their
purchases could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations if we are unable
to enter into agreements with replacement wholesale distributors on commercially reasonable terms.
The risk of this occurring is exacerbated by the recent significant consolidation in the wholesale
drug distribution industry, including through mergers and acquisitions among wholesale distributors
and the growth of large retail drugstore chains. As a result, a small number of large wholesale
distributors control a significant share of the market.
Our business could suffer as a result of a failure to manage and maintain our distribution
network.
We rely on third parties to distribute our products to pharmacies. We have contracted with
DDN, a third-party logistics company, for the distribution of our products to wholesalers, retail
drug stores, mass merchandisers and grocery stores in the United States.
Our distribution network requires significant coordination with our supply chain, sales and
marketing and finance organizations. Failure to maintain our third-party contracts or a third
partys inability or failure to adequately perform as agreed under its contract with us could
negatively impact us. We do not have our own warehouse or distribution capabilities, we lack the
resources and experience to establish any of these functions, and we do not intend to establish
these functions in the foreseeable future. If we are unable to effectively manage and maintain our
distribution network, sales of our products could be severely compromised and our business could be
harmed.
We also depend on the distribution abilities of our wholesale customers to ensure that
products are effectively distributed throughout the supply chain. If there are any interruptions in
our customers ability to distribute products through their distribution centers, our products may
not be effectively distributed, which could cause confusion and frustration among pharmacists and
lead to product substitution. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of
2008, several Cardinal Health distribution centers were placed on probation by the DEA and were
prohibited from distributing controlled substances. Although Cardinal Health had a plan in place to
re-route all orders to the next closest distribution center for fulfillment, system inefficiency
resulted in a failure to effectively distribute our products to all areas.
If any of the third parties that we rely upon for assistance in researching, developing,
manufacturing, promoting and distributing our products and product candidates defaults on or is
unable to refinance at maturity its third party indebtedness, our operating performance would be
adversely affected.
The full impact of the credit crunch that is currently affecting the national and
international credit markets has yet to be fully established and therefore the possibility remains
that credit conditions, as well as a slowdown or recession in economic growth, could adversely
affect the third parties upon whom we rely for researching, developing, manufacturing, promoting
and distributing our products and product candidates. We believe that some
of the third parties upon which we rely, including Neos Therapeutics, L.P., or Neos, depend on
financing from banks, financial institutions and other third-party financing sources in order to
finance their operations. The current economic environment may make it more difficult or impossible
for these third parties to obtain additional financing or extend the terms of their current
financing. Some of these third parties may be highly leveraged, and if they are unable to service
their indebtedness, such failure could adversely affect their ability to maintain their operations
and to meet their contractual obligations to us, which may have an adverse effect on our financial
condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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We depend on MedImmune and Beckman Coulter and expect to depend on additional collaborators in the
future for a portion of our revenues and to develop, conduct clinical trials with, obtain
regulatory approvals for, and manufacture, market and sell some of our product candidates. These
collaborations may not be successful.
We have entered into and may in the future enter into collaboration arrangements on a
selective basis. For example, we have determined as a strategic matter to seek to enter into
collaboration arrangements with respect to the development of our alpha-7 product candidates and
our zileuton injection product candidate.
We are relying on MedImmune to fund the development of and to commercialize product candidates
in our HMGB1 program. We are relying on Beckman Coulter to fund the development and to
commercialize diagnostics in our HMGB1 program. Payments due to us under the collaboration
agreements with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter are generally based on the achievement of specific
development and commercialization milestones that may not be met. In addition, the collaboration
agreements entitle us to royalty payments that are based on the sales of products developed and
marketed through the collaborations. These future royalty payments may not materialize or may be
less than expected if the related products are not successfully developed or marketed or if we are
forced to license intellectual property to continue to generate revenues.
Our collaboration agreement with MedImmune generally is terminable by MedImmune at any time
upon six-months notice or upon our material uncured breach of the agreement. The parties agreed to
work exclusively in the development and commercialization of HMGB1-inhibiting products for a period
of four years, and, after such time, we have agreed to work exclusively with MedImmune in the
development of HMGB1-inhibiting products for the remaining term of the agreement. If MedImmune were
to terminate or breach this arrangement, and we were unable to enter into a similar collaboration
agreement with another qualified third party in a timely manner or devote sufficient financial
resources or capabilities to continue development and commercialization on our own, the development
and commercialization of the HMGB1 program likely would be delayed, curtailed or terminated, which
could harm our future prospects.
In June 2007, AstraZeneca PLC completed its acquisition of MedImmune and MedImmune became a
wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca. We cannot predict what impact this transaction may have on
our HMGB1 collaboration with MedImmune. If MedImmune does not devote sufficient time and resources
to our collaboration or changes the focus of its programs, it could delay or prevent the
achievement of clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones and prevent us from realizing the
potential commercial benefits of the collaboration.
Our license agreement with Beckman Coulter generally is terminable by Beckman Coulter on
90-days written notice. If Beckman Coulter were to terminate or materially breach the license
agreement, and we were unable to enter into a similar agreement with another qualified third party
in a timely manner or devote sufficient financial resources or capabilities to continue development
and commercialization on our own, the development and commercialization of a diagnostic based on
the detection of HMGB1 likely would be delayed, curtailed or terminated.
In addition, our collaborations with MedImmune and Beckman Coulter and any future third-party
collaborative arrangements may not be scientifically or commercially successful. Factors that may
affect the success of collaborations include the following:
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Collaborators may be pursuing alternative technologies or developing alternative
products, either on their own or in collaboration with others, that may be competitive with
the product on which they are collaborating with us or that could affect our collaborators
commitment to us; |
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Reductions in marketing or sales efforts or a discontinuation of marketing or sales of
our products by our collaborators would reduce our revenues, which we expect will be based
on a percentage of net sales by collaborators; |
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Collaborators may terminate their collaborations with us, which could make it difficult
for us to attract new collaborators or adversely affect how we are perceived in the
business and financial communities; |
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Collaborators may not devote sufficient time and resources to any collaboration with
us, which could prevent us from realizing the potential commercial benefits of that
collaboration; and |
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Collaborators may pursue higher priority programs or change the focus of their
development programs, which could affect their commitments to us. |
The success of our collaboration arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and
activities of our collaborators. Collaborators generally have significant discretion in determining
the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations. Disagreements between
parties to a collaboration arrangement regarding clinical development and commercialization matters
can lead to delays in the development process or the commercialization of the applicable product
candidate and, in some cases, termination of the collaboration arrangement. These disagreements can
be difficult to resolve if neither of the parties has final decision-making authority.
Collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and other third parties often are terminated or
allowed to expire by the other party. Any such termination or expiration of our collaboration
agreements would adversely affect us financially and could harm our business reputation.
Risks Relating to Intellectual Property and Licenses
If we are unable to obtain and maintain protection for the intellectual property relating to our
technology and products, the value of our technology and products will be adversely affected.
Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain protection for the
intellectual property covering or incorporated into our technology and products, whether such
technology is owned by us or licensed to us by third parties. Patent protection in the
pharmaceutical field is highly uncertain and involves complex legal and scientific questions. We
and our licensors may not be able to obtain additional issued patents relating to our respective
technology or products. Even if issued, patents issued to us or our licensors may be challenged,
narrowed, invalidated, held to be unenforceable or circumvented, which could limit our ability to
stop competitors from marketing similar products or limit the longevity of the patent protection we
may have for our products. For example, two United States patents exclusively licensed to us have
been challenged by third parties in re-examination proceedings before the USPTO. While we no longer rely on one of the patents to protect any of our products, we
believe that the other United States patent being re-examined, the 372 Patent, covers ALLERX 10
Dose Pack, ALLERX 30 Dose Pack, ALLERX Dose Pack PE and ALLERX Dose Pack PE 30. In addition,
Breckenridge filed suit on November 10, 2008, against Cornerstone BioPharma, Inc. in the United
States District Court for the District of Maryland seeking, among other things, a declaratory
judgment that the 372 Patent is invalid. The re-examination proceedings before the USPTO and the Breckenridge litigation are described in greater detail in our
annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 26, 2009 under the caption Legal
Proceedings in Part I, Item 3. If the USPTO or the United
States District Court for the District of Maryland finds that some or all of the claims under the
372 Patent are invalid, our sales of the ALLERX Dose Pack products and our future operating and
financial results could be adversely affected. Additionally, changes in either patent laws or in
interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of
our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection.
Our owned or licensed patents also may not afford protection against competitors with similar
technology. Because patent applications in the United States and many other jurisdictions are
typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all, and because
publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we
cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed in our or
our licensors issued patents or pending patent applications, or that we or our licensors were the
first to file for protection of the inventions set forth in these patent applications. If a third
party has also filed a United States patent application covering our product candidates or a
similar invention, we may have to
participate in an adversarial proceeding, known as an interference,
declared by the USPTO
to determine priority of invention in the United States. These
proceedings are costly and time-consuming, and it is possible that our efforts could be
unsuccessful, resulting in a loss of our United States patent protection. In addition, United
States patents generally expire, regardless of the date of issue, 20 years from the earliest
claimed non-provisional filing date. Because the timing for submission of our applications to the
FDA for regulatory approval of our product candidates is uncertain and, once submitted, the FDA
regulatory process and timing for regulatory approval with respect to our product candidates is
unpredictable, our estimates regarding the
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commercialization dates of our product candidates are
subject to change. Accordingly, the length of time, if any, our product candidates, once
commercialized, will remain subject to patent protection is uncertain.
Our collaborators and licensors may have the first right to maintain or defend our
intellectual property rights and, although we may have the right to assume the maintenance and
defense of our intellectual property rights if these third parties do not, our ability to maintain
and defend our intellectual property rights may be compromised by the acts or omissions of these
third parties. For example, under our license arrangement with Pharmaceutical Innovations for
ALLERX Dose Pack and ALLERX Dose Pack PE, Pharmaceutical Innovations generally is responsible for
prosecuting and maintaining patent rights, although we have the right to support the continued
prosecution or maintenance of the patent rights if Pharmaceutical Innovations fails to do so. In
addition, both Pharmaceutical Innovations and we have the right to pursue claims against third
parties for infringement of the patent rights.
We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions or to bring such actions to a
successful conclusion. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial
cost and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel in pursuit of
these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
The composition of matter patent for the API in SPECTRACEF and in the SPECTRACEF line extension
product candidates expired in April 2009, and the composition of matter patent for the API in
ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO will expire in December 2010 and none of our other current products or current
product candidates have, or will have, composition of matter patent protection.
Some of our currently marketed products do not have patent protection and in most cases such
products face generic competition. In addition, although we own or exclusively license United
States patents and patent applications with claims directed to the pharmaceutical formulations of
our product candidates, methods of use of our product candidates to treat particular conditions,
delivery systems for our product candidates, delivery profiles of our product candidates and
methods for producing our product candidates, patent protection is not available for composition of
matter claims directed to the APIs of any of our products or product candidates other than ZYFLO CR
and ZYFLO. The SPECTRACEF composition of matter United States patent expired in April 2009. The
composition of matter United States patent for zileuton that is used in ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO will
expire in December 2010.
Because the composition of matter patent for the API in SPECTRACEF expired in April 2009 and
for the API in ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO expires in December 2010, competitors will be able to offer and
sell products with the same API so long as these competitors do not infringe any other patents that
we or third parties hold, including formulation and method of use patents. However, method of use
patents, in particular, are more difficult to enforce than composition of matter patents because of
the risk of off-label sale or use of the subject compounds. Physicians are permitted to prescribe
an approved product for uses that are not described in the products labeling. Although off-label
prescriptions may infringe our method of use patents, the practice is common across medical
specialties and such infringement is difficult to prevent or prosecute. Off-label sales would limit
our ability to generate revenue from the sale of our product candidates, if approved for commercial
sale. In addition, if a third party were able to design around our formulation and process patents
and create a different formulation using a different production process not covered by our patents
or patent applications, we would likely be unable to prevent that third party from manufacturing
and marketing its product.
Trademark protection of our products may not provide us with a meaningful competitive advantage.
We use trademarks on most of our currently marketed products and believe that having
distinctive marks is an important factor in marketing those products. Distinctive marks may also be
important for any additional products
that we successfully develop and commercially market. However, we generally do not expect our
marks to provide a meaningful competitive advantage over other branded or generic products. We
believe that efficacy, safety, convenience, price, the level of generic competition and the
availability of reimbursement from government and other third-party payors are, and are likely to
continue to be, more important factors in the commercial success of our products and, if approved,
our product candidates. For example, physicians and patients may not readily associate our
trademark with the applicable product or API. In addition, prescriptions written for a branded
product are typically filled with the generic version at the pharmacy if an approved generic is
available, resulting in a
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significant loss in sales of the branded product, including for
indications for which the generic version has not been approved for marketing by the FDA.
Competitors also may use marks or names that are similar to our trademarks. If we initiate legal
proceedings to seek to protect our trademarks, the costs of these proceedings could be substantial
and it is possible that our efforts could be unsuccessful.
Competitors may also seek to cancel our similar trademarks based on the competitors prior
use. For example, on May 15, 2008, the USPTO sent written
notice to us that Bausch & Lomb filed a cancellation proceeding
with respect to the ALLERX registration, 3,384,232 (serial number 77120121), seeking to cancel the
ALLERX registration based on Bausch & Lombs claims that such registration dilutes the distinctive
quality of Bausch & Lombs Alrex® trademark and that Bausch & Lomb is likely to be
damaged by the ALLERX registration. We responded to the TTAB
on June 24, 2008 opposing the claims by Bausch & Lomb. On February 10, 2009, the TTAB suspended
proceedings for a period of six months to allow the parties to negotiate a possible settlement of
the cancellation proceeding. If the settlement discussions do not provide a prior resolution, we
could take numerous courses of action, including continuing to oppose the claims, undertaking
action to cancel Bausch & Lombs registration of its Alrex® trademark, or entering into
discovery. If the USPTO cancels the ALLERX
registration, we will no longer be able use the federal registration symbol in conjunction with our
mark, and we may have unexpected costs of repackaging and changing our marketing materials, which
could adversely affect sales of the ALLERX Dose Pack products and our future operating and
financial results. The cancellation of the registration could also weaken our ability to enforce
our rights in the ALLERX trademark against third parties in some circumstances, as we would no
longer benefit from certain presumptions that come with a trademark
registration. The USPTO cannot
issue an injunction against the use of the ALLERX mark, and there currently is no threat pending
against us to cease using the ALLERX brand. Nonetheless, if the matter is not settled, the
possibility exists that an injunction, and even damages, could be sought against us in a new,
separate trademark infringement proceeding in federal or state court by the same plaintiff.
If we fail to comply with our obligations in our intellectual property licenses with third
parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
We have acquired intellectual property rights relating to all of our product candidates under
license agreements with third parties and expect to enter into additional licenses in the future.
These licenses provide us with rights to intellectual property that is necessary for our business.
For example, we acquired from Meiji the exclusive United States rights to market, develop and
commercialize SPECTRACEF. Pursuant to our agreement with Meiji, we obtained an exclusive license to
use know-how and trademarks to commercialize SPECTRACEF and any other pharmaceutical product
containing the API cefditoren pivoxil in the United States.
Our existing licenses impose, and we expect that future licenses will impose, various
obligations related to development and commercialization activities, milestone and royalty
payments, sublicensing, patent protection and maintenance, insurance and other similar obligations
common in these types of agreements. For example, we have entered into an agreement with Neos and
Coating Place, Inc., or Coating Place, directed to commercialization of certain combination
products, which obligates us to use commercially reasonable efforts to carry out development and
regulatory activities within timelines specified in such development agreement. Under this
agreement, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercially
launch such products in the United States as soon as practicable, and thereafter to maximize sales
of such licensed product in the United States. If we fail to comply with these obligations or
otherwise breach the license agreement, Neos or Coating Place may have the right to terminate the
license in whole, terminate the exclusive nature of the license or bring a claim against us for
damages. Any such termination or claim could prevent or impede our ability to market any product
that is covered by the licensed patents. Even if we contest any such termination or claim and are
ultimately successful, we could suffer adverse consequences to our operations and business
interests.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information and know-how, the
value of our technology and products could be adversely affected.
In addition to patented technology, we rely upon unpatented proprietary technology, processes
and know-how. We seek to protect our unpatented proprietary information in part by confidentiality
agreements with our current and potential collaborators, employees, consultants, strategic
partners, outside scientific collaborators and sponsored researchers and other advisors. These
agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of our confidential information and may not
provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential
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information.
Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our
proprietary rights. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or may be
independently developed by competitors. If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our
proprietary information and know-how, our competitors may be able to use this information to
develop products that compete with our products, which could adversely impact our business.
If we infringe or are alleged to infringe intellectual property rights of third parties, our
business will be adversely affected.
Our development and commercialization activities, as well as any product candidates or
products resulting from these activities, may infringe or be claimed to infringe one or more claims
of an issued patent or may fall within the scope of one or more claims in a published patent
application that may subsequently issue and to which we do not hold a license or other rights.
Third parties may own or control these patents or patent applications in the United States and
abroad. These third parties could bring claims against us or our collaborators that would cause us
to incur substantial expenses and, if such claims are successful, could cause us to pay substantial
damages. Further, if a patent infringement suit were brought against us or our collaborators, we or
they could be forced to stop or delay development, manufacturing or sales of the product or product
candidate that is the subject of the suit.
As a result of patent infringement or other similar claims or to avoid potential claims, we or
our potential future collaborators may choose or be required to seek a license from a third party
and be required to pay license fees or royalties or both. For example, our MedImmune collaboration
agreement provides that a portion of the royalties payable to us by MedImmune for licenses to our
intellectual property may be offset by amounts paid by MedImmune to third parties who have
competing or superior intellectual property positions in the relevant fields, which could result in
significant reductions in our revenues. These licenses may not be available on acceptable terms, or
at all. Even if we or our collaborators were able to obtain a license, the rights may be
nonexclusive, which could result in our competitors gaining access to the same intellectual
property. Ultimately, we could be prevented from commercializing a product, or be forced to cease
some aspect of our business operations, if, as a result of actual or threatened patent infringement
claims, we or our collaborators are unable to enter into licenses on acceptable terms. This could
harm our business significantly.
There have been substantial litigation and other proceedings regarding patent and other
intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In addition to
infringement claims against us, we may become a party to other patent litigation and other
proceedings, including interference proceedings declared by the
USPTO, regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products and technology. The
cost of any patent litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be
substantial. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or
proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater financial
resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or
other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the
marketplace. Patent litigation and other proceedings may also absorb significant management time.
Many of our employees were previously employed at other pharmaceutical or biotechnology
companies, including competitors or potential competitors. We try to ensure that our employees do
not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us. However, we may be
subject to claims that we or our employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed the
intellectual property, trade secrets or other proprietary information of any such employees former
employer. We may be required to engage in litigation to defend against these claims. Even if we are
successful in such litigation, the litigation could result in substantial costs to us and/or be
distracting to our management. If we fail to defend or are unsuccessful in defending against any
such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property
rights or personnel.
Risks Relating to Financial Results
We may need additional funding and may be unable to raise capital when needed, which could force
us to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development or commercialization efforts.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant development expenses in
connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we conduct clinical trials for product
candidates. In addition, we incur significant commercialization expenses related to our currently
marketed products for sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. We expect these
commercialization expenses to increase in future periods if we are successful in
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obtaining FDA
approval to market our product candidates CRTX 068, CRTX 062 and CRTX 058. We have used, and expect
to continue to use, revenue from sales of our marketed products to fund a significant portion of
the development costs of our product candidates and to expand our sales and marketing
infrastructure. However, we may need substantial additional funding for these purposes and may be
unable to raise capital when needed or on acceptable terms, which would force us to delay, reduce
or eliminate our development programs or commercialization efforts.
As of March 31, 2009, we had approximately $10.7 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand.
Based on our current operating plans, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and
revenue from product sales are
sufficient to continue to fund our existing level of operating expenses and capital expenditure
requirements for the foreseeable future.
Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
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products that we may market in the future; |
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the scope, progress, results and costs of development activities for our current
product candidates; |
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the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates; |
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the number of, and development requirements for, additional product candidates that we
pursue; |
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the costs of commercialization activities, including product marketing, sales and
distribution; |
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the costs and timing of establishing manufacturing and supply arrangements for clinical
and commercial supplies of our product candidates and products; |
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the extent to which we acquire or invest in products, businesses and technologies; |
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the extent to which we chooses to establish collaboration, co-promotion, distribution
or other similar arrangements for our marketed products and product candidates; and |
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the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications and maintaining,
enforcing and defending claims related to intellectual property owned by or licensed to us. |
The terms of any additional capital funding that we require may not be favorable to us or our
stockholders.
To the extent that our capital resources are insufficient to meet our future capital
requirements, we will need to finance our cash needs through public or private equity offerings,
debt financings, corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements or other financing
alternatives. Additional equity or debt financing, or corporate collaboration and licensing
arrangements, may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.
If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders will experience
dilution. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or
restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital
expenditures or declaring dividends. Any agreements governing debt or equity financing may also
contain terms, such as liquidation and other preferences that are not favorable to us or our
stockholders. If we raise additional funds through collaboration and licensing arrangements with
third parties, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams or
product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.
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We have incurred significant losses and may incur losses in the future.
Critical Therapeutics experienced significant operating losses in each year from its inception
in 2000 until its merger with Cornerstone BioPharma, and Cornerstone BioPharma experienced
operating losses from its inception in 2004 and has only been profitable beginning in 2007. As a
combined company, we may be unable to sustain and increase our profitability, even if we are able
to commercialize additional products. To date, we have financed our operations primarily with
revenue from product sales and borrowings. We have devoted substantially all of our efforts to:
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establishing a sales and marketing infrastructure; |
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acquiring marketed products, product candidates and related technologies; |
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commercializing marketed products; and |
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developing product candidates, including conducting clinical trials. |
We expect to continue to incur significant development and commercialization expenses as we:
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seek FDA approval for our product candidates CRTX 068 and CRTX 062; |
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advance the development of our other product candidates, including CRTX 058, CRTX 067
and CRTX 069; |
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seek regulatory approvals for product candidates that successfully complete clinical
testing; and |
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expand our sales force and marketing capabilities to prepare for the commercial launch
of future products, subject to FDA approval. |
We also expect to incur additional expenses to add operational, financial and management
information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our product development efforts.
For us to sustain and increase our profitability, we believe that we must succeed in
commercializing additional drugs with significant market potential. This will require us to be
successful in a range of challenging activities, including:
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successfully completing clinical trials of our product candidates; |
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obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval for these product candidates; and |
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manufacturing, marketing and selling those products for which we may obtain regulatory
approval. |
We may never succeed in these activities and may never generate revenue that is sufficient to
sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Any failure to sustain and
increase profitability could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify
our product offerings or continue operations.
If the estimates that we make, or the assumptions upon which we rely, in preparing our financial
statements prove inaccurate, the actual results may vary from those reflected in our projections.
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make
estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of our assets, liabilities, stockholders
deficit, revenues and expenses, the amounts of charges accrued by us and related disclosure of
contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various
other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. For example, at the
same time we recognize revenues for product sales, we also record an adjustment, or decrease, to
revenue for estimated chargebacks, rebates, discounts, vouchers and returns, which management
determines on a product-by-product basis as its best estimate at the time of sale based on each
products historical experience adjusted to reflect known changes in the factors that impact such
reserves. Actual sales allowances may exceed our estimates for a
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variety of reasons, including
unanticipated competition, regulatory actions or changes in one or more of our contractual
relationships. We cannot assure you, therefore, that any of our estimates, or the assumptions
underlying them, will be correct.
Our short operating history may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our
business to date and to assess our future viability.
We have a short operating history. Cornerstone BioPharma commenced active operations in 2004.
Excluding ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, Cornerstone acquired most of its currently marketed products and
product candidates through two licensing transactions, one for the ALLERX Dose Pack products in
February 2005 and the other for SPECTRACEF in October 2006, after these products were already being
marketed by other companies. Excluding approvals to market ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO obtained by Critical
Therapeutics personnel who are no longer with Cornerstone and the approval for SPECTRACEF 400 mg,
for which the FDA approved Cornerstones sNDA in July 2008 and which we launched in October 2008,
we have not received approval from the FDA for any of our products or demonstrated our ability to
obtain regulatory approval for any drugs that we have developed or are developing. In addition, we
have not demonstrated our ability to initiate sales and marketing activities for successful
commercialization of a newly approved product. As a relatively new business, we may encounter
unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known and unknown factors.
Our operating results are likely to fluctuate from period to period.
We anticipate that there may be fluctuations in our future operating results. Potential causes
of future fluctuations in our operating results may include:
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new product launches, which could increase revenues but also increase sales and
marketing expenses; |
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acquisition activity; |
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one-time charges, such as for inventory expiration or product quality issues; |
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increases in research and development expenses resulting from the acquisition of a
product candidate that requires significant additional development; |
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changes in the competitive, regulatory or reimbursement environment, which could
decrease revenues or increase sales and marketing, product development or compliance costs; |
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unexpected product liability or intellectual property claims and lawsuits; |
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significant payments, such as milestones, required under collaboration, licensing and
development agreements before the related product candidate has received FDA approval; |
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marketing exclusivity, if any, which may be obtained on certain new products; |
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the dependence on a small number of products for a significant portion of net revenues
and net income; and |
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price erosion and customer consolidation. |
Additionally, the ongoing integration of the Cornerstone BioPharma and Critical Therapeutics
businesses following our merger could cause disruptions to our ongoing operations and be
distracting to our management, which could cause fluctuations in our operating results. We may
never fully realize the benefits or synergies from the merger that we have anticipated. If we are
unable to successfully integrate our business operations following the consummation of the merger,
our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
63
Risks Relating to Employee Matters and Managing Growth
If we fail to attract and retain key personnel, or to retain our executive management team, we may
be unable to successfully develop or commercialize our products.
Recruiting and retaining highly qualified scientific, technical and managerial personnel and
research partners will be critical to our success. Any expansion into areas and activities
requiring additional expertise, such as clinical trials, governmental approvals and contract
manufacturing, will place additional requirements on our management, operational and financial
resources. These demands may require us to hire additional personnel and will require our existing
management personnel to develop additional expertise. We face intense competition for personnel.
The failure to attract and retain personnel or to develop such expertise could delay or halt the
development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates. If we experience
difficulties in hiring and retaining personnel in key positions, we could suffer from delays in
product development, loss of customers and sales and diversion of management resources, which could
adversely affect operating results. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific
personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and
advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our development
and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by third parties and
may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with third parties that may limit their
availability to us.
We depend to a great extent on the principal members of our management and scientific staff.
The loss of the services of any of our key personnel, in particular, Craig Collard, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Brian Dickson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, and David Price, Executive
Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, might significantly delay or prevent the
achievement of our development and commercialization objectives and could cause us to incur
additional costs to recruit replacements. Each member of our executive management team may
terminate his employment at any time. We do not maintain key person life insurance with respect
to any of our executives. Furthermore, if we decide to recruit new executive personnel, we will
incur additional costs.
We may experience turnover amongst our board of directors. If our board were to fail to
satisfy the requirements of relevant rules and regulations of the SEC and NASDAQ relating to
director independence or membership on board committees, this could result in the delisting of our
common stock from NASDAQ or could adversely affect investors confidence in us and our ability to
access the capital markets. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified directors, the
achievement of our corporate objectives could be significantly delayed or may not occur.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December
31, 2008 that has not yet been effectively remediated. If we fail to achieve and maintain
effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, we
could face difficulties in preparing timely and accurate financial statements and periodic
reports, which could result in a loss of investor confidence in the information that we report and
a decline in our stock price, and could impair our ability to raise additional funds to the extent
needed to meet our future capital requirements.
In connection with the preparation of our financial statements as of and for the year ended
December 31, 2008, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial
reporting as discussed in Item 9A(T), Controls and Procedures, of our annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2008. As discussed in Item 9A(T) of our annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2008, as a result of this material weakness, our chief executive
officer and chief financial officer concluded that, as of March 31, 2009, our disclosure controls
and procedures were not effective. While we are in the process of identifying the measures needed
to remedy this material weakness, we may not be successful in remediating this material weakness.
In addition, we or our independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional
material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the future, including in
connection with our managements ongoing assessment of
our internal control over financial reporting, which is discussed in Item 9A(T) of our annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. Any failure or difficulties in promptly
and effectively remediating our presently identified material weakness, or any material weaknesses
that we or our independent registered public accounting firm may identify in the future, could
result in our inability to prevent or detect material misstatements in our financial statements and
cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations. As a result, our management may not be
able to provide an unqualified assessment of our internal control
64
over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2009 or beyond, and our chief executive officer and chief financial officer may not be
able to conclude, on a quarterly basis, that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to provide an
unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2009 or beyond. Any material weakness, or any remediation thereof that is ultimately
unsuccessful, could also cause investors to lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our
financial statements and periodic reports, which in turn could harm our business, lead to a decline
in our stock price and impair our ability to raise additional funds to the extent needed to meet
our future capital requirements.
Our management will be required to devote substantial time to comply with public company
regulations.
As a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In
addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and NASDAQ,
impose various requirements on public companies, including with respect to corporate governance
practices. Some of our management and other personnel do not have substantial experience complying
with the requirements applicable to public companies and will need to devote a substantial amount
of time to these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and
financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly.
In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that our management maintain
adequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In
particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over
financial reporting to allow management and, as applicable, our independent registered public
accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as
required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our compliance with Section 404 will require us
to incur substantial accounting and related expenses and expend significant management efforts. We
may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff to satisfy the ongoing requirements of
Section 404. Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404, or if we
or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies deficiencies in our internal
control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, our financial reporting
could be unreliable and misinformation could be disseminated to the public.
Any failure to develop or maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or
difficulties encountered in implementing or improving our internal control over financial reporting
could harm our operating results and prevent us from meeting our reporting obligations. Ineffective
internal controls also could cause our stockholders and potential investors to lose confidence in
our reported financial information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price
of our common stock. In addition, investors relying upon this misinformation could make an
uninformed investment decision, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC,
NASDAQ or other regulatory authorities, or to stockholder class action securities litigation.
Risks Relating to Common Stock
Our stock price is subject to fluctuation, which may cause an investment in our stock to suffer a
decline in value.
The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to factors that
are beyond our control. The stock market in general has recently experienced extreme price and
volume fluctuations. The market prices of securities of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
have been extremely volatile, and have experienced fluctuations that often have been unrelated or
disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These broad market fluctuations
could result in extreme fluctuations in the price of our common stock, which could cause a decline
in the value of our common stock.
Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include,
but are not limited to:
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the results of current and any future clinical trials; |
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the entry into, or termination of, key agreements, including key strategic alliance
agreements; |
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the results and timing of regulatory reviews relating to the approval of product
candidates; |
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the initiation of material developments in or conclusion of litigation to enforce or
defend any of our intellectual property rights; |
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failure of any product candidates, if approved, to achieve commercial success; |
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general and industry-specific economic conditions that may affect research and
development expenditures; |
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the results of clinical trials conducted by others on products that would compete with
our product candidates; |
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issues in manufacturing our product candidates or any approved products; |
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the loss of key employees; |
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the introduction of technological innovations or new commercial products by our
competitors; |
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changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, who cover our
common stock; |
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future sales of our common stock; |
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changes in the structure of health care payment systems; and |
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period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results. |
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a companys securities,
stockholders have often instituted class action securities litigation against those companies. Such
litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management attention
and resources, which could significantly harm our financial condition, results of operations and
reputation.
If we fail to continue to meet all applicable continued listing requirements of The NASDAQ Capital
Market and NASDAQ determines to delist our common stock, the market liquidity and market price of
our common stock could decline.
Our common stock is currently listed on The NASDAQ Capital Market. In order to maintain that
listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other listing requirements. If we fail to continue
to meet all applicable listing requirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market and NASDAQ determines to
delist our common stock, an active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained and the
market price of our common stock could decline. If an active trading market for our common stock is
not sustained, it will be difficult for our stockholders to sell shares of our common stock without
further depressing the market price of our common stock or at all. A delisting of our common stock
also could make it more difficult for us to obtain financing for the continuation of our operations
and could result in the loss of confidence by investors, suppliers and employees.
If our quarterly results of operations fluctuate, this fluctuation may subject our stock price to
volatility, which may cause an investment in our stock to suffer a decline in value.
Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated in the past and are likely to fluctuate in the
future. A number of factors, many of which are not within our control, could subject our operating
results and stock price to volatility, including:
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variations in the amount and timing of sales of the SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO CR, the
ALLERX Dose Pack products, the HYOMAX line of products, our propoxyphene/acetaminophen
products, and other products due to changes in product pricing, changes in the prevalence
of disease conditions from quarter to quarter or other factors; |
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the timing of operating expenses, including selling and marketing expenses and the
costs of maintaining a direct sales force; |
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the availability and timely delivery of a sufficient supply of the SPECTRACEF products,
ZYFLO CR, the ALLERX Dose Pack products, the HYOMAX line of products, our
propoxyphene/acetaminophen products, and other products; |
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the amount of rebates, discounts and chargebacks to wholesalers, Medicaid, federal and
state healthcare programs, and MCOs related to the SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO CR, the
ALLERX Dose Pack products, the HYOMAX line of products, our propoxyphene/acetaminophen
products, and other products; |
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the amount and timing of product returns for the SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO CR, the
ALLERX Dose Pack products, the HYOMAX line of products, our propoxyphene/acetaminophen
products, and other products; |
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achievement of, or the failure to achieve, milestones under our development agreement
with MedImmune, our license agreement with Beckman Coulter and, to the extent applicable,
other licensing and collaboration agreements; |
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the results of ongoing and planned clinical trials of our product candidates; |
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production problems occurring at our third-party manufacturers; |
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the results of regulatory reviews relating to the development or approval of our
product candidates; and |
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general and industry-specific economic conditions that may affect our research and
development expenditures. |
Due to the possibility of significant fluctuations, we do not believe that quarterly comparisons of
our operating results will necessarily be indicative of our future operating performance. If our
quarterly operating results fail to meet the expectations of stock market analysts and investors,
the price of our common stock may decline.
If significant business or product announcements by us or our competitors cause fluctuations in
our stock price, an investment in our stock may suffer a decline in value.
The market price of our common stock may be subject to substantial volatility as a result of
announcements by us or other companies in our industry, including our collaborators. Announcements
that may subject the price of our common stock to substantial volatility include announcements
regarding:
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our operating results, including the amount and timing of sales of our products,
including the SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO CR, the ALLERX Dose Pack products, the HYOMAX line
of products, our propoxyphene/acetaminophen products, and other products; |
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the availability and timely delivery of a sufficient supply of our products, including
the SPECTRACEF products, ZYFLO CR, the ALLERX Dose Pack products, the HYOMAX line of
products, our propoxyphene/acetaminophen products, and other products; |
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Our licensing and collaboration agreements and the products or product candidates that
are the subject of those agreements; |
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the results of discovery, preclinical studies and clinical trials by us or our
competitors; |
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the acquisition of technologies, product candidates or products by us or our
competitors; |
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the development of new technologies, product candidates or products by us or our
competitors; |
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regulatory actions with respect to our product candidates or products or those of our
competitors; and |
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significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments
by us or our competitors. |
67
Insiders have substantial control and could delay or prevent a change in corporate control,
including a transaction in which our stockholders could sell or exchange their shares for a
premium.
As of March 31, 2009, our directors, executive officers and 10% or greater stockholders,
together with their affiliates, to our knowledge, beneficially owned, in the aggregate,
approximately 51.6% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, our directors, executive officers
and 10% or greater stockholders, together with their affiliates, if acting together, may have the
ability to affect the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the
election and removal of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all
of our assets. In addition, these persons, acting together, may have the ability to control the
companys management and affairs. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may harm the value
of the companys common stock by:
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delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control; |
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impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination; or |
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discouraging a potential acquirer from making an acquisition proposal or otherwise
attempting to obtain control. |
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could prevent or
frustrate attempts by our stockholders to change our management or board of directors and hinder
efforts by a third party to acquire a controlling interest in our company.
We are incorporated in Delaware. Anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law and our charter
documents may make a change in control more difficult, even if the stockholders desire a change in
control. For example, anti-takeover provisions include provisions in our bylaws and certificate of
incorporation providing that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the
stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board of directors, the chief executive
officer, the president (if the president is different than the chief executive officer) or the
board of directors, and that stockholders may not take action by written consent and provisions in
our bylaws providing for the classification of the board of directors. Additionally, the board of
directors has the authority to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock and to determine the
terms of those shares of stock without any further action by the stockholders. The rights of
holders of the common stock are subject to the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that
the company issues. As a result, our issuance of preferred stock could cause the market value of
the common stock to decline and could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire a
majority of our outstanding voting stock.
Delaware law also prohibits a corporation from engaging in a business combination with any
holder of 15% or more of its capital stock until the holder has held the stock for three years
unless, among other possibilities, the board of directors approves the transaction. The board of
directors may use this provision to prevent changes in management. Also, under applicable Delaware
law, the board of directors may adopt additional anti-takeover measures in the future.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Uses of Proceeds From Registered Securities
Not applicable.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
During the first quarter of 2009, we did not purchase any shares of our common stock.
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ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
Not applicable.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
None.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into on March 13, 2007 with DEY, a subsidiary of Mylan, as
subsequently amended on June 25, 2007 by amendment 1, we and DEY agreed to jointly co-promote ZYFLO
and, if approved by the FDA, ZYFLO CR. Under the co-promotion agreement, we granted DEY an
exclusive right to promote and detail ZYFLO and ZYFLO CR in the United States, together with us and
our affiliates, for asthma and, subject to FDA approval, other respiratory conditions. On May 4,
2009, we and DEY agreed to further amend the co-promotion agreement by amendment 2. The
co-promotion agreement, as amended, is described below.
Both we and DEY have agreed to use diligent efforts to promote the applicable products in the
United States during the term of the co-promotion agreement. In addition, DEY has agreed to
provide a minimum number of details per month for ZYFLO CR in the second position to certain
pulmonary specialists, or PUDs. Under the amendment, our former obligation to provide a minimum
number of details per month for ZYFLO CR in the first position has been eliminated. We and DEY
each agreed to contribute 50% of approved out-of-pocket promotional expenses during 2008 for ZYFLO
CR that are approved by the parties joint commercial committee. From January 1, 2009 through the
expiration or termination of the co-promotion agreement, DEY is responsible for the costs
associated with its sales representatives and the product samples distributed by its sales
representatives, and we are responsible for all other promotional expenses related to the products.
Prior to January 1, 2009, we paid DEY a co-promotion fee equal to thirty five percent (35%) of
quarterly net sales of ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, after third-party royalties, in excess of $1.95 million.
Beginning January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013, in order to tie DEYs co-promotion fee more
closely to prescriptions written by the PUDs it is detailing, we have agreed to pay DEY a
co-promotion fee equal to the ratio of total prescriptions written by PUDs to total prescriptions
during the applicable period multiplied by a percentage of quarterly net sales of ZYFLO CR and
ZYFLO, after third-party royalties.
The co-promotion agreement has a term expiring on December 31, 2013, which may be extended by
mutual agreement of DEY and us. Beginning on March 31, 2012, either DEY or we may terminate the
co-promotion agreement with six months advance written notice. DEY also has the right to
terminate the co-promotion agreement upon two (2) months prior written notice to us if we
experience certain supply shortages. First, DEY may terminate if in any two consecutive calendar
quarters we are unable to deliver to DEY at least seventy five percent (75%) of the ZYFLO CR
samples forecast by DEY for such quarters. Second, DEY may terminate at any time if commercial
supplies of ZYFLO CR remain on back order for more than one calendar quarter. In addition to these
supply-related events, DEY has the right to terminate the co-promotion agreement after January 1,
2010 with two months prior written notice if ZYFLO CR cumulative net sales for any four
consecutive calendar quarters beginning on or after January 1, 2009 are
less than $20 million.
DEY and Mylan have agreed not to manufacture, detail, sell, market or promote any product
containing zileuton as one of the APIs for sale in the United States until the later of: (i) one
year after expiration or termination of the co-promotion agreement, or (ii) March 31, 2012.
However, if an unauthorized generic product to ZYFLO CR that is AB-rated by the FDA is introduced
by a third party, DEY and Mylan will no longer be held to any non-competition obligation. On the
other hand, if an unauthorized generic product to ZYFLO that is AB-rated by the FDA is introduced
by a third party, DEY and Mylan would not be subject to the non-competition obligations with
respect to ZYFLO only. If we decide to launch an authorized generic of ZYFLO CR or ZYFLO, DEY and
Mylan will have the exclusive right to market the authorized generic version of such product. DEY
and Mylan also will not be subject to these non-competition obligations if DEY terminates the
co-promotion agreement either because ZYFLO CR cumulative net sales for any four consecutive
calendar quarters after January 1, 2009 of ZYFLO CR are less than $20 million or upon the
occurrence of a material uncured breach by us.
Amendment 2 to the co-promotion agreement is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q, and we refer you to such exhibit for the complete terms of amendment 2 to the
co-promotion agreement, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement
Effective May 4, 2009, we exercised
our right to terminate our bank line of credit with Paragon.
There were no penalties associated with the early termination of the line of credit.
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ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
The following exhibits are being filed herewith and are numbered in accordance with Item 601 of
Regulation S-K:
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Exhibit No. |
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Description |
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10.1+
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Amendment No. 2, dated May 4, 2009, to Co-Promotion and
Marketing Services Agreement between DEY, L.P. and
Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. dated March 13, 2007. |
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31.1
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Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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31.2
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Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.1
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Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18
U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.2
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Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18
U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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+ |
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Confidential treatment requested as to certain portions, which portions have been
omitted and separately filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
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CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.
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Date: May 7, 2009 |
/s/ Craig Collard
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Craig Collard |
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President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer) |
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Date: May 7, 2009 |
/s/ David Price
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David Price |
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Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief
Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer) |
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Exhibit Index
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Exhibit No. |
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Description |
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10.1+
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Amendment No. 2, dated May 4, 2009,
to Co-Promotion and Marketing Services Agreement between Dey, L.P.
and Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. dated March 13, 2007. |
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31.1
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Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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31.2
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Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.1
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Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18
U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.2
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Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18
U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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+
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Confidential treatment requested as
to certain portions, which portions have been omitted and separately
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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