UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission file number 001-15771

ABEONA THERAPEUTICS INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

6555 Carnegie Avenue, 4^th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44103

(Address of principal executive offices, zip code)

(646) 813-4701

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

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 ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Act:

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☐ No ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b). Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of June 30, 2023, was approximately $78,468,000.

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of March 6, 2024 was 27,355,037.

ABEONA THERAPEUTICS INC.

Annual Report on Form 10-K

Table of Contents

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Form 10-K (including information incorporated by reference) contains statements that express management’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “could,” “would,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and variations of such words and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such “forward-looking statements” speak only as of the date made and are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, estimates, and assumptions by management that are difficult to predict. Various factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. In addition, we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report, except as may otherwise be required by the federal securities laws.

Forward-looking statements necessarily involve risks and uncertainties, and our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. These statements include statements about: the outcome of our submission of a Biologics License Application for pz-cel and the timing thereof; our plans to continue development of AAV-based gene therapies designed to treat ophthalmic and other diseases and next-generation AAV-based gene therapies; the achievement of or expected timing, progress and results of clinical development, clinical trials and potential regulatory approvals; our pipeline of product candidates; our belief that pz-cel could potentially benefit patients with RDEB; development of our novel AAV-based gene therapy platform technology; our belief in the adequacy of the clinical trial data from our VIITAL™ clinical trial, together with the data generated in the program to date, to support regulatory approvals; our dependence upon our third-party customers and vendors and their compliance with regulatory bodies; our estimates regarding expenses, future revenues, capital requirements, and needs for additional financing; our intellectual property position and our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection and exclusivity for our proprietary assets; our estimates regarding the size of the potential markets for our product candidates, the strength of our commercialization strategies and our ability to serve and supply those markets; and future economic conditions or performance.

Important factors that could affect performance and cause results to differ materially from management’s expectations are described in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Form 10-K. These factors include: the outcome of our submission of a Biologics License Application for pz-cel and the timing thereof; our ability to access our existing at-the-market sale agreement; our ability to access additional financial resources and/or our financial flexibility to reduce operating expenses if required; our ability to obtain additional equity funding from current or new stockholders; the potential impacts of global healthcare emergencies, such as pandemics, on our business, operations, and financial condition; our ability to out-license technology and/or other assets, deferring and/or eliminating planned expenditures, restructuring operations and/or reducing headcount, and sales of assets; the dilutive effect that raising additional funds by selling additional equity securities would have on the relative equity ownership of our existing investors, including under our existing at-the-market sale agreement; the outcome of any interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or other regulatory agencies relating to any of our products or product candidates; our ability to continue to secure and maintain regulatory designations for our product candidates; our ability to develop manufacturing capabilities compliant with current good manufacturing practices for our product candidates; our ability to manufacture cell and gene therapy products and produce an adequate product supply to support clinical trials and potentially future commercialization; the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates for any indication once approved; and our ability to meet our obligations contained in license agreements to which we are party.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Business

Abeona Therapeutics Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with our subsidiaries, “we,” “our,” “Abeona” or the “Company”), is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for life-threatening diseases. Our lead clinical program is for prademagene zamikeracel (“pz-cel”), our investigational autologous, COL7A1 gene-corrected epidermal sheets currently in development for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (“RDEB”). Pz-cel has been granted Orphan Drug and Rare Pediatric Disease (“RPD”) designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and Orphan Drug Designation by the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”).

We plan to continue development of adeno-associated virus (“AAV”) based gene therapies designed to treat ophthalmic diseases with high unmet medical need using the novel AIM™ capsid platform that we have exclusively licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC”), and internal AAV vector research programs. Abeona’s novel, next-generation AAV capsids are being evaluated to improve tropism profiles for a variety of devastating diseases.

Our Mission and Strategy

Abeona is a fully-integrated cell and gene therapy company featuring research and clinical development programs, in-house manufacturing facilities, and scientific and clinical leadership. Our mission is to create, develop, manufacture, and deliver cell and gene therapies to transform the lives of people impacted by life-threatening diseases. In 2023, we continued to make progress toward fulfilling our goal of harnessing the promise of genetic medicine and redefining the standard of care through cell and gene therapies. In September 2023, we submitted a Biologics License Application (“BLA”) for pz-cel to the FDA. In November 2023, the FDA accepted and granted priority review for our BLA for pz-cel. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”), the FDA has set a target action date of May 25, 2024.

We partner with leading academic researchers, patient advocacy organizations, caregivers and other biotechnology companies to develop therapies that address the underlying cause of a broad spectrum of rare genetic diseases for which no effective treatment options exist today.

Our strategy consists of:

Advancing and Commercializing our Late-Stage Clinical Cell and Gene Therapy Programs with a Focus on Life-Threatening Diseases.

Through our cell and gene therapy expertise in research and development, we believe we are positioned to introduce efficacious and safe therapeutics to transform the standard of care in devastating diseases and establish our leadership position in the field. We intend to commercialize our assets either by ourselves or through strategic partnerships, subject to FDA approval.

Developing Novel In-Vivo Gene Therapies Using AIM™ Capsid Technology.

We are researching and developing AAV-based gene therapy using our novel capsids developed from the AIM™ Capsid Technology Platform and additional Company-invented AAV capsids. We plan to continue to develop our chimeric AAV capsids capable of improved tissue targeting for various indications and potentially evading immunity to wild-type AAV vectors.

Leveraging our Leadership Position in Commercial-Scale Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing.

We established current Good Manufacturing Practice (“cGMP”), clinical-scale manufacturing capabilities for engineered cell therapy and AAV-based gene therapies in our state-of-the-art Cleveland, Ohio facility. We believe that our platform provides us with distinct advantages, including flexibility, scale, reliability, and the potential for reduced development risk, reduced cost, and faster times to market. We have focused on establishing internal Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (“CMC”) capabilities that drive value for our organization through process development, assay development and manufacturing. We have also deployed robust quality systems governing all aspects of product lifecycle from preclinical through commercial stage.

Establishing Additional Cell and Gene Therapy Franchises and Adjacencies through In-Licensing and Strategic Partnerships.

We seek to be the partner of choice in cell and gene therapy treatments and have closely collaborated with leading academic institutions, key opinion leaders, patient foundations, and industry partners to accelerate research and development, understand the needs of patients and their families, and generate novel intellectual property.

Maintaining and Growing our IP Portfolio.

We seek patent rights for various aspects of our programs, including vector engineering and construct design, our production process, and all features of our clinical products including composition of matter and method of administration and delivery. We expect to continue to expand our intellectual property portfolio by aggressively seeking patent rights for promising aspects of our product engine and product candidates.

Developing Next-Generation Cell and Gene Therapy

Pz-cel for the Treatment of RDEB

Disease Overview

RDEB belongs to a broad group of genetic skin disorders known as epidermolysis bullosa. Patients with RDEB have a defect in the COL7A1 gene, resulting in the inability to produce Type VII collagen, which plays a vital role in skin functioning by anchoring the skin’s dermal and epidermal layers to one another.

As a result of the genetic defect, RDEB patients have fragile skin, which can easily damage to produce open and blistering wounds, disfiguring scars throughout the body, fused fingers and toes, limits in range of motion at joints (e.g., arms and legs), corneal abrasions, and an abnormal narrowing of the esophagus. Long-term RDEB patients can suffer from anemia, are at high risk of developing aggressive squamous cell carcinomas, infections, and premature death. The most severe patients are approximately 20 times more likely to die by 30 years of age than the general population.

Similar to other rare diseases, the incidence and prevalence of RDEB are not well defined. Incidence of 0.2 to 3.05 per million births and prevalence of 0.14 to 1.35 per million people have been observed across different geographies, primarily estimated by limited population analyses of clinical databases or registries (Eichstadt et al.; Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2019). Using genetic modeling of COL7A1 variants, which is believed to cause RDEB, Stanford University estimated the incidence of RDEB to be approximately 63 per million births, and prevalence could be up to 3,850 patients in the U.S., whose wounds may benefit from COL7A1-mediated treatments such as pz-cel.

RDEB patients have an active disease with the majority of the wounds typically > 20 cm² (Stanford University; Solis, D., et al., 2017). In 2020, a survey of RDEB patients reported that approximately 60% have active wounds covering greater than 30% of their bodies (Bruckner et al.; Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 2020). Wounds covering up to approximately 80% of body surface area have been recorded in some EB patients (Hirsch et al.; Nature Research, 2017).

In our VIITAL^TM phase 3 and phase 1/2a clinical trials, pz-cel was applied as a one-time surgical procedure onto RDEB wounds and has shown up to 8 years of durable wound healing and associated pain reduction even in the toughest-to-treat in RDEB wounds. Patients evaluated in the VIITAL^TM phase 3 trial had large wounds (> 20cm²) and, on average, had wounds remained open for 6.2 years, and in some cases up to 21 years, prior to pz-cel treatment. Most RDEB patients have large and chronic wounds that carry the highest burden, including the need for frequent dressing changes, pain, pruritus, risk of infection, and developing skin cancer.

Current Management of RDEB

Standard of care in RDEB wound management currently consists of time and labor-intensive supportive care to limit contamination and infection, and reduction in mechanical forces that produce new blisters. Care usually includes treatment of new blisters by lancing and draining. Wounds are then dressed with a non-adherent material, covered with padding for stability and protection, and secured with an elastic wrap for integrity. In a cost analysis conducted by Debra of America, based on 3,274 patient’s health insurance claims from private insurance the annual cost of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) was identified to be 465% greater than the annual cost to the healthcare system from all people. The cost of wound care supplies could be as high as $996,000 per year.

RDEB patients also have periodic surgeries to relieve disease related issues such as narrowing of their esophagus, fusing of fingers, and corneal abrasions.

In 2023, Vyjuvek^® and Filsuvez^® were approved by the FDA for treatment of wounds associated with DEB and wounds associated with Junctional (JEB) and DEB, respectively. The introduction of these drugs may further increase the total cost of care.

Program Status

Pz-cel is our investigational autologous epidermal sheets in which a functioning COL7A1 gene is inserted into a patient’s own skin cells (keratinocytes) using a retrovirus. The keratinocytes are then grown into credit card sized sheets and surgically applied to the patient to restore Type VII collagen expression and skin function.

Results from a completed Phase 1/2a study that enrolled seven patients with large and chronic RDEB wounds at Stanford University showed that pz-cel was well-tolerated and resulted in significant and durable wound healing (Siprashvili, Z., et al., 2016), with up to eight years of follow-up (So. Y, Nazaraoff, et al., Orphanet Journal Rare Disease 2022). To date, there have been no reported serious adverse events.

In November 2022, we announced positive topline data from our VIITAL™ study. The pivotal phase 3 VIITAL™ study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of pz-cel in 43 large chronic wound pairs in 11 subjects with RDEB. The large chronic wounds randomized and treated in VIITAL™ measured greater than 20 cm² of surface area and had remained open for a minimum of six months and a maximum of 21 years (mean 6.2 years). The co-primary endpoints of the study were: (1) the proportion of RDEB wound sites with greater than or equal to 50% healing from baseline, comparing randomized treated with matched untreated (control) wound sites at the six-month timepoint, as determined by direct investigator assessment; and (2) pain reduction associated with wound dressing change assessed by the mean differences in scores of the Wong-Baker FACES^® Pain Rating Scale between randomized treated and matched untreated (control) wounds at the six-month timepoint.

The VIITAL™ study met its two co-primary efficacy endpoints demonstrating statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvements in wound healing and pain reduction in large chronic RDEB wounds. Pz-cel was shown to be well-tolerated with no serious treatment-related adverse events observed, consistent with past clinical experience. There were no deaths or instances of positive replication-competent retrovirus results, and no systemic immunologic responses were reported during the study, as well as no squamous cell carcinoma at treatment sites after application of pz-cel. Two subjects reported at least one serious adverse event unrelated to pz-cel. Four subjects reported related treatment emergent adverse events, including procedural pain, muscle spasms and pruritis. Infections unrelated to pz-cel were observed in eight patients.

In September 2023, we submitted a BLA for pz-cel to the FDA. In November 2023, the FDA accepted for filing and granted priority review for our BLA for pz-cel. Under the PDUFA, the FDA has set a target action date of May 25, 2024. Pz-cel has been granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (“RMAT”), Breakthrough Therapy, Orphan Drug and RPD designations by the by the FDA as well as Orphan Drug designation by the EMA.

Among the potential benefits of Orphan Drug designation are a potential seven years of market exclusivity following FDA approval, potentially preventing FDA approval of another product deemed to be the same as the approved product for the same indication, waiver of application fees, and tax credits for qualified clinical testing expenses conducted after orphan designation is received. A sponsor who receives an approval for a BLA with RPD designation may qualify for a Priority Review Voucher (“PRV”), subject to final determination by the FDA. A PRV may be used to receive expedited review of a subsequent marketing application for a different product or sold to another company.

We have continued to prepare our cGMP commercial facility in Cleveland for manufacturing pz-cel to support our planned BLA filing. Pz-cel study drug product for all our VIITAL™ study participants has been manufactured at our Cleveland facility.

ABO-503 for the treatment of X-linked Retinoschisis (“XLRS”).

Disease Overview and Program Overview

XLRS is a rare, monogenic retinal disease that results in the irreversible loss of photoreceptor cells and severe visual impairment. XLRS is caused by mutations in the RS1 protein, which is normally secreted by retinal photoreceptors and bipolar neurons and functions to mediate cell-cell adhesion. XLRS is characterized by abnormal splitting of the layers of the retina, resulting in poor visual acuity, which can progress to legal blindness. The incidence of XLRS is estimated to be between 1 in 5,000 and 1 in 20,000 in males, with an estimated prevalence of 35,000 in the United States and Europe combined. There are currently no disease modifying therapies approved for XLRS, but because the genetics of the disease are well understood, early intervention via gene therapy has significant potential to reverse or stabilize disease progression at early stages and prevent vision loss.

ABO-503, composed of a functional human RS1 packaged in the novel AIM™ capsid AAV204, has shown preclinical efficacy following delivery to the retina in a mouse model of XLRS. Preclinical studies have demonstrated robust RS1 expression in the retina, improved cone photoreceptor density and overall photoreceptor cell survival, as well as a restoration of outer retina architecture. Results of these studies were presented at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting in May 2023. A pre-IND meeting for ABO-503 was conducted with the FDA in April 2023 and provided Abeona with comprehensive feedback to support a future IND submission.

ABO-504 for the Treatment of Stargardt Disease

Disease Overview and Program Overview

Autosomal recessive Stargardt disease, the most common form of juvenile macular degeneration with estimated incidence of 1 in 8,000 to 10,000 people, causes vision loss in children and young adults. The most common form of Stargardt disease is caused by mutations in the ABCA4 gene, which prevent removal of toxic compounds from photoreceptor cells that results in photoreceptor cell death and progressive vision loss. There are currently no FDA approved treatments available, and to date, development of investigational gene modifying therapies has remained challenging in part due to the large size of the ABCA4 gene, which exceeds the encapsidation capacity of a single AAV vector.

Abeona’s internal research and development team developed ABO-504, which is designed to efficiently reconstitute the full-length ABCA4 gene by implementing a dual AAV vector strategy using the Cre-LoxP recombinase system. Abeona previously reported preclinical data demonstrating the ability of the dual AAV vector system to produce full length ABCA4 protein in cell culture. Recent proof-of-concept studies, presented at the 2023 ASGCT Annual Meeting, have extended these findings by showing expression of ABCA4 mRNA and full-length ABCA4 protein in the retina of subretinally dosed abca4-/- knockout mice, at levels similar to endogenous ABCA4 in wild-type animals. A pre-IND meeting for ABO-504 was conducted with the FDA in June 2023 and provided Abeona with comprehensive feedback to support a future IND submission.

ABO-505 for the Treatment of Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy (“ADOA”)

Disease Overview and Program Overview

ADOA, a form of hereditary vision loss associated with retinal ganglion cell (“RGC”) death, is predominantly caused by mutations in the Opa1 gene. Opa1, a dynamin-related GTPase, acts to stabilize the inner mitochondrial membrane and acts in mitochondrial fusion and inner membrane remodeling. Mutant phenotypes present with a progressive loss of RGCs that results in optic nerve degeneration and legal blindness with a loss of visual acuity, optic disc pallor, and color vision deficits. ADOA affects approximately 1 in 30,000 people worldwide. Currently, there is no approved treatment for people living with ADOA.

ABO-505 is designed to express a functional copy of human Opa1 in the retina following para-retinal injection. ABO-505 aims to take advantage of the robust optic nerve and RGC transduction ability of AAV204 to deliver its genetic payload to the cells most affected by ADOA. Preclinical studies have confirmed expression of Opa1 in both cell culture and the retinas of dosed wild-type and disease model animals. Initial efficacy results suggest an improvement in retinal signaling to the brain and improved visual acuity in treated mutant mice. These studies were presented at the ASGCT Annual Meeting in May 2023.

Gene Therapy Treatments anchored in AIM™ Vector Platform

In 2016, we licensed a library of novel AAV capsids from UNC. The AIM™ vector system is a platform of AAV capsids capable of widespread central nervous system gene transfer and can be used to confer high transduction efficiency for various therapeutic indications. In partnership with academic institutions, our own scientific research teams have identified vectors within the AIM™ capsid library showing strong potential to successfully target and reach the central nervous system as well as ocular, lung, muscle, liver, and other tissues. Based on continuing research by Abeona and our research partners, we have observed improvements in gene delivery to specific tissues compared to currently available AAV technology. We believe AIM™ vectors also have the potential for redosing subjects who previously received certain AAV gene therapy or subjects who have pre-existing antibodies to naturally occurring AAV serotypes.

Strategic Licensing Agreements

We have out-licensed certain clinical and research programs, including for the treatment of Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA) to Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (“Ultragenyx”), and for CLN1 disease (infantile Batten disease) and Rett syndrome to Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. (“Taysha”). Under the terms of our agreement with Ultragenyx, we are eligible to receive payments based on the achievement of certain sales milestones and royalties on net sales. Under our agreements with Taysha, we are eligible to receive payments based on certain clinical, regulatory, and sales milestones and royalties on net sales.

Leveraging Leadership Position in Commercial-Scale Cell and Gene-Therapy Manufacturing

We have established a cGMP manufacturing facility, the Elisa Linton Center located in Cleveland, Ohio, which enables us to enhance supply chain control, establish tighter quality control testing, increase supply capacity, reduce production costs and gain manufacturing efficiency for clinical trials related to our product candidates and ensure commercial demand is met in the event our therapies receive marketing approval. Our facility is led by a team of highly skilled production, process/assay development and quality control scientists with expertise in cell and gene therapy, particularly in cell culture, upstream manufacturing, downstream purification, assay development and wet lab techniques.

We have completed our 16,000+ square foot manufacturing build-out in Cleveland, Ohio. The first phase, completed in 2018, was a 6,000 square foot state-of-the-art cGMP production facility for the manufacturing of cell and gene therapies. The facility is designed to initially manufacture clinical drug products with intent of manufacturing commercial grade cGMP drug product. The second phase, completed in 2019, was the completion of an additional 8,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory space to support our expanding quality control, process development, and assay development teams. The second phase also included nearly 2,000 square feet of cGMP Inventory Control space.

We have advanced our in-house manufacturing capabilities for pz-cel. The product is manufactured as a multilayer cellular sheet containing corrected keratinocytes that is fastened to a petrolatum gauze backing with surgical titanium ligating clips. Engineered sheets are applied over wound areas, where they provide keratinocytes with functional Type VII collagen, providing immediate wound coverage and allowing for long-term wound healing. A key component to the pz-cel drug product manufacturing process is the retroviral vector, which delivers the functional copy of the Collagen VII Alpha 1 cDNA to the autologous patient cells. Initially developed at the Indiana University Vector Production Facility, we have transferred the cGMP manufacturing process for the LZRSE-Col7A1 retroviral vector to our Cleveland facility and have demonstrated analytical comparability between IUVPF and Abeona-produced retroviral vector. In order to support licensure, we have produced three cGMP process validation lots and have also created and characterized a cGMP master cell bank and a working cell bank to support the cGMP production of the retroviral vector.

We have established AAV vector manufacturing capabilities that use the triple plasmid transient transfection method. We insert, or transfect, many copies of three DNA plasmids encoding the specific therapeutic gene sequence, or transgene, the capsid coding sequence, and helper sequences into AAV-293 cells using a serum-free, suspension-based bioreactor vector production technology. During an incubation period following transfection, each cell produces AAV vectors through biosynthesis using the cells’ natural machinery. At the end of the incubation period, the newly generated AAV vectors are harvested, filtered, and purified in a multi-step process.

We have established and maintained strong and collaborative relationships with third-party companies specializing in the testing of cell and gene therapy material to complement our process and assay development needs.

We have made significant investments in developing optimized manufacturing processes and believe that our processes and methods developed to date provide a comprehensive manufacturing process for pz-cel and AAV-based vector therapies, including:

We believe that these improvements will enable us to develop best-in-class, next-generation cell and gene therapy products. As we look to commercialize pz-cel (subject to FDA approval), we have filed our BLA to support commercial manufacturing of pz-cel from our Cleveland facility.

Maintain Strong Intellectual Property Protection

We strive to protect our commercially important proprietary technology, inventions, and know-how, including by seeking, maintaining, and defending patent rights, both for inventions developed internally and for inventions licensed from third parties. We also rely on trade secrets and know-how relating to our proprietary technology platforms, continuing technological innovation, and in-licensing opportunities to develop, strengthen and maintain our position in the field of cell and gene therapy. We may also rely on the additional protections afforded by data exclusivity (currently 12 years for biologics), other market exclusivities such as orphan drug exclusivity, and patent term extensions, where applicable.

Our success may depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patents and other protections for commercially important technology, inventions, and know-how related to our business; defend and enforce our patents; preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets; and operate without infringing the valid enforceable patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties. Our ability to stop third parties from making, having made, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing our products may depend on the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable licenses, patents, or trade secrets that cover these activities. In some cases, these rights may need to be enforced by third-party licensors. With respect to both licensed and company-owned intellectual property, we may not be granted patents with respect to any of our pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications filed by us in the future, nor can we be sure that any of our existing patents or any patents that may be granted to us in the future will be commercially useful in protecting our commercial products and methods of manufacturing the same.

We are actively seeking U.S. and international patent protection, together with our licensors, for a variety of technologies, including AAV capsids, AAV-based biological products, methods of designing novel AAV constructs, methods for treating diseases of interest, including RDEB, and methods for manufacturing, packaging, and transporting our product candidates. We also intend to seek patent protection or rely upon trade secret rights to protect other technologies that may be used to discover and validate targets and that may be used to identify and develop novel biological products. We seek protection, in part, through confidentiality and proprietary information agreements. We are a party to various license agreements that give us rights to use specific technologies in our research and development, and future commercialization.

Licensed Technologies and Intellectual Property

To support our EB franchise, we have licensed a patent family from Stanford University covering pz-cel and its use in the treatment of RDEB. Patents covering our investigational pz-cel product have been granted by the European Patent Office (EP3400287B1) and in other geographical regions, and are expected to expire in early 2037. Patent applications remain pending in the United States which, if granted, would be expected to expire in 2037. We have also filed United States and Canadian patent applications directed to the packaging and transport of pz-cel, which, if granted, are not expected to expire before 2040.

We may also rely on the additional protection afforded by data exclusivity (currently 12 years for biologics like pz-cel), other market exclusivity such as orphan drug exclusivity (currently seven years), and patent term extensions, where applicable.

We have an exclusive license to an international patent family from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC”) covering novel AAV capsids (“AIM™ capsids”) that may potentially be used to deliver a wide variety of therapeutic transgenes to human cells to treat genetic diseases. National stage applications directed to the AIM™ capsids have been filed in the United States, Europe and other geographical regions. The first U.S. patent in this patent family, U.S. Patent No. 10,532,110 (the “‘110 Patent”), was issued to UNC on January 14, 2020. The ‘110 Patent is entitled to 352 days of patent term adjustment, making its projected expiration date November 6, 2036. The second U.S. patent in this patent family, U.S. Patent No. 10,561,743 (the “‘743 Patent”), was issued to UNC on February 18, 2020. The ‘743 Patent is expected to expire on November 20, 2035. A third U.S. patent in this patent family, U.S. Patent No. 11,491,242 (the “‘242 Patent”) issued on November 8, 2022. The ‘242 Patent is entitled to 429 days of patent term adjustment and will not expire before January 22, 2037. Patents have also been granted in Australia (AU2015349759B2), Israel (IL252072), and Russia (RU2727015). We have exclusive rights to these patents under our license with UNC.

We also own a second patent family directed to certain AAV capsids and have filed national stage applications in the United States, Europe and other geographical regions. Patents issuing from these applications are not expected to expire before 2039.

We have also licensed from UNC rights to two patent families directed to treating CLN1 disease (also known as infantile Batten disease). The first patent family is directed to optimized CLN1 genes and expression cassettes for use in treating CLN1 disease, which has applications pending in the United States, Europe, and other geographical regions. One U.S. patent in the first patent family, U.S. Patent No. 11,504,435 (the “‘435 Patent”), was issued to UNC on November 22, 2022. The ‘435 Patent is entitled to 578 days of patent term adjustment, making its projected expiration date January 12, 2039. The second patent family is directed to treating CLN1 disease using a combination of intrathecal and intravenous administrations, which has applications pending in the United States, Europe and other geographical regions. Patents issuing from applications in the second patent family will have a 20-year expiration date of no earlier than 2040. We have entered into agreements exclusively sublicensing these two CLN1 patent families to Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc.

We have licensed rights to one patent family from UNC and two patent families from The University Court of the University of Edinburgh (“U. Edinburgh”) and The University Court of the University of Glasgow (“U. Glasgow”) relating to gene therapy for the treatment of Rett Syndrome. The patent family licensed from UNC at Chapel Hill are directed to viral genomes designed to regulate expression of the MeCP2 gene, which is mutated in patients with Rett Syndrome. This patent family has pending applications in the United States, Europe and other geographical regions. Patents issuing from these applications will have a 20-year expiration date of no earlier than 2039. The patent families licensed from U. Edinburgh and U. Glasgow are directed to expression cassettes for MeCP2 polypeptides and to synthetic MeCP2 polypeptides. The patent family directed to MeCP2 expression cassettes has pending applications in the United States, Europe and other geographical regions. The patent family directed to synthetic MeCP2 polypeptides has pending applications in the United States and other geographical regions. Patents issuing from applications in the Edinburgh patent families will have a 20-year expiration date of no earlier than 2038. In October 2020, we entered into an agreement exclusively sublicensing these UNC and University of Edinburgh patent rights to Taysha Gene Therapies.

We own a patent family directed to multipartite delivery of large transgenes using AAV vectors and have filed national stage applications in the United States, Europe and other geographical regions. Patents issuing from these applications are not expected to expire before 2041.

We also own a pending U.S. provisional application directed to multipartite AAV delivery and its use for treating Stargardt disease.

We own a patent family directed to (i) novel AAV capsid proteins and (ii) treating ophthalmic diseases via para-retinal administration of AAV vectors, and have filed national stage applications in the United States, Europe, and other geographical regions. Patents issuing from these applications are not expected to expire before 2042.

We own a pending PCT application (PCT/US2023/065877) directed to compositions and methods for treating dominant optic atrophy and x-linked retinoschisis. Patents issuing from future national stage applications of this PCT application are not expected to expire before 2043.

We expect to explore in due course strategies to support patent term extensions for all of our patent portfolios.

U.S. Biologic Products Development Process

In the United States, the FDA regulates biologic products including gene therapy products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), the Public Health Service Act (“PHSA”), and regulations implementing these laws. The FDCA, PHSA and their corresponding regulations govern, among other things, the testing, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, labeling, packaging, storage, record keeping, distribution, advertising, and promotion of biologic products. Applications to the FDA are required before conducting human clinical testing of biologic products. FDA approval also must be obtained before marketing of biologic products. Gene therapy studies may also need to comply with the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (“NIH Guidelines”), which includes additional requirements, such as the review and approval of the study by an Institutional Biosafety Committee.

Within the FDA, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (“CBER”) regulates gene therapy products. Within CBER, the review of gene therapy and related products is consolidated in the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies (“OTAT”) and the FDA has established the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee (“CTGTAC”), a panel of medical and scientific experts and consumer representatives, to advise CBER on its reviews. The FDA has issued a growing body of guidance documents on CMC, clinical investigations and other areas of gene therapy development, all of which are intended to facilitate the industry’s development of gene therapy products.

The process required by the FDA before a biologic product candidate may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:

Before testing any biologic product candidate on humans, including a gene therapy product candidate, the product candidate must undergo preclinical testing. Preclinical tests, also referred to as nonclinical studies, include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity, and formulation, as well as in vivo studies to assess the potential safety and activity of the product candidate. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements including GLPs.

If a gene therapy trial is conducted at, or sponsored by, institutions receiving NIH funding for recombinant DNA research, the study must also comply with the NIH Guidelines. Compliance with the NIH Guidelines is mandatory for investigators at institutions receiving NIH funds for research involving recombinant DNA. However, many companies and other institutions, not otherwise subject to the NIH Guidelines, voluntarily follow them.

The clinical trial sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and a proposed clinical protocol, to the FDA as part of the IND. Some preclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA places the clinical trial on a clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. The FDA also may impose clinical holds on a biologic product candidate at any time before or during clinical trials due to safety concerns or non-compliance. If the FDA imposes a clinical hold, trials may not commence or recommence without FDA authorization and then only under terms authorized by the FDA.

Human clinical trials under an IND

Clinical trials involve the administration of the biologic product candidate to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, which generally are physicians not employed by, or under the control of, the trial sponsor. Investigators must also provide certain information to the clinical trial sponsors to allow the sponsors to make certain financial disclosures to the FDA. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety, including stopping rules that assure a clinical trial will be stopped if certain adverse events should occur. Each protocol and any amendments to the protocol must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Clinical trials must be conducted and monitored in accordance with the FDA’s regulations comprising the GCP requirements, including the requirement that all research subjects provide informed consent.

Further, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an IRB at or servicing each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted. An IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of trial participants and considers items such as whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves communications to study subjects before a study commences at that site and the form and content of the informed consent that must be signed by each clinical trial subject, or his or her legal representative, and must monitor the clinical trial until completed. Clinical trials involving recombinant DNA also must be reviewed by an institutional biosafety committee (“IBC”), a local institutional committee that reviews and oversees basic and clinical research that utilizes recombinant DNA at that institution. The IBC assesses the safety of the research and identifies any potential risk to public health or the environment.

Information about certain clinical trials, including a description of the study and study results, must be submitted within specific timeframes to NIH for public dissemination on their clinicaltrials.gov website. Sponsors or distributors of investigational products for the diagnosis, monitoring, or treatment of one or more serious diseases or conditions must also have a publicly available policy on evaluating and responding to requests for expanded access requests.

Investigational biologics and therapeutic substances imported into the United States are also subject to regulation by the FDA. Further, the export of investigational products outside of the United States is subject to regulatory requirements of the receiving country as well as U.S. export requirements under the FDCA.

Human clinical trials typically are conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:

Additional kinds of data may also help to support a BLA, such as patient experience data. Real world evidence may also support a BLA, and, for appropriate indications sought through supplemental BLAs, data summaries may provide marketing application support. For genetically targeted products and variant protein targeted products intended to address an unmet medical need in one or more patient subgroups with a serious or life threatening rare disease or condition, the FDA may allow a sponsor to rely upon data and information previously developed by the sponsor or for which the sponsor has a right of reference, that was submitted previously to support an approved application for a product that incorporates or utilizes the same or similar genetically targeted technology or a product that is the same or utilizes the same variant protein targeted drug as the product that is the subject of the application.

Post-approval clinical trials, sometimes referred to as phase IV clinical trials, may be conducted or may be required by FDA after initial approval. These clinical trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication, particularly for long-term safety follow-up.

During all phases of clinical development, regulatory agencies require extensive monitoring and auditing of all clinical activities, clinical data, and clinical trial investigators. Annual progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted to the FDA.

Written IND safety reports must be promptly submitted to the FDA, IRBs, IBCs, and the investigators for serious and unexpected adverse events; any findings from other trials, in vivo laboratory tests or in vitro testing that suggest a significant risk for human subjects; any clinically important increase in the rate of a serious suspected adverse reaction over that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure, or other safety information. The sponsor must submit an IND safety report within 15 calendar days after the sponsor determines that the information qualifies for reporting. The sponsor also must notify the FDA of any unexpected fatal or life-threatening suspected adverse reaction within seven calendar days after the sponsor’s initial receipt of the information.

The FDA, the sponsor or its data safety monitoring board may suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the biologic product candidate has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. The FDA or an IRB may also impose conditions on the conduct of a clinical trial.

Additional regulation for gene therapy clinical trials

In addition to the regulations discussed above, there are a number of additional standards that apply to clinical trials involving the use of gene therapy. The FDA has issued various guidance documents regarding gene therapies, which outline additional factors that the FDA will consider at each of the above stages of development and relate to, among other things: the proper preclinical assessment of gene therapies; the CMC information that should be included in an IND application; the proper design of tests to measure product efficacy in support of an IND or BLA application; and long term patient and clinical study subject follow up and reporting requirements. The FDA has also issued draft guidance specific to the development of gene therapy products for neurodegenerative diseases as such products may face special challenges related to CMCs and clinical and preclinical development, due to the nature of the products and potential patient population (e.g., children), the heterogeneity of neurodegenerative disorders, the route of administration, the volume of the product that can be administered, the delivery device, and the study population size.

Compliance with cGMP requirements

Manufacturers of biologics must comply with applicable cGMP regulations for both clinical and commercial supply. Manufacturers and others involved in the manufacture and distribution of such products at the commercial stage also must register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies and list the manufactured products. Recently, the information that must be submitted to FDA regarding manufactured products was expanded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act to include the volume of drugs produced during the prior year. Both domestic and foreign manufacturing establishments must register and provide additional information to the FDA upon their initial participation in the manufacturing process. Establishments may be subject to periodic, unannounced inspections by government authorities to ensure compliance with cGMP requirements and other laws. Discovery of problems may result in a government entity placing restrictions on a product, manufacturer, or holder of an approved BLA, and may extend to requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. The FDA will not approve an application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities comply with cGMP requirements and are adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specification.

Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional preclinical studies and must also develop additional information about the physical characteristics of the biologic product candidate as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product candidate in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. To help reduce the risk of the introduction of adventitious agents or of causing other adverse events with the use of biologic products, the PHSA emphasizes the importance of manufacturing control for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other requirements, the sponsor must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality, potency and purity of the final biologic product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the biologic product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.

U.S. review and approval processes

The results of the preclinical tests and clinical trials, together with detailed information relating to the product’s CMC and proposed labeling, among other things, are submitted to the FDA as part of a BLA requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications.

For gene therapies, selecting patients with applicable genetic defects is a necessary condition to effective treatment. For the therapies we are currently developing, we believe that diagnoses based on symptoms, in conjunction with existing genetic tests developed and administered by laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, are sufficient to select appropriate patients and will be permitted by the FDA. For future therapies, however, it may be necessary to use FDA-cleared or FDA-approved diagnostic tests to select patients or to assure the safe and effective use of therapies in appropriate patients. The FDA refers to such tests as in vitro companion diagnostic devices and the combination of the in vitro companion diagnostic device and the therapeutic would be considered to be a combination product.

The use of the two products together must be shown to be safe and effective for the proposed intended use and the labeling of the two products must reflect their combined use. In some cases, the device component may require a separate premarket submission; for example, when the device component is intended for use with multiple drug products. Sponsors of clinical studies using investigational devices are required to comply with FDA’s investigational device exemption regulations. Once approved or cleared, the sponsor of the device component submission (or the combination product submission, if both components are covered by one premarket submission) would need to comply with FDA’s post-market device requirements, including establishment registration, device listing, device labeling, unique device identifier, quality system regulation, medical device reporting, and reporting of corrections and removals requirements.

The FDA has a policy position that, when safe and effective use of a therapeutic product depends on a diagnostic device, the FDA generally will require approval or clearance of the diagnostic device at the same time that the FDA approves the therapeutic product. The type of premarket submission required for a companion diagnostic device will depend on the FDA classification of the device. A premarket approval, or PMA, application is required for high risk devices classified as Class III; a 510(k) premarket notification is required for moderate risk devices classified as Class II; and a de novo request may be used for novel devices not previously classified by the FDA that are low or moderate risk.

The FDA may, however, approve a therapeutic product without the concurrent approval or clearance of a diagnostic device when the therapeutic product is intended to treat serious and life-threatening conditions for which no alternative exists and the FDA determines that the benefits from the use of the drug/biologic outweigh the risks from the lack of an approved/cleared companion diagnostic. The FDA would also consider whether additional protections, such as risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, or REMS, or post-approval requirements, are necessary. At this point, it is unclear how the FDA will apply this policy to our gene therapy candidates. Should the FDA deem genetic tests used for selecting appropriate patients for our therapies to be in vitro companion diagnostics requiring FDA clearance or approval, we may face significant delays or obstacles in obtaining approval for a BLA. In addition, under the Pediatric Research Equity Act (“PREA”), a BLA or supplement to a BLA must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the biologic product candidate for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product candidate is safe and effective. The FDA may grant deferrals for submission of data or full or partial waivers. Unless otherwise required by regulation, PREA does not apply to any biologic product candidate for an indication for which orphan designation has been granted.

Under the PDUFA, each BLA must be accompanied by a substantial user fee that must be paid at the time of the first submission of the application, even if the application is being submitted on a rolling basis. The FDA adjusts the PDUFA user fees on an annual basis. Fee waivers or reductions are available in certain circumstances, including a waiver of the application fee for the first application filed by a small business. Additionally, no user fees are assessed on BLAs for product candidates designated as orphan drugs, unless the product candidate also includes a non-orphan indication.

The FDA reviews a BLA within 60 days of submission to determine if it is substantially complete before the agency accepts it for filing. The FDA may refuse to accept for filing any BLA that it deems incomplete or not properly reviewable at the time of submission and may request additional information. In that event, the BLA must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application also is subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth, substantive review of the BLA.

The FDA reviews the BLA to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product candidate is safe and potent, or effective, for its intended use, has an acceptable purity profile and whether the product candidate is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to assure and preserve the product candidate’s identity, safety, strength, quality, potency, and purity. The FDA may refer applications for novel biologic products or biologic products that present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation, and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions. During the product approval process, the FDA also will determine whether a REMS is necessary to assure the safe use of the product candidate. A REMS could include medication guides, physician communication plans and elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries, and other risk minimization tools. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the BLA must submit a proposed REMS; the FDA will not approve the BLA without a REMS, if required.

Before approving a BLA, the FDA will inspect the facilities at which the product candidate is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product candidate unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities comply with cGMP requirements and are adequate to assure consistent production of the product candidate within required specifications. Additionally, before approving a BLA, the FDA typically will inspect one or more clinical sites to assure that the clinical trials were conducted in compliance with IND trial requirements and GCP requirements.

On the basis of the BLA and accompanying information, including the results of the inspection of the manufacturing facilities, the FDA may issue an approval letter or a complete response letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the biologic product with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A complete response letter (“CRL”) generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional testing or information for the FDA to reconsider the application. If a CRL is issued, the applicant may either: resubmit the marketing application, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter; withdraw the application; or request an opportunity for a hearing. If those deficiencies have been addressed to the FDA’s satisfaction in a resubmission of the BLA, the FDA will issue an approval letter.

If a product candidate receives regulatory approval, the approval may be significantly limited to specific diseases, patient populations, and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited. Further, the FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings, or precautions be included in the product labeling. The FDA also may not approve label statements that are necessary for successful commercialization and marketing. The FDA may impose restrictions and conditions on product distribution, prescribing or dispensing in the form of a REMS, or otherwise limit the scope of any approval. In addition, the FDA may require post-marketing clinical trials, sometimes referred to as phase IV clinical trials, designed to further assess a biologic product’s safety and effectiveness, and testing and surveillance programs to monitor the safety of approved products that have been commercialized.

The FDA has agreed to specified performance goals in the review of BLAs under the PDUFA. One such goal is to review 90% of standard BLAs in 10 months after the FDA accepts the BLA for filing, and 90% of priority BLAs in six months, whereupon a review decision is to be made. The FDA does not always meet its PDUFA goal dates for standard and priority BLAs and its review goals are subject to change from time to time. The review process and the PDUFA goal date may also be extended if new information is submitted to the application.

Orphan drug designation

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a biologic product as an “orphan drug” if it is intended to treat a rare disease or condition (generally meaning that it affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more in cases in which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making a biologic product available in the United States for treatment of the disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product). Additionally, sponsors must present a plausible hypothesis for clinical superiority to obtain orphan drug designation if there is a product already approved by the FDA that is considered by the FDA to be the same as the already approved product and is intended for the same indication. This hypothesis must be demonstrated to obtain orphan exclusivity. Orphan product designation must be requested before submitting a BLA. After the FDA grants orphan product designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. If granted, prior to product approval, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical study costs, tax advantages, and certain user-fee waivers. The tax advantages, however, were limited in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Orphan product designation does not shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.

If a product with orphan status receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, meaning that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug or biologic product for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity or if the party holding the exclusivity fails to assure the availability of sufficient quantities of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the disease or condition for which the drug was designated. Orphan product sameness decisions are an evolving space. FDA has issued a final guidance document on how the agency will determine the “sameness” of gene therapy products. Pursuant to the guidance, “sameness” will depend on the product’s transgene expression, viral vectors groups and variants, and other product features that may have a therapeutic effect. Generally, minor differences between gene therapy products will not result in a finding that two products are different. Any FDA sameness determinations could impact our ability to receive approval for our product candidates and to obtain or retain orphan drug exclusivity. Competitors additionally may receive approval of different products for the same indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity or obtain approval for the same product but for a different indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity. Orphan medicinal product status in the European Union has similar, but not identical, benefits.

Expedited development and review programs

The FDA is authorized to expedite the review of BLAs in several ways. Under the Fast Track program, the sponsor of a biologic product candidate may request the FDA to designate the product for a specific indication as a Fast Track product concurrent with or after the filing of the IND. Biologic products are eligible for Fast Track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the condition. Fast Track designation applies to the combination of the product candidate and the specific indication for which it is being studied. In addition to other benefits, such as the ability to have greater interactions with the FDA, the FDA may initiate review of sections of a Fast Track BLA before the application is complete, a process known as rolling review. This “rolling review” is available if the applicant provides and the FDA approves a schedule for the remaining information.

Any product submitted to the FDA for marketing, including under a Fast Track program, may be eligible for other types of FDA programs intended to expedite development and review, such as breakthrough therapy designation, priority review and accelerated approval.

Fast Track designation, breakthrough therapy designation, priority review and accelerated approval do not change the standards for approval but may expedite the development or approval process. Even if a product qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened.

Finally, with passage of the 21^st Century Cures Act (the “Cures Act”) in December 2016, Congress authorized the FDA to accelerate review and approval of products designated as regenerative advanced therapies. A product is eligible for this designation if it is a regenerative medicine therapy (which may include a cell or gene therapy) that is intended to treat, modify, reverse, or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such disease or condition. The benefits of a regenerative advanced therapy designation include early interactions with the FDA to expedite development and review, benefits available to breakthrough therapies, potential eligibility for priority review and accelerated approval based on surrogate or intermediate endpoints.

Post-approval requirements

Rigorous and extensive FDA regulation of biologic products continues after approval, particularly with respect to cGMP requirements. Manufacturers are required to comply with applicable requirements in the cGMP regulations, including quality control and quality assurance and maintenance of records and documentation. Other post-approval requirements applicable to biologic products include reporting of cGMP deviations that may affect the identity, potency, purity and overall safety of a distributed product, record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse events, reporting updated safety and efficacy information, and complying with electronic record and signature requirements.

To help reduce the increased risk of the introduction of adventitious agents, the PHSA emphasizes the importance of manufacturing controls for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The PHSA also provides authority to the FDA to immediately suspend licenses in situations where there exists a danger to public health, to prepare or procure products in the event of shortages and critical public health needs, and to authorize the creation and enforcement of regulations to prevent the introduction or spread of communicable diseases in the United States and between states. After a BLA is approved, the product also may be subject to official lot release. If the product is subject to official lot release by the FDA, the manufacturer submits samples of each lot of product to the FDA, together with a release protocol, showing a summary of the history of manufacture of the lot and the results of all tests performed on the lot. The FDA also may perform certain confirmatory tests on lots of some products before releasing the lots for distribution. In addition, the FDA conducts laboratory research related to the regulatory standards on the safety, purity, potency, and effectiveness of biologic products.

There also are continuing annual program user fee requirements for approved products, excluding orphan products. In addition, manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved therapeutics are subject to periodic announced and unannounced inspections by the FDA and these state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other requirements, which impose certain procedural and documentation requirements upon the company and third-party manufacturers.

A sponsor also must comply with the FDA’s marketing, advertising, and promotion requirements, such as those related to direct-to-consumer advertising, the prohibition on promoting products for uses or in patient populations that are not described in the product’s approved labeling (known as “off-label use”), industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and promotional activities involving the Internet. A company can make only those claims relating to a product that are approved by the FDA. Physicians, in their independent professional medical judgment, may prescribe legally available products for unapproved indications that are not described in the product’s labeling and that differ from those tested and approved by the FDA. Biopharmaceutical companies, however, are required to promote their products only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability, including, but not limited to, criminal and civil penalties under the FDCA and False Claims Act, exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs, mandatory compliance programs under corporate integrity agreements, suspension and debarment from government contracts, and refusal of orders under existing government contracts.

In addition, the distribution of prescription biopharmaceutical samples is subject to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or PDMA, which regulates the distribution of samples at the federal level. Both the PDMA and state laws limit the distribution of prescription biopharmaceutical product. Certain reporting related to samples is also required. Free trial or starter prescriptions provided through pharmacies are also subject to regulations under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and potential liability under anti-kickback and false claims laws.

Moreover, the enacted Drug Quality and Security Act, or DQSA, imposed obligations on sponsors of biopharmaceutical products related to product tracking and tracing. Among the requirements of this legislation, sponsors are required to provide certain information regarding the products to individuals and entities to which product ownership is transferred, are required to label products with a product identifier, and are required to keep certain records regarding the product. The transfer of information to subsequent product owners by sponsors is also required to be done electronically. Sponsors must also verify that purchasers of the sponsors’ products are appropriately licensed. Further, under this legislation manufacturers have product investigation, quarantine, disposition, and notification responsibilities related to counterfeit, diverted, stolen, and intentionally adulterated products that would result in serious adverse health consequences or death to humans, as well as products that are the subject of fraudulent transactions or which are otherwise unfit for distribution such that they would be reasonably likely to result in serious health consequences or death. Similar requirements additionally are and will be imposed through this legislation on other companies within the biopharmaceutical product supply chain, such as distributors and dispensers, as well as certain sponsor licensees and affiliates.

Discovery of previously unknown problems or the failure to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements may result in restrictions on the marketing of a product or withdrawal of the product from the market as well as possible civil or criminal sanctions. Further, should new safety information arise, additional testing or FDA notification may be required. In addition, changes to the manufacturing process or facility generally require prior FDA approval before being implemented and other types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications and additional labeling claims, are also subject to further FDA review and approval.

Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject an applicant or manufacturer to administrative or judicial civil or criminal actions and adverse publicity. These actions could include refusal to approve pending applications or supplemental applications, withdrawal of an approval, clinical hold, suspension or termination of clinical trial by an IRB, warning or untitled letters, product recalls, adverse publicity, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines or other monetary penalties, refusals of government contracts, mandated corrective advertising or communications to healthcare professionals or patients, exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, debarment, restitution, disgorgement of profits or other civil or criminal penalties.

U.S. patent term restoration and marketing exclusivity

Depending upon the timing, duration, and specifics of FDA approval of product candidates, some of a sponsor’s U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent restoration term of up to five years to account for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. However, patent term restoration cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. The patent term restoration period generally is one-half the time between the effective date of an IND and the submission date of a BLA plus the time between the submission date of a BLA and the approval of that application. This period may also be reduced by any time that the applicant did not act with due diligence. Only one patent applicable to an approved biologic product is eligible for the extension and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration.

Pediatric exclusivity

Pediatric exclusivity is a type of non-patent marketing exclusivity in the United States that, if granted, provides for the attachment of an additional six months of marketing protection to the term of any existing regulatory exclusivity, including the non-patent and orphan exclusivity. This six-month exclusivity may be granted if a BLA sponsor submits pediatric data that fairly responds to a written request from the FDA for such data. The data do not need to show the product to be effective in the pediatric population studied; rather, if the clinical trial is deemed to fairly respond to the FDA’s request, the additional protection is granted. If reports of requested pediatric studies are submitted to, and accepted by, the FDA within the statutory time limits, whatever statutory or regulatory periods of exclusivity or patent protection that cover the product are extended by six months. This is not a patent term extension, but it effectively extends the regulatory period during which the FDA cannot accept or approve a biosimilar application.

Biosimilars and exclusivity

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (“PPACA”), created an abbreviated approval pathway for biologic products shown to be similar to, or interchangeable with, an FDA-licensed reference biologic product, referred to as biosimilars. For the FDA to approve a biosimilar product, it must find that the biosimilar product is highly similar to the reference product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive components, and that there are no clinically meaningful differences between the reference product and proposed biosimilar product. Interchangeability requires that a product is biosimilar to the reference product and the product must demonstrate that it can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product and, for products administered multiple times, the biologic and the reference biologic may be switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference biologic.

A reference biologic is granted 12 years of exclusivity from the time of first licensure of the reference product. An application for a biosimilar product may not be submitted to the FDA until four years following approval of the reference product, and it may not be approved until 12 years thereafter. These exclusivity provisions only apply to biosimilars—companies that rely on their own data and file a full BLA may be approved earlier than 12 years. Moreover, certain changes and supplements to an approved BLA, and subsequent applications filed by the same sponsor, manufacturer, licensor, predecessor in interest, or other related entity do not qualify for the twelve-year exclusivity period. The PHSA also includes provisions to protect reference products that have patent protection. The biosimilar product sponsor and reference product sponsor may exchange certain patent and product information for the purpose of determining whether there should be a legal patent challenge. Based on the outcome of negotiations surrounding the exchanged information, the reference product sponsor may bring a patent infringement suit and injunction proceedings against the biosimilar product sponsor. The biosimilar applicant may also be able to bring an action for declaratory judgment concerning the patent.

In an effort to increase competition in the biologic product marketplace, Congress, the executive branch, and the FDA have taken certain legislative and regulatory steps. For example, in 2020 the FDA finalized a guidance to facilitate product importation. Moreover, the 2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act included provisions requiring that sponsors of approved biologic products, including those subject to REMS, provide samples of the approved products to persons developing biosimilar products within specified timeframes, in sufficient quantities, and on commercially reasonable market-based terms. Failure to do so can subject the approved product sponsor to civil actions, penalties, and responsibility for attorney’s fees and costs of the civil action. This same bill also includes provisions with respect to shared and separate REMS programs for reference and generic drug products.

Rare Pediatric Disease Voucher Program

Under the Rare Pediatric Disease Voucher Program, the FDA can award priority review vouchers to sponsors of rare pediatric disease products where the product is intended to treat serious or life-threatening diseases that primarily affect individuals up to age 18. To qualify, the product must contain no active ingredient (including any ester or salt of the active ingredient) that has been previously approved by the FDA. The application must also meet other qualifying criteria, including eligibility for FDA priority review. If the necessary qualifying criteria are met, upon a sponsor’s request and product approval, the FDA may award a priority review voucher. This voucher may be transferred and may be redeemed to receive priority review of a subsequent marketing application for a different product. Use of a priority review voucher is subject to an FDA user fee. As these vouchers are transferable, sponsors may sell these vouchers for substantial sums of money. Vouchers may, however, be revoked by the FDA under certain circumstances and sponsors of approved rare pediatric disease products must submit certain reports to the FDA. To take advantage of the benefits of this program, the product must be designated by the FDA for a rare pediatric disease no later than September 30, 2024, and approved no later than September 30, 2026, unless the law is reauthorized by Congress.

Government regulation outside of the United States

In addition to regulations in the United States, sponsors are subject to a variety of regulations in other jurisdictions governing, among other things, clinical trials and any commercial sales and distribution of biologic products. Because biologically-sourced raw materials are subject to unique contamination risks, their use may be restricted in some countries.

Whether or not a sponsor obtains FDA approval for a product, a sponsor must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in foreign countries prior to the commencement of clinical trials or marketing of the product in those countries. Certain countries outside of the United States have a similar process that requires the submission of a clinical trial application, much like the IND, prior to the commencement of human clinical trials. Save where the Clinical Trial Regulation applies (see below) in relation to cross-border trials, in the European Union, for example, a request for a Clinical Trial Authorization (“CTA”) must be submitted to the competent regulatory authorities and the competent Ethics Committees in the European Union Member States in which the clinical trial takes place, much like the FDA and the IRB, respectively. Once the CTA request is approved in accordance with the European Union and the European Union Member State’s requirements, clinical trial development may proceed.

The requirements and processes governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary from country to country. In all cases, the clinical trials are conducted in accordance with GCPs and the applicable regulatory requirements and the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Failure to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements may result in, among other things, fines, suspension, variation or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions, and criminal prosecution.

European Union regulation and exclusivity

To obtain regulatory approval of an investigational biologic product under European Union regulatory systems, applicants must submit a marketing authorization application (“MAA”). The grant of marketing authorization in the European Union for products containing viable human tissues or cells such as gene therapy medicinal products is governed by Regulation 1394/2007/EC on advanced therapy medicinal products, read in combination with Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, commonly known as the Community code on medicinal products and Regulation (EC) 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down Union procedures for the authorization and supervision of medicinal products for human and veterinary use and establishing a European Medicines Agency. Regulation 1394/2007/EC lays down specific rules concerning the authorization, supervision and pharmacovigilance of gene therapy medicinal products, somatic cell therapy medicinal products and tissue engineered products. Manufacturers of advanced therapy medicinal products must demonstrate the quality, safety and efficacy of their products to the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) which provides an opinion regarding the application for marketing authorization. The European Commission grants or refuses marketing authorization in light of the opinion delivered by EMA.

Innovative medicinal products are authorized in the European Union based on a full marketing authorization application (as opposed to an application for marketing authorization that relies on data in the marketing authorization dossier for another, previously approved medicinal product). Applications for marketing authorization for innovative medicinal products must contain the results of pharmaceutical tests, preclinical tests and clinical trials conducted with the medicinal product for which marketing authorization is sought. Innovative medicinal products for which marketing authorization is granted are entitled to eight years of data exclusivity. During this period, applicants for approval of generics or biosimilars of these innovative products cannot make an MMA relying on data contained in the marketing authorization dossier submitted for the innovative medicinal product to support their application and such generics or biosimilars cannot be placed on the market until 10 years after the first EU marketing of the reference product. The overall 10-year period will be extended to a maximum of 11 years if, during the first eight years of those 10 years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. Even if a compound is considered to be a new chemical entity and the innovator is able to gain the period of data exclusivity, another company, nevertheless, could also market another competing medicinal product for the same therapeutic indication if such company obtained marketing authorization based on an MAA with a complete independent data package of pharmaceutical tests, preclinical tests and clinical trials.

Products receiving orphan designation in the European Union can receive 10 years of market exclusivity. During this 10-year period, the competent authorities of the European Union Member States and European Commission may not accept applications or grant marketing authorization for other similar medicinal product for the same orphan indication. There are, however, three exceptions to this principle. Marketing authorization may be granted to a similar medicinal product for the same orphan indication if:

An orphan product can also obtain an additional two years of market exclusivity in the European Union for the conduct of pediatric trials. The 10-year market exclusivity may be reduced to six years if, at the end of the fifth year, it is established that the product no longer meets the criteria for orphan designation; for example, if the product is sufficiently profitable and no longer justifies the maintenance of market exclusivity or if the manufacturer cannot produce sufficient quantities to supply the orphan population.

The criteria for designating an “orphan medicinal product” in the European Union are similar, in principle, to those in the United States. Orphan medicinal products are eligible for financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers. The application for orphan medicinal product designation must be submitted before the application for marketing authorization. Orphan medicinal product designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.

In April 2014, the EU adopted a new Clinical Trials Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 (the “Clinical Trials Regulation”), which replaced the current Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC (the “Clinical Trials Directive”) on January 31, 2022. The Clinical Trial Regulation has overhauled the previous system of approvals for clinical trials in the EU whereby all clinical trial approvals were granted purely on a national basis. Specifically, the legislation, which is directly applicable in all member states, aims at simplifying and streamlining the approval of clinical trials in the EU, whereby there is a streamlined application procedure via a single-entry point and strictly defined deadlines for the assessment of clinical trial applications. However, the Clinical Trial Regulation does increase public disclosure requirements in relation to clinical trial information.

In the European Union there are also broadly equivalent regimes for the other issues addressed in relation to US regulation including cGMP requirements, accelerated access (generally through so-called Conditional Marketing Authorizations), pediatric requirements and incentives and patent term restoration (supplementary protection certificates).

Other Healthcare Laws and Regulations

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and use of pharmaceutical products that are granted marketing approval. Arrangements with third-party payors, existing or potential customers and referral sources are subject to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, and these laws and regulations may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which manufacturers market, sell and distribute the products for which they obtain marketing approval. Such restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations include the following:

Violation of the laws described above or any other governmental laws and regulations may result in penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, the curtailment or restructuring of operations, the exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, debarment from government contracting or refusal of orders under existing contracts, corporate integrity agreements or consent decrees, disgorgement, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and imprisonment. Furthermore, efforts to ensure that business activities and business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations can be costly.

Data Privacy and Security

Coverage and Reimbursement

Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any products for which we may obtain regulatory approval. In the United States, sales of any product candidates for which regulatory approval for commercial sale is obtained will depend in part on the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors. Third-party payors include government authorities and health programs in the United States such as Medicare and Medicaid, managed care providers, private health insurers and other organizations. These third-party payors are increasingly reducing reimbursements for medical products and services. The process for determining whether a payor will provide coverage for a drug product may be separate from the process for setting the reimbursement rate that the payor will pay for the drug product. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific drug products on an approved list, or formulary, which might not include all FDA-approved drugs for a particular indication. Additionally, the containment of healthcare costs has become a priority of federal and state governments, and the prices of drugs have been a focus in this effort. The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, required disclosures of pricing and sensitive cost data, requirement for payment of manufacturer rebates and negotiation of supplemental rebates, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.

In the EU, pricing and reimbursement schemes vary widely from country to country. Some countries provide that products may be marketed only after a reimbursement price has been agreed. Some countries may require the completion of additional studies as part of health technology assessment that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. EU member states may approve a specific price for a product, or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the product on the market. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for products but monitor and control company profits. The downward pressure on health care costs has become intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. In addition, in some countries, cross-border imports from low-priced markets exert competitive pressure that may reduce pricing within a country. Any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations may not allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements.

Health Reform

The United States and some foreign jurisdictions are considering or have enacted a number of reform proposals to change the healthcare system. There is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality, or expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts. For example, healthcare reform measures under the Affordable Care Act included increased Medicaid rebates, expanded the 340B drug discount program, and changes requiring manufacturer discounts currently set at 70 percent on Part D utilization in the Part D coverage gap or “donut hole” and multiple provisions that could affect the profitability of our drug products. There is continuing development of value-based pricing and reimbursement models. Moreover, on November 27, 2020, CMS issued an interim final rule implementing a Most Favored Nation payment model under which reimbursement for certain Medicare Part B drugs and biologicals will be based on a price that reflects the lowest per capita Gross Domestic Product-adjusted (GDP-adjusted) price of any non-U.S. member country of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with a GDP per capita that is at least sixty percent of the U.S. GDP per capita. Current and future healthcare reform measures may significantly affect our sale of any products, and we continue to face major uncertainty due to the status of major legislative initiatives surrounding healthcare reform.

Additional Regulation

In addition to the foregoing, state and federal laws regarding environmental protection and hazardous substances, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act, affect our business. These and other laws govern the use, handling and disposal of various biologic and chemical substances used in, and wastes generated by, operations. If our operations result in contamination of the environment or expose individuals to hazardous substances, we could be liable for damages and governmental fines. Equivalent laws have been adopted in other countries that impose similar obligations.

U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), prohibits U.S. corporations and individuals from engaging in certain activities to obtain or retain business abroad or to influence a person working in an official capacity. It is illegal to pay, offer to pay or authorize the payment of anything of value to any foreign government official, government staff member, political party, or political candidate in an attempt to obtain or retain business or to otherwise influence a person working in an official capacity. The scope of the FCPA includes interactions with certain healthcare professionals in many countries. Equivalent laws have been adopted in other foreign countries that impose similar obligations.

Competition

Companies that are currently engaged in gene therapy or companies not yet focused on developing cell and gene therapies could at any time decide to develop therapies relevant to our business. Many of our competitors, either alone or with their strategic partners, may have substantially greater financial, technical, and human resources than we do and may have significantly greater experience in the discovery and development of product candidates, obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of product candidates and commercializing those product candidates. Accordingly, our competitors may be more successful than us in obtaining approval for product candidates and achieving widespread market acceptance. Our competitors’ product candidates may be more effective, or more effectively marketed and sold, than any product candidate we may commercialize and may render our treatments obsolete or non-competitive before we can recover the expenses of developing and commercializing any of our product candidates.

Mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. These competitors also may compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and subject registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies.

We anticipate facing intense and increasing competition as new product candidates enter the market and advanced technologies become available. We expect any product candidates that we develop and commercialize to compete on the basis of, among other things, efficacy, safety, convenience of administration and delivery, price, and the availability of reimbursement from government and other third-party payors.

Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their product candidates more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.

Corporate Information

Our principal executive office as well as our manufacturing and laboratory facilities are located at 6555 Carnegie Ave, 4^th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44103. Our telephone number is (646) 813-4701.

We were incorporated in Wyoming in 1974 as Chemex Corporation, and in 1983 we changed our name to Chemex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. We changed our state of incorporation from Wyoming to Delaware on June 30, 1989. In 1996 we merged with Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a private Texas corporation, and changed our name to Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. On October 24, 2014, we changed our name to PlasmaTech Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. On May 15, 2015, we acquired Abeona Therapeutics LLC and on June 19, 2015, we changed our name to Abeona Therapeutics Inc.

Suppliers

Some of the materials we use are specialized. We obtain materials from several suppliers based in different countries around the world. If materials are unavailable from one supplier, we generally have alternate suppliers available.

Human Capital Resources

As a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for life-threatening diseases, we seek to attract, hire, develop and retain qualified and highly skilled personnel with experience in areas such as research and development and manufacturing operations. We compete for such personnel with numerous pharmaceutical and chemical companies, specialized biotechnology firms and universities. We strive to support our employees’ well-being through a transparent, inclusive, and collaborative culture and by providing them with the training, support, and resources to help them succeed professionally.

As of December 31, 2023, we had 84 full-time employees. We have never experienced employment-related work stoppages and believe that we maintain good relations with our personnel. In addition, to complement our internal expertise, we have contracts with scientific consultants, contract research organizations and university research laboratories that specialize in various aspects of drug development including clinical development, regulatory affairs, toxicology, process scale-up and preclinical testing.

Web Availability

We make available free of charge through our website, www.abeonatherapeutics.com, including our annual reports on Form 10-K and other reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as well as certain of our corporate governance policies, including the charters for the audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) and our code of ethics, corporate governance guidelines and whistleblower policy. We will also provide to any person without charge, upon request, a copy of any of the foregoing materials. Any such request must be made in writing to us at: Abeona Therapeutics Inc. c/o Investor Relations, 6555 Carnegie Ave, 4^th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44103. The SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, contains reports, proxy statements, and other information that we file electronically with the SEC. The content on any website referred to in this Form 10-K is not incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our business, financial condition, financial results, and future growth prospects are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those set forth below. The occurrence of any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, financial results, and future growth prospects.

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in Item 1A “Risk Factors.” These risks include, but are not limited to the following:

Risks related to the discovery and development of our product candidates

Our cell and gene therapy product candidates are based on proprietary methodologies, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development and subsequently obtaining regulatory approval. Only a few gene therapy products have been approved in the U.S. and the EU.

We have concentrated our therapeutic product research and development efforts on our cell and gene therapy platform, and our future success depends on the successful development of this therapeutic approach. There can be no assurance that any development problems we experience in the future related to our cell and gene therapy platform will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs, or that such development problems can be solved. We may also experience delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible and commercial-scale manufacturing process or transferring that process to commercial partners, which may prevent us from completing our clinical studies or commercializing our products on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.

In addition, the clinical study requirements of the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory agencies and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use and market of the potential products. The regulatory approval process for novel product candidates such as ours can be more expensive and take longer than for other, better known or more extensively studied pharmaceutical or other product candidates. Given that only a few gene therapy products have been approved in the Western world, it is not possible to predict how long it will take or how much it will cost to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates in the United States, the EU or other jurisdictions. Approvals by the EMA and the European Commission may not be indicative of what the FDA may require for approval.

Regulatory requirements governing cell and gene therapy products have evolved and may continue to change in the future. For example, the FDA has established the Office Tissues and Advanced Therapies within CBER to consolidate the review of gene therapy and related products, and the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER on its review.

Regulatory requirements in the United States and in other jurisdictions governing gene therapy products have changed frequently and will continue to change in the future as scientific knowledge is acquired. The FDA and EMA have each expressed interest in further regulating gene therapy. For example, the FDA has established the Office Tissues and Advanced Therapies within CBER to consolidate the review of gene therapy and related products, and the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER on its review. Over the last few years, FDA, through CBER, has provided significant guidance regarding the development of gene therapies. Additionally, the EMA advocates a risk-based approach to the development of a gene therapy product. Agencies at both the federal and state level in the United States, as well as the U.S. congressional committees and other governments or governing agencies, have also expressed interest in further regulating the biotechnology industry. Such action may delay or prevent commercialization of some, or all, of our product candidates. These regulatory review agencies, committees and advisory groups and the new requirements and guidelines they promulgate may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional or larger studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of these treatment candidates or lead to significant post-approval studies, limitations, or restrictions. As we advance our product candidates, we will be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups and comply with applicable requirements and guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of our product candidates. Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.

We may encounter substantial delays in our clinical studies, such as clinical holds, or we may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of our product candidates, we must conduct extensive clinical studies to demonstrate the safety, purity and potency, and efficacy, of the product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain as to outcome. This is especially true for rare and/or complicated diseases. We cannot guarantee that any clinical studies will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. A failure of one or more clinical studies can occur at any stage of testing.

The results of preclinical studies, preliminary study results, and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials or the ultimately completed trial. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. Preclinical and early clinical studies may also reveal unfavorable product candidate characteristics, including safety concerns.

We may also experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates, including:

Delays in launching clinical trials resulting from FDA or other regulatory actions, such as a clinical hold letter, would delay the commercialization of our product candidates and our ability to generate revenue, which would have an adverse effect on our business. For example, in September 2019, we received a clinical hold letter in connection with our phase 3 clinical trial for pz-cel stating that the FDA would not provide approval for us to begin our planned phase 3 clinical trial for pz-cel until we submitted additional data points on transport stability of pz-cel to clinical sites. Although the FDA removed the clinical hold in December 2019 and provided clearance for us to proceed with our planned phase 3 clinical trial, we may encounter similar delays in our clinical studies in the future.

Significant delays relating to any preclinical or clinical trials also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do. This may prevent us from receiving marketing approvals and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects will be materially harmed.

We may find it difficult to enroll patients in our clinical studies, which could delay or prevent clinical studies of our product candidates.

Identifying and qualifying patients to participate in clinical studies of our product candidates is critical to our success. The timing of our clinical studies depends on the speed at which we can recruit eligible patients to participate in testing our product candidates. We have experienced delays in some of our clinical studies due to the ultra-rare nature of the diseases we aim to treat, and we may experience similar delays in the future. If patients are unwilling to participate in our cell and gene therapy studies because of negative publicity from adverse events in the biotechnology or gene therapy industries or for other reasons, including competitive clinical studies for similar patient populations, the timeline for recruiting patients, conducting studies, and obtaining regulatory approval of potential products may be delayed. These delays could result in increased costs, delays in advancing our product development, delays in testing the effectiveness of our technology or termination of the clinical studies altogether.

We may not be able to identify, recruit or enroll a sufficient number of patients, or those with required or desired characteristics to achieve diversity in a study, to complete our clinical studies in a timely manner. Patient enrollment is affected by factors including:

We also plan to seek initial marketing approval in the European Union in addition to the U.S. Our ability to successfully initiate, enroll and complete a clinical study in any foreign country is subject to additional risks unique to conducting business in foreign countries, such as different standards for the conduct of clinical studies; different laws, medical standards, and regulatory requirements; and the ability to establish or manage relationships with treatment centers, contract research organizations and physicians.

If we have difficulty enrolling a sufficient number of patients to conduct our clinical studies as planned our development costs may increase, the time for completion of clinical trials may increase, we may need to delay, limit or terminate ongoing or planned clinical studies, any of which would have an adverse effect on our business.

Our products or product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or commercialization.

Undesirable side effects caused by our products or product candidates, including adverse events associated with our product candidates, could interrupt, delay, or halt clinical trials and could result in the denial of regulatory approval or more limited approvals by the FDA, EMA or other regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications, or the inclusion of unfavorable information in our product labeling, such as limitations on the indicated uses or populations for which the products may be marketed or distributed, a label with significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings, contraindications, and precautions, a label without statements necessary or desirable for successful commercialization, or may result in requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance, or other requirements, including REMS, to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products. These could in turn prevent us from commercializing our products or product candidates and generating revenues from their sale.

In addition, if we or others identify undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates after receipt of marketing approval, the regulatory authorities may require the addition of restrictive labeling statements. Regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval of the product. We also may be required to change the way the product is administered or conduct additional clinical trials. Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected products or product candidate or could substantially increase the costs and expenses of commercializing the products or product candidate, which in turn could delay or prevent us from generating significant revenues from its sale or adversely affect our reputation.

Even if we complete the necessary preclinical and clinical studies, we cannot predict when or if we will obtain regulatory approval to commercialize a product candidate or the approval may be for a narrower indication than we expect.

We cannot commercialize a product until the appropriate regulatory authorities have reviewed and approved the product candidate. Even if our product candidates demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical studies, the regulatory agencies may not complete their review processes in a timely manner, or we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval. Additional delays may result if an FDA Advisory Committee or other regulatory advisory group or authority recommends non-approval or restrictions on approval. In addition, we may experience delays or rejections based on additional government regulation from future legislation or administrative action, or changes in regulatory agency policy during the period of product development, clinical studies, and the review process. Regulatory agencies also may approve a treatment candidate for fewer or more limited indications, populations, or uses than requested or may grant approval subject to the performance of post-marketing studies, surveillance, or other requirements. In addition, regulatory agencies may not approve the labeling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our treatment candidates, or may require significant safety warnings, including black box warnings, contraindications, and precautions. For example, the development of our product candidates for pediatric use is an important part of our current business strategy, and if we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for the desired age ranges, our business may suffer.

We have received and may apply for additional designations intended to facilitate or encourage product candidate development. We may not receive any such designations or be able to maintain them. Moreover, any such designations may not lead to faster development or regulatory review or approval and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval.

Our product candidates have received regulatory designations including breakthrough therapy designation, RMAT designation, fast track designation, and rare pediatric disease designation from the FDA. In the future and as appropriate, we may seek additional product designations. Receipt of such a designation is within the discretion of the FDA. Even if we believe one of our product candidates meets the criteria for a designation, the FDA may disagree. In any event, the receipt of such a designation for a product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review, or approval compared to product candidates considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and does not assure ultimate marketing approval by the FDA. In addition, the FDA may later decide that the product candidates no longer meet the designation conditions, in which case any granted designations may be revoked. Finally, specifically with respect to our rare pediatric disease designations, if we are not able to obtain FDA approval of our designated product candidates before the statute sunsets, we would not be eligible to receive priority review vouchers.

Certain of our product candidates have received orphan drug designation from the FDA, there is no guarantee that we will be able to maintain this designation, receive this designation for any of our other product candidates, or receive or maintain any corresponding benefits, including periods of exclusivity.

While orphan drug designation provides certain advantages, it neither shortens the development time or regulatory review time of a product candidate nor gives the product candidate any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process. Generally, if a product candidate with orphan drug designation subsequently receives marketing approval before another product considered by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to be the same, for the same orphan indication, the product is entitled to a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities from approving another marketing application for the same drug or biologic for the same indication for seven years. We may not be able to obtain any future orphan drug designations that we apply for, orphan drug designations do not guarantee that we will be able to successfully develop our product candidates, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to maintain any orphan drug designations that we receive. For instance, orphan drug designation may be revoked if the FDA finds that the request for designation contained an untrue statement of material fact or omitted material information, or if the FDA finds that the product candidate was not eligible for designation at the time of the submission of the request. Moreover, we may ultimately not receive any period of regulatory exclusivity if our product candidates are approved. For instance, we may not receive orphan product regulatory exclusivity if the indication for which we receive FDA approval is broader than the designation. Orphan exclusivity may also be lost for the same reasons that the designation may be lost. Orphan exclusivity may further be lost if we are unable to assure a sufficient quantity of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.

Even if we obtain orphan exclusivity for any of our current or future product candidates, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition as different products can be approved for the same condition or products that are the same as ours can be approved for different conditions. Even after an orphan product is approved, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities can also subsequently approve a product containing the same principal molecular features for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later product is clinically superior. The FDA may further grant orphan drug designation to multiple sponsors for the same compound or active molecule and for the same indication. If another sponsor receives FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority approval for such product before we do, we would be prevented from launching our product for the orphan indication for a period of at least seven years unless we can demonstrate clinical superiority. FDA’s thinking around sameness with respect to gene therapies, and thus the circumstances when clinical superiority would need to be shown, is evolving. While the agency has issued guidance on the topic, certain decisions may need to be made on a case by case basis, given the novelty of the technology. Moreover, third-party payors may reimburse for products off-label even if not indicated for the orphan condition.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for a product candidate, our products will remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval in a jurisdiction, regulatory authorities may still impose significant restrictions on the indicated uses or marketing of our product candidates or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies, post-market surveillance or patient or drug restrictions. Moreover, the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities will continue to closely monitor the safety profile of any product even after approval, including gene therapy specific requirements for long term follow up. Additionally, the holder of an approved BLA is obligated to monitor and report adverse events and any failure of a product to meet the specifications in the BLA. The holder of an approved BLA must also submit new or supplemental applications and obtain FDA approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling or manufacturing process. Advertising and promotional materials must comply with FDA rules and are subject to FDA review, in addition to other potentially applicable federal and state laws.

In addition, product manufacturers and their facilities are subject to payment of user fees and continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP and adherence to commitments made in the BLA. If we or a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or that the product is less effective than previously thought, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions relative to that product or the manufacturing facility, including requiring recall or withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing.

If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements following approval of any of our product candidates or during product development, or if we later discovery previously unknown safety, efficacy, or manufacturing issues, the following may result:

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate revenues.

The FDA’s policies may change, and additional government regulations may be enacted, that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates, that could limit the marketability of our product candidates, or that could impose additional regulatory obligations on us. For example, a change in administration in the U.S. may result in new, revised, postponed or frozen regulatory requirements and associated compliance obligations. Changes in medical practice and standard of care may also impact the marketability of our product candidates. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements, standards of care, or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and be subject to regulatory enforcement action.

Should any of the above actions take place, they could adversely affect our ability to achieve or sustain profitability. Further, the cost of compliance with post-approval regulations may have a negative effect on our operating results and financial condition.

Risks related to manufacturing

We could experience production problems in our manufacturing facilities that result in delays in our development or commercialization programs or otherwise adversely affect our business.

We are susceptible to production interruptions that may impede our ability to manufacture cell and gene therapy products and produce an adequate product supply to support clinical trials and potentially future commercialization. Several factors could cause production interruptions, including equipment malfunctions, facility contamination, raw material shortages or contamination, natural disasters, public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, disruption in utility services, human error, or disruptions in the operations of our suppliers. Our products and product candidates are biologic drugs requiring processing steps that are more complex than those required for most chemical pharmaceuticals. We characterize our processes and products, and perform testing to ensure the safety, quality and efficacy of each product produced. While we take significant measures to fully understand and characterize each product, the steps we take may not be sufficient to ensure that a given lot will perform in the intended manner.

There are several risks specific to the manufacturing process for pz-cel which require close attention. As an autologous product there are challenges associated with viability of biopsies as an incoming material. Due to variables such as the fragility of RDEB skin and site of the biopsy, initiation of autologous keratinocyte growth and expansion can be challenging or may be extended beyond the scheduled timing. Another concern during manufacturing is the slowing of cell proliferation, resulting in extended manufacturing time. If pre-release criteria are not met, the production process must be stopped, and a new biopsy must be obtained. If release criteria are out of range, epidermal sheets must be discarded and the manufacturing process must be repeated.

We currently do not have a backup manufacturer to supply clinical trial material for pz-cel. An alternative manufacturer would need to be qualified, through regulatory filings, which could result in delays to our clinical trial timeline. The regulatory authorities also may require additional clinical trials if a new manufacturer is relied upon for commercial production. Switching manufacturers may involve substantial costs and could result in a delay in our desired clinical and commercial timelines.

Accordingly, we employ multiple steps to control our manufacturing process to assure that the products or product candidate is made strictly and consistently in compliance with the process. Problems with the manufacturing process, including even minor deviations from the normal process, could result in product defects or manufacturing failures that result in lot failures, product recalls, product liability claims, or insufficient inventory. We may encounter problems achieving adequate quantities and quality of clinical grade materials that meet FDA, EU or other applicable standards or specifications with consistent and acceptable production yields and costs. In addition, the FDA, EMA and other foreign regulatory authorities may require us to submit samples of any lot of any approved product together with the protocols showing the results of applicable tests at any time. Under some circumstances, the FDA, EMA or other foreign regulatory authorities may require that we not distribute a lot until the agency authorizes its release. Slight deviations in the manufacturing process, including those affecting quality attributes and stability, may result in unacceptable changes in the product that could result in lot failures or product recalls for approved and marketed products.

Lot failures or product recalls could cause us to delay product launches or clinical trials, which could be costly to us and otherwise harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We also may encounter problems hiring and retaining the experienced scientific, quality control and manufacturing personnel needed to operate our manufacturing process, which could result in delays in our production or difficulties in maintaining compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Any problems in our manufacturing process or facilities could make us a less attractive collaborator for potential partners, including larger pharmaceutical companies and academic research institutions, which could limit our access to additional attractive development programs. Problems in our manufacturing process including in internal and external facilities providing supply necessary for manufacturing or challenges with procuring supplies, such as due to global trade policies, also could restrict our ability to meet clinical trial supply demand, and eventually market demand for any product candidates for which we may receive marketing approval. Disruptions in our manufacturing process may delay or disrupt our commercialization efforts.

If we or any of our vendors, contract laboratories or suppliers are found to be out of compliance with cGMP, we may experience delays or disruptions in manufacturing while we implement corrective actions or work with these third parties to remedy the violation or while we work to identify suitable replacement vendors, contract laboratories or suppliers.

To obtain regulatory approval for commercial manufacturing, we will need to continue to ensure that all of our processes, methods and equipment are compliant with cGMP and perform extensive audits of vendors, contract laboratories and suppliers. The cGMP requirements govern quality control of the manufacturing process and documentation policies and procedures. Complying with cGMP requires us to expend time, money and effort in production, record keeping and quality control to assure that the product meets applicable specifications and other requirements. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we would be subject to possible regulatory action and may not be permitted to sell any products that we may develop.

We may rely on third parties to conduct aspects of our product manufacturing, and these third parties may not perform satisfactorily. We may rely on third parties to produce certain materials for our product candidates and, therefore, we can control only certain aspects of their activities.

We and our third-party suppliers, laboratories, and manufacturers may be unable to comply with our specifications, cGMP requirements and with other FDA, state, and foreign regulatory requirements. Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of adventitious agents or other contaminants, or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of a product candidate that may not be detectable in final product testing. If we or our contract manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or other regulatory authorities, we or our contract manufacturers will not be able to secure or maintain regulatory approval for their manufacturing facilities. Any such deviations may also require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time-consuming for us or a third party to implement and may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon or by us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business. Any delays in obtaining products or product candidates that comply with the applicable regulatory requirements may result in delays to clinical trials, product approvals, and commercialization. It may also require that we conduct additional studies.

We have manufacturing agreements with third parties that provide for, among other things, production of product candidates for our current and future early-stage clinical trials. Under certain circumstances, the other party is entitled to terminate its arrangement with us. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it could delay our product development activities. Our reliance on third parties for certain manufacturing activities will reduce our control over these activities but will not relieve us of our responsibility to ensure compliance with all required regulations. If a third party does not successfully carry out its contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or manufacture our product candidates in accordance with regulatory requirements, or if there are disagreements between us and any such third party, we will not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the preclinical studies required to support future IND submissions and the clinical trials required for approval of our product candidates. In such instances, we may need to enter into an appropriate replacement third-party relationship, which may not be readily available or on acceptable terms, which would cause additional delay or increased expense prior to the approval of our product candidates and would thereby have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In addition, if the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority does not approve our or a third party’s facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates or if it withdraws any such approval in the future, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain and maintain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved. Any new manufacturers would need to either obtain or develop the necessary manufacturing know-how, and obtain the necessary equipment and materials, which may take substantial time and investment. We must also receive FDA approval for the use of any new manufacturers for commercial supply. We may not succeed in our efforts to establish manufacturing relationships or other alternative arrangements for any of our product candidates, components, and programs. For example, our product candidates may compete with other products and product candidates for access to manufacturing facilities. There are a limited number of manufacturers that operate under cGMP regulations and that are both capable of manufacturing for us and willing to do so.

The manufacture of biologic products requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls. Manufacturers of therapeutics often encounter difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up initial production. These problems include difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the product candidate and quality assurance testing, shortages of qualified personnel, and compliance with strictly enforced federal, state, and foreign regulations. If we or our manufacturers were to encounter any of these difficulties and were unable to perform as agreed, our ability to provide product candidates to patients in our clinical trials and for commercial use, if approved, would be jeopardized.

Our reliance on these third parties entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured the product candidates ourselves, including:

Any of these events could lead to clinical trial delays or failure to obtain regulatory approval or impact our ability to successfully commercialize future product candidates. Some of these events could be the basis for FDA action or action of equivalent competent authorities in foreign jurisdictions, including injunction, recall, seizure or total or partial suspension of product manufacturing. Failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements could cause us to suspend production or put in place costly or time-consuming remedial measures.

If any inspection or audit by regulatory authorities identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations, or if a violation of product specifications or applicable regulations occurs independent of such an inspection or audit, the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly or time-consuming to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a manufacturing facility.

Regulatory authorities may inspect or audit the manufacturing facilities for our products and product candidates at any time. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us could materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If we fail to comply with applicable cGMP regulations, FDA and foreign regulatory authorities could impose regulatory sanctions including, among other things, refusal to approve a pending application for a new product candidate or suspension or revocation of a pre-existing approval. Such an occurrence may cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects to be materially harmed. Additionally, if supply from our facility is interrupted, there could be a significant disruption in commercial supply of any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval, and in clinical supply for our product candidates.

If we, our collaborators, or any third-party manufacturers we engage fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could harm our business.

We, our collaborators, and any third-party manufacturers we engage are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the generation, handling, use, storage, treatment, manufacture, transportation and disposal of, and exposure to, hazardous materials and wastes, as well as laws and regulations relating to occupational health and safety. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biologic materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties.

Although we maintain general liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance for certain costs and expenses that we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials or other work-related injuries, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us in connection with our storage or disposal of biologic and hazardous materials.

In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, which have tended to become more stringent over time. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development, or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions or liabilities, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The widespread outbreak of an illness, communicable disease, or any other public health crisis could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We could be negatively impacted by the widespread outbreak of an illness, communicable disease, or any other public health crisis that results in economic or trade disruptions, including the disruption of global supply chains. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the economy on a global, national, and local level, disrupted global supply chains, and created volatility and disruption of financial markets. Responses from governmental authorities and companies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 affected economic activity through various containment measures including, among others, business closures, work stoppages, quarantine and work-from-home guidelines, limiting capacity at public spaces and events, vaccination requirements, or restrictions of global and regional travel. Another outbreak of an illness, a communicable disease, or any other public health crisis, and any resulting impacts, such as an extended period of global supply chain and/or economic disruption, labor shortages, or government-mandated actions in response to such public health crisis could materially affect our business, results of operations, access to sources of liquidity, and financial condition.

Risks related to our reliance on third-parties

We expect to rely on third parties to conduct some or all aspects of our viral vector production, drug product manufacturing, research and preclinical, and clinical testing, and these third parties may not perform satisfactorily.

We do not expect to independently conduct all aspects of our viral vector production, drug product manufacturing and distribution, research and preclinical, and clinical testing. We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties with respect to these matters. In some cases, these third parties are academic, research or similar institutions that may not apply the same quality control protocols utilized in certain commercial settings.

Our reliance on these third parties for research and development activities reduces our control over these activities but does not relieve us of our responsibility to ensure compliance with all required regulations and study protocols. For example, for product candidates that we develop and commercialize on our own, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our IND-enabling studies and clinical studies are conducted in accordance with the study plan and protocols, and that our viral vectors and drug products are manufactured in accordance with GMP as applied in the relevant jurisdictions. We must also ensure that our preclinical trials are conducted in accordance with GLPs, as appropriate. Moreover, the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities require us to comply with GCPs 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. Regulatory authorities enforce these requirements through periodic inspections. If we or any of our third-party service providers fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we or they may be subject to enforcement or other legal actions, the data generated in our trials or manufacturing development may be deemed unreliable, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional studies and manufacturing development. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines, conduct our studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated study plans and protocols, or manufacture our viral vectors and drug products in accordance with cGMP, or if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, we will not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the preclinical and clinical studies and manufacturing process validation activities required to support future IND, MAA and BLA submissions and approval of our product candidates.

Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us at any time. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it could delay our product development activities. Any of these events could lead to clinical study delays or failure to obtain regulatory approval or impact our ability to successfully commercialize future products. Some of these events could be the basis for FDA action, including injunction, recall, seizure or total or partial suspension of production.

Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed.

Because we rely on third parties to manufacture our vectors and our product candidates, and because we collaborate with various organizations and academic institutions on the advancement of our cell and gene therapy platform, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with our collaborators, advisors, employees, and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, such as trade secrets. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business.

In addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability of our collaborators, advisors, employees, and consultants to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets. Our academic collaborators typically have rights to publish data, provided that we are notified in advance and may delay publication for a specified time in order to secure our intellectual property rights arising from the collaboration. In other cases, publication rights are controlled exclusively by us, although in some cases we may share these rights with other parties. We also conduct joint research and development programs that may require us to share trade secrets under the terms of our research and development partnerships or similar agreements. Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of these agreements, independent development or publication of information including our trade secrets in cases where we do not have proprietary or otherwise protected rights at the time of publication. A competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business.

Risks related to with commercializing our product candidates

If we do not obtain the necessary U.S. or worldwide regulatory approvals to commercialize pz-cel, we will not be able to sell pz-cel.

If we cannot obtain regulatory approval for pz-cel, we will not be able to generate revenue from this product candidate. As a result, our ability to generate revenue from product commercialization may be further delayed. We cannot assure you that we will receive the approvals necessary to commercialize pz-cel or any other product candidate we may develop in the future. In order to obtain FDA approval of pz-cel or any other product candidate requiring FDA approval, we must successfully complete an FDA BLA review. Obtaining FDA approval of any other product candidate generally requires significant research and testing, referred to as preclinical studies, as well as human tests, referred to as clinical trials. Satisfaction of the FDA’s regulatory requirements typically takes many years, depends upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidate and requires substantial resources for research, development and testing. We cannot predict whether our research and clinical approaches will result in products that the FDA considers safe for humans and effective for indicated uses. The FDA has substantial discretion in the product approval process and may require us to conduct additional preclinical and clinical testing or to perform post-marketing studies. The approval process may also be delayed by changes in government regulation, future legislation or administrative action or changes in FDA policy that occur prior to or during our regulatory review.

Delays in obtaining regulatory approvals may:

Even if we comply with all FDA requests, the FDA may ultimately reject our BLA. In addition, the FDA could determine that we must test additional subjects or require that we conduct further studies with more subjects. We may never obtain regulatory approval for pz-cel, or any other future potential product candidate. Failure to obtain FDA approval of any of our product candidates will severely undermine our business by leaving us without the ability to generate additional accretive revenues. There is no guarantee that we will ever be able to develop or acquire other product candidates. In foreign jurisdictions, we must receive approval from the appropriate regulatory authorities before we can commercialize any products or product candidates outside the U.S. Foreign regulatory approval processes generally include all of the risks and uncertainties associated with the FDA approval procedures described above. We cannot assure you that we will receive the approvals necessary to commercialize any product candidate for sale outside the U.S.

Even if we receive regulatory approval for pz-cel, our lead drug candidate, we may not be able to successfully commercialize the product and the revenue that we generate from its sales, if any, may be limited.

If approved for marketing, the commercial success of pz-cel will depend upon the product’s acceptance by the medical community, including physicians, patients and healthcare payors. The degree of market acceptance for our drug candidate will depend on a number of factors, including:

If our drug candidate is approved but does not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, healthcare payors and patients, we may not generate sufficient revenue and we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability. Our efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of our drug candidates may require significant resources and may never be successful.

Our drug candidates are subject to the risks of failure inherent in the development of pharmaceutical products based on new technologies, and our failure to develop safe and commercially viable drugs would severely limit our ability to become profitable or to achieve significant revenues.

We may be unable to successfully commercialize our product candidates if some or all of our product candidates are found to be unsafe or ineffective or otherwise fail to meet applicable regulatory standards or receive necessary regulatory clearances. Additionally, our product candidates may be deemed too difficult to develop into commercially viable drugs. We may encounter difficulty in manufacturing or marketing our product candidates on a large scale, and proprietary rights of third parties may preclude us from marketing our drug candidates. Moreover, competitors may be able to market superior or equivalent drugs successfully. Failure to successfully commercialize our product candidates would have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may be unable to successfully develop, market, or commercialize our products or our product candidates without establishing new relationships and maintaining current relationships and our ability to successfully commercialize, and market our product candidates could be limited if a number of these existing relationships are terminated.

Our strategy for the research, development and commercialization of our potential pharmaceutical products may require us to enter into various arrangements with corporate and academic collaborators, licensors, licensees and others, in addition to our existing relationships with other parties. Specifically, we may seek to joint venture, sublicense or enter into other marketing arrangements with parties that have an established marketing capability, or we may choose to pursue the commercialization of such products on our own. We may, however, be unable to establish such additional collaborative arrangements, license agreements, or marketing agreements as we may deem necessary to develop, commercialize and market our potential pharmaceutical products on acceptable terms. Furthermore, since we maintain and establish arrangements or relationships with third parties, our business may depend upon the successful performance by these third parties of their responsibilities under those arrangements and relationships. If we are unwilling or unable to perform our obligations under any license or collaboration arrangement, a third party may have the right to terminate such arrangement with us.

We are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which increases our cost of doing business and may affect our ability to commercialize any new products that we may develop.

The FDA and comparable agencies in foreign countries impose substantial requirements upon the introduction of pharmaceutical products through lengthy and detailed laboratory, preclinical and clinical testing procedures and other costly and time-consuming procedures to establish safety and efficacy. All of our drugs and drug candidates require receipt and maintenance of governmental approvals for commercialization. Preclinical and clinical trials and manufacturing of our drug candidates will be subject to the rigorous testing and approval processes of the FDA and corresponding foreign regulatory authorities. Satisfaction of these requirements typically takes a significant number of years and can vary substantially based upon the type, complexity, and novelty of the product.

Due to the time-consuming and uncertain nature of the drug candidate development process and the governmental approval process described above, we cannot be certain when we, independently or with our collaborative partners, might submit a BLA for FDA or other regulatory review. Further, our ability to commence and/or complete development projects will be subject to our ability to raise enough funds to pay for the development costs of these projects. Government regulation also affects the manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products. Government regulations may delay marketing of our potential drugs for a considerable or indefinite period of time, impose costly procedural requirements upon our activities and furnish a competitive advantage to larger companies or companies more experienced in regulatory affairs. Delays in obtaining governmental regulatory approval could adversely affect our marketing as well as our ability to generate significant revenues from commercial sales.

Our drug candidates may not receive FDA or other regulatory approvals on a timely basis or at all. Moreover, if regulatory approval of a drug candidate is granted, such approval may impose limitations on the indicated use for which such drug may be marketed. Even if we obtain initial regulatory approvals for our drug candidates, our drugs and our manufacturing facilities would be subject to continual review and periodic inspection, and later discovery of previously unknown problems with a drug, manufacturer or facility may result in restrictions on the marketing or manufacture of such drug, including withdrawal of the drug from the market. The FDA and other regulatory authorities stringently apply regulatory standards and failure to comply with regulatory standards can, among other things, result in fines, denial or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls or seizures, operating restrictions, and criminal prosecution.

We may incur substantial product liability expenses due to the use or misuse of our products for which we may be unable to obtain insurance coverage.

Our business exposes us to potential liability risks that are inherent in the testing, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceutical products. These risks will expand with respect to our drug candidates, if any, that receive regulatory approval for commercial sale and we may face substantial liability for damages in the event of adverse side effects, including injury or death, or product defects identified with any of our products that are used in clinical tests or marketed to the public. Product liability actions can also have regulatory consequences, including the withdrawal of clinical trial participants and potential termination of clinical trial sites or entire clinical programs, and the initiation of investigations, and enforcement actions by regulators, product recalls, withdrawals, revocation of approvals, or labeling, marketing, or promotional restrictions.

Product liability insurance for the biotechnology industry is generally expensive, if available at all, and as a result, we may be unable to obtain insurance coverage at acceptable costs or in a sufficient amount in the future, if at all. We may be unable to satisfy any claims for which we may be held liable as a result of the use or misuse of products which we developed, manufactured, or sold and any such product liability claim could adversely affect our business, operating results, or financial condition.

Intense competition may limit our ability to successfully develop and market commercial products.

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. Our competitors in the U.S. and elsewhere are numerous and include, among others, major multinational pharmaceutical and chemical companies, specialized biotechnology firms and universities and other research institutions. Many of our competitors have and employ greater financial and other resources, including larger research and development, marketing, and manufacturing organizations. As a result, our competitors may successfully develop technologies and drugs that are more effective or less costly than any that we are developing, which could render our technology and future products obsolete and noncompetitive.

In addition, some of our competitors have greater experience than we do in conducting preclinical and clinical trials and obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals. Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in obtaining FDA or other regulatory approvals for drug candidates more rapidly than we can. Companies that complete clinical trials, obtain required regulatory agency approvals, and commence commercial sale of their drugs before their competitors may achieve a significant competitive advantage. Drugs resulting from our research and development efforts or from our joint efforts with collaborative partners therefore may not be commercially competitive with our competitors’ existing products or products under development.

Our products and product candidates may face competition sooner than anticipated.

Our products and product candidates may face competition from other products that are the same as or similar to ours. If the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities approve biosimilar versions of our products or product candidates, or such authorities do not grant our products appropriate or anticipated periods of regulatory exclusivity, the sales of our products could be adversely affected. Moreover, even if we receive periods of regulatory exclusivity, that exclusivity may not adequately protect us from biosimilar or other product competition. There may also be changes in regulatory exclusivity policies. For example, there have been efforts to decrease the biologic period of exclusivity to a shorter timeframe. Future proposed budgets, international trade agreements and other arrangements or proposals may affect periods of exclusivity. If another company pursues approval of a product that is biosimilar to any biologic product for which we receive FDA approval, we may need to pursue costly and time-consuming patent infringement actions, which may include certain statutorily specified regulatory steps before an infringement action may be brought. Biosimilar applicants may also be able to bring an action for declaratory judgment concerning our patents, requiring that we spend time and money defending the action.

Our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our drug candidates will substantially depend upon the availability of reimbursement funds for the costs of the resulting drugs and related treatments.

Market acceptance and sales of our product candidates may depend on coverage and reimbursement policies and health care reform measures. Decisions about formulary coverage as well as levels at which government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, reimburse patients for the price they pay for our products as well as levels at which these payors pay directly for our products, where applicable, could affect whether we are able to commercialize these products. We cannot be sure that reimbursement will be available for any of these products. Also, we cannot be sure that coverage or reimbursement amounts will not reduce the demand for, or the price of, our products. We have not commenced efforts to have our product candidates reimbursed by the government or third-party payors. If coverage and reimbursement are not available or are available only at limited levels, we may not be able to commercialize our products. In recent years, officials have made numerous proposals to change the health care system in the U.S. These proposals include measures that would limit or prohibit payments for certain medical treatments or subject the pricing of drugs to government control. In addition, in many foreign countries, particularly the countries of the European Union, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to government control. If our products are or become subject to government regulation that limits or prohibits payment for our products, or that subjects the price of our products to governmental control, we may not be able to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize our products.

As a result of legislative proposals and the trend towards managed health care in the U.S., third-party payors are increasingly attempting to contain health care costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement of new drugs. They may also impose strict prior authorization requirements and/or refuse to provide any coverage of uses of approved products for medical indications other than those for which the FDA has granted market approvals. As a result, significant uncertainty exists as to whether and how much third-party payors will reimburse patients for their use of newly approved drugs, which in turn will put pressure on the pricing of drugs.

The market may not accept any pharmaceutical products that we develop, thereby materially impairing our ability to generate revenue from such products.

The products that we are attempting to develop may compete with drugs manufactured and marketed by other pharmaceutical companies. The degree of market acceptance of any drugs developed by us will depend on a number of factors, including the establishment and demonstration of the clinical efficacy and safety of our drug candidates, the potential advantage of our drug candidates over existing therapies and the reimbursement policies of government and third-party payors. Physicians, patients, or the medical community in general may not accept or use any drugs that we may develop independently or with our collaborative partners and if they do not, our business could suffer.

Adverse public perception of gene therapy products may negatively affect demand for, or regulatory approval of, our product candidates.

Our product candidates involve altering genes, and the clinical and commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of gene altering therapies for the treatment of genetic diseases. Public attitude may be influenced by claims that gene therapy is unsafe, unethical, or immoral, and, as a result, our product candidates may not gain the acceptance of the public or the medical community. Negative public reaction to gene therapy in general could result in greater government regulation and stricter labeling requirements of gene therapy products, including any of our product candidates, and could cause a decrease in the demand for any products we may develop. Adverse public opinion also may adversely affect our ability to enroll patients in clinical trials.

Healthcare reform measures could hinder or prevent our product candidates’ commercial success.

Any government-adopted reform measures could adversely affect the pricing of healthcare products and services in the U.S. or internationally and the amount of reimbursement available from governmental agencies or other third-party payors. The continuing efforts of the U.S. and foreign governments, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of health care services to contain or reduce health care costs may adversely affect our ability to set prices for our products which we believe are fair, restrict coverage and reimbursement, or require payment of increased rebates and our ability to generate revenues and achieve and maintain profitability.

New laws, regulations and judicial decisions, or new interpretations of existing laws, regulations, and decisions, which relate to healthcare availability, methods of delivery or payment for products and services, or sales, marketing, or pricing, may limit our potential revenue, and we may need to revise our research and development programs. The pricing and reimbursement environment may change in the future and become more challenging due to several reasons including new healthcare legislation or regulation and fiscal challenges faced by government health administration authorities. Specifically, in both the U.S. and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the health care system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our products profitably.

We also cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative or executive action, either in the United States or abroad.

We may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal, state, and foreign healthcare laws and regulations, including fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws and health information privacy and security laws. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.

If we obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates and begin commercializing those products in the United States, our operations will be directly, or indirectly through our prescribers, customers, and purchasers, subject to various federal and state laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal civil and criminal false claims act, the civil monetary penalties statute, HIPAA, and the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and regulations. These laws are further described in the U.S. Biologic Products Development Process section of this annual report. These laws will impact, among other things, our proposed sales, marketing, and educational programs. In addition, we may be subject to data privacy laws by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. Failure to comply with these laws could result in penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, the curtailment or restructuring of operations, the exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, debarment from government contracting or refusal of orders under existing contracts, corporate integrity agreements or consent decrees, disgorgement, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and imprisonment. Furthermore, efforts to ensure that business activities and business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations can be costly. Comparable laws and regulations apply internationally.

We are subject to extensive laws and regulations related to data privacy, and our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our business.

Numerous foreign, federal, and state laws and regulations govern collection, dissemination, use and confidentiality of personally identifiable health information, including state privacy and confidentiality laws (including state laws requiring disclosure of breaches), HIPAA and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). These laws and regulations are increasing in complexity and number and may change frequently and sometimes conflict.

HIPAA establishes a set of national privacy and security standards for the protection of individually identifiable health information, including protected health information (“PHI”), by health plans, certain healthcare clearinghouses and healthcare providers that submit certain covered transactions electronically, or covered entities, and their “business associates,” which are persons or entities that perform certain services for, or on behalf of, a covered entity that involve creating, receiving, maintaining or transmitting PHI. While we are not currently a covered entity or business associate under HIPAA, we may receive identifiable information from these entities. Failure to protect this information properly could subject us to HIPAA’s criminal penalties, which may include fines up to $250,000 per violation and/or imprisonment.

GDPR imposes numerous requirements on entities that process personal data in the context of an establishment in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or that process the personal data of data subjects who are located in the EEA. These requirements include, for example, establishing a basis for processing, providing notice to data subjects, developing procedures to vindicate expanded data subject rights, implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures to safeguard personal data, and complying with restrictions on the cross-border transfer of personal data from the EEA to countries that the European Union does not consider to have in place adequate data protection legislation, such as the United States. GDPR additionally establishes heightened obligations for entities that process “special categories” of personal data, such as health data. Nearly all clinical trials involve the processing of these “special categories” of personal data, and thus processing of personal data collected during the course of clinical trials is subject to heightened protections under GDPR.

Moreover, California adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), which went into effect in January 2020. The CCPA has been characterized as the first “GDPR-like” privacy statute to be enacted in the United States because it mirrors a number of the key provisions of the GDPR. The CCPA establishes a new privacy framework for covered businesses in the State of California, by creating an expanded definition of personal information, establishing new data privacy rights for consumers imposing special rules on the collection of consumer data from minors, and creating a new and potentially severe statutory damages framework for violations of the CCPA and for businesses that fail to implement reasonable security procedures and practices to prevent data breaches.

The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data security continues to evolve, and there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data security issues which may affect our business. Failure to comply with current and future laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions (including the imposition of significant penalties), criminal and/or civil liability for us and our officers and directors, private litigation and/or adverse publicity that negatively affects our business.

Trends toward managed health care, health technology assessment, and downward price pressures on medical products and services may limit our ability to profitably sell any drugs that we may develop.

Lower prices for pharmaceutical products or reduced profitability may result from:

The cost containment measures that healthcare providers are instituting, including practice protocols and guidelines and clinical pathways, and the effect of any healthcare reform, could limit our ability to profitably sell any drugs that we may successfully develop. Moreover, any future legislation or regulation, if any, relating to the healthcare industry or third-party coverage and reimbursement, may cause our business to suffer.

Risks related to our intellectual property

Our rights to develop and commercialize our product candidates are subject to, in part, the terms and conditions of licenses granted to us by others.

We rely upon licenses to certain patent rights and proprietary technology from third parties that are important or necessary to the development of our technology and products, including technology related to our manufacturing process and our product candidates. These and other licenses may not provide exclusive rights to use such intellectual property and technology in all relevant fields of use and in all territories in which we may wish to develop or commercialize our technology and products in the future. As a result, we may not be able to prevent competitors from developing and commercializing competitive products in territories included in all of our licenses. These licenses may also require us to grant back certain rights to licensors and to pay certain amounts relating to sublicensing patent and other rights under the agreement.

In some circumstances, particularly in-licenses with academic institutions, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering in-licensed technologies. Therefore, in those cases we cannot be certain that these patents and applications will be prosecuted, maintained and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If our licensors fail to maintain such patents, or lose rights to those patents or patent applications, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated and our right to develop and commercialize any of our products that are the subject of such licensed rights could be adversely affected. In certain circumstances, we have or may license technology from third parties on a non-exclusive basis. In such instances, other licensees may have the right to enforce our licensed patents in their respective fields, without our oversight or control. Those other licensees may choose to enforce our licensed patents in a way that harms our interest, for example, by advocating for claim interpretations or agreeing on invalidity positions that conflict with our positions or our interest. In addition to the foregoing, the risks associated with patent rights that we license from third parties will also apply to patent rights we may own in the future.

Further, in many of our license agreements we are responsible for bringing any actions against any third party for infringing the patents we have licensed. Certain of our license agreements also require us to meet development milestones to maintain the license, including establishing a set timeline for developing and commercializing products and minimum yearly diligence obligations in developing and commercializing the product. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including:

If any dispute over in-licensed intellectual property prevents or impairs our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under these license agreements, or we are subject to a bankruptcy, the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to develop, manufacture, or market products covered by the license or may face other penalties under the agreements. Termination of these agreements or reduction or elimination of our rights under these agreements may result in our having to negotiate new or reinstated agreements with less favorable terms or cause us to lose our rights under these agreements, including our rights to important intellectual property or technology. It is possible that such termination may occur even if we believe that we have complied with our obligations under a license agreement, if a dispute arises between us and a licensor.

Furthermore, to the extent that the research resulting in certain of our licensed patent rights and technology was funded by the U.S. government, the government may have certain rights, or march-in rights, to such patent rights and technology. When new technologies are developed with U.S. government funding, the U.S. government generally obtains certain rights in any resulting patents, including a non-exclusive, royalty-free license authorizing the U.S. government, or a third party on its behalf, to use the invention for non-commercial purposes. These rights may permit the government to disclose our confidential information to third parties and to exercise march-in rights to use or allow third parties to use our licensed technology. The U.S. government can exercise its march-in rights if it determines that action is necessary because we fail to achieve practical application of the government-funded technology, because action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs, to meet requirements of federal regulations or to give preference to U.S. industry. In addition, our rights in such inventions may be subject to certain requirements to manufacture products embodying such inventions in the United States. Any exercise by the government, or a third party on its behalf, of such rights could harm our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our product candidates and technology, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our products and technology may be adversely affected.

Our success depends, in large part, on our and our licensors’ ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our proprietary product candidates and manufacturing technology. We and our licensors have sought, and we intend to seek in the future, to protect our proprietary positions by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to many of our novel technologies and product candidates that are important to our business.

The patent prosecution process is expensive, time-consuming and complex, and we may not have and may not in the future be able to file, prosecute, maintain, enforce, or license all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. For example, in some cases, the work of certain academic researchers in the gene therapy field has entered the public domain, which may compromise our ability to obtain patent protection for certain inventions related to or building upon such prior work. Consequently, we will not be able to obtain any such patents to prevent others from using our technology for, and developing and marketing competing products to treat, these indications. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.

The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has, in recent years, been the subject of much litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability, and commercial value of our and our licensors’ patent rights are highly uncertain. Our pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued which protect our technology or product candidates or which effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and product candidates. In particular, during prosecution of any patent application, the issuance of any patents based on the application may depend upon our ability to generate additional preclinical or clinical data that support the patentability of our proposed claims. We may not be able to generate sufficient additional data on a timely basis, or at all. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our and our licensors’ patent protection.

We may not be aware of all third-party intellectual property rights potentially relating to our product candidates. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing or, in some cases, not at all.

Therefore, we cannot be certain that we were the first to make the inventions claimed in any owned or any licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Databases for patents and publications, and methods for searching them, are inherently limited, so it is not practical to review and know the full scope of all issued and pending patent applications. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability, and commercial value of our and our licensed patent rights are uncertain.

Even if the patent applications we license or may own in the future do issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors or other third parties from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.

The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and product candidates. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our intellectual property may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.

Our intellectual property licenses with third parties may be subject to disagreements over contract interpretation, which could narrow the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or increase our financial or other obligations to our licensors.

The agreements under which we currently license intellectual property or technology from third parties are complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may not be successful in obtaining necessary rights to our product candidates through acquisitions and in-licenses.

We currently have rights to certain intellectual property, through licenses from third parties, to develop our product candidates. Because our programs may require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, the growth of our business likely will depend, in part, on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these proprietary rights. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes, or other intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for our product candidates. The licensing or acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and several more established companies may pursue strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, capital resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. We also may be unable to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment.

We sometimes collaborate with non-profit and academic institutions to accelerate our preclinical research or development under written agreements with these institutions. Typically, these institutions provide us with an option to negotiate a license to any of the institution’s rights in technology resulting from the collaboration. Regardless of such an option, we may be unable to negotiate a license within the specified timeframe or under terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to do so, the institution may offer the intellectual property rights to other parties, potentially blocking our ability to develop our program.

If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to redesign our product candidates or the methods for manufacturing them or to develop or license replacement technology, all of which may not be feasible on a technical or commercial basis. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected product candidates, which could harm our business significantly.

Issued patents covering our product candidates could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court. We may not be able to protect our trade secrets in court.

If we or one of our licensing partners initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, lack of written description or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld information material to patentability from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. Third parties also may raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post grant review, inter partes review and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. Such proceedings could result in the revocation or cancellation of or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our product candidates. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which the patent examiner and we or our licensing partners were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we could lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on one or more of our product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection could harm our business.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable or that we elect not to patent, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our product candidate discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect. Some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, collaborators, contractors, and other third-parties. We cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors.

Third-parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could harm our business.

Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights and intellectual property of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive and complex litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. We may become party to, or threatened with, infringement litigation claims regarding our product candidates and technology, including claims from competitors or from non-practicing entities that have no relevant product revenue and against whom our own patent portfolio may have no deterrent effect. Moreover, we may become party to, or be threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our product candidates and technology, including interference or derivation proceedings, post grant review and inter partes review before the USPTO or foreign patent offices. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit. There is a risk that third parties may choose to engage in litigation with us to enforce or to otherwise assert their patent rights against us. Even if we believe such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable, and infringed, which could adversely affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates or any other of our product candidates or technologies covered by the asserted third-party patents. In order to successfully challenge the validity of any such U.S. patent in federal court, we would need to overcome a statutory presumption of validity. As this burden is a high one requiring us to prove by clear and convincing evidence the invalidity of any such U.S. patent claim, there is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent. Similar challenges exist in other jurisdictions. If we are found to infringe a third-party’s valid and enforceable intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain a license from such third-party to continue developing, manufacturing, and marketing our product candidates and technology. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing, and commercializing the infringing technology or product candidates. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent or other intellectual property right. A finding of infringement could prevent us from manufacturing and commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could harm our business. In addition, we may be forced to redesign our product candidates, seek new regulatory approvals, and indemnify third parties pursuant to contractual agreements. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may be subject to claims asserting that our employees, consultants, or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their current or former employers or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

Many of our employees, consultants or advisors are currently, or were previously, employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants, and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that these individuals or we have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. The assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property.

If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in prosecuting or defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

If we do not obtain patent term extension and data exclusivity for our product candidates, our business may be harmed.

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of any FDA marketing approval of our product candidates, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension (“PTE”) under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (the “Hatch-Waxman Amendments”). The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a PTE of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. PTE cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent may be extended per FDA-approved product, and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. Further, certain of our licenses currently or in the future may not provide us with the right to control decisions of the licensor or its other licensees with respect to PTE under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Thus, if one of our important licensed patents is eligible for PTE, and it covers a product of another licensee in addition to our own product candidate, we may not be able to obtain that extension if the other licensee seeks and obtains that extension first. Moreover, we may not be granted an extension because of, for example, failing to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, failing to apply within applicable deadlines, failing to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise failing to satisfy applicable requirements, or the applicable time-period or the scope of patent protection afforded during any such extension could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain PTE or the duration of any such extension is less than we request, the period during which we will have the right to exclusively market our product may be shortened and our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our revenue could be materially reduced.

Risks related to our financial condition and capital requirements

We have experienced a history of losses; we expect to incur future losses and we may be unable to obtain necessary additional capital to fund operations in the future.

We have recorded minimal revenue to date and have incurred an accumulated deficit of $749.5 million through December 31, 2023. The net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023, was $54.2 million. Our losses have resulted principally from costs incurred in research and development activities related to our efforts to develop clinical drug candidates and from the associated administrative costs.

We require substantial capital for our development programs and operating expenses, to pursue regulatory clearances and to prosecute and defend our intellectual property rights. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year, such that a period-to-period comparison of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance. In any particular quarter or quarters, our operating results could be below the expectations of securities analysts or investors, which could cause our stock price to decline.

As of December 31, 2023, our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments were $52.6 million. Based upon our existing cash resources and our recently announced credit facility of up to $50 million, we believe that we have sufficient resources to fund operations through at least the next 12 months from the date of the issuance of our consolidated financial statements. However, our operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity, government or other third-party funding, marketing and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements or a combination of these approaches. In any event, we will require additional capital to obtain potential regulatory approval for, and to potentially commercialize, our product candidates. Even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans, we may seek additional capital if market conditions are favorable or if we have specific strategic objectives.

Any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. In addition, we cannot guarantee that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Moreover, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether common stock, preferred stock or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. The sale of additional equity or convertible securities would dilute all of our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed payment obligations, and we may be required to agree to certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to seek funds through arrangements with collaborative partners or otherwise at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable and we may be required to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and prospects.

If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly curtail, delay, or discontinue one or more of our research or development programs or the commercialization of any product candidates or be unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities, as desired, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We do not have significant operating revenue and may never achieve profitability.

To date, we have funded our operations primarily through public offerings of our common stock. Our ability to achieve significant revenue or profitability depends upon our ability to complete the development of our drug candidates, to develop and obtain patent protection and regulatory approvals for our drug candidates and to manufacture and commercialize the resulting drugs. We are not expecting any significant revenues in the short-term from our products or product candidates. Furthermore, we may not be able to ever successfully identify, develop, commercialize, patent, manufacture, obtain required regulatory approvals or market any products. Moreover, even if we do identify, develop, commercialize, patent, manufacture, or obtain required regulatory approvals to market additional products, we may not generate revenues or royalties from commercial sales of these products for a significant number of years, if at all. Therefore, our operations are subject to all the risks inherent in the establishment of a new business enterprise. In the next couple of years, we expect limited revenues from product sales, if any, and any amounts that we receive under strategic partnerships and research or drug development collaborations that we may establish and, as a result, we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability in the future or to achieve significant revenues in order to fund our operations.

Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports, our operating results could be harmed. All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our operating results, or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Failure to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a material adverse effect on our stock price. Failure to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could also potentially subject us to actions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

We expect to continue to need to raise additional capital to operate our business, and our failure to obtain funding when needed or on terms that are favorable to us may force us to delay, reduce or eliminate our development programs or commercialization efforts.

We may need to raise additional capital to fund our future operations and we cannot be certain that funding will be available to us on acceptable terms on a timely basis, or at all. We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts on regulatory approval efforts, product development (including commercialization activities), and conducting potential future pre-clinical or clinical trials for our product candidates. Our ability to raise capital through the sale of securities may be limited by our number of authorized shares of common stock and various rules of the SEC and the Nasdaq that place limits on the number and dollar amount of securities that we may sell. If we fail to raise additional funds on acceptable terms or at all, we may be unable to complete planned preclinical and clinical trials, obtain approval of our product candidates from the FDA and other regulatory authorities, or successfully commercialize any of our product candidates. In addition, we could be forced to delay, discontinue, or curtail product development, or forego licensing in attractive business opportunities. Any additional sources of financing will likely involve the issuance of our equity or debt securities, which will have a dilutive effect on our stockholders.

Risks related to our common stock

The market price of our common stock may be volatile and adversely affected by several factors.

The market price of our common stock could fluctuate significantly in response to various factors and events, including:

In addition, the securities markets have from time-to-time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Raising additional funds by issuing securities or through licensing or lending arrangements or through our at-the-market sale agreement may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations, or require us to relinquish proprietary rights.

If we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, the share ownership of existing stockholders will be diluted. Any future debt financing may involve covenants that, among other restrictions, limit our ability to incur liens or additional debt, pay dividends, redeem, or repurchase our common stock, make certain investments or engage in certain merger, consolidation, or asset sale transactions. In addition, if we raise additional funds through licensing arrangements or the disposition of any of our assets, it may be necessary to relinquish potentially valuable rights to our product candidates or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us.

The terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. We may sell shares or other securities in other offerings, including under our open market sale agreement, at a price per share that is less than the prices per share paid by other investors, and investors purchasing shares of our common stock, preferred stock or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders. The sale of additional equity or convertible securities would dilute all of our stockholders and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our existing stockholders.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards may be subject to limitation.

Generally, a change of more than 50% in the ownership of a company’s stock, by value, over a three-year period constitutes an ownership change for U.S. federal income tax purposes or applicable state tax law. An ownership change may limit our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards attributable to the period prior to the change. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards to offset U.S. federal and state taxable income may become subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability for us. As of December 31, 2023, we had net operating loss carryforwards aggregating $377.5 million.

Risks related to cybersecurity

Significant disruptions of information technology (“IT”) systems, breaches of data security, or unauthorized disclosures of personal information (including sensitive personal information) could adversely affect our business and could subject us to liability or reputational damage.

We operate information systems that contain limited amounts of client data. As a routine element of our business, we collect, analyze, and retain data pertaining to the clinical trials we conduct for our products. Unauthorized third parties could attempt to gain entry to such information systems to steal data or disrupt the systems or for financial gain. Like other companies we may experience threats and incursions to our data and systems, including malicious software and viruses, phishing, business email compromise and social engineering attacks or other cyber-attacks. The number and complexity of these threats continue to increase over time.

We have implemented and maintain security systems measures and safeguards, which we believe to be reasonable, to protect our information systems and confidential information, including personal information, and that of our customers, clients and suppliers that is held or processed by us, against unauthorized access or disclosure and to prevent, detect, contain, respond to, and mitigate security-related threats and potential incidents. We undertake ongoing improvements to the security of our systems, connected devices, and information-sharing products in order to minimize potential vulnerabilities, in accordance with industry and regulatory standards. Despite such efforts, our safeguards may fail, or we may be subject to breaches of our security resulting in unauthorized access to our facilities or information systems and the information we are trying to protect. Moreover, our business or operations may be affected in the event our customers, clients and suppliers experience data security incidents, cyber-attacks or extended interruptions of their services or systems.

We are continuously evaluating and, where appropriate, enhancing our IT systems to address our planned growth, including to support our planned manufacturing operations. There are inherent costs and risks associated with implementing the enhancements to our IT systems, including potential delays in access to, or errors in, critical business and financial information, substantial capital expenditures, additional administrative time and operating expenses, retention of sufficiently skilled personnel to implement and operate the enhanced systems, demands on management time, and costs of delays or difficulties in transitioning to the enhanced systems, any of which could harm our business and results of operations. In addition, the implementation of enhancements to our IT systems may not result in productivity improvements at a level that outweighs the costs of implementation, or at all.

While we do not believe cybersecurity incidents have resulted in any material impact on our business, operations or financial results or our ability to service our customers or run our business, past and future incidents resulting in unauthorized access to our facilities or information systems, or those of our suppliers, or accidental loss or disclosure of proprietary or confidential information about us, our clients or our customers could result in, among other things, a total shutdown of our systems that would disrupt our ability to conduct business or pay vendors and employees, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, and a loss of investor confidence in our security measures. Additional impacts from cybersecurity incidents could include remediation costs to our customers or business partners, such as liability for stolen assets or information, repairs of system damage, and incentives for continued business; increased cybersecurity protection costs, which may include the costs of making organizational changes, deploying additional personnel, resources and security technologies, training employees, and engaging third-party experts and consultants; lost revenue resulting from the unauthorized use of proprietary information or the failure to retain or attract business partners following an incident; increased insurance premiums; and damage to the Company’s competitiveness, stock price, and long-term shareholder value. In addition, cybersecurity risks and data security incidents could lead to unfavorable publicity, governmental inquiry and oversight, regulatory actions by federal, state and non-U.S. governmental authorities, litigation by affected parties and possible financial obligations for damages related to the theft or misuse of such information, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our profitability and cash flow.

For information regarding our processes and practices related to information and cybersecurity, please see Item 1C of this report, “Cybersecurity”.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not Applicable.

ITEM 1C, Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Management and Strategy

In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, use, store, and transmit confidential, financial, sensitive, proprietary, personal, and health-related information. The secure maintenance of this information and our information technology systems is important to our operations and business strategy. To this end, we consider cybersecurity, along with other significant risks that we face, within our overall enterprise risk management framework, and have implemented processes designed to assess, identify, and manage risks from potential unauthorized occurrences on or through our information technology systems that may result in adverse effects on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of these systems and the data residing therein. These processes are managed and monitored by a dedicated Director of Information Technology. Our processes include mechanisms, controls, technologies, and systems designed to prevent or mitigate data loss, theft, misuse, or other security incidents or vulnerabilities affecting the data and maintain a stable information technology environment. For example, we conduct penetration and vulnerability testing, and data recovery testing on a periodic basis. In addition, we consult with outside advisors and experts, when appropriate, to assist with assessing, identifying, and managing cybersecurity risks, including to anticipate future threats and trends, and their impact on the Company’s risk environment. We also provide cybersecurity training to our employees and are formalizing an ongoing information security training program for active employees and relevant consultants to address matters such as phishing, email security, and training on data privacy.

We have not identified any cybersecurity incidents or threats that have materially affected us or are reasonably likely to materially affect us. However, like other companies in our industry, we and our third-party vendors have from time-to-time experienced threats to and security incidents relating to information systems. Additional information on cybersecurity risks we face is discussed in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” under the heading “Risks related to cybersecurity.”

Governance

Our Director of Information Technology, who reports to our CFO, is responsible for assessing and managing cybersecurity risks. Our Director of Information Technology has over 25 years of experience managing information technology and cybersecurity. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Wright State University as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Ashland University. He has certifications from various information technology vendors as well as experience in implementing security frameworks such as International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”) 27001 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”).

We report on our information security program, including the results of periodic testing, to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Our Board’s Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing our cybersecurity and information security procedures. The Audit Committee reviews management presentations concerning cybersecurity-related issues, including information security, technology risks, policies, and risk mitigation programs. The Audit Committee reports matters to the Board of Directors as needed. Our CFO, with the support of our Director of Information Technology and third-party consultants, assesses and manages cybersecurity risk, including preventing, mitigating, detecting, and addressing cybersecurity incidents, if any. Our CFO also works closely with other management positions and external legal counsel to ensure that we understands our cybersecurity risk management responsibilities.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters are located in Cleveland, Ohio, where we currently lease 45,705 square feet of manufacturing, laboratory and office space. That lease expires in December 2030. We also lease 10,400 square feet of office space located in New York, New York. That lease expires in December 2030 and has been sublet as of December 31, 2023. We believe that our facilities are sufficient to meet our current needs and that suitable space will be available as and when needed for potential commercialization.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are not currently subject to any material pending legal proceedings.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock has traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “ABEO” since June 22, 2015.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends, if any, in the future is within the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, capital requirements and financial condition and other relevant facts. We currently intend to retain all future earnings, if any, to finance the development and growth of our business.

The number of record holders of our common stock as of March 6, 2024 was 248.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table sets forth, as of December 31, 2023, information about shares of common stock outstanding and available for issuance under our existing equity compensation plans.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities

The following table provides information about purchases of equity securities that are registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act for the three months ended December 31, 2023:

(a) Reflects shares of common stock surrendered to the Company for payment of tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of restricted stock.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion and analysis together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those described under “Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

OVERVIEW

Abeona is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for life-threatening diseases. Our lead clinical program is pz-cel, investigational autologous, COL7A1 gene-corrected epidermal sheets, currently in development for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (“RDEB”). We have announced positive data from the VIITAL™ study evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of pz-cel. The VIITAL™ study met both its two co-primary efficacy endpoints demonstrating statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvements in wound healing and pain reduction in large chronic RDEB wounds. On September 25, 2023, we submitted a Biologics License Application (“BLA”) for pz-cel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). As part of the submission, we requested Priority Review, which, if granted, would shorten the FDA’s review period to six months from the filing acceptance of the BLA instead of ten months under standard review. In November 2023, the FDA accepted and granted priority review for our BLA for pz-cel. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”), the FDA has set a target action date of May 25, 2024.

We have continued to prepare our current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”) commercial facility in Cleveland, Ohio for manufacturing pz-cel drug product to support our planned commercial launch of pz-cel, if approved. Pz-cel study drug product for all our VIITAL™ study participants has been manufactured at our Cleveland facility. As part of our commercial planning, we continue to engage with stakeholders across the healthcare system, including public and private payors, and healthcare providers to better understand market access and potential pricing for pz-cel. We have also begun discussions with high volume treatment centers of excellence to onboard them for pz-cel application upon potential FDA approval.

Our development portfolio also features adeno-associated virus (“AAV”) based gene therapies designed to treat ophthalmic diseases using the novel AIM™ capsid platform that we have exclusively licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and internal AAV vector research programs.

Preclinical Pipeline

Our preclinical programs are investigating the use of novel AAV capsids in AAV-based therapies for serious genetic eye diseases, including ABO-504 for Stargardt disease, ABO-503 for X-linked retinoschisis (“XLRS”) and ABO-505 for autosomal dominant optic atrophy (“ADOA”). We completed pre-Investigational New Drug Application (“pre-IND”) meetings with the FDA regarding the preclinical development plans and regulatory requirements to support first-in-human trials.

Recent Developments

On January 8, 2024, we entered into a $50 million credit facility with the Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund, L.P. The credit agreement, which has a term of three and a half years, includes a first tranche of $20 million at closing, a second tranche of $10 million of committed capital, and an additional accordion option to upsize the credit facility by an additional $20 million upon satisfaction of certain terms and conditions.

Additionally, the Bioresearch Monitoring (“BIMO”) inspection was conducted from January 22, 2024 through January 24, 2024 at our headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, and reviewed the conduct and practices that pertain to the clinical studies of pz-cel. The FDA inspector did not issue any observations or FDA Form 483s during the inspection. The formal report from the FDA regarding the BIMO inspection will be received at a later date.  FDA’s BIMO program is a comprehensive program of on-site inspections, data audits, and remote regulatory assessments designed to monitor all aspects of the conduct and reporting of FDA regulated research. The BIMO program was established to assure the quality and integrity of data submitted to the agency in support of new product approvals and marketing applications.

Following the BIMO inspection, the BLA mid-cycle review meeting took place on January 25, 2024. The FDA reaffirmed its earlier indication that it does not currently plan to convene an Advisory Committee for pz-cel. In addition, the FDA advised that Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) are not anticipated for the pz-cel application at this time, though application review is ongoing, and reconfirmed the PDUFA target action date of May 25, 2024, on which an approval decision on the pz-cel BLA is expected.

Subsequent to the mid-cycle review meeting, the FDA completed a Pre-License Inspection (PLI) of our Cleveland, Ohio manufacturing facility related to our BLA for pz-cel. During the inspection, the FDA reviewed the facilities, systems, and processes at our Cleveland site. The FDA also observed the manufacturing process for pz-cel, as well as performance of in-process and release assays. The two-week PLI, which was conducted by five FDA inspectors, concluded on March 1, 2024. Upon completion of the inspection, a Form 483 was issued with observations related to process controls. On March 15, 2024, we submitted a response to the FDA, outlining already implemented and ongoing steps toward resolution that follow FDA guidance provided during the audit. In addition, the FDA completed the clinical study site inspections of the two clinical sites in the U.S. that enrolled subjects in the pivotal Phase 3 VIITAL™ study supporting the pz-cel BLA with no Form 483 observations noted.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022

N/A - not applicable or not meaningful

License and other revenues

License and other revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $3.5 million, as compared to $1.4 million for the same period of 2022. The revenues in both periods mainly result from clinical milestones achieved under a sublicense agreement we entered into with Taysha Gene Therapies in October 2020 relating to an investigational AAV-based gene therapy for Rett syndrome. In 2022, there was also $0.3 million in revenue consisting of the recognition of deferred revenue related to grants for the ABO-102 and ABO-101 development programs.

Royalties

Total royalty expenses were $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $0.4 million for the same period of 2022, an increase of $1.2 million. The increase in expense was due to royalties owed to our licensors resulting from the milestones due from Taysha related to Rett syndrome.

Research and development

Research and development expenses include, but are not limited to, payroll and personnel expense, lab supplies, preclinical and development costs, clinical trial costs, manufacturing and manufacturing facility costs, costs associated with regulatory approvals, depreciation on lab supplies and manufacturing facilities, and consultant-related expenses.

Total research and development spending for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $31.1 million, as compared to $29.0 million for the same period of 2022, an increase of $2.1 million. The increase in expenses was primarily due to an $2.2 million increase in salaries and $0.1 million in non-cash stock-based compensation costs due to increased headcount related to the filing of our BLA.

We expect our research and development activities to continue as we work towards advancing our product candidates towards potential regulatory approval, reflecting costs associated with the following:

General and administrative

General and administrative expenses primarily consist of payroll and personnel costs, office facility costs, public reporting company related costs, professional fees (e.g., legal expenses), pre-commercial launch activity costs and other general operating expenses not otherwise included in research and development expenses.

Total general and administrative expenses were $19.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $17.3 million for the same period of 2022, an increase of $1.7 million. The increase in expenses was primarily due to:

Impairment of licensed technology

Impairment of licensed technology was nil for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $1.4 million in the same period of 2022. The licensed technology was for the ABO-102 and ABO-101 development programs and as a result of our shift in priorities in 2022, we determined the remaining value of the licensed technology had no future value and thus recorded an impairment charge of $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Loss/(gain) on operating lease right-of-use assets

The gain on operating lease right-of-use assets was $1.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to a loss on operating lease right-of-use assets of $2.5 million in the same period of 2022. The gain on operating lease right-of-use assets for 2023 was related to the termination of our operating leases for office space that we no longer use, resulting in a gain from the difference between the carrying value of the right-of-use lease assets and the related lease liabilities.

The loss on operating lease right-of-use assets for 2022 was related to a lease for a future manufacturing facility for the ABO-102 and ABO-101 development programs, which, as a result of our shift in priorities in 2022, we determined the remaining value of the portion of this lease had no future value and thus recorded an impairment charge of $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. In addition, we sublet a portion of our leased properties which indicated that a portion of the lease had a reduced future value and thus recorded impairment of $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Impairment of construction-in-progress

Impairment of construction-in-progress was nil for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $1.8 million in the same period of 2022. The construction-in-progress was for a facility for the ABO-102 and ABO-101 development programs. As a result of our shift in priorities, we determined the remaining value of the construction-in-progress facility had no future value and thus, we recorded impairment of $1.8 million for the for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was net of a cash refund from the builder of $1.5 million.

Interest income

Interest income was $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $0.4 million in the same period of 2022. The increase resulted from higher earnings on short-term investments driven by higher interest rates and increased average short-term investment balances.

Interest expense

Interest expense was $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $0.7 million in the same period of 2022. The decrease results primarily from the $5.0 million settlement payment made in November 2022 of a disputed liability owed to our prior licensor, REGENXBIO, Inc.

Change in fair value of warrant liabilities

The change in fair value of warrant liabilities was a loss of $11.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to a gain of $11.4 million in the same period of 2022.

We issued stock purchase warrants that are required to be classified as a liability and valued at fair market value at each reporting period. The change in the fair value of warrant liabilities is primarily due to the fluctuation in our stock price year over year and a shorter term.

Other income

Other income was $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $0.1 million in the same period of 2022. The change was primarily a result of $2.1 million in other income related to the impact of the employee retention credit that we submitted for 2020 and 2021.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Operating activities

Net cash used in operating activities was $37.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily comprised of our net loss of $54.2 million and increases in operating assets and liabilities of $1.8 million partially offset by net non-cash charges of $19.0 million. Non-cash charges consisted primarily of $11.7 million of the change in fair value of warrant liabilities, $4.8 million of stock-based compensation and $2.2 million of depreciation and amortization.

Net cash used in operating activities was $43.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily comprised of our net loss of $39.7 million and decrease in operating assets and liabilities of $5.9 million partially offset by net non-cash charges of $2.1 million.

Investing activities

Net cash provided by investing activities was $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily comprised of proceeds from maturities of short-term investments of $51.9 million and proceeds from the disposal of property and equipment of $0.2 million, partially offset by purchases of short-term investments of $51.6 million and capital expenditures of $0.3 million.

Net cash used in investing activities was $24.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily comprised of purchases of short-term investments of $78.2 million and capital expenditures of $0.1 million, partially offset by proceeds from maturities of short-term investments of $52.6 million and proceeds from the disposal of property and equipment of $1.7 million.

Financing activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was $37.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily comprised of proceeds of $14.4 million from open market sales of common stock pursuant to the ATM Agreement (as defined below) and net proceeds of $23.0 million from our July 2023 direct placement offering of common stock.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $43.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily comprised of proceeds of $12.8 million from open market sales of common stock pursuant to the ATM Agreement (as defined below) and proceeds of $34.1 million from a private offering of common stock and warrants on November 3, 2022, partially offset by the proceeds and redemption of our convertible redeemable preferred stock.

We have historically funded our operations primarily through sales of common stock.

Our principal source of liquidity is cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments, collectively referred to as our cash resources. As of December 31, 2023, our cash resources were $52.6 million. We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments, as well as our credit facility with Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund, L.P, are sufficient to fund operations through at least the next 12 months from the date of this report on Form 10-K. We may need to secure additional funding to carry out all of our planned research and development and potential commercialization activities. If we are unable to obtain additional financing or generate license or product revenue, the lack of liquidity and sufficient capital resources could have a material adverse effect on our future prospects.

We have an open market sale agreement with Jefferies LLC (as amended, the “ATM Agreement”) pursuant to which, we may sell from time to time, through Jefferies LLC, shares of our common stock for an aggregate sales price of up to $150.0 million. Any sales of shares pursuant to this agreement are made under our effective “shelf” registration statement on Form S-3 that is on file with and has been declared effective by the SEC. We sold 3,659,882 shares of our common stock under the ATM Agreement and received $14.4 million of net proceeds during the year ended December 31, 2023. We sold 3,479,016 shares of our common stock under the ATM Agreement and received $12.8 million of net proceeds during the year ended December 31, 2022. Subsequent to December 31, 2023 and through March 1, 2024, we sold 724,659 shares of our common stock under the ATM Agreement resulting in $5.3 million in net proceeds.

Since our inception, we have incurred negative cash flows from operations and have expended, and expect to continue to expend, substantial funds to complete our planned product development and potential commercialization efforts. We have not been profitable since inception and to date have received limited revenues from the sale of products or licenses. We expect to incur losses for the next several years as we continue to invest in commercialization, product research and development, preclinical studies, clinical trials, and regulatory compliance and cannot provide assurance that we will ever be able to generate sufficient product sales or royalty revenue to achieve profitability on a sustained basis, or at all.

If we raise additional funds by selling additional equity securities, the relative equity ownership of our existing investors will be diluted, and the new investors could obtain terms more favorable than previous investors. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs, or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financing when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, or terminate our product development programs or any future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates to third parties that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

Our future capital requirements and adequacy of available funds depend on many factors, including:

Due to uncertainties and certain of the risks described above, our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, our ability to obtain applicable regulatory approval to market our product candidates, our ability to obtain necessary additional capital to fund operations in the future, our ability to successfully manufacture our products and our product candidates in clinical quantities or for commercial purposes, government regulation to which we are subject, the uncertainty associated with preclinical and clinical testing, intense competition that we face, the potential necessity of licensing technology from third parties and protection of our intellectual property, it is not possible to reliably predict future spending or time to completion by project or product category or the period in which material net cash inflows from significant projects are expected to commence. If we are unable to timely complete a particular project, our research and development efforts could be delayed or reduced, our business could suffer depending on the significance of the project and we might need to raise additional capital to fund operations, as discussed in the risks above.

We plan to continue our policy of investing any available funds in suitable certificates of deposit, money market funds, government securities and investment-grade, interest-bearing securities. We do not invest in derivative financial instruments.

Contractual Obligations

We enter into agreements in the normal course of business with clinical research organizations for clinical trials and clinical manufacturing organizations for supply manufacturing and with vendors for preclinical research studies and other services and products for operating purposes. These contractual obligations are cancelable at any time by us, generally upon prior written notice to the vendor, and are thus not included in the contractual obligations table.

Operating lease amounts represent future minimum lease payments under our non-cancelable operating lease agreements. The minimum lease payments above do not include any related common area maintenance charges or real estate taxes.

On November 12, 2021, we entered into a Settlement Agreement with REGENXBIO to resolve all current disputes between the parties including the aforementioned AAA arbitration and New York State Supreme Court action. In accordance with the Settlement Agreement, we agreed to pay REGENXBIO a total of $30 million, payable as follows: (1) $20 million payable that was paid in 2021 after execution of the Settlement Agreement, (2) $5 million on the first anniversary of the effective date of the Settlement Agreement that was paid in 2022, and (3) $5 million upon the earlier of: (i) the third anniversary of the effective date of the Settlement Agreement or (ii) the closing of a Strategic Transaction, as defined in the Settlement Agreement. As of December 31, 2023, we have recorded the payable to licensor in the contractual obligations as the one remaining payment due to REGENXBIO under the Settlement Agreement.

In addition, we are also party to other license agreements, which include contingent payments. However, contingent payments related to these license agreements are not disclosed as the satisfaction of these contingent payments is uncertain as of December 31, 2023 and, if satisfied, the timing of payment for these amounts was not reasonably estimable as of December 31, 2023. Commitments related to the license agreements include contingent payments that will become payable if and when certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones are achieved. During the next 12 months, certain contingent payments could become due upon potential BLA approval and sales of pz-cel related to such license agreements.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and related disclosures in the financial statements. Management considers an accounting estimate to be critical if:

While we base our estimates and judgments on our experience and on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, actual results could differ from those estimates and the differences could be material.

While our significant accounting policies are described in greater detail in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report, we believe that the following accounting policies are the most critical to the judgements and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Leases

We account for leases pursuant to ASC 842, Leases (“ASC 842”). ASC 842 requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases. We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception or when amended. Right-of-use lease assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. The classification of our leases as operating or finance leases along with the initial measurement and recognition of the associated right-of-use assets and lease liabilities is performed at the lease commencement date or when amended. The measurement of lease liabilities is based on the present value of future lease payments over the lease term. As our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of future lease payments. As we have no external borrowings, the incremental borrowing rates are determined using information on indicative borrowing rates that would be available to us based on the value, currency and borrowing term provided by financial institutions, adjusted for company and market specific factors. Although we do not expect our estimates of the incremental borrowing rates to generate material differences within a reasonable range of sensitivities, judgement is involved in selecting an appropriate rate, and the rate selected for each lease will have an impact on the value of the lease liability and corresponding right-of-use lease asset in the consolidated balance sheets.

The right-of-use asset is based on the measurement of the lease liability and includes any lease payments made prior to or on lease commencement or lease amendment and excludes lease incentives and initial direct costs incurred, as applicable. Rent expense for our operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. We do not have any leases classified as finance leases.

Our leases do not have significant rent escalation, holidays, concessions, material residual value guarantees, material restrictive covenants or contingent rent provisions. Our leases include both lease (e.g., fixed payments including rent, taxes, and insurance costs) and non-lease components (e.g., common-area or other maintenance costs), which are accounted for as a single lease component as we have elected the practical expedient to group lease and non-lease components for all leases. We have elected the practical expedient to exclude short-term leases from our right-of-use assets and lease liabilities.

Most leases include one or more options to renew. The exercise of lease renewal options is typically at our sole discretion; therefore, the majority of renewals to extend the lease terms are not included in our right-of-use assets and lease liabilities as they are not reasonably certain of exercise. We regularly evaluate the renewal options and when they are reasonably certain of exercise, we include the renewal period in our lease term.

In June 2023, we terminated one of our operating leases for office space. The termination resulted in a gain of $1.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, representing the difference between the carry value of the right-of-use assets and the related lease liabilities. This gain is included in loss/(gain) on right-of-use lease assets in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.

In June of 2023, we modified one of our operating leases for office space to add up to 14,032 square feet to our existing facility in Cleveland, Ohio. The lease modification resulted in the recognition of $0.4 million of additional right-of-use assets and related lease liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet during the year ended December 31, 2023.

On March 31, 2022, we announced that we were pursuing a strategic partner to take over development activities of ABO-102 and we were discontinuing development of ABO-101. As a result of this shift in priorities, we determined the portion of the lease that was dedicated to the future facility for the ABO-101 and ABO-102 programs had no future value and thus, we recorded an impairment charge of $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. In addition, we sublet a portion of our leased properties which indicated that a portion of the lease had a reduced future value and thus recorded impairment of $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Both impairment charges are included in loss/(gain) on operating lease right-of-use assets in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.