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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
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☒ | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2024
OR
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☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Commission File Number 001-38906
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
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Delaware | 83-2771572 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
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320 West 37th Street | 10018 |
New York, | NY |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (917) 580-3099
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Title of each class | | Trading Symbol(s) | | Name of each exchange on which registered |
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share | | IMVT | | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
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 the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer | ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
Non-accelerated Filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ |
| | Emerging growth company | ☐ |
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 is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of November 1, 2024, there were 146,784,639 shares of the Registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding.
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q
FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2024
Table of Contents
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PART I. | | |
Item 1. | | |
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Item 2. | | |
Item 3. | | |
Item 4. | | |
PART II. | | |
Item 1. | | |
Item 1A. | | |
Item 2. | | |
Item 3. | | |
Item 4. | | |
Item 5. | | |
Item 6. | | |
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Where You Can Find More Information
Investors and others should note that we may announce material business and financial information to our investors using our investor relations website (www.immunovant.com), filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission, webcasts, press releases, and conference calls. We use these mediums, including our website, to communicate with our stockholders and the public about our company, our product candidates, and other matters. It is possible that the information that we make available may be deemed to be material information. We therefore encourage investors and others interested in our company to review the information that we make available on our website.
The information contained on the website referenced in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is not incorporated by reference into this filing, and the website address is provided only as an inactive textual reference.
All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and copyrights appearing in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are the property of their respective owners.
SUMMARY RISK FACTORS
You should consider carefully the risks described under “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. References to “we,” “us,” and “our” in this section titled “Summary Risk Factors” refer to Immunovant, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. A summary of the risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects include the following:
•Our business is currently dependent on the successful and timely development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates.
•Our product candidates, or anti-FcRn product candidates or products developed by others, may cause adverse events or undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, cause us to suspend or discontinue clinical trials, abandon further development or limit the scope of any approved label or market acceptance.
•Clinical trials are very expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design and implement, and involve uncertain outcomes.
•Enrollment and retention of patients in clinical trials is an expensive and time-consuming process and could be made more difficult or rendered impossible by multiple factors outside our control.
•The results of our nonclinical studies and clinical trials may not support our proposed claims for our product candidates, or regulatory approval on a timely basis or at all, and the results of earlier studies and trials may not be predictive of future trial results.
•Interim, “top-line” or preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
•Roivant Sciences Ltd. owns a significant percentage of shares of our common stock and may exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.
•Our business, operations, clinical development plans, timelines and supply chain could be adversely affected by the effects of health epidemics and pandemics on manufacturing, clinical trials and other business activities performed by us or by third parties with whom we conduct business, including our contract manufacturers, contract research organizations, suppliers, shippers and others.
•Our business could be adversely affected by economic downturns, changes in inflation and interest rates, natural disasters, political crises, geopolitical events, such as the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, or other macroeconomic conditions, which may in the future negatively impact our business and financial performance.
•We expect to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
•Our failure to maintain or continuously improve our quality management program could have an adverse effect upon our business, subject us to regulatory actions and cause a loss of patient confidence in us or our products, among other negative consequences.
•We rely on third parties to conduct, supervise and monitor our clinical trials and if those third parties perform in an unsatisfactory manner or fail to comply with applicable requirements or our quality management program fails to detect such events in a timely manner, it may harm our business.
•We may not be able to manage our business effectively if we are unable to attract and retain key personnel.
•We have expanded our organization and plan to continue to do so and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth, which could disrupt our operations.
•Our third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties in production or our quality management program may fail to detect quality issues at our third-party manufacturers which may delay or prevent our ability to obtain marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates if approved.
•We have a limited operating history and have never generated any product revenue.
•We will require additional capital to fund our operations. If we fail to obtain necessary financing, we may not be able to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
•Raising additional funds by issuing equity securities will cause dilution to existing stockholders. Raising additional funds through debt financings may involve restrictive covenants and raising funds through lending and licensing arrangements may restrict our operations or require us to relinquish proprietary rights.
•We rely on the license agreement with HanAll Biopharma Co., Ltd., or the HanAll Agreement, to provide us rights to the core intellectual property relating to IMVT-1402 and batoclimab. Any termination or loss of significant rights under the HanAll Agreement would adversely affect our development or commercialization of IMVT-1402 and batoclimab.
•We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies targeting autoimmune disease indications. Our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.
•International expansion of our business exposes us to business, legal, regulatory, political, operational, financial and economic risks associated with conducting business outside of the U.S.
•We are subject to stringent and changing privacy, data protection, and information security laws, contractual obligations, self-regulatory schemes, government regulation and standards related to data privacy and security. Further, if our information technology systems or those of our affiliates, service providers or other relevant third parties are compromised now or in the future, this could result in a material adverse effect on our business.
•If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline and has declined in the past upon downgrades of our common stock.
PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share data)
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2024 | | March 31, 2024 |
Assets | | | |
Current assets: | | | |
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 472,941 | | | $ | 635,365 | |
Accounts receivable | 1,876 | | | 5,337 | |
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 32,555 | | | 25,068 | |
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Total current assets | 507,372 | | | 665,770 | |
Operating lease right-of-use assets | 45 | | | 133 | |
Other assets | 7,619 | | | — | |
Property and equipment, net | 671 | | | 462 | |
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Total assets | $ | 515,707 | | | $ | 666,365 | |
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | | | |
Current liabilities: | | | |
Accounts payable | $ | 20,727 | | | $ | 7,155 | |
Accrued expenses | 45,879 | | | 41,315 | |
Current portion of operating lease liabilities | 47 | | | 138 | |
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Total current liabilities | 66,653 | | | 48,608 | |
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Total liabilities | 66,653 | | | 48,608 | |
Commitments and contingencies (Note 9) | | | |
Stockholders’ equity: | | | |
Series A preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000 shares authorized, issued and outstanding at September 30, 2024 and March 31, 2024 | — | | | — | |
Preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2024 and March 31, 2024 | — | | | — | |
Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 500,000,000 shares authorized, 146,565,049 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2024 and 500,000,000 shares authorized, 145,582,999 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2024 | 14 | | | 14 | |
Additional paid-in capital | 1,469,082 | | | 1,441,518 | |
Accumulated other comprehensive income | 1,910 | | | 1,908 | |
Accumulated deficit | (1,021,952) | | | (825,683) | |
Total stockholders’ equity | 449,054 | | | 617,757 | |
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 515,707 | | | $ | 666,365 | |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share data)
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| Three Months Ended September 30, | | Six Months Ended September 30, |
| 2024 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2023 |
Operating expenses: | | | | | | | |
Research and development | $ | 97,272 | | | $ | 47,959 | | | $ | 172,745 | | | $ | 98,534 | |
Acquired in-process research and development | — | | | — | | | — | | | 12,500 | |
General and administrative | 18,471 | | | 13,841 | | | 37,279 | | | 29,243 | |
Total operating expenses | 115,743 | | | 61,800 | | | 210,024 | | | 140,277 | |
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Interest income | (6,073) | | | (3,572) | | | (13,254) | | | (7,637) | |
Other income, net | (629) | | | (20) | | | (657) | | | (484) | |
Loss before provision for income taxes | (109,041) | | | (58,208) | | | (196,113) | | | (132,156) | |
Provision for income taxes | 78 | | | 454 | | | 156 | | | 443 | |
Net loss | $ | (109,119) | | | $ | (58,662) | | | $ | (196,269) | | | $ | (132,599) | |
Net loss per common share – basic and diluted | $ | (0.74) | | | $ | (0.45) | | | $ | (1.34) | | | $ | (1.01) | |
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – basic and diluted | 146,468,991 | | | 131,155,642 | | | 146,313,696 | | | 130,872,717 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(Unaudited, in thousands)
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| Three Months Ended September 30, | | Six Months Ended September 30, | |
| 2024 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2023 | |
Net loss | $ | (109,119) | | | $ | (58,662) | | | $ | (196,269) | | | $ | (132,599) | | |
Other comprehensive income: | | | | | | | | |
Foreign currency translation adjustments | 90 | | | 69 | | | 2 | | | 339 | | |
Total other comprehensive income | 90 | | | 69 | | | 2 | | | 339 | | |
Comprehensive loss | $ | (109,029) | | | $ | (58,593) | | | $ | (196,267) | | | $ | (132,260) | | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(Unaudited, in thousands except share data)
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| Series A preferred stock | | Common stock | | Additional paid-in capital | | Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | | Accumulated deficit | | Total stockholders’ equity |
| Shares | | Amount | | Shares | | Amount | | | | |
Balance at March 31, 2024 | 10,000 | | | $ | — | | | 145,582,999 | | | $ | 14 | | | $ | 1,441,518 | | | $ | 1,908 | | | $ | (825,683) | | | $ | 617,757 | |
Stock options exercised and restricted stock units vested and settled | — | | | — | | | 612,674 | | | — | | | 686 | | | — | | | — | | | 686 | |
Capital contribution – stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 12 | | | — | | | — | | | 12 | |
Stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 13,443 | | | — | | | — | | | 13,443 | |
Foreign currency translation adjustments | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (88) | | | — | | | (88) | |
Net loss | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (87,150) | | | (87,150) | |
Balance at June 30, 2024 | 10,000 | | | $ | — | | | 146,195,673 | | | $ | 14 | | | $ | 1,455,659 | | | $ | 1,820 | | | $ | (912,833) | | | $ | 544,660 | |
Stock options exercised and restricted stock units vested and settled | — | | | — | | | 369,376 | | | — | | | 730 | | | — | | | — | | | 730 | |
Capital contribution – stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 8 | | | — | | | — | | | 8 | |
Stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 12,685 | | | — | | | — | | | 12,685 | |
Foreign currency translation adjustments | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 90 | | | — | | | 90 | |
Net loss | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (109,119) | | | (109,119) | |
Balance at September 30, 2024 | 10,000 | | | $ | — | | | 146,565,049 | | | $ | 14 | | | $ | 1,469,082 | | | $ | 1,910 | | | $ | (1,021,952) | | | $ | 449,054 | |
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| Series A preferred stock | | Common stock | | Additional paid-in capital | | Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | | Accumulated deficit | | Total stockholders’ equity |
| Shares | | Amount | | Shares | | Amount | | | | |
Balance at March 31, 2023 | 10,000 | | | $ | — | | | 130,329,863 | | | $ | 13 | | | $ | 927,976 | | | $ | 852 | | | $ | (566,347) | | | $ | 362,494 | |
Stock options exercised and restricted stock units vested and settled | — | | | — | | | 235,566 | | | — | | | 890 | | | — | | | — | | | 890 | |
Capital contribution – stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 35 | | | — | | | — | | | 35 | |
Stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 10,653 | | | — | | | — | | | 10,653 | |
Foreign currency translation adjustments | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (270) | | | — | | | (270) | |
Net loss | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (73,937) | | | (73,937) | |
Balance at June 30, 2023 | 10,000 | | | $ | — | | | 130,565,429 | | | $ | 13 | | | $ | 939,554 | | | $ | 582 | | | $ | (640,284) | | | $ | 299,865 | |
Stock options exercised and restricted stock units vested and settled | — | | | — | | | 876,595 | | | — | | | 148 | | | — | | | — | | | 148 | |
Capital contribution – stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 28 | | | — | | | — | | | 28 | |
Stock-based compensation | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 10,501 | | | — | | | — | | | 10,501 | |
Foreign currency translation adjustments | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (69) | | | — | | | (69) | |
Net loss | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (58,662) | | | (58,662) | |
Balance at September 30, 2023 | 10,000 | | | $ | — | | | 131,442,024 | | | $ | 13 | | | $ | 950,231 | | | $ | 513 | | | $ | (698,946) | | | $ | 251,811 | |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited, in thousands)
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Six Months Ended September 30, |
| 2024 | | 2023 |
Cash flows from operating activities | | | |
Net loss | $ | (196,269) | | | $ | (132,599) | |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | | | |
Stock-based compensation | 26,148 | | | 21,217 | |
Depreciation on property and equipment | 169 | | | 109 | |
Non-cash lease expense | 88 | | | 583 | |
| | | |
| | | |
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| | | |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | | | |
Accounts receivable | 3,344 | | | (703) | |
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | (6,541) | | | 7,240 | |
| | | |
| | | |
Other assets | (8,071) | | | — | |
Accounts payable | 13,248 | | | 6,096 | |
Accrued expenses | 3,130 | | | (8,767) | |
| | | |
| | | |
Operating lease liabilities | (92) | | | (606) | |
Net cash used in operating activities | (164,846) | | | (107,430) | |
Cash flows from investing activities | | | |
Purchase of property and equipment | (378) | | | (79) | |
Net cash used in investing activities | (378) | | | (79) | |
Cash flows from financing activities | | | |
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Proceeds from stock options exercised | 1,416 | | | 1,038 | |
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Net cash provided by financing activities | 1,416 | | | 1,038 | |
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 1,384 | | | (133) | |
Net change in cash and cash equivalents | (162,424) | | | (106,604) | |
Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period | 635,365 | | | 376,532 | |
Cash and cash equivalents – end of period | $ | 472,941 | | | $ | 269,928 | |
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Supplemental disclosure of cash paid: | | | |
Income taxes | $ | 301 | | | $ | — | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
IMMUNOVANT, INC.
Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 1 — Description of Business and Liquidity
[A] Description of Business
Immunovant, Inc. (together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, the “Company” or “Immunovant”) is a clinical-stage immunology company dedicated to enabling normal lives for people with autoimmune diseases. The Company’s innovative product pipeline includes its product candidates, IMVT-1402 and batoclimab, formerly referred to as IMVT-1401, both of which are novel, fully human, monoclonal antibodies that target the neonatal fragment crystallizable receptor (“FcRn”). Designed to be optimized as simple, subcutaneous injections with dosing that the Company believes can be tailored based on disease stage and severity, IMVT-1402 and batoclimab have been observed to reduce immunoglobulin G (“IgG”) antibody levels, which has provided evidence supporting the use of an anti-FcRn antibody in disease areas associated with high levels of pathogenic IgG antibodies.
The Company has determined that it has one operating and reporting segment.
[B] Liquidity
The Company has incurred significant losses and negative cash flows from operations since its inception. As of September 30, 2024, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $472.9 million and its accumulated deficit was $1,022.0 million.
The Company has not generated any revenues to date and does not anticipate generating any revenues unless and until it successfully completes development and obtains regulatory approval for IMVT-1402, batoclimab or any future product candidate. Management expects to incur additional losses in the future to fund its operations and conduct product research and development and recognizes the need to raise additional capital to fully implement its business plan.
The Company intends to raise such additional capital through the issuance of equity securities, debt financings or other sources in order to further implement its business plan. However, if such financing is not available at adequate levels, the Company will need to reevaluate its operating plan and may be required to delay the development of its product candidates. The Company currently expects that its existing cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2024 will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months from the date these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are issued.
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
[A] Basis of Presentation
The Company’s fiscal year ends on March 31 and its first three fiscal quarters end on June 30, September 30, and December 31, respectively. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and follow the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and disclosures required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements as certain footnotes or other financial information that are normally required by U.S. GAAP can be condensed or omitted. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company has no unconsolidated subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain amounts in the consolidated financial statements of the prior year have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative U.S. GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).
In the opinion of management, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all normal and recurring adjustments that are considered necessary for the fair statement of results for the interim periods. The results for the three and six months ended September 30, 2024 are not necessarily indicative of those expected for the year ending March 31, 2025 or for any future period. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2024 included herein was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of that date. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on May 29, 2024.
[B] Use of Estimates
The preparation of unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. The Company regularly evaluates estimates and assumptions related to assets, liabilities, stock-based compensation, litigation accruals, clinical trial accruals, operating leases, research and development costs and income taxes. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience and on various other factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Additionally, the Company assessed the impact of macroeconomic and geopolitical factors on its operations and financial results as of September 30, 2024 and through the issuance of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. The Company’s analysis was informed by the facts and circumstances as they were known to the Company. This assessment considered the impact that these uncertainties may have on financial estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and expenses.
[C] Risks and Uncertainties
The Company is subject to risks common to early-stage companies in the biopharmaceutical industry including, but not limited to, uncertainties related to clinical effectiveness of products, commercialization of products, regulatory approvals, dependence on key products, key personnel and third-party service providers such as contract research organizations (“CROs”), protection of intellectual property rights, the need and ability to obtain additional financing and the ability to make milestone, royalty or other payments due under any license, collaboration or supply agreements.
[D] Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk include cash and cash equivalents. As of September 30, 2024, the cash and cash equivalents balance is kept in banking institutions that the Company believes are of high credit quality and are in excess of federally insured levels. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalents with accredited financial institutions and accordingly, such funds are subject to minimal credit risk. The Company has not experienced any losses on its cash and cash equivalents.
[E] Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. As of September 30, 2024 and March 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents included $431.9 million and $607.7 million, respectively, of money market funds invested in high-quality, short-term securities that are issued and guaranteed by the U.S. government and its agencies that are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices.
[F] Research and Development Expenses
Research and development costs with no alternative future use are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses primarily consist of employee-related costs and expenses from third parties who conduct research and development activities (including manufacturing) on behalf of the Company. The Company accrues costs for clinical trial activities based upon estimates of the services received and related expenses incurred that have yet to be invoiced by CROs. In making these estimates, the Company considers various factors, including status and timing of services performed, the number of patients enrolled and the rate of patient enrollment. The Company accrues costs for non-clinical studies and contract manufacturing activities over the service periods specified in the contracts and are adjusted as necessary based upon an ongoing review of the level of effort and costs actually incurred. The estimate of the work completed is developed through discussions with internal personnel and external services providers as to the progress toward completion of the services and the agreed-upon fee to be paid for such services. As actual costs become known, the accrued estimates are adjusted. Such estimates are not expected to be materially different from amounts actually incurred.
The Company participates in cost-sharing arrangements with third parties whereas the third parties have agreed to share a portion of the costs incurred by the Company, related to batoclimab drug manufacturing and clinical trials. The Company records the third parties’ share of the costs as a reduction of research and development expenses and an increase to accounts receivable in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements based on actual amounts incurred by the Company and billable to the third parties. These cost-sharing arrangements do not contemplate any future revenue-generating activity or global commercialization efforts of batoclimab benefiting any of the parties.
[G] Acquired In-Process Research and Development Expenses
Acquired in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) expenses include payments made or due in connection with license agreements upon the achievement of development and regulatory milestones.
The Company evaluates in-licensed agreements for IPR&D projects to determine if it meets the definition of a business and thus should be accounted for as a business combination. If the in-licensed agreement for IPR&D does not meet the definition of a business and the assets have not reached technological feasibility and therefore have no alternative future use, the Company expenses payments made under such license agreements as acquired in-process research and development expenses in its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. Payments for milestones achieved and payments for a product license prior to regulatory approval of the product are expensed in the period incurred. Payments made in connection with regulatory and sales-based milestones will be capitalized and amortized to cost of product sales over the remaining useful life of the asset.
[H] Stock-based Compensation
Stock-based awards to employees and directors are valued at fair value on the date of the grant and that fair value is recognized as stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period. The grant date fair value of the stock-based awards with graded vesting is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective awards. The Company values its stock options that only have service vesting requirements using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Stock-based compensation related to restricted stock awards is based on the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. When determining the grant-date fair value of stock-based awards, management further considers whether an adjustment is required to the observable market price or volatility of the Company’s common stock that is used in the valuation as a result of material non-public information, if that information is expected to result in a material increase in share price.
Certain assumptions need to be made with respect to utilizing the Black-Scholes option pricing model, including the expected life of the award, volatility of the underlying shares, the risk-free interest rate, expected dividend yield and the fair value of the Company’s common stock. Since the Company has limited option exercise history, it has generally elected to estimate the expected life of an award based upon the “simplified method” with the continued use of this method extended until such time the Company has sufficient exercise history. In prior fiscal years, because the Company did not have sufficient trading history to rely on the volatility of its common stock, volatility was estimated by taking the average historical price volatility for comparable publicly traded peer companies. Beginning on April 1, 2024, the Company determined that its common stock had sufficient trading activity to utilize company-specific trading data within the assumption of volatility of the underlying shares. The expected share price volatility for the Company’s common stock is estimated using a weighted blend of the Company’s historical price volatility and the average historical price volatility for comparable publicly traded peer companies. The risk-free interest rate is based on the rates paid on securities issued by the U.S. Treasury with a term approximating the expected life of the equity award. As the Company has never paid and does not anticipate paying cash dividends on its common stock, the expected dividend yield is assumed to be zero. The Company accounts for pre-vesting award forfeitures when they occur.
[I] Net Loss per Common Share
Basic net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss applicable to common stockholders by the diluted weighted-average number of common stock outstanding during the period. In periods in which the Company reports a net loss, all common stock equivalents are deemed anti-dilutive such that basic net loss per common share and diluted net loss per common share are equivalent. Potentially dilutive common stock has been excluded from the diluted net loss per common share computations in all periods presented because such securities have an anti-dilutive effect on net loss per common share due to the Company’s net loss. There are no reconciling items used to calculate the weighted-average number of total common stock outstanding for basic and diluted net loss per common share data.
The following potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share due to their anti-dilutive effect:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Six Months Ended September 30, |
| 2024 | | 2023 |
Preferred stock as converted | 10,000 | | | 10,000 | |
Stock options | 13,596,262 | | | 13,372,356 | |
Restricted stock units | 3,650,581 | | | 4,036,663 | |
Total | 17,256,843 | | | 17,419,019 | |
[J] Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures,” which updates reportable segment disclosure requirements primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and for interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. This ASU is applicable to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, and subsequent interim periods, with early adoption permitted. These amendments should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures,” which updates income tax disclosures related to the rate reconciliation and disaggregation of income taxes paid by jurisdiction. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024 and is applicable to the Company’s fiscal year beginning April 1, 2025, with early adoption permitted. The amendments should be applied prospectively, however retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this ASU on its consolidated financial statements.
Other recent authoritative guidance issued by the FASB (including technical corrections to the ASC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the SEC did not, or are not expected to, have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Note 3 — Material Agreements
License Agreement
On December 19, 2017, Roivant Sciences GmbH (“RSG”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Roivant Sciences Ltd. (“RSL”), entered into a license agreement (the “HanAll Agreement”) with HanAll Biopharma Co., Ltd. (“HanAll”). Under the HanAll Agreement, RSG received (1) the non-exclusive right to manufacture and (2) the exclusive, royalty-bearing right to develop, import, use and commercialize the antibody referred to as batoclimab and certain back-up and next-generation antibodies (including IMVT-1402), and products containing such antibodies, in the United States of America (the “U.S.”), Canada, Mexico, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America (the “Licensed Territory”).
In exchange for this license, RSG provided or agreed to provide the following consideration:
•Upfront, non-refundable payment of $30.0 million;
•Up to $20.0 million in shared (50%) research, development, and out-of-pocket costs incurred by HanAll, which obligation has since expired;
•Up to an aggregate of $420.0 million (after an aggregate amount of $32.5 million paid for milestone events achieved as of September 30, 2024) upon the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones; and
•Tiered royalties ranging from the mid-single digits to mid-teens percentage of net sales of licensed products, subject to standard offsets and reduction, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the later of (1) expiration of patent and regulatory exclusivity or (2) the 11th anniversary of the first commercial sale of such product in such country.
On August 18, 2018, RSG entered into a sublicense agreement (the “Sublicense Agreement”) with Immunovant Sciences GmbH (“ISG”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, to sublicense this technology, as well as RSG’s know-how and patents necessary for the development, manufacture or commercialization of any compound or product that pertains to immunology. On December 7, 2018, RSG issued a notice to terminate the Sublicense Agreement with ISG and entered into an assignment and assumption agreement to assign to ISG all the rights, title, interest, and future obligations under the HanAll Agreement from RSG, including all rights to IMVT-1402 and batoclimab in the Licensed Territory, for an aggregate purchase price of $37.8 million. Each party has agreed that neither it nor certain of its affiliates will clinically develop or commercialize certain competitive products in the Licensed Territory.
During the quarter ended June 30, 2023, the Company achieved its third and fourth development and regulatory milestone events under the HanAll Agreement of $12.5 million, combined, which was paid in the quarter ended September 30, 2023 and recorded as acquired in-process research and development expenses in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations for the six months ended September 30, 2023.
Product Service Agreement and Master Services Agreement
On November 17, 2021, ISG entered into a Product Service Agreement (“PSA”) with Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd. (“Samsung”), pursuant to which Samsung will manufacture and supply the Company with batoclimab drug substance for commercial sale, if approved, and perform other manufacturing-related services with respect to batoclimab. The Company previously entered in a Master Services Agreement (“MSA”) with Samsung, dated April 30, 2021, which governs certain terms of the Company’s relationship with Samsung. Upon execution of the PSA, the Company committed to purchase process performance qualification batches of batoclimab and pre-approval inspection batches of batoclimab which may be used for regulatory submissions and, pending regulatory approval, commercial sale. In addition, the Company has a minimum obligation to purchase further batches of batoclimab in the four-year period of 2026 through 2029.
The PSA will continue until the later of December 31, 2029 or the completion of the services thereunder, unless the PSA is terminated earlier. Either party may terminate the PSA on account of (i) the other party’s material breach of the PSA that is not cured within a specified period after the termination notice, (ii) the other party’s insolvency or bankruptcy, or (iii) certain force majeure events. As of September 30, 2024, the remaining minimum purchase commitment related to this agreement was estimated to be approximately $43.6 million.
Note 4 — Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses consist of the following (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2024 | | March 31, 2024 |
Research and development expenses | $ | 37,462 | | | $ | 24,634 | |
| | | |
Accrued bonuses | 7,064 | | | 14,744 | |
Legal and other professional fees | 299 | | | 465 | |
Other expenses | 1,054 | | | 1,472 | |
Total accrued expenses | $ | 45,879 | | | $ | 41,315 | |
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Roivant Sciences, Inc. (“RSI”) and RSG Services Agreements
In August 2018, the Company entered into amended and restated services agreements (the “Services Agreements”) with RSI and RSG, under which RSI and RSG agreed to provide services related to development, administrative and financial activities to the Company. Under each Services Agreement, the Company will pay or reimburse RSI or RSG, as applicable, for any expenses it, or third parties acting on its behalf, incurs for the Company. For any general and administrative and research and development activities performed by RSI or RSG employees, RSI or RSG, as applicable, will charge back the employee compensation expense plus a pre-determined mark-up. Employee compensation expense, inclusive of base salary and fringe benefits, is determined based upon the relative percentage of time utilized on Company matters. All other costs will be billed back at cost. The term of the Services Agreements will continue until terminated by the Company, RSI or RSG, as applicable, upon 90 days’ written notice.
For the three and six months ended September 30, 2024, the Company incurred $0.3 million and $0.4 million, respectively, under the Services Agreements, which is included in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. For the three and six months ended September 30, 2023, the Company did not incur expenses under the Services Agreements.
RSL Information Sharing and Cooperation Agreement
In December 2018, the Company entered into an amended and restated information sharing and cooperation agreement (the “Cooperation Agreement”) with RSL. The Cooperation Agreement, among other things: (1) obligates the Company to deliver to RSL periodic financial statements and other information upon reasonable request and to comply with other specified financial reporting requirements; (2) requires the Company to supply certain material information to RSL to assist it in preparing any future SEC filings; and (3) requires the Company to implement and observe certain policies and procedures related to applicable laws and regulations. The Company has agreed to indemnify RSL and its affiliates and their respective officers, employees and directors against all losses arising out of, due to or in connection with RSL’s status as a stockholder under the Cooperation Agreement and the operations of or services provided by RSL or its affiliates or their respective officers, employees or directors to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, subject to certain limitations set forth in the Cooperation Agreement. No amounts have been paid or received under this agreement.
Subject to specified exceptions, the Cooperation Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (1) the mutual written consent of the parties or (2) the later of when RSL no longer (a) is required by U.S. GAAP to consolidate the Company’s results of operations and financial position, account for its investment in the Company under the equity method of accounting or, by any rule of the SEC, include the Company’s separate financial statements in any filings it may make with the SEC and (b) has the right to elect directors constituting a majority of the Company’s board of directors.
RSI Subleases
In June 2020, the Company entered into two sublease agreements with RSI for two floors of office space in New York, which expired on February 27, 2024 and April 29, 2024, respectively. There was no rent expense under these operating leases for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and rent expense under these operating leases was de minimis for the six months ended September 30, 2024. For the three and six months ended September 30, 2023, the Company incurred $0.3 million and $0.6 million, respectively, in rent expense under these operating leases.
Note 6 — Income Taxes
The Company’s effective tax rates were (0.07)% and (0.78)% for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and (0.08)% and (0.34)% for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Company’s effective rate is primarily driven by its jurisdictional earnings by location and a valuation allowance that eliminates the Company’s global net deferred tax assets.
The Company assesses the realizability of its deferred tax assets at each balance sheet date based on available positive and negative evidence in order to determine the amount which is more likely than not to be realized and records a valuation allowance as necessary.
Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity
Series A Preferred Stock
As of September 30, 2024, 10,000 shares of Series A preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, were outstanding and held by RSL.
Each share of Series A preferred stock will automatically convert into one share of common stock at such time as the holder(s) of Series A preferred stock hold less than 25% of the total voting power of the Company’s outstanding shares. In the event of the Company’s liquidation, dissolution, or winding up, the holder(s) of the Series A preferred stock will receive first an amount per share equal to $0.01 and then will be entitled to share ratably in the assets legally available for distribution to all stockholders.
Preferred Stock
As of September 30, 2024, the Company has authorized 10,010,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Other than the 10,000 shares of preferred stock designated as Series A preferred stock, there were no issued and outstanding shares of preferred stock as of September 30, 2024.
Common Stock
As of September 30, 2024, the Company has authorized 500,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and has 146,565,049 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.
The Company has reserved the following shares of common stock for issuance:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2024 | | March 31, 2024 |
Conversion of Series A preferred stock | 10,000 | | | 10,000 | |
Stock options outstanding | 13,596,262 | | | 13,050,172 | |
Restricted stock units outstanding | 4,436,477 | | | 4,099,279 | |
Equity awards available for future grants | 6,048,348 | | | 2,090,367 | |
Total | 24,091,087 | | | 19,249,818 | |
The reserved shares underlying restricted stock units above include 785,896 restricted stock units that vested but were not settled as of September 30, 2024. In addition, the Company has reserved 5,000,000 shares of its common stock that may be issued under its 2023 Inducement Plan as of September 30, 2024. See Note 8 – Stock-Based Compensation for further details.
Note 8 — Stock-Based Compensation
2019 Equity Incentive Plan
In December 2019, the Company’s stockholders approved the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2019 Plan”) and reserved 5,500,000 shares of common stock for issuance thereunder. The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of incentive options under the 2019 Plan is 16,500,000. The number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2019 Plan will automatically increase on April 1 of each year, continuing through April 1, 2029, by 4.0% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on the last day of the preceding month, or a lesser number of shares as may be determined by the board of directors on or prior to March 31 of such year. On April 1, 2024, 5,823,319 shares of common stock were added to the 2019 Plan pool in accordance with the evergreen provision of the 2019 Plan. As of September 30, 2024, options to purchase 10,988,489 shares of common stock and 3,650,581 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) were outstanding under the 2019 Plan and 6,048,348 shares of common stock remained available for future grant under the 2019 Plan.
2018 Equity Incentive Plan
As of the effective date of the 2019 Plan, no further stock awards have been or will be made under the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”). As of September 30, 2024, options to purchase 2,607,773 shares of common stock were outstanding under the 2018 Plan.
2023 Inducement Plan
On February 1, 2023, the Company’s board of directors approved the adoption of the 2023 Inducement Plan (the “Inducement Plan”), which is to be used exclusively for grants of awards to individuals who were not previously employees or directors of the Company (or following a bona fide period of non-employment) as a material inducement to such individuals’ entry into employment with the Company, pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The Company has reserved 5,000,000 shares of its common stock that may be issued under the Inducement Plan. The terms and conditions of the Inducement Plan are substantially similar to those of the 2019 Plan. As of September 30, 2024, no awards were granted or outstanding under the Inducement Plan.
Stock Option Activity
A summary of the stock option activity under the Company’s equity incentive plans is as follows:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Number of Stock Options | | Weighted- Average Exercise Price | | Remaining Contractual Term (Years) | | Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands) |
Balance - March 31, 2024 | 13,026,329 | | | $ | 9.85 | | | 7.51 | | $ | 293,920 | |
Granted | 1,242,430 | | | 30.44 | | | | | |
Exercised | (150,025) | | | 8.65 | | | | | |
Forfeited | (522,472) | | | 14.61 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Balance - September 30, 2024 | 13,596,262 | | | $ | 11.56 | | | 6.88 | | $ | 235,080 | |
Exercisable - September 30, 2024 | 8,975,814 | | | $ | 8.76 | | | 6.06 | | $ | 177,257 | |
The Company estimated the fair value of each option on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model applying the weighted-average assumptions in the following table:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Three Months Ended September 30, | | Six Months Ended September 30, |
| 2024 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2023 |
Risk-free interest rate | 3.59% - 4.16% | | 4.10% - 4.62% | | 3.59% - 4.71% | | 3.45% - 4.62% |
Expected term, in years | 6.11 | | 6.11 | | 6.11 | | 6.11 |
Expected volatility | 80.03% - 80.75% | | 97.68% - 97.81% | | 80.03% - 83.31% | | 93.66% - 98.15% |
Expected dividend yield | —% | | —% | | —% | | —% |
Restricted Stock Unit Awards
A summary of RSUs activity under the Company’s equity incentive plans is as follows:
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Number of RSUs | | Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value |
Nonvested as of March 31, 2024 | 3,466,057 | | | $ | 12.32 | |
Issued | 1,544,038 | | | 30.04 | |
Vested | (960,856) | | | 11.99 | |
Forfeited | (398,658) | | | 16.90 | |
Nonvested as of September 30, 2024 | 3,650,581 | | | $ | 19.40 | |
Stock-based Compensation Expense
For the three and six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, stock-based compensation expense under the Company’s equity incentive plans was as follows (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Three Months Ended September 30, | | Six Months Ended September 30, |
| 2024 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2023 |
Research and development expenses | $ | 6,756 | | | $ | 5,182 | | | $ | 13,941 | | | $ | 10,060 | |
General and administrative expenses | 5,929 | | | 5,319 | | | 12,187 | | | 11,094 | |
Total stock-based compensation | $ | 12,685 | | | $ | 10,501 | | | $ | 26,128 | | | $ | 21,154 | |
| | | | | | | |
As of September 30, 2024, total unrecognized compensation expense related to nonvested stock options and RSUs was $53.8 million and $62.8 million, respectively, which is expected to be recognized over the remaining weighted-average service period of 2.33 years and 2.60 years, respectively.
Stock-based Compensation Allocated to the Company by RSL
In relation to the RSL common share awards and options issued by RSL to employees of Roivant and the Company, the Company did not have any stock-based compensation expense for the three and six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.
RSL RSUs
The Company’s Chief Executive Officer was granted 73,155 RSUs of RSL in January 2021, which are vesting over a period of four years. For the three and six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, stock-based compensation recorded by the Company related to these RSUs was de minimis. As of September 30, 2024, the amount of unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested RSL RSUs was de minimis.
Note 9 — Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation
The Company may be subject to various lawsuits, claims and other legal matters from time to time that arise in the ordinary course of conducting business. The Company records a liability when a particular contingency is probable and estimable. As of September 30, 2024, the Company was not party to any material legal proceedings and thus no contingent liabilities were recorded.
In February 2021, a putative securities class action complaint was filed against the Company and certain of its current and former officers in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Following appointment of lead plaintiff and extensive briefing by the parties, including multiple amendments to the complaint and motions to dismiss, on March 29, 2024, the court dismissed the operative complaint with prejudice. On April 5, 2024, the Court entered judgment in favor of defendants. Plaintiffs did not appeal the Court’s judgment, so the litigation is now concluded. The Company has not recorded a liability related to this lawsuit.
Commitments
During the year ended March 31, 2022, ISG entered into the PSA with Samsung to manufacture a certain quantity of batoclimab drug substance for, among other things, commercial sale, if approved. As of September 30, 2024, in connection with this agreement, the Company has a remaining minimum obligation to Samsung of approximately $43.6 million, of which $3.0 million, $12.6 million, $14.0 million and $14.0 million is expected to be paid during the remainder of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, and for the fiscal years ending March 31, 2026, 2027, and 2029, respectively. During the three and six months ended September 30, 2024, the Company recorded $0.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively, of research and development expenses related to the PSA. During the three and six months ended September 30, 2023, the Company recorded $0.6 million and $1.3 million, respectively, of research and development expenses related to the PSA. The Company made cash payments of $2.6 million related to the PSA during the six months ended September 30, 2024 and recorded $1.9 million in accrued expenses in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2024.
As of September 30, 2024, the Company did not have any other ongoing material contractual obligations for which cash flows were fixed and determinable. In the normal course of business, the Company enters into agreements with CROs for clinical trials and with vendors for nonclinical studies, manufacturing and other services and products for operating purposes, which agreements are generally cancellable by the Company at any time, subject to payment of remaining obligations under binding purchase orders and, in certain cases, nominal early-termination fees. These commitments are not deemed significant. There are certain contracts wherein the Company has a minimum purchase commitment, however, most of it is due and payable within one year.
Contingencies
The extent of the impact of geopolitical tensions and global slowdown of economic activity, changes in inflation and interest rates, and a potential recession in the U.S. on the Company’s future operational and financial performance will depend on certain developments, including the potential impact on the Company’s clinical trial plans and timelines, such as the enrollment, activation and initiation of additional clinical trial sites, and the results of the Company’s clinical trials, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted. At this point, the extent to which these events may impact the Company’s future financial condition or results of operations is uncertain.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our (1) unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (“Quarterly Report”), and (2) audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 29, 2024. Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this Quarterly Report to “Immunovant,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Immunovant, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Quarterly Report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These statements are often identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “hope,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “objective,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “to be,” “will,” “would,” or the negative or plural of these words, or similar expressions or variations, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. We cannot assure you that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified herein, and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” set forth in Part II, Item 1A. of this Quarterly Report and in our other filings with the SEC. These risks are not exhaustive. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Quarterly Report, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage immunology company pursuing a broad anti-FcRn strategy based on the potential best-in-class profile of our lead asset, IMVT-1402, and informed by the breadth of the class, in which 23 indications have been publicly announced for study by multiple companies to date. We expect to initiate programs evaluating IMVT-1402 in several therapeutic areas, including rheumatology, endocrinology and neurology. To address the unmet needs of people with autoantibody-driven diseases, we are committed to initiating a broad set of late-stage programs for IMVT-1402, including first-in-class indications such as Graves’ disease (“GD”), classic autoantibody indications such as myasthenia gravis (“MG”) and other indications with positive in-class data such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (“CIDP”) and rheumatoid arthritis (“RA”). We expect to leverage disease state insights, clinical trial data observed to date within the anti-FcRn class, and operational experience from past and ongoing batoclimab studies and trials to inform and accelerate the development of IMVT-1402.
Our innovative product pipeline includes IMVT-1402 and batoclimab, formerly referred to as IMVT-1401, both of which are novel, fully human monoclonal antibodies that target the neonatal fragment crystallizable receptor (“FcRn”). Our product candidates are the result of a multi-step, multi-year research program conducted in collaboration with HanAll Biopharma Co., Ltd., (“HanAll”) to design highly potent anti-FcRn antibodies that may be optimized as a simple, subcutaneous injection with dosing that we believe can be tailored based on disease stage and severity.
The physiologic function of FcRn is to prevent the degradation of immunoglobulin G (“IgG”) antibodies. High levels of pathogenic IgG antibodies drive a variety of autoimmune diseases. Inhibition of FcRn, such as through the use of an anti-FcRn antibody, has been shown to reduce levels of total IgG and pathogenic IgG antibodies. We believe our completed clinical trials and other clinical trials assessing anti-FcRn antibodies in IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases have generated promising results, suggesting that FcRn is a therapeutically important and validated pharmacologic target to reduce levels of disease-causing IgG antibodies. Thus, we are developing IMVT-1402 and batoclimab in autoimmune diseases for which there is robust evidence that pathogenic IgG antibodies drive disease manifestation and for which we believe that reduction of IgG antibodies should lead to clinical benefit.
Batoclimab, our initial product candidate, is dosed subcutaneously using a small gauge needle in small volumes (e.g., 2 mL), and has generated therapeutically relevant pharmacodynamic activity. We believe these attributes will drive patient preference and market adoption. In clinical trials conducted to date, batoclimab has been observed to reduce IgG antibody levels, which has provided evidence supporting the use of an anti-FcRn antibody in disease areas associated with high levels of pathogenic IgG antibodies.
Likewise, IMVT-1402, our lead product candidate, has also been observed to reduce IgG antibody levels in a Phase 1 clinical trial conducted in healthy adults, similar to that observed in our original Phase 1 clinical trial of batoclimab. Importantly, although FcRn also plays a role in maintaining serum albumin levels which in turn correlate inversely with low-density lipoprotein (“LDL”) cholesterol levels, no or minimal reduction in albumin and no or minimal increases in LDL cholesterol levels were observed in study participants administered either 300 mg or 600 mg of IMVT-1402 subcutaneously once weekly for four weeks. Across both dose regimens, the changes in albumin and LDL cholesterol were similar to those observed with placebo administration. This is a key attribute for IMVT-1402, which we believe could potentially allow its use as a treatment of chronic conditions requiring maintenance doses that achieve high degrees of IgG suppression.
We believe that FcRn inhibition has broad therapeutic and commercial potential to address IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases in a number of therapeutic areas, including but not limited to, neurology, endocrinology, hematology, rheumatology, and dermatology. Based on third-party patient prevalence estimates, for the 23 indications that have been publicly announced by multiple companies for clinical development with anti-FcRn assets, we estimate the total potential opportunity for our FcRn franchise to be greater than two million patients in the U.S. and Europe. Our estimates in Europe include all European Union (“E.U.”) countries, Norway, Lichtenstein, Iceland, (together with the E.U. countries, the “EEA”), the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), and Switzerland.
Our goal is to fully optimize the IMVT-1402 clinical development program consistent with its potential best-in-class profile. Our strategic priority is to build a class-leading portfolio of indications in several therapeutic areas by leveraging data derived from studies with batoclimab and from studies with other FcRn inhibitors, both approved and in development. We are on track to initiate four to five potentially registrational programs for IMVT-1402 in several therapeutic areas, including rheumatology, endocrinology and neurology, by March 31, 2025, and exceeded the goal of having three Initial New Drug (“IND”) applications for IMVT-1402 cleared by the end of calendar year 2024, with five IND applications now active for IMVT-1402. Inclusive of these programs, by March 31, 2026, we plan to have initiated clinical trials of IMVT-1402 in a total of ten indications. The current development program for batoclimab remains important, in particular for accelerating and optimizing the registrational development program of IMVT-1402. In addition, we expect to achieve financial efficiencies in our IMVT-1402 development program by taking advantage of batoclimab data and by applying learning from publicly disclosed in-class competitor data and trial designs.
As a result of our rational design and current outlook on potential opportunities, we believe our product candidates, if developed and approved for commercial sale, would be differentiated from currently available treatments for advanced IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases. To date, these product candidates have demonstrated potential best-in-class IgG reduction and are being developed for delivery using a simple, self-administered subcutaneous injection.
Recent Developments in Our Clinical Programs
IMVT-1402
In the quarter ended June 30, 2023, the FDA cleared our IND application for IMVT-1402 and we initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy adults in New Zealand after approval of the Clinical Trial Application (“CTA”) by the regulatory authority, MEDSAFE.
Based on trial results announced to date and the strength of its potential best-in-class profile, we plan to pursue studies with IMVT-1402 in rheumatology, endocrinology, neurology and other therapeutic areas, with a focus on indications representing first-in-class opportunities, classic autoantibody diseases, and diseases where IgG autoantibodies are believed to play a role. In selecting indications for development, we plan to leverage data from our batoclimab development program and also take advantage of publicly disclosed in-class competitor data, which can be used to establish proof-of-concept as well as provide insights into potentially more informative study designs.
Endocrine Diseases
IMVT-1402 as a Potential Treatment for Graves’ Disease
Data from our Phase 2 proof of concept trial evaluating batoclimab in GD demonstrate the potential of FcRn inhibition for the treatment of GD by modifying the underlying disease pathology, which is driven by thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor autoantibodies (“TRAb”). In addition, the data represent strong evidence that deeper IgG reduction correlates with better clinical outcomes in GD.
Current Treatment Paradigm
The treatment of GD has seen minimal innovation in treatment options over the past 70-plus years. Anti-thyroid drugs (“ATDs”), as the only existing pharmacological therapy, do not address the underlying disease pathology characterized by high levels of TRAb. A conservative analysis of Inovalon claims data estimates that the prevalence and incidence of GD patients is approximately 880,000 and 65,000 in the U.S. Further, market-sizing analyses by various methods suggest that 25-30% of GD patients are relapsed, uncontrolled on or intolerant to ATDs, representing a potentially significant unmet medical need.
GD Pivotal Study
In September 2024 we announced receipt of IND clearance from the FDA for IMVT-1402 in GD. Leveraging the data from the batoclimab proof-of-concept trial, we expect to initiate a pivotal trial by December 31, 2024 to evaluate IMVT-1402 in Graves’ patients who are hyperthyroid despite treatment with ATDs.
The IMVT-1402 pivotal study is a randomized, placebo-controlled, 52-week trial in Graves’ disease patients who are hyperthyroid (as evidenced by TRAb levels) despite treatment with an ATD for 12 or more weeks prior to beginning the study. The study will enroll approximately 240 participants randomized (1:1:1) to one of two blinded treatment groups each receiving IMVT-1402, 600 mg weekly by subcutaneous injection (“SC”), or a matched placebo group. Participants will be evaluated over two consecutive 26-week blinded treatment periods. Over the course of the treatment periods, background ATD treatment will be titrated to the lowest effective dose, including elimination of ATD treatment, to maintain normal thyroid lab values. Following the initial 26-week period, participants in the group 2 IMVT-1402 treatment group will be assigned to either continued treatment with IMVT-1402 at the same dose or matching placebo for the second 26-week study period based on the participant’s TRAb value and euthyroid status determined at week 26. The study’s primary endpoint will evaluate the proportion of participants who are euthyroid and off ATD at study week 26. A key secondary endpoint will measure the proportion of participants who become euthyroid and stop ATD treatment at week 52.
More details on the study design are described in the figure below:
GD Pivotal Trial Design
Rheumatology Diseases
IMVT-1402 as a Potential Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis
RA Overview
RA is a chronic progressive autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the joints and surrounding tissues. Inadequate control of the joint inflammation associated with RA may result in irreversible joint erosions. RA is the most common systemic autoimmune disease. The exact cause of RA is not completely known but is associated with a variety of genetic, hormonal and environmental factors. RA can occur at any age, but it is more commonly diagnosed in middle age and women are more likely to be affected than men. RA affects 18 million persons globally and 1.5 million persons in the United States. Several autoantibodies have been identified in RA. Among these are rheumatoid factor (“RF”) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (“ACPA”). These RA-specific autoantibodies are found in 70-80% of RA patients and amplify inflammation via immune complex formation. Autoantibodies are associated with severe disease and poor outcomes on current available therapies. An estimated 5% to 20% of RA patients are characterized as having difficult-to-treat (“D2T”) RA due to a failure to respond to two or more biologic or targeted synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (“DMARDs”).
Current Treatment Paradigm
Currently available treatments used to help control joint inflammation include a variety of conventional oral, targeted synthetic and biologic DMARDs, most of which reduce cytokines. For D2T RA patients, who remain symptomatic despite multiple lines of treatment, there remains a significant unmet need.
Because of the role of FcRn in preventing degradation of IgG autoantibodies, such as ACPAs, FcRn inhibition is an attractive mechanism as a potential treatment for ACPA-positive RA. Recent in-class anti-FcRn data from a Phase 2a placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept trial evaluating nipocalimab in patients with RA demonstrated that both higher baseline ACPA levels and deeper ACPA reduction correlated with better clinical improvement with nipocalimab treatment.
RA Pivotal Study
Having received FDA clearance of the IND for IMVT-1402 in RA, we plan to initiate a potentially registrational trial evaluating our lead asset IMVT-1402 in D2T RA by March 31, 2025. The trial is expected to build on in-class learning in terms of its target population (enriched for above-normal ACPA levels) and study design (open-label lead-in followed by randomized withdrawal). The trial is expected to enroll approximately 120 participants into an initial 16-week open-label, active treatment period, followed by a blinded, randomized withdrawal period of 12 weeks. To ensure the enrollment of patients with active D2T RA, the trial inclusion criteria require elevated ACPA levels and prior inadequate response to 2 or 3 (but no more than 3) biologic or target synthetic DMARDs. The study will leverage IMVT-1402’s higher dose (600 mg) during the open-label induction phase of the trial with the intent of maximizing reduction in ACPA levels. For participants achieving a response at weeks 14 and 16 per the American College of Rheumatology (“ACR”) response criteria ACR20, the primary endpoint will assess the proportion of such participants who maintain the ACR20 response at week 28.
More details on the study design are described in the figure below:
RA Pivotal Study Design
Neurological Diseases
IMVT-1402 as a Potential Treatment for Myasthenia Gravis
We may transition our registrational development programs for MG from batoclimab to IMVT-1402, with a final decision for this program contingent on top-line data from the batoclimab study in this indication. We expect to report top-line data from the batoclimab MG study by March 31, 2025 with potential registrational development for MG expected to transition from batoclimab to IMVT-1402 in the same timeframe.
IMVT-1402 as a Potential Treatment for Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
We may transition our registrational development program for CIDP from batoclimab to IMVT-1402 and the pivotal study with IMVT-1402 in CIDP may be optimized based on unblinded batoclimab CIDP data available by March 31, 2025.
Batoclimab
Endocrine Diseases
In September 2024, we announced additional data from our proof-of-concept Phase 2 clinical trial in uncontrolled GD, which enrolled patients who remained hyperthyroid despite ATD therapy. Participants in the trial received 12 weeks of high dose batoclimab, 680 mg weekly SC followed by 12 weeks of lower dose batoclimab, 340 mg weekly SC. At the end of the first 12 weeks, participants experienced a mean IgG reduction of 77% leading to a 76% response rate (defined as T3 and T4 falling below the upper limit of normal (“ULN”) without increasing the ATD dose). Also, by the end of 12 weeks of higher dose batoclimab, 56% of subjects achieved an ATD-Free Response (defined as T3 and T4 falling below the ULN and the patient simultaneously tapering completely off their ATD). Despite benefiting from a lower starting IgG level after 12 weeks of 680 mg therapy, during weeks 13 to 24, the lower 340 mg dose of batoclimab resulted in mean IgG reduction of 65% (vs. 77% on 680 mg dose) with a correspondingly lower responder rate of 68%. In addition, a lower ATD-Free Response rate of 36% was also observed in the second 12 weeks. Finally, patients who achieved at least a 70% IgG reduction at the end of the evaluation period had nearly a threefold higher ATD-Free Response rate than those who did not (60% vs. 23%). Batoclimab was generally well tolerated with no new safety signals observed.
In November 2024, additional incremental data observed in the study for certain thyroidal and extrathyroidal manifestations of GD were presented at the American Thyroid Association 2024 Annual Meeting. These data show that a 60% response rate was achieved by week 2, demonstrating the rapidity of response to batoclimab 680 mg dosed weekly. Meaningful improvements in proptosis and lid aperture were also observed at both week 12 and week 24. Pronounced improvements in multiple Thyroid-Related Patient-Reported Outcomes (ThyPRO-39) measurement scales were also observed, with ATD-Free Responders reporting greater improvements than other participants. This clinical trial is ongoing.
In the quarter ended December 31, 2022, we initiated our Phase 3 clinical program to evaluate batoclimab as a treatment for TED. Over the course of the program to date, we observed increasing competition for patients with TED to participate in clinical trials. We completed a robust review of the inclusion and exclusion criteria of our Phase 3 batoclimab clinical trials in TED to determine if modifications could be made to improve patient enrollment without a resulting negative impact to the potential clinical trial results. In conjunction with input from key opinion leaders, we determined that no such modifications should be made, and we are therefore continuing enrollment in the study with the inclusion and exclusion criteria as originally designed to maximize effect size on proptosis response in TED. As a result, we expect top-line results to be available in the second half of calendar year 2025, along with a decision on whether to advance batoclimab to registration in TED or pursue IMVT-1402 in this indication.
Neurological Diseases
In the quarter ended December 31, 2022, we initiated a pivotal Phase 2b trial of batoclimab as a treatment for CIDP. Enrollment is completed for patients to be included in the period 1 top-line results, which are expected by March 31, 2025. We believe data from this batoclimab trial, combined with learning from other trials in CIDP, can be used to optimize the IMVT-1402 trial design in active CIDP patients.
In the quarter ended June 30, 2022, we initiated our Phase 3 pivotal trial of batoclimab as a treatment for MG. Enrollment in this pivotal trial has now completed and we expect top-line data to be available by March 31, 2025. Further potential registrational development with IMVT-1402 is expected to begin in the same timeframe, with a final decision to be made based on results from the current batoclimab trial.
Macroeconomic Considerations
Unfavorable conditions in the economy in the U.S., Canada and abroad may negatively affect the growth of our business and our results of operations. For example, macroeconomic events, including changes in inflation and interest rates, a potential recession in the U.S., recent and potential future disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures and the Russia-Ukraine war and conflict in the Middle East, have led to economic uncertainty globally. The effect of macroeconomic conditions may not be fully reflected in our results of operations until future periods. If, however, economic uncertainty increases or the global economy worsens, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.
For additional information about risks and uncertainties related to macroeconomic events that may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations, see the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part II, Item 1A in this Quarterly Report.
Our Key Agreements
License Agreement with HanAll (“HanAll Agreement”)
For a description of our transactions under the HanAll Agreement, refer to “Note 3 – Material Agreements” in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report.
Product Service Agreement and Master Services Agreement
For a description of our transactions under the Product Service Agreement and Master Services Agreement with Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd., refer to “Note 3 – Material Agreements” and “Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies” in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report.
Related Party Transactions
For a description of our transactions under agreements with related parties, refer to “Note 5 – Related Party Transactions” in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report.
Financial Operations Overview
Revenue
We have not generated any revenue and have incurred significant operating losses since inception, and we do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of any products unless or until we obtain regulatory approval of and commercialize batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidates. Our ability to generate revenue sufficient to achieve profitability will depend completely on the successful development and eventual commercialization of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 and any future product candidates.
Research and Development Expenses
We have been primarily engaged in preparing for and conducting clinical trials. Research and development expenses include therapeutic area-specific costs, as well as unallocated costs, and are net of costs reimbursable to the Company pursuant to cost-sharing arrangements with third parties.
Therapeutic area-specific costs include direct third-party costs, which include expenses incurred under agreements with contract research organizations and the cost of consultants who assist with the development of our product candidates with respect to a specific therapeutic area, investigator grants, sponsored research, and any other third-party expenses directly attributable to the development of the product candidates. Therapeutic area-specific costs also include contract manufacturing costs in connection with producing materials for use in conducting nonclinical and clinical studies, including under our agreement with Samsung, to the extent they can be allocated to a specific therapeutic area.
Unallocated costs include:
•personnel-related expenses for research and development personnel, which includes employee-related expenses such as salaries, benefits and other staff-related costs;
•stock-based compensation expenses for research and development personnel;
•costs allocated to us under our services agreements with Roivant Sciences Inc. (“RSI”) and Roivant Sciences GmbH (“RSG”) (the “Services Agreements”); and
•other expenses, which include the cost of consultants who assist with our research and development but are not allocated to a specific therapeutic area.
Research and development activities will continue to be central to our business model. We expect to incur research and development expenses as we continue our Phase 3 trial of batoclimab as a treatment for MG, our Phase 3 clinical program to evaluate batoclimab for the treatment of TED, a pivotal Phase 2b trial of batoclimab as a treatment for CIDP and a proof-of-concept Phase 2 clinical trial of batoclimab as a treatment for GD. With respect to our IMVT-1402 development activities, our Phase 1 clinical trial of IMVT-1402 in New Zealand remains open and we anticipate initiating pivotal trials of IMVT-1402 in GD by December 31, 2024 and RA by March 31, 2025. Our research and development expenses are expected to further increase as we seek to execute our plan to initiate an additional two to three potentially registrational programs for IMVT-1402 in other indications by March 31, 2025 and ultimately initiate trials of IMVT-1402 in a total of ten indications (inclusive of those programs to be initiated in fiscal 2025) by March 31, 2026. Our research and development expenses are also expected to continue to increase over the next several years as we hire personnel and our compensation costs increase, increase manufacturing of IMVT-1402 and batoclimab drug substance and drug product and prepare to seek regulatory approval for our product candidates. It is not possible to determine with certainty the duration and completion costs of any clinical trial we may conduct.
The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials of IMVT-1402, batoclimab, and any future product candidates will depend on a variety of factors that include, but are not limited to:
•the number of trials required for approval;
•the per patient trial costs;
•the number of patients that participate in the trials;
•the number of sites included in the trials;
•the countries in which the trial is conducted;
•the length of time required to enroll eligible patients;
•the number of doses that patients receive;
•the drop-out or discontinuation rates of patients;
•the potential additional safety monitoring or other studies requested by regulatory authorities;
•the duration of patient follow-up;
•the timing and receipt of regulatory approvals;
•the potential impact of macroeconomic events, including changes in inflation and interest rates, a potential recession in the U.S., recent and potential future disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures and the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East;
•the efficacy and safety profile of the product candidate; and
•the cost of manufacturing.
In addition, the probability of success for our product candidates will depend on numerous factors, including our product’s efficacy, safety, ease of use, competition, manufacturing capability and commercial viability.
Acquired In-Process Research and Development Expenses
Acquired in-process research and development expenses include payments made or due upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones under the HanAll Agreement.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of employee salaries and related benefits, stock-based compensation for general and administrative personnel, legal and accounting fees, consulting services, costs allocated under the Services Agreements and other operating costs relating to corporate matters and daily operations.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will continue to support our ongoing research and development activities. These expenses will likely include patent-related costs, including legal and professional fees for filing, prosecution and maintenance of patents and patent applications claiming our product candidates, increased costs related to the hiring of additional personnel and fees to outside consultants for professional services. In addition, if either IMVT-1402 or batoclimab obtains regulatory approval, we expect that we would incur significant additional expenses associated with market research activities and building commercial teams.
Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Three Months Ended September 30, | | |
| 2024 | | 2023 | | Change |
Operating expenses: | | | | | |
Research and development | $ | 97,272 | | | $ | 47,959 | | | $ | 49,313 | |
| | | | | |
General and administrative | 18,471 | | | 13,841 | | | 4,630 | |
Total operating expenses | 115,743 | | | 61,800 | | | 53,943 | |
Interest income | (6,073) | | | (3,572) | | | (2,501) | |
Other income, net | (629) | | | (20) | | | (609) | |
Loss before provision (benefit) for income taxes | (109,041) | | | (58,208) | | | (50,833) | |
Provision (benefit) for income taxes | 78 | | | 454 | | | (376) | |
Net loss | $ | (109,119) | | | $ | (58,662) | | | $ | (50,457) | |
Research and Development Expenses for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
The following table summarizes the period-over-period changes in research and development expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Three Months Ended September 30, | | Change |
| 2024 | | 2023* | | $ |
Therapeutic area-specific costs: | | | | | |
Neurological diseases | $ | 29,614 | | | $ | 5,133 | | | $ | 24,481 | |
Endocrine diseases | 14,887 | | | 8,431 | | | 6,456 | |
Rheumatology diseases | 7,219 | | | — | | | 7,219 | |
Other clinical and nonclinical | 7,903 | | | 11,875 | | | (3,972) | |
Total therapeutic area-specific costs | 59,623 | | | 25,439 | | | 34,184 | |
Unallocated costs: | | | | | |
Personnel-related expenses including stock-based compensation | 26,319 | | | 17,048 | | | 9,271 | |
Other | 11,330 | | | 5,472 | | | 5,858 | |
Total research and development expenses | $ | 97,272 | | | $ | 47,959 | | | $ | 49,313 | |
___________
*Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.
For the three months ended September 30, 2024, research and development expenses increased $49.3 million as compared with the prior-year period.
For the three months ended September 30, 2024, therapeutic area-specific research and development costs, including contract manufacturing costs for drug substance, increased $34.2 million as compared with the prior-year period. Research and development costs related to neurological diseases, which include MG and CIDP, increased $24.5 million. This increase was primarily due to preparation for potential future clinical trials of IMVT-1402 in neurological diseases and higher overall clinical trial costs related to our batoclimab Phase 3 clinical trial. Research and development costs related to endocrine diseases, which include TED and GD, increased $6.5 million. This increase was primarily due to preparation for potential future clinical trials of IMVT-1402 in endocrine diseases and, to a lesser extent, higher overall clinical trial costs related to our batoclimab Phase 3 clinical program. Research and development costs related to rheumatology diseases of $7.2 million in the current-year period reflected preparation for potential future clinical trials of IMVT-1402. Research and development costs related to other clinical and nonclinical activities decreased $4.0 million, reflecting lower overall costs related to our IMVT-1402 Phase 1 trial and nonclinical studies, partially offset by overall costs in preparation for future IMVT-1402 clinical programs.
For the three months ended September 30, 2024, unallocated research and development costs increased $15.1 million as compared with the prior-year period. This increase reflected higher personnel-related expenses of $9.3 million, driven by higher headcount and enhancement of our capabilities to support our strategic objectives as we progress our clinical activities in existing and new therapeutic areas. In addition, other expenses increased $5.9 million, primarily reflecting higher costs to support our research and development activities to advance the clinical development of IMVT-1402 that are not related to a specific therapeutic area.
General and Administrative Expenses for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
For the three months ended September 30, 2024, general and administrative expenses increased $4.6 million as compared with the prior-year period, primarily reflecting higher personnel-related expenses, legal and other professional fees, and information technology costs.
Interest Income for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
For the three months ended September 30, 2024, interest income increased $2.5 million as compared with the prior-year period, primarily reflecting interest earned on higher money market fund balances as a result of proceeds from our October 2023 underwritten public offering and concurrent private placement.
Results of Operations for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Six Months Ended September 30, | | |
| 2024 | | 2023 | | Change |
Operating expenses: | | | | | |
Research and development | $ | 172,745 | | | $ | 98,534 | | | $ | 74,211 | |
Acquired in-process research and development | — | | | 12,500 | | | (12,500) | |
General and administrative | 37,279 | | | 29,243 | | | 8,036 | |
Total operating expenses | 210,024 | | | 140,277 | | | 69,747 | |
Interest income | (13,254) | | | (7,637) | | | (5,617) | |
Other income, net | (657) | | | (484) | | | (173) | |
Loss before provision (benefit) for income taxes | (196,113) | | | (132,156) | | | (63,957) | |
Provision (benefit) for income taxes | 156 | | | 443 | | | (287) | |
Net loss | $ | (196,269) | | | $ | (132,599) | | | $ | (63,670) | |
Research and Development Expenses for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
The following table summarizes the period-over-period changes in research and development expenses for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Six Months Ended September 30, | | Change |
| 2024 | | 2023* | | $ |
Batoclimab - Program-specific costs: | | | | | |
Neurology diseases | $ | 47,956 | | | $ | 16,376 | | | $ | 31,580 | |
Endocrine diseases | 30,937 | | | 14,750 | | | 16,187 | |
Rheumatology diseases | 7,219 | | | — | | | 7,219 | |
Other clinical and nonclinical | 14,304 | | | 21,705 | | | (7,401) | |
Total therapeutic area-specific costs | 100,416 | | | 52,831 | | | 47,585 | |
Unallocated costs: | | | | | |
Personnel-related expenses including stock-based compensation | 50,839 | | | 34,006 | | | 16,833 | |
Other | 21,490 | | | 11,697 | | | 9,793 | |
Total research and development expenses | $ | 172,745 | | | $ | 98,534 | | | $ | 74,211 | |
___________
*Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.
For the six months ended September 30, 2024, research and development expenses increased $74.2 million as compared with the prior-year period.
For the six months ended September 30, 2024, therapeutic area-specific research and development costs, including contract manufacturing costs for drug substance, increased $47.6 million as compared with the prior-year period. Research and development costs related to neurological diseases, which include MG and CIDP, increased $31.6 million. This increase was primarily due to preparation for potential future clinical trials of IMVT-1402 in neurological diseases and higher overall clinical trial costs related to our batoclimab Phase 3 clinical trial. Research and development costs related to endocrine diseases, which include TED and GD, increased $16.2 million. This increase was primarily due to preparation for potential future clinical trials of IMVT-1402 in endocrine diseases and higher overall clinical trial costs related to our batoclimab Phase 3 clinical program. Research and development costs related to rheumatology diseases of $7.2 million in the current-year period reflected preparation for potential future clinical trials of IMVT-1402. Research and development costs related to other clinical and nonclinical activities decreased $7.4 million, reflecting lower overall costs related to our IMVT-1402 Phase 1 trial and nonclinical studies, partially offset by overall costs in preparation for future IMVT-1402 clinical programs.
For the six months ended September 30, 2024, unallocated research and development costs increased $26.6 million as compared with the prior-year period. This increase reflected higher personnel-related expenses of $16.8 million, driven by higher headcount and enhancement of our capabilities to support our strategic objectives as we progress our clinical activities in existing and new therapeutic areas. In addition, other expenses increased $9.8 million, primarily reflecting higher costs to support our research and development activities to advance the clinical development of IMVT-1402 that are not related to a specific therapeutic area.
Acquired In-Process Research and Development Expenses for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
There were no acquired in-process research and development expenses for the six months ended September 30, 2024. During the six months ended September 30, 2023, acquired in-process research and development expenses were $12.5 million related to the achievement of development and regulatory milestones for batoclimab as specified in the HanAll Agreement.
General and Administrative Expenses for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
For the six months ended September 30, 2024, general and administrative expenses increased $8.0 million as compared with the prior-year period, primarily reflecting higher personnel-related expenses, legal and other professional fees, and information technology costs.
Interest Income for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023
For the six months ended September 30, 2024, interest income increased $5.6 million as compared with the prior-year period, primarily reflecting interest earned on higher money market fund balances as a result of proceeds from our October 2023 underwritten public offering and concurrent private placement.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We had cash and cash equivalents of $472.9 million and $635.4 million as of September 30, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively. For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, we had net losses of $109.1 million and $58.7 million, respectively and for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, we had net losses of $196.3 million and $132.6 million, respectively. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses at least for the next several years. We have never generated any revenue and we do not expect to generate product revenue unless and until we successfully complete development and obtain regulatory approval for batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate.
To date, we have financed our operations primarily from equity offerings. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue from sales of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings and potential collaboration, license or development agreements. Our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by worsening global economic conditions and the continuing disruptions to, and volatility in, the credit and financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide, including disruptions resulting from the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East, changes in inflation and interest rates, and recent and potential future disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures.
We do not currently have any committed external source of funds. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.
On November 9, 2023, we entered into a sales agreement with Leerink Partners LLC (“Leerink Partners”), as sales agent, pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock (the “ATM Shares”), subject to certain conditions as specified in the sales agreement. We agreed to pay Leerink Partners up to 3% of the gross proceeds from each sale of ATM Shares sold through the sale agreement. The ATM Shares would be sold at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale and, as a result, prices may vary. The ATM Shares to be sold under the sales agreement, if any, would be issued and sold pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3, which we filed with the SEC on November 9, 2023, along with a prospectus supplement relating to the offer and sale of up to $150.0 million of ATM Shares pursuant to the sales agreement. We have not issued or sold any ATM Shares pursuant to the ATM offering program.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. Adequate additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our drug development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves or potentially discontinue operations.
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Six Months Ended September 30, |
| 2024 | | 2023 |
Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (164,846) | | | $ | (107,430) | |
Net cash used in investing activities | (378) | | | (79) | |
Net cash provided by financing activities | 1,416 | | | 1,038 | |
Operating Activities
For the six months ended September 30, 2024, $164.8 million of cash was used in operating activities, primarily reflecting a net loss from operations for the period of $196.3 million, partially offset by non-cash charges of $26.4 million and a net change in operating assets and liabilities of $5.0 million. The non-cash charges consisted mainly of stock-based compensation of $26.1 million, reflecting the higher headcount and incentive equity awards as compared with the prior year. The change in operating assets and liabilities reflected an increase in accounts payable of $13.2 million, primarily related to clinical trial and contract manufacturing costs and a decrease in accounts receivable of $3.3 million, reflecting the collection of amounts owed to us under research and development cost-sharing arrangements with a third party. In addition, accrued expenses increased $3.1 million, primarily reflecting the timing of payments and services related to contract manufacturing and our ongoing clinical trials, partially offset by payments related to employee incentive compensation. These changes were partially offset by an increase in other assets of $8.1 million as a result of prepaid expenses related to planned contract manufacturing activities, as well as higher prepaid expenses and other current assets of $6.5 million, driven primarily by the timing of payments and services performed related to our ongoing and planned clinical trials.
For the six months ended September 30, 2023, $107.4 million of cash was used in operating activities, primarily reflecting a net loss from operations for the year of $132.6 million, partially offset by non-cash charges of $21.9 million and a net change in operating assets and liabilities of $3.3 million. The non-cash charges consisted mainly of stock-based compensation of $21.2 million, reflecting the higher headcount and incentive equity awards as compared with the prior year. The change in operating assets and liabilities reflected $7.2 million of lower prepaid expenses and other current assets, driven primarily by the timing of payments and services performed related to our ongoing clinical trials. Changes in accounts payable reflected an increase of $6.1 million driven by the timing and level of payments related to contract manufacturing and research and development costs related to our clinical trials. These changes were partially offset by a decrease in accrued expenses of $8.8 million, primarily reflecting payments for contract manufacturing costs.
Investing Activities
For the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, cash used in investing activities was related to the purchase of property and equipment.
Financing Activities
For the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, cash provided by financing activities consisted of proceeds from the exercise of stock options.
Material Cash Requirements
Our primary uses of capital have been, and we expect will continue to be, for advancing our clinical and nonclinical development programs. We have based our estimates on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we may use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our net losses and operating cash flows may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on the timing of our planned clinical trials, timing of IMVT-1402 or batoclimab manufacturing, HanAll milestone payments and our expenditures on other research and development activities.
Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and commercialization of product candidates, we are unable to estimate the amounts of increased capital outlays and operating expenditures necessary to complete the development of product candidates.
Our short-term and long-term material cash requirements as of September 30, 2024 primarily consisted of those related to our clinical trials and clinical development activities, which we expect to fund primarily with our existing cash balance. Our most significant cash requirements are described below:
Product Service Agreement and Master Services Agreement
During the year ended March 31, 2022, we entered into an agreement with Samsung to manufacture a certain quantity of batoclimab drug substance for, among other things, commercial sale, if approved. As of September 30, 2024, in connection with this agreement, we have a remaining minimum obligation to Samsung of approximately $43.6 million, of which $3.0 million, $12.6 million, $14.0 million and $14.0 million is expected to be paid during the remainder of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, and for the fiscal years ending March 31, 2026, 2027 and 2029, respectively. See “Note 3 - Material Agreements” in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report for additional details.
HanAll Agreement
Potential future payments due under the HanAll Agreement are contingent upon future events. As of September 30, 2024, the aggregate maximum amount of milestone payments we could be required to make under the HanAll Agreement is $420.0 million (after an aggregate amount of $32.5 million paid for milestone events achieved as of September 30, 2024) upon the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestone events. During the quarter ended June 30, 2023, we achieved our third and fourth development and regulatory milestones under the HanAll Agreement and made a $12.5 million milestone payment in the quarter ended September 30, 2023 in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
Outlook
We currently expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2024 of $472.9 million will be sufficient to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months from the date of the filing of this Quarterly Report and in the long term beyond the next 12 months.
Except as discussed above, we did not have any other ongoing material contractual obligations for which cash flows were fixed and determinable. We expect to enter into other commitments as the business further develops. In the normal course of business, we enter into agreements with CROs for clinical trials and with vendors for nonclinical studies, manufacturing and other services and products for operating purposes, which agreements are generally cancellable by us at any time, subject to payment of remaining obligations under binding purchase orders and, in certain cases, nominal early-termination fees. These commitments are not deemed significant. There are certain contracts wherein we have a minimum purchase commitment, however, most of it is due and payable within one year.
We anticipate that our short-term and long-term future capital requirements will increase substantially as we:
•fund our clinical development programs;
•launch any potential clinical trials of IMVT-1402 in additional indications;
•increase manufacturing of IMVT-1402 and batoclimab drug substance to support clinical trials;
•achieve milestones under our agreements with third parties, including the HanAll Agreement, that will require us to make substantial payments to those parties;
•integrate acquired technologies into a comprehensive regulatory and product development strategy;
•maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;
•hire scientific, clinical, quality control and administrative personnel;
•add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our drug development efforts;
•commence the number of clinical trials required for approval;
•seek regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;
•seek to identify, acquire, develop and commercialize additional product candidates;
•ultimately establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure and scale up external manufacturing capabilities to commercialize any drug candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval; and
•incur insurance, legal and other regulatory compliance expenses to operate as a public company.
Our primary use of cash is to fund our clinical trials, clinical development and manufacturing activities. Our current funds will not be sufficient to enable us to complete all necessary development and, if approved, commercially launch IMVT-1402 or batoclimab. We anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet, and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, we evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
We define our critical accounting estimates as those under U.S. GAAP that require us to make subjective estimates and judgments about matters that are uncertain and are likely to have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations, as well as the specific manner in which we apply those principles. During the three and six months ended September 30, 2024, there were no material changes to our critical accounting estimates from those disclosed in the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2024 included in our Annual Report.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For information with respect to recently issued accounting standards and the impact of these standards on our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, refer to “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Interest Rate Risk
As of September 30, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of $472.9 million, all of which are maintained in accredited financial institutions. Our cash equivalents consist of money market funds invested in high-quality, short-term securities that are issued and guaranteed by the U.S. government. Our primary exposure to market risk is interest income volatility, which is sensitive to changes in the general level of interest rates; however, due to the nature of our account portfolio, an immediate hypothetical 10% change in interest rates would not have a material effect on our liquidity.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
Our employees and our operations are currently primarily located in the United States and our expenses are generally denominated in U.S. dollars. We therefore are not currently exposed to significant market risk related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. However, we are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rate risk as a result of entering into transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars as we have contracted with and may continue to contract with foreign vendors. We believe an immediate hypothetical 10% change in exchange rates during any of the periods presented would not have a material effect on our liquidity or our consolidated financial statements.
Effects of Inflation
Inflation generally affects us by increasing our research and development and contract manufacturing costs. We do not believe that inflation had a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations as of September 30, 2024.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2024, the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2024 at the reasonable assurance level.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitation on the Effectiveness of Internal Control
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures, or our internal controls, will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company have been detected.
PART II – OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may become involved in legal or regulatory proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business. We do not currently, however, expect such legal proceedings to have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. However, depending on the nature and timing of a given dispute, an unfavorable resolution could materially affect our current or future results of operations or cash flows.
For a description of our legal proceedings, refer to “Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies” in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I, Item I of this Quarterly Report.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Quarterly Report, including our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. We cannot assure you that any of the events discussed in the risk factors below will not occur. These risks could have a material and adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and, if so, our future prospects would likely be materially and adversely affected. If any of such events were to happen, the trading price of shares of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Development, Regulatory Approval and Commercialization
Our business is currently dependent on the successful and timely development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates.
We currently have no products that are approved for commercial sale and may never be able to develop marketable products. We expect that our primary efforts and expenditures over the next few years will be devoted to the advancement of IMVT-1402. Our business currently depends on the successful completion of our clinical trials for and subsequent regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates, which is uncertain. Delays or failures in the clinical trials for our product candidates, such as the voluntary pause of our batoclimab clinical trials announced in February 2021 and resulting inconclusive study results, have and could in the future significantly impact and harm our business. See “Risks Related to Development, Regulatory Approval and Commercialization – Clinical trials are very expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design and implement, and involve uncertain outcomes.”
We cannot be certain that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized even if we receive regulatory approval. The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, packaging, approval, sale, marketing, distribution, import, export, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, and recordkeeping of pharmaceutical products, including antibody-based products, are, and will remain, subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the U.S. and other countries which may vary from one country to another. We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the U.S. until we receive approval of a biologics license application (“BLA”) or in any foreign country until we receive the requisite approvals from the appropriate regulatory authorities in such countries for marketing authorization. In addition, we have not yet demonstrated our ability to complete later-stage or pivotal clinical trials for our product candidates. We have not submitted a BLA for any product candidate to the FDA or any comparable application to any other foreign regulatory authority. Obtaining approval of a BLA or similar foreign regulatory approval is an extensive, lengthy, expensive and inherently uncertain process, and the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities may delay, limit or deny approval for many reasons, including:
•we may not be able to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe and effective as a treatment for any of our currently targeted indications to the satisfaction of the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities;
•the relevant regulatory authorities may require additional pre-approval studies or clinical trials, which would increase our costs and prolong our development timelines;
•the results of our clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical or clinical significance required by the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities for marketing approval;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the number, design, size, conduct or implementation of our clinical trials, including the design of our clinical trials;
•the CROs that we retain to conduct clinical trials may take actions outside of our control or otherwise commit errors or breaches of protocols that materially adversely impact our clinical trials and ability to obtain market approvals;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may not find the data from nonclinical studies or clinical trials sufficient to demonstrate that the clinical and other benefits of our product candidates outweigh their safety risks;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data or significance of results from the nonclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates or may require additional studies;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data generated from our clinical trial sites;
•if our BLA or other foreign marketing authorization application is referred for review by an advisory committee, the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, may have difficulties scheduling an advisory committee meeting in a timely manner or the advisory committee may recommend against approval of our application or may recommend that the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, require, as a condition of approval, additional nonclinical studies or clinical trials, limitations on approved labeling or distribution and use restrictions;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may require development of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (“REMS”) drug safety program or similar strategy imposed by foreign regulatory authorities, as a condition of approval;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may require additional post-marketing studies and/or a patient registry, which would be costly;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may find the chemistry, manufacturing and controls data insufficient to support the quality of our product candidate;
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may identify deficiencies in the manufacturing processes or facilities of our third-party manufacturers; or
•the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory authorities may change their approval policies or adopt new regulations.
In addition, if our product candidates encounter safety or efficacy problems, such as the observed lipid findings from our clinical trials of batoclimab, developmental delays, regulatory issues, supply issues, or other problems in one of our target indications, our development plans for our product candidates could be significantly harmed in other indications, which would have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, problems encountered by competitors who are developing product candidates in the autoimmune disease field, including IgG-mediated autoimmune indications, or that target the same indications or use the same mechanism of action as our product candidates could suggest problems with our product candidates that would potentially harm our business. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that any of our product candidates will be successfully developed or commercialized.
Our product candidates, or anti-FcRn product candidates or products developed by others, may cause adverse events or undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, cause us to suspend or discontinue clinical trials, abandon further development or limit the scope of any approved label or market acceptance.
Adverse events (“AEs”) or undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, European Commission, or other competent regulatory authorities. Results of our clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects, toxicities or unexpected characteristics. In addition, AEs or undesirable side effects caused by related product candidates or anti-FcRn product candidates or products developed by others could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, European Commission, or other competent regulatory authorities. Results of our clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects, toxicities or unexpected characteristics.
If unacceptable AEs or side effects arise in the development of our or others’ anti-FcRn product candidates, we, other reviewing entities, clinical trial sites or regulatory authorities could suspend, vary or terminate our clinical trials or the regulatory authorities could order us to cease clinical trials or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. If an unacceptable frequency or severity of AEs or new safety signals are reported in our or others’ anti-FcRn clinical trials or from post-marketing safety surveillance of approved anti-FcRn products, our ability to obtain regulatory approval may be negatively impacted. Treatment-related side effects arising from, or those potentially arising from, our product candidates or those from other companies targeting similar autoimmune indications or using the same mechanism of action could affect the design of clinical studies, target patient population, enrollment and conduct of the studies, patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete our clinical trials, eventual labeling and risk management, or result in potential product liability claims. In addition, these side effects may not be appropriately recognized or managed by the treating medical staff.
For example, AEs associated with batoclimab in our clinical trials previously caused us to pause dosing in our clinical trials of batoclimab. The most commonly reported AE in our Phase 1 clinical trial was mild erythema and swelling at the injection site, which typically resolved within hours. We voluntarily paused dosing in our early phase clinical studies of batoclimab to evaluate treatment-induced elevations in total cholesterol and LDL levels observed in some trial subjects. After evaluation of the available safety data and following discussions with multiple regulatory authorities, we continued our clinical development of batoclimab. While we do not expect that increases in LDL over a short-term treatment duration would pose a safety concern for patients, the risk-benefit profile of long-term administration of batoclimab at higher doses will need to incorporate any potential unfavorable effects on lipid profiles. In addition, protocols that contain long-term treatment durations include frequent monitoring of plasma lipids and guidelines for the management of any observed lipid abnormalities. These occurrences have harmed, and any reoccurrences may continue to harm, our business, financial condition and prospects.
Furthermore, it is possible we will not be able to agree upon sufficient risk mitigation with all regulatory authorities and that our development of our product candidates will not continue in certain countries or for certain indications. Even if we are able to continue clinical development of our product candidates with such risk mitigations, any future approval and marketing would suffer from the risks of potential AEs or side effects and potential impact of mitigating measures, including, among others, limited indication, monitoring, a boxed warning, a REMS or similar strategy imposed by foreign regulatory authorities, potential additional safety studies and other adverse labeling.
If any of our product candidates is approved and then causes serious or unexpected side effects, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
•regulatory authorities may withdraw, suspend, vary or limit their approval of the product or require a REMS (or similar strategy imposed by foreign regulatory authorities) to impose restrictions on the product’s distribution or require other risk management measures;
•we may be required to recall a product;
•additional restrictions may be imposed on the distribution or marketing of the particular product or the manufacturing processes for the product or any component thereof, including a “black box” warning or contraindication on the product label or communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product;
•regulatory authorities may require the addition of labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications, require other labeling changes or require field alerts or other communications to physicians, pharmacies or the public;
•we may be required to change the way the product is administered or distributed, conduct additional clinical trials, change the labeling of a product or be required to conduct additional post-marketing studies or surveillance;
•we may be required to repeat a nonclinical study or clinical trial or terminate a program, even if other studies or trials related to the program are ongoing or have been successfully completed;
•we may be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients, or may be subject to fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenues;
•physicians may stop prescribing the product;
•reimbursement may not be available for the product;
•we may elect to discontinue the sale of our product;
•the product may become less competitive; and
•our reputation may suffer.
Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product candidate and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing such product candidate, if approved.
Clinical trials are very expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design and implement, and involve uncertain outcomes.
Our product candidates are still in clinical development and will require extensive clinical testing before we are prepared to submit a BLA or other similar application for regulatory approval. For example, we are initiating four to five potentially registrational programs for IMVT-1402 over the course of our fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, and we plan to initiate trials of IMVT-1402 in ten indications (inclusive of the four to five programs initiated in fiscal 2025) by March 31, 2026. We cannot provide any assurance that we will submit a BLA for regulatory approval for our product candidates within our projected timeframes or whether any such application will be accepted for review or ultimately approved by the relevant regulatory authorities. Clinical trials are very expensive and difficult to design and implement, in part because they are subject to rigorous regulatory requirements. For instance, the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities may not agree with our proposed analysis plans or trial design for any clinical trials for our product candidates; during any such review, may identify unexpected efficacy or safety concerns, which may delay the approval of a BLA or similar foreign marketing authorization application. The FDA or a foreign regulatory authority may also find that the benefits of our product candidates in any of our target indications do not outweigh their risks, including in the case of batoclimab, the risks associated with elevated lipid levels and lower albumin levels, in a manner sufficient to grant regulatory approval. The clinical trial process is also time-consuming and costly and is dependent upon collaboration with many CROs and clinical trial sites.
Failures can occur at any stage of clinical trials, and we could encounter problems that cause us to abandon or repeat clinical trials. In addition, results from clinical trials may require further evaluation delaying the next stage of clinical development or submission of a BLA. Further, product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through nonclinical studies and initial clinical trials, and such product candidates may exhibit negative safety signals in later stage clinical trials that they did not exhibit in nonclinical or earlier-stage clinical trials. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry, including biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies, have suffered significant setbacks in or the discontinuation of clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding positive results in earlier trials. Likewise, the results of early nonclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates, some of which were not conducted by us, may not be predictive of the results of our current or planned development programs and there can be no assurance that the results of studies conducted by collaborators or other third parties will be viewed favorably or are indicative of our own future trial results.
If we fail to successfully complete our clinical trials of our product candidates and demonstrate the efficacy and safety necessary to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates our business, financial condition and prospects would be harmed. The commencement and completion of clinical trials may be delayed by several factors, including:
•failure to obtain regulatory authorization to commence a clinical trial or reach a consensus with regulatory authorities regarding the design or implementation of our studies;
•unforeseen safety issues or subjects experiencing severe or unexpected AEs;
•continuation of previously identified safety issues;
•occurrence of AEs in trials of the same class of agents conducted by other sponsors or AEs reported by anti-FcRn product candidates developed by others;
•lack of effectiveness during clinical trials;
•resolving any dosing issues or limitations, including those raised by the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities;
•inability to reach agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and clinical trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;
•slower than expected rates of patient recruitment or failure to recruit suitable patients to participate in a trial;
•failure to add a sufficient number of clinical trial sites;
•unanticipated impact from changes in or modifications to protocols or clinical trial design, including those that may be required by the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities;
•inability or unwillingness of clinical investigators or study participants to follow our clinical and other applicable protocols or applicable regulatory requirements;
•an institutional review board (“IRB”), refusing to approve, suspending, or terminating the trial at an investigational site, precluding enrollment of additional subjects, or withdrawing their approval of the trial;
•ethics committees issuing negative opinions regarding a clinical trial or requiring substantial modifications of a proposed clinical trial;
•premature discontinuation of study participants from clinical trials or missing data at a level that impacts study integrity;
•failure to manufacture or release sufficient quantities of our product candidates or placebo or failure to obtain sufficient quantities of active comparator medications for our clinical trials, if applicable, that in each case meet our and global quality standards for use in clinical trials;
•inability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment; or
•inappropriate unblinding of trial results.
In addition, we, the FDA or another foreign regulatory authority may suspend our clinical trials in an entire country at any time, or an IRB or ethics committee may suspend its clinical trial sites within any country, if it appears that we or our collaborators are failing to conduct a trial in accordance with regulatory requirements, including good clinical practice (“GCP”), or that we are exposing participants to unacceptable health risks, or if the FDA or other foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, finds deficiencies in our investigational new drug application (“IND”) or equivalent applications for other countries or the manner in which the clinical trials are conducted. Therefore, we cannot predict with any certainty the schedule for commencement and completion of future clinical trials. If we experience delays in the commencement or completion of our clinical trials, or if we terminate a clinical trial prior to completion, the commercial prospects of our product candidates could be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenue from our product candidates, if approved, may be delayed. In addition, any delays in our clinical trials could increase our costs, cause a decline in our share price, slow down the approval process, and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may make formulation or manufacturing changes to our product candidates, in which case we may need to conduct additional nonclinical or clinical studies to bridge our modified product candidate to earlier versions. Any delays to our clinical trials that occur as a result could shorten any period during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates and our competitors may be able to bring products to market before we do, which could impact the commercial viability of our product candidates.
Moreover, principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive compensation in connection with such services. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities. The FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected the integrity of the study. The FDA or other foreign regulatory authority may therefore question the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized. This could result in a delay in approval, or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA or other foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of our product candidates.
In addition, the FDA’s, the competent authorities of the E.U. Member States’, the EMA’s, the European Commission’s and other comparable regulatory authorities’ policies with respect to clinical trials may change and additional government regulations may be enacted. For instance, the regulatory landscape related to clinical trials in the E.U. recently evolved. The E.U. Clinical Trials Regulation (“CTR”), which was adopted in April 2014 and repeals the E.U. Clinical Trials Directive, became applicable on January 31, 2022. The CTR allows sponsors to make a single submission to both the competent authority and an ethics committee in each E.U. Member State, leading to a single decision for each E.U. Member State. The assessment procedure for the authorization of CTAs has been harmonized as well, including a joint assessment of some elements by all E.U. Member States concerned, and a separate assessment by each E.U. Member State with respect to specific requirements related to its own territory, including ethics rules. Each E.U. Member State’s decision is communicated to the sponsor via the centralized E.U. portal. Once the clinical trial is approved, clinical study development may proceed. The CTR foresees a three-year transition period. The extent to which ongoing and new clinical trials will be governed by the CTR varies. For clinical trials that were approved on the basis of the Clinical Trials Directive before January 31, 2023, the Directive will continue to apply on a transitional basis until January 31, 2025. By that date, all ongoing trials will become subject to the provisions of the CTR. Compliance with the CTR requirements by us and our third-party service providers, such as CROs, may impact our development plans.
In light of the entry into application of the CTR on January 31, 2022, we are transitioning clinical trials for which we have obtained regulatory approvals in accordance with the CTD to the regulatory framework of the CTR. Transition of clinical trials governed by the CTD to the CTR is required for clinical trials that will have at least one site active in the E.U. on January 30, 2025. A transitioning application must be submitted to the competent authorities of E.U. Member States through the Clinical Trials Information Systems and related regulatory approval obtained to continue the clinical trial past January 30, 2025. This activity requires financial, technical and human resources. If we are unable to transition our clinical trials in time, the conduct of those clinical trials may be negatively impacted.
If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies governing clinical trials, our development plans may be impacted.
Enrollment and retention of patients in clinical trials is an expensive and time-consuming process and could be made more difficult or rendered impossible by multiple factors outside our control.
We may encounter delays or difficulties in enrolling or be unable to enroll a sufficient number of patients to complete any of our clinical trials on our current timelines, or at all, and even once enrolled, we may be unable to retain a sufficient number of patients to complete any of our trials. Enrollment in our clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate or be stopped, leading to delays in our development timelines. For example, we may face difficulty enrolling or maintaining a sufficient number of patients in our clinical trials evaluating batoclimab for MG, TED, CIDP and GD due to existing alternative treatments available, including teprotumumab for the treatment of TED, IVIg, plasma exchange and steroids for CIDP and anti-thyroid drugs for GD, or patients may decline to enroll or decide to withdraw from our clinical trials due to protocol-required washout periods or the risk of receiving placebo. Similar difficulties may occur in our development programs for IMVT-1402.
Patient enrollment and retention in clinical trials depends on many factors, including the size of the patient population, the nature of the trial protocol, our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience, limited trial site capacity and staffing as a result of healthcare worker shortages, the existing body of safety and efficacy data with respect to the study drug, the number and nature of competing treatments and ongoing clinical trials of competing drugs for the same indication, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the trial and the proportion of patients screened that meets those criteria, our ability to obtain and maintain patient consents and our ability to successfully complete prerequisite studies before enrolling certain patient populations. Our product candidates are focused in part on addressing rare autoimmune indications, and we have focused our initial development efforts for batoclimab on the treatment of MG, TED, CIDP and GD with limited patient pools from which to draw in order to complete our clinical trials in a timely and cost-effective manner, and could be faced with limited patient pools if we pursue these and certain other indications for IMVT-1402.
Furthermore, any negative results or new safety signals we may report in clinical trials of our product candidates may make it difficult or impossible to recruit and retain patients in other clinical trials we are conducting or to resume enrolling patients once a paused clinical trial has been resumed. For example, we previously voluntarily paused dosing in our clinical trials for batoclimab due to elevated total cholesterol and LDL levels observed in some patients treated with batoclimab. These results may make it more difficult to recruit and retain patients for clinical trials in the future, including our ongoing trials of batoclimab in MG, TED, CIDP and GD. Similarly, negative results reported by our competitors about their drug candidates may negatively affect patient recruitment in our clinical trials. Also, marketing authorization of competitors in this same class of drugs may impair our ability to enroll patients into our clinical trials, delaying or potentially preventing us from completing recruitment of one or more of our trials.
Delays or failures in planned patient enrollment or retention may result in increased costs, program delays or both, which could have a harmful effect on our ability to develop our product candidates or could render further development impossible. In addition, we expect to rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure proper and timely conduct of our future clinical trials, and, while we intend to enter into agreements governing their services, we will be limited in our ability to compel their actual performance.
The results of our nonclinical studies and clinical trials may not support our proposed claims for our product candidates, or regulatory approval on a timely basis or at all, and the results of earlier studies and trials may not be predictive of future trial results.
Success in nonclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, and we cannot be sure that the results of later clinical trials will replicate the results of prior nonclinical testing and clinical trials. In addition, preclinical testing may not adequately uncover drug side effects. In particular, we cannot assure you that the reductions in IgG antibodies that we have observed to date in our Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of batoclimab or in the Phase 1 trial of IMVT-1402 will be observed in any future clinical trials or that such reductions in IgG antibodies will result in clinical benefit that is sufficient to demonstrate that the efficacy endpoints of the study are met. Likewise, positive results in interim analyses or other preliminary analyses do not ensure that the clinical trial as a whole will be successful and lack statistical significance, which further limits the reliability of such data. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry, including biotechnology companies, have suffered significant setbacks in, or the discontinuation of, clinical trials, even after positive results in earlier nonclinical studies or clinical trials. These setbacks have been caused by, among other things, nonclinical findings observed while clinical trials were underway and safety or efficacy observations in clinical trials.
Further, product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through nonclinical and initial clinical trials. A future failure of a clinical trial to meet its pre-specified endpoints would likely cause us to abandon the indication. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials will delay the submission of a BLA to the FDA or other similar applications with other relevant foreign regulatory authorities and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates, if approved, and generate product revenue. Even if our clinical trials are completed as planned, we cannot be certain that their results will support our expectations for differentiation or the effectiveness or safety of our product candidates. The FDA has substantial discretion in the review and approval process and may disagree that our data support the differentiated claims we propose. In addition, only a small percentage of biologics under development result in the submission of a BLA to the FDA, or other similar applications with other relevant foreign regulatory authorities, and even fewer are approved for commercialization.
Interim, “top-line” or preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
From time to time, we may publicly disclose preliminary or “top-line” data from our clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available top-line data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a full analysis of all data related to the particular trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the top-line results that we report may differ from future results of the same trials, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Top-line data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, top-line data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. We may also disclose interim data from our clinical trials. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects. Further, disclosure of preliminary or interim data by us or by our competitors could result in volatility in the price of shares of our common stock.
Further, others, including regulatory authorities, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate or product and our business in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and you or others may not agree with what we determine is the material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure, and any information we determine not to disclose may ultimately be deemed significant with respect to future decisions, conclusions, views, activities or otherwise regarding a particular drug, product candidate or our business. If the top-line data that we report differ from actual results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for and commercialize batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate, our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition may be harmed.
We may not be able to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates on a timely basis or at all.
Our product candidates are novel therapeutic antibodies and their potential therapeutic benefits are unproven. While IMVT-1402 has demonstrated in a Phase 1 healthy volunteer study clinically meaningful reductions in IgG with a clean safety profile, and batoclimab has shown meaningful reductions in IgG antibody levels in clinical trials conducted to date, IMVT-1402 and/or batoclimab may not demonstrate in patients any or all of the pharmacologic or clinical benefits we believe they may possess. We have not yet succeeded and may never succeed in demonstrating efficacy and safety for our product candidates in large-scale, pivotal clinical trials or in obtaining marketing approval thereafter for any indication. Results from our early-stage clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of the results of our current or planned clinical trials. If results from early clinical trials cannot be replicated, or if the increase in total cholesterol and LDL levels or total albumin reductions observed in our Phase 2 clinical trial of batoclimab cannot be managed, we may be unable to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize batoclimab for the treatment of any of the indications for which it is being evaluated or any other autoimmune indication. If we are unsuccessful in our development efforts, we may not be able to advance the development of or commercialize our product candidates, raise capital, expand our business or continue our operations.
If we are not able to obtain required regulatory approvals, we will not be able to commercialize batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate, and our ability to generate product revenue will be impaired.
Batoclimab, IMVT-1402 and any future product candidate that we may develop, as well as the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, research, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, recordkeeping, labeling, packaging, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale and distribution are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the U.S. and by similar regulatory authorities outside the U.S. Failure to obtain marketing approval for, and thus commercialize any product candidate, could negatively impact our ability to generate any revenue from product sales.
We have not received approval from regulatory authorities to market any product candidate in any jurisdiction, and it is possible that our product candidates will never obtain the appropriate regulatory approvals necessary for us to commence product sales. Neither we nor any collaborator is permitted to market our product candidates in the U.S. or any other jurisdiction until we receive regulatory approval of a BLA from the FDA or similar approval from comparable regulatory authorities outside of the U.S.
The time required to obtain approval of a BLA by the FDA or similar approval from comparable regulatory authorities outside of the U.S. is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the discretion of the regulatory authority. Prior to submitting a BLA to the FDA or any comparable application to any other foreign regulatory authorities for approval of any product candidate, we will need to complete Phase 3 or other registrational clinical trials to adequately demonstrate favorable results with respect to safety, tolerability and efficacy. In addition, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to obtain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions.
Securing marketing approvals requires the submission of extensive manufacturing, nonclinical and clinical data and supporting information to regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the safety and efficacy of our product candidates for the specified indications. We expect to rely on third-party CROs, consultants and our collaborators to assist us in filing and supporting the applications necessary to obtain marketing approvals. Securing marketing approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the regulatory authorities. Errors in the submission of applications for marketing approval or issues, including those related to gathering the appropriate data and the inspection process, may ultimately delay or affect our ability to obtain regulatory approval, commercialize our product candidates and generate product revenue.
Our product candidates are antibody proteins that could cause an immune response in patients, resulting in the creation of harmful or neutralizing antibodies against these therapeutic proteins, preventing or limiting regulatory approval or our ability to commercialize our product candidates.
In addition to the safety, efficacy, manufacturing, and regulatory hurdles faced by our product candidates, the administration of proteins such as monoclonal antibodies, even those that are fully human in nature, including our product candidate, can cause an immune response, resulting in the creation of antibodies directed against the therapeutic protein. These anti-drug antibodies can have no effect or can neutralize the effectiveness of the protein or require that higher doses be used to obtain a therapeutic effect. Whether anti-drug antibodies will be created and how they react can often not be predicted from nonclinical studies or clinical trials and their detection or appearance is often delayed. As a result, neutralizing antibodies may be detected at a later date or upon longer exposure periods, such as following more chronic administration in longer lasting clinical trials. In some cases, detection of neutralizing antibodies can even occur after pivotal clinical trials have been completed. Therefore, there can be no assurance that neutralizing antibodies will not be detected in future clinical trials or at a later date upon longer exposure (including after commercialization). If anti-drug antibodies reduce or neutralize the effectiveness of any of our product candidates, the continued clinical development or receipt of marketing approval for such product candidate could be delayed or prevented and, even if such product candidate is approved, its commercial success could be limited, any of which would impair our ability to generate revenue and continue operations.
We have in-licensed the rights to IMVT-1402 and batoclimab in limited territories. Any adverse developments that occur during any clinical trials or manufacturing conducted by third parties, including HanAll, in other jurisdictions may affect our ability to obtain regulatory approval or commercialize our product candidates.
We have in-licensed the right to develop, manufacture and commercialize anti-FcRn antibodies (including IMVT-1402 and batoclimab) in the Licensed Territory. HanAll or any of its sublicensees or collaborators, over which we have no control, has the right to develop, manufacture and commercialize these product candidates in geographies outside of our Licensed Territory. If an impact to the characterization of the safety profile occurs in studies conducted by HanAll or third parties in other jurisdictions outside of our Licensed Territory, the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities may delay, limit or deny approval of these product candidates or require us to conduct additional clinical trials as a condition to marketing approval, which would increase our costs and time to market. If we receive FDA or foreign regulatory authority approval for any of our product candidates and a new or serious safety issue is identified in connection with clinical trials conducted by third parties in other jurisdictions outside of our Licensed Territory, the FDA or foreign regulatory authority may withdraw or vary their approval or restrict our ability to market and sell our products or may require additional testing or evaluation. In addition, treating physicians may be less willing to administer our product candidates due to concerns over such AEs, which would limit our ability to successfully commercialize these product candidates. In addition, issues may arise in connection with the manufacturing process for our product candidates utilized by HanAll or any of its other licensees or collaborators, which could affect our ability to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize these product candidates.
We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies targeting autoimmune disease indications. Our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.
The markets for autoimmune disease therapies are competitive and are characterized by significant technological development and new product introduction. For example, there are several large and small pharmaceutical companies focused on delivering therapeutics for our targeted autoimmune disease indications, including GD, MG, CIDP, TED and RA. We anticipate that, if we obtain regulatory approval of any of our product candidates, we will face significant competition from other approved therapies or drugs that become available in the future for the treatment of our target indications. If approved, our product candidates may also compete with unregulated, unapproved and off-label treatments. Even if a biosimilar product is less effective than our product candidates, a less effective biosimilar may be more quickly adopted by physicians and patients than our competing product candidates based upon healthcare cost or convenience. Our product candidates, if approved, are expected to present a novel therapeutic approach for certain indications we are pursuing and will have to compete with existing therapies, some of which are widely known and accepted by physicians and patients. To compete successfully in this market, we will have to demonstrate that the relative cost, safety and efficacy of our product candidates, if approved, provide an attractive alternative to existing standard of care and other new therapies to gain a share of some patients’ discretionary budgets and to gain physicians’ attention and adoption within their clinical practices. Some of the companies that may offer competing products also have a broad range of other product offerings, large direct sales forces, established patient support programs, and long-term customer relationships with our target physicians, which could inhibit our market penetration efforts. Such competition could lead to reduced market share for our product candidates and contribute to downward pressure on the pricing of our product candidates, which could harm our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
We expect to face intense competition from other biopharmaceutical companies who are developing agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including multiple agents in the same class as IMVT-1402 and batoclimab. We are aware of several FcRn inhibitors that are in clinical development. These include efgartigimod (argenx SE), nipocalimab (Johnson & Johnson) and rozanolixizumab (UCB). In June 2023, the FDA approved VYVGART® Hytrulo (efgartigimod alfa and hyaluronidase-qvfc) for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis (“gMG”) in adults who test positive for the AChR antibody. Previously, the FDA approved VYVGART (efgartigimod alfa-fcab) in the same patient population in December 2021. In June 2023, the FDA also approved RYSTIGGO® (rozanolixizumab-noli) for the treatment of gMG in adult patients who are AChR or anti-muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibody positive. In February 2024, Johnson & Johnson reported positive top-line results for nipocalimab from a Phase 3 pivotal study in gMG. In June 2024, the FDA expanded the label for VYVGART Hytrulo to include the treatment of CIDP. Viridian Therapeutics is developing a portfolio of engineered FcRn inhibitors, including VRDN-006 and VRDN-008, that are currently in preclinical development and have the potential to treat a broad array of autoimmune diseases.
Our product candidates, if approved, may also face competition from agents with different mechanisms of action. The most commonly prescribed first-line agents for the treatment of MG are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, such as pyridostigmine, which are marketed by several manufacturers of generic medicines. IVIg is also routinely used for patients with MG. SOLIRIS® (eculizumab), marketed by AstraZeneca, is an antibody inhibitor of the C5 protein approved in 2017 for the treatment of gMG in patients who are positive for anti-AChR antibodies. Other C5 complement inhibitors approved in gMG include ULTOMIRIS® (ravulizumab-cwvz), which was approved in April 2022, and ZILBRYSQ® (zilucoplan), approved in October 2023. In October 2024, Amgen announced positive data in patients who are positive for anti-AChR antibodies for UPLIZNA® (inebilizumab), a CD19-targeted humanized monoclonal antibody, currently in Phase 3 development for the treatment of gMG.
For patients with TED, the first line of treatment is generally immunosuppressive therapy, including high doses of corticosteroids. Rituximab (Roche), a monoclonal antibody that binds to an antigen specific to antibody-producing B cells, and tocilizumab (Roche), an anti-IL-6R monoclonal antibody, may also be used as off-label treatment options for TED and other IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases. In January 2020, the FDA approved Horizon Therapeutics’ TEPEZZA® (teprotumumab), an anti-insulin like growth factor 1 receptor (“IGF-1R”) antibody, for the treatment of TED. In September 2024, Viridian Therapeutics reported positive top-line results for veligrotug (VRDN-001), an IGF-1R antibody, from a Phase 3 pivotal study in TED. It is also advancing VRDN-003, a second anti-IGF-1R therapy, in Phase 3 development in TED.
Many of our existing or potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than we do and significantly greater experience in the discovery and development of product candidates, as well as in obtaining regulatory approvals of those product candidates in the U.S. and in foreign countries. Many of our current and potential future competitors also have significantly more experience commercializing drugs that have been approved for marketing. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries could result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. On October 6, 2023, Amgen completed its previously announced acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics for approximately $27.8 billion, expanding its rare disease pipeline. Competition may reduce the number and types of patients available to us to participate in clinical trials because some patients who might have opted to enroll in our trials may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors.
Due to varying regulatory requirements in certain foreign countries, there are many more products and procedures available for use to treat autoimmune diseases in some international markets than are approved for use in the U.S. In certain international markets, there are also fewer limitations on the claims that our competitors can make about the effectiveness of their products and the manner in which they can market their products. As a result, we expect to face more competition in these markets than in the U.S.
Our ability to compete successfully will depend largely on our ability to:
•develop and commercialize therapies in our target indications that are superior to other products in the market;
•demonstrate through our clinical trials that IMVT-1402, batoclimab, or any future product candidate is differentiated from existing and future therapies;
•attract qualified scientific, product development, manufacturing and commercial personnel;
•obtain patent or other proprietary protection for IMVT-1402, batoclimab, or any future product candidates;
•obtain required regulatory approvals, including approvals to market IMVT-1402, batoclimab, or any future product candidate we develop, in ways that are differentiated from existing and future products and treatments;
•have commercial quantities of any approved product manufactured at acceptable cost and quality levels and in compliance with FDA and other regulatory requirements;
•successfully commercialize IMVT-1402, batoclimab, or any future product candidate, if approved;
•obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from, and negotiate competitive pricing with, third-party payors and/or competent authorities;
•successfully collaborate with pharmaceutical companies in the discovery, development and commercialization of new therapies; and
•avoid regulatory exclusivities or patents held by competitors that may inhibit our products’ entry to the market.
The availability of our competitors’ products could limit the demand and the price we are able to charge for any product candidate we develop. The inability to compete with existing or subsequently introduced treatments would have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Additional time may be required to obtain marketing authorizations for pre-filled syringe or autoinjector presentations of batoclimab or IMVT-1402 because it would be subject to regulation as a combination product.
Combination products are therapeutic and diagnostic products that combine drugs, devices and/or biological products. A pre-filled syringe or autoinjector presentation of our product candidates would be considered a combination product that requires coordination within the FDA and in similar foreign regulatory authorities for review of its device and biologic components. Although the FDA and similar foreign regulatory authorities have systems in place for the review and approval of combination products such as ours, we may experience delays in the development and commercialization of these product candidates due to uncertainties in the product development and approval process.
In the E.U., combination products are not subject to a single regulatory pathway. Products combining a medical device and a medicinal product are either regulated as a medicinal product or a medical device depending on which product has the primary mode of action. Alternatively, they can be regulated by two separate procedures, with elements regulated as a medicinal product and elements as a medical device. Authorities involved in the regulatory assessment of combination products may include the EMA, national competent authorities of E.U. Member States and Notified Bodies.
The regulatory approval processes of the FDA and comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time consuming and inherently unpredictable, and even if we obtain approval for a product candidate in one country or jurisdiction, we may never obtain approval for or commercialize it in any other jurisdiction, which would limit our ability to realize our full market potential.
Prior to obtaining approval to commercialize a product candidate in any jurisdiction, we or our collaborators must demonstrate with substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical trials, and to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, that such product candidate is safe and effective for its intended use. Results from nonclinical studies and clinical trials can be interpreted in different ways. Even if we believe the nonclinical or clinical data for a product candidate are positive, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. In order to market any products in any particular jurisdiction, we must establish and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements on a country-by-country basis regarding safety and efficacy. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in any other country or jurisdiction outside the U.S. In addition, clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries, and regulatory approval in one country does not guarantee regulatory approval in any other country. Approval processes vary among countries and can involve additional product testing and validation, as well as additional administrative review periods. Seeking regulatory approval could result in difficulties and costs for us and require additional nonclinical studies or clinical trials, which could be costly and time consuming. We do not have any product candidates approved for sale in any jurisdiction, including in international markets. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements in international markets or to obtain and maintain required approvals, or if regulatory approvals in international markets are delayed, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of any product we develop will be unrealized.
Our failure to maintain or continuously improve our quality management program could have an adverse effect upon our business, subject us to regulatory actions and cause a loss of patient confidence in us or our products, among other negative consequences.
Quality management plays an essential role in contract manufacturing of drugs or drug products, conducting clinical trials, preventing defects, improving our product candidates and assuring the safety and efficacy of our product candidates. Our goal is to maintain a robust quality management program, which includes the following broad pillars of quality:
•monitoring and assuring regulatory compliance for clinical trials, manufacturing and testing of good practice (“GxP”) products;
•monitoring and providing oversight of all GxP suppliers (e.g., contract development manufacturing organizations and CROs);
•establishing and maintaining an integrated, robust quality management system for clinical, manufacturing, supply chain and distribution operations; and
•cultivating a proactive, preventative quality culture and employee and supplier training to ensure quality.
Our future success depends on our ability to maintain and continuously improve our quality management program. A quality or safety issue may result in adverse inspection reports, warning letters, monetary sanctions, injunction to halt manufacture and distribution of drugs or drug products, civil or criminal sanctions, costly litigation, refusal of a government to grant approvals and licenses, restrictions on operations or withdrawal of existing approvals and licenses. An inability to address a quality or safety issue in an effective and timely manner may also cause negative publicity or a loss of patient confidence in us or our future products, which may result in difficulty in successfully launching product candidates and the loss of potential future sales, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
A portion of our manufacturing, laboratory research, and clinical trial activities takes place in Asia. A significant disruption in that region, such as a trade war or political unrest, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We currently and expect to continue to engage in contract manufacturing, conduct clinical trials, and perform laboratory research activities outside the U.S., including in Asia. Any disruption in production or inability of our manufacturers in Asia to produce adequate quantities to meet our needs could impair our ability to operate our business on a day-to-day basis and to continue our development of our product candidates. In particular, trade tensions and conflict between the United States and China remain high, and could result in changes to the laws, rules, regulations, and policies of the governments of the United States or China that impact the ability of U.S. biotechnology companies to partner with entities in China. We also conduct certain laboratory research, and expect to have clinical trial sites, in Asia. We are, thus, exposed to the possibility of product supply disruption, clinical trial delays, and increased costs in the event of changes in governmental policies, political unrest or unstable economic conditions in Asia. Any disruption of these activities could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Even if we obtain regulatory approval for a product candidate, we will still face extensive ongoing quality and regulatory compliance requirements and our product may face future development and quality or regulatory compliance difficulties.
Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements, including for the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, AE reporting, storage, recordkeeping, conduct of potential post-market studies and post-market commitment and requirements, export, import and advertising and promotional activities for such product, among other things, by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, establishment of registration and drug listing requirements, continued compliance with current good manufacturing practice (“cGMP”) requirements relating to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, requirements regarding the distribution of drug product samples to physicians, recordkeeping and GCP requirements for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. Even if marketing approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to conditions of approval. In addition, the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities may require that contraindications, warnings or precautions, including in some cases, a boxed warning be included in the product labeling or a REMS program be established, which could limit sales of the product. Regulatory authorities closely regulate the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs to ensure drugs are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. Although the FDA and other foreign regulatory authorities do not regulate a physician’s choice of drug treatment made in the physician’s independent medical judgment, regulatory authorities impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use, and if we do not market our products for their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing. Violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in the U.S. and other comparable regulations in foreign jurisdictions relating to the promotion of prescription drugs may lead to enforcement actions and investigations by the FDA, U.S. Department of Justice, State Attorneys General and other foreign regulatory authorities alleging violations of U.S. federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws, as well as state consumer protection laws and comparable laws in foreign jurisdictions.
In addition, later discovery of previously unknown AEs caused by our product candidates or reported by anti-FcRn product candidates developed by others, or other problems with our product, manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements may yield various results, including:
•restrictions on the manufacture of such product;
•restrictions on the labeling or marketing of such product, including a “black box” warning or contraindication on the product label or communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product;
•restrictions on product distribution or use;
•requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials, or any regulatory holds on our clinical trials;
•requirement of a REMS or additional risk management plans (or similar strategy imposed by foreign regulatory authorities);
•Warning or Untitled Letters;
•withdrawal of the product from the market;
•recall of a product;
•fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenues;
•suspension, variation or withdrawal of marketing approvals;
•refusal to permit the import or export of such product;
•product seizure; or
•lawsuits, injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
The FDA and other foreign regulatory authorities’ policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate. For example, on April 26, 2023, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Directive and Regulation to revise the existing pharmaceutical legislation. If adopted in the form proposed, a number of changes to the regulatory framework governing medicinal products in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) may occur. These include a possible decrease in data and market exclusivity for our product candidates in the EEA. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the U.S. or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or to 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.
For example, certain policies of the current U.S. administration may impact our business and industry. It is difficult to predict how these policies will be implemented and the extent to which they will impact the FDA’s ability to exercise its regulatory authority. If these policies impose constraints on the FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively impacted.
Non-compliance by us or any future collaborator with regulatory requirements, including safety monitoring or pharmacovigilance, and with requirements related to the development of products for the pediatric population can also result in significant financial penalties.
Even if we receive marketing approval for any product candidate, it may fail to achieve market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors or others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
Even if we receive marketing approval for a product candidate, it may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community. If it does not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenue or become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of any product candidate, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to:
•the safety, efficacy, risk-benefit profile and potential advantages compared to alternative, competing or existing treatments, which physicians may perceive to be adequately effective for some or all patients;
•limitations or warnings contained in the labeling approved for our product candidates by the FDA or other applicable foreign regulatory authorities;
•any restrictions on the use of the product candidate and the prevalence and severity of any side effects;
•the content of the approved product label;
•the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts;
•the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments, including any biosimilar treatments;
•our ability to offer our products for sale at competitive prices;
•the cost, convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;
•the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies over existing or competing therapies;
•the strength of marketing and distribution support;
•the availability of third-party coverage and adequate reimbursement at any given price level of our product candidates;
•utilization controls imposed by third-party payors, such as prior authorizations and step edits; and
•any restrictions on the use of our product candidate, if approved, together with other medications.
Market acceptance of new products for the treatment of the indications we pursue with our product candidates, including MG, CIDP, GD, TED and RA, may also be affected by the perception that existing available treatments are sufficient to treat the majority of these patients. In addition, our product candidates, if approved, may compete with other approved FcRn inhibitors or other FcRn inhibitors under development that have demonstrated similar levels of IgG reductions and shown clinical benefit by meeting their efficacy endpoints in completed clinical trials to date. In addition, the potential patient population for certain autoimmune indications that we may target are relatively small. This could affect the rate of adoption and as a result, market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved, could be much slower than anticipated.
We cannot assure you that batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate, if approved, will achieve broad market acceptance among physicians, patients and third-party payors. The failure of any such product candidate that receives regulatory approval or clearance to achieve market acceptance or commercial success would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We may expend our limited resources to pursue particular indications and fail to capitalize on indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
We have limited financial and management resources. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future development programs for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. Any such failures would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
If we are unable to establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates, if approved.
We do not currently have any infrastructure for the sales, marketing or distribution of any product, and the cost of establishing and maintaining such an organization may exceed the cost-effectiveness of doing so. In order to market any product that may be approved, we must build our sales, distribution, marketing, compliance, managerial and other nontechnical capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services. To achieve commercial success for any product for which we obtain marketing approval, we will need a sales and marketing organization.
We expect to build a focused sales, distribution and marketing infrastructure to market our product candidates in the U.S., if approved. There are significant expenses and risks involved with establishing our own sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, including our ability to hire, retain and appropriately incentivize qualified individuals, develop an appropriate compliance function, provide adequate training to sales and marketing personnel and effectively manage geographically dispersed sales and marketing teams to generate sufficient demand. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities could delay any product launch, which would adversely impact its commercialization. If the commercial launch of our first product candidate, if approved, for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. This may be costly and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel.
Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our products on our own include:
•our inability to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;
•the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or attain adequate numbers of physicians to prescribe any drugs;
•the inability to obtain sufficient access and reimbursement for our product candidate, if approved; and
•unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating a sales and marketing organization.
If we are unable to build our own sales force or negotiate a collaborative relationship for the commercialization of any product candidate, we may be forced to delay potential commercialization or reduce the scope of our sales or marketing activities. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund commercialization activities ourselves, we will need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we will not be able to bring any product candidate to market or generate product revenue. We could enter into arrangements with collaborative partners at an earlier stage than otherwise would be ideal and we may be required to relinquish certain rights to any of our product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us, any of which may have an adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects.
If we are unable to establish adequate sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing our product candidates and may not become profitable. We may be competing with many companies that currently have extensive and well-funded marketing and sales operations. Without an internal team or the support of a third party to perform marketing and sales functions, we may be unable to compete successfully against these more established companies.
We have been granted orphan drug designation for batoclimab for the treatment of MG, and may seek orphan drug designations for IMVT-1402 or other product candidates we develop, but we may be unable to obtain such further designation or to maintain the benefits associated with orphan drug status even if that designation is granted.
As part of our business strategy, we have in the past and may in the future seek orphan drug designations for any product candidates we develop, and we may be unsuccessful. In July 2021, we were granted orphan drug designation in the U.S. by the FDA for batoclimab for the treatment of MG and, in August 2022, we received orphan drug designation from the European Commission for batoclimab for the treatment of MG. We plan to seek orphan drug designation from the FDA our product candidates where there is a medically plausible basis for their use, as well as with respect to other product candidates we may develop. We may also seek orphan drug designations for our product candidates for the treatment of other indications in European countries, where available.
Although we intend to seek additional orphan drug designations for our product candidates where available from the FDA, the European Commission and other regulatory authorities, we may never receive such further designation. Moreover, obtaining orphan drug designation for batoclimab for the treatment of MG does not mean we will be able to obtain such designation for any other indications. Even if we were to obtain orphan drug designation for IMVT-1402 from any regulatory authority, we may not be the first to obtain marketing approval for the same drug for any particular orphan indication due to the uncertainties associated with developing pharmaceutical products, and thus approval of our product candidates could be blocked for years if another company obtains approval and orphan drug exclusivity for the same drug and same condition before us. If we do obtain market exclusivity in the U.S. or in European countries, it may be limited if we seek approval for an indication broader than the orphan designated indication and may be lost if the FDA or applicable regulatory authority later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if we are unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of the relevant patients. Further, exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition because different drugs with different active moieties can be approved for the same condition, the same drugs can be approved for different indications and might then be used off-label in our approved indication and different drugs for the same condition may already be approved and commercially available. Orphan drug designation does not convey any automatic advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the development or FDA or foreign regulatory authority review and approval process.
If we obtain approval to commercialize our product or any future product candidate outside of the U.S., a variety of risks associated with international operations could adversely affect our business.
If our product candidates or any future product candidate is approved for commercialization outside of the U.S., we expect that we will be subject to additional risks related to entering into international business relationships, including:
•different post-approval regulatory requirements for drug approvals and rules governing drug commercialization in foreign countries;
•reduced or no protection of intellectual property rights;
•unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers and regulatory requirements;
•workforce uncertainty, economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets;
•compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad;
•foreign tax, reimbursement, pricing and insurance regimes;
•any foreign partners or collaborators not fulfilling their respective regulatory reporting requirements and any foreign regulatory authorities taking actions with respect to such failures, which would be reportable to the FDA;
•any foreign partners or collaborators not informing us of any new post-marketing safety signals in a timely manner;
•foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue, and other obligations incident to doing business in another country;
•potential noncompliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the “FCPA”), the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010 (the “U.K. Bribery Act”) or similar antibribery and anticorruption laws in other jurisdictions;
•production shortages resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad; and
•business interruptions resulting from geopolitical actions, including war and terrorism, or natural disasters including earthquakes, typhoons, floods and fires.
We have no prior experience in commercializing any product, and many biopharmaceutical companies have found the process of marketing their products in foreign countries to be very challenging.
Our current and future relationships with investigators, health care professionals, consultants, third-party payors, and customers are subject to applicable healthcare regulatory laws, which could expose us to penalties.
Our business operations and current and future arrangements with investigators, healthcare professionals, consultants, third-party payors, patient support efforts, charitable organizations and customers expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations. These laws regulate the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we conduct our operations, including how we research, market, sell and distribute any product for which we obtain marketing approval. Such laws include, among others:
•the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which broadly prohibits the exchange of any “remuneration” related to items or services for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare and Medicaid. Violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute also may constitute a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act (“FCA”);
•the federal criminal and civil false claims laws, including the FCA, through civil whistleblower or “qui tam” actions, and the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which impose criminal and civil penalties against individuals or entities for, among other things, causing false or fraudulent claims to be presented for payment to the federal government;
•the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), which imposes criminal and civil liability for, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false or fraudulent statements relating to healthcare matters; similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation;
•the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics, and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), information related to payments or other “transfers of value” made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, and requires applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations to report annually the ownership and investment interests held by such physicians and their immediate family members;
•state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, state laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers, marketing expenditures or drug pricing and state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives;
•analogous state and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to our business practices; and
•federal, state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of personal information, including health information, such as HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), and their implementing regulations, which may require us to, among other data protection measures, provide notices, obtain individual consents to use and disclose information, give individuals rights with respect to their information and keep the information secure. Enforcement of such laws could result in civil and criminal penalties as well as, in some circumstances, damages and related costs in defending private actions, including class actions.
Efforts to ensure that our current and future business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations, authority guidance or case law involving applicable healthcare laws. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these or any other health regulatory laws that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant penalties, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs or similar programs in other countries or jurisdictions, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement and curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations. The issuance of a subpoena or an investigation, regardless of the merits, may result in negative publicity, a drop in our share price and other harm to our business, financial condition and results of operations. Defending against any such actions can be costly, time-consuming and may require significant financial and personnel resources. Therefore, even if we are successful in defending against any such actions that may be brought against us, our business may be impaired.
Changes in healthcare law and implementing regulations, as well as changes in healthcare policy, may impact our business in ways that we cannot currently predict and may have a significant adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
There have been, and continue to be, numerous executive, legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the U.S. healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Among policy makers and payors in the U.S. there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, boosting pricing transparency, improving quality and/or expanding patient access and the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and related legislation (collectively, the “Affordable Care Act”), substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both the government and private insurers, and significantly impacts the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The Affordable Care Act, among other things: (1) introduced an “average manufacturer price” calculation for drugs and biologics that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected and that are not generally dispensed through retail community pharmacies; (2) increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and expanded rebate liability from fee-for-service Medicaid utilization to include the utilization of Medicaid managed care organizations as well; (3) established a branded prescription drug fee that pharmaceutical manufacturers of branded prescription drugs must pay to the federal government; (4) expanded the list of covered entities eligible to participate in the 340B drug pricing program by adding new entities to the program; (5) established a Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers currently must now agree to offer 70% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable branded drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D; (6) expanded eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals, including individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability; (7) created a licensure framework for follow-on biologic products; and (8) established a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at CMS to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending.
There have been executive, judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. For example, on June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a challenge on procedural grounds that argued the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate” was repealed by Congress. Further, prior to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, on January 28, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order that initiated a special enrollment period for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, which began on February 15, 2021 and remained open through August 15, 2021. The executive order also instructed certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements, and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law, which eliminates the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, currently set at 100% of a drug’s average manufacturer price, for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, beginning January 1, 2024. Further, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) into law, which among other things, extends enhanced subsidies for individuals purchasing health insurance coverage in Affordable Care Act marketplaces through plan year 2025. The IRA also eliminates the “donut hole” under the Medicare Part D program beginning in 2025 by significantly lowering the beneficiary maximum out-of-pocket cost and through a newly established manufacturer discount program. It is possible that the Affordable Care Act will be subject to judicial or Congressional challenges in the future. It is unclear how any such challenges and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact the Affordable Care Act and our business. We are continuing to monitor any changes to the Affordable Care Act that, in turn, may potentially impact our business in the future.
Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011 and subsequent laws, which began in 2013 and will remain in effect through 2032 unless additional Congressional action is taken. In January 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was signed into law, which, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. New laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, which may materially adversely affect customer demand and affordability for our products and, accordingly, the results of our financial operations.
Also, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny recently over the manner in which pharmaceutical companies set prices for their marketed products, which have resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed federal legislation, as well as state efforts, designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. For example, in July 2021, the Biden administration released an executive order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” with multiple provisions aimed at prescription drugs. In response to Biden’s executive order, on September 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released a Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices that outlines principles for drug pricing reform and sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue to advance these principles. In addition, the IRA, among other things, (1) directs HHS to negotiate the price of certain single-source drugs and biologics covered under Medicare and (2) imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation. The IRA permits HHS to implement many of these provisions through guidance, as opposed to regulation, for the initial years. HHS has and will continue to issue and update guidance as these programs are implemented. These provisions took effect progressively starting in fiscal year 2023. On August 15, 2024, HHS announced the agreed-upon reimbursement prices of the first ten drugs that were subject to price negotiations, although the Medicare drug price negotiation program is currently subject to legal challenges. HHS will select up to fifteen additional drugs covered under Part D for price negotiation in 2025. In addition, in response to the Biden administration’s October 2022 executive order, on February 14, 2023, HHS released a report outlining three new models for testing by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation which will be evaluated on their ability to lower the cost of drugs, promote accessibility, and improve quality of care. It is unclear whether the models will be utilized in any health reform measures in the future. Further, on December 7, 2023, the Biden administration announced an initiative to control the price of prescription drugs through the use of march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole Act. On December 8, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology published for comment a Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights which for the first time includes the price of a product as one factor an agency can use when deciding to exercise march-in rights. While march-in rights have not previously been exercised, it is uncertain if that will continue under the new framework.
At the state level, individual states in the U.S. are increasingly active in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.
We expect that these and other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and lower reimbursement, and in additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved product. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government-funded programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize our drugs, once marketing approval is obtained.
Coverage and adequate reimbursement may not be available for our product candidates, which could make it difficult for us to sell it profitably, if approved.
Market acceptance and sales of any approved product that we develop will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from third-party payors, including government health administration authorities and private health insurers. There is no assurance that our product candidates, if approved, would achieve adequate coverage and reimbursement levels.
In the U.S., no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors. Third-party payors decide which drugs they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own coverage and reimbursement policies. However, decisions regarding the extent of coverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided for any product candidate that we develop through approval will be made on a plan-by-plan basis. One payor’s determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage and adequate reimbursement for the product. Additionally, a third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a drug does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Each plan determines whether or not it will provide coverage for a drug, what amount it will pay the manufacturer for the drug, on what tier of its formulary the drug will be placed and whether to require step therapy. The position of a drug on a formulary generally determines the co-payment that a patient will need to make to obtain the drug and can strongly influence the adoption of a drug by patients and physicians. Patients who are prescribed treatments for their conditions and providers prescribing such services generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the associated healthcare costs. Patients are unlikely to use our products unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our products. Further, from time to time, typically on an annual basis, payment rates are updated and revised by third-party payors. Such updates could impact the demand for our products, to the extent that patients who are prescribed our products, if approved, are not separately reimbursed for the cost of the product.
The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a product may be separate from the process for setting the price of a product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that such a payor will pay for the product. Even if we do obtain adequate levels of reimbursement, third-party payors, such as government or private healthcare insurers, carefully review and increasingly question the coverage of, and challenge the prices charged for, products. Increasingly, third-party payors are requiring that pharmaceutical companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices and are challenging the prices charged for products. We may also be required to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies to justify the coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Inadequate coverage or reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any product for which we obtain marketing approval. If coverage and adequate reimbursement are not available, or are available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any product candidate that we develop. Additionally, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in the U.S. and in some foreign jurisdictions that could affect our ability to sell any future drugs profitably. There can be no assurance that our product candidates, if approved, will be considered medically reasonable and necessary or cost-effective by third-party payors, that coverage or an adequate level of reimbursement will be available or that reimbursement policies and practices in the U.S. and in foreign countries where our products are sold will not adversely affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably, if approved for sale.
Many E.U. Member States periodically review their reimbursement procedures for medicinal products, which could have an adverse impact on reimbursement status. We expect that legislators, policymakers and healthcare insurance funds in the E.U. Member States will continue to propose and implement cost-containing measures, such as lower maximum prices, lower or lack of reimbursement coverage and incentives to use cheaper, usually generic, products as an alternative to branded products, and/or branded products available through parallel import to keep healthcare costs down. Moreover, in order to obtain reimbursement for our products in some European countries, including some E.U. Member States, we may be required to compile additional data comparing the cost-effectiveness of our products to other available therapies. Health Technology Assessment, or HTA, of medicinal products is becoming an increasingly common part of the pricing and reimbursement procedures in some E.U. Member States, including those representing the larger markets. The HTA process, which is currently governed by national laws in each E.U. Member State, is the procedure to assess therapeutic, economic and societal impact of a given medicinal product in the national healthcare systems of the individual country. The outcome of an HTA will often influence the pricing and reimbursement status granted to these medicinal products by the competent authorities of individual E.U. Member States. The extent to which pricing and reimbursement decisions are influenced by the HTA of the specific medicinal product currently varies between E.U. Member States.
In December 2021, Regulation No 2021/2282 on Health Technology Assessment, or HTA, amending Directive 2011/24/E.U. was adopted in the E.U. This Regulation which entered into force in January 2022 and will apply as of January 2025, is intended to boost cooperation among E.U. Member States in assessing health technologies, including new medicinal products, and providing the basis for cooperation at E.U. level for joint clinical assessments in these areas. The regulation foresees a three-year transitional period and will permit E.U. Member States to use common HTA tools, methodologies, and procedures across the E.U., working together in four main areas, including joint clinical assessment of the innovative health technologies with the most potential impact for patients, joint scientific consultations whereby developers can seek advice from HTA authorities, identification of emerging health technologies to identify promising technologies early, and continuing voluntary cooperation in other areas. Individual E.U. Member States will continue to be responsible for assessing non- clinical (e.g., economic, social, ethical) aspects of health technologies, and making decisions on pricing and reimbursement. If we are unable to maintain favorable pricing and reimbursement status in E.U. Member States for product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval, any anticipated revenue from and growth prospects for those products in the E.U. could be negatively affected.
Legislators, policymakers and healthcare insurance funds in the E.U. may continue to propose and implement cost-containing measures to keep healthcare costs down. These measures could include limitations on the prices we would be able to charge for product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval or the level of reimbursement available for these products from governmental authorities or third-party payors. Further, an increasing number of E.U. and other foreign countries use prices for medicinal products established in other countries as “reference prices” to help determine the price of the product in their own territory. Consequently, a downward trend in prices of medicinal products in some countries could contribute to similar downward trends elsewhere.
Risks Related to Our Business, Financial Position and Capital Requirements
Our business, operations, clinical development plans and timelines and supply chain could be adversely affected by the effects of health epidemics and pandemics on manufacturing, clinical trials and other business activities performed by us or by third parties with whom we conduct business, including our contract manufacturers, CROs, suppliers, shippers and others.
Our business could be adversely affected by health epidemics wherever we have clinical trial sites or other business operations. In addition, health epidemics could cause significant disruption in the operations of third-party manufacturers, CROs and other third parties upon whom we rely. For example, restrictions imposed by healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted clinical site activation and patient enrollment due to limited access, capacity and staffing shortages, resulting in a backlog of patient enrollment and delayed site initiations across the industry. Our inability to successfully recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff could adversely impact our clinical trial operations.
We are dependent on a worldwide supply chain for products to be used in our clinical trials and, if approved by the regulatory authorities, for commercialization. Quarantines, shelter-in-place and similar government orders, or the expectation that such orders, shutdowns or other restrictions could occur or re-occur, whether related to health epidemics, pandemics or other infectious diseases, could impact personnel at third-party manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and other countries or the availability or cost of materials, which could disrupt our supply chain. For example, any manufacturing supply interruption of batoclimab, which is currently manufactured at facilities in the U.S. and in South Korea, or IMVT-1402 or any future product candidates, could adversely affect our ability to conduct clinical trials of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 and any future product candidates. In addition, closures of transportation carriers and modal hubs could materially impact our clinical development and any future commercialization timelines.
We expect to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a product candidate will fail to obtain regulatory approval or fail to become commercially viable. We have never generated any product revenue and we cannot estimate with precision the extent of our future losses. We do not currently have any products that are available for commercial sale and we may never generate product revenue or achieve profitability. Our net loss was $109.1 million and $58.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $196.3 million and $132.6 million for the six months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of September 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1,022.0 million.
We expect to continue to incur substantial and increasing losses through the commercialization of batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate, if approved, and we currently have no products that are approved for commercial sale. As a result, we are uncertain when or if we will achieve profitability and, if so, whether we will be able to sustain it. Our ability to generate product revenue and achieve profitability is dependent on our ability to complete the development of our product candidates, obtain necessary regulatory approvals for such product candidate and manufacture and successfully commercialize such product candidate alone or in collaboration with others. We cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability even if we successfully commercialize batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate. If we do successfully obtain regulatory approval to market a product candidate, our revenue will be dependent upon, in part and among other things, the size of the markets in the territories for which we obtain regulatory approval, the number of competitors in such markets, the accepted price for our product candidates, the reimbursement environment for our product candidates and whether we own the commercial rights for those territories. If the indication approved by regulatory authorities for batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate is narrower than we expect, or the treatment population is narrowed by competition, physician choice or treatment guidelines, we may not generate significant revenue from sales of such product candidate, even if approved. Failure to become and remain profitable may adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and our ability to raise capital and continue operations.
We expect our research and development expenses in connection with our development programs for our product candidates to continue to be significant. For example, we expect our research and development expenses to significantly increase as we seek to execute our plan to initiate four to five potentially registrational programs for IMVT-1402 by March 31, 2025 and initiate trials of IMVT-1402 in ten indications (inclusive of the four to five programs initiated in fiscal 2025) by March 31, 2026. In addition, if we obtain regulatory approval for batoclimab or IMVT-1402, we expect to incur increased sales, marketing and manufacturing expenses. As a result, we expect to continue to incur significant and increasing operating losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future. These losses had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position and working capital.
We have a limited operating history and have never generated any product revenue.
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully complete a large-scale, pivotal clinical trial, obtain marketing approval, manufacture a commercial scale product, or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Consequently, we have no meaningful operations upon which to evaluate our business and predictions about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing, manufacturing and commercializing pharmaceutical products, including antibody-based products.
Our ability to generate product revenue and become profitable depends upon our ability to successfully complete the development of and obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for our product candidates we develop. We have never been profitable, have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any product revenue.
Even if we receive regulatory approval for batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate, we do not know when or if we will generate product revenue.
Our ability to generate product revenue depends on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to:
•successfully complete clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval for the marketing of batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate in the U.S. and in other jurisdictions;
•add operational, financial and management information systems personnel, including personnel to support our clinical, manufacturing and planned future commercialization efforts;
•initiate and continue relationships with third-party suppliers and manufacturers and have commercial quantities of batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate manufactured at acceptable cost and quality levels and in compliance with FDA and other foreign regulatory requirements;
•attract and retain experienced management and advisory teams;
•raise additional funds when needed and on terms acceptable to us;
•commercially launch batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate, if approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others, including establishing sales, marketing and distribution systems;
•set an acceptable price for any approved product and obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors;
•achieve market acceptance of any approved product in the medical community and with third-party payors and consumers;
•compete effectively with other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies targeting autoimmune disease indications; and
•maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio.
Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, including delays in subject enrollment or interruptions in clinical trial supplies or investigational product, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we are required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to perform studies or clinical trials in addition to those that we currently anticipate. Even if batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate is approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with its commercial launch. If we cannot successfully execute any one of the foregoing, our business may not succeed and you may lose some or all of your investment.
We may not be successful in our efforts to identify and acquire or in-license additional product candidates or technologies or to enter into collaborations or strategic alliances for the development and commercialization of any such future product candidates.
We may seek to identify and acquire or in-license novel product candidates or technologies in the autoimmune disease field. The process by which we identify product candidates and technologies may fail to yield product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons, including those discussed in these risk factors and also:
•the process by which we identify and decide to acquire product candidates or technologies, including through the business development support we receive from RSL and its subsidiaries pursuant to the Services Agreements, may not be successful;
•potential product candidates may, upon further study, be shown to have harmful side effects or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to be products that will receive marketing approval and achieve market acceptance;
•potential product candidates may not be effective in treating their targeted diseases; or
•the acquisition or in-licensing transactions can entail numerous operational and functional risks, including exposure to unknown liabilities, disruption of our business, incurrence of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of equity securities to pay transaction consideration or costs or higher than expected acquisition or integration costs.
We may choose to focus our efforts and resources on a potential product candidate or technology that ultimately proves to be unsuccessful. We also cannot be certain that, following an acquisition or in-licensing transaction, we will achieve the revenue or specific net income that justifies such transaction. Further, time and resources spent identifying, acquiring and developing potential product candidates or technologies may distract management’s attention from our primary business or other development programs. If we are unable to identify and acquire suitable product candidates for clinical development, this could adversely impact our business strategy, our financial position and share price.
In the future, we may also decide to collaborate with other pharmaceutical companies for the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates in the U.S. or other countries or territories. We will likely face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish a strategic partnership or other alternative arrangements for our product candidates because they may be deemed to be at too early of a stage of development for collaborative effort and third parties may not view our product candidates as having the requisite potential to demonstrate safety and efficacy. If and when we collaborate with a third party for development and commercialization of a product candidate, we can expect to relinquish some or all of the control over the future success of that product candidate to the third party. Our ability to reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend upon, among other things, our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors.
We will require additional capital to fund our operations. If we fail to obtain necessary financing, we may not be able to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
We expect to spend substantial capital to complete the development of, seek regulatory approvals for and commercialize our product candidates. For example, we will require substantial capital to execute our plan to initiate four to five potentially registrational programs for IMVT-1402 by March 31, 2025 and initiate trials of IMVT-1402 in ten indications (inclusive of the four to five programs initiated in fiscal 2025) by March 31, 2026. Our expenditures may also include costs associated with the HanAll Agreement, including payments in connection with the achievement of certain regulatory milestones prior to generating any product sales, significant further payments upon the achievement of certain sales milestones and tiered royalty payments in connection with the commercial sale of batoclimab or IMVT-1402, if approved.
We will require additional capital to complete the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates. Because the length of time and activities associated with successful development of our product candidates are highly uncertain, we are unable to estimate with certainty the actual funds we will require for development and any approved marketing and commercialization activities. Additional capital may not be available in sufficient amounts or on reasonable terms, if at all, and our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by global economic conditions, including disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East, changes in inflation and interest rates, recent and potential future disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures and other factors. Our future funding requirements, both near- and long-term, will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
•the timing, progress, costs and results of our clinical trials for our product candidates;
•the outcome, timing and cost of meeting regulatory requirements established by the FDA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities;
•the cost of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing our patent claims and other intellectual property rights;
•the cost of defending potential intellectual property disputes, including patent infringement actions brought by third parties against us or any of our current or future product candidates;
•the cost of future product candidates or technologies that we may acquire or in-license;
•the effect of competing market developments;
•the cost and timing of completion of commercial-scale and other manufacturing activities;
•the cost of establishing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for batoclimab, IMVT-1402, or any future product candidate in regions where we choose to commercialize such product candidate, if approved, on our own; and
•the initiation, progress, timing and results of our commercialization of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale.
We do not have any committed external source of funds. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 and any future product candidates or potentially discontinue operations altogether. In addition, attempting to secure additional capital may divert the time and attention of our management from day-to-day activities and harm our product candidate development efforts. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and potential commercialization of batoclimab or IMVT-1402, we are unable to estimate the associated amounts of increased capital outlays, operating expenditures and capital requirements.
Raising additional funds by issuing equity securities will cause dilution to existing stockholders. Raising additional funds through debt financings may involve restrictive covenants and raising funds through lending and licensing arrangements may restrict our operations or require us to relinquish proprietary rights.
We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. Until such time, if ever, that we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, strategic alliances and license and development agreements or other collaborations. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our existing stockholders’ ownership may experience substantial dilution, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that could adversely affect the rights of a common stockholder. Additionally, any agreements for future debt or preferred equity financings, if available, may involve covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams, research programs or batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise develop and market ourselves.
We rely on the HanAll Agreement to provide us rights to the core intellectual property relating to IMVT-1402 and batoclimab. Any termination or loss of significant rights under the HanAll Agreement would adversely affect our development and commercialization of IMVT-1402 and batoclimab.
We have licensed our core intellectual property relating to IMVT-1402 and batoclimab from HanAll under the HanAll Agreement. If, for any reason, the HanAll Agreement is terminated or we otherwise lose those rights, it would adversely affect our business. The HanAll Agreement imposes on us obligations relating to exclusivity, territorial rights, development, commercialization, funding, payment, diligence, sublicensing, insurance, intellectual property protection and other matters. If we breach any material obligations or use the intellectual property licensed to us in an unauthorized manner, under the HanAll Agreement, we may be required to pay damages to our collaborators and they may have the right to terminate the applicable licenses, which would result in us being unable to develop, manufacture and sell batoclimab, if approved.
The HanAll Agreement obligates us to make milestone payments, some of which may be triggered prior to our potential commercialization of batoclimab or IMVT-1402.
We will be responsible for future contingent payments and royalties under the HanAll Agreement, including up to an aggregate of $420.0 million (after an aggregate amount of $32.5 million paid for milestone events achieved as of September 30, 2024), certain of which will occur prior to commercialization of batoclimab or IMVT-1402. Accordingly, we will be required to make such payments prior to the time at which we are able to generate any revenue, if any, from commercial sales of batoclimab or IMVT-1402. Following commercialization, we may be required to make significant further payments upon the achievement of sales milestones and make tiered royalty payments in connection with the commercial sale of batoclimab and/or IMVT-1402, if approved. There can be no assurance that we will have the funds necessary to make such payments or be able to raise such funds when needed on terms acceptable to us or at all. As a result, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts.
We may not be able to manage our business effectively if we are unable to attract and retain key personnel.
We may not be able to attract or retain qualified management and commercial, scientific and clinical personnel due to the intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses. If we are not able to attract and retain necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, including our plan to initiate clinical trials of IMVT-1402 in ten indications by March 31, 2026, we may experience constraints that will significantly impede the achievement of our development objectives, our ability to raise additional capital and our ability to implement our business strategies.
We are highly dependent on the skills and leadership of our senior management team and key employees. Our senior management and key employees have previously and may terminate their positions with us at any time. If we lose members of our senior management team or key employees, our ability to successfully implement our business strategies could be adversely affected. Replacing these individuals may be difficult, cause disruption to our business and may take an extended period of time due to the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to develop, manufacture, obtain regulatory approval of and commercialize products successfully. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate additional key personnel. We do not maintain “key person” insurance for any members of our senior management team or other employees.
We have expanded our organization and plan to continue to do so and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth, which could disrupt our operations.
We expect to hire, either directly, or through any current or future subsidiaries of ours, additional employees for our managerial, finance and accounting, legal, clinical, scientific and engineering, regulatory, operational, manufacturing, medical affairs, business development and sales and marketing teams.
We may have difficulties identifying, hiring, integrating and retaining new personnel. Future growth would impose significant additional responsibilities on our management, including the need to identify, recruit, maintain, motivate and integrate additional employees, consultants and contractors, including training additional qualified personnel. For example, our development plans for IMVT-1402 call for four to five potentially registrational programs to be initiated by March 31, 2025 and trials in a total of ten indications started by March 31, 2026. Our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations across our entities, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 and any future product candidate. If our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate or grow revenue could be reduced and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate and compete effectively will partly depend on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.
Many of the other pharmaceutical companies we compete against for qualified personnel and consultants have greater financial and other resources, different risk profiles and a longer operating history in the industry than we do. They also may provide more diverse opportunities and better chances for career advancement. Some of these opportunities may be more appealing to high-quality candidates and consultants than what we have to offer. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high-quality personnel and consultants, the rate and success at which we can develop product candidates and our business will be harmed.
Our or our affiliates’ employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants, commercial collaborators, service providers and other vendors or potential collaborators may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
We are exposed to the risk that our or our affiliates’ employees and contractors, including principal investigators, CROs, consultants, commercial collaborators, service providers and other vendors may engage in misconduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or other unauthorized activities that violate the laws and regulations of the FDA or other similar regulatory authorities, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such regulatory authorities, manufacturing and the GCP or cGMP standards, federal, state and foreign healthcare fraud and abuse laws and data privacy or laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. In particular, sales, marketing and other business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws intended to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing, bribery, corruption, antitrust violations and other abusive practices. These laws may restrict or prohibit a wide range of business activities, including research, manufacturing, distribution, pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use or misrepresentation of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, creating fraudulent data in our nonclinical studies or clinical trials or illegal misappropriation of drug product, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter employee or third-party misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with such laws or regulations.
Additionally, we are subject to the risk that a person, including any person who may have engaged in any fraud or misconduct, or government agency could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. Furthermore, we rely on our CROs and clinical trial sites to adequately report data from our clinical trials. For example, any failure by such parties to adequately report safety signals to us in a timely manner from any such trials may also affect the approvability of our product candidates or cause delays and disruptions for the approval of our product candidate, if at all. If our or our affiliates’ employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants, commercial collaborators, service providers or other vendors are alleged or found to be in violation of any such regulatory standards or requirements or become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement and curtailment of our operations, it could have a significant impact on our business and financial results, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, suspension or delay in our clinical trials, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs or comparable foreign programs, FDA debarment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and additional reporting requirements and oversight, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
International expansion of our business exposes us to business, legal, regulatory, political, operational, financial and economic risks associated with conducting business outside of the U.S.
Part of our business strategy involves potentially expanding internationally with third-party collaborators to seek regulatory approval for batoclimab, IMVT-1402 and any future product candidates outside the U.S. Doing business internationally involves a number of risks, including but not limited to:
•multiple conflicting and changing laws and regulations such as tax laws, export and import restrictions, employment laws, anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, regulatory requirements and other governmental approvals, permits and licenses;
•failure by us or our collaborators to obtain appropriate licenses or regulatory approvals for the sale or use of our product candidate, if approved, in various countries;
•delays or interruptions in the supply of clinical trial materials resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad;
•difficulties in managing foreign operations;
•complexities associated with managing multiple payor-reimbursement regimes or self-pay systems;
•financial risks, such as longer payment cycles, difficulty enforcing contracts and collecting accounts receivable and exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;
•reduced protection for intellectual property rights;
•natural disasters, political and economic instability, including wars, terrorism and political unrest, outbreak of disease, including pandemics and related shelter-in-place orders, travel, social distancing and quarantine policies, boycotts, curtailment of trade and other business restrictions; and
•failure to comply with the FCPA, including its books and records provisions and its anti-bribery provisions, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar antibribery and anticorruption laws in other jurisdictions, for example by failing to maintain accurate information and control over sales or distributors’ activities.
Any of these risks, if encountered, could significantly harm our future international expansion and operations and consequently, negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to stringent and changing privacy, data protection, and information security laws, contractual obligations, self-regulatory schemes, government regulation and standards related to data privacy and security. The actual or perceived failure by us, our CROs or vendors to comply with such obligations could result in harm to our reputation, regulatory investigations or actions, significant fines and liability, disruption of our clinical trials or other material adverse effects to our business.
We collect, receive, store, process, use, generate, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect and share personal information and other information, including information we collect about patients and healthcare providers in connection with clinical trials in the U.S. and abroad (“Process” or “Processing”) necessary to operate our business and for legal, marketing and other business-related purposes.
There are numerous federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and guidance regarding privacy, data protection, information security and Processing (“Data Protection Laws”), the number and scope of which is changing, subject to differing applications and interpretations, and which may be inconsistent among jurisdictions, or in conflict with other rules, laws or Data Protection Obligations (as defined below).
In the United States, federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including data breach notification laws, personal data privacy laws, consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), and other similar laws (e.g., wiretapping laws). In the past few years, numerous U.S. states—including California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah—have enacted comprehensive privacy laws that impose certain obligations on covered businesses, including providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording residents with certain rights concerning their personal data. As applicable, such rights may include the right to access, correct, or delete certain personal data, and to opt-out of certain data processing activities, such as targeted advertising, profiling, and automated decision-making. The exercise of these rights may impact our business and ability to conduct our clinical trials and commercialize our product candidates, if approved. Certain states also impose stricter requirements for processing certain personal data, including sensitive information, such as conducting data privacy impact assessments. These state laws allow for statutory fines for noncompliance. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”) (collectively, “CCPA”), applies to personal data of consumers, business representatives, and employees who are California residents, and requires businesses to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of such individuals to exercise certain privacy rights. The CCPA provides for fines of up to $7,500 per intentional violation and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. Similar laws are being considered in several other states, as well as at the federal and local levels, and we expect more states to pass similar laws in the future. These developments may further complicate compliance efforts, and increase legal risk and compliance costs for us and the third parties upon whom we rely.
We also expect that there will continue to be new or amended laws, regulations, and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection, and information security proposed and enacted in various foreign jurisdictions. For example, under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“E.U. GDPR”) and the United Kingdom’s GDPR (“U.K. GDPR”), companies can face private litigation related to processing of personal information brought by classes of data subjects or consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests; temporary or definitive bans on data processing and other corrective actions; and fines of up to 20 million Euros under the E.U. GDPR, 17.5 million pounds sterling under the U.K. GDPR, or 4% of their worldwide annual revenue, whichever is greater. Our or our CROs’, or other third party vendors’ failure to comply with the GDPR could lead to significant fines imposed by regulators or restrictions on our ability to process personal information as needed to conduct clinical trials in the EEA and/or the U.K. (as applicable) or commercialize our product candidates, if approved. We may also be obligated to assist our clinical trial sites, CROs and vendors with their own compliance obligations under the GDPR, which could require expenditure of significant resources. Assisting our clinical trial sites, CROs, and vendors in complying with the GDPR or complying with the GDPR ourselves may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to change our business practices.
In the ordinary course of business, we may transfer personal information from Europe and other jurisdictions to the United States or other countries. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal information to other countries. In particular, the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom (U.K.) have significantly restricted the transfer of personal information to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it generally believes are inadequate. Other jurisdictions may adopt similarly stringent interpretations of their data localization and cross-border data transfer laws. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal information from the EEA and U.K. to the United States in compliance with law, such as the EEA and U.K.’s standard contractual clauses, the U.K.’s International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (which allows for transfers for relevant U.S.-based organizations who self-certify compliance and participate in the Framework), these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal information to the United States. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal information from the EEA, the U.K. or other jurisdictions to the United States, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions (such as Europe) at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal information necessary to operate our business. Additionally, companies that transfer personal information out of the EEA and U.K. to other jurisdictions, particularly to the United States, are subject to increased scrutiny from regulators, individual litigants, and activist groups. Some European regulators have ordered certain companies to suspend or permanently cease certain transfers out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations.
In addition to data privacy and security laws, we may be contractually subject to industry standards adopted by industry groups and may become subject to additional such obligations in the future. We are also bound by contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and our efforts to comply with such obligations may not be successful. For example, certain privacy laws, such as the GDPR and the CCPA, may require our vendors to impose specific contractual restrictions on their service providers. We publish privacy policies regarding our data privacy and security practices. If these policies are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators or other adverse consequences.
We are also subject to the terms of our external and internal privacy and security policies, representations, certifications, standards, publications and frameworks (“Privacy Policies”), and contractual obligations to third parties related to privacy, data protection, information security and Processing (“Data Protection Obligations”).
Data Protection Laws and data protection worldwide is, and is likely to remain, uncertain for the foreseeable future. We strive to comply with applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations, but we may at times fail to do so, or may be perceived to have failed to do so. Moreover, despite our efforts, we may not be successful in achieving compliance if our personnel, contractors or vendors do not comply with applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations.
If we, our vendors or business partners fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations, or if our Privacy Policies are, in whole or part, found to be inaccurate, incomplete, deceptive, unfair or misrepresentative of our actual practices, it could increase our compliance and operational costs, expose us to regulatory scrutiny, actions, fines and penalties, result in reputational harm, interrupt or stop clinical trials, result in litigation and liability, result in an inability to process personal information or to operate in certain jurisdictions, cause a material adverse effect on our business operations or financial results or otherwise result in a material adverse effect on our business.
With applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations imposing complex and burdensome obligations, and with substantial uncertainty over the interpretation and application of these requirements, we have faced and may face additional challenges in addressing and complying with these obligations and making necessary changes to our Privacy Policies and practices, and may incur material costs and expenses in an effort to do so, any of which could materially adversely affect our business operations and financial results, and may limit the adoption and use of, and reduce the overall demand for, our products, which could have an adverse impact on our business.
We may in the future receive inquiries or be subject to investigations, proceedings or actions by various government entities regarding our privacy and information security practices and Processing (“Regulatory Proceedings”). These Regulatory Proceedings could result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, including without limitation: interruptions or stoppages in our business operations (including, as relevant, clinical trials); the diversion of resources and the attention of management from our business to defend any claim or inquiry; limited ability to commercialize our products; discontinuance of necessary processing; adverse publicity; or substantial changes to our business model or operations.
If our information technology systems or those of our affiliates, service providers or other relevant third parties are compromised now or in the future, this could result in a material adverse effect on our business, including without limitation, a material interruption to our operations, harm to our reputation, regulatory investigations or actions, significant fines, penalties and liability, breach or triggering of Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations or material disruption of our clinical trials or other business activity.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, Process and store proprietary, confidential and sensitive information, including personal information (including health information), intellectual property, trade secrets and proprietary business information owned or controlled by ourselves or other parties (“Sensitive Information”).
We may use third-party service providers and subprocessors to help us operate our business and engage in Processing on our behalf, such as RSL and its affiliates, our CROs and other contractors. We may also share Sensitive Information with our affiliates or other third parties in conjunction with our business. If we, our service providers, affiliates or other relevant third parties have experienced, or in the future experience, any security incident(s) that result in any accidental or unlawful data loss, deletion or destruction, unauthorized access to, loss of, unauthorized acquisition or disclosure of or inadvertent exposure or disclosure of Sensitive Information, or compromise related to the security, confidentiality, integrity or availability of our (or their) information technology, software, services, communications or data (collectively a “Security Breach”), it may result in a material adverse effect on our business, including without limitation, disruptions of our drug development programs, delays in our regulatory approval efforts, regulatory investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, indemnity obligations, negative publicity and financial loss.
Cyberattacks, malicious internet-based activity and online and offline fraud threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive information and information technology systems, and those of the third parties upon which we rely. Such threats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, “hacktivists”, organized criminal threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation-state and nation-state-supported actors. Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in attacks, including without limitation, nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we and the third parties upon which we rely may be vulnerable to a heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory cyber-attacks, that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce, sell and distribute our goods and services.
We and the third parties upon which we work (including our CROs and trial sites) are subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through deep fakes, which may be increasingly more difficult to identify as fake, and phishing attacks), software bugs, malicious code (such as viruses and worms), employee theft or misuse, supply chain attacks, denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing) and ransomware attacks, phishing attacks, viruses, malware installation (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), server malfunction, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other computer assets, adware or other similar issues. In particular, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of sensitive data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments.
Remote work has become more common and has increased risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our employees utilize network connections, computers and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations. Additionally, future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies. Furthermore, we may discover security issues that were not found during due diligence of such acquired or integrated entities, and it may be difficult to integrate companies into our information technology environment and security program.
We rely on third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive information in a variety of contexts, including, without limitation, cloud-based infrastructure, clinical trial operations, encryption and authentication technology, employee email, and other functions. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. While we may be entitled to damages if our third-party service providers fail to satisfy their privacy- or security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover such award. In addition, supply-chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties’ infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners’ supply chains have not been compromised.
Any of the previously identified or similar threats could cause a security incident or other interruption that could result in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive information or our information technology systems, or those of the third parties upon whom we rely. A security incident or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties upon whom we rely) to conduct our business operations. We may be required to expend significant resources, fundamentally change our business activities and practices, or modify our operations (including our clinical trial activities) or information technology in an effort to protect against Security Breaches and to mitigate, detect and remediate actual and potential vulnerabilities. Applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures or use industry-standard or reasonable security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive information. While we have implemented security measures designed to protect against Security Breaches, there can be no assurance that our security measures or those of our service providers, partners and other third parties will be effective in protecting against all Security Breaches and adverse effects on our business that may arise from such breaches. The recovery systems, security protocols, network protection mechanisms and other security measures that we (and our third parties) have integrated into our platform, systems, networks and physical facilities, which are designed to protect against, detect and minimize Security Breaches, may not be adequate to prevent or detect service interruption, system failure or data loss.
We have not always been able in the past and may be unable in the future to detect, anticipate, measure or prevent Security Breaches or threats or techniques used to detect or exploit vulnerabilities in our (or our service providers’, partners’ or other relevant third parties’) information technology, services, communications or software because such threats and techniques change frequently and are often sophisticated in nature. Therefore, such vulnerabilities could be exploited but may not be detected until after a security incident has occurred. In addition, security researchers and other individuals have and will continue to actively search for and exploit actual and potential vulnerabilities in our (or our third parties’) information technology and communications. These vulnerabilities pose material risks to our business. We cannot be certain that we will be able to address any such vulnerabilities, in whole or part, and there may be delays in developing and deploying patches and other remedial measures to adequately address vulnerabilities.
Applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations may require us to notify relevant stakeholders of Security Breaches, including affected individuals, customers, regulators and credit reporting agencies. Such disclosures are costly and the disclosures or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse effects on our business including, without limitation, government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive information (including personal data); litigation (including class claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms.
There can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages if we fail to comply with applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies or Data Protection Obligations related to information security or Security Breaches.
Failures or significant downtime of our information technology or telecommunication systems or those used by our third-party service providers could also cause significant interruptions in our operations and adversely impact the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive or confidential information, including preventing us from conducting clinical trials, tests or research and development activities and preventing us from managing the administrative aspects of our business.
While we maintain general liability insurance coverage and coverage for errors or omissions, we cannot assure that such coverage will be adequate or otherwise protect us from or adequately mitigate liabilities or damages with respect to claims, costs, expenses, litigation, fines, penalties, business loss, data loss, regulatory actions or adverse effects on our business arising out of our privacy and security practices, Processing or Security Breaches, or that such coverage will continue to be available on acceptable terms or at all. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds our available insurance coverage or results in changes to our insurance policies (including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements), could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, we cannot be sure that our existing insurance coverage and coverage for errors and omissions will continue to be available on acceptable terms or that our insurers will not deny coverage as to any future claim.
In addition to experiencing a security incident, third parties may gather, collect, or infer sensitive information about us from public sources, data brokers, or other means that reveals competitively sensitive details about our organization and could be used to undermine our competitive advantage or market position. Additionally, our sensitive information could be leaked, disclosed, or revealed as a result of or in connection with the use of generative AI technologies by our employees, personnel, or vendors, even if such use is not authorized by us or permitted by our internal policies.
Potential product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.
The use of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 and any future product candidate in clinical trials and the sale of any products for which we obtain marketing approval exposes us to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability claims might be brought against us by consumers, health care providers, other pharmaceutical companies, government authorities or others taking or otherwise coming into contact with any approved products. On occasion, large monetary judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits where drugs have had unanticipated adverse effects. If we cannot successfully defend against product liability claims, we could incur substantial liability and costs. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in, among other things:
•impairment of our business reputation and significant negative media attention;
•delay or termination of clinical trials, or withdrawal of participants from our clinical trials;
•significant costs to defend related litigation;
•distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;
•substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;
•inability to commercialize any product candidate, if approved;
•product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;
•decreased demand for any product candidate, if approved; and
•loss of revenue.
The product liability insurance we currently carry and any additional product liability insurance coverage we acquire in the future may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive and in the future we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. If we obtain marketing approval for batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate, we intend to acquire insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products; however, we may be unable to obtain product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or in adequate amounts. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our share price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could adversely affect our results of operations and business, including preventing or limiting the commercialization any approved product.
Disruptions at the FDA and other government authorities caused by funding shortages or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.
The ability of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, statutory, regulatory and policy changes, the FDA’s or comparable foreign regulatory authorities’ ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees and other events that may otherwise affect the FDA’s or comparable foreign regulatory authorities’ ability to perform routine functions, as applicable. Average review times at the FDA have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. Disruptions at the FDA and other foreign regulatory authorities may also slow the time necessary for new drugs and biologics or modifications to approved drugs and biologics to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government authorities, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, including for 35 days beginning on December 22, 2018, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory authorities, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical FDA employees and stop critical activities.
Separately, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA adopted a risk-based approach to the inspection of foreign and domestic manufacturing facilities and similar restrictions. The use of alternative regulatory tools may delay FDA or foreign regulatory authority actions. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs or if global health concerns prevent the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews or other regulatory activities, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA or other regulatory authorities to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have an adverse effect on our business.
Our business could be adversely affected by economic downturns, changes in inflation and interest rates, natural disasters, political crises, geopolitical events, such as the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, or other macroeconomic conditions, which may in the future negatively impact our business and financial performance.
The global economy, including credit and financial markets, has experienced extreme volatility and disruptions, including, among other things, severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, supply chain shortages, changes in inflation and interest rates, recent and potential future disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures and uncertainty about economic stability. For example, during 2022 and 2023, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates multiple times in response to concerns about inflation. Higher interest rates, coupled with reduced government spending and volatility in financial markets may increase economic uncertainty and affect consumer spending. Similarly, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Israel/Hamas conflict in the Middle East have created volatility in the global capital markets and are expected to have further global economic consequences, including disruptions of the global supply chain and energy markets. Any such volatility and disruptions may adversely affect our business or the third parties on whom we rely. If the equity and credit markets deteriorate, including as a result of political unrest or war, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult to obtain in a timely manner or on favorable terms, more costly or more dilutive. Increased inflation rates can adversely affect us by increasing our costs, including labor and employee benefit costs.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We do not have our own manufacturing capabilities and rely on third parties to produce clinical supplies and commercial supplies of our product candidates. The manufacture of biologics is complex and we or our third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties in production or our quality management program may fail to detect quality issues at our third-party manufacturers which may delay or prevent our ability to obtain marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates if approved.
We have no experience in biologic manufacturing and do not own or operate, and we do not expect to own or operate, facilities for product manufacturing, storage and distribution or testing. We rely on third parties to produce clinical supplies and commercial supplies of our product candidates. For example, in November 2021, we entered into an agreement with Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd. to manufacture and supply us with batoclimab drug substance for commercial sale and perform other manufacturing-related services with respect to batoclimab. Additional third-party vendors may be difficult to identify for our product candidate process and formulation development and manufacturing due to special capabilities required, and they may not be able to meet our quality standards. Any significant delay in the supply of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or the raw material components thereof, or in placebo controls for an ongoing clinical trial due to the need to replace a third-party manufacturer could considerably delay completion of our clinical trials, product testing and potential regulatory approval of batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate. If our manufacturers or we are unable to purchase these raw materials after regulatory approval has been obtained for batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate, the commercial launch of such product candidate would be delayed or there would be a shortage in supply, which would impair our ability to generate revenue from the sale of such product candidate. In addition, our product candidates are biologics and require processing steps that are more difficult than those required for most chemical pharmaceuticals. Accordingly, multiple steps are needed to control the manufacturing processes. Our future success depends on our ability to maintain and continuously improve our quality management program to monitor the manufacturing processes used by third-party manufacturers and our reliance on third-party manufacturers does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. Problems with these manufacturing processes, even minor deviations from the normal process or from the materials used in the manufacturing process, which may not be detectable by us in a timely manner, could lead to product defects or manufacturing failures, resulting in lot failures, product recalls, product liability claims and insufficient inventory. A quality or safety issue emanating from manufacturing failures may result in adverse inspection reports, warning letters, monetary sanctions, injunction to halt manufacture and distribution of drugs or drug products, civil or criminal sanctions, costly litigation, refusal of a government to grant approvals and licenses, restrictions on operations or withdrawal of existing approvals and licenses.
The facilities used by our contract manufacturers to manufacture batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate must be approved by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities pursuant to inspections that will be conducted after we submit our BLA to the FDA or comparable applications to foreign regulatory authorities. We do not control the manufacturing process of, and are completely dependent on, our contract manufacturing partners for compliance with cGMP requirements for manufacture of drug products. If our contract manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, we will not be able to secure or maintain regulatory approval for our product candidate. In addition, we have no control over the ability of our contract manufacturers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. If the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities do not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates or if they withdraw any such approval in the future, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which could significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market batoclimab, IMVT-1402 or any future product candidate, if approved. We, our contract manufacturers, any future collaborators and their contract manufacturers could be subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to monitor and ensure compliance with cGMP. Despite our efforts to audit and verify regulatory compliance, one or more of our third-party manufacturing vendors may be found on regulatory inspection by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities to be noncompliant with cGMP regulations. This may result in shutdown of the third-party vendor or invalidation of drug product lots or processes. In some cases, a product recall may be warranted or required, which would materially affect our ability to supply and market our drug products.
Further, our reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks, including:
•inability to meet our product specifications and quality requirements consistently;
•delay or inability to procure or expand sufficient manufacturing capacity;
•manufacturing and product quality issues related to scale-up of manufacturing, which can be difficult for a biologic product;
•costs and validation of new equipment and facilities required for scale-up;
•failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and standards, including cGMP and similar foreign standards;
•deficient or improper record-keeping;
•inability to negotiate manufacturing agreements with third parties under commercially reasonable terms;
•potential disputes with third parties that might delay work under third-party contracts;
•termination or nonrenewal of manufacturing agreements with third parties in a manner or at a time that is costly or damaging to us;
•reliance on a limited number of sources, and in some cases, single sources for product components, such that if we are unable to secure a sufficient supply of these product components, we will be unable to manufacture and sell any product candidate, if approved, in a timely fashion, in sufficient quantities or under acceptable terms;
•lack of qualified backup suppliers for those components that are currently purchased from a sole or single source supplier;
•operations of our third-party manufacturers or suppliers could be disrupted by conditions unrelated to our business or operations, including the bankruptcy of the manufacturer or supplier or other regulatory sanctions related to the manufacture of another company’s products;
•carrier disruptions or increased costs that are beyond our control; and
•failure to deliver our products under specified storage conditions and in a timely manner.
Any of these events could lead to clinical trial delays, cost overruns, delay or failure to obtain regulatory approval or impact our ability to successfully commercialize our products, as well as product recalls or product withdrawals. Some of these events could be the basis for FDA or other foreign regulatory authority action, including injunction, recall, seizure or total or partial suspension of production.
We rely on third parties to conduct, supervise and monitor our clinical trials and if those third parties perform in an unsatisfactory manner or fail to comply with applicable requirements or our quality management program fails to detect such events in a timely manner, it may harm our business.
We currently do not have the ability to independently conduct nonclinical studies that comply with good laboratory practice (“GLP”) requirements. We also do not currently have the ability to independently conduct any clinical trials. We rely exclusively on CROs and clinical trial sites, which need to comply with GCP, to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and we have limited influence over their actual performance.
We rely upon CROs to monitor and manage data for our clinical programs, as well as for the execution of nonclinical studies. We control only certain aspects of our CROs’ activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities.
We and our CROs are required to comply with GLP and GCP regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and equivalent foreign regulations and guidelines, including the International Council for Harmonization guidelines, enforced by foreign regulatory authorities for IMVT-1402, batoclimab, or any of our future product candidates that are in nonclinical and clinical development. The regulatory authorities enforce GCP regulations through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and clinical trial sites. Although we rely on CROs to conduct our GLP-compliant nonclinical studies and GCP-compliant clinical trials, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our nonclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with its investigational plan and protocol and applicable laws and regulations and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. Therefore, the success of our clinical trials depends on our ability to maintain and continuously improve our quality management program to monitor our CROs’ compliance with applicable regulations. If we or our CROs fail to comply with GCP requirements, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may reject our marketing applications or require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. Accordingly, if we or our CROs fail to comply with these regulations or other applicable laws, regulations or standards, or fail to recruit a sufficient number of subjects, we may be required to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the relevant regulatory approval process. Failure by our CROs to properly execute study protocols in accordance with applicable law could also create product liability and regulatory risks for us as sponsors of those studies. Further, our or our CROs’ inability to address a quality or safety issue may result in, among others, adverse inspection reports, warning letters, civil or criminal sanctions, costly litigation, refusal of a government to grant approvals and licenses, restrictions on operations or withdrawal of existing approvals and licenses.
While we will have agreements governing their activities, our CROs are not our employees, and we will not control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our future clinical and nonclinical programs. These CROs may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials, or other drug development activities, which could harm our competitive position. We face the risk of potential unauthorized disclosure or misappropriation of our intellectual property by CROs, which may reduce our trade secret and intellectual property protection and allow our potential competitors to access and exploit our proprietary technology. If our CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our (or their own) clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for any other reasons, our clinical trials may b