On January 29th, 2015 we announced an update and diversification of our clinical development pipeline. Our cardiovascular and vascular product candidates have been streamlined, putting our best opportunities at the forefront of our efforts. The MYOCELL and MYOCELL SDF-1 candidates will, in our opinion, advance forward in the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF). We are in active prospective partnering discussionfederal court for the
MYOCELL SDF-1 program. Partnering, we contend, will enhance our capabilities, reduce our development cost through cost sharing and potentially accelerate our time to approval and commercialization. We will continue to apply our ADIPOCELL technology toSouthern District of Florida ruled in favor of the
treatment of patients in clinic atgovernment, enjoining the
point of care. We believe that updating and diversifying our clinical development programs increases the probability of our success, brings operational and fiscal clarity to our Company and
will ultimately enhance shareholder value.the other defendants from certain product sales and processes. The Company filed an appeal on August 23, 2019 and attended oral argument on January 13, 2021. On June 2, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court ruled to affirm lower courts’ judgement. The Company did not challenge the district court’s judgment upon any other ground. The Company is not able to predict the duration, scope, results, or consequences of the U.S. Department of Justice actions and final rulings and management is assessing its options on a going forward basis.5
We will continue to evaluate and act upon opportunities to increase our top line revenue position and that correspondingly increase cash in-flows. These opportunities include but are not limited to the development and marketing of new products and services, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing deals and more.
Further, if the opportunity presents itself whereby the Company can raise additional capital at a reasonable fair market value, the Company will do so. Accordingly, we plan to continue in our efforts to restructure, equitize or eliminate legacy balance sheet issues that are obstacles to market capitalization appreciation and capital fund raising.
US Stem Cell Training offers a variety of courses for physicians and other health care professionals. These courses include didactic lecture series and hands-on clinical techniques in the field of regenerative medicine. We are currently hosting these courses throughout the United States and in multiple countries. These courses are also available in an online format. Pricing currently ranges from $500-$7,500 depending on the location and modules.
U.S. STEM CELL, INC.
U.S. Stem Cell markets several products to physicians for in clinic regenerative medicine use. These products include equipment (centrifuges, heating block, laminar hood, autoclave) for laboratory use. We are also providing a variety of materials necessary to obtain bone marrow including, trocars, syringes and other supplies.
VETBIOLOGICS
Vetbiologics is focused on providing regenerative medicine therapies to veterinarians for use in both small and large animals. We provide a complete regenerative medicine package which includes training, equipment and supplies necessary for in clinic cell therapy. We sell kits for isolating stem cells from bone marrow and fat. We also provide kits for isolating platelet rich plasma. The kits include all of the disposables and reagents necessary. Vetbiologics is also working on several off the shelf type products including an allogeneic stem cell source.
GENERAL AMERICAN CAPITAL PARTNERS
On March 3, 2017, we entered into an asset sale and lease agreement (sale/leaseback transaction; “Asset Sale and Lease Agreement”), with GACP (General American Capital Partners) Stem Cell Bank LLC, a Florida limited liability company (“GACP) whereby we sold certain lab, medical and other equipment relating to the cell banking business for $400,000 and leased back the sold equipment over a three year term. The lease includes a base monthly rental payment of $20,000, due the first day of each calendar month. In addition, we are required to pay 2.3%, 22.5% and 31.6% of revenues collected on deposits arising from cell banking business for years 1, 2 and 3, respectively. At the expiration of the lease, we returned all leased equipment and along with any maintenance records, logs, etc. in our possession to the lessor with no right of repurchase. Further, as a consequence of the Court Order , the Company resolved to divest itself of certain equipment and other assets (the “Equipment Assets”) used in connection with the Company’s human tissue banking business, but consistent however with the requirements of the Court Order, and to adjust the business plan and operations to accommodate this potential divesture. The divestiture became effective October 10th, 2019.
6
Royalty Agreement/Middle East
On November 9, 2016, the Company entered into an Intellectual Property License Agreement whereby the Company granted High Rise Group Company the exclusive right to the Company’s intellectual property (as defined) for the licensed use and development in Kuwait and other GCC/Middle East countries for 25 years in exchange for a payment of $75,000 and a 5% royalty generated under the agreement. The royalty payment is recorded as deferred revenue and amortized over the term of the agreement. The carrying balance as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $65,500 and $68,500, respectively.
The intent is for U.S. Stem Cell Middle East to offer regenerative treatment options to patients, based on U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. products and technologies like MyoCell™. To date, the first clinic in Kuwait City has been completed but has not begun operations as High Rising Group has not yet been able to secure regulatory approvals to operate.
Historic Subsidiaries:
During fiscal 2019, we had interests in US Stem Cell Clinic, LLC, (“SCC”), Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC, and US Stem Cell Clinic of the Villages, LLC as partially owned investment of our company (in which we had a 49.9%, 49.9% and 49% respectively member interests), which were physician run regenerative medicine/cell therapy clinics providing cellular treatments for patients afflicted with neurological, autoimmune, orthopedic and degenerative diseases. . During the last quarter of 2019 (and in early 2021 in the case of SCC), we divested ourselves of our Member Interests in SCC and Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC , while and US Stem Cell Clinic of the Villages, LLC is currently dormant.
The following is a description of such subsidiaries when they were subsidiaries of our company is fiscal 2019 (the Company is not providing any update since divesting itself of the Member Interests in such subsidiaries; all information provided is limited to their relevance to the business of the Company in fiscal 2019:
U.S. STEM CELL, INC.
U.S. Stem Cell markets several products to physicians for in clinic regenerative medicine use. These products include equipment (centrifuges, heating block, laminar hood, autoclave) necessary to separate and obtain cellular medicine therapies. We are also providing a variety of materials necessary to obtain fat and/or bone marrow including cannulas, trocars, syringes and other supplies. U.S. Stem Cell also supplies laboratory kits for processing adipose and bone marrow tissue to obtain a mixture of cells for use in clinic. These kits include disposables and reagents. U.S. Stem Cell also provides banking services to patients interested in storing their fat or bone marrow and the cells from this tissue. U.S. Stem Cell is a registered FDA tissue bank in good standing.
VETBIOLOGICS
Vetbiologics is focused on providing regenerative medicine therapies to veterinarians for use in both small and large animals. We provide a complete regenerative medicine package which includes training, equipment and supplies necessary for in clinic cell therapy. We sell kits for isolating stem cells from bone marrow and fat. We also provide kits for isolating platelet rich plasma. The kits include all of the disposables and reagents necessary. Vetbiologics is also working on several off the shelf type products including an allogeneic stem cell source.
US STEM CELL CLINIC, LLC. andLLC, REGENERATIVE WELLNESS CLINIC, LLC
and US STEM CELL OF THE VILLAGES, LLCUS Stem Cell Clinic LLC, and Regenerative Wellness Clinic LLC and US Stem Cell of the Villages LLC, partly owned investments, are offering in-clinic regenerative medicine treatments to patients suffering from degenerative diseases. Adipose stem cells can be obtained from the patient easily, abundantly, and with minimal patient discomfort. Clinical applications for patients can be performed in an office setting using autologous adipose-derived stem cells. Current applications include orthopedic conditions (tendon/ligament injuries, osteoarthritis, etc.), degenerative conditions (COPD, diabetes), neurological (MS, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries, autism, etc.) and auto-immune (RA, Crohn’s, colitis, lupus). Pricing depends on application and ranges from $5,000 to $12,000.
GENERAL AMERICAN CAPITAL PARTNERS
On March 3, 2017, we entered into an asset sale and lease agreement (sale/leaseback transaction; “Asset Sale and Lease Agreement”), with GACP (General American Capital Partners) Stem Cell Bank LLC, a Florida limited liability company (“GACP) whereby we sold certain lab, medical and other equipment relating We will provide operating assistance as well as management services to the cell banking business for $400,000 and leased back the sold equipment over a three year term. The lease includes a base monthly rental payment of $20,000, due the first day of each calendar month. In addition, we are required to pay 2.3%, 22.5% and 31.6% of revenues collected on deposits arising from cell banking business for years 1, 2 and 3, respectively. At the expiration of the lease, we are required to return all leased equipment and along with any maintenance records, logs, etc. in our possession to the lessor with no right of repurchase. In addition, GACP has contractually agreed to invest an additional Two and a half Million Dollars ($2,500,000) to open ten (10) stem cell clinics in the United States within 3 years--with a penalty provision to our benefit for shortfalls if less than 6 clinics are opened within 24 months.
American Stem Cell Centers of Excellence are clinics derived from the investment group behind the Asset Purchase and Leaseback Agreement. American Stem Cell Centers of Excellence provide comprehensive stem cell treatments using innovative technologies and the latest research with the intent that after treatment, the body’s own healing potential naturally repairs and regenerates damaged tissue. With a new clinic in Miami, Florida and, as we intend, additional clinics opening soon around the country, management contends that American Stem Cell Centers of Excellence provides comprehensive stem cell treatments using the U.S. Stem Cell Inc. innovative technologies and the latest regenerative medicine research. U.S. Stem Cell’s team of scientists have pioneered these in-clinic regenerative medicine protocols and, in our estimation, have helped thousands of patients through their partly-owned subsidiary U.S. Stem Cell Clinic. American Stem Cell Centers of Excellence would like to replicate this success and have partnered and, with the Board of Directors’ approval and continued oversight that this will not diminish their responsibilities to our company, have retained the professional services of both Kristin Comella and Mike Tomas AS CSO AND CEO respectively to help with scientific and successful operational deployment of their clinics. The board of directors contends that the successful deployment of American stem cell centers of excellence will lead to the financial value and revenue growth of US Stem Cell Inc. through salesof the Villages LLC, the latter to be compensated at fee of five percent (5%) of the LLC gross revenues. During the last quarter of 2019 (and in early 2021 in the case of SCC), we divested ourselves of our productsMember Interests in SCC and services at American Stem Cell Center of Excellence clinics.
On April 3, 2017, U.S. Stem Cell received a commitment to invest up to $5,000,000 from GACP with the intent for GACP to receive up to 63,873,275 shares of common stock. To date, GACP has invested, pursuant to this commitment, $250,000 in return to 858,281 shares. Subsequent to his investment, GACP has informed the Company that they will make no further investments pursuant to this agreementRegenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC , while and has entered into a new agreement to invest $3,000,000 to open their own clinics (branded American Stem Cell) using the US Stem Cell Inc protocols, procedures, products and technologies.
Royalty Agreement/Middle East
On November 9, 2016, the Company entered into an Intellectual Property License Agreement whereby the Company granted High Rise Group Company the exclusive right to the Company’s intellectual property (as defined) for the licensed use and development in Kuwait and other GCC/Middle East countries for 25 years in exchange for a payment of $75,000 and a 5% royalty generated under the agreement. The royalty payment is recorded as deferred revenue and amortized over the termClinic of the agreement. The carry balance as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $71,500 and $74,500, respectively.
The intentVillages, LLC is for U.S. Stem Cell Middle East to offer regenerative treatment options to patients, based on U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. products and technologies like MyoCell. To date, the first clinic in Kuwait City has been completed but has not begun operations as High Rising Group has not yet been able to secure regulatory approvals to operate.
currently dormant.Patents and Proprietary Rights
We own or hold licenses or sublicenses to an intellectual property portfolio consisting of numerous patents and patent applications in the United States, and in foreign countries, for use in the field of heart muscle regeneration. References in this report to “our” patents and patent applications and other similar references include the patents and patent applications that are owned by us, and references to patents and patent applications that are “licensed” to us and other similar references refer to patents, patent applications and other intellectual property that are licensed or sublicensed to us.
Patent life determination depends on the date of filing of the application or the date of patent issuance and other factors as promulgated under the patent laws. Under the U.S. Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, as amended, a patent which claims a product, use or method of manufacture covering drugs and certain other products, including biologic products, may be extended for up to five years to compensate the patent holder for a portion of the time required for research and FDA review of the product. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug or biologic product is eligible for a patent term extension. This law also establishes a period of time following approval of a drug or biologic product during which the FDA may not accept or approve applications for certain similar or identical drugs or biologic products from other sponsors unless those sponsors provide their own safety and efficacy data.
MyoCellMyoCell™ is no longer protected by patents, which means that competitors will be free to sell products that incorporate the same or similar technologies that are used in MyoCellMyoCell™ without infringing our patent rights. As a result, MyoCell, if approved for use, may be vulnerable to competition. In addition, many of the patent and patent applications that have been licensed to us that pertain to our other product candidates do not cover certain countries within Europe.
Our commercial success will depend to a significant degree on our ability to:
·● | defend and enforce our patents and/or compel the owners of the patents licensed to us to defend and enforce such patents, to the extent such patents may be applicable to our products and material to their commercialization; |
·● | obtain additional patent and other proprietary protection for MyoCellMyoCell™ and our other product candidates; |
·● | obtain and/or maintain appropriate licenses to patents, patent applications or other proprietary rights held by others with respect to our technology, both in the United States and other countries; and |
·● | preserve company trade secrets and other intellectual property rights relating to our product candidates; and operate without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. |
In addition to patented intellectual property, we also rely on our own trade secrets and proprietary know-how to protect our technology and maintain our competitive position, since patent protection may not be available or applicable to our technology. Our policy is to require each of our employees, consultants and advisors to execute a confidentiality and inventions assignment agreement before beginning their employment, consulting or advisory relationship with us. The agreements generally provide that the individual must keep confidential and not disclose to other parties any confidential information developed or learned by the individual during the course of the individual’s relationship with us except in limited circumstances. These agreements generally also provide that we shall own all inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us. Moreover, some of our academic institution licensors, collaborators and scientific advisors have rights to publish data and information to which we have rights, which may impair our ability to protect our proprietary information or obtain patent protection in the future.
We work with others in our research and development activities and one of our strategies is to enter into collaborative agreements with third parties to develop our proposed products. Disputes may arise about inventorship and corresponding rights in know-how and inventions resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by us and our licensors, collaborators, consultants and others. In addition, other parties may circumvent any proprietary protection we do have. As a result, we may not be able to maintain our proprietary position.
We are not currently a party to any litigation or other adverse proceeding related tochallenging our patents, patent licenses or intellectual property rights. However, if we become involved in litigation or any other adverse intellectual property proceeding, for example, as a result of an alleged infringement, or a third party alleging an earlier date of invention, we may have to spend significant amounts of money and time and, in the event of an adverse ruling, we could be subject to liability for damages, including treble damages, invalidation of our intellectual property and injunctive relief that could prevent us from using technologies or developing products, any of which could have a significant adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
In addition, any claims relating to the infringement of third party proprietary rights, or earlier date of invention, even if not meritorious, could result in costly litigation, lengthy governmental proceedings, divert management’s attention and resources and require us to enter royalty or license agreements which are not advantageous, if available at all.
See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property” for a discussion of additional risks we face with respect to our intellectual property rights.
Primary MyoCath Patent
The Primary MyoCath Patent includes device claims that we believe covers, among other things, the structure of MyoCath. The Primary MyoCath Patent expired in the United States in September 2017.
In January 2000, we entered into a license agreement with Comedicus Incorporated pursuant to which Comedicus granted us a royalty-free, fully paid-up, non-exclusive and irrevocable license to the Primary MyoCath Patent in exchange for a payment of $50,000. This agreement was amended in August 2000 to provide us an exclusive license to the Primary MyoCath Patent in exchange for a payment of $100,000 and our loan of $250,000 to Comedicus. Pursuant to this amendment we also received the right, but not the obligation, with Comedicus’ consent, which consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, to defend the Primary MyoCath Patent against third party infringers.
In June 2003, we entered into agreements with Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., or ACS, originally a subsidiary of Guidant Corporation and now d/b/a Abbott Vascular, a division of Abbott Laboratories, pursuant to which we assigned our rights under the license agreement with Comedicus, as amended, and committed to deliver 160 units of MyoCath and sold certain of our other catheter related intellectual property, or, collectively, with the Primary MyoCath Patent (the Catheter IP), for aggregate consideration of $900,000. In connection with these agreements, ACS granted to us a co-exclusive, irrevocable, fully paid-up license to the Catheter IP for the life of the patents related to the Catheter IP.
ACS has the exclusive right, at its own expense, to file, prosecute, issue, maintain, license, and defend the Catheter IP, and the primary right to enforce the Catheter IP against third party infringers. If ACS fails to enforce the Catheter IP against a third party infringer within a specified period of time, we have the right to do so at our expense. The party enforcing the Catheter IP is entitled to retain any recoveries resulting from such enforcement. The asset purchase agreement only pertains to the Catheter IP developed or acquired by us prior to June 24, 2003.
Our subsequent catheter related developments and/or acquisitions, such as MyoCath II, were not sold or licensed to ACS.
MyoCell SDF-1 Patents
To develop our MyoCell SDF-1 product candidate, we rely primarily on patents. We had an agreement to license patents from Juventas. These patents relate to methods of repairing damaged heart tissue by transplanting myoblasts that express SDF-1 and other therapeutic proteins capable of recruiting other stem cells within a patient’s own body to the cell transplant area. We believe we will also need to, among other things, license some additional intellectual property to commercialize MyoCell SDF-1 in the form we believe may prove to be the most safe and/or effective.
MyoCath II Patents
In April 2006, we entered into an agreement with Tricardia, LLC pursuant to which Tricardia granted us a sublicenseable license to certain patents and patent applications in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe and Japan covering the modified injection needle we intend to use as part of MyoCath II, or the MyoCath II Patents, in exchange for a one-time payment of $100,000. Our license covers and is exclusive with respect to products developed under the MyoCath II Patents for the delivery of therapeutic compositions to the heart. Unless earlier terminated by mutual consent of the parties, our agreement with Tricardia will terminate upon the expiration date of the last MyoCath II Patent. Tricardia has the obligation to take all actions necessary to file, prosecute and maintain the MyoCath II Patents. We are required to reimburse Tricardia, on a pro-rata basis with other licensees of Tricardia of the MyoCath II Patents, for all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses incurred by Tricardia in prosecuting and maintaining the MyoCath II Patents. To the extent Tricardia determines not to initiate suit against any infringer, we have the right, but not the obligation, to commence litigation for such alleged infringement with respect to any jurisdiction or, in the alternative, the agreement will be automatically amended to exclude such jurisdiction.
GOVERNMENT REGULATION
The health care industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States and abroad. Various governmental regulatory authorities, as well as private accreditation organizations, oversee and monitor the activities of individuals and businesses engaged in the development, manufacture and delivery of health care products and services. The following is a general description of certain current laws and regulations that are relevant to our business.
HCT/P Regulations
Manufacturing facilities that produce cellular therapies are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. In particular, FDA regulations set forth requirements pertaining to establishments that manufacture human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products (“HCT/Ps”). Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1271 provides for a unified registration and listing system, donor-eligibility, current Good Tissue Practices (“cGTP”), and other requirements that are intended to prevent the introduction, transmission, and spread of communicable diseases by HCT/Ps. More specifically, key elements of Part 1271 include:
• Registration and listing requirements for establishments that manufacture HCT/Ps;
• Requirements for determining donor eligibility, including donor screening and testing;
• cGTP requirements, which include requirements pertaining to the manufacturer’s quality program, personnel, procedures, manufacturing facilities, environmental controls, equipment, supplies and reagents, recovery, processing and process controls, labeling, storage, record-keeping, tracking, complaint files, receipt, pre-distribution shipment, distribution, and donor eligibility determinations, donor screening, and donor testing;
• Adverse reaction reporting;
• Labeling of HCT/Ps; and
• FDA inspection, retention, recall, destruction, and cessation of manufacturing operations.
U.S. Stem Cell and its affiliated entities currently collects, processes, stores and manufactures HCT/Ps, including the manufacture of cellular therapy products. Therefore, U.S. Stem Cell must comply with cGTP and with the current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”) requirements that apply to biological products. Cell and tissue based products may also be subject to the same approval standards, including demonstration of safety and efficacy, as other biologic and drug products if they meet certain criteria such as if the cells or tissues are more than minimally manipulated or if they are intended for a non-homologous use.
Management believes that requirements pertaining to premarket approval do not currently apply to U.S. Stem Cell because those entities are not currently investigating, marketing or selling cellular therapy products. If U.S. Stem Cell changes its business operations in the future, the FDA requirements that apply to U.S. Stem Cell may also change.
Pharmaceutical and Biologic Products
Government authorities in the United States, at the federal, state and local level, and in other countries, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, including any manufacturing changes, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, labeling, advertising promotion, distribution, marketing, import and export of biological products such as MyoCell. The process of obtaining required regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and money, and there is no guarantee that we will successfully complete the steps needed to obtain regulatory approval of MyoCell or any future product candidates. In addition, these regulations may change and our product candidates may be subject to new legislation or regulations.
In the United States, pharmaceutical and biologic products, including cellular therapies, are subject to extensive pre- and post-market regulation by the U.S. FDA. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FD&C Act”), and other federal and state statutes and regulations, govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, and import and export of pharmaceutical products. Biological products are approved for marketing under provisions of the Public Health Service Act, or PHS Act. However, because most biological products also meet the definition of “drugs” under the FD&C Act, they are also subject to regulation under FD&C Act provisions. The PHS Act requires the submission of a biologics license application (“BLA”), rather than a New Drug Application (“NDA”), for market authorization. However, the application process and requirements for approval of BLAs are similar to those for NDAs, and biologics are associated with similar approval risks and costs as drugs.
Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve pending NDAs or BLAs, untitled or warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties, and criminal prosecution.
Pharmaceutical product development in the U.S. typically involves preclinical laboratory and animal tests, the submission to the FDA of a notice of claimed investigational exemption or an investigational new drug application (“IND”), which must become effective before clinical testing can commence, and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of the drug or biologic for each indication for which FDA approval is sought. Satisfaction of FDA pre-market approval requirements typically takes many years and the actual time required may vary substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product or disease.
Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, formulation and toxicity, as well as animal trials to assess the characteristics and potential safety and efficacy of the product. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements including good laboratory practices. The results of preclinical testing are submitted to the FDA as part of an IND along with other information including information about product chemistry, manufacturing and controls and a proposed clinical trial protocol. Long term preclinical tests, such as animal tests of reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity, may continue after the IND is submitted.
Submission of an IND may not result in FDA authorization to initiate a clinical trial if FDA raises concerns or questions about the design of the clinical trial or the preclinical or manufacturing information supporting it, including concerns that human research subjects will be exposed to unreasonable health risks. A separate submission to an existing IND must also be made for each successive clinical trial conducted during product development.
Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of a qualified investigator. Clinical trials must be conducted in compliance with federal regulations; good clinical practice, or GCP, as set forth in FDA guidance, which is meant to protect the rights and health of patients and to define the roles of clinical trial sponsors, administrators, and monitors; as well as under protocols detailing the objectives of the trial, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Each protocol involving testing on U.S. patients and subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Sponsors of clinical trials of FDA regulated products, including drugs and biologics, are required to register and disclose certain clinical trial information. Information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, study sites and investigators, and other aspects of the clinical trial is then made public as part of the registration. Sponsors are also obligated to disclose the results of their clinical trials after completion. Competitors may use this publicly available information to gain knowledge regarding the progress of development programs.
The FDA may order the temporary or permanent discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time, or impose other sanctions, if it believes that the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with FDA requirements, or presents an unacceptable risk to the clinical trial patients. The study protocol and informed consent information for patients in clinical trials must also be submitted to an institutional review board, or IRB, for approval. An IRB may also require the clinical trial at the site to be halted, either temporarily or permanently, for failure to comply with the IRB’s requirements, or may impose other conditions.
Clinical trials to support NDAs or BLAs for marketing approval are typically conducted in four sequential phases, but the phases may overlap.
• Phase 1: Studies are initially conducted in a limited population to test the product candidate for safety, dose tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion in healthy humans or, on occasion, in patients, such as cancer patients when the drug or biologic is too toxic to be ethically given to healthy individuals.
• Phase 2: Studies are generally conducted in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to determine the efficacy of the product for specific targeted indications and to determine dose tolerance and optimal dosage. Multiple Phase 2 clinical trials may be conducted by the sponsor to obtain information prior to beginning larger and more expensive Phase 3 clinical trials.
• Phase 3: These are commonly referred to as pivotal studies. When Phase 2 evaluations demonstrate that a dose range of the product is effective and has an acceptable safety profile, Phase 3 clinical trials are undertaken in large patient populations to further evaluate dosage, to provide substantial evidence of clinical efficacy and to further test for safety in an expanded and diverse patient population at multiple, geographically-dispersed clinical trial sites. In most cases FDA requires two adequate and well controlled Phase 3 clinical trials to demonstrate the efficacy of the drug. A single Phase 3 trial with other confirmatory evidence may be sufficient in rare instances where the study is a large multicenter trial demonstrating internal consistency and a statistically very persuasive finding of a clinically meaningful effect on mortality, irreversible morbidity or prevention of a disease with a potentially serious outcome and confirmation of the result in a second trial would be practically or ethically impossible.
• Phase 4: In some cases, FDA may condition approval of an NDA or BLA for a product candidate on the sponsor’s agreement to conduct additional clinical trials after NDA or BLA approval. In other cases, a sponsor may voluntarily carry out additional trials post approval to gain more information about the drug or biologic. Such post approval trials are typically referred to as Phase 4 studies.
After completion of the required clinical testing, an NDA or BLA is prepared and submitted to the FDA. FDA approval of the NDA or BLA is required before marketing of the product may begin in the U.S. The NDA or BLA must include the results of all preclinical, clinical, and other testing and a compilation of data relating to the product’s pharmacology, chemistry, manufacture, and controls. The cost of preparing and submitting an NDA or BLA is substantial. Under federal law, the submission of most NDAs or BLAs is additionally subject to a substantial application user fee, currently exceeding $2,169,000, and the manufacturer and/or sponsor under an approved new drug application are also subject to annual product and establishment user fees, currently exceeding $104,000 per product and $554,000 per establishment. These fees are typically increased annually.
The FDA has 60 days from its receipt of an NDA or BLA to determine whether the application will be accepted for filing based on the agency’s threshold determination that it is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review. The FDA has agreed to certain performance goals in the review of NDAs and BLAs. Most such applications for standard review drug or biologic products are reviewed within ten to twelve months; most applications for priority review drugs or biologics are reviewed in six to eight months. FDA can extend these reviews by three months. Priority review can be applied to drugs or biologics that the FDA determines offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. For biologics, priority review is further limited only for products intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease relative to the currently approved products.
The FDA may refer applications for novel drug or biologic products, or drug or biologic products which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy, to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation, and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved. The FDA is not bound by the recommendation of an advisory committee, but it generally follows such recommendations.
Before approving an NDA or BLA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP. Additionally, the FDA will inspect the facility or the facilities at which the drug is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless compliance with cGMP - a quality system regulating manufacturing - is satisfactory and the NDA or BLA contains data that provide substantial evidence that the drug or biologic is safe and effective in the indication studied.
After the FDA evaluates the NDA and the manufacturing facilities, it issues an approval letter or a complete response letter. A complete response letter generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional testing or information in order for the FDA to reconsider the application. If and when those deficiencies have been addressed to the FDA’s satisfaction in a resubmission of the NDA, the FDA will issue an approval letter. The FDA has committed to reviewing such resubmissions in 2 or 6 months depending on the type of information included.
Additional Controls
The PHS Act also provides authority to the FDA to immediately suspend licenses in situations where there exists a danger to public health, to prepare or procure products in the event of shortages and critical public health needs, and to authorize the creation and enforcement of regulations to prevent the introduction or spread of communicable diseases in the U.S. and between states.
Biosimilars
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010, included a subtitle called the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCI Act, which created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products shown to be highly similar to, or interchangeable with, an FDA-licensed reference biological product. The BPCI Act is susceptible to modification or elimination by the United States Congress and the executive branch of government as part of its current policy of dismantling or indirectly affecting The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We cannot be certain how, or if, any adjustments would impact the Company. This is conceptually similar to the established process for generic drug approval in that it attempts to minimize duplicative testing. Biosimilarity, which requires that there be no differences in conditions of use, route of administration, dosage form, and strength and there be no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency, must be shown through analytical studies, animal studies, and at least one clinical study, absent a waiver by the Secretary. Interchangeability requires that a product must demonstrate that it can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product and, for products administered multiple times, the biologic and the reference biologic may be switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference biologic. No biosimilar or interchangeable products have been approved under the BPCIA to date. Complexities associated with the larger and often more complex structures of biological products, as well as the process by which such products are manufactured, pose significant hurdles to implementation that are still being worked out by the FDA.
A reference biologic is granted twelve years of exclusivity from the time of first licensure of the reference product, and no application for a biosimilar can be submitted for four years from the date of licensure of the reference product. The first biologic product submitted under the abbreviated approval pathway that is determined to be interchangeable with the reference product has exclusivity against other biologics submitting under the abbreviated approval pathway for the same condition for the lesser of (i) one year after first commercial marketing of the first interchangeable biosimilar, (ii) eighteen months after the first interchangeable biosimilar is approved if there is no legal challenge, (iii) 18 months after the resolution in the first interchangeable applicant’s favor of a lawsuit challenging the reference biologics’ patents, or (iv) 42 months after the first interchangeable biosimilar’s application has been approved if a lawsuit is ongoing within the 42 month period.
Post-Approval Regulation
Once an NDA or BLA is approved, a product will be subject to certain post-approval requirements. For instance, FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs, including standards and regulations for direct-to-consumer advertising, off-label promotion, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and promotional activities involving the internet. As a condition of NDA or BLA approval, the FDA may require a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, to help ensure that the benefits of the product drug outweigh the potential risks. REMS can include medication guides, communication plans for healthcare professionals, and elements to assure safe use, or ETASU. The requirement for a REMS can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the product.
Drugs may be marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. Changes to some of the conditions established in an approved application, including changes in indications, labeling, or manufacturing processes or facilities, require submission and FDA approval of a new NDA or BLA or NDA supplement or BLA supplement before the change can be implemented. An NDA or BLA supplement for a new indication typically requires clinical data similar to that in the original application, and the FDA uses the same procedures and actions in reviewing NDA supplements and BLA supplements as it does in reviewing NDAs or BLAs. The FDA has broad enforcement authority under the FDC Act, and failure to abide by these regulations can result in enforcement action, including the issuance of a Warning Letter directing entities to correct deviations from FDA standards, a requirement that future advertising and promotional materials be pre-cleared by the FDA, and federal civil and criminal investigations, prosecutions and penalties. State enforcement actions relating to promotional violations are also becoming more common.
Adverse experiences associated with the use of the drug must be reported to the FDA and could result in the imposition of market restrictions through labeling changes or in product removal. Product approvals may be withdrawn if compliance with regulatory requirements is not maintained or if problems concerning safety or efficacy of the product occur following approval. The FDA may also require a labeling change if it becomes aware of new safety information that it believes should be included in the labeling of a drug.
Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) Standards
The FDA Act and FDA regulations govern the quality control, manufacture, packaging, and labeling procedures of products regulated as a drug or biological product, including cellular therapies comprised of HCT/Ps. These laws and regulations include requirements for cGMP. These requirements are designed to ensure that a facility’s processes - and products resulting from those processes - meet defined safety requirements. The cGMP requirements, are federal regulations that govern the manufacture, processing, packaging and holding of drug and cell therapy products.
The objective of compliance with cGMP standards is to protect the public health and safety by ensuring that products (i) have the identity, strength, quality and purity that they purport or are represented to possess; (ii) meet their specifications; and (iii) are free of objectionable microorganisms and contamination.
A central focus of the cGMP requirements is to design and build quality into the manufacturing processes and the facilities in which products are produced and to ensure the consistency, product integrity, and reproducibility of results and product characteristics. This is done by implementing quality systems and processes including specifications and documentation.
In addition, drug manufacturers and certain of their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with FDA and certain state agencies. Registration with the FDA subjects entities to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA, during which the agency inspects manufacturing facilities to assess compliance with cGMPs. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the areas of production and quality-control to maintain compliance with cGMPs. Failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements can result in regulatory inspections and associated observations, warning letters, other requirements of remedial action, and, in the case of failures that are more serious, suspension of manufacturing operations, seizure, injunctions, product recalls, fines, and other penalties. We believe that our facilities are in material compliance with applicable existing FDA requirements.
Additionally, FDA, other regulatory agencies, or the United States Congress may be considering, and may enact laws or regulations regarding the use and marketing of stem cells, cell therapy products, or products derived from human cells or tissue. These laws and regulations can affect us directly or the business of some of U.S. Stem Cell’s clients and therefore the amount of business U.S. Stem Cell receives from these clients.
Pediatric Information
Under the Pediatric Research Equity Act, or PREA, NDAs or BLAs or supplements to NDAs or BLAs must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the drug for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the drug is safe and effective. The FDA may grant full or partial waivers or deferrals for submission of data. Unless otherwise required by regulation, PREA does not apply to any drug for an indication for which orphan designation has been granted.
The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, or BPCA, provides NDA holders a six-month extension of any exclusivity-patent or non-patent-for a drug if certain conditions are met. Conditions for exclusivity include the FDA’s determination that information relating to the use of a new drug in the pediatric population may produce health benefits in that population, FDA making a written request for pediatric studies, and the applicant agreeing to perform, and reporting on, the requested studies within the statutory timeframe. Applications under the BPCA are treated as priority applications, with all of the benefits that designation confers.
Orphan Drugs
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan drug designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition - generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the U.S. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA. After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the generic identity of the drug and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process. The first NDA applicant to receive FDA approval for a particular active ingredient to treat a particular disease with FDA orphan drug designation is entitled to a seven-year exclusive marketing period in the U.S. for that product, for that indication. During the seven-year exclusivity period, the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug for the same disease, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan drug exclusivity. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent FDA from approving a different drug for the same disease or condition, or the same drug for a different disease or condition. Among the other benefits of orphan drug designation are tax credits for certain research and a waiver of the NDA application user fee.
Approval of Medical Devices
Medical devices are also subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. To be commercially distributed in the United States, medical devices must receive either 510(k) clearance or pre-market approval, or PMA, from the FDA prior to marketing. Devices deemed to pose relatively low risk are placed in either Class I or II, which requires the manufacturer to submit a pre-market notification requesting permission for commercial distribution, or 510(k) clearance. Devices deemed by the FDA to pose the greatest risk, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting or implantable devices, devices deemed not substantially equivalent to a previously 510(k) cleared device and certain other devices are placed in Class III which requires PMA. We anticipate that MyoCath will be classified as a Class III device.
To obtain 510(k) clearance, a manufacturer must submit a pre-market notification demonstrating that the proposed device is substantially equivalent in intended use and in safety and efficacy to a previously 510(k) cleared device, a device that has received PMA or a device that was in commercial distribution before May 28, 1976. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance pathway usually takes from four to twelve months, but it can last longer.
After a device receives 510(k) clearance, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or efficacy, or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, requires a new 510(k) clearance or could require PMA. The FDA requires each manufacturer to make this determination, but the FDA can review any such decision. If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s decision not to seek a new 510(k) clearance, the agency may retroactively require the manufacturer to seek 510(k) clearance or PMA. The FDA also can require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or recall the modified device until 510(k) clearance or PMA is obtained.
A product not eligible for 510(k) clearance must follow the PMA pathway, which requires proof of the safety and efficacy of the device to the FDA’s satisfaction. The PMA pathway is much more costly, lengthy and uncertain than the 510(k) approval pathway. A PMA application must provide extensive preclinical and clinical trial data and also information about the device and its components regarding, among other things, device design, manufacturing and labeling. As part of the PMA review, the FDA will typically inspect the manufacturer’s facilities for compliance with quality system regulation requirements, which impose elaborate testing, control, documentation and other quality assurance procedures. Upon acceptance by the FDA of what it considers a completed filing, the FDA commences an in-depth review of the PMA application, which typically takes from one to two years, but may last longer. The review time is often significantly extended as a result of the FDA asking for more information or clarification of information already provided.
If the FDA’s evaluation of the PMA application is favorable, and the applicant satisfies any specific conditions (e.g., changes in labeling) and provides any specific additional information (e.g., submission of final labeling), the FDA will issue a PMA for the approved indications, which can be more limited than those originally sought by the manufacturer. The PMA can include post-approval conditions that the FDA believes necessary to ensure the safety and efficacy of the device including, among other things, restrictions on labeling, promotion, sale and distribution. Failure to comply with the conditions of approval can result in an enforcement action, which could have material adverse consequences, including the loss or withdrawal of the approval.
Even after approval of a pre-market application, a new PMA or PMA supplement is required in the event of a modification to the device, its labeling or its manufacturing process.
Post-Approval Requirements
Even if regulatory clearances or approvals for our product candidates are obtained, our products and the facilities manufacturing our products will be subject to continued review and periodic inspections by the FDA. For example, as a condition of approval of a new drug application, the FDA may require us to engage in post-marketing testing and surveillance and to monitor the safety and efficacy of our products. Holders of an approved new BLA, PMA or 510(k) clearance product are subject to several post-market requirements, including the reporting of certain adverse events involving their products to the FDA, provision of updated safety and efficacy information, and compliance with requirements concerning the advertising and promotion of their products.
In addition, manufacturing facilities are subject to periodic inspections by the FDA to confirm the facilities comply with cGMP requirements. In complying with cGMP, manufacturers must expend money, time and effort in the area of production and quality control to ensure full compliance. For example, manufacturers of biologic products must establish validated systems to ensure that products meet high standards of sterility, safety, purity, potency and identity. Manufacturers must report to the FDA any deviations from cGMP or any unexpected or unforeseeable event that may affect the safety, quality, or potency of a product. The regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP and impose documentation requirements.
In addition to regulations enforced by the FDA, we are also subject to regulation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and other federal, state and local regulations. Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, chemicals, biological materials and radioactive compounds.
Other Health Care Regulations
Health Privacy Laws
The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH Act”), require health care plans, health care providers and health care clearinghouses, collectively defined under HIPAA as “Covered Entities,” to comply with standards for the use and disclosure of health information within such organizations and with third parties. These include standards for:
• Common health care transactions, such as claims information, plan eligibility, payment information and the use of electronic signatures;
• Unique identifiers for providers, employers, health plans and individuals; and
• Security and privacy of health information.
Although the obligations of HIPAA only apply directly to Covered Entities, any Covered Entity that uses third parties (referred to in HIPAA as “Business Associates”) to perform functions on its behalf involving the creation or use of certain patient health information is required to have a contract with the Business Associate that limits the use and disclosure of such information by the Business Associate.
HIPAA does not preempt, or override, state privacy laws that provide even more protection for individuals’ health information. These laws’ requirements could further complicate U.S. Stem Cell’s ability to obtain necessary research data from its collaborators. In addition, certain state privacy and genetic testing laws may directly regulate our research activities, affecting the manner in which we use and disclose individuals’ health information, potentially increasing the cost of doing business, and exposing us to liability claims. In addition, patients and research collaborators may have contractual rights that further limit our ability to use and disclose individually identifiable health information. Claims that we violated individuals’ privacy rights or breached its contractual obligations, even if we are not found liable, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend and could result in adverse publicity that could harm the business.
While we believe that the current business operations of U.S. Stem Cell would not cause either of them to be considered a Covered Entity, there is a risk that due to conflicting interpretations of the regulations, U.S. Stem Cell may be deemed to be a Covered Entity. If U.S. Stem Cell is a Covered Entity, there is a risk of liability that U.S. Stem Cell may not be complying fully with all HIPAA requirements. U.S. Stem Cell has signed Business Associate Agreements where requested by U.S. Stem Cell’s customers who are Covered Entities, which would require compliance with certain privacy and security requirements relating to individually identifiable health information created or used in connection with such relationships. U.S. Stem Cell is in substantial compliance with such Business Associate Agreements. However, given the law’s complexity and the possibility that the regulations may change and may be subject to changing and even conflicting interpretation, U.S. Stem Cell’s ability to comply fully with all of the HIPAA requirements and requirements of its Business Associate Agreements is uncertain. Further, as a result of amendments the HITECH Act, U.S. Stem Cell’s compliance burden has increased and they will be subject to audit and enforcement by the federal government and, in some cases, by state authorities. Further, they are obligated to publicly disclose wrongful disclosures or losses of personal health information.
Fraud and Abuse Laws
In addition to FDA restrictions on marketing of pharmaceutical products, several other types of state and federal laws have been applied to restrict certain marketing practices in the pharmaceutical industry in recent years. These laws include anti-kickback statutes and false claims statutes. The federal healthcare program anti-kickback statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for the purchase, lease or order of any healthcare item or service reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid or other federally financed healthcare programs. This statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers and formulary managers on the other. Violations of the anti-kickback statute are punishable by imprisonment, criminal prosecution, civil monetary penalties and exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs. Although there are a number of statutory exemptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting certain common activities from prosecution or other regulatory sanctions, the exemptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly, and practices that involve remuneration intended to induce prescribing, purchases or recommendations may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exemption or safe harbor.
Federal false claims laws prohibit any person from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government, or knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement to have a false claim paid. Recently, several pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under these laws for allegedly inflating drug prices they report to pricing services, which in turn were used by the government to set Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates, and for allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal programs for the product. In addition, certain marketing practices, including off-label promotion, may also violate false claims laws. The majority of States also have statutes or regulations similar to the federal anti-kickback statute and false claims laws, which apply to items and services, reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs, or, in several states, apply regardless of the payer.
Affordable Care Act
In late March 2010, the Federal government enacted the comprehensive health care reform package, the Affordable Care Act. Among other provisions, the Affordable Care Act imposes individual and employer health insurance requirements, provides certain insurance subsidies (e.g., premiums and cost sharing), mandates extensive insurance market reforms, creates new health insurance access points (e.g., State and federal-based health insurance exchanges), expands the Medicaid program, promotes research on comparative clinical effectiveness of different technologies and procedures, and makes a number of changes to how products and services will be reimbursed by the Medicare program. Amendments to the Federal False Claims Act under the Affordable Care Act have made it easier for private parties to bring “qui tam” (whistleblower) lawsuits against companies, under which the whistleblower may be entitled to receive a percentage of any money paid to the government. The Affordable Care Act is susceptible to modification or elimination by the United States Congress and the executive branch of government as part of its current policy of dismantling or indirectly affecting The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We cannot be certain how, or if, any adjustments would impact the Company.
There are a number of provisions in the Affordable Care Act that may directly impact our customers and, therefore, indirectly affect us. For example, the Affordable Care Act expands the number of individuals that will be covered by either private or public health insurance, which may, in turn, increase the pool of potential purchasers for our customers’ products to the extent they are reimbursable by private or public health insurance. The Affordable Care Act also requires health insurance issuers in the individual and small group markets to cover certain “essential health benefits,” which include prescription drugs and which may increase coverage for our customers’ products. In addition, the Affordable Care Act reduces income and raises costs for our customers through, for instance, the imposition of drug price discounts for Medicare Part D enrollees in the “donut hole” and the imposition of an annual fee on prescription drug and biologic manufacturers. Such provisions may cause our customers to seek to restrain costs in other areas, including the services that we provide. The effective dates of the various provisions within the Affordable Care Act are staggered over the next several years, with some changes occurring immediately. Much of the interpretation of the Affordable Care Act will be subject to administrative rulemaking, the development of agency guidance, and court interpretation.
Other Applicable Laws
In addition to those described above, other federal and State laws and regulations that could directly or indirectly affect our ability to operate the business and/or financial performance include:
• State and local licensure, registration and regulation of laboratories, the processing and storage of human cells and tissue, and the development and manufacture of pharmaceuticals and biologics;
• other laws and regulations administered by the United States FDA, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and related laws and regulations and the Public Health Service Act and related laws and regulations;
• laws and regulations administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, including the Office for Human Research Protections;
• State laws and regulations governing human subject research;
• federal and state coverage and reimbursement laws and regulations, including laws and regulations administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and State Medicaid agencies;
• The federal Medicare and Medicaid Anti-Kickback Law and similar state laws and regulations;
• The federal physician self-referral prohibition commonly known as the Stark Law, and State equivalents of the Stark Law;
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) requirements;
• State and local laws and regulations dealing with the handling and disposal of medical waste; and
• the Intermediate Sanctions rules of the IRS providing for potential financial sanctions with respect to “Excess Benefit Transactions” with HUMC or other tax-exempt organizations.
Other Regulations
We are also subject to various local, State and federal laws and regulations relating to safe working conditions, laboratory and manufacturing practices, the experimental use of animals and the use and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances, including chemicals, micro-organisms and various radioactive compounds used in connection with our research and development activities. These laws include, but are not limited to, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Toxic Test Substances Control Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of these materials comply with the standards prescribed by state and federal regulations, there can be no assurances that accidental contamination or injury to employees and third parties from these materials will not occur. Our insurance program does not include environmental coverage.
Regulation in the European Union
In the European Union, or EU, medicinal products, including advanced therapy medicinal products, are subject to extensive pre- and post-market regulation by regulatory authorities at both the EU and national levels. Advanced therapy medicinal products comprise gene therapy products, somatic cell therapy products and tissue engineered products, which are cells or tissues that have undergone substantial manipulation and that are administered to human beings in order to regenerate, repair or replace a human tissue. We anticipate that our cell therapy products in development, including MyoCell , would be regulated as advanced therapy medicinal products in the EU.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials of medicinal products in the EU must be conducted in accordance with EU and national regulations and the International Conference on Harmonization, or ICH, guidelines on Good Clinical Practices, or GCP. Additional GCP guidelines from the European Commission, focusing in particular on traceability, apply to clinical trials of advanced therapy medicinal products. If the sponsor of the clinical trial is not established within the EU, it must appoint an entity within the EU to act as its legal representative. The sponsor must take out a clinical trial insurance policy, and in most EU countries the sponsor is liable to provide ‘no fault’ compensation to any study subject injured in the clinical trial.
Prior to commencing a clinical trial, the sponsor must obtain a clinical trial authorization from the competent authority, and a positive opinion from an independent ethics committee. The application for a clinical trial authorization must include, among other things, a copy of the trial protocol and an investigational medicinal product dossier containing information about the manufacture and quality of the medicinal product under investigation. Currently, clinical trial authorization applications must be submitted to the competent authority in each EU member state in which the trial will be conducted. Under proposed new rules, there will be a centralized application procedure where one national authority takes the lead in reviewing the application and the other national authorities have only a limited involvement. Any substantial changes to the trial protocol or other information submitted with the clinical trial applications must be notified to or approved by the relevant competent authorities and ethics committees.
The sponsor of a clinical trial must register the clinical trial in advance, and information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, study sites and investigators, and other aspects of the clinical trial will be made public as part of the registration. The results of the clinical trial must be submitted to the competent authorities and, with the exception of non-pediatric Phase 1 trials, will be made public at the latest within 12 months after the end of the trial.
During the development of a medicinal product, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, and national medicines regulators within the EU provide the opportunity for dialogue and guidance on the development program. At the EMA level, this is usually done in the form of scientific advice, which is given by the Scientific Advice Working Party of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP. A fee is incurred with each scientific advice procedure. Advice from the EMA is typically provided based on questions concerning, for example, quality (chemistry, manufacturing and controls testing), nonclinical testing and clinical studies, and pharmacovigilance plans and risk-management programs. Advice is not legally binding with regard to any future marketing authorization application of the product concerned. To date, we have not initiated any scientific advice procedures or other discussions with the EMA or any national regulatory authorities in the EU.
Marketing Authorizations
After completion of the required clinical testing, we must obtain a marketing authorization before we may place a medicinal product on the market in the EU. There are various application procedures available, depending on the type of product involved. All application procedures require an application in the common technical document, or CTD, format, which includes the submission of detailed information about the manufacturing and quality of the product, and non-clinical and clinical trial information. There is an increasing trend in the EU towards greater transparency and, while the manufacturing or quality information is currently generally protected as confidential information, the EMA and national regulatory authorities are now liable to disclose much of the non-clinical and clinical information in marketing authorization dossiers, including the full clinical study reports, in response to freedom of information requests after the marketing authorization has been granted. The EMA is currently considering a procedure under which clinical study reports would be posted on the agency’s website following the grant, denial or withdrawal of a marketing authorization application, subject to procedures for limited redactions and protection against unfair commercial use. A similar requirement is contained in a draft new Regulation on Clinical Trials that is expected to become applicable in mid-2016 or later.
The centralized procedure gives rise to marketing authorizations that are valid throughout the EU and, by extension (after national implementing decisions), in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which, together with the EU member states, comprise the European Economic Area, or EEA. Applicants file marketing authorization applications with the EMA, where they are reviewed by a relevant scientific committee, in most cases the CHMP. The EMA forwards CHMP opinions to the European Commission, which uses them as the basis for deciding whether to grant a marketing authorization. The centralized procedure is compulsory for medicinal products that (1) are derived from biotechnology processes, (2) contain a new active substance (not yet approved) indicated for the treatment of certain diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, viral diseases or autoimmune diseases and other immune dysfunctions, (3) are orphan medicinal products or (4) are advanced therapy medicinal products, such as cell therapy medicines. For medicines that do not fall within these categories, an applicant may voluntarily submit an application for a centralized marketing authorization to the EMA, as long as the CHMP agrees that (i) the medicine concerned contains a new active substance (not yet approved), (ii) the medicine is a significant therapeutic, scientific, or technical innovation, or (iii) if its authorization under the centralized procedure would be in the interest of public health.
For those medicinal products for which the centralized procedure is not available, the applicant must submit marketing authorization applications to the national medicines regulators through one of three procedures: (1) a national procedure, which results in a marketing authorization in a single EU member state; (2) the decentralized procedure, in which applications are submitted simultaneously in two or more EU member states; and (3) the mutual recognition procedure, which must be used if the product has already been authorized in at least one other EU member state, and in which the EU member states are required to grant an authorization recognizing the existing authorization in the other EU member state, unless they identify a serious risk to public health. A national procedure is only possible for one member state; as soon as an application is submitted in a second member state the mutual recognition or decentralized procedure will be triggered.
Under the centralized procedure in the European Union, the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of a marketing authorization application is 210 days. However, this timeline excludes clock stops, when additional written or oral information is to be provided by the applicant in response to questions asked by the CHMP, so the overall process typically takes a year or more. Accelerated evaluation might be granted by the CHMP in exceptional cases, when a medicinal product is expected to be of a major public health interest, defined by three cumulative criteria: the seriousness of the disease (e.g. heavy disabling or life-threatening diseases) to be treated; the absence or insufficiency of an appropriate alternative therapeutic approach; and anticipation of high therapeutic benefit. In this circumstance, EMA ensures that the opinion of the CHMP is given within 150 days.
Data Exclusivity
Marketing authorization applications for generic medicinal products do not need to include the results of pre-clinical and clinical trials, but instead can refer to the data included in the marketing authorization of a reference product for which regulatory data exclusivity has expired. If a marketing authorization is granted for a medicinal product containing a new active substance, that product benefits from eight years of data exclusivity, during which generic marketing authorization applications referring to the data of that product may not be accepted by the regulatory authorities, and a further two years of market exclusivity, during which such generic products may not be placed on the market. The two-year period may be extended to three years if during the first eight years a new therapeutic indication with significant clinical benefit over existing therapies is approved.
There is a special regime for biosimilars, or biological medicinal products that are similar to a reference medicinal product but that do not meet the definition of a generic medicinal product, for example, because of differences in raw materials or manufacturing processes. For such products, the results of appropriate pre-clinical or clinical trials must be provided, and guidelines from the EMA detail the type of quantity of supplementary data to be provided for different types of biological product. There are no such guidelines for complex biological products, such as gene or cell therapy medicinal products, and so it is unlikely that biosimilars of those products will currently be approved in the EU. However, guidance from the EMA states that they will be considered in the future in light of the scientific knowledge and regulatory experience gained at the time.
Orphan Medicinal Products
The EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, or COMP, may recommend orphan medicinal product designation to promote the development of products that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than 5 in 10,000 persons in the EU. Additionally, designation is granted for products intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives, it is unlikely that sales of the product in the EU would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the medicinal product. The COMP may only recommend orphan medicinal product designation when the product in question offers a significant clinical benefit over existing approved products for the relevant indication. Following a positive opinion by the COMP, the European Commission adopts a decision granting orphan status. The COMP will reassess orphan status in parallel with EMA review of a marketing authorization application and orphan status may be withdrawn at that stage if it no longer fulfills the orphan criteria (for instance because in the meantime a new product was approved for the indication and no convincing data are available to demonstrate a significant benefit over that product). Orphan medicinal product designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers and 10 years of market exclusivity is granted following marketing authorization. During this period, the competent authorities may not accept or approve any similar medicinal product, unless it offers a significant clinical benefit. This period may be reduced to 6 years if the orphan medicinal product designation criteria are no longer met, including where it is shown that the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify maintenance of market exclusivity. The EMA is currently preparing guidance on assessing similarity of active ingredients for purposes of orphan exclusivity. It is possible that for biological products a narrow interpretation of similarity will be adopted.
Pediatric Development
In the EU, companies developing a new medicinal product must agree to a Pediatric Investigation Plan, or PIP, with the EMA and must conduct pediatric clinical trials in accordance with that PIP, unless a waiver applies ( e.g. because the relevant disease or condition occurs only in adults). The marketing authorization application for the product must include the results of pediatric clinical trials conducted in accordance with the PIP, unless a waiver applies, or a deferral has been granted, in which case the pediatric clinical trials must be completed at a later date. Products that are granted a marketing authorization on the basis of the pediatric clinical trials conducted in accordance with the PIP are eligible for a six month extension of the protection under a supplementary protection certificate (if any is in effect at the time of approval) or, in the case of orphan medicinal products, a two year extension of the orphan market exclusivity. This pediatric reward is subject to specific conditions and is not automatically available when data in compliance with the PIP are developed and submitted.
Post-Approval Controls
The holder of a marketing authorization must establish and maintain a pharmacovigilance system and appoint an individual qualified person for pharmacovigilance, or QPPV, who is responsible for oversight of that system. Key obligations include expedited reporting of suspected serious adverse reactions and submission of periodic safety update reports, or PSURs.
All new marketing authorization applications must include a risk management plan, or RMP, describing the risk management system that the company will put in place and documenting measures to prevent or minimize the risks associated with the product. The regulatory authorities may also impose specific obligations as a condition of the marketing authorization. Such risk-minimization measures or post-authorization obligations may include additional safety monitoring, more frequent submission of PSURs, or the conduct of additional clinical trials or post-authorization safety studies. Risk management plans and PSURs are routinely available to third parties requesting access, subject to limited redactions.
All advertising and promotional activities for the product must be consistent with the approved summary of product characteristics, and therefore all off-label promotion is prohibited. Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines is also prohibited in the EU. Although general requirements for advertising and promotion of medicinal products are established under EU directives, the details are governed by regulations in each member state and can differ from one country to another.
Manufacturing
Medicinal products may only be manufactured in the EU, or imported into the EU from another country, by the holder of a manufacturing authorization from the competent national authority. The manufacturer or importer must have a qualified person, or QP, who is responsible for certifying that each batch of product has been manufactured in accordance with EU standards of good manufacturing practice, or GMP, before releasing the product for commercial distribution in the EU or for use in a clinical trial. Manufacturing facilities are subject to periodic inspections by the competent authorities for compliance with GMP.
Human Cells and Tissues
Human cells and tissues that are intended for human applications but that do not fall within the scope of rules governing medicinal products or medical devices are not subject to premarket review and approval, nor do they require extensive preclinical and clinical testing. However, there are EU rules governing the donation, procurement, testing and storage of human cells and tissues intended for human application, whether or not they are advanced therapy medicinal products. These rules also cover the processing, preservation and distribution of human cell and tissues that are not advanced therapy medicinal products. Establishments that conduct such activities must be licensed and are subject to inspection by regulatory authorities. Such establishments must implement appropriate quality systems and maintain appropriate records to ensure that cells and tissues can be traced from the donor to the recipient and vice versa. There are also requirements to report serious adverse events and reactions linked to the quality and safety of cells and tissues. More detailed rules may exist at the national level.
Named Patient Sales
The EU medicines rules allow individual member states to permit the supply of a medicinal product without a marketing authorization to fulfill special needs, where the product is supplied in response to a bona fide unsolicited order, formulated in accordance with the specifications of a healthcare professional and for use by an individual patient under his direct personal responsibility. This may in certain countries also apply to products manufactured in a country outside the EU and imported to treat specific patients or small groups of patients. In addition, advanced therapy medicinal products do not need a marketing authorization if they are prepared on a non-routine basis and are used within the same EU member state in a hospital in accordance with a medical prescription for an individual patient.
These exemptions may allow us to make limited sales of our products before we obtain a marketing authorization in the EU. However, the exemptions could also allow our competitors to make sales without having obtained a marketing authorization and without undergoing the expense of clinical trials, especially if those competitors have cell processing facilities in the relevant EU member state. Similarly, certain hospitals may be able to compete with us on the basis of these rules.
Pricing and Reimbursement
Governments influence the price of medicinal products in the EU through their pricing and reimbursement rules and control of national healthcare systems that fund a large part of the cost of those products to consumers. Some jurisdictions operate positive and negative list systems under which products may only be marketed once a reimbursement price has been agreed. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for medicines, but monitor and control company profits. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription medicines, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products.
Regulation in Other Countries
We intend to seek to market our products in jurisdictions outside the United States and the EU. Most of these jurisdictions have product approval and post-approval regulatory processes that are similar in principle to those in the United States or EU. Any such considerations are in the early stages.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the website at http://www.sec.gov. The public may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, on official business days during the hours of 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
