UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31 2020, 2022

OR

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM                 TO                 

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number 001-39756

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Delaware

81-1489190

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

500 Fairview Ave N, 11682 El Camino Real, Suite 600
120

Seattle, Washington
San Diego, California

92130

(Address of principal executive offices)

98109

(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (206) (206) 456-2900

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

Title of each class

Trading

Symbol(s)

Name of each
exchange

on
which registered

Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share

SPRY

SBTX

The Nasdaq GlobalStock Market

LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: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 Registrantregistrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES  Yes    NO   No

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrantregistrant 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 Registrantregistrant was required to submit such files). YES  Yes    NO   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,”company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Act:

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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).

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

TheAs of March 17, 2023 there were 94,403,028 shares of registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding.

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant was not publicly tradedapproximately $102.9 million as of theJune 30, 2022 (the last businesstrading day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.quarter) based on the closing price of $4.24 as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on such date. Shares of the registrant’s common stock held by executive officers, directors, and their affiliates have been excluded from this calculation. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

The number of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 26, 2021 was 34,903,497.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 20212023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which the registrant intends to file pursuant to Regulation 14A with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2020,May 1, 2023, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.



Table of Contents

Page

PART I

Item 1.

Business4

Item 1A.

Risk Factors63

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments127

Item 2.

Properties127

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings127

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures127

PART II

Page

PART I

Item 1.

Business

5

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

40

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

94

Item 2.

Properties

94

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings

94

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures

94

PART II

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

128

95

Item 6.

[Reserved]

Selected Financial Data129

96

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

130

96

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

141

105

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

142

106

Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

167

130

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures

167

130

Item 9B.

Other Information

167

130

PART IIIItem 9C.

Disclosure regarding Foreign Jurisdiction that Prevent Inspections

130

PART III

Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

168

131

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

168

131

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

168

131

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

168

131

Item 14.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

168

131

PART IV

PART IV

Item 15.

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

169

132

Item 1616.

Form 10-K Summary

Form 10-K Summary171

134

SignaturesSIGNATURES

172

2


PART I

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information incorporated herein by reference contain (this “Annual Report”) contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Although ouruncertainties. We make such forward-looking statements reflectpursuant to the good faith judgment of our management, these statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known by us. Consequently, these forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and outcomes may differ materially from results and outcomes discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth below under the caption “Risk Factors.”

Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding:

our plans to research, develop and commercialize SBT6050 and any future product candidates;

our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of product candidates arising from our ImmunoTAC technology platform, including SBT6050, in anysafe harbor provisions of the indications for which we plan to develop them;

our ability to obtain funding for our operations, including funding necessary to commencePrivate Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and complete the clinical trials, conduct additional manufacturing and conduct preclinical studiesother federal securities laws. All statements other than statements of any of our product candidates, including SBT6050;

the success, cost and timing of our research and development activities, including our ongoing and planned clinical trials and preclinical studies;

the size of the markets for our product candidates, and our ability to serve those markets;

our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates;

the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates;

our ability to develop and maintain sales and marketing capabilities, whether alone or with potential future collaborators;

regulatory developmentshistorical facts contained in the United States and foreign countries;

the performance of our third-party service providers, including our CROs, suppliers and manufacturers;

the safety, efficacy and market success of competing therapies thatthis Annual Report are or become available;

our ability to attract and retain key scientific and management personnel;

our ability to attract and retain collaborators with development, regulatory and commercialization expertise;

our expectations regarding the period during which we qualify as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act;

the accuracy of our estimates regarding expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and needs for additional financing;

our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others; and

the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and operations.

forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminologywords such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “design,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends,“would,” or the negative of these termswords or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance;

research and development plans, including planned clinical trials, for neffy, including for additional indications;

the design and potential benefits of neffy;

our plans to submit a supplemental New Drug Application (“NDA”) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and a post approval variation to the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) for 1.0 mg neffy and the timing thereof;

our expectations regarding the timing for FDA review of our NDA for neffy, including the anticipated Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”) target action date;

our plans to submit regulatory filings for neffy in Japan and China in collaboration with our partners and the timing thereof;

the expected timing for regulatory review decisions for neffy;

the timing of the commercial launch of neffy, if approved;

the commercial potential of and commercialization strategy for neffy;

the size of the markets for neffy and any other product candidates, the projected growth thereof, and our ability to capture and grow those markets;

the rate and degree of market acceptance of neffy and any other product candidates;

our expected competitive position;

our expectations regarding our ability to achieve gross profit margins similar to small molecule drugs;

our potential to become the standard in treatment and transform the treatment of allergic reactions;

the likelihood of neffy attaining favorable coverage;

the expected intellectual property protection for neffy;

legislative and regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries;

estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, capital requirements and needs for additional funds;

our ability to obtain, maintain and successfully enforce adequate patent and other intellectual property protection for neffy or any future product candidate; and

statements of belief and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing.

Any forward-looking statements in this Annual Report reflect our current views with respect to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those listed under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report. In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These forward-looking statements are subjectbased upon information available to a numberus as of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in the sectionsdate of this Annual Report on Form 10-K titled “Risk Factors”report, and “Management’s Discussionwhile we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this report. We discuss many of the risks associated with the forward-lookingour statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors.” Moreover,should not be read to indicate that we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impacthave conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review 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-lookingpotentially available relevant information. These statements we may make. You should be aware that the occurrence of any of the events discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report could substantially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition and that if any of these events occurs, the trading price of our common stock could declineare inherently uncertain and you could lose all or a part of the value of your shares of our common stock.

The cautionary statements made in this report are intended to be applicable to all related forward-looking statements wherever they may appear in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We urge youcautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update ouror revise these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated infor any forward-looking statements, whether as a result ofreason, even if new information future events or otherwise.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K also contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business, and the markets for our product candidates, including data regarding the estimated size of markets for oncology therapeutics and the incidence of certain medical conditions, statements that certain drugs, classes of drugs, or dosages are widely prescribedbecomes available in the United States or other markets, statements regarding the perceptions and preferencesfuture.

3


SUMMARY OF RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BUSINESS

An investment in shares of patients and physicians regarding certain therapies and other prescription, prescriber and patient data, as well as data regarding market research, estimates and forecasts prepared by our management. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, market research or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties, and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business, market and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by market research firms and other third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data and similar sources.

You should read the following together with the more detailed information regarding our company, our common stock and our financial statements and notes to those statements appearing elsewhere in this report or incorporated by reference. The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be partinvolves a high degree of this report.

Risk Factors Summary

risk. Below is a summarylist of the material factors that make an investment inmore significant risks associated with our common stock speculative or risky.business. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarizedlisted in this risk factor summary, andas well as other risks that we face, can be found below under the heading “Risk Factors”are set forth under Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report and should be carefully considered, together with other information“Risk Factors” in this Annual Report before making investment decisions regarding our common stock.

We have a limited operating history, have incurred net losses since our inception, and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future. We may never generate any revenue or become profitable or, if we achieve profitability, may not be able to sustain it.

Preclinical and clinical development is a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not always predictive of future results. Any product candidate that we advance into clinical trials, including SBT6050, may not achieve favorable results in later clinical trials, if any, or receive marketing approval.

Serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or other unexpected properties of our product candidates may be identified during development or after approval, which could lead to the discontinuation of our clinical development programs, refusal by regulatory authorities to approve our product candidates or, if discovered following marketing approval, revocation of marketing authorizations or limitations on the use of our product candidates thereby limiting the commercial potential of such product candidate.

The market opportunities for our product candidates may be relatively small as it will be limited to those patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatments and our estimatesReport.Some of the prevalence of our target patient populations may be inaccurate.

Our product candidates are based on novel technologies, which make it difficult to predict the timing, results and cost of product candidate development and likelihood of obtaining regulatory approval.

If we are required by the FDA to obtain approval of a companion diagnostic test in connection with approval of any of our product candidates, and we do not obtain or face delays in obtaining FDA approval of a diagnostic device, we will not be able to commercialize such product candidate and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, they will remain subject to ongoing regulatory oversight. Additionally, our product candidates, if approved, could be subject to labeling and other restrictions on marketing or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problemsmaterial risks associated with our product candidates, when and if any of them are approved.

We contract with third parties forbusiness include the manufacturing and supply of certain of our product candidates for use in preclinical testing and clinical trials and will rely on third parties for commercial supply, which supply may become limited or interrupted at any time or may not be of satisfactory quality and quantity.

Any approved products may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers, healthcare payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.

If the market opportunities for any of our product candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our revenue may be adversely affected, and our business may suffer.

following:

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and have incurred significant losses since our inception. We anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future. We have never generated revenue from product sales and may never be profitable.

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

We have a limited operating history and only one current product candidate, neffy, which is in the clinical stage of development and has no commercial sales, which may make it difficult to evaluate the prospects for our future viability. We may need additional funding, and if we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development activities or commercialization efforts. Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidate.

We currently depend on the success of neffy, which is our only current product candidate. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for, and successfully commercialize, neffy, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.

We may not realize the benefits of any acquisitions, in-license or strategic alliances that we enter into.

If the FDA does not conclude that neffy or any future product candidates satisfy the requirements for the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory approval pathway, or if the requirements for such product candidates under Section 505(b)(2) are not as we expect, the approval pathway for those product candidates will likely take significantly longer, cost significantly more and entail significantly greater complications and risks than anticipated, and in either case may not be successful.

If we fail to develop and commercialize neffy for additional indications or fail to discover, develop and commercialize other product candidates, we may be unable to grow our business and our ability to achieve our strategic objectives would be impaired.

We may rely on trade secret and proprietary know-how which can be difficult to trace and enforce and, if we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.

Competitive products may reduce or eliminate the commercial opportunity for neffy for its current or future indications. If our competitors develop technologies or product candidates more rapidly than us, or their technologies or product candidates are more effective or safer than ours, our ability to develop and successfully commercialize neffy may be adversely affected.

We are dependent on international third-party licensees and assignees for the development and commercialization of neffy in several countries outside the United States. The failure of these third parties to meet their contractual, regulatory or other obligations could adversely affect our business.

If any of our product candidates are approved for marketing and commercialization and we are unable to establish sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates, we will be unable to successfully commercialize our product candidates if and when they are approved.

We may seek to enter into additional collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements for neffy or any future product candidate and may not be successful in doing so, and even if we are, we may relinquish valuable rights and may not realize the benefits of such relationships.

We currently have limited marketing, sales or distribution infrastructure. If we are unable to fully develop our sales, marketing and distribution capability on our own or through collaborations with marketing partners, we may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates.

We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products more quickly or marketing them more successfully than us.

The market for neffy and any future product candidates we may develop may be smaller than we expect.

Any of our current and future product candidates for which we, or any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, obtain regulatory approval in the future will be subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense. If approved, neffy and any future product candidates could be subject to post-marketing restrictions or withdrawal from the market and we, or any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, may be subject to substantial penalties if we, or they, fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we, or they, experience unanticipated problems with our products following approval.

We are highly dependent on our key personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.

Even if neffy or any future product candidate of ours receives regulatory approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by allergists, pediatricians and other physicians, patients, caregivers, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success, in which case we may not generate significant revenues or become profitable.

Our commercial success depends on our ability to obtain and maintain sufficient intellectual property protection for our product candidates and other proprietary technologies.

The price of our common stock is subject to volatility related or unrelated to our operations.

Our success is highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled executive officers and employees.

The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to adversely impact our business, including our ongoing and planned clinical trials, supply chain and business development activities.4

We are currently party to an in-license agreement under which we were granted rights to manufacture certain components of our product candidates. If we breach our obligations under these agreements, we may be required to pay damages, lose our rights to these technologies or both, which would adversely affect our business and prospects.


Item 1. Business.

As used in this Annual Report, on Form 10-K, unless the context indicates or otherwise requires, “Silverback,“ARS,“our company,the “company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and “our”other similar terms refer to Silverback Therapeutics,ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation.corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Overview

Overview

Company Summary

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with onefocused on the development of our novel, potentially first-in-class product candidate, neffy® (previously referred to as ARS-1) for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. neffy is a proprietary composition of epinephrine with an innovative absorption enhancer called Intravail®, which allows neffy to provide injection-like absorption of epinephrine at a low dose, in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial,small, easy-to-carry, easy-to-use, rapidly administered and reliable nasal spray.

Type I severe allergic reactions are serious and potentially life-threatening events that can occur within minutes of exposure to an allergen and require immediate treatment with epinephrine injection, the only FDA-approved medication for these reactions. While epinephrine injection devices have been shown to be highly effective, there are well published limitations that result in many patients and caregivers delaying or not administering treatment in an emergency situation. These limitations include fear of the needle, lack of portability, needle-related safety concerns, lack of reliability, and complexity of the devices. Delay in treatment can allow the allergic reaction to progress in severity leading to symptoms that seriously impact patient quality of life, to potential need for emergency services and/or hospitalizations, and to life-threatening symptoms or events.

There are approximately 25 to 40 million people in the United States who experience Type I allergic reactions. Of this group, approximately 16 million people have been diagnosed and experienced severe Type I allergic reactions that may lead to anaphylaxis, but only 3.3 million currently have an active epinephrine autoinjector prescription, and of those, only half consistently carry their prescribed autoinjector. Even if patients or caregivers carry an autoinjector, more than half either delay or do not administer the device when needed in an emergency. In aggregate, we estimate that 90% of patients prescribed an epinephrine device are focused on leveraging our proprietary ImmunoTAC technology platformnot achieving an optimal treatment outcome today.

We believe neffy’s “no needle, no injection” delivery that eliminates needle-related apprehension and injury concerns, with its small pocket size, ease of use, and high reliability would, if approved, increase prescriptions for epinephrine and make it more likely for patients and caregivers to develop systemically delivered, tissue targeted therapeutics foradminister epinephrine sooner, achieve more rapid symptom relief and prevent the treatment of cancer, chronic viral infections, and other serious diseases. Our platform enables us to strategically pair proprietary linker-payloads that modulate key disease-modifying pathways with monoclonal antibodies directed to specific disease sites. Initially, we are applying our platform to create a new class of targeted immuno-oncology agents that direct a myeloid cell activator to the tumor microenvironment (TME) in solid tumors to promote cancer cell killing. Our lead product candidate, SBT6050, is comprised of a TLR8 agonist linker-payload conjugatedallergic reaction from progressing to a HER2-directed monoclonal antibodylevel of severity that targets tumors such as certain breast, gastric and non-small cell lung cancers. SBT6050 is currently could lead to hospitalization or even death. Data from our studies of neffy in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab, in patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-expressing solid tumors. In this trial, we have observed changes in pharmacodynamic markers in the first dose cohort, and we anticipate providing an update on interim data from the Phase 1 single

more than 600 subjects demonstrated nasally delivered epinephrine reached blood levels comparable to those of already approved epinephrine injectable products.

agent dose-escalation cohorts in the second half of 2021. SBT6290 is our second product candidate, expanding on the potential of a TLR8 agonist as a payload. SBT6290 is a TLR8 linker-payload conjugated to a monoclonal antibody that targets Nectin4, which is expressed in certain bladder, triple negative breast, head and neck, and non-small cell lung cancers. We anticipate submitting an investigational new drug application (IND)Our NDA was accepted for SBT6290review by FDA in the fourth quarter of 2021. Our third TLR8 program, SBT8230,2022 with an anticipated mid-2023 PDUFA target action date, and if our NDA is comprisedapproved, we believe neffy will be the first “no needle, no injection” marketed epinephrine product for the emergency treatment of a TLR8 linker-payload conjugatedType I allergic reactions. However, the timing for regulatory approvals is outside of our control and may be delayed and is uncertain.

5


Epinephrine and Allergic Reactions Background

Type I allergic reactions are potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions that can occur within minutes of exposure to an ASGR1 monoclonal antibodyallergen and need to be treated immediately to relieve symptoms and prevent further progression. Initial symptoms significantly impact patient quality of life and include difficulty breathing, bronchospasms, hypotension, presyncope, itching, hives, swelling of eyes and lips, and abdominal pain and vomiting. If not treated immediately, more severe reactions known as anaphylaxis that involve constriction of the airways, swelling of the throat, rapid heart rate, severe hypotension and other respiratory and cardiac symptoms can develop and potentially present a medical and life-threatening emergency. Immediate administration of epinephrine is under developmentcurrently the only first-line treatment for Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. The only out-of-hospital delivery option today is an intra-muscular injectable product, typically offered as prefilled syringes or auto-injector devices, such as EpiPen®, which is marketed by Viatris Inc., and generic versions of EpiPen, marketed by Teva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. These intra-muscular auto-injection devices have several limitations that result in under-utilization by patients and may lead to serious complications and hospitalizations.

These limitations include:

lack ease of portability with only 50% of patients filling prescriptions carrying the device;

reluctance to use the device with approximately 25% to 50% of patients carrying the device refusing to administer;

apprehension stemming from the use of a needle that leads to approximately 40% to 60% of patients delaying administration by up to 18 minutes even if they are carrying the device;

a high rate of dosing errors, with meta-analyses reporting up to 35% of patients still failing to dose correctly even after training; and

safety concerns including lacerations, caregiver self-injection and frequent potentially cardiotoxic blood vessel injections, which occurred in approximately 14% of EpiPen subjects in our patient self-administration studies.

As a result, many of the approximately 25 to 40 million patients at risk of severe Type I allergic reactions do not receive or fill prescriptions for intra-muscular injectables. Of 3.3 million patients that do fill their prescriptions, approximately half do not carry the intra-muscular injectable products with them on a regular basis, while many of the other half delay or hesitate treatment during a severe Type I allergic reaction. This may contribute to treatment postponement, prolonging troublesome symptoms, reducing quality of life and increasing the risk of complications or even death. In addition to the 3.3 million patients who currently fill their prescriptions for an epinephrine injectable device, we estimate that approximately 2.5 million patients received a prescription in the last 3 years, but either did not fill or renew it. We believe the advantages of neffy will be attractive to this group and lead to an increase in the number of patients filling their prescription as further described below. These patients are additive to the 3.3 million patients that do fill a prescription per year.

Notwithstanding their widespread lack of use, we estimate that net sales of intra-muscular injectable products approved for outpatient use in the United States was approximately $1 billion in 2021 among the approximately 3.3 million patients who filled a prescription.

6


Our Approach

img75081862_0.jpg 

neffyTM is an investigational drug currently in clinical trials for the emergency treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection (cHBV). We are also developing agents that localize therapies to modulate important pathways in additional oncology and fibrosis indications using TLR8 andallergic reactions (type I) including anaphylaxis. neffyTM is not approved by the FDA, EMA or other linker-payloads.health authorities.

Our ImmunoTAC Platform

Our ImmunoTAC platform is the result of a focused effort to discover ways to systemically deliver disease-modifying small molecules in a directed fashion to sites of disease. Many potentially promising systemic therapies fail to maximize their therapeutic potential due to toxicities in healthy tissues. Our approach7


neffy is designed to increaseaddress the therapeutic windowshortcomings of intra-muscular injectable devices. neffy is a convenient “no needle, no injection,” solution designed to be easier to carry, more reliable and avert unacceptable toxicities by directly targeting specific disease sites where our therapeutics are locally active.easier to administer, without the aversion, safety concerns and fear and pain of needles associated with intra-muscular injectables. Based on the factors set forth below, we believe that neffy can transform the paradigm of epinephrine delivery from cumbersome, unreliable, intra-muscular injectable devices to an intranasal delivery method that makes patients more likely to administer epinephrine sooner, thus achieving more rapid symptom relief and preventing symptoms from becoming serious or life-threatening.

Comparable PK and PD to injection products. In our clinical trials, we observed that neffy has comparable pharmacokinetics (“PK”) and pharmacodynamics (“PD”)compared to marketed epinephrine injectables.

Needle-free, easy-to-use, pocket-sized and highly reliable nasal spray.neffy is easier to carry than approved intra-muscular injectables because it ispocket-sized, increasing the likelihood that the device is available for use in an emergency. Our registrational self-administration study (EPI-17) with 2.0 mg neffy demonstrated that adult patients had zero critical dosing errors, and 100% of trained adults and trained children were able to dose successfully in two human factors validation study with a total of 150 subjects.

No risk of needle-related injuries. neffy has no risk of needle-related injuries including injection into a blood vessel, lacerations, or caregiver self-injection since the sprayer device does not have a needle.

Less hesitation to dose epinephrine.Early administration of epinephrine can reduce the severity, risk of hospitalization and mortality associated with severe Type I allergic reactions. In patient surveys we have conducted, patients indicated a relief from fear of injection and an expectation to utilize neffy without delay in a manner more consistent with recommended guidelines due to neffy being a nasal spray.

Low potent dose of epinephrine. Delivery of higher exposures of epinephrine increases the risk of overexposure and potential adverse events.neffy has high bioavailability matching the approved doses of injection at a low dose of 2.0 or 1.0 mg intranasally. Even in the unlikely situation where epinephrine would be 100% bioavailable after administration of neffy, the resulting exposure is expected to be tolerable.

Increased stability over existing treatment options. neffy is expected to have a shelf-life at least comparable to the 18 month shelf-life of auto-injector products, but with improved stability and shelf-life at high-temperature than existing products in the market (up to 3 months at 50oC or 122oF) that allows neffy to retain potency even if accidentally left in a high temperature environment.

Combination of previously validated product components. neffy consists of a unique combination of three validated products, which we believe will significantly reduce neffy’s clinical and commercial development risks: epinephrine, which has been approved by regulators and accepted by the physician community as the only effective option to treat Type I allergic reactions; the intranasal device, which has been commercially proven with millions of sprayers sold to date across four FDA-approved products, including NARCAN® for opioid overdose (marketed by Emergent BioSolutions); and Intravail, an innovative absorption enhancer that has been previously included in the formulations of FDA approved products, such as VALTOCO® and TOSYMRA® nasal spray. We believe the cost of goods for neffy will allow us to achieve gross profit margins similar to branded oral small molecule drugs assuming prices comparable to the marketed injectable products.

Well positioned for regulatory submissions, and if approved, advance to commercialization.Our NDA was accepted for review by FDA in the fourth quarter of 2022 with an anticipated mid-2023 PDUFA target action date and we believe that the completed trials are sufficient to serve as the basis for its approval in the United States. In Europe, our Market Authorization Application (“MAA”) was filed and validated for review by EMA in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Potential for high demand and attractive product uptake conditions. We have conducted extensive market research with physicians, patients, parents and other caregivers that shows neffy has a clinical product profile that is highly desirable and addresses key unmet needs. We believe we can successfully commercialize neffy by targeting high-prescribing allergists, pediatricians and primary care physicians who we believe will prescribe neffy as itwould be a very attractive treatment option within the patient community. In addition, our market research indicates that insurance plans (payors) perceive neffy as a differentiated product candidate, which we believe supports the potential for favorable market access for neffy at net prices comparable to, or at a premium to, the approved intra-muscular injectables. We currently own or exclusively license a robust global intellectual property portfolio including issued composition of matter and method patents relating to neffy that are not expected to expire until 2038 before consideration of any potential patent term extension.

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Our Management Team, Financing History and Investors

We were created to innovate, develop and commercialize neffy, a novel, potentially first-in-class treatment that addresses Type I allergy patients’ desire and need for a no needle, no injection, easy-to-use, portable and reliable solution for delivering epinephrine. To achieve this goal, we have assembled a management team with extensive experience in the figure below,development and commercialization of drugs, such as recently approved nasal sprays NARCAN (naloxone nasal spray) and VALTOCO (diazepam nasal spray).

Our company was founded by Richard Lowenthal, M.S., MSEL, Robert Bell, Ph.D. and Sarina Tanimoto, M.D., M.B.A. Pratik Shah, Ph.D. was our ImmunoTAC platformfirst external investor.

Mr. Lowenthal, our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, has more than 25 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical development experience including leading the regulatory approvals of VALTOCO (diazepam nasal spray) and NARCAN (naloxone nasal spray). Dr. Bell, our Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, has more than 25 years of product development experience including leading R&D at Barr Laboratories, Somerset Pharmaceuticals and UDL Laboratories. Dr. Tanimoto, our Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical experience in clinical drug development including supporting the approval of multiple nasal spray products such as VALTOCO and NARCAN. Dr. Shah, our Chairman, has more than 30 years of experience founding and leading biopharmaceutical companies and healthcare investment decisions including his role as Executive Chairman of Design Therapeutics, former Chairman of Synthorx (now part of Sanofi) and former Chief Executive Officer of Auspex Pharmaceuticals (now part of Teva Pharmaceuticals).

Our commercial team is comprisedled by Eric Karas, Chief Commercial Officer, who has more than 25 years of three components:sales, marketing, market access and strategic planning experience across multiple specialty products, including leading commercial initiatives for NARCAN® nasal spray at Emergent BioSolutions and Adapt Pharmaceutical (now part of Emergent BioSolutions). Harris Kaplan, Executive Vice President, Commercial Strategy has been involved in the development and launch of 125 new products totaling more than $300 billion in peak revenues, and Dan Relovsky, Senior Vice President of Marketing, has extensive and relevant launch experience across a number of therapeutic categories.

The other key members of the ARS team bring extensive finance, business development and commercial operations experience and include Kathleen Scott, Chief Financial Officer; Justin Chakma, Chief Business Officer; Brian Dorsey, Chief Operating Officer and Alex Fitzpatrick, Chief Legal Officer.

(1)

Antigen binding domain—which is responsible for localizing the therapeutic activity of the payload to the site of the disease;

(2)

Linker-payload—a disease-modifying small molecule optimized for potency when conjugated to a monoclonal antibody via its linker; and

(3)

Fc region—tuned for requisite effector function.

Since our inception, we have raised over $360 million in proceeds, including equity financing from a syndicate of leading life sciences investors that include, among others, RA Capital, SR One and Deerfield, from our licensing and collaboration agreements and from our reverse merger with Silverback Therapeutics, Inc. We have builtentered into licensing and collaboration agreements for neffy with Alfresa Pharma for Japanese rights, and Pediatrix Therapeutics (founded by F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads and Creacion Ventures) for Chinese rights. We previously entered into a library of proprietary small molecule linker-payloadslicensing and antigen binding domains that allows us to mixcollaboration agreement with Recordati for development and match these components to strategically pair and create new therapeutic agents.

Our ImmunoTAC Platform Strategically Pairs Antigen Binding Domains with Linker-Payloads to Modulate Pathways Underlying Difficult-to-Treat Diseases

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Our Development Pipeline

Our ImmunoTAC platform drives our development pipeline of tissue targeted therapeutic candidates as summarizedcommercialization rights in the chart below:European Union (“EU”), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Russia/CIS, Turkey, the Middle East and French-speaking African countries. In the first quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement with Recordati to terminate our prior agreement with it and reacquire Recordati’s rights to develop and commercialize neffy.

Our Pipeline: Suite of neffy Programs

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SBT6050

Our lead product candidate, SBT6050,We are focused on advancing neffy through regulatory approvals for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, and commercialization. neffy is comprisedan intranasal composition of a TLR8 agonist linker-payload conjugated to a HER2-directed monoclonal antibody andepinephrine that is designed to activate myeloid cellsaddress the limitations of epinephrine intra-muscular injectable products that are available on the market today.

We submitted our NDA for the 2.0 mg neffy dose for adults and children greater than 30 kg in tumors expressing moderateweight to high levels of HER2. TLR8 is expressed in myeloid cell types prevalent in human tumors and TLR8 agonism can activate a broad spectrum of anti-tumor immune mechanisms. Therefore, we believe that TLR8 is the optimal target for activating human myeloid cell typesFDA in the TME.

Myeloid cells are a classthird quarter of innate immune cells that develop from common monocyte-dendritic cell progenitor cells and are comprised of both immunosuppressive and pro-inflammatory subpopulations. Tumors are permeated with myeloid cells, which can comprise between 5% and 10% of the tumor. Activation of myeloid cells, either2022. Our NDA was accepted for review by reprogramming immunosuppressive myeloid cells towards a more pro-inflammatory phenotype or stimulating other myeloid cells that have been silenced (e.g., dendritic cells), results in direct tumor killing and recruitment of immune cells. Further, activated myeloid cells can prime and amplify T cell and natural killer (NK) cell responses, bridging the innate and adaptive immunity to elicit broad, durable anti-tumor responses.

SBT6050 utilizes HER2 to localize and facilitate the delivery of the TLR8 agonist conjugate into myeloid cells in the TME. Therefore, unlike HER2 targeted therapies that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) such as Herceptin (trastuzumab), SBT6050 does not require HER2 to be an oncogenic driver to elicit anti-tumor activity. Furthermore, SBT6050 recognizes the HER2 sub-domain II, the pertuzumab epitope, and does not cross-block trastuzumab, allowing for potential combinations with trastuzumab-based agents, which are standard of care therapies in some HER2-expressing cancers.

We are currently evaluating the safety and tolerability of SBT6050 in a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial in patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-expressing solid tumors. Changes in pharmacodynamic markers have been observed in the first dose-escalation cohort of this trial. We anticipate providing an update on interim data from the Phase 1 single agent dose-escalation cohorts in the second half of 2021.

SBT6290

SBT6290 is our second product candidate, expanding on the potential of a TLR8 agonist as a payload. The same TLR8 linker-payload used in SBT6050 is conjugated to a monoclonal antibody that targets Nectin4. Nectin4 is expressed in subsets of solid tumors including bladder, triple negative breast, head and neck, and non-small cell lung cancers, and has been clinically validated through the approval of the antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin (Padcev). We anticipate submitting the IND for SBT6290FDA in the fourth quarter of 2021.

SBT8230

SBT8230,2022 with an ASGR1-TLR8 ImmunoTAC therapeutic, isanticipated mid-2023 PDUFA target action date. In the EU, our third TLR8 program. SBT8230 is engineered to potently activate human myeloid cells in the liverMAA for the treatment of cHBV. Selgantolimod (GS-9688), an existing untargeted, orally administered TLR8 agonist being developed2.0 mg neffy dose for subjects greater than 30 kg in weight was filed and validated for review by Gilead Sciences, generated anti-viral immune responses in a cHBV animal model. The clinical development of this untargeted TLR8 agonist has shown promise, but we believe that toxicity prevented the use of a sufficient dose to elicit optimal clinical activity. We believe liver- localized TLR8 agonism could better realize the potential for effective therapy and potentially lead to functional cures, which is defined as sustained loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in the blood, in patients suffering from cHBV. We selected a development candidate for this programEMA in the fourth quarter of 2020,2022. We have also entered into partnerships for the development and commercialization of neffy in regions outside of the U.S., including our partnerships with Alfresa Pharma in Japan and Pediatrix Therapeutics in China to develop and commercialize neffy in those countries.

Furthermore, we also plan to pursue additional expansion in our pediatric labeling with neffy and are conducting a single-arm pharmacokinetic study in subjects 4 to 18 years of age. The interim pediatric data including subjects greater than 30 kg in weight is included in our initial NDA. We plan to submit a supplemental NDA (“sNDA”) for neffy for children weighing 15 to 30 kilograms to the FDA in 2023. We also plan to submit a post-approval variation to EMA for 1.0 mg neffy following the potential approval of our MAA for the 2.0 mg neffy dose.

In addition, we believe neffy may be able to target other conditions in addition to Type I allergic reactions, and we anticipate initiating IND-enabling tox studieshave identified additional indications for further examination and potential future development.

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Our Strategy

Our strategy is focused on developing and commercializing neffy as a potentially first-in-class approved intranasal treatment for the approximately 16 million patients in the United States who have been diagnosed and experienced severe Type I allergic reactions and are at risk of anaphylaxis, in geographic regions outside of the United States and for other allergy indications. Key elements of our strategy include:

Obtain FDA approval of neffy. Our NDA was accepted for review by FDA in the fourth quarter of 2022 with an anticipated mid-2023 PDUFA target action date. If approved within our expected timeframe, neffy would be the first FDA-approved emergency treatment for Type I allergic reactions that is not an injection and that has no needle, which we believe would be an attractive treatment option for these patients. neffy has received Fast Track designation. However, the timing for regulatory approvals is outside ARS Pharma’s control, may be delayed and is uncertain.

Commercialize neffy in the United States. If neffy is approved by the FDA, we plan to initially commercialize it in the United States by deploying a combination of direct promotion, virtual sales consultants, and non-personal promotion intended to reach, at a minimum, the healthcare professionals that account for 45% of the current epinephrine prescriptions. Our promotion will target high-prescribing allergists, pediatricians and primary care physicians through both traditional and non-traditional professional channels. Through these efforts, combined with direct-to-consumer omnichannel strategies to drive awareness and patients asking for neffy, we believe we can quickly and efficiently reach a majority of the approximately 3.3 million patients in the United States who filled a prescription for an epinephrine intra-muscular injectable device in 2021. In addition, we believe that the potential for neffy to address the limitations of auto-injectors will allow us to expand the market opportunity for neffy over time to include the broader population of approximately 2.5 million patients who have received a prescription, but either refused or discontinued treatment in the last three years, as well as the approximately 11 million patients who are diagnosed and under the care of physicians, but have not been prescribed an epinephrine intra-muscular injectable.

Commercialize neffyoutside of the United States with our partners. We believe that there is significant commercial potential for neffy in markets outside of the United States. In Europe, our MAA was filed and validated for review by EMA in the fourth quarter of 2022. We intend to submit regulatory filings equivalent to an NDA in Japan and China in collaboration with Alfresa Pharma and Pediatrix Therapeutics, respectively, to whom we have granted exclusive licenses in those regions for the development and commercialization of neffy.

Conduct additional studies of neffy to address additional Type I allergic reactions. There remains a significant unmet need for treatments for allergies that can produce Type I reactions. We are conducting clinical studies to support the expansion of labeling for neffy to outpatient epinephrine use in other Type I allergy conditions for which epinephrine intra-muscular injectables are not approved.

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Overview of Type I Allergic Reactions and Current Challenges

Overview of Type I Allergic Reactions

The immune system plays an important role in monitoring and protecting the body against microbial threats. However, this system can lead to overstated immune and inflammatory responses that results in adverse outcomes known as hypersensitivity reactions. Type I allergic reactions are potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions that can occur within minutes following exposure to an allergen and need to be treated immediately to relieve troublesome symptoms, mitigate severity and avoid a potentially fatal event. These severe reactions are caused by exposure to a specific allergen, typically foods (most commonly, nuts, eggs, shellfish), drugs and venoms and are mediated by immunoglobulin E IgE antibodies that bind to mast cells causing the release of histamines. The histamines induce smooth muscle contraction in the airways and a wheal and flare response in the skin producing swelling and inflammation. At the same time, widespread activation of mast cells leads to systemic effects of circulatory shock, hypotension or vascular collapse, and in the most severe cases respiratory arrest and death. The severity of a Type I allergic reaction is a function of the speed of onset and the number of organ systems affected by the reaction. As such, early intervention within minutes is critical in order to provide symptom relief and to prevent severe allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis.

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Table 1: Symptoms of Type I Allergic Reactions including Anaphylaxis

Body System

Common Symptoms of Type I Allergic Reactions

Respiratory

Chest tightness, wheezing, difficulty breathing

Upper airway or laryngeal angioedema including swelling of throat

Cardiovascular

Hypotension, presyncope (feeling faint), loss of consciousness

Dermatological

Urticaria (hives) and pruritus (itching)

Gastrointestinal

Abdominal pain and vomiting

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* Reprinted with permission from Dr. Pete Smith (Medical Media Kits) and Mary Johnson

Role of Epinephrine in Treating Type I Allergic Reactions

Epinephrine intra-muscular injectables are the only current out-of-hospital treatment for severe Type I allergic reactions and are recommended to be prescribed to all patients who have experienced a severe Type I allergic reaction and have either experienced anaphylaxis or are at risk of anaphylaxis. When properly used, these devices can allow for the early administration of epinephrine to stop or reduce the intensity of the systemic allergic reaction before refractory anaphylaxis develops. Even a few minutes delay in the administration of epinephrine can lead to the need for emergency services and/or hospitalizations, comorbidities and life-threatening symptoms or events, while also prolonging the significant negative impact on patient quality of life by delaying symptom relief.

EpiPen epinephrine autoinjector was first approved by the FDA for the emergency treatment of Type I hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, in December 1987. Other FDA-approved epinephrine intra-muscular injection products include Twinject® approved in May 2003, Adrenaclick® approved in November 2009, and Auvi-Q® approved in August 2012. In June 2017, the FDA approved Symjepi epinephrine injection, which is a pre-filled syringe for the same indication. These injection devices were approved by the FDA without pharmacokinetic data based on an assumption that injections and devices were all effectively the same as the reference listed drug of intra-muscular injection with a needle and syringe. Intra-muscular injection with a needle and syringe is considered the gold standard, and is almost exclusively used in non-community use clinical settings. Although there are no known differences in efficacy or time to observed effect in clinical practice between these devices, current data indicates that different devices deliver an intra-muscular dose of epinephrine with a range of PKs. A single dose with either an intra-muscular injection with needle and syringe or an auto-injector device results in resolution of allergic reaction for approximately 90% of cases within 5 to 15 minutes.

Epinephrine works due to its agonistic effects on the body’s adrenergic receptors (alpha and beta receptors). By activating alpha-1 receptors, epinephrine prevents and relieves airway edema, hypotension and shock. By activating beta-1 receptors, epinephrine increases the rate and force of cardiac contractions. Lastly, epinephrine’s effect on beta-2 receptors leads to bronchodilation and decreased allergy causing mediator release by mast cells.

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Treatment guidelines recommend that epinephrine be administered immediately at the first sign of a severe allergic reaction.Epinephrine is the only medication that can reverse severe allergic reactions and reduce hospitalization and death. Early administration of epinephrine is associated with better outcomes and decreased likelihood of hospitalizations. The sooner epinephrine is administered following allergen exposure, the less severe the systemic allergic reaction may become, and the less likely it will develop into an anaphylaxis event. A short delay of even a few minutes in the recognition and treatment of anaphylaxis can lead to more serious symptoms, including potential hypoxia or death. Additionally, accompanying symptoms of even non-life-threatening allergic reactions can adversely impact health-related quality of life and can lead to loss of productivity, negatively impact social life, as well as lead to depression and anxiety and feelings of fear, frustration, worry and lack of control. A second dose of epinephrine is required for adequate treatment in about 10% of cases, irrespective of whether epinephrine was dosed using an auto-injector such as EpiPen or needle and syringe.

While antihistamines such as diphenhydramine, also known as Benadryl® (marketed by Johnson & Johnson), can sometimes relieve the dermatological symptoms and pruritus associated with severe Type I allergic reactions, treatment guidelines state that antihistamines should never be administered instead of epinephrine because they do not reverse the cardiovascular symptoms such as hypotension and shock, or respiratory distress. Instead, antihistamines can potentially mask symptoms and allow the disease to continue to progress silently.

In the United States, dosing recommendations for epinephrine use by intra-muscular injection are from 0.1 mg to 0.5 mg depending on weight with repeat dosing administered as needed to control a severe allergic reaction. 0.1 mg, 0.15 mg and 0.3 mg are the approved doses for the epinephrine auto-injectors. Approximately 80% of epinephrine auto-injectors prescribed in the United States for outpatient use are the 0.3 mg dose level for persons greater than 30 kg in weight, approximately 15% contain doses of 0.15 mg for persons between 15 to 30 kg and less than 5% contain 0.1 mg doses for persons less than 15 kg. A low dose of epinephrine is important for safety as overexposure to epinephrine can lead to adverse events.

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Limitations of Existing Epinephrine Products

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* Reprinted from RECAPEM (image described in the public-domain and freely available).

Epinephrine intra-muscular injectables have been proven to be highly effective if they are administered timely and effectively, and work as intended, but the limitations of these products include painful application, inconvenient size and a complicated mechanism of administration. These limitations discourage patients and caregivers from carrying these devices and administering epinephrine in a timely manner. Both uptake and use of intra-muscular injection devices has been limited among eligible patients with severe Type I allergic reactions at risk of anaphylaxis. Of the approximately 16 million people in the United States who have been diagnosed and experienced Type I severe allergic reactions, only 3.3 million currently have an active and filled epinephrine autoinjector prescription.

In studies published in peer-reviewed journals, only 23% to 48% of patients self-administered with an auto-injector during a severe Type I allergic reaction, likely due to less than half of patients actually carrying their prescribed injection device, and only half administering even if the device was available. Across our market research studies, approximately 40% to 60% of patients reported using an antihistamine first, which is not known to be effective, and if carrying an intra-muscular injectable, waited an average of 8 to 18 minutes to administer the device. The principal device-related reasons for delay were presence of a needle, concern about serious cardiac side effects, and potential pain. Patients, and particularly parents who administer to their child, perceive injection to be traumatic, which leads to a fear and avoidance of administering timely treatment. Further, the potentially life-threatening nature of a severe Type I allergic reaction is often accompanied with psychological stress and panic which can lead to delays or errors in proper intra-muscular injection, which can result in hospitalization or even death. In a meta-analysis of 32 studies evaluating epinephrine injectable administration techniques, 23% to 35% of participants failed to achieve the correct administration technique following training.

Further, there is variability in respect to whether auto-injector devices are able to reliably deliver a sufficient dose of epinephrine. The FDA has reported that EpiPen device failures lead to multiple deaths and dozens of hospitalizations annually.

The injection needle can be painful and dangerous not just due to the risk of skin lacerations and the possibility of the needle hitting a patient’s bone during administration, but also the risk of serious, sudden cardiovascular events resulting from accidental blood vessel injection. In our clinical studies, we observed instances of potential accidental blood vessel injection in approximately 14% of patients dosing themselves with EpiPen.

In comparison, neffy is perceived by patients and parents as a potentially “game changing” device that, if approved, could improve the management of severe Type I allergic reactions by addressing the current limitations of epinephrine intra-muscular injectable devices.

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Clinical Development of neffy

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neffy is designed to provide injection-like absorption of epinephrine at a 1.0 or 2.0 mg dose comparable to 0.3 mg injection, in a small, easy-to-carry, easy-to-use, rapidly administered and reliable nasal spray. Based on our development work to date, we believe neffy’s “no needle, no injection” clinical profile supports differentiation over intra-muscular injections for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

We submitted our NDA to the FDA in the third quarter of 2022 and submittingbased on a rigorous clinical development program agreed upon during pre-NDA meeting discussion with the INDFDA in mid-2021. Our NDA was accepted for review by FDA in the second halffourth quarter of 2022.2022 with an anticipated mid-2023 PDUFA target action date. The FDA reference listed drug is intra-muscular needle-in-syringe injection products but there are several approved epinephrine intra-muscular injection products, including intra-muscular auto-injectors such as EpiPen, that establish a range of exposures that have indistinguishable efficacy, time to observed clinical effect and safety.

Additional Immuno-Oncology ProgramsDuring our pre-NDA meeting in mid-2021, FDA agreed that bracketing based on the primary parameters of Cmax, tmax and early partial AUCs from the range of PKs observed in listed epinephrine injection products was the best approach to ensure efficacy and safety, while bracketing by AUC0-t was considered an important parameter to ensure safety. PD measures of epinephrine activity such as systolic blood pressure and pulse rate were agreed to be supportive, and to be not meaningfully lower than injection. FDA also agreed that successfully demonstrating that neffy met these criteria in three primary studies described below would be sufficient to serve as a basis for our registration program for adults. Furthermore, FDA also agreed that a single study in pediatric subjects also described below would be sufficient to support our pediatric labeling.

We have completed three registrational clinical trials in adults using our 2.0 neffy dose for which we submitted our NDA to the FDA in the third quarter of 2022. The adult registrational program using the 2.0 mg neffy was intended to generate bioavailability, PDs and safety data in three primary studies: (i) during single and repeat dosing in healthy subjects (EPI-15), (ii) during self-administration by subjects with severe Type I allergies (EPI-17), and (iii) during rhinitis induced by a nasal challenge with an allergen (EPI-16). EPI-15 was conducted in the United States on behalf of ARS Pharma by WCCT Global, Inc., a third-party contract research organization, and selected for 59 healthy male or female volunteers between the ages of 18 to 55 years. EPI-16 was conducted in the United States on behalf of ARS Pharma by Altasciences Clinical Los Angeles, Inc., a third-party contract research organization, and selected 36 male or female volunteers between the ages of 18 to 55 years with a positive history of seasonal allergic rhinitis related to tree or grass allergens as demonstrated by skin prick test and nasal allergen challenge at screening. EPI-17 was conducted in the United States on behalf of ARS Pharma by Novum Pharmaceutical Research Services, a third party contract research organization, and selected 45 male or female volunteers between the ages of 18 to 55 years who had an ongoing history of Type I allergies. To support our proposed pediatric labeling, we are also conducting a single-arm pharmacokinetic study in subjects 4 to 18 years of age with either 1.0 mg or 2.0 mg of neffy depending on the subject’s weight (EPI-10). EPI-10 is being conducted in the United States by ARS Pharma and selected 42 male or female subjects between the ages of 4 and 18 years who have Type I allergies that required that the subject or caregiver been prescribed an epinephrine product. The interim results of this study from 57 subjects including 16 subjects dosed with 2.0 mg neffy were included in our initial NDA that was accepted for review by FDA in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In addition, we have completed two proof of concept clinical studies that evaluated the bioavailability of our 2.0 mg neffy dose. These two earlier-stage studies were conducted in the United States on behalf of ARS Pharma by WCCT Global, Inc. and Altasciences Clinical Los Angeles, Inc, respectively, and selected a total of 26 healthy male or female volunteers between the ages of 18 to SBT605055 years, and SBT6290, we42 male or female volunteers between the ages of 18 to 55 years who had an ongoing history of type I allergies.

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2.0 mg neffy is intended to be the dose that is comparable to approved 0.3 mg epinephrine intra-muscular injection products for persons greater than 30 kg in weight, which represents approximately 80% of the prescriptions in the United States. 1.0 mg neffy is intended to be the dose for persons 15 to 30 kg in weight. Our NDA for the 2.0 mg dose of neffy for adults and children 30 kg and greater in weight was accepted for review by FDA in the fourth quarter of 2022 with an anticipated mid-2023 PDUFA target action date. We plan to submit a supplemental NDA for the 1.0 mg dose of neffy in 2023 for subjects 15 to 30 kg in weight.

In our clinical studies in both adults and children, 2.0 mg neffy gave comparable epinephrine exposures that were within the range of approved intra-muscular injection products (needle-in-syringe products and EpiPen) on key pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax, tmax, early partial AUCs, AUC0-t). The integrated data analysis summarizing the key outcomes for registration are evaluating other solid tumor targetsshown below.

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The hemodynamic response, measured by systolic blood pressure and heart rate, after administration of neffy was comparable to leveragesome injection products including EpiPen, and was greater than 0.3 mg intra-muscular needle-with-syringe. These hemodynamic responses were within normal physiologic ranges that are typically experienced during exercise or climbing stairs.

Across all the TLR8 linker-payload pairedclinical trials, a total of more than 600 subjects have been exposed to neffy. All doses of neffy ranging from 0.5 mg to 2.0 mg single doses, as well as repeat doses up to 4 mg within 10 minutes, were well-tolerated by patients. There is no meaningful pain upon administration of neffy with additional tumor directed antibodies. These targets are differentially expressedaverage scores of 5 to 8 as assessed on tumors compareda 100 mm visual analogue scale, across studies. There was no irritation observed based on formal scoring in all studies. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events, and adverse events reported have generally not resulted in side effects more severe than grade 1, and were comparable to normal tissue.injection products. Since neffy is given without needle, there was also no needle-related injuries or accidental blood vessel injections.

ASGR1-TGFß Receptor Antagonist—Fibrosis ProgramIn contrast, for patients self-administering devices, which involved 132 subjects dosed for each of EpiPen and Symjepi, approximately 14% of subjects dosed with EpiPen (auto-injector) and 2% of subjects dosed with Symjepi (pre-filled needle-in-syringe) experienced a potential blood vessel injection leading to a rapid bolus dose of epinephrine, which could lead to serious side effects including cardiovascular events and cerebral hemorrhage according to the FDA EpiPen label. No subjects dosed with neffy experienced a blood vessel injection since it is not possible via the nasal route of administration.

TGFß signaling is a key mediatorFurthermore, our registrational self-administration study of fibrosis2.0 mg neffy by adults with severe Type I allergies (EPI-17) showed no critical dosing errors with neffy as evaluated by human factors professionals. Furthermore, neffy also showed zero dosing errors in two human factor validation studies involving 150 subjects when used by trained adults or trained children across multiple organ systems, including the liver. In the liver, TGFß drives fibrosis initiation and progression through multiple mechanisms, including hepatocyte apoptosis, hepatic stellate cell transdifferentiation to myofibroblasts, and pro-fibrotic macrophage activation. Our ASGR1-TGFßR1 antagonist conjugate pairs the ASGR1 antibodydemographic groups, as well as when used by passers-byers with no prior experience or training with an epinephrine device.

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Key features of neffy demonstrated in SBT8230 with a proprietary TGFßR1 antagonist to achieve liver-localized inhibition of TGFß signaling to treat fibrosis. Our tissue-directed approach has been designed to prevent toxicities associated with untargeted systemically distributed TGFßR1 antagonist agents. Our ASGR1-TGFßR1 antagonist conjugates are currently in preclinical testing and have demonstrated potent inhibition of TGFß signaling in vitro. We are currently evaluating conjugates in vivo in mouse disease models.our clinical, human factors or stability studies include:

Our Strategy

Our goal is to transform the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases with unmet need using our ImmunoTAC platform to deliver a new class of systemically delivered, tissue-directed, and locally active therapies. The key elements of our business strategy are to:

Advance SBT6050

Clinical Feature

Supporting Clinical Data

Comparable PKs at a low dose of epinephrine

Cmax, tmax and AUCs were within the range of approved intra-muscular injection products with a low intranasal dose of 2.0 mg neffy (people >30 kg in weight) and 1.0 mg neffy

(people 15 – 30 kg weight).

Robust PDs within a range comparable to injection products with no risk of accidental blood vessel injections

PD responses including systolic blood pressure and heart rate were within normal physiologic changes and comparable to auto-injector products, with maximum changes less that of the EpiPen.

neffy has no potential for the accidental blood vessel injections observed with injection products such as EpiPen, which can lead to rapid and high epinephrine exposures that cause rapid increases in systolic blood pressure and can lead to cerebral hemorrhage or other cardiovascular side effects.

No meaningful pain or irritation after administration

Visual analogue scale scores were an average of 5 to 8 on a 100 mm scale, and show no meaningful pain (or burning or stinging sensation) after administration, attributable to neffy being an aqueous formulation. There is also no irritation observed based on formal scoring.

Needle containing intra-muscular injection products are known to be painful and cause reluctance to dose.

Easy to use

No critical dosing errors during self-administration with 2.0 mg neffy by type I allergy adult subjects (EPI-17).

Zero percent error rate in two human factors studies with 150 persons, when used by trained adults or trained children and when used by untrained passers-byers.

Easy to carry

neffy is comparable in size to a wireless earbud case, and multiple neffy devices can fit in a patient or parent’s pocket to satisfy guideline recommendations.

High reliability

neffy ’s sprayer device is designed to deliver the effective dose more than 99.999% of the time, with no recalls or warnings among the millions of the same nasal sprayer devices sold to date.

No breathing or inhalation required

neffy is designed to be absorbed passively through clinical development in late-stage diseasethe nasal mucosa without any inhalation, sniffing or breathing required, with its particles too large to enter the lungs.

Injection-like absorption even with nasal congestion

neffy reaches exposures comparable to approved injectable products even after induction of moderate to severe nasal rhinitis and/or edema (e.g., nasal congestion)

Shelf-life at least comparable to injection products, but also with high temperature stability

Drug stability studies show that may allow usneffy has a shelf-life at least comparable to seek expedited approvalusing regulatory pathways availablethe 18 month shelf-life of EpiPen, but with high temperature stability, based on stability data from the FDA such as Accelerated Approval, Breakthrough Therapy, Priority Review2.0 mg dose of neffy for 12 months and the 1.0 mg dose of neffy for 24 months.

neffy remains within specifications even when exposed to temperatures of 50oC (122oF) for at least three months, or Fast Track designation.In earlyclinical trials, we will be examining the anti-tumor activitytemperatures of SBT6050 in patients that have failed all available therapies associated with clinical benefit, in addition to measuring biomarkers of immune cell activation. This approach may allow us to seek expedited approval

from the FDA based on surrogate endpoints (through the Accelerated Approval path) and expedited FDA review through programs such as Breakthrough Therapy, Priority Review, or Fast Track designation. We are evaluating activity broadly across HER2-expressing cancer types, including cancers where no HER2-directed therapies are currently approved, and have identified several tumor types and lines of therapy that potentially present opportunities40oC (104oF) for utilizing one or more of these accelerated approval pathways.at least six months.

Planned Clinical Trials in Additional Indications

Epinephrine has been used empirically by physicians and included in treatment guidelines for multiple allergy conditions that do not fall under the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions indication that epinephrine auto-injectors are labelled for. The needle-free, portable, easy-to-use and potentially safer clinical profile of neffy supported by pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data could enable the broader adoption of epinephrine in the outpatient setting for these other indications. We are conducting proof of concept studies evaluating neffy in additional allergy indications where neffy could potentially be used multiple times a year to treat acute episodes.

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Development outside the United States

In Europe, our MAA was filed and validated for review by EMA in the fourth quarter of 2022.In the Day 120 comments, we received during EMA’s review of our prior 1.0 mg dose neffy MAA submission, EMA required a preclinical dog anaphylaxis study, which we completed with data showing no meaningful differences in epinephrine absorption of neffy in dogs in a normal state or an anaphylactic state. In April 2022, we voluntarily withdrew our 1.0 mg neffy MAA submission to re-submit a 2.0 mg neffy MAA submission and allow EMA to review both our 2.0 mg neffy and preclinical dog anaphylaxis study results.

We are also pursuing pediatric approval of neffy in Europe based on the same US pediatric study. We plan to submit a post-approval variation to EMA for the 1.0 mg neffy following the potential approval of the 2.0 mg neffy dose.

Our partners in Japan and China expect that they will file for regulatory approval in their respective regions at end of 2023 or early 2024 following our anticipated FDA approval of neffy.

Commercialization Opportunity and Commercialization Plan

Type I Allergy Market Overview

neffy is a needle-free, low-dose intranasal epinephrine nasal spray in clinical development for use as a rescue medication for people with Type I severe allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. neffy was designed to provide injection-like absorption of epinephrine, in a small, easy-to-carry, easy-to-use, rapidly administered, and reliable nasal spray device.

All systemic allergic reactions have the potential of progressing to anaphylaxis and becoming life-threatening. These reactions can be unpredictable and progress quickly to develop severe symptoms within a few minutes after exposure and can progress to a life-threatening event if not treated immediately. Patient and caregiver preparedness to act quickly and confidently during a severe allergic reaction is imperative. Hesitation can lead to worse clinical outcomes and can be fatal.

Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. Epinephrine needs to be given as soon as symptoms occur because it is the only medication proven to stop a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.

Needle-free and easy-to-use neffy may allow for improved patient and caregiver preparedness to give epinephrine quickly, confidently, and without hesitation that is caused by fear of the needle. Intended for use at the first signs of an allergic response, neffy is designed to provide patients and their families with a new option to rapidly resolve symptoms and prevent progression to severe anaphylaxis.

If approved for use, we believe our first-in-class nasal spray may transform the way we think about and use life-saving epinephrine.

Existing US Market Opportunity

We estimate approximately 25 to 40 million people in the United States have experienced Type I allergic reactions. Of this group, approximately 16 million people have been diagnosed and experienced severe Type I allergic reactions that may lead to anaphylaxis, but only about 3.3 million of them filled a prescription in 2021 for an epinephrine intra-muscular injectable device, including auto-injectors, equating to approximately 10 million devices.

Of those 3.3 million people, roughly half don’t carry these devices due to many drawbacks that can result in patient and caregiver injury, hesitation, and delays in administration principally because of apprehension and pain of needles. In turn, the failure or delay of epinephrine delivery can allow the allergic reaction to progress in severity causing life-threatening symptoms or events that potentially require emergency services and/or hospitalization.

We believe neffy could address the needs of not only the approximately 3.3 million patients in the United States who currently fill intra-muscular injectable prescriptions, but also the more than 22 million eligible Type I allergy patients in the United States who are at risk of severe allergic reactions that are not prescribed or do not fill their epinephrine prescriptions, including approximately 2.5 million former injectable patients in the United States in the last three years that either refused to fill, or did not renew an intramuscular injectable device prescription.

Based on market access research and data from IQVIA, we estimate that 2021 U.S. net sales for intra-muscular injectable devices were approximately $1 billion. Approximately 80% of the epinephrine intra-muscular injectables sold in the United States in 2021 were for the 0.3 mg dose for adults and children greater than 30 kg in weight.

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We have conducted multiple market research studies with caregivers, generally parents, and patients with severe Type I allergic reactions in the United States to evaluate potential market perceptions of neffy and currently available epinephrine delivery devices. Based on two independent quantitative market research studies including a total of 350 patients and 75 allergists, pediatricians and primary care physicians, approximately 80% of patients with a current epinephrine auto-injector prescription stated that they would prefer neffy. Furthermore, 100% of the physicians surveyed stated they would prescribe if their patient asked for neffy, indicating that neffy prescriptions would likely be highly driven by patient preference and awareness of neffy.

In our market research, parents and people with current or prior epinephrine auto-injector prescriptions were asked if and when they would adopt a new nasal spray device product such as neffy.

Advance SBT6050 subsequently into earlier lines

A majority indicated they would adopt neffy within three months of therapyit coming to maximize patient benefitmarket,

69% of patients indicated they would use neffy sooner than their current auto-injector device,

65 to 72% of patients indicated that they would use neffy first instead of an over-the-counter antihistamine

88% reported they would be more willing to use neffy in public.

These data suggest thatneffy has the potential to be rapidly adopted by most of the approximately 3.3 million patients in the United States today who fill their epinephrine auto-injector prescription, if approved. These patients serve as our base estimate for the current epinephrine market for neffy.

Key potential growth levers for neffy within the existing epinephrine market for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, which currently consists of only intra-muscular injectable products include:

Consistent base market growth observed with the epinephrine intra-muscular injectable products. From 2007 to 2021, the number of epinephrine intra-muscular injectable devices sold in the United States has increased by approximately 5% annually based on IQVIA unit sales data, primarily due to the increasing size of the overall population affected by severe Type I allergies, led by food-based allergies.

Potential promotional lift due to new marketing and commercial success, if approved. Our long-term clinical development goaleducation efforts by a branded product such as neffy. The existing market for epinephrine intra-muscular injectable products is to position SBT6050 in early-line standard of care regimens in key indications to potentially provide benefit to patients. We seek to accomplish thischaracterized by evaluating combination therapy approaches with therapeutics approved as standard of care. We believe SBT6050being highly promotionally sensitive, particularly from a consumer perspective, and our market research has indicated that neffy’s user-friendly product profile has the potential to be an ideal combination therapy in early line settings.

Maximize the therapeutic potentialresonate significantly with consumers. We estimate that branded marketing of TLR8in oncology and other serious diseases. We are adapting learnings from our SBT6050 programEpiPen prior to expand the TLR8 agonist franchise by conjugating this payload to antibodies that target different tumor antigens that are prevalent in other cancer types. Additionally, the ability to drive myeloid cell activation in the liver presents an opportunity to treat cHBV infections, which is our most advanced initiative outsidegeneric entry contributed a promotional lift of immuno-oncology.

Leverage our ImmunoTAC platform for promising new antibody-linker-payload combinations. We are strategically pairing our disease-modulating payloads with tissue targeted antibodies, such as our ASGR1-TGFßR1 antagonist conjugate, to create new therapeutic agents with the goal of providing benefits to patients who suffer from cancer and other serious diseases.31% over base epinephrine intra-muscular injectable market trends. We plan to continue to leverage our ImmunoTAC platform, discovery of targeted binding proteins (including antibodies),reach and support patients directly through efficient therapeutic discovery infrastructure to discoverdirect-to-consumer advertising after educating professional physician practices and develop novel small molecule therapeutics and ImmunoTAC conjugates.securing appropriate payer coverage for neffy.

Evaluate opportunities

Targeting the approximately 2.5 million former patients that either do not fill their epinephrine intra-muscular injectables prescriptions or whose prescriptions have recently lapsed. The exodus of patients who have received prescriptions from the market has been attributed to accelerate development timelines and/a number of factors, including reduced promotional activities in recent years, limited adherence program effectiveness (lapsed prescriptions) and patient adversity to currently marketed products (i.e., fear of needles and concerns regarding poor reliability). In our market research of 100 former patients who refused to fill or enhancerenew a prescription, approximately 75% indicated a willingness to return to the commercial potentialmarket and request neffy if approved. We hope to engage with these patients through programs to encourage appropriate epinephrine use with neffy and increase consistency of our programs in partnership with third parties. We planepinephrine acquisition to selectively explore potential strategic partnerships on a program-by-program basis with biopharmaceutical partners whose research, development, commercial, and/or geographic capabilities complement our own. We believe strategic partnerships can help mitigate clinical and commercial risk, accelerate timelines, and/or maximize global commercial potential.manage their condition.

Our Team

Increased per patient device acquisitionby patients and parents. In our market research of 350 patients with an active intra-muscular injectable prescription, approximately 70% to 80% of patients reported an intention to acquire additional devices compared to their current injectable device if neffy is approved by the FDA. Currently, we estimate only between 20% to 30% of patients currently obtain more than one pack (containing two devices) per year today.

We have assembled an accomplished management team

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US Market Expansion Opportunity

While we believe the existing epinephrine intra-muscular injectables market is a large commercial opportunity for neffy with a proven track record of therapeutic development expertise and of generating meaningful shareholder value. The members of our team have deep experience in discovering, developing, and commercializing therapeutics with a particular focus on cancer, having worked at companies such as Synthorx (acquired by Sanofi), Juno Therapeutics (acquired by Celgene), Cascadian Therapeutics (acquired by Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics)), Acerta Pharma (acquired by AstraZeneca), Ignyta (acquired by Roche), Roche/Genentech, Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics), SUGEN (acquired by Pharmacia), and Trubion Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Emergent Biosolutions).

Lead Product Candidate SBT6050: TLR8 Agonist Conjugated to a HER2 Antibody

SBT6050 is our lead product candidate, engineered using our ImmunoTAC platform. SBT6050 is comprised of a TLR8 agonist conjugated to a HER2-directed monoclonal antibody and is designedmultiple independent opportunities for subcutaneous delivery with tumor-localized activation of myeloid cells.

Background and Our Approach in Addressing Limitations with Current Immuno-oncology Therapies

Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) such as a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) and CTLA-4 blockers have emerged as important foundational immuno-oncology therapies because of their ability to generate durable responses in some patients, in previously intractable cancers and to improve the overall survival. Despite the significant benefit for patients with durable responses to CPIs, most patients unfortunately do not respond or have limited benefit. One of the important reasons whyfurther growth, IQVIA claims data indicates that many diagnosed, identifiable eligible patients do not respond to CPIs is the absence of a sufficient number of T cells within the tumor. To achieve an anti-tumor response with a CPI, a baseline level of T cells must already be present in the tumor. Scientists and clinicians have termed tumors that lack the requisite T cell levels as “immune cell deserts” or “cold tumors,” but more accurately these are “T cell deserts.”

Solid tumors, including those resistant to T cell targeted immunotherapy, such as PD-1 and CTLA-4 blockers, are permeated with myeloid cells, which can comprise between 5% and 10%receive prescriptions for intra-muscular injectables. Outside of the tumor—at least twicefive million patients who were recently prescribed an epinephrine injectable device, there are approximately 11 million patients who are under the numbercare of T cells inphysicians per IQVIA claims data, but have not been prescribed an epinephrine intra-muscular injectable device, as well as another approximately 9 million patients not currently under the TME. Myeloid cells are a classcare of innate immune cells comprised of both immunosuppressive and pro-inflammatory subpopulations. Activation of myeloid cells, either by reprogramming immunosuppressive myeloid cells towards a more pro-inflammatory phenotype or stimulating other myeloid cells that have been silenced (e.g., dendritic cells), results in direct tumor killing and recruitment of immune cells. Further, activated myeloid cells can prime and amplify T cell and NK cell responses, bridging the innate and adaptive immunity to elicit broad, durable anti-tumor responses. Successful activation of myeloid cells can lead to anti-tumor immunity, even in tumors that are refractory to immune checkpoint blockade, which we believe may bring substantial benefit to a larger fraction of patients.physicians.

Over time, targeting the approximately 11 million identified and diagnosed in-office patients in IQVIA claims data with Type I allergic reactions that are eligible but have not been prescribed epinephrine device. In our market research, physicians indicated they would prescribe neffy to more than half of the patients who were eligible, but do not currently receive an intra-muscular injectable prescription.

Development in new allergy indications. There are approximately 10 million patients with allergy conditions (e.g., urticaria flares and asthma exacerbations) where epinephrine has never been formally developed as a prescription product, despite being used in-hospital to resolve such acute symptoms. Such patients in other conditions experience multiple episodes each year, and we believe they would likely use multiple neffy each year to resolve their symptoms. Therefore, the market opportunity for treating such conditions may be as large as the type I allergy including anaphylaxis indication.

We are conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled proof of concept study evaluating the safety and efficacy of neffy in approximately 24 subjects with frequent urticaria flares. We expect to complete enrollment and report topline data from this study in the second half of 2023.

We designed SBT6050 to potently activate the myeloid cell compartment in the TME. We performed a thorough assessment of innate immune receptors with the goal of identifying a payload target that was well expressed in human myeloid cells. Ex-US Market Opportunity

Outside of the United States, we estimate that there are an additional 15 million patients in Europe, and over 30 million patients in Asia including China and Japan, that experience Type I allergic reactions that are clinically appropriate for being prescribed neffy.

In 2021, epinephrine intra-muscular injectable sales outside the United States were approximately $250 million based on IQVIA data. In Europe and Japan, sales of epinephrine injectable devices are approximately $160 million. We believe education around Type I allergic reactions and marketing of intra-muscular injectables has been limited in these regions, and that promotion and the availability of neffy would significantly expand the market.

Market research conducted in Europe with 120 patients who have an epinephrine auto-injector prescription indicated that 98% would prefer neffy, and that they would acquire approximately twice as many neffy devices compared to their current injectable device, if approved.

To target these opportunities outside of the United States, we have entered into licensing and collaboration agreements with Alfresa Pharma for Japanese rights to neffy and Pediatrix Therapeutics (founded by F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads and Creacion Ventures) for Chinese rights to neffy. We intend to pursue strategic partnerships for the commercialization of neffy in additional regions outside of the United States, subject to FDA approval of neffy.

We previously entered into a licensing and collaboration agreement with Recordati for development and commercialization rights in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Russia/CIS, Turkey, the Middle East and French-speaking African countries. In the first quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement with Recordati to terminate our prior agreement with it and reacquire Recordati’s rights to develop and commercialize neffy.

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Commercial Strategy

img75081862_9.jpg 

We believe TLR8that the epinephrine market is unique in its breadth of expression across human myeloid cell subpopulations and its restricted expressiona highly consumer driven market. We expect this to the myeloid cell lineage. In consideration of internally generated data and emerging external research on human myeloid cell biology, we selected TLR8 as the best payload targetbe especially true for activation of myeloid cells resulting in direct tumor killing and recruitment and activation of additional immune cells, such as T cells and NK cells, to further effect the anti-tumor response.

Activating the Myeloid Cell Compartment Through TLR8 Agonism

Myeloid cells develop from common monocyte-dendritic cell progenitor cells and are critical mediators of innate immune responses. These cells are plastic in nature and their function and phenotype are heavily influenced by environmental cues. In the TME and tumor draining lymph nodes, macrophages, conventional dendritic cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells, and monocytes are highly prevalent, but also skewed towards inactive or immunosuppressive states. We believe TLR8 is the optimal target for activating these myeloid cell types due to its restricted expression and function within these cells. As shown in the figure below, TLR8 activation of human myeloid cells elicits an anti-tumor response through a multi-pronged mechanism of action, including direct tumor cell killing, recruitment of immune cells, and the secondary activation of NK cells, T cells and B cells, thus driving both an innate and adaptive immune response against the tumor.

TLR8 is Highly Expressed in Human Myeloid Cell Types That Drive Anti-Tumor Responses When Activated

LOGO

As a resultneffy, given that 100% of the broad immune activation triggeredphysicians surveyed in our quantitative market research studies indicated that they would prescribe neffy if asked by a TLR8 agonist, systemically administered but untargeted TLR8 small molecule therapeutic candidates from other companies have resulted in an adverse event profile that we believe has limited achieving a dose level sufficient to produce the desired therapeutic benefit. An exemplary TLR8 small molecule agonist is motolimod, originally developed by Array Biopharmapatient and licensed to VentiRx. Motolimod was the first TLR8 specific, but untargeted, agonist tested in the clinic for the treatmentapproximately 70% of solid tumors. Early trials of subcutaneously administered motolimod yielded adverse events we believe to be consistent with broad myeloid cell activation in the periphery, including injection site reactions and symptoms associated with systemic cytokine release, which limited dose-escalation.physicians would recommend neffy. As a result, we believe that sufficient drug exposuredriving consumer awareness, so that patients and parents ask their healthcare provider for neffy, while minimizing both access and educational barriers to acceptance is essential.

Our plan to execute on our go-to-market strategy for neffy includes the following:

We plan to create healthcare professional and consumer awareness and anticipation prior to launch. We are refining our go-to-market strategy and creating awareness about our company and our technology. We expect to expand medical affairs capabilities prior to commercial launch to establish additional relationships with key opinion leaders and gain insight into current practice patterns and burdens. The medical affairs team will also collaborate with the commercial team to help payers fully understand neffy’s value proposition and the limitations associated with needle injectors. We also plan to begin to raise awareness and support meaningful education through partnership with patient advocacy groups and medical societies as well as a disease education campaign including through social media and digital.

Based on the unmet needs that we identified, our pre-launch activities may be focused on delivering disease awareness and education surrounding the appropriate epinephrine use to prevent anaphylaxis to allergists and pediatricians as well as parents and patients in partnership with allergy and professional advocacy groups. These disease education efforts will more specifically reinforce the TME was not reachedimportance of early administration of epinephrine at the first sign of a severe Type I allergic reaction, help stakeholders understand the factors that are associated with hesitation to elicit meaningful anti-tumor activity. Similarly, Gilead Sciences is developingfill and use epinephrine earlier in a reaction, and the importance of alternative epinephrine delivery options to support those affected by severe allergic reactions. In our market research, 42% of patients who had used an orally administered untargeted TLR8 agonist for the treatmentepinephrine injectable device during a recent episode reported that they delayed use by an average of cHBV. This therapeutic has resulted in adverse events consistent approximately 9 minutes. If neffy were available, these patients reported that they would reduce their average wait time to use by 45%. Additionally, 47% of patients reported they were more likely to fill prescriptions and 86% of patients reported they would carry neffy with myeloid cell activation in the gastrointestinal tract, including diarrhea and nausea.them. We believe these two casesa broad understanding of this evidence will help to establish and increase the urgency to treat patients with neffy and support our hypothesis that tissue directed, localized activation is criticalrapid launch uptake following FDA approval, if achieved.

We plan to maximizing the therapeutic potential of a TLR8 agonist.

TLR8 was selected as a target for an agonist after bioinformatic and functional assessments of several innate immune receptor targets. Important criteria of these targets we considered during our payload selection was intracellular localization and robust expression in myeloid cell compartments, with limited expression in non-immune FcR positive cells. Our selection of TLR8 as the optimal target to activate myeloid cells without activating other cell types outside of the hematopoietic lineage was supported by both external research results and internal data.

As shown in figure A below, unlike other intracellular innate immune receptors, TLR8 is highly expressed in human myeloid cell types, including conventional dendritic cells and macrophages. Conversely, as shown in figure B below, TLR8 is not expressed in fibroblasts and endothelial cells and we believe this restricted expression will reduce the risk of toxicities due to on-target, off-cell activation.

TLR8’s Expression is Restricted to Human Myeloid Cells

LOGO

A)

Unlike other intracellular innate immune receptors, TLR8 is highly expressed in human myeloid cell types, including conventional dendritic cells and macrophages

B)

TLR8 is not expressed in fibroblasts and endothelial cells and we believe this restricted expression will reduce the risk of toxicities due to on-target, off-cell activation

Following the identification of TLR8 as the optimal receptor to activate myeloid cells in the TME, we designed and created a library of TLR8 agonists. Our proprietary TLR8 agonists were evaluated in the format of HER2 antibody conjugates for their ability to activate myeloid cells ex vivo. Within this library, we identified a HER2 antibody-TLR8 conjugate that activated myeloid cells in moderate and high HER2 settings as is found in HER2-expressing tumors.

Tissue Directed and Localized Activation Through HER2 Expression

Many solid tumors, including those expressing HER2, are refractory to immunotherapy due to minimal T cell infiltrates. As shown in the figures below, HER2-expressing tumors (stained in blue, left panel) frequently contain abundant populations of tumor-associated myeloid cells which express TLR8 (stained in yellow, right panel).

HER2-Expressing Tumors and TLR8-Expressing Myeloid Cells are Adjacent in the Human TME

LOGOLOGO

HER2 is an optimal marker to direct therapies like TLR8 agonist conjugates due to its differential expression between tumors and healthy tissue. Furthermore, HER2 expression is prevalent in meaningfully large patient sub-populations in a wide variety of tumor types including breast (estimated 83,000), gastric (estimated 6,400), non-small cell lung (estimated 31,500), colorectal (estimated 9,000), bladder (estimated 7,500), uterine (estimated 11,000), pancreatic (estimated 4,000), head and neck (estimated 2,000), ovarian (estimated 1,100), esophageal (estimated 2,500), and biliary (estimated 3,000) cancers, providing the potential to address a large HER2-expressing tumor agnostic market estimated to be more than 160,000 newly-diagnosed patients annuallyinitially commercialize neffy in the United States with acombination of direct promotion, virtual sales consultants, and non-personal promotion intended to reach, at a minimum, the healthcare professionals that account for 45% of the current epinephrine prescriptions. Our promotion willfocus the launch on the highest potential practicing allergists, pediatricians, and primary care physicians. In our market research, approximately 80% of patients see their treating physicians at least every six months, and 98% at least once a year. We plan to optimize our field representatives based in part on estimated prevalence rates. The 2020 American Cancer Society annual reportplanned research on cancer statistics was usedcurrent market dynamics, geo-targeting and assessment of current professional-industry interaction preferences initially to determinereach these professionals. We expect significant reach to be achieved based on expanded use of non-personal promotional tactics and virtual sales representatives to reach healthcare professionals and focus on the estimated incidencesequential activation of patient demand through direct-to-consumer tactics that will help also drive physician awareness due to overlapping exposure.

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We intend to partner with patient advocacy organizations as well as influencers and leverage an omnichannel strategy including direct-to-patient and parent tactics, social and traditional media, digital presence, and additional public relations to drive awareness, for each cancer type. HER2 overexpression and amplification prevalence rates documented in the literature were appliedpatients to the incidence rateask for each cancer type to approximate the HER2-overexpressing sub-populations in each cancer type; 30.0%, 16.4%neffy, and 23.2% HER2 overexpression rates were usedcommunicate our value proposition. The pent-up patient demand that we believe is ready to be activated by neffy is reflected in our market research where 87% of patients indicated a high likelihood to proactively visit their physician in-person and ask about getting a new prescription for breast cancer, gastric cancer,neffy (43% of patients indicating a 10 out of 10 likelihood, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), respectively.

As shown in44% of patients indicating a 7-9 out of 10 likelihood). Our research also showed that physicians would recommend neffy to approximately 70% of their patients. In addition, the figure below, the SBT6050 potential mechanism of action is outlined sequentially as follows:

(1)

SBT6050 is administered systemically through subcutaneous injection. Systemic dosing is essential to access myeloid cells in both primary lesions and metastatic lesions, and in secondary lymphoid organs, to result in productive and durable anti-tumor responses.

(2)

SBT6050 is directed to tumors expressing HER2 and the TME, which is permeated with myeloid cells that express Fcg receptors on their cell surface, and TLR8 within endosomes.

(3)

Upon co-engagement of the HER2 protein on the tumor and Fcg receptors on the myeloid cell, SBT6050 is designed to be internalized by the myeloid cell into the endo-lysosomal compartment once there is a sufficient increase in avidity, which is provided by HER2 binding on the tumor cell.

(4)

SBT6050’s TLR8 linker-payload engages TLR8 present in the endosomes of myeloid cells, which in turn drives activation.

Potential Mechanism of Action: SBT6050 is Designed to Localize TLR8 Activation of Myeloid Cells in Tumors via a HER2-Directed Antibody

LOGO

Preclinical Development of SBT6050

Our preclinical studies have shown the potential for SBT6050 to activate innate and adaptive anti-tumor responses in the TME and demonstrate anti-tumor activity as a single agentsevere Type I allergy market has historically been highly promotionally sensitive, and in combination with standard of care agents such as anti-PD-1 and trastuzumab-based therapiesrecent years, there has been limited investment in HER2-expressing solid tumors. Highlights of our preclinical work using SBT6050 in vitro and SBT6050-S (our mouse surrogate) in vivo via subcutaneous delivery demonstrated:

Potent activation of multiple anti-tumor immune mechanisms induced in the presence of HER2-expressing tumor cells.

Equipotent immune cell activation in settings of moderate and high HER2 expression.

Curative activity as a single agent in a xenograft model lacking T cells and B cells, and deficient in NK cells, highlighting the potential of myeloid cell activation alone to mediate robust tumor cell killing.

Potent single agent activity in tumor models with low tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, highlighting the potential for clinical activity in tumors displaying immune evasive characteristics.

Anti-tumor responses upon tumor re-challenge without additional dosing, highlighting the potential for durable effects through the activation and expansion of tumor antigen-specific T memory cells.

Enhanced anti-tumor activity when used in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy in a CPI-refractory mouse tumor model.

Enhanced anti-tumor activity when used in combination with trastuzumab in a mouse tumor model.

Collectively, these data supported our decision to clinically evaluate the anti-tumor activity of SBT6050 as a single agent and in combination with anti-PD-1 and trastuzumab-based therapeutics in relevant HER2-expressing tumor types.

SBT6050 In Vitro Preclinical Data

In our in vitro studies, SBT6050 potently activated human myeloid cell types, including macrophages, dendritic cells, and monocytes. This activation resulted in the induction of multiple myeloid cell effector functions, including the production of cytokines and chemokines that are critical to the generation of anti-tumor immune responses. In addition, SBT6050 activation of myeloid cells in vitro resulted in the subsequent, indirect activation of NK cells and T cells. In our in vitro studies, SBT6050 also mediated antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Further, TLR8 agonism drove the downmodulation of SIRPa, highlighting the potential to block the CD47-SIRPa pathway, which, in turn, can potentially enable phagocytosis of tumor and red blood cells.

In our in vitro studies, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were co-cultured with HER2poseducation or HER2neg tumor cell lines in the presence of SBT6050. As shown in the figures below, SBT6050 potently induced multiple anti-tumor immune activities, including general activation of myeloid cells as measured by pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine production (TNFa), direct activation of dendritic cells (IL-12p40), and inflammasome activation (IL-18) in the presence of HER2pos tumor cells. No activation was seen when SBT6050 was co-cultured with HER2neg cells.

SBT6050 Activated Myeloid Cells in the Presence of HER2pos Tumors

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Similar in vitro studies using PBMCs were conducted to compare SBT6050 with conjugates that contain a TLR7 agonist, resiquimod or a resiquimod variant payload that were designed to mimic competitor molecules. Of note, the EC50 of the free, unconjugated TLR7 small molecule agonist was 9 nM on a TLR7 reporter line and no activity was observed on a TLR8 reporter line. The EC50 of unconjugated resiquimod on TLR7 was ~700 nM and >3 µM on TLR8, demonstrating that resiquimod is a weak TLR8 agonist. The resiquimod variant was of slightly better potency compared to resiquimod. As shown in the figures below, in these internal head-to-head studies SBT6050 demonstrated a

superior ability to induce TNFa, IL-12p40, and IL-18 in the presence of HER2pos tumor cells. This highlights the potential for favorable activity of SBT6050,promotion, which we believe is dueprovides an opportunity for significant promotional lift from our planned marketing efforts.

We intend to efficient engagement of TLR8 in conjugate form. SBT6050’s functional profile was not replicated with conjugates comprised of TLR7-specific or resiquimod-derived agonists.

SBT6050 Was Superior at Activating Human Myeloid Cells Compared to HER2 Antibody Conjugates that Use Either a Selective TLR7 Agonist or Resiquimod

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Robust activation ofestablish neffy as the myeloid cell compartment is also known to trigger an adaptive immune cell response. In an additional in vitro study using a similar PBMC assay, SBT6050 induced indirect activation of mediators associated with NK celldominant and T cell responses (IFNg and granzyme B), as shownmost recognized brand in the figures below. Incategory. We believe neffy’s potential brand recognition and user-friendly profile can be an important driver of growth and source of competitive differentiation, especially as the first “no needle, no injection” solution for severe Type I allergic reactions. We have designed neffy to offer healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers a separate in vitro study,simple, injection-free, portable, highly reliable and user-friendly alternative that facilitates early administration of epinephrine to provide rapid symptom relief and to stop the inductionallergic reaction from progressing to more serious events. We believe the attractiveness and meaningful differentiation of IFNgneffy across both physicians and granzyme Bpayers will stimulate a high patient and parent desire to switch to or return to managing their condition with neffy.

We intend to secure affordable market access for all consumers by SBT6050 was shownoptimizing contracting, co-pay support and distribution of neffy. To ensure access and affordability for neffy, we plan to be secondaryengage with payors to myeloid cell activation as blockadeconvey the clinical rationale and value proposition of IL-12 and/or IL-18 abrogatedneffy. To date, we have conducted extensive market research with approximately 50 decision-makers at payors to help forecast the IFNg and granzyme B response.

SBT6050 Indirectly Activated Mechanisms Associated with CTL/NK Cell Responsespotential commercial opportunity for neffy in the PresenceUnited States. Health insurers surveyed have indicated that neffy is perceived as differentiated brand from epinephrine auto-injector products, with its needle-free route of HER2pos Tumors

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HER2 expression in tumor cells variesadministration and increased likelihood of being carried as the most important product attributes. Based on these analyses and our planned contracting strategy, we believe payers can be measured by protein expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC) to understand the amount of HER2 in tumor cells. It is also common to determine the gene copy number using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) or other methodologies as another way to understand if the HER2 gene is amplified. Gene amplification typically results in overexpression of the protein usually at the IHC3+ level, but some HER2-amplified tumors express protein at the IHC2+ level. It has become standard practice among pathologists to characterize protein expression using IHC1+, IHC2+ or IHC3+support favorable and also to measure gene copy number because certain FDA-approved therapies, such as Herceptin, are approvedbroad market access for neffy. Further, we will offer comprehensive patient support programs in the settingform of high HER2 expression levels. High HER2 expression tumors are categorized by either IHC3+ or IHC2+/FISH positive. Low HER2 expression inco-pay buydowns to help ensure access and affordability for all patients.

We intend to expand the industry is categorized as IHC2+/FISH negative and IHC1+. In our preclinical, studies we characterized IHC1+ HER2 tumor cells as expressing less than 25,000 HER2 receptors per cell. SBT6050 has been tuned to work in settings of IHC2+/FISH negative (moderate expression) as well as IHC3+ (high expression) but not IHC1+ (low expression). Targeting tumors with moderate HER2 expression allows us to address a patient population where most current HER2 targeted therapies are not effective.market beyond the 3.3 million patients currently filling epinephrine injection device prescriptions. We believe that avoiding some normal tissuesthe severe Type I allergy market is currently significantly underpenetrated due to the lack of, and limitations in, current treatment options. We believe the availability of neffy could drive increased device uptake among the existing 3.3 million patients currently filling epinephrine injection device prescriptions, adoption by the approximately 2.5 million patient that express low levels of HER2 provides the opportunity for an improved safety and tolerability profile.

As shown in the figures below, our in vitro studies demonstrated that SBT6050 stimulated myeloid cells in the presence of IHC 2+ and 3+,receive, but not in the presence of IHC 1+/- tumor cell lines.

SBT6050 Activated Myeloid Cells Only in the Presence of IHC 2+ and 3+ Tumor Cell Lines

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SBT6050 In Vivo Preclinical Data

Background Regarding SBT6050-S

Because mice do not fill their prescription, and the 11 million patients diagnosed and managed by physicians who do not currently have an epinephrine auto-injector, especially those incorrectly using antihistamines as a functional homologuesubstitute. Other launches of human TLR8, we designed SBT6050-S to enable preclinical mouse studies withintranasal products for emergency use into previously injection-only markets such as NARCAN (marketed by Emergent BioSolutions), VALTOCO (marketed by Neurelis), NAYZILAM (marketed by UCB) and BAQSIMI (marketed by Eli Lilly) have rapidly captured a moleculesignificant percentage of the existing market, and also expanded their respective markets. Both products use the same device that in mice matches the myeloid cell activation profile of SBT6050. TLR7 expression in mouse myeloid cells mirrors that of TLR8 in human myeloid cells. RNA sequencing data published by third parties, as shown in the figures below, highlight the differential expression of TLR8 and TLR7 across mouse and human myeloid cell sub populations. Activation of TLR7 in mouse myeloid cells results in a similar downstream functional profile as TLR8 activation does in human myeloid cells.

TLR7 Is Highly Expressed in Mouse Myeloid Cells and TLR8 Is Highly Expressed in Human Myeloid Cells, Whereas TLR7 Is Expressed at Low Levels in Human Myeloid Cells

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SBT6050-S is a proprietary conjugate that contains a selective TLR7 linker-payload and a mouse IgG2a Fc domain to promote uptake in mouse myeloid cells. Our preclinical data, as shown in the figure below, demonstrated similar in vitro potency of SBT6050 on human myeloid cells and SBT6050-S on mouse myeloid cells. In addition, the in vitro activity of SBT6050-S is HER2-dependent as is the case for SBT6050 as described earlier.

Functional Results with TLR7 Conjugate, SBT6050-S, on Mouse Myeloid Cells Matched Those of SBT6050 on Human Myeloid Cells In Vitro

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Our SBT6050-S Monotherapy In Vivo Data

Using SBT6050-S in preclinical studies, we have demonstrated that a systemically administered, HER2-directed myeloid cell agonist activated a broad spectrum of anti-tumor mechanisms and led to curative single agent activity in both a human tumor xenograft model lacking T cells and B cells and with defective NK cells as well as a T cell-excluded syngeneic mouse tumor model. In these models, the term “curative effects” describe the complete clearance of tumors (tumor size of 0 mm3).

As shown in the figures below, SBT6050-S (at 10 mg/kg) demonstrated curative effects as a monotherapy in a human tumor xenograft (NCI-N87) mouse model that has an absence of T cells along with defective NK cells. This study was poweredchosen for statistical significance using survival as a readout which is defined as tumor size remaining below 1,000 mm3. Treatment with SBT6050-S resulted in a statistically significant increase in survival as compared to the isotype and HER2 mAb control groups (p value<0.0001)neffy. We believe that the activity of SBT6050-SNARCAN’s widespread use clearly demonstrates market uptake in this model is indicative of the potential of myeloid cells to drive tumor eradication. These data indicate that SBT6050 may have activity in tumors with low or no T cell infiltrate, which we believe has important implications regarding the substantial potential benefit of SBT6050 for patients who do not respond to T cell-directed immunotherapy.

SBT6050-S Drove Robust, Curative Single Agent Activity in T Cell, NK Cell-Deficient Mouse Strains

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In addition, in our preclinical studies, administration of SBT6050-S as a monotherapy resulted in durable curative effects in a HER2-expressing, T cell excluded EMT6 syngeneic mouse tumor model. EMT6 is a mouse tumor that we engineered to express human HER2. Expression of human HER2 in this model is moderate, heterogenous, and may be lost over time, which is representative of certain HER2pos tumor types such as gastric cancer. While conducted in immunocompetent mice, the EMT6 model is also known to be resistant to anti-PD-1 treatment because T cells are excluded from tumor entry. The left panel in the figure below illustrates tumor cells that were demarcated by H&E staining. The central panel in the figure below illustrates that in the HER2-EMT6 model, CD8 T cells were sequestered on the periphery of the tumor. In contrast, the right panel below illustrates the presence of macrophage infiltrate within this T cell-excluded mouse tumor model.

IHC Staining in EMT6 Tumor Models, Depicting CD8 T Cells and Macrophages (F4/80)

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As shown in the figures below, SBT6050-S (at 10 mg/kg) as a monotherapy resulted in a complete response (CR) rate, the percentage of animals with tumors < 30 mm3 at the end of study, of between 40% and 80% in the HER2-EMT6 model, depending on the study. This study was powered for statistical significance using survival as a readout which is defined as tumor size remaining below 1,000 mm3. Treatment with SBT6050-S resulted in a statistically significant increase in overall survival when compared to the isotype and HER2 mAb control groups (p value=0.002). Approximately 30-50% of EMT6 tumor cells express human HER2 at the time of dosing initiation. Given the lack of stability of HER2 expression in this model, we believe HER2 expression was lost in the tumors of the mice that did not respond to SBT6050-S in this study.

Treatment with SBT6050-S Monotherapy Resulted in CR Rate of 40-80% in HER2-EMT6 Model

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As shown in the figure on the left below, HER2-EMT6 tumor-bearing mice that were cured by SBT6050-S treatment, meaning that no tumor was detectable, were fully protected from an EMT6 tumor re-challenge, indicative of the generation of immunological memory. As shown in the figure on the right below, mice that were re-challenged with EMT6 tumors that did not express HER2 were also shown to have complete protection, indicating SBT6050 engendered activationadvantages of an anti-tumor T cell responseintranasal product via proven device over injection, considering in particular that was not restrictedNARCAN is used in life threatening rescue situations where reliable administration is required for confident administration, similar to HER2. This is consistent with the expansion of T cells reactive to tumor neoantigens observed in the tumors of mice after treatment with SBT6050-S.

SBT6050-S Conferred HER2-Independent Protection in Preclinical Tumor Re-Challenge Studies

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Preclinical Data Supporting the Potential for Combination of SBT6050 with Other Therapies

In our preclinical studies, SBT6050-S drove robust anti-tumor activity as a single agent and in combination with standard of care agents.

As shown in the figures below, our preclinical data demonstrated that the single agent activity of SBT6050-S in the immune-competent, checkpoint resistant HER2-EMT6 tumor model was further enhanced when combined with an anti-PD-1.

The Combination of SBT6050-S and Anti-PD-1 Drove Robust, Durable Anti-Tumor Activity

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In a HER2pos human xenograft mouse model, a combination of low dose SBT6050-S with trastuzumab greatly enhanced the anti-tumor activity observed with either agent alone. As shown in the figures below, our preclinical data demonstrated the potential for enhanced clinical activity with SBT6050 in combination with trastuzumab. In this study, a lower dose of SBT6050-S (1 mg/kg) was used to allow for the combinatorial benefit to be observed. A lower dose of SBT6050-S (1 mg/kg) was used as a monotherapy control. We believe that the potential to combine with trastuzumab-based therapies unlocks the possibility of accessing earlier lines of therapy in breast and gastric cancer, where trastuzumab is a part of the standard of care.

The Combination of SBT6050-S and Trastuzumab Drove Robust, Durable Anti-Tumor Activity

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SBT6050 Was Well Tolerated in Non-Human Primates by the Subcutaneous Route of Administration

SBT6050 demonstrated a wide therapeutic window in safety and tolerability studies following repeat subcutaneous administration including in the GLP toxicology study in non-human primates (NHP) that determined our first-in-human (FIH) dose. Forty-one NHPs have been administered repeat SC doses of SBT6050 in three NHP toxicity studies. In two non-GLP studies, 15 NHPs were treated at SC dose levels of 0.1 to 12 mg/kg, with the majority (8 of 15) administered 6 or 12 mg/kg every 2 or 3 weeks (Q2W or Q3W) for 4 doses. In the GLP toxicity study, 26 NHPs received doses of 2, 6 or 12 mg/kg Q2W for 4 doses, with a 4-week recovery period for the higher two dose levels. Across the studies, there was no evidence of injection site reactions or cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in any animal. There were transient, dose-related hematological, clinical chemistry, and cytokine and chemokine changes reflective of the potential mechanism of action of SBT6050. Because of the broad therapeutic

window demonstrated in these studies, our FIH starting dose level of 0.3 mg/kg was selected because of its equivalency to the minimum pharmacologically active dose level in NHP and the projection that this dose level may be pharmacologically active in patients. The FIH dose levels of immune activators, particularly those that are viewed as having a significant risk of CRS, are typically below the projected pharmacologically active dose of the agent, resulting in lengthy dose-escalations to an active dose level. Notably, that is not the case with SBT6050. Based on the totality of our preclinical data,severe Type I allergic reactions. Beyond just reliability, we believe that we have potential to reach the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D)an intranasal product has unique advantages for SBT6050 between the second and fourth dose levels.

Repeat administration of fully human or humanized proteins, such as that included in SBT6050, to preclinical species, liketreating a NHP, has been extensively evaluated by many organizations over the years and has been found to frequently lead to the generation of anti-drug antibodies (ADA), reflecting the development of immunogenic responses with repetitive challenge of NHP with non-self or foreign proteins. Importantly, the generation of ADA against human or humanized proteins in NHP, even when accompanied by ADA-mediated toxicities such as anaphylaxis, has not been predictive of immunogenicity in humans. ADA developed against SBT6050 in our NHP toxicology studies. The formation of ADA against SBT6050 in NHP was expected given the inherent immunogenicity of humanized proteins in NHP and the potential mechanism of action of SBT6050, which includes the promotion of presentation of foreign antigens by dendritic cells, a mechanism critical to the formation of immune responses to tumor neoantigens. The development of ADA in NHP resulted in decreased exposure following repeat dosing. As has been seen with other immune agonists administered in the presence of ADA in preclinical species, repeat intravenous dosing with SBT6050 resulted in anaphylaxis but anaphylaxis was not seen in NPH studies using subcutaneous dosing of SBT6050. While no animal treated with SBT6050 subcutaneously showed signs of acute anaphylaxis, one animal in the highest dose group was euthanizedsevere Type I allergic reaction due to what is believed to be ADA-related immune complex deposits in certain organs. Given the precedent data in the field, we do not believe that neutralizing ADA formation that affected SBT6050 exposure in NHP will translate into the clinic. Nevertheless, a reduction in exposure following repeat dosing of SBT6050 in the Phase 1/1b clinical trial could present a risk for clinical development. Of note, in our ongoing Phase 1/1b clinical trial, we have repeat dose pharmacokinetics (PK) after four doses of 0.3 mg/kg for one patient and reductions in SBT6050 exposure were not observed. Variable ADA titers have been observed across patients ranging from undetectable to low without impact on pharmacodynamic activity.

SBT6050 Clinical Development Planparent fear and Strategy

SBT6050 demonstrated a wide therapeutic window in our GLP toxicology study in NHP, enabling a FIH starting doseavoidance of 0.3 mg/kg, which was projected to be pharmacologically activeinjection and within 2-3 cohorts of where we could potentially achieve anti-tumor activity. In NHP, 0.5 mg/kg was defined as the minimum pharmacologically active dose as determined by blood-based biomarkers, 6 mg/kg was determined to be the No Adverse Event Level and the highest dose level evaluated was 12 mg/kg. Our FIH starting dose of 0.3 mg/kgbecause time is the human equivalent of the minimum pharmacologically active dose level in NHPessence. This perspective is distinct from other diseases with chronic use of injection products, administration by a trained professional is required, or where the injection is more manageable and projected to be pharmacologically active in patients. Based on the totality oftolerated. In our preclinical data,market research, respondents have described neffy as “game-changing” and we believe that the RP2D will be reached between the secondneffy, if approved, can make a significant difference in patient lives and fourth dose levels in our Phase 1 dose-escalation, particularly if 0.3 mg/kg demonstrates pharmacological activity as projected from our preclinical modeling. Additional dose levels may be explored in our Phase 1/1b clinical trialoutcomes.

If approved, we plan to further characterize the tolerability profile. At the RP2D, we believe there is potential to demonstrate single agent anti-tumor activity in dose expansion cohorts.

Our IND for SBT6050 was cleared in June 2020 withestablish a starting dose of 0.3 mg/kg. In July 2020, we initiated a Phase 1/1b FIH, open-label, multicenter, dose-escalation and expansion clinical trial in patients with HER2-expressing solid tumors that have progressed following standard therapies. The trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, PK, pharmacodynamics (PD), immunogenicity, and

anti-tumor activity of SBT6050 as a single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor.

In our Phase 1/1b clinical trial, we are monitoring key PD biomarkers in both the blood and the tumor which have been associated with tumor regression in our preclinical mouse studies and was observed in our preclinical NHP studies. Key biomarkers in the blood include elevations in MCP-1, IP-10, and C-reactive protein and induction of additional PD markers indicative of on target mechanism of action such as IFNg. We will be obtaining tumor biopsies at baseline and on treatment to measure biomarkers that correlate with the activation of myeloid cells, T cells and NK cells in cohorts 2 and later.

The trial consists of four parts: monotherapy dose-escalation and expansion (Part 1), monotherapy dose expansion in tumor-specific cohorts (Part 2), pembrolizumab combination dose-escalation (Part 3), and a pembrolizumab combination dose expansion cohort (Part 4).

Part 1: SBT6050 Single Agent Dose-Escalation and Expansion

In Part 1, a standard 3 + 3 dose-escalation of SBT6050 is planned to study safety, tolerability, and PK of SBT6050, and to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the RP2D. The MTD is defined as the dose just below the dose level where 2 or more out of 6 patients (³33%) experience dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs). The starting dose of the SBT6050 regimen is 0.3 mg/kg administered via subcutaneous injection once every 14 days. One or two dose levels may be expanded to 12 patients to obtain additional information to select the RP2D. Eligible patients must have HER2-expressing (HER2 IHC 2/3+) or HER2-amplified cancer refractory to or relapsed after standard therapies. We anticipate enrolling approximately 30 participants in Part 1.

Part 2: SBT6050 Single Agent Dose Expansion in Tumor-Specific Cohorts

Patients will be enrolled into parallel expansion cohorts based on tumor type and HER2 expression level. Patients enrolled in the expansion cohorts will receive SBT6050 at the recommended dose and schedule established in Part 1. The purpose of Part 2 is to further characterize the tolerability profile of the RP2D and evaluate the anti-tumor activity and PD effects of SBT6050 as a single agent. Enrollment will follow a Simon 2-stage design. Planned expansion cohorts, which may also be informed by experience in the dose-escalation phase, include the following tumor types:

Cohort A: HER2pos breast cancer, n=40.

Cohort B: HER2 low-expressing (IHC2+/amplification negative) breast cancer, n=30.

Cohort C: HER2pos gastric cancer, n=40.

Cohort D: HER2-expressing (IHC 2/3+) or HER2-amplified non-small cell lung cancer, n=40.

Cohort E: HER2-expressing (IHC 2/3+) or HER2-amplified solid tumors, n=30.

Part 3: SBT6050 Plus Pembrolizumab Dose-Escalation Cohort

In Part 3, a standard 3 + 3 dose-escalation of SBT6050 plus the anti-PD-1 CPI, pembrolizumab is planned to determine the MTD and RP2D of SBT6050 when given in combination with pembrolizumab. The MTD is defined as above. SBT6050 will be administered via subcutaneous injection on Days 1, 15, and 29 of 42-day cycles in combination with 400 mg pembrolizumab administered via intravenous injection on Day 1 of each cycle. Eligible patients will have HER2-expressing or HER2-amplified solid tumors. Part 3 of the study will open when changes in PD markers exceeds the pre-defined criteria for pharmacological activity with demonstration of acceptable safety and tolerability in a cohort treated with

single agent SBT6050. The pre-defined threshold is based on changes in peripheral PD markers in preclinical studies, and includes C-reactive protein elevation to ³ 150 mg/L and 3-5x changes from baseline in certain cytokines and chemokines such as IP-10 and/or MCP-1 and induction of additional pharmacodynamic markers indicative of on-target mechanism of action, such as IFNg. We anticipate enrolling approximately 15 participants in Part 3.

Part 4: SBT6050 Plus Pembrolizumab Dose Expansion Cohort

The combination treatment expansion part of the trial will be initiated once the RP2D has been defined by the safety monitoring committee from Part 3. The purpose of Part 4 is to further characterize the tolerability profile of the RP2D and evaluate the anti-tumor activity and PD effects of SBT6050 in combination with pembrolizumab. Approximately 30 patients with HER2-expressing or HER2-amplified tumors of multiple histologies will be enrolled.

Update on SBT6050 Phase 1/1b Clinical Trial

As of November 25, 2020, six patients had been enrolled at 0.3 mg/kg in Part 1 of the study (SBT6050 monotherapy dose-escalation). This first cohort of patients included two patients who had radiological reassessments, one patient with stable disease at her 8 and 16 week reassessments, one patient with a greater than 30% reduction in the diameter of her target lesion at 8 weeks per the investigator’s assessment, and two additional patients that had completed the DLT period and remained on study. The most common adverse events included flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, fatigue) and redness and swelling at the injection site. Changes in pharmacodynamic markers consistent with the potential mechanism of action were observed in treated patients. This included increases in plasma levels of CRP (C-reactive protein), a marker of inflammation, increases in MCP-1, IP-10 and IL-6, which are indicative of myeloid cell activation, increases in IFNg, which is a marker for T and NK cell activation, and transient decreases in hemoglobin, which we believe to be due to macrophage phagocytosis.

We anticipate providing an update on interim data from the Phase 1 single agent dose-escalation cohorts in the second half of 2021. Enrollment and treatment has been initiated in Part 3 of the study (SBT6050 plus pembrolizumab dose-escalation). We anticipate providing an update on interim data from the Phase 1 SBT6050 plus pembrolizumab combination in the first half of 2022. We anticipate providing a further update on interim data from the Phase 1 monotherapy and combination dose-escalation, as well as a first update of the Phase 1b monotherapy in tumor-specific expansion cohorts and the Phase 1b combination cohort, in the second half of 2022.

SBT6050 Addressable Market

As shown in the figure below, HER2 IHC 2+ and 3+ overexpression and amplification are documented in at least 11 different tumor types including breast (estimated 83,000), gastric (estimated 6,400), non-small cell lung (estimated 31,500), colorectal (estimated 9,000), bladder (estimated 7,500), uterine (estimated 11,000), pancreatic (estimated 4,000), head and neck (estimated 2,000), ovarian (estimated 1,100), esophageal (estimated 3,000), and biliary (estimated 3,000) cancers, providing the potential to address a large HER2-expressing tumor agnostic market estimated to be more than 160,000 newly-diagnosed patients annuallydistribution channel in the United States basedfor the commercialization of neffy. We expect to sell neffy to wholesalers, who, in part on estimated prevalence rates. HER2 IHC2+turn, will sell our neffy to retailors and 3+ overexpression in breast cancer, gastric cancer,other customers. We expect to use a third-party logistics provider for key services related to logistics, warehousing and NSCLC are 30.0%, 16.4%,inventory management, distribution, contract administration, order management and 23.2%, respectively. Most HER2 targeted therapies require the tumor cellschargeback processing and accounts receivable management. We also plan to be dependent on HER2 signaling, often called an oncogenic driver. HER2 oncogenic-driven tumors are limited to subsets of breast and gastric cancer and hence the FDA-approved therapies that require HER2 signaling are limited to these indications as noted in the figure. SBT6050 does not require the tumor cells to be dependent on HER2 signaling for its anti-tumor activity and instead utilizes

explore other non-traditional distribution channels including telemedicine.

the HER2 protein to deliver the conjugate to adjacent myeloid cells. We believe that this expands the market opportunity beyond HER2-driven breast and gastric cancer in which targeted HER2 agents have been approved and are established as standard of care. Because of the rationale to combine SBT6050 with CPI’s, which is supported by our preclinical data, we have noted in the figure below those tumor types with an approved CPI.

Large Potential Market Opportunity for SBT6050 in Tumors that Express HER2 and in Combination with HER2 Targeted Agents and CPIs

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HER2 expression rates are well-understood in tumor types for which there is an FDA-approved HER2 targeted therapy available. Breast and gastric cancer cases are routinely screened for HER2 expression as a part of the standard of care. HER2 overexpression has been reported in other tumor types, but because of the lack of effective therapies targeting cancersTo target markets outside of breast and gastric, screening is not readily performed. In calculating our potential addressable market for these tumor types, the figure above shows a range of HER2 expression cited in the literature and the lower end of the range was utilized for market considerations. In the United States, we believe that, based in part on estimated prevalence rates as described in the figure above, more than 48,000 patients annuallyhave entered into strategic partnerships with solid tumors that are refractoryseveral pharmaceutical companies to standard of care treatments may benefit from SBT6050 as a single agent or combination therapy, if successfully developedobtain regulatory approval and approved. In the future, if SBT6050 advancesmarket neffy. These include Alfresa Pharma for Japan and Pediatrix Therapeutics for China. We intend to earlier lines of treatment, based in part on estimated prevalence rates as described in the figure above, more than 160,000 patients annually may benefit.

In considering the market for combination treatment, SBT6050 was specifically designed to bind to the HER2 sub-domain II, the pertuzumab epitope, to enable combinations with trastuzumab-based therapies that bind to HER2 sub-domain IV such as Herceptin (trastuzumab), Kadcyla (trastuzumab-DM1), and Enhertu (DS-8201), all of which are FDA-approved HER2 agents. Our preclinical data has demonstrated the potential to use SBT6050 in combination with trastuzumab and CPI’s. We believe that SBT6050 may also have the potential to be combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as Tukysa (tucatinib), which is approved for combination with trastuzumab and Xeloda (capecitabine)pursue strategic partnerships for the treatmentcommercialization of HER2pos metastatic breast cancer. When considering the market potential for combination therapy, only combinations with trastuzumab and CPI’s was utilized neffy in our calculations.

SBT6050 is also active in HER2 IHC 2+ / FISH negative tumors, expanding the market beyond the scopeadditional regions outside of current approved HER2 targeted therapies indicated for IHC 3+ and IHC 2+ / FISH positive tumors as shown in the figure below. We considered this potential market extension in breast cancer and gastric cancer in calculating the potential addressable market.

SBT6050 Potential Addressable Market in Indications with an FDA-Approved HER2 Targeted Therapy

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SBT6290: TLR8 Agonist Conjugated to a Nectin4 Antibody

Our second product candidate, SBT6290, is comprised of the same TLR8 linker-payload used in SBT6050 conjugated to a Nectin4-directed monoclonal antibody. Nectin4 has been prioritized as our second target based on differential expression of extracellular proteins on tumor cells in comparison to healthy tissue, as well as the degree of myeloid cell infiltrate in the TME. Nectin4 is overexpressed in cancers including bladder, triple negative breast, head and neck, and NSCLC, among others.

Nectin4 is a target that has been clinically validated by Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics) through the approval of the Nectin4-directed antibody-drug conjugate Padcev. In 2019, Padcev was approved under the FDA’s accelerated approval program indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have previously received a PD-1 inhibitor, and a platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Targeting Nectin4 to deliver a TLR8 agonist to adjacent myeloid cells presents a significant therapeutic opportunity across different cancers. As shown in the figure below, the estimated incidence of newly diagnosed patients with bladder, triple negative breast, head and neck cancers, and NSCLC that express Nectin4 represents over 181,000 patients annually in the early line setting. The estimated yearly deaths of patients with bladder, triple negative breast, head and neck cancer, and NSCLC that express Nectin4 represents over 73,000 patients with relapsed or refractory cancer annually in the United States.

Nectin4 Overexpression Across Select Tumor Types

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Bioinformatic analysis of data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database indicates that myeloid cells are present in Nectin4-expressing tumor types, as shown in the figure below. As reported

in TCGA, myeloid cells can comprise, on average, between 7% to 14% of the tumor which is higher than the average number of T cells in the same tumor types.

Nectin4-Expressing Tumor Types Are Infiltrated By Myeloid Cells

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In our in vitro studies, human PBMCs were co-cultured with Nectin4pos or Nectin4neg tumor cell lines in the presence of SBT6290. As shown in the figures below, SBT6290 potently activated myeloid cells with an EC50 of ~200 pM, in the presence of Nectin4-expressing tumor cells. TNFa production was measured as a marker of myeloid cell activation. The levels of TNFa induced by SBT6290 matched those observed with SBT6050 when tested in a similar in vitro assay. Not only did these data highlight the Nectin4-dependent activity of SBT6290, but also demonstrated that the TLR8 linker-payload used in SBT6050 was transferable to antibodies directed to diverse antigens.

SBT6290 Potently Activated Human Myeloid Cells

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Nectin4 was recently described to be a ligand for T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT). TIGIT has emerged as an inhibitor of anti-tumor immune responses and several agents inhibiting this pathway are being tested in clinical trials. In addition to SBT6290’s primary mechanism of action through TLR8 activation, the figure below demonstrated that the binding of TIGIT to Nectin4-expressing tumor cells was blocked by the binding domain of SBT6290.

SBT6290 Binding Domain Blocked TIGIT Binding to Nectin4-Expressing Tumor Cells

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We engineered a mouse surrogate of SBT6290 (SBT6290-S) using a TLR7 agonist conjugated to a Nectin4 monoclonal antibody to account for species differences in our in vivo studies, as was described for SBT6050. As shown in the figure below, SBT6290-S improved overall survival in a Nectin4-expressing EMT6 mouse model. This study was powered for statistical significance using survival as a readout which is defined as tumor size remaining below 1,000 mm3. SBT6290-S demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in survival as compared to the two control groups as noted in the figure below.

Administration of SBT6290-S as Monotherapy Resulted in Improved Overall Survival in a Nectin4-Expressing EMT6 Preclinical Model

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As shown in the figure below, subcutaneous administration of SBT6290-S to mice bearing Nectin4-expressing EMT6 tumors induced the production of cytokines and chemokines in the tumors of treated mice. MCP-1 and IP-10 upregulation are indicative of myeloid cell activation and IFNg and IL-2 production are indicative of T cell activation in the treated mice.

Administration of SBT6290-S as Monotherapy Induced the Production of Cytokines and Chemokines in Nectin4-Expressing EMT6Tumors

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In a single and repeat dose exploratory safety study, Nectin4-TLR8 conjugate was administered subcutaneously to NHP at a dose level >10-fold of the anticipated, minimum pharmacologically active dose level, a dose that was also evaluated with SBT6050. The overall safety, tolerability, PK and PD findings of the Nectin4-TLR8 conjugate were very similar to those observed with SBT6050 at this dose. A non-GLP toxicology study for SBT6290 has been completed, and we believe the results are supportive of a wide therapeutic window similar to that observed with SBT6050. GLP NHP toxicity studies are expected to commence in first half of 2021. In parallel, we are in the process of creating a master cell bank for GMP production of SBT6290. In our pre-IND interactions with the FDA that took place in February 2021, alignment on SBT6290 preclinical, Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC), and clinical plans was achieved. We anticipate submitting the SBT6290 IND in the fourth quarter of 2021 and initiating a Phase 1 clinical trial in the first quarter of 2022.

SBT8230: TLR8 Agonist Conjugated to an ASGR1 Antibody

As our lead virology program, we have engineered SBT8230 to treat cHBV using our ImmunoTAC platform. SBT8230 is comprised of an ASGR1 monoclonal antibody conjugated to the same TLR8 linker-payload as SBT6050 and SBT6290 and is designed to elicit an anti-viral immune response by targeting TLR8 activation to the liver.

cHBV infection remains a worldwide problem affecting approximately 257 million people and contributing to an estimated 887,000 deaths in 2015. In the United States, alone, approximately 860,000 people suffer from cHBV. cHBV is estimatedsubject to FDA approval of neffy.We anticipate that in certain markets additional clinical trials of neffy may be the cause of 60-80% of the world’s primary liver cancers. There is a significant unmet need for therapies that can elicit a functional cure for the disease, which is defined as sustained loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in the blood. Many of the approved therapies for cHBV have low functional cure rates required to obtain regulatory approval and/or lack durability over time.ensure market access.

Clinical and preclinical evidence by third parties have demonstrated that IFNg-mediated immune responses, including the activation of IFNg+ T cell and IgG B cell anti-viral responses, can lead to a functional cure in cHBV patients and animal models of HBV. In HBV transgenic mice, HBV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells have exhibited the ability to inhibit hepatocellular replication by a noncytopathic process that is mediated primarily by IFNg. In acutely infected chimpanzees, viral replication was almost completely abolished soon after CD3 and IFNg mRNA increased in the liver. Evidence by third parties has demonstrated that HBV-specific IFNg producing CD4 T cells were associated with viral clearance in patients with cHBV infection. Additionally, these studies have demonstrated that TLR8 agonists were particularly effective in activation of myeloid cells and the induction of IFNg. The figure below shows IFNg production after human blood or liver-derived mononuclear cells were stimulated with the indicated TLR agonist. TLR8 was unique in its ability to induce IFNg.

TLR8 Drove IFNg Production from Liver Mononuclear Cells in Third Party Preclinical Studies22


Competition

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In addition, the figures below show concentrations of individual cytokines quantified in the supernatant of purified PBMC or isolated mononuclear cells from the liver after stimulation with either a TLR8 or TLR7 agonist. TLR8 agonism, but not TLR7 agonism, induced IFNg production, along with the production of other cytokines important in the generation of anti-viral immunity such as TNFa, IL-1ß, and IL-6, from both liver and blood immune cells. We believe these data from third parties demonstrate that TLR8 is the agonist of choice for improving the outcome for patients with cHBV.

TLR8 Agonism Drove Cytokine Production

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Figure source: Jo et al, PLOS Pathogens, 2014.

In a preclinical woodchuck model of cHBV conducted by a third party, oral administration of a TLR8 agonist small molecule, GS-9688 (selgantolimod), was shown to drive seroconversion and reduce woodchuck hepatitis virus S antigen and woodchuck hepatitis B viral levels. Selgantolimod’s effectiveness in cHBV patients has been limited, however. We believe (i) this is due to not achieving necessary exposures because of DLTs associated with activation of myeloid cells outside of the liver and (ii) that systemically delivered but liver localized TLR8 agonism could improve the potential for effective therapy and lead to functional cures in cHBV.

SBT8230 is a Liver-Localized TLR8 Agonist Designed to Achieve Functional Cure in cHBV

As shown in the figure below, we designed SBT8230 to be comprised of an ASGR1 monoclonal antibody conjugated to a TLR8 linker-payload with the goal of activating the myeloid cell compartment in liver tissue only. The conjugate is designed to be internalized in myeloid cells in an FcR-mediated manner when ASGR1 is present on adjacent liver cells.

Potential Mechanism of Action: SBT8230 is Designed to Localize TLR8 Activation of Myeloid Cells in the Liver Via a Directed ASGR1 Antibody

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As shown in the figures below, in our preclinical studies utilizing human PBMCs ex vivo, ASGR1-TLR8 induced IFNg-promoting activity through its activation of myeloid cells.

ASGR1-TLR8 Potently Activated Human Myeloid Cells, Resulting in a Robust IFNg Response

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Activation of human myeloid cells by TLR8 was mirrored in mouse myeloid cells by TLR7 as was demonstrated previously in the SBT6050 and SBT6290 programs. Therefore, to evaluate the ability of

a liver-targeted myeloid cell agonist conjugate to drive seroconversion in a mouse model of cHBV, we engineered a surrogate for SBT8230 comprised of an ASGR1 monoclonal antibody conjugated to a TLR7 agonist (ASGR1-S). The antibody contained an IgG2a Fc domain to facilitate uptake into mouse myeloid cells.

Seroconversion, together with reductions in HBsAg levels and expansion of IFNg-producing anti-viral T cells, is associated with achievement of functional cures in cHBV. The AAV-HBV (adenovirus-hepatis B virus) mouse model is a commonly used preclinical model for cHBV. Paralleling their inability to drive seroconversion in cHBV patients, cHBV standard of care therapies and other agents that target the HBV life cycle such as capsid inhibitors, have not resulted in seroconversion in this or similar models. In contrast, statistically significant increases in seroconversion and reductions in HBsAg was demonstrated with ASGR-S as compared to the vehicle and unconjugated antibody control groups in the AAV-HBV model, as shown in the figures below.

ASGR1-S Reduced HBsAg and Drove Seroconversion in Mouse AAV-HBV Model

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In addition, ASGR1-S treatment generated potent anti-viral T cell and B cell immune responses and significantly increased anti-HBV core and S antigen IFNg+ T cells and anti-HBsAg+ B cells, as shown in the figures below.

ASGR1-S Increased IFNg+ Anti-Viral T Cells

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ASGR1-S Increased B Cells Producing Anti-HBs Antigen Antibodies

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Importantly, as shown in the figures below, no changes in serum ALT or body weight were noted after treatment with ASGR1-S as compared to controls. In addition, there were no findings in the liver by histopathology after treatment with ASGR1-S. Together, these data indicated that ASGR1-S was well tolerated in the mouse AAV-HBV model.

ASGR1-S Was Well Tolerated in Mice

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Initial exploratory NHP toxicology studies demonstrated a wide therapeutic window. Preclinical studies in mice and NHP for our ASGR1-TLR8 ImmunoTAC candidate are ongoing. We selected a development candidate for this program in the fourth quarter of 2020, and we anticipate initiating IND enabling toxicity studies in the first quarter of 2022 and submitting the IND in the second half of 2022.

Other Programs

Additional Immuno-Oncology Programs

In addition to HER2 and Nectin4, we have selected two undisclosed targets that may enable us to address a broader range of solid tumor indications. In these programs, the antibodies have been created and conjugated to the same TLR8 linker-payload utilized in SBT6050 and SBT6290. In addition, our undisclosed product candidates display an in vitro activity profile on human immune cells similar to that of SBT6050 and SBT6290. Further, one of these conjugates was evaluated in an exploratory NHP toxicology study with repeat subcutaneous dosing. The dose level evaluated in this

study was previously used in NHP toxicology studies with SBT6050 and SBT6290 to demonstrate a therapeutic window. At this dose level, the undisclosed product candidate was found to have a similar tolerability profile to SBT6050 and SBT6290, indicating that it may have a similar therapeutic window.

Fibrosis Program: TGFßR1 Antagonist Conjugated to an ASGR1 Antibody

We designed our ASGR1-TGFßR1 antagonist conjugate to achieve liver-localized inhibition of TGFß-signaling to treat fibrosis.

Fibrosis is the overgrowth, hardening and scarring of tissue due to accumulation of extracellular matrix molecules, such as collagen, that is produced by fibroblasts. Chronic fibrotic diseases often result in widespread distortion of normal tissue architecture and account for up to 45% of deaths in the United States. Fibrosis can occur in most major tissues, however idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and hepatic cirrhosis are among the more common fibrotic diseases.

Hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Patients with liver cirrhosis are at high risk of deadly hepatic failure and approximately 80%-90% of HCC develop on a cirrhotic background. HCC ranks as the sixth most common cancer and, with over 600,000 deaths per annum, it constitutes a major global health problem. The most common causes of hepatic cirrhosis in the United States are hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, and nonalcoholic liver disease.

TGFß Pathway and its Role in Fibrosis

Progress has been made to treat the underlying etiologies initiating liver fibrosis, yet significant needs remain for therapies that slow, halt, or reverse fibrosis and thereby prevent late-stage liver failure and HCC. TGFß signaling is a key mediator of liver fibrosis initiation and progression through multiple mechanisms, including hepatocyte apoptosis, hepatic stellate cell transdifferentiation to myofibroblasts, and pro-fibrotic macrophage activation.

TGFß is secreted by many cell types and is implicated in a wide range of cell functions, critically regulating tissue homeostasis and repair, immune and inflammatory responses, extracellular matrix deposition, and cell differentiation and growth. In healthy tissues, TGFß is expressed at a low level to enable homeostatic mechanisms and is also transiently upregulated in response to tissue injury, which initiates a cascade that results in collagen production and, ultimately, healing of the tissue. In fibrotic tissue, TGFß production and signaling is dysregulated and perpetuated, leading to excess collagen deposition in the absence of acute tissue injury.

While inhibiting the TGFß receptor kinase domains is the most direct way to down-regulate TGFß signaling, systemic availability of TGFß receptor 1 (TGFßR1) antagonists is associated with DLTs due to the homeostatic functions of TGFß in multiple organ systems. Preventing TGFß activity with antibody blockade of ligands or their activation machinery is challenging due to the presence of multiple ligands and activation mechanisms, and TGFß’s sequestration in extracellular matrix. We believe a systemically delivered TGFßR1 antagonist with liver-localized activity has the potential to ameliorate liver fibrosis while avoiding the toxicities associated with non-targeted TGFß receptor inhibition.

Using a similar strategy of liver localization that was employed in our cHBV program, as shown in the figure below, we engineered an ASGR1-TGFßR1 antagonist ImmunoTAC intended to inhibit the TGFß pathway to treat liver fibrosis. ASGR1 is a scavenger receptor that is highly expressed exclusively on hepatocytes and internalizes and recycles rapidly upon engagement. Thus, the ASGR1-TGFßR1 antagonist conjugate is designed for systemic administration with liver-localized inhibition of the TGFß receptor.

ASGR1-TGFßR1 ImmunoTAC Therapeutic is Designed for Liver-Localized TGFß Signaling Inhibition for Anti-Fibrotic Effects

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As shown in the figure below, our initial preclinical studies with ASGR1-TGFßR1 antagonist conjugates demonstrated potent inhibition of TGFß signaling in vitro. This activity was dependent on ASGR1 binding as no activity was observed on cells with low or no ASGR1 expression.

ASGR1-TGFßR1 ImmunoTAC Therapeutic: Potent and Complete Inhibition of TGFß Signaling in pSMAD Reporter Assay

ASGR1pos pSMAD Reporter Assay

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Preclinical studies in mouse disease models are ongoing for this program.

Competition

The pharmaceuticalOur industry is highly competitive and dynamic, owingsubject to rapidly advancing technologies. We facerapid technological changes. Our potential competition from many different sources, including majorcompetitors include large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnologygeneric drug companies, academic institutions, government agencies and public and private research institutions. AnyMany of our potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical, commercial and human resources than we do and significantly more experience in the discovery, development and regulatory approval of product candidates and the commercialization of those products. We believe that the key competitive factors that will affect the development and commercial success of neffy and the other product candidates that we successfullymay develop are their efficacy, safety and commercialize will compete with existing treatmentstolerability profile, convenience in dosing, product labeling, value and new treatments that may become availableprice, in the future.

We compete with other companies workingaddition to develop immunotherapies and targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer including divisions of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies of various sizes. These companies are developing therapies of many different modalities including small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, bi-specific antibodies, cell therapies, oncolytic viruses and vaccines.

Specifically,whether there are many companies pursuing a varietyalternative therapies approved for other indications and prescribed for off-label use and the availability of approaches to TLR-directed therapies, including Apros Therapeutics, Ascendis, BioNTech, Bolt Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, CureVac, Exicure, Galaderma, Gilead, Idera, Mologen, Nektar, Novartis, Primmune Therapeutics, Roche, Seven&Eight, Shanghai De Novo, Sumitomo Dainippon, TriSalus,reimbursement from the government and UroGen. Other companies using antibody-drug conjugates to target innate immune receptors include Actym Therapeutics, Mersana, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Immunotherapy and validated pathway approaches are further being pursued by many smaller biotechnology companies as well as larger pharmaceutical companies. We also face competition from validated pathway therapy treatments offered by companies such as AstraZeneca, Byondis, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, MacroGenics, Pieris, Puma, Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics), Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, and Zymeworks. We also face competition from companies that continue to invest in innovation in the antibody-drug conjugate field, including but not limited to AbbVie, ADC Therapeutics, Astellas, BioAtla, Celldex, CytomX, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Genmab, ImmunoGen, Immunomedics, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, MorphoSys AG, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics), Sutro Biopharma, and VelosBio.

Many of our competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, preclinical testing, clinical trials, manufacturing, and marketing than we do. Future collaborations and mergers and acquisitions may result in further resource concentration among a smaller number of competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors will also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and subject registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or that may be necessary for, our programs.

other third parties. Our commercial potentialopportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develophave products which are better in one or more of these categories.

We expect that, if approved, neffy would compete with a number of existing products and commercializeother product candidates that target Type I allergic reactions, including certain products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approvalbecome generic products. Additionally, the development of new treatment methods for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position beforethe diseases we are able to entertargeting could render our current or future product candidates non-competitive or obsolete.

We anticipate that, if approved, neffy will compete primarily against epinephrine intra-muscular injectable products, for the market or make ouremergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions including EpiPen and its generics, which are marketed by Viatris, Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals, Inc., respectively; Adrenaclick, which is marketed by Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Auvi-Q, which is marketed by Kaleo, Inc.; and Symjepi, which is marketed by Sandoz, Inc., a Novartis division.

We are not aware of any other company that has a “no needle, no injection” epinephrine product candidate in clinical development more complicated. The key competitive factors affectingin the successUnited States that has demonstrated PKs bracketed by the approved injection products for all pharmacokinetic parameters requested by the FDA. We are also not aware of allany “no needle, no injection” epinephrine product candidate for the pediatric population that is in clinical development.

We are aware of our programs are likelyseveral companies developing higher dose intranasal candidates including Bryn Pharma, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (previously INSYS Therapeutics, Inc.), Nasus Pharma and Orexo AB. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is reported to be efficacy, safetydeveloping an intranasal candidate, but has not disclosed its dose. Aquestive Therapeutics is developing a sublingual candidate based on a prodrug of epinephrine.

Manufacturing and convenience.Supply

Manufacturing

Our antibody-drug conjugate is produced by chemical conjugation of a non-cytotoxic linker-payload to a monoclonal antibody. We have significant internal expertise in engineering and humanization of antibodies and designing linker-payloads to customize the drug conjugate for a desired target profile. The small molecule linker-payload is chemically synthesized, and the antibody is produced by conventional biological process technology. The manufacturing process involves production of the linker-payload and antibody process intermediates, the conjugation of the intermediates to produce bulk therapeutic substance, and fill/finish of the therapeutic product.

We do not own or operate and currentlymanufacturing facilities for the production of neffy, nor do we have no plans to establish, any manufacturing facilities subject to compliance with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP). We operate on an outsourced model and rely on contracts with third-party development and manufacturing organizations designed to comply with cGMPs to produce and test the intermediates, therapeutic substance and therapeutic product to support clinical development, and commercialization, if any of our product candidates obtain marketing approval. We are working with these manufacturers to scale up our manufacturing capabilities to support our clinical plans. We also rely on third parties to package, label, store and distribute our product candidates, as well as for our commercial products if marketing approval is obtained. We believe that this strategy allows us to maintain a more efficient infrastructure by eliminating the need for us to invest ondevelop our own manufacturing facilities, equipment and personnel while also enabling us to focus our expertise and resourcesoperations for clinical materials or commercial products in the foreseeable future. We currently depend on the design and developmentthird-party contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) for all of our required raw materials, drug substance and drug product candidates.for our preclinical research and clinical trials.

Commercialization Plan

We intend to retain significant developmentcurrently rely on suppliers for raw materials including drug substance and commercial rights tomultiple manufacturers for our product candidates and expect to rely on third-party suppliers and manufacturers for the commercial supply of any approved products. We currently employ internal resources and third-party consultants as needed to manage our CMOs. These CMOs offer a comprehensive range of contract manufacturing and packaging services and have successfully handled the scale up of neffy in preparation for commercialization.

neffy is presented as a nasal spray in aqueous solution with epinephrine as the active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) filled into glass vials and closed with a rubber stopper and assembled into the unit dose sprayer device. Over time, epinephrine is oxidized and loses potency resulting in a finite shelf-life, and the neffy solution inside the unit dose sprayer changes to an amber to brown color.

Epinephrine is the API used in neffy. We intend to use Cambrex Profarmco (“Cambrex”) as one of our commercial sources for epinephrine API. Cambrex holds a U.S. drug master file for epinephrine produced at its facility in Italy, and its manufacturing process is fully validated. We have entered into a commercial supply agreement with Cambrex, and while we believe that Cambrex has sufficient capacity to satisfy our long-term requirements, there are several sources of API available, and we intend to launch with a second source of API and are in the process of qualifying this second API source.

Dodecyl maltoside or Intravail is purchased through our license agreement with Aegis Therapeutics, Inc. from two manufacturers, Dr. Reddy Laboratories and Inalco, which are based in India and Italy, respectively.

The unit dose sprayer device used to delivery drug product in neffy is produced by Aptar Pharma (“Aptar”). Aptar produces devices in France and we believe Aptar has sufficient capacity to satisfy our long-term requirements. The patent for the Aptar unit dose nasal spray device expired in early 2020, and we believe there will be generic supplies available soon after launch.

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Manufacturing drug product for neffy is conducted by Renaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Renaissance Pharma”), which has been actively involved in supporting the manufacture of neffy devices in our clinical development. We intend to use its facility in Lakewood, New Jersey as our primary source for drug product manufacturing and final packaging. We have entered into a commercial supply agreement with Renaissance Pharma, and believe they have sufficient capacity to satisfy our long-term requirements, although we are evaluating alternating sourcing options.

Ongoing stability studies demonstrate that neffy is stable at room temperature for at least 18 months, based on stability data from the 2.0 mg dose of neffy for 12 months and the 1.0 mg dose of neffy for 24 months, and we plan to continue to conduct ongoing registration stability studies that we anticipate will enable us to indicate on our label, if marketing approvalapproved, that neffy is obtained,stable at room temperature for 18 months at 25oC. We have also conducted studies indicating that neffy is also stable at temperature excursions including 40oC for up to commercializesix months, and at 50oC for up to three months.

Intellectual Property

We strive to protect our intranasal epinephrine product candidates onby seeking, maintaining, and defending our own, or potentially with a partner,patent rights in the United States and other regions. We currently have no sales, marketinginternationally. Our policy is to pursue, maintain and defend patent rights in strategic areas, whether developed internally or commercial product distribution capabilitieslicensed from third parties, and have no experience as a company commercializing products. We intend to build the necessary infrastructure and capabilities over time for the United States, and potentially other regions, following further advancement of our product candidates. Clinical data, the size of the addressable patient population, the size of the commercial infrastructure and manufacturing needs may all influence or alter our commercialization plans.

License Agreement

Cell Line License Agreement with WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited

In October 2019, we entered into a cell line license agreement with WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited (WuXi Bio), pursuant to which we received a non-exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license under certain of WuXi Bio’s intellectual property rights, know-how and biological materials (WuXi Bio Licensed Technology), to make, use, sell, offer for sale and import a product developed through the use of the WuXi Bio Licensed Technology (WuXi Bio Licensed Product). The WuXi Bio Licensed Technology is used to manufacture a component of our lead product, SBT6050.

In January 2020, we paid a license fee of $100,000 to WuXi Bio. In December 2020, we incurred an additional license fee of $50,000 to WuXi Bio. Additionally, if we do not engage WuXi Bio to manufacture the WuXi Bio Licensed Products for our clinical and commercial supplies, we are required to make milestone payments to WuXi Bio upon the achievement of certain sales milestones. Under such scenarios, upon achieving certain thresholds for the aggregate annual net sales of a WuXi Bio Licensed Product, we would owe WuXi Bio aggregate milestone payments of up to $10.8 million.

The WuXi Bio Agreement will continue indefinitely unless terminated in accordance with the agreement. The WuXi Bio Agreement may be terminated (i) by us upon six months’ written notice provided we pay all amounts due to WuXi Bio through the effective date of termination, (ii) by either party for the other party’s material breach that remains uncured for 30 days after written notice, and (iii) by WuXi Bio after 45 days’ written notice if we fail to make a payment within 30 days after receiving notice of such failure.

Master Services Agreements

Master Services Agreement with CE3, Inc.

In January 2020, we entered into a master services agreement (MSA) with CE3, Inc. (CE3) pursuant to which CE3 will perform certain clinical research and administrative services in connection with our lead product SBT6050, including trial management, site selection, site management, project management, data collection and analysis, and other related services, in support of certain clinical research and trials. In addition to the fees for these services, we are obligated to pay the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the services provided by CE3.

The CE3 MSA will expire in January 2025, unless earlier terminated in accordance with the MSA. The MSA can be terminated (i) by either party at any time upon 30 days’ written notice provided any ongoing work order will continue until the termination date set forth in such work order; (ii) by either party for the other party’s material breach that remains uncured for 60 days after written notice; (iii) by either party if the other party becomes insolvent or bankrupt; or (iv) by us if either party is unable to obtain required ongoing review and/or approvals from regulatory agencies in connection with services to be performed under the MSA.

Master Laboratory Services Agreement with Q Squared Solutions LLC

In May 2020, we entered into a Master Laboratory Services Agreement (MLSA) with Q Squared Solutions LLC (Q Squared) pursuant to which Q Squared will perform certain project planning, laboratory design consultation, laboratory analysis, data management and other laboratory services in connection with our lead product SBT6050. In addition to the fees for these services, we are obligated to pay the fees, expenses and pass-through costs incurred in connection with the services provided by Q Squared.

The Q Squared MLSA will continue until May 2025, at which time it will automatically renew annually unless either party elects not to renew by providing 30 days’ written notice prior to the date of

an automatic renewal. Additionally, the MLSA can be terminated (i) by either party at any time upon 90 days’ written notice; (ii) by either party for the other party’s material breach that remains uncured for 30 days after written notice; (iii) by either party if the other party becomes insolvent or files for bankruptcy; or (iv) by Q Squared if its continued performance of services would constitute a potential or actual violation of regulatory or scientific standards of integrity.

Intellectual Property

We strive to protect and enhance the proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are commercially important to our business, including seeking, maintaining and defending patent rights, whether developed internally or licensed from third parties. We own the issued patents and patent applications relating to our lead product candidate SBT6050. Our policy includes seeking to protect our proprietary position by, among other methods, filing patent applications, in the United States and in jurisdictions outside of the United States, directed to our proprietary technology, inventions, improvements, and product candidates that are important to the development and implementation of our business. We also rely on trade secrets that may be important to the development of our business.

We co-own or exclusively license the patents and know-howpatent applications relating to our intranasal epinephrine product candidates. As of December 31, 2022, our patent portfolio consisted of issued patents and pending patent applications that we co-own or exclusively license from Aegis Therapeutics LLC in the United States and other countries throughout the world. In total, as of that date, our patent portfolio consisted of four issued U.S. patents, one granted Australian patent, one granted Japanese patent, one granted Chinese patent, one granted patent in South Korea, one granted European patent, three granted United Kingdom patents, three pending U.S. non-provisional patent applications, and over fifteen pending foreign patent applications directed to intranasal epinephrine formulations and methods of their use. These issued patents and pending patent applications are expected to expire as early as 2038, absent any patent term adjustments or patent term extensions for regulatory delay.

In addition to patent protection, we also rely on trademark registration, trade secrets, know how, and other proprietary technology and product candidates, continued innovation, and in-licensing opportunitiesinformation to develop strengthen and maintain our proprietary positioncompetitive position. We seek trademark protection in the field of immunotherapy.United States and in certain other jurisdictions where available and when we deem appropriate. We also plan to rely on data exclusivity, market exclusivity,currently have registrations for our “neffy” mark in the United States as well as in foreign jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, European Union, and patent term extensions when available. Japan.

Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtainobtaining and maintainmaintaining patent protection and other proprietarytrade secret protection for our technology, inventions, and improvements; to preserve the confidentiality of our trade secretscurrent and know-how;future product candidates and the methods used to obtaindevelop and maintain licenses to use intellectual property owned by third parties; to defend and enforce our proprietary rights, including any patents that we may own in the future; and to operate without infringing on the valid and enforceable patents and other proprietary rights of third parties.

As of February 28, 2021, our licensed and owned patent portfolio included four owned U.S. patents, 23 owned U.S. provisional and non-provisional patent applications, 13 owned patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), 50 owned foreign patent applications filed in 16 different countries or regions, including in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European region, Hong Kong, Israel, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Africa, directed to TLR8 agonists and conjugates, including SBT6050, TGFßR1 antagonists and conjugates, TGFßR2 antagonists and conjugates, TLR7 agonists and conjugates, and various applications of our proprietary antibody conjugates and antibodies, including antibodies specific for Nectin4 and ASGR,manufacture them, as well as certain of our other proprietary antibodies, compounds, conjugates, formulations, technology, inventions, improvements, and other product candidates. Anysuccessfully defending these patents that issue from these pending patent applications will expire between March 2038 and October 2041, absent any patent term adjustments or extensions. We also possess and/or in-license substantial know-how and trade secrets relating to the development and commercialization of our product candidates, including related manufacturing processes and technology.

Specifically, our patent portfolio includes the following families and/or groups of families:

TLR8 Agonists and Conjugates. We have four issued U.S. patents with composition of matter and method of treatment claims directed to our lead product candidate, SBT6050, and composition of matter, method of treatment, and method of making claims to TLR8 agonist payloads, linker-payloads and conjugates, including conjugates to HER2-directed antibodies. The issued U.S. patents expire in March 2038, absent any patent term extensions. As of December 31, 2020, we have eight pending U.S. patent applications, six pending PCT applications, and 24 pending foreign patent applications filed in 16 different countries or regions, including in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European region, Hong Kong, Israel, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan and South Africa,

with composition of matter claims directed to SBT6050, formulations of SBT6050, and other TLR8 agonists and conjugates, including capped and substituted TLR8 agonist variants and conjugates, as well as claims to methods of administering SBT6050, and other TLR8 agonists and conjugates, and to methods for treating oncology indications. Any patents that issue from these pending patent applications will expire between March 2038 and July 2041, absent any patent term adjustments or extensions. We own all the issued U.S. patents and all the pending patent applications in these patent families.

With respect to our product candidates and processes, we intend to develop and commercialize in the normal course of business, and we intend to pursue patent protection directed to, when possible, compositions, methods of use, methods of making, dosing, and formulations. We may also pursue patent protection with respect to manufacturing, therapeutic development processes and technologies, and therapeutic delivery technologies.

Issued patents can provide protection for varying periods of time, depending upon the date of filing of the patent application, the date of patent issuance, and the legal term of patents in the countries in which they are obtained. In general, patents issued for applications filed in the United States can provide exclusionary rights for 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. In addition, in certain instances, the term of an issued U.S. patent that is directed to or claims an FDA approved product can be extended to recapture a portion of the term effectively lost as a result of the FDA regulatory review period, which is called patent term extension. The restoration period cannot be longer than five years and the total patent term, including the restoration period, must not exceed 14 years following FDA approval. The term of patents outside of the United States varies in accordance with the laws of the foreign jurisdiction, but typically is also 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. However, the actual protection afforded by a patent varies on a product-by-product basis, from country-to-country, and depends upon many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its claims, the availability of regulatory-related extensions, the availability of legal remedies in a particular country, and the validity and enforceability of the patent.

The patent positions of companies like ours are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. No consistent policy regarding the scope of claims allowable in patents in the field of immunotherapy has emerged in the United States. The relevant patent laws and their interpretation outside of the United States is also uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or their interpretation in the United States and other countries may diminish our ability to protect our technology or product candidates and enforce the patent rights that we license, and could affect the value of such intellectual property. In particular, ouragainst third-party challenges. Our ability to stop third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing our products that infringe our intellectual property will depend in partdepends on our success in obtainingthe extent to which we have rights under valid and enforcing patent claimsenforceable patents or trade secrets that cover our technology, inventions, and improvements. With respect to both licensed and company-owned intellectual property, wethese activities. We cannot guaranteebe sure that patents will be granted with respect to any of our pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications we may filefiled by us in the future, nor can we be sure that any of our existing patents or any patents that may be granted to us in the future will be commercially useful in protecting our product candidates and processes. For this and more comprehensive risks related to our intellectual property, please see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.

The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term of the patents in the countries in which they are obtained. In most countries in which we file, the patent term is 20 years from the earliest date of filing a non-provisional patent application. In the United States, the patent term of a patent that covers an FDA-approved drug may also be eligible for patent term extension, which permits patent term restoration as compensation for the patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (the “Hatch-Waxman Act”) permits a patent term extension of up to five years beyond the expiration of the patent. The length of the patent term extension is related to the length of time the drug is under regulatory review. Patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent applicable to an approved drug may be extended and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it, or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. Similar provisions are available in Europe and other foreign jurisdictions to extend the term of a patent that covers an approved drug. In the future, if and when our products the methods of use or manufacture ofreceive FDA approval, we expect to apply for patent term extensions on patents covering those products. Moreover, even theWe plan to seek patent term extensions to any of our issued patents in any jurisdiction where these are available, however there is no guarantee that the applicable authorities, including the FDA in the United States, will agree with our assessment of whether such extensions should be granted, and if granted, the length of such extensions. For more information regarding the risks related to our intellectual property, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.

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We also seek to protect our intellectual property in part by entering into confidentiality agreements with companies with whom we share proprietary and confidential information in the course of business discussions, and by having confidentiality terms in our agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, clinical investigators, and other collaborators and contractors and also by requiring our employees, commercial contractors, and certain consultants and investigators, to enter into invention assignment agreements that grant us ownership of any discoveries or inventions made by them while in our employ. However, such confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements can be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach. For more information regarding the risks related to our intellectual property, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.

The patent positions of specialty pharmaceutical companies like ours are generally uncertain and involve complex legal, scientific and factual questions. Our commercial success will also depend in part on not infringing upon the proprietary rights of third parties. It is uncertain whether the issuance of any third-party patent would require us to alter our development or commercial strategies, or our drugs or processes, obtain licenses or cease certain activities. Our breach of any license doagreements or our failure to obtain a license to proprietary rights required to develop or commercialize our future products may have a material adverse impact on us. If third parties prepare and file patent applications in the United States that also claim technology to which we have rights, we may have to participate in interference or derivation proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) to determine priority of invention. For more information, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.

Our Collaboration and Licensing Agreements

License Agreement with Aegis

In June 2018, we entered into a license agreement with Aegis Therapeutics, LLC (“Aegis”), which was amended in July 2020 and January 2021. Pursuant to the agreement, Aegis granted us an exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license under patents and know-how relating to the INTRAVAIL drug delivery technology to research, develop, make (subject to Aegis supplying the INTRAVAIL drug delivery technology to us under a supply agreement), use, sell, offer for sale, import, and otherwise commercialize products incorporating epinephrine compounds (“Aegis Licensed Compounds”), including the neffy nasal spray. During the term of the agreement, we are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain regulatory approval for products containing one or more Aegis Licensed Compounds and using the excipient (including INTRAVAIL) (“Aegis Licensed Products”) and to thereafter maximize sales of the Aegis Licensed Products, and Aegis may not guarantee usdirectly or indirectly exploit an Aegis Licensed Product or Aegis Licensed Compound or derivatives thereof without our consent.

Under the agreement, Aegis received an upfront license fee of $50,000 and is entitled to receive development milestone payments of up to $3.95 million in aggregate and commercialization milestone payments up to $16.0 million in the aggregate for each Aegis Licensed Product. We made a $0.5 million milestone payment to Aegis upon the achievement of a regulatory milestone during 2019, and a $1.0 million payment to Aegis upon the FDA’s acceptance of our US NDA filing, which occurred in the third quarter of 2022. We will be required to pay Aegis a milestone payment of $2.5 million contingent upon the FDA approval of the first Aegis Licensed Product and a milestone payment of $5.0 million contingent upon first commercial sale of the first Aegis Licensed Product. Additionally, Aegis is entitled to receive a low- to mid-single-digit percentage royalty, subject to reductions under certain conditions including due to generic competition or below threshold levels of profitability in specific countries around the world, on net sales of all Aegis Licensed Products during the applicable royalty term, which commences on the first commercial sale of a Aegis Licensed Product in a country and ends upon the later of the expiration of all licensed patents covering such Aegis Licensed Product in such country or 15 years after the date of the first commercial sale of the Aegis Licensed Product in such country (“Aegis Royalty Term”).

The agreement will continue until the expiration of the last-to-expire Aegis Royalty Term, unless sooner terminated. We have the right to practiceterminate the agreement at any time after a specified notice period to Aegis. Either party may terminate the agreement for uncured material breach of the other party, or upon notice for insolvency-related events of the other party that are not discharged within a defined time period.

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Collaboration and License Agreement with Alfresa

In April 2020, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Alfresa Pharma Corporation (“Alfresa”). Pursuant to the agreement, we granted Alfresa (i) an exclusive, sublicensable license under our patents relating to neffy to develop, use and import epinephrine compositions (“Alfresa Licensed Compositions”) and related products (“Alfresa Licensed Products”) in Japan (the “Alfresa Territory”) and to promote, distribute, offer for sale and sell Alfresa Licensed Products in the Alfresa Territory, and (ii) a non-exclusive, sublicensable license to manufacture and commercialize Alfresa Licensed Products under the license described in clause (i), under our technology to make and have made Alfresa Licensed Compositions and Alfresa Licensed Products in relation toand outside the commercializationAlfresa Territory solely for the purpose of our products. Patent and other intellectual property rightsexercising the license described in clause (i) in the pharmaceuticalAlfresa Territory. We expressly reserved all rights to practice and biotechnology space are evolving and involve many risks and uncertainties. For example, third parties may have blocking patents that could be used to prevent us from commercializinggrant licenses under our product candidates and practicing our proprietary technology and the issued patents that we in-license and those that may issue in the future may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, which could limit our ability to stop competitors from marketing related products or could limit the term of patent protection that otherwise may exist for our product candidates. In addition, the scope of the rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with protection or competitive advantages against competitors with similar technology.

Furthermore, our competitors may independently develop similar technologies that are outside the scope of the rightslicenses granted under any issued patents that we own or exclusively in-license. For these reasons, we may face competition with respect to our product candidates. Moreover, becauseAlfresa, including the right to manufacture Alfresa Licensed Compositions and Alfresa Licensed Products in the Alfresa Territory. During the term of the extensive timeagreement, (1) we and Alfresa are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop a Alfresa Licensed Product throughout the Alfresa Territory, and (2) Alfresa is obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to (A) seek pricing and reimbursement approval, (B) seek and maintain regulatory approval for the Alfresa Licensed Products through the Alfresa Territory, and (C) market, promote and otherwise commercialize Alfresa Licensed Products in the field throughout the Alfresa Territory.

Under the agreement, we received a one-time upfront payment of $2.0 million and earned $5 million upon the achievement of a clinical milestone during 2021. We are eligible to receive regulatory milestones of up to $8.0 million in the aggregate. Further, we are eligible to receive a negotiable transfer price expected to be in the low double-digit percentage on net sales subject to the regulatory approval to commercialize neffy in Japan. We share the cost of any additional clinical studies required for development, testingapproval of neffy in Japan. Additionally, Alfresa is obligated to either (i) enter into a commercial supply agreement with us pursuant to which we will supply drug product for commercial sale at an agreed upon transfer price, or (ii) if Alfresa elects to manufacture its own supply of drug product, pay us a royalty payment on the net sales of drug product in the Alfresa Territory in an amount equal to monetary value we would receive by supplying drug product to Alfresa at the transfer price.

The agreement will continue until the later of (i) expiration of the last-to-expire valid claim of our patents or joint patent with Alfresa covering the composition, method of manufacture or method of use in the field of any Alfresa Licensed Product in the Alfresa Territory, and (ii) 10 years after the first commercial sale of any Alfresa Licensed Product in the Alfresa Territory. Alfresa has the right to terminate the agreement (1) at any time after a specified notice period to us, or (2) upon notice to us if a binding decision is rendered invalidating any of our patents. Either party may terminate the agreement for uncured material breach of the other party, or upon notice for insolvency-related events of the other party that are not discharged within a defined time period.

Collaboration and Distribution Agreement with Pediatrix

In March 2021, we entered into a collaboration and distribution agreement with Pediatrix Therapeutics (“Pediatrix”). Pursuant to the agreement, we granted Pediatrix (i) an exclusive, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license under our patents relating to neffy to develop, use, register and import epinephrine compositions (“Pediatrix Licensed Compositions”) and related products (“Pediatrix Licensed Products”) in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan (the “Pediatrix Territory”) and to promote, offer for sale and sell Pediatrix Licensed Products in the Pediatrix Territory; and (ii) an exclusive, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license to manufacture Pediatrix Licensed Compositions and Pediatrix Licensed Products solely for the purpose of exercising the license described in clause (i) in the Pediatrix Territory. We expressly reserved all rights to practice and grant licenses under our technology outside the scope of the licenses granted to Pediatrix. During the term of the agreement, Pediatrix is obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to (1) develop the Pediatrix Licensed Products throughout the Pediatrix Territory, (2) prepare, obtain, maintain and renew all necessary regulatory reviewapprovals for the Pediatrix Licensed Products in the Pediatrix Territory, and (3) market, promote and otherwise commercialize the Pediatrix Licensed Products throughout the Pediatrix Territory.

Under the agreement, we received a one-time upfront payment of $3.0 million and are eligible to receive a regulatory milestone payment of $4.0 million and net sales milestone payments of up to $80.0 million in the aggregate. We will receive a per unit supply price for any sale of commercial supply to Pediatrix. Additionally, we are eligible to receive a tiered royalty on the net sales of all Pediatrix Licensed Products during the applicable royalty term, which is less than one percent below a minimum annual sales threshold, and increasing to low-to-mid double-digit percentages above the minimum annual sales threshold, subject to reductions under certain conditions including due to generic competition. Pediatrix’s obligation to pay us royalties continues on a Pediatrix Licensed Product-by- Pediatrix Licensed Product and region-by-region basis in the Pediatrix Territory, until the latest of (i) expiration of the last-to-expire valid claim of our patents covering such Licensed Product in such region; (ii) the expiration of all regulatory exclusivities that cover such Licensed Product in such region; or (iii) ten years after the first commercial sale of such Pediatrix Licensed Product in such region (the “Pediatrix Royalty Term”).

The agreement will continue until the expiration of the last-to-expire Pediatrix Royalty Term. Pediatrix has the right to terminate the agreement at any time after a specified notice period to us. Either party may terminate the agreement for uncured material breach of the other party, or upon notice for insolvency-related events of the other party that are not discharged within a defined time period.

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Manufacturing Agreement with Renaissance

In September 2020, we entered into a manufacturing agreement with Renaissance Lakewood, LLC (“Renaissance”). Pursuant to the agreement, Renaissance agreed to manufacture for, and provide to us, neffy nasal unit dose sprays (“Renaissance Products”). We are obligated to provide Renaissance with certain supplies to manufacture the Renaissance Products and to purchase from Renaissance a mid double-digit percentage of our annual aggregate Renaissance Product requirements in the EU, and a high double-digit percentage of our annual aggregate Renaissance Product requirements in the U.S. The agreement contains conventional commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing provisions including certain minimum purchase amounts to be determined in the future based on forecast needs and minimum batch size projections. We may also request Renaissance perform certain services related to the Renaissance Product, for which we will pay reasonable compensation to Renaissance.

The initial term of the agreement commenced on the date it was entered into and continues (a) for Renaissance Product designated for commercial sale in the U.S. until the earlier of the fifth anniversary of the (i) target U.S. launch date and (ii) the initial U.S. launch date (“U.S. Initial Term”), and (b) for Renaissance Product designated for commercial sale in the EU and other countries, the earlier of the fifth anniversary of (i) the target EU launch date and (ii) the initial EU launch date (“EU Initial Term”), in each case unless earlier terminated by one of the parties. The U.S. Initial Term and EU Initial Term automatically renew for successive two-year terms (“Renewal Term”). Either party may elect not to renew the U.S. Renewal Term and/or the EU Renewal Term by providing the requisite prior notice to the other party. Either party may terminate the agreement (1) for uncured material breach of the other party, (2) upon notice for insolvency-related events of the other party that are not discharged within a defined time period, (3) on a product-by-product basis if the manufacture, distribution or sale would materially contravene any applicable law, (4) by providing the requisite notice if (a) we have not submitted a regulatory filing for any Renaissance Product in the U.S. on or before June 30, 2022, (b) the authorization and approval to distribute or sell Renaissance Product in the U.S. is not granted on or before the target U.S. launch date, (c) the authorization and approval representing more than a targeted number of units of Renaissance Product sold in the U.S. during the last calendar year is withdrawn by the FDA, or (d) we decided in our sole discretion to cease commercializing the Renaissance Product in the U.S., (5) in the case of a potential product, it is possibleforce majeure event that before any particular product candidate can be commercialized, any patent protectioncontinues for such product may expiresix months or remainmore, or (6) a violation by the other party of trade control or anti-corruption laws.

Government Regulation and Product Approval

As a pharmaceutical company that operates in force for only a short period following commercialization, thereby reducing the commercial advantage the patent provides.

Government Regulation

United States, we are subject to extensive regulation. Government authorities in the United States at(at the federal, state and local levellevel) and in other countries and jurisdictions, including the European Union, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture,manufacturing, quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of drug and biological products such as our investigational medicines and any future investigational medicines. Generally, before a new drug or biologic can be marketed, considerable data demonstrating its quality, safety and efficacythose we are developing. Product candidates that we develop must be obtained, organized into a format specific for each regulatory authority, submitted for review and approved by the regulatory authority.

Regulatory ApprovalFDA, before they may be legally marketed in the United States and by the appropriate foreign regulatory agency before they may be legally marketed in foreign countries. Generally, our activities in other countries will be subject to regulation that is similar in nature and scope as that imposed in the United States, although there can be important differences. Additionally, some significant aspects of regulation in Europe are addressed in a centralized way, but country-specific regulation remains essential in many respects.

Regulation of Combination Products in the United States

neffy is comprised of drug and delivery device components that would normally be subject to different regulatory frameworks by the FDA and frequently regulated by different centers at the FDA. These products are known as combination products. Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), the FDA is charged with assigning a center with primary jurisdiction, or a lead center, for review of a combination product. The determination of which center will be the lead center is based on the “primary mode of action” of the combination product. Thus, if the primary mode of action of a drug-device combination product is attributable to the drug product, the FDA center responsible for premarket review of the drug product would have primary jurisdiction for the combination product.

A combination product with a primary mode of action attributable to the drug component, such as neffy, generally would be reviewed and approved pursuant to the drug approval processes set forth in the FDCA. In reviewing the NDA for such a product, however, FDA reviewers would consult with their counterparts in the device center to ensure that the device component of the combination product – the sprayer - met applicable requirements regarding safety, effectiveness, durability and performance. In addition, under FDA regulations, combination products such as neffy are subject to cGMP requirements applicable to both drugs and devices, including the Quality System Regulations applicable to medical devices.

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U.S. Drug Development Process

In the United States, pharmaceutical productsthe FDA regulates drugs under the FDCA, and implementing regulations. A new drug must be approved by the FDA through the NDA process before it may be legally marketed in the United States. Drugs are also subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. The FDCA, and other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations govern, among other things,require the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotionexpenditure of substantial time and marketing, distribution, post- approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, and import and export of pharmaceutical products. Biological products used for the prevention, treatment or cure of a disease or condition of a human being are subject to regulation under the FDCA, except the section of the FDCA that governs the approval of new drug applications, NDAs. Biological products, such as our ImmunoTAC product candidates, are approved for marketing under provisions of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), via a BLA. However, the application process and requirements for approval of BLAs are very similar to those for NDAs, and biologics are associated with similar approval risks and costs as drugs.financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject a companyan applicant to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions. FDA sanctions such as clinical hold, FDAcould include, among other actions, refusal to approve pending NDAs or BLAs,applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, warning or untitled letters, product recalls or withdrawals from the market, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil penalties andor criminal prosecution.

Our investigational medicines and any future investigational medicines must be approvedpenalties. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us. The process required by the FDA pursuant tobefore a BLA before theydrug may be legally marketed in the United States. The processStates generally involves the following:

completion of extensive preclinical laboratory tests, preclinical animal studies and formulation studies in accordance with applicable regulations, including the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice (“GLP”) regulations and other applicable regulations;

submission to the FDA of an investigational new drug (“IND”), which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;

completion of extensive preclinical laboratory and animal studies in accordance with applicable regulations, including studies conducted in accordance with GLP requirements;

approval by an independent institutional review board (“IRB”) at each clinical site before each trial may be initiated;

performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with applicable regulations, including the FDA’s good clinical practice (“GCP”) regulations to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug for its proposed indication;

submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;

submission to the FDA of an NDA after completion of all pivotal trials;

a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of an NDA to file the NDA for review;

approval by an IRB or independent ethics committee at each clinical trial site before each clinical trial may be commenced;

satisfactory completion of an FDA pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the drug is produced to assess compliance with cGMP requirements to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the drug’s identity, strength, quality and purity;

potential FDA audit of the preclinical and/or clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the NDA to assess compliance with GCP regulations;

performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with applicable IND regulations, GCP requirements and other clinical trial-related regulations to establish the safety and efficacy of the investigational product for each proposed indication;

satisfactory completion of an FDA advisory committee review, if applicable; and

FDA review and approval of the NDA prior to any commercial marketing or sale of the drug in the United States.

submission to the FDA of a BLA;

payment of any user fees for FDA review of the BLA;

a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of a BLA to accept the filing for review;

satisfactory completion of one or more FDA pre-approval inspections of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the biologic, or components thereof, will be produced to assess compliance with cGMP requirements to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the biologic’s identity, strength, quality and purity;

satisfactory completion of any potential FDA audits of the clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the BLA to assure compliance with GCPs and integrity of the clinical data;

FDA review and approval of the BLA, including consideration of the views of any FDA advisory committee; and

compliance with any post-approval requirements, including REMS, where applicable, and post- approval studies required by the FDA as a condition of approval.

The preclinical and clinical testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and we cannot be certain that any approvals for our product candidates will be granted on a timely basis, or at all.

Preclinical Studies

Before testing any biological product candidatescompounds with potential therapeutic value in humans, the product candidate must undergo rigorousenters the preclinical testing.testing stage. Preclinical studiestests include laboratory evaluationevaluations of product candidateschemistry, toxicity and formulations,formulation, as well asin vitro and animal studies, to assess the potential for adverse eventssafety and in some cases to establish a rationale for therapeutic use.activity of the product candidate. The conduct of the preclinical studies is subject totests must comply with federal regulations and requirements including GLP regulations for safety/toxicology studies. An INDrequirements. The sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and plans fora proposed clinical studies, among other things,protocol, to the FDA as part of anthe IND. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational drug product to humanshumans. The central focus of an IND submission is on the general investigational plan and must become effective beforethe protocol(s) for human clinical trials may begin.trials. Some long-term preclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted. AnThe IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions related to one or moreregarding the proposed clinical trials and places the trialIND on clinical hold.hold within that 30-day time period. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. AsThe FDA may also impose clinical holds on a result, submission of an IND may not result in the FDA allowingproduct candidate at any time before or during clinical trials due to commence.safety concerns or non-compliance.

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Clinical Trials

The clinical stage of development involvestrials involve the administration of the investigational product candidate to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by or under the trial sponsor’s control.control, in accordance with GCPs, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials must be conducted: (i) in compliance with federal regulations; (ii) in compliance with GCPs, an international standard meant to protect the rights and health of patients and to define the roles of clinical trial sponsors, administrators and monitors; as well as (iii)are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria and the parameters to be used in monitoringto monitor subject safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated in the trial.assess efficacy. Each protocol, involving testing on U.S. patients and any subsequent amendments to the protocol, amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Furthermore,Further, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an independent IRB forat or servicing each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted to ensure thatconducted. An IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of trial participants and considers such items as whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves the informed consent form that must be provided to each clinical trial subject or his or her legal representative and must monitor the clinical trial until completed.

There are also are requirements governing the reporting of ongoing clinical trials and completed clinical trial results to public registries. Information about certain

Human clinical trials including clinical trial results, must be submitted within specific timeframes for publication on the www.clinicaltrials.gov website. Information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, clinical trial sites and investigators and other aspects of the clinical trial is then made public as part of the registration. Disclosure of the results of these clinical trials can be delayed in certain circumstances for up to two years after the date of completion of the trial.

A sponsor who wishes to conduct a clinical trial outside of the United States may, but need not, obtain FDA authorization to conduct the clinical trial under an IND. If a foreign clinical trial is not conducted under an IND, the sponsor may submit data from the clinical trial to the FDA in support of a BLA. The FDA will accept a well- designed and well-conducted foreign clinical trial not conducted under an IND if the clinical trial was conducted in accordance with GCP requirements, and the FDA is able to validate the data through an onsite inspection if deemed necessary.

Clinical trials are generallytypically conducted in three sequential phases knownthat may overlap or be combined:

Phase 1. The drug is initially introduced into healthy human subjects and tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion, the side effects associated with increasing doses and if possible, to gain early evidence of effectiveness. In the case of some products for severe or life-threatening diseases, especially when the product may be too inherently toxic to ethically administer to healthy volunteers, the initial human testing is often conducted in patients.

Phase 2. The drug is evaluated in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases or conditions and to determine dosage tolerance, optimal dosage and dosing schedule. Multiple Phase 2 clinical trials may be conducted to obtain information prior to beginning larger and more expensive Phase 3 clinical trials.

Phase 3. The drug is administered to an expanded patient population to further evaluate dosage and clinical efficacy at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites. These clinical trials are intended to establish the overall benefit/risk ratio of the product and provide an adequate basis for product approval. Generally, two adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials are required by the FDA for approval of an NDA.

Post-approval studies, or Phase 4 clinical trials, may be conducted after initial marketing approval. These trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication. In certain instances, FDA may mandate the performance of Phase 4 trials. In certain instances, the FDA may mandate the performance of Phase 4 clinical trials as a condition of approval of an NDA.

During the development of a new drug, sponsors are given opportunities to meet with the FDA at certain points. These points may be prior to submission of an IND, at the end of Phase 2, and before an NDA is submitted. Meetings at other times may be requested. These meetings can provide an opportunity for the sponsor to share information about the data gathered to date, for the FDA to provide advice, and for the sponsor and the FDA to reach agreement on the next phase of development. Sponsors typically use the meetings at the end of the Phase 2 trial to discuss Phase 2 clinical results and present plans for the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials that they believe will support approval of the new drug.

Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and written IND safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and the investigators for serious and unexpected AEs or any finding from tests in laboratory animals that suggests a significant risk for human subjects. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3:

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

Phase 2 clinical trials generally involve studies in disease-affected patients to evaluate proof of concept and/or determine the dosing regimen(s) for subsequent investigations. At the same time, safety and further pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic information is collected, possible adverse effects and safety risks are identified, and a preliminary evaluation of efficacy is conducted.

Phase 3 clinical trials generally involve a large number of patients at multiple sites and are designed to provide the data necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product for its intended use, its safety in use and to establish the overall benefit/risk relationship of the product and provide an adequate basis for product labeling. In most cases, the FDA requires two adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials to demonstrate the efficacy of the biologic.

These Phases may overlap or be combined. For example, a Phase 1/2 clinical trial may contain both a dose-escalation stage and a dose expansion stage, the latter of which may confirm tolerability at the recommended dose for expansion in future clinical trials (as in traditional Phase 1 clinical trials) and provide insight into the anti-tumor effects of the investigational therapy in selected subpopulation(s).

Typically, during the development of oncology therapies, all subjects enrolled in Phase 1 clinical trials are disease-affected patients and, as a result, considerably more information on clinical activity may be collected during such trials than during Phase 1 clinical trials for non-oncology therapies. A single Phase 3 or Phase 2 trial with other confirmatory evidence may be sufficient in rare instances to provide substantial evidence of effectiveness (generally subject to the requirement of additional post-approval studies).

Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3 and other types of clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. The FDA, the IRB, or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including non-compliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can

suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug or biologic has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Additionally, some clinical trials are overseen by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board or committee. This group provides authorization for whether or not a trial may move forward at designated checkpointscheck points based on access to certain data from the trial.

Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also must develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the drug or biologic as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, companies must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality potency and purity of the final product.drug. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the investigational medicines doproduct candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over theirits shelf life.

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U.S. Review Processand Approval Processes

FollowingAssuming successful completion of the clinical trials,all required testing in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, the results of product development, preclinical studies and clinical trials, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests conducted on the chemistry of the drug, proposed labeling and other relevant information are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA requesting approval to market the product. Data may come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and effectiveness of a BLA, along with proposed labeling, chemistry and manufacturing information to ensureuse of a product, quality and other relevant data.or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. To support marketing approval, the data submitted must be sufficient in quality and quantity to establish the safety and efficacyeffectiveness of the investigational drug product to the satisfaction of the FDA. The submission of an NDA is subject to the payment of substantial user fees; a waiver of such fees may be obtained under certain limited circumstances.

In addition, the Pediatric Research Equity Act (“PREA”) requires a sponsor to conduct pediatric clinical trials for most drugs, for a new active ingredient, new indication, new dosage form, new dosing regimen or new route of administration. Under PREA, original NDAs and supplements must contain a pediatric assessment unless the sponsor has received a deferral or waiver. The required assessment must evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The sponsor or FDA may request a deferral of pediatric clinical trials for some or all of the pediatric subpopulations. A deferral may be granted for several reasons, including a finding that the drug is ready for approval for use in adults before pediatric clinical trials are complete or that additional safety or effectiveness data need to be collected before the pediatric clinical trials begin. The FDA must send a non-compliance letter to any sponsor that fails to submit the required assessment, keep a deferral current or fails to submit a request for approval of a BLA mustpediatric formulation. Unless otherwise required by regulation, the Pediatric Research Equity Act does not apply to any drug for an indication for which orphan designation has been granted. However, if only one indication for a product has orphan designation, a pediatric assessment may still be obtained before a biologic or drug may be marketed in the United States. The cost of preparing and submitting a BLA is substantial. Under the PDUFA, each BLA must be accompanied by a substantial user fee. The FDA adjusts the PDUFA user fees on an annual basis. Fee waivers or reductions are available in certain circumstances, including a waiver of the application feerequired for any applications to market that same product for the first application filed by a small business. Additionally, no user fees are assessed on BLAs for products designated as orphan drugs, unless the product also includes a non-orphan indication. The applicant under an approved BLA is also subject to an annual program fee. indication(s).

The FDA reviews all NDAs submitted BLAs before it accepts them for filing and may request additional information.information rather than accepting an NDA for filing. The FDA must make a decision on accepting a BLAan NDA for filing within 60 days of receipt, and such decision could include a refusal to file by the FDA.receipt. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review of the BLA.NDA. Under the goals and policies agreed to by the FDA under PDUFA guidelines that are currently in effect, the FDA has 10a goal of ten months from the filing date in which to complete its initial review of an original BLA“filing” of a standard NDA for a new molecular entity to review and respond toact on the applicant, and sixsubmission. This review typically takes twelve months from the filing date of an original BLA designated for priority review. The review process for both standard and priority review may be extended bythe NDA is submitted to FDA because the FDA for three additionalhas approximately two months to consider certain late-submitted information, or information intended to clarify information already provided inmake a “filing” decision after it the submission.application is submitted The FDA does not always meet its PDUFA goal dates for standard and priority BLAs,NDAs, and the review process can beis often significantly extended by FDA requests for additional information or clarification.

Before approving a BLA,After the NDA submission is accepted for filing, the FDA will conduct a pre-approval inspection ofreviews the manufacturing facilities for the new productNDA to determine, among other things, whether they complythe proposed product is safe and effective for its intended use and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP requirements. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production ofand preserve the product within required specifications.

The FDA also may audit data from clinical trials to ensure compliance with GCP requirementsproduct’s identity, strength, quality and the integrity of the data supporting safety and efficacy. Additionally, thepurity. The FDA may refer applications

for novel drug products or drug products thatwhich present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions, if any.conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it generally followsconsiders such recommendations carefully when making decisions on approval.and typically follows the advisory committee’s recommendations.

Before approving an NDA, the FDA will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured. The FDA likely will reanalyzenot approve the clinical trial data, which could resultproduct unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in extensive discussions betweencompliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving an NDA, the FDA and the applicant during the review process.

may inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP requirements. After the FDA evaluates a BLA,the application, manufacturing process and manufacturing facilities, it willmay issue either an approval letter or a Complete Response Letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the biologicdrug with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A Complete Response Letter indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete and the application will not be approved in its present form. A Complete Response Letter generally outlinesusually describes all of the specific deficiencies in the BLA andNDA identified by the FDA. The Complete Response Letter may require additional clinical data and/or (an) additional pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial(s), and/or other significant and time-consuming requirements related to clinical trials, preclinical studies or manufacturing in order for FDA to reconsider the application.manufacturing. If a Complete Response Letter is issued, the applicant may either resubmit the BLA,NDA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, or withdraw the application or request an opportunity for a hearing. The FDA has committed to reviewing such resubmissions in two or six months, depending on the type of information included.application. Even if such data and information are submitted, the FDA may ultimately decide that the BLANDA does not satisfy the criteria for approval.

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If a conditionproduct receives regulatory approval, the approval may be significantly limited to specific diseases and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited, which could restrict the commercial value of BLA approval,the product. Further, the FDA may require a REMS to help ensure that certain contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the benefitsproduct labeling or may condition the approval of the biologic outweighNDA on other changes to the potential risksproposed labeling, development of adequate controls and specifications, or a commitment to patients. A REMS can include medication guides, communication plans for healthcare professionals and elements to assure a product’s safe use (ETASU). An ETASU can include, but is not limited to, special trainingconduct one or certification for prescribingmore post-market studies or dispensing the product, dispensing the product only under certain circumstances, special monitoring and the use of patient-specific registries. The requirement for a REMS can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the product. Moreover,clinical trials. For example, the FDA may require substantial post-approvalPhase 4 testing, which involves clinical trials designed to further assess a drug safety and effectiveness, and may require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the product’s safety or efficacy.

Orphan Drug Designation

Underof approved products that have been commercialized. The FDA may also determine that a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (“REMS”) is necessary to assure the Orphan Drug Act,safe use of the drug. If the FDA may grant orphan designationconcludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the NDA must submit a proposed REMS; the FDA will not approve the NDA without an approved REMS, if required. A REMS could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools.

Fast Track Designation

The FDA has a drug or biological productnumber of programs intended to treat a rare diseaseexpedite the development or condition, which is generally a disease or conditionreview of products that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more than 200,000 individuals in the United States but for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the product for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product in the United States.

Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting a BLA. Aftermeet certain criteria. For example, the FDA grants orphan drughas a fast track designation the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan drug designation on its own does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.

If a productprogram that has orphan designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan drug exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same product for the same indication for seven years from the date of such approval, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity by means of greater effectiveness, greater safety, or providing a major contribution to patient care, or in instances of drug supply issues. Competitors, however, may receive approval of either a different product for the same indication or the same product for a different indication. In the latter case, because healthcare

professionals are free to prescribe products for off-label uses, the competitor’s product could be used for the orphan indication despite another product’s orphan exclusivity.

FDA’s determination of whether two ADCs are the same product for purposes of orphan drug exclusivity is based on a determination of sameness of the monoclonal antibody element and the functional element of the conjugated molecule. Two ADCs are deemed to be the same product if the complementarity determining region sequences of the antibody and the functional element of the conjugated molecule are the same. A difference in either of those two elements can result in a determination that the molecules are different.

Expedited Development and Review Programs

The FDA is authorized to designate certain products for expedited review if they are intended to address an unmet medical need inexpedite or facilitate the treatment of a serious or life-threatening disease or condition.

Fastprocess for reviewing new drug products that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new drugs are eligible for fast track designation may be granted for products thatif they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition for which there is no effective treatment and preclinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the disease or condition. Fast track designation applies to boththe combination of the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. The sponsor of a new biologic candidate can request the FDA to designate the candidate for a specific indication for fast track status concurrent with, or after, the submission of the INDproduct has opportunities for the candidate. The FDA must determine if the biologic candidate qualifies for fast track designation within 60 days of receipt of the sponsor’s request. For fast track products, sponsors may have greatermore frequent interactions with the applicable FDA review team during product development and, once an NDA is submitted, the FDAproduct candidate may initiate review of sections of a fast track product’s BLA before the application is complete. This “rolling review” is available if the FDA determines, after preliminary evaluation of clinical data submitted by the sponsor, thatbe eligible for priority review. With regard to a fast track product, may be effective. The sponsor must also provide, and the FDA must approve,may consider for review sections of the NDA on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the remaining informationsections of the NDA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the NDA and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor must pay applicablepays any required user fees. fees upon submission of the first section of the NDA.

Any product submitted to the FDA for marketing,approval, including undera product with a fast track program,designation, may also be eligible for other types of FDA programs intended to expedite development and review, such as priority. A product is eligible for priority review and accelerated approval.

Breakthrough therapy designation may be granted for products that are intended, alone or in combination with one or more other products,if it is designed to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product may demonstrate substantial improvement over currently approved therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints. Under the breakthrough therapy program, the sponsor of a new biologic candidate may request that the FDA designate the candidate for a specific indication as a breakthrough therapy concurrent with, or after, the submission of the IND for the biologic candidate. The FDA must determine if the biological product qualifies for breakthrough therapy designation within 60 days of receipt of the sponsor’s request. The FDA may take certain actions with respect to breakthrough therapies, including holding meetings with the sponsor throughout the development process, providing timely advice to the product sponsor regarding development and approval, involving more senior staff in the review process, assigning a cross-disciplinary project lead for the review team and taking other steps to design the clinical studies in an efficient manner.

Priority review may be granted for products that are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition, and if approved, would provide a significant improvement in safety and effectivenessthe treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a serious condition compared to available therapies.marketed products. The FDA will attempt to direct additional resources to the evaluation of an application for a new drug designated for priority review in an effort to facilitate the review.

Accelerated approval may be granted for products that are intended The FDA endeavors to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and that generally provide a meaningful therapeutic advantage to patients over

existing treatments. A product eligible for accelerated approval may be approved on the basis of either a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity or prevalencereview applications with priority review designations within six months of the conditionfiling date as compared to ten months for review of new molecular entity NDAs under its current PDUFA review goals.

Fast track designation and priority review do not change the availability or lack of alternative treatments. In clinical trials, a surrogate endpoint is a measurement of laboratory or clinical signs of a disease or condition that substitutesstandards for a direct measurement of how a patient feels, functions or survives. The accelerated approval pathway is most often used in settings in which the course of a disease is long, and an extended period of time is required to measure the intended clinical benefit of a product, even if the effect on the surrogate or intermediate clinical endpoint occurs rapidly. Thus, accelerated approval has been used extensively inbut may expedite the development andor approval of products for treatment of a variety of cancers in which the goal of therapy is generally to improve survival or decrease morbidity and the duration of the typical disease course requires lengthy and sometimes large studies to demonstrate a clinical or survival benefit. The accelerated approval pathway is contingent on a sponsor’s agreement to conduct additional post-approval confirmatory studies to verify and describe the product’s clinical benefit. These confirmatory trials must be completed with due diligence and, in some cases, the FDA may require that the trial be designed, initiated and/or fully enrolled prior to approval. Failure to conduct required post-approval studies, or to confirm a clinical benefit during post-marketing studies, would allow the FDA to withdraw the product from the market on an expedited basis. All promotional materials for product candidates approved under accelerated regulations are subject to prior review by the FDA.

process. Even if a product qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval maywill not be shortened. Furthermore, fast track designation, breakthrough therapy designation, priorityIn addition, such designations or shortened review and accelerated approval doperiods may not change the standards for approval, but may expedite the developmentprovide a material commercial advantage.

Post-Approval Requirements

Any drug products manufactured or approval process.

Additional Controls for Biologics

To help reduce the increased risk of the introduction of adventitious agents, the PHSA emphasizes the importance of manufacturing controls for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The PHSA also provides authoritydistributed pursuant to the FDA to immediately suspend licenses in situations where there exists a danger to public health, to prepare or procure products in the event of shortages and critical public health needs, and to authorize the creation and enforcement of regulations to prevent the introduction or spread of communicable diseases in the United States and between states.

After a BLA is approved, the product may also beapprovals are subject to official lot release as a condition of approval. As part of the manufacturing process, the manufacturer is required to perform certain tests on each lot of the product before it is released for distribution. If the product is subject to official releasecontinuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse experiences with the manufacturer submits samples of each lot of product, providing the FDA with updated safety and efficacy information, product sampling and distribution requirements, and complying with FDA promotion and advertising requirements. After approval, most changes to the FDA together with a release protocol showing a summary of the history of manufacture of the lot and the results of all of the manufacturer’s tests performed on the lot. The FDA may also perform certain confirmatory tests on lots of some products,approved product, such as viral vaccines, before releasing the lots for distribution by the manufacturer. In addition, the FDA conducts laboratory research related to the regulatory standards on the safety, purity, potency and effectiveness of biological products. As with drugs, after approval of biologics, manufacturers must address any safety issues that arise,adding new indications or other labeling claims, are subject to recalls or a halt in manufacturing,prior FDA review and approval. There also are subject to periodic inspection after approval.

continuing, annual program fees for any marketed products.

Pediatric Information

Under the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA), BLAs or supplements to BLAs must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the biological product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the biological product is safe and effective. The FDA may grant full or partial waivers, or deferrals, for submission of data. PREA generally does not apply to any biological product for an indication for which orphan designation has been granted but does apply to BLAs for orphan-designated biologics if the biologic is a molecularly targeted cancer product intended for the treatment of an adult cancer and is directed at a molecular target that the FDA has determined is substantially relevant to the growth or progression of a pediatric cancer.

The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (the BPCA) provides a six-month extension of any exclusivity—patent or non-patent—for a biologic if certain conditions are met. Conditions for exclusivity include the FDA’s determination that information relating to the use of a new biologic in the pediatric population may produce health benefits in that population, the 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.

Post-Approval Requirements

Once a BLA is approved, a product will be subject to certain post-approval requirements. For instance, the FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of biologics, including standards and regulations for direct-to-consumer advertising, off-label promotion, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and promotional activities involving the Internet. Biologics may be marketed only for the approved indications and in a manner consistent with the provisions of the approved labeling. Physicians, on the other hand, may prescribe products for off-label uses. Although the FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate a physician’s choice of drug treatment made in the physician’s independent medical judgment, they do restrict promotional communications from companies or their sales force with respect to off-label uses of products for which marketing clearance has not been issued. Companies may only share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA approved labeling.

Adverse event reporting and submission of periodic safety summary reports is required following FDA approval of a BLA. The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, known as Phase 4 testing, REMS, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product, or the FDA may place conditions on an approval that could restrict the distribution or use of the product. In addition, quality control biological product manufacture, packaging and labelingmanufacturing procedures must continue to conform to cGMPsapplicable manufacturing requirements after approval. Biologicapproval to ensure the long-term stability of the drug product. cGMP regulations require among other things, quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation and the obligation to investigate and correct any deviations from cGMP. Drug manufacturers and certainother entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of their subcontractorsapproved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies. Registration with the FDA subjects entitiesagencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA during which the agency inspects a biologic product’s manufacturing facilities to assessand certain state agencies for compliance with cGMPs.cGMP and other laws. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the areasarea of production and quality-controlquality control to maintain compliance with cGMPs. Regulatory authoritiescGMP compliance. In addition, changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated, and depending on the significance of the change, may withdrawrequire prior FDA approval before being implemented. Other types of changes to the approved product, approvals or request product recalls if a company failssuch as adding new indications and additional labeling claims, are also subject to comply with required regulatory standards, if it encounters problems following initial marketing, or if previously unrecognized problems are subsequently discovered.further FDA review and approval.

Once an approval is granted, the31


The FDA may withdraw the approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of

unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information, imposition of post-market studies or clinical studies to assess new safety risks, or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:

restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product recalls;

restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, suspension of the approval, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product recalls;

fines, warning letters, or untitled letters;

clinical holds on clinical studies;

fines, warning or other enforcement-related letters or holds on post-approval clinical studies;

refusal of the FDA to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications, or suspension or revocation of product approvals;

product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products;

refusal of the FDA to approve pending BLAs or supplements to approved BLAs, or suspension or revocation of product license approvals;

consent decrees, corporate integrity agreements, debarment or exclusion from federal healthcare programs;

mandated modification of promotional materials and labeling and the issuance of corrective information;

product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products; or

the issuance of safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases and other communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product; or

injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, known as Phase 4 testing, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product. Discovery of previously unknown problems with a product or the failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements can have negative consequences, including adverse publicity, judicial or administrative enforcement, warning letters from the FDA, mandated corrective advertising or communications with doctors, and civil or criminal penalties.

Patent Term Restorationpenalties, among others. Newly discovered or developed safety or effectiveness data may require changes to a product’s approved labeling, including the addition of new warnings and Marketing Exclusivitycontraindications, and also may require the implementation of other risk management measures.

Depending uponThe FDA closely regulates the timing, durationmarketing, labeling, advertising and specificspromotion of FDA approval of our product candidates, some of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, informally known as the Hatch-Waxman Act. The Hatch Waxman Act permits a patent term extension of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. Patent term extension (PTE), however, cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. The PTE period is generally one half the time between the effective date of an IND and the submission date of a BLA, plus the time between the submission date of a BLA and the approval of that application, except that the review period is reduced by any time during which the applicant failed to exercise due diligence. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug is eligible for such an extension,products. A company can make only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it, or a method for manufacturing it may be extendedrelating to safety and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. The USPTO, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any PTE or restoration. Similar provisions are available in Europe and other foreign jurisdictions to extend the term of a patent that covers an approved drug. In the future, we or our licensors may apply for PTE for our owned or licensed patents to add patent life beyond their current expiration date, depending on the expected length of the clinical trials and other factors involved in the filing of the relevant BLA. However, an extension might not be granted because of, for example, our or our licensors’ failure to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, failure to apply within applicable deadlines, failure to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or any other failure to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could be less than requested. There is no guarantee that the applicable authorities, including the FDA in the United States, will agree with our assessment of whether any extensions should be granted, and if granted, the length of such extensions.

Biosimilars and Exclusivity

The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (the BPCIA) created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products shown to be biosimilar to, or interchangeable with, an FDA-licensed reference biological product. Biosimilarity, which requires that the biological product be highly similar to the reference product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive components and that there be no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of safety,efficacy, purity and potency can be shown through analytical studies, animal studies and a clinical trial or trials. Interchangeability requires that a biological product be

biosimilar to the reference product and that the product can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product in any given patient and, for products administered multiple times to an individual, that the product and the reference product may be alternated or switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference biological product without such alternation or switch.

A reference biological product is granted 12 years of data exclusivity from the time of first licensure of the product andare approved by the FDA will not accept an application for a biosimilar or interchangeable product based on the reference biological product until four years after the date of first licensure of the reference product. “First licensure” typically means the initial date the particular product at issue was licensed in the United States. Date of first licensure does not include the date of licensure of (and a new period of exclusivity is not available for) a biological product if the licensure is for a supplement for the biological product or for a subsequent application by the same sponsor or manufacturer of the biological product (or licensor, predecessor in interest or other related entity) for a change (not including a modification to the structure of the biological product) that results in a new indication, route of administration, dosing schedule, dosage form, delivery system, delivery device or strength, or for a modification to the structure of the biological product that does not result in a change in safety, purity or potency.

The BPCIA is complex and only recently implemented by the FDA. Recent government proposals have sought to reduce the twelve-year reference product exclusivity period. Other aspects of the BPCIA, some of which may impact the BPCIA exclusivity provisions, have also been the subject of recent litigation. As a result, the ultimate impact, implementation and meaning of the BPCIA is subject to significant uncertainty.

Regulatory Approval in the European Union

The EMA is a decentralized scientific agency of the European Union. It coordinates the evaluation and monitoring of centrally authorized medicinal products. It is responsible for the scientific evaluation of applications for EU marketing authorizations, as well as the development of technical guidance and the provision of scientific advice to sponsors. The EMA decentralizes its scientific assessment of medicines by working through a network of about 4,500 experts throughout the European Union, nominated by the member states. The EMA draws on resources of over 40 National Competent Authorities of European Union member states.

The process regarding approval of medicinal products in the European Union follows roughly the same lines as in the United States and likewise generally involves satisfactorily completing each of the following:

preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies all performed in accordance with the applicable EU Good Laboratory Practice regulations;

submission to the relevant national authorities of a clinical trial application (CTA) for each trial in humans, which must be approved before the trial may begin in each country where patient enrollment is planned;

performance of adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacyprovisions of the product for each proposed indication;

submission to the relevant competent authorities of a MAA, which includes the data supporting safety and efficacy as well as detailed information on the manufacture and composition of the product in clinical development and proposed labelling;

satisfactory completion of an inspection by the relevant national authorities of the manufacturing facility or facilities, including those of third parties, at which the product is produced to assess compliance with strictly enforced cGMP;

potential audits of the non-clinical and clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the MAA; and

review and approval by the relevant competent authority of the MAA before any commercial marketing, sale or shipment of the product.

Preclinical Studies

Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, formulation and stability, as well as studies to evaluate toxicity in animal studies, in order to assess the quality and potential safety and efficacy of the product.approved label. The conduct of the preclinical tests and formulation of the compounds for testing must comply with the relevant international, EU and national legislation, regulations and guidelines. The results of the preclinical tests, together with relevant manufacturing information and analytical data, are submitted as part of the CTA.

Clinical Trials

Pursuant to the Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC, as amended (the Clinical Trials Directive), a system for the approval of clinical trials in the European Union has been implemented through national legislation of the member states. Under this system, approval must be obtained from the competent national authority of each European Union member state in which a clinical trial is planned to be conducted. To this end, a CTA is submitted, which must be supported by an investigational medicinal product dossier and further supporting information prescribed by the Clinical Trials DirectiveFDA and other applicable guidance documents including but not being limited toagencies actively enforce the clinical trial protocol. Furthermore, a clinical trial may only be started after a competent ethics committee has issued a favorable opinion on the clinical trial application in that country.

Directive 2001/20/EC will be replaced by Regulation (EU) No. 536/2014, which entered into force on June 16, 2014 and is due to fully apply from late 2021. The Regulation introduces an authorization procedure based on a single submission via a single EU portal, an assessment procedure leading to a single decision, as well as transparency requirements (the proactive publication of clinical trial data in the EU database). Since October 2016, based on its Policy 0070, the EMA has been publishing clinical data submitted by pharmaceutical companies to support their MAA for human medicines under this centralized procedure.

Manufacturing and import into the EU of investigational medicinal products is subject to the holding of appropriate authorizations and must be carried out in accordance with cGMP.

Review and Approval

Authorization to market a product in the European Union member states proceeds under one of four procedures: a centralized authorization procedure, a mutual recognition procedure, a decentralized procedure or a national procedure. Since our products by their virtue of being antibody-based biologics fall under the centralized procedure, only this procedure will be described here.

Certain drugs, including medicinal products developed by means of biotechnological processes, must be approved via the centralized authorization procedure for marketing authorization. A successful application under the centralized authorization procedure results in a marketing authorization from the European Commission, which is automatically valid in all European Union member states. The other European Economic Area member states (namely Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are also obligated to recognize the European Commission decision. The EMA and the European Commission administer the centralized authorization procedure.

Under the centralized authorization procedure, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (the CHMP), serves as the scientific committee that renders opinions about the safety, efficacy and quality of human products on behalf of the EMA. The CHMP is composed of experts nominated by each member state’s national drug authority, with one of them appointed to act as Rapporteur for the co-ordination of the evaluation with the possible assistance of a further member of the CHMP acting as a Co-Rapporteur. After approval, the Rapporteur(s) continue to monitor the product throughout its life cycle. The CHMP is required to issue an opinion within 210 days of receipt of a valid application, though the clock is stopped if it is necessary to ask the applicant for clarification or further supporting data. The process is complex and involves extensive consultation with the regulatory authorities of member states and a number of experts. Once the procedure is completed, a European Public Assessment Report is produced. If the CHMP concludes that the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicinal product is sufficiently proven, it adopts a positive opinion. The CHMP’s opinion is sent to the European Commission, which uses the opinion as the basis for its decision whether or not to grant a marketing authorization. If the opinion is negative, information is given as to the grounds on which this conclusion was reached.

After a drug has been authorized and launched, it is a condition of maintaining the marketing authorization that all aspects relating to its quality, safety and efficacy must be kept under review. Sanctions may be imposed for failure to adhere to the conditions of the marketing authorization. In extreme cases, the authorization may be revoked, resulting in withdrawal of the product from sale.

Conditional Approval and Accelerated Assessment

As per Article 14(7) of Regulation (EC) 726/2004, a medicine that would fulfill an unmet medical need may, if its immediate availability is in the interest of public health, be granted a conditional marketing authorization on the basis of less complete clinical data than are normally required, subject to specific obligations being imposed on the authorization holder. These specific obligations are to be reviewed annually by the EMA. The list of these obligations shall be made publicly accessible. Such an authorization shall be valid for 12 months, on a renewable basis.

When an application is submitted for a marketing authorization in respect of a drug for human use which is of major interest from the point of view of public health and in particular from the viewpoint of therapeutic innovation, the applicant may request an accelerated assessment procedure pursuant to Article 14(9) of Regulation (EC) 726/2004. Under the accelerated assessment procedure, the CHMP is required to issue an opinion within 150 days of receipt of a valid application, subject to clock stops. We believe that some of the disease indications in which our product candidates are currently being or may be developed in the future qualify for this provision, and we will take advantage of this provision as appropriate.

Period of Authorization and Renewals

A marketing authorization is initially valid for five years and may then be renewed on the basis of a re-evaluation of the risk-benefit balance by the EMA or by the competent authority of the authorizing member state. To this end, the marketing authorization holder shall provide the EMA or the competent authority with a version of the file in respect of quality, safety and efficacy, including all variants introduced since the marketing authorization was granted, at least six months before the marketing authorization ceases to be valid. Once renewed, the marketing authorization shall be valid for an unlimited period, unless the European Commission or the competent authority decides, on justified grounds relating to pharmacovigilance, to proceed with one additional five-year renewal. Any authorization which is not followed by the actual placing of the drug on the EU market (in case of centralized procedure) or on the market of the authorizing member state within three years after authorization shall cease to be valid (the so-called “sunset clause”).

Without prejudice to the law on the protection of industrial and commercial property, marketing authorizations for new medicinal products benefit from an 8+2+1 year period of regulatory protection. This regime consists of a regulatory data protection period of eight years plus a concurrent market exclusivity of 10 years plus an additional market exclusivity of one further year if, during the first eight years of those 10 years, the marketing approval holder obtains an approval for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their approval, are determined to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. Under the current rules, a third party may reference the preclinical and clinical data of the reference product beginning eight years after first approval, but the third party may market a generic version of the reference product after only 10 (or 11) years have lapsed.

Orphan Drug Designation

Regulation (EC) 141/2000 states that a drug shall be designated as an orphan drug if its sponsor can establish (i) that it is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition affecting not more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union when the application is made, or that it is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition in the European Union and that without incentives it is unlikely that the marketing of the drug in the European Union would generate sufficient return to justify the necessary investment; and (ii) that there exists no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of the condition in question that has been authorized in the European Union or, if such method exists, the drug will be of significant benefit to those affected by that condition.

Regulation (EC) 847/2000 sets out criteria for the designation of orphan drugs. An application for designation as an orphan product can be made any time prior to the filing of an application for approval to market the product. Marketing authorization for an orphan drug leads to a 10-year period of market exclusivity, which means that no similar medicinal product can be authorized in the same indication. This period may, however, be reduced to six years if, at the end of the fifth year, it is established that the product no longer meets the criteria for orphan drug designation, for example because the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify continued market exclusivity. In addition, derogation from market exclusivity may be granted on an individual basis in very selected cases, such as consent from the marketing authorization holder, inability to supply sufficient quantities of the product or demonstration of “clinically relevant superiority” by a similar medicinal product. Medicinal products designated as orphan drugs pursuant to Regulation (EC) 141/2000 are eligible for incentives made available by the European Union and by the member states to support research into, and the development and availability of, orphan drugs.

If the MAA of a medicinal product designated as an orphan drug pursuant to Regulation (EC) 141/2000 includes the results of all studies conducted in compliance with an agreed PIP, and a corresponding statement is subsequently included in the marketing authorization granted, the 10-year period of market exclusivity will be extended to 12 years.

Data Privacy and Security Laws

Numerous state, federal and foreign laws govern the collection, dissemination, use, access to, confidentiality and security of health-related information. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations includingprohibiting the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Actpromotion of 1996, as amended (HIPAA), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH), state data breach notification laws, state health information privacy laws, and federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations (e.g., Section 5 of the FTC Act), govern the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of health-related and other personal

information could apply to our operations or the operations of our partners. State laws may be more stringent, broader in scope or offer greater individual rights with respect to protected health information (PHI) than HIPAA, and state laws may differ from each other, which may complicate compliance efforts. Entities that are found to be in violation of HIPAA, as the result of a breach of unsecured PHI, a complaint about privacy practices, an audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or other instances of non-compliance, may be subject to significant civil, criminal, and administrative fines and penalties and/or additional reporting and oversight obligations if required to enter into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with HHS to settle allegations of HIPAA non-compliance.

Even when HIPAA does not apply, according to the FTC, violating consumers’ privacy rights or failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers’ personal information secure may constitute unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act. The FTC expects a company’s data security measures to be reasonable and appropriate in light of the sensitivity and volume of consumer information it holds, the size and complexity of its business, and the cost of available tools to improve security and reduce vulnerabilities. Individually identifiable health information is considered sensitive data that merits stronger safeguards.

Certain states have also adopted comparable privacy and security laws and regulations, some of which may be more stringent than HIPAA. For example, California enacted the CCPA, on June 28, 2018, which went into effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA gives California residents expanded rights to access and delete their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches that is expected to increase data breach litigation.

Further, the collection, transfer, processing and other use of personal data, including health data of individuals within the EEA and the United Kingdom, is governed by the GDPR, which came into effect in May 2018. The GDPR imposes strict requirements on controllers and processors of personal data of individuals within the EEA and the United Kingdom, including requirements relating to processing health and other sensitive data, obtaining consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, providing information to individuals regarding data processing activities, implementing safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of personal data, providing notification of data breaches and taking certain measures when engaging third-party processors. The GDPR prohibits the transfer of personal data to countries outside the EEA, such as the United States, which are not considered by the European Commission to provide an adequate level of data protection. Switzerland has adopted similar restrictions. Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the related national data protection laws of the EEA member states and the United Kingdom may result in substantial fines and other administrative penalties. The GDPR and related data protection laws may impose additional responsibility and liability in relation to personal data that we collect and process and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms ensuring compliance with such rules. This may be onerous and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Marketing

Much like the Anti-Kickback Statute prohibition in the United States, the provision of benefits or advantages to physicians to induce or encourage the prescription, recommendation, endorsement, purchase, supply, order or use of medicinal products is also prohibited in the EU. The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians is governed by the national anti-bribery laws of European Union member states, such as the U.K. Bribery Act 2010. Infringement of these laws could result in substantial fines and imprisonment.

Payments made to physicians and other healthcare professionals in certain European Union member states must be publicly disclosed. Moreover, agreements with physicians and other healthcare professionals often must be the subject of prior notification and approval by the relevant individual’s employer, his or her competent professional organization and/or the regulatory authorities of the individual European Union member states. These requirements are provided in the national laws, industry codes or professional codes of conduct, applicable in the European Union member states.off label uses. Failure to comply with these requirements couldcan result in, reputational risk, public reprimands, administrative penalties,among other things, adverse publicity, warning letters, corrective advertising and potential civil and criminal penalties. Physicians may prescribe, in their independent professional medical judgment, legally available products for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and that differ from those tested and approved by the FDA. Physicians may believe that such off-label uses are the best treatment for many patients in varied circumstances. The FDA does not regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments. The FDA does, however, restrict manufacturer’s communications on the subject of off-label use of their products. The federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion of off-label use and has enjoined companies from engaging in off-label promotion. The FDA and other regulatory agencies have also required that companies enter into consent decrees or imprisonment.permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct is changed or curtailed. However, companies may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA-approved labelling.

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Hatch-Waxman Act

Section 505 of the FDCA describes three types of marketing applications that may be submitted to the FDA to request marketing authorization for a new drug. A Section 505(b)(1) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and efficacy. A 505(b)(2) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and efficacy but where at least some of the information required for approval comes from investigations that were not conducted by or for the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference or use from the person by or for whom the investigations were conducted. This regulatory pathway enables the applicant to rely, in part, on the FDA’s prior findings of safety and efficacy for an existing product, or published literature, in support of its application. Section 505(j) establishes an abbreviated approval process for a generic version of approved drug products through the submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application (“ANDA”). An ANDA provides for marketing of a generic drug product that has the same active ingredients, dosage form, strength, route of administration, labeling, performance characteristics and intended use, among other things, to a previously approved product. ANDAs are termed “abbreviated” because they are generally not required to include preclinical (animal) and clinical (human) data to establish safety and efficacy. Instead, generic applicants must scientifically demonstrate that their product is bioequivalent to, or performs in the same manner as, the innovator drug through in vitro, in vivo, or other testing. The generic version must deliver the same amount of active ingredients into a subject’s bloodstream in the same amount of time as the innovator drug and can often be substituted by pharmacists under prescriptions written for the reference listed drug. In additionseeking approval for a drug through an NDA, applicants are required to regulationslist with the FDA each patent with claims that cover the applicant’s drug or a method of using the drug. Upon approval of a drug, each of the patents listed in the application for the drug is then published in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book. Drugs listed in the Orange Book can, in turn, be cited by potential competitors in support of approval of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA.

Upon submission of an ANDA or a 505(b)(2) NDA, an applicant must certify to the FDA that (1) no patent information on the drug product that is the subject of the application has been submitted to the FDA; (2) such patent has expired; (3) the date on which such patent expires; or (4) such patent is invalid or will not be infringed upon by the manufacture, use or sale of the drug product for which the application is submitted. Generally, the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA cannot be approved until all listed patents have expired, except where the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant challenges a listed patent through the last type of certification, also known as a paragraph IV certification. If the applicant does not challenge the listed patents or indicates that it is not seeking approval of a patented method of use, the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA application will not be approved until all of the listed patents claiming the referenced product have expired. If the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant has provided a Paragraph IV certification to the FDA, the applicant must send notice of the Paragraph IV certification to the NDA and patent holders once the application has been accepted for filing by the FDA. The NDA and patent holders may then initiate a patent infringement lawsuit in response to the notice of the paragraph IV certification. If the paragraph IV certification is challenged by an NDA holder or the patent owner(s) asserts a patent challenge to the paragraph IV certification, the FDA may not approve that application until the earlier of 30 months from the receipt of the notice of the paragraph IV certification, the expiration of the patent, when the infringement case concerning each such patent was favorably decided in the applicant’s favor or settled, or such shorter or longer period as may be ordered by a court. This prohibition is generally referred to as the 30-month stay. In instances where an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant files a paragraph IV certification, the NDA holder or patent owner(s) regularly take action to trigger the 30-month stay, recognizing that the related patent litigation may take many months or years to resolve. Thus, approval of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA could be delayed for a significant period of time depending on the patent certification the applicant makes and the reference drug sponsor’s decision to initiate patent litigation.

The Hatch-Waxman Act establishes periods of regulatory exclusivity for certain approved drug products, during which the FDA cannot approve (or in some cases accept) an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application that relies on the branded reference drug. For example, the holder of an NDA, including a 505(b)(2) NDA, may obtain five years of exclusivity upon approval of a new drug containing new chemical entities that have not been previously approved by the FDA. A drug is a new chemical entity if the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, which is the molecule or ion responsible for the therapeutic activity of the drug substance. During the exclusivity period, the FDA may not accept for review an ANDA or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company that contains the previously approved active moiety. However, an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA may be submitted after four years if it contains a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement. The Hatch-Waxman Act also provides three years of marketing exclusivity to the holder of an NDA (including a 505(b)(2) NDA) for a particular condition of approval, or change to a marketed product, such as a new formulation for a previously approved product, if one or more new clinical studies (other than bioavailability or bioequivalence studies) was essential to the approval of the application and was conducted/sponsored by the applicant. This three-year exclusivity period protects against FDA approval of ANDAs and 505(b)(2) NDAs for the condition of the new drug’s approval. As a general matter, the three year exclusivity does not prohibit the FDA from approving ANDAs or 505(b)(2) NDAs for generic versions of the original, unmodified drug product. Five-year and three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of a full NDA; however, an applicant submitting a full NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and efficacy.

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Pediatric exclusivity is another type of non-patent market exclusivity in the United StatesStates. Pediatric exclusivity, if granted, adds six months to existing exclusivity periods and Europe, a varietypatent terms. This six-month exclusivity, which runs from the end of foreign regulations govern clinical trials, commercial sales and distribution of product candidates. The approval process varies from country to country and the time to approvalother exclusivity protection or patent term, may be longer or shorter than that requiredgranted based on the voluntary completion of a pediatric trial in accordance with an FDA-issued “Written Request” for FDA or European Commission approval.such a trial.

Other Healthcare Laws and Regulations and Legislative Reform

Healthcare and Privacy Laws and Regulations

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors will play a primary role inIn the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for whichUnited States, we obtain marketing approval. Our operations, including any arrangements with healthcare providers, physicians, third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws that may affect the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we would market, sell and distribute our products. Our current and future operations are subject to regulation by variousa number of federal state and local authorities in addition to the FDA, including but not limited to CMS, HHS (including the Office of Inspector General, Office for Civil Rights and the Health Resources and Service Administration), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and individual U.S. Attorney offices within the DOJ, and state and local governments. The healthcare regulatory laws that may affect our ability to operaterestrict business practices in the healthcare industry. These laws include, but are not limited to:to, federal and state anti-kickback laws, false claims laws, data privacy and security laws, and other healthcare fraud and abuse laws, such as transparency laws regarding payments or other items of value provided to healthcare providers.

The U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute which prohibits, among other things, any person or entity from among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting, receiving offering or payingproviding any remuneration, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individualin return for purchasing, leasing, ordering, or arranging for or recommending the purchase, lease, or order or recommendation of anany good, facility, item or service reimbursable, in whole or in part, under aMedicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The term “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation. The federal Anti-Kickback StatuteThis statute has also been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers and formulary managers on the other hand. ThereAlthough there are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting somecertain common activities from prosecution butor other regulatory sanctions, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly and require strict compliancepractices that involve remuneration that are alleged to be intended to induce prescribing, purchases, or recommendations may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exception or safe harbor. Failure to meet all of the requirements of a particular applicable statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor does not make the conduct per se illegal under the federal healthcare program anti-kickback statute. Instead, the legality of the arrangement will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on a cumulative review of all its facts and circumstances. Several courts have interpreted the statute’s intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered business, the federal healthcare program anti-kickback statute has been violated. Additionally, the intent standard under the federal anti-kickback statute was amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the “ACA”) to a stricter standard such that a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to offer protection.

Federalhave committed a violation. In addition, the ACA codified case law that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal healthcare program anti-kickback statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil and criminalFalse Claims Act.

The federal false claims, laws, such asincluding the FCA, which can be enforced by private citizens through civil qui tam actions, and civil monetary penalty lawsFalse Claims Act, prohibit, individuals or entities from, among other things, any person or entity from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false, fictitious or fraudulent claimsclaim for payment ofto, or approval by, the federal funds, andgovernment, knowingly making, using, or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government, or knowingly making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the U.S. federal government. For example, pharmaceutical companies have been prosecutedA claim includes “any request or demand” for money or property presented to the U.S. government. Actions under the FCAcivil False Claims Act may be brought by the Attorney General or as a qui tam action by a private individual in connection with

the name of the government. Moreover, a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act.

their alleged off-label promotion of drugs, purportedly concealing price concessions in the pricing information submitted to the government for government price reporting purposes, and allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal healthcare programs for the product. In addition, a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA. As a result of a modification made by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, a claim includes “any request or demand” for money or property presented to the U.S. government. In addition, manufacturers can be held liable under the FCA even when they do not submit claims directly to government payors if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims.

HIPAA,In addition, the federal civil monetary penalties law, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits, among other things, imposesthe offer or transfer of remuneration, including waivers of copayments and deductible amounts (or any part thereof), to a Medicare or state healthcare program beneficiary if the person knows or should know it is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider, practitioner or supplier of services reimbursable by Medicare or a state healthcare program.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) created additional federal criminal liability forstatutes that prohibit, among other actions, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private third-partythird party payors, knowingly and willfully embezzling or stealing from a healthcare benefit program, willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense, and creates federal criminal laws that prohibit knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation, or making or using any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. Similar to the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation.

In addition, HIPAA, as amended by HITECH,Health Information Technology for Economic and their respective implementing regulations, imposeClinical Health Act of 2009 (“HITECH”), imposes certain requirements on covered entities, which include certain covered healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses, as well asand their respective business associates that perform services for them, and their covered subcontractors that involve the use,receive or disclosureobtain protected health information in connection with providing a service on behalf of individually identifiable health information,a covered entity relating to the privacy, security and transmission of such individually identifiable health information.

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Federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers.

The federal transparency requirements under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Affordable Care Act), which requires among other things, certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies reimbursedfor which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, (with certain exceptions)with specific exceptions, to report annually to CMS information related to payments andor other transfers of value providedmade to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other health care professionals (such as physicians assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, and physician ownership and investment interests, including suchas well as information regarding ownership and investment interests held by a physician’sphysicians and their immediate family members. Effective January 1, 2022, these reporting obligations will extend to include transfers of value made during

Similar state and local laws and regulations may also restrict business practices in the previous year to certain non-physician providerspharmaceutical industry, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

Federal government price reporting laws, which require us to calculate and report complex pricing metrics in an accurate and timely manner to government programs.

Federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers.

State and foreign laws that are analogous to each of the above federal laws, such asstate anti-kickback and false claims laws, that may impose similar or more prohibitive restrictions, andwhich may apply to business practices, including but not limited to, research, distribution, sales and marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, andor by patients themselves; state laws that require manufacturers to report information related to

payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures and pricing information.

State and foreign laws that require pharmaceutical companies to implement compliance programs, comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to trackhealthcare providers and reportother potential referral sources; state laws and regulations that require drug manufacturers to file reports relating to pricing information and marketing expenditures or which require tracking gifts compensation and other remuneration and items of value provided to physicians, and other healthcare providers; state laws that require the reporting of marketing expenditures or drug pricing, including information pertaining toproviders and justifying price increases;entities; and state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives;representatives.

Violations of any of these laws and stateother applicable healthcare fraud and abuse laws that prohibit various marketing-related activities,may be punishable by criminal and civil sanctions, including significant fines and civil monetary penalties, the possibility of exclusion from federal healthcare programs (including Medicare and Medicaid), disgorgement and corporate integrity agreements, which impose, among other things, rigorous operational and monitoring requirements on companies. Similar sanctions and penalties, as well as imprisonment, also can be imposed upon executive officers and employees of such companies.

Coverage and Reimbursement

Sales of any pharmaceutical product depend, in part, on the extent to which such product will be covered by third-party payors, such as federal, state and foreign government healthcare programs, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations, and the provisionlevel of certain kindsreimbursement for such product by third-party payors. In the United States, no uniform policy exists for coverage and reimbursement for pharmaceutical products among third-party payors. Therefore, decisions regarding the extent of giftscoverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided are made on a plan-by-plan basis. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a product typically is separate from the process for setting the price of such product or meals; state lawsfor establishing the reimbursement rate that require the posting of information relating to clinical trials and their outcomes.

Legislative Reform

We operate in a highly regulated industry, and new laws, regulations and judicial decisions, or new interpretations of existing laws, regulations and decisions, related to healthcare availability,payor will pay for the method of delivery and payment for healthcare products and services could negatively affect our business, financial condition and prospects.product once coverage is approved. There is significant interestuncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. Some third-party payors require pre-approval of coverage for new drugs before they will reimburse healthcare providers who use such therapies. Generally, third-party payors limit coverage and reimbursement for new medication prior to a formal review by the payors’ pharmacy and therapeutics committees. As such, several third-party payors have indicated that our products may be subject to denial or limited coverage prior to formal review. There may be significant delays in promotingobtaining reimbursement for newly-approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the drug or therapeutic biologic is approved by the FDA or similar foreign regulatory authorities. Additionally, we may need to conduct expensive pharmaco-economic studies to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of our product candidates. There can be no assurance that our product candidates will be considered medically necessary or cost-effective.

Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved products for a particular indication, or place products at certain formulary levels that result in lower reimbursement levels and higher cost-sharing obligation imposed on patients. One third-party payor’s decision to cover a particular medical product or service does not ensure that other payors will also provide coverage for the medical product or service and the level of coverage and reimbursement can differ significantly from payor to payor. As a result, the coverage determination process will often require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately and can be a time-consuming process, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. Additionally, a third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Further, coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.

Moreover, as a condition of participating in, and having products covered under, certain federal healthcare reforms,programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, we are subject to federal laws and regulations that require pharmaceutical manufacturers to calculate and report certain price reporting metrics to the government, such as Medicaid Average Manufacturer Price (“AMP”), and Best Price, Medicare Average Sales Price, the 340B Ceiling Price, and Non-Federal AMP reported to the Department of Veteran Affairs, and with respect to Medicaid, pay statutory rebates on utilization of manufacturers’ products by Medicaid beneficiaries.

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In international markets, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies. For example, the European Union provides options for its member states to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. A member state may approve a specific price for the medicinal product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. Pharmaceutical products may face competition from lower-priced products in foreign countries that have placed price controls on pharmaceutical products. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that a product will be considered medically reasonable and necessary for a specific indication, that a product will be considered cost-effective by third-party payors, that an adequate level of reimbursement will be established even if coverage is likelyavailable or that federal and state legislatures withinthe third-party payors’ reimbursement policies will not adversely affect the ability to sell a product profitably.

Healthcare Reform

In the United States and the governments of other countriescertain foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and we expect there will continue to considerbe, a number of legislative and regulatory changes to existingthe healthcare legislation.

system. For example, implementation of the ACA substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers in the United States and state governments continue to propose and pass legislation designed to reducesignificantly affected the cost of healthcare. In 2010, the U.S. Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act, which included changes to the coverage and reimbursement of drug products under government healthcare programs such as:

pharmaceutical industry. The ACA, among other things, increased the minimum level of Medicaid rebates owedpayable by manufacturers under theof brand name drugs; required collection of rebates for drugs paid by Medicaid Drug Rebate Program;

established a branded prescription drug fee that pharmaceuticalmanaged care organizations; required manufacturers of certain branded prescription drugs must pay to the federal government;

expanded the list of covered entities eligible to participate in the 340B drug pricing program by adding new entities to the program;

established a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, inunder which manufacturersthey must now agree to offer 70% point-of-sale discounts (increased to 70 percent, effective as of January 1, 2019) off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D;

extended manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability imposed a non-deductible annual fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell certain “branded prescription drugs” to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations;

expanded eligibility criteria for Medicaidspecified federal government programs, by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals and by adding new mandatory eligibility categories for individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability;

createdimplemented a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for certain drugs and biologics, including our product candidates, that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted, or injected;

establishedinjected expanded the types of entities eligible for the 340B drug discount program; expanded eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs; created a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research;

and established a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at the CMS to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending; andspending.

created a licensure framework for follow-on biologic products.

ThereSince its enactment, there have been judicial, administrative, executive, judicial and congressionalCongressional legislative challenges to certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act.ACA. For example, in 2017, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), which eliminated the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the Affordable Care Act on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate.” On December 14, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held that the individual mandate is a critical and inseverable feature of the Affordable Care Act, and therefore, because it was repealed by the Tax Act, the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act are invalid as well. On December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act are invalid as well. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the case, although it is unknown when a decision will be made. Further, althoughJune 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruleddismissed a challenge on procedural grounds that argued the constitutionality ofACA is unconstitutional in its entirety because the Affordable Care Act,“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 to initiate a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care ActACA marketplace. The executive order also instructsinstructed 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.ACA. In addition, 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 ACA 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 creating a new manufacturer discount program. It is unclear how the Supreme Court ruling, other such litigation,challenges and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact the Affordable Care Act. It is difficult to predict the futureACA.

Other legislative landscape in healthcare and the effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

In addition, therechanges have been proposed and continueadopted since the ACA was enacted, including aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to be a numberproviders of initiatives at the United States federal and state levels that seek2% per fiscal year pursuant to reduce healthcare costs. In 2011, the U.S. Congress enacted the Budget Control Act which included provisions intended to reduce the federal deficit. The Budget Control Act resulted in the imposition of 2% reductions in Medicare payments to providers beginning in2011which went into effect on April 1, 2013, and due to subsequent legislative amendments, to the statute, will remain in effect through 2030, with the exception of a temporary suspension from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, absentuntil 2031, unless additional Congressional action.action is taken. Under current legislation, the actual reduction in Medicare payments will vary from 1% in 2022 to up to 4% in the final fiscal year of this sequester. In addition, in 2012, the U.S. Congress enactedon January 2, 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. If government spendingCongress is further reduced, anticipated budgetary shortfalls may also impact the ability of relevant agencies, such as the FDA, to continue to function at current levels, which may impact the ability of relevant agencies to timely review and approve research and development, manufacturing and marketing activities, which may delay our ability to develop, market and sell any product candidates we may develop. Moreover, any significant spending reductions affecting Medicare, Medicaid or other publicly funded or subsidizedconsidering additional health programs that may be implemented, or any significant taxes or fees that may be imposed on us, as part of any broader deficit reduction effort or legislative replacement to the Budget Control Act, could have an adverse impact on our anticipated product revenues.reform measures.

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Moreover, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several U.S. Presidential executive orders, congressional

inquiries, and proposed and enacted legislation designed, to, among other things, to bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugpharmaceutical products. AtFor example, at the federal level, in July 2021, the TrumpBiden administration used several meansreleased an executive order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” with multiple provisions aimed at prescription drugs. In response to propose or implementBiden’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 including through federal budget proposals, executive orders and policy initiatives. For example, on July 24, 2020sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue as well as potential administrative actions HHS can take to advance these principles. In addition, the IRA, among other things, (i) directs HHS to negotiate the price of certain high-expenditure, single-source drugs and September 13, 2020, the Trump administration announced several executive orders related to prescriptionbiologics covered under Medicare, and subject drug pricing that seek to implement several of the administration’s proposals. As a result, the FDA released a final rule on September 24, 2020, effective November 30, 2020, providing guidance for states to build and submit importation plans for drugs from Canada. Further, on November 20, 2020, HHS finalized a regulation removing safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsorscivil monetary penalties and a potential excise tax by offering a price that is not equal to or less than the negotiated “maximum fair price” for such drugs and biologics under the law, and (ii) imposes rebates with respect to certain drugs and biologics covered under Medicare Part B or Medicare Part D either directly orto penalize price increases that outpace inflation. The IRA permits HHS to implement many of these provisions through pharmacy benefit managers, unlessguidance, as opposed to regulation, for the price reductioninitial years. These provisions will take effect progressively starting in fiscal year 2023, although they may be subject to legal challenges. It is required by law. The implementation ofcurrently unclear how the rule has been delayed byIRA will be implemented but is likely to have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry. Further, the Biden administration from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023 in response to ongoing litigation. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a new safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers, the implementation of which have also been delayed pending review by the Biden administration until March 22, 2021. On November 20, 2020, CMS issuedreleased an interim final rule implementing the Trump administration’s Most Favored Nationadditional executive order which would tieon October 14, 2022, directing HHS to submit a report on how the Center for Medicare Part B paymentsand Medicaid Innovation can be further leveraged to test new models for certain physician-administered drugs to the lowest price paid in other economically advanced countries, effective January 1, 2021. On December 28, 2020, the U.S. District Court in Northern California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of the interim final rule.lowering drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. It is unclear whether the Biden administration will work to reverse these measuresthis executive order or pursue similar policy initiatives. initiatives will be implemented in the future. In addition, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2021, effective January 1, 2024, would eliminate the statutory cap on rebate amounts owed by drug manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (“MDRP”), which is currently capped at 100% of the AMP for a covered outpatient drug.

Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly active in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures and, in some cases, designedmechanisms to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical productswhich drugs and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. Furthermore, there has been increased interest by third-party payors and governmental authorities in reference pricing systems and publication of discounts and list prices.

We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures willto be adopted in the future. It is also possiblefuture, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services.

Data Privacy and Security Laws

Numerous state, local, federal and foreign laws, including consumer protection laws and regulations related to data privacy, security, and protection, govern the collection, dissemination, use, access to, confidentiality, and security of personal information, including health-related information. Such obligations may include, without limitation, HIPAA, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“EU GDPR”), and the EU GDPR as it forms part of United Kingdom (“UK”) law by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“UK GDPR”).HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, imposes obligations, including mandatory contractual terms, on certain covered healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses and their respective business associates and covered subcontractors that perform services for them that involve the use, or disclosure of, individually identifiable health information with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. In addition, certain state and non-U.S. laws, such as the CCPA, the CPRA and the GDPR, govern the privacy and security of personal information, including health-related information in certain circumstances, some of which are more stringent than HIPAA and many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts. Failure to comply with these laws, where applicable, can result in the imposition of significant civil and/or criminal penalties and private litigation. Privacy and security laws, regulations, and other obligations are constantly evolving, may conflict with each other to make compliance efforts more challenging, and can result in investigations, proceedings, or actions that lead to significant penalties and restrictions on data processing.

In addition, Congress and various other states have enacted or are considering new laws and regulations regarding the privacy and security of heath and other personal information to which we may become subject. Further, all 50 states have passed laws regulating the actions that a business must take if it experiences a data breach, such as prompt disclosure to affected customers. In addition to data breach notification laws, some states have enacted statutes and rules requiring businesses to reasonably protect certain types of personal information they hold or to otherwise comply with certain specified data security requirements for personal information. We intend to continue to protect all personal information in our control and to comply with all applicable laws regarding the protection of such information.

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The CCPA and EU GDPR are examples of the increasingly stringent and evolving regulatory frameworks related to personal data processing that may increase our compliance obligations and exposure for any noncompliance. For example, the CCPA regulates the processing of personal information of California residents and increases the privacy and security obligations of covered companies handling such personal information, including requiring covered companies to provide new disclosures to California residents, and affords such residents new abilities to opt-out of certain sales of personal information. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for certain data breaches that result in the loss of personal information that may increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. Moreover, the California Privacy Rights Act, or the CPRA, – a consumer privacy ballot initiative that amends and expands the CCPA became effective on January 1, 2023, and expands the CCPA. The CPRA affords California residents significantly more control over their personal information, imposes heightened compliance obligations on covered companies, and establishes a new enforcement agency dedicated to consumer privacy. While aspects of the CCPA and CPRA and its interpretation remain to be determined in practice, they create further uncertainty and may result in additional governmental action will be takencosts and expenses in responsean effort to comply.

Foreign data privacy and security laws (including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Environmental, HealthEU GDPR and Safety LawsUK GDPR) impose significant and Regulations

We and our third-party contractorscomplex compliance obligations on entities that are subject to numerous environmental, healththose laws. As one example, the EU GDPR applies to any company established in the EEA and safety lawsto companies established outside the EEA that process personal data in connection with the offering of goods or services to data subjects in the EEA or the monitoring of the behavior of data subjects in the EEA. These obligations may include limiting personal data processing to only what is necessary for specified, explicit, and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures andlegitimate purposes; requiring a legal basis for personal data processing; requiring the use, generation, manufacture, distribution, storage, handling, treatment, remediation and disposalappointment of hazardous materials and wastes. Hazardous chemicals, including flammable and biological materials, are involveda data protection officer in certain aspectscircumstances; increasing transparency obligations to data subjects; requiring data protection impact assessments in certain circumstances; limiting the collection and retention of ourpersonal data; increasing rights for data subjects; formalizing a heightened and codified standard of data subject consents; requiring the implementation and maintenance of technical and organizational safeguards for personal data; mandating notice of certain personal data breaches to the relevant supervisory authority(ies) and affected individuals; and mandating the appointment of representatives in the UK and/or the EU in certain circumstances.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”) prohibits any U.S. individual or business and we cannot eliminatefrom paying, offering, or authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the riskpurpose of injuryinfluencing any act or contamination fromdecision of the use, generation, manufacture, distribution, storage, handling, treatment or disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. In particular, our product candidates use PBDs, which are highly potent cytotoxins that require special handling by our and our contractors’ staff. In the event of contamination or injury, or failure to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, fines and penalties associated with such liability could exceed our assets and resources. Environmental, health and safety laws and regulations are becoming increasingly more stringent. We may incur substantial costsforeign entity in order to comply with currentassist the individual or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.

Pharmaceutical Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement

business in obtaining or retaining business. The availability and extent of coverage and adequate reimbursement by governmental and private third-party payorsFCPA also obligates companies whose securities are essential for most patients to be able to afford expensive medical

treatments. In both domestic and foreign markets, sales of our product candidates will depend substantially on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be covered by third-party payors, such as government health programs, commercial insurance, and managed healthcare organizations. These third-party payors decide which products will be covered and establish reimbursement levels for those products.

Coverage and reimbursement by a third-party payor may depend upon a number of factors, including the third-party payor’s determination that use of a product is:

a covered benefit under its health plan;

safe, effective and medically necessary;

appropriate for the specific patient;

cost-effective; and

neither experimental nor investigational.

Obtaining coverage approval and reimbursement for a product from a government or other third-party payor is a time-consuming and costly process that could require us to provide supporting scientific, clinical and cost- effectiveness data for the use of our products to the payor. We may not be able to provide data sufficient to gain acceptance with respect to coverage and reimbursement at a satisfactory level. If coverage and adequate reimbursement of our future products, if any, are unavailable or limited in scope or amount, such as may result where alternative or generic treatments are available, we may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability. Adverse coverage and reimbursement limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in our product candidates, even if such product candidates obtain regulatory approval. For products administered under the supervision of a physician, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated with such products. Additionally, separate reimbursement for the product itself or the treatment or procedure in which the product is used may not be available, which may impact physician utilization.

There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. There is no uniform policy for coverage and reimbursementlisted in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and as a result, coveragerecords that accurately and reimbursement can differ significantly from payorfairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to payor. In the United States, private payors often, but not always, follow Medicare coveragedevise and reimbursement policies with respect to newly approved products. It is difficult to predict what third- party payors will decide with respect to coverage and reimbursementmaintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for fundamentally novel products such as ours, as there is no bodyinternational operations.

Europe / Rest of established practices and precedents for these new products. Further, one payor’s determination to provide coverage and adequate reimbursement for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage and adequate reimbursement for that product. We may need to conduct expensive pharmaco-economic studies in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of our product candidates. There can be no assurance that our product candidates will be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. World Government Regulation

In addition to third-party payors, professional organizations and patient advocacy groups such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Society of Clinical Oncology can influence decisions about reimbursement for new medicines by determining standards for care. Therefore, it is possible that any of our product candidates, even if approved, may not be covered by third-party payors or the reimbursement limit may be so restrictive that we cannot commercialize the product candidates profitably.

In addition, companion diagnostic tests require coverage and reimbursement separate and apart from the coverage and reimbursement for their companion pharmaceutical or biological products. Similar challenges to obtaining coverage and reimbursement, applicable to pharmaceutical or

biological products, will apply to companion diagnostics. Additionally, if any companion diagnostic provider is unable to obtain reimbursement or is inadequately reimbursed, that may limit the availability of such companion diagnostic, which would negatively impact prescriptions for our product candidates, if approved.

Reimbursement agencies in Europe may be more restrictive than payors in the United States. For example, a number of cancer products have been approved for reimbursementregulations in the United States, we will be subject to a variety of regulations in other jurisdictions governing, among other things, clinical trials and any commercial sales and distribution of our products. Whether or not we or our potential collaborators obtain FDA approval for a product, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in foreign countries prior to the commencement of clinical trials or marketing of the product in those countries. Certain countries outside of the United States have a similar process that requires the submission of an application for a clinical trial authorization (“CTA”) much like the IND prior to the commencement of human clinical trials. In the EU, for example, a CTA must be submitted to each country’s national health authority and an application made to an independent ethics committee, much like the FDA and IRB, respectively. Once the CTA is approved in accordance with a country’s requirements and a favorable ethics committee opinion has been issued, clinical trial development may proceed.

The requirements and process governing the conduct of clinical trials are to a significant extent harmonized at the EU level, but not in certain European countries. In Europe, pricing and reimbursement schemescould vary widely from country to country. For example, some countries provideIn all cases, the clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with GCP and the applicable regulatory requirements and the ethical principles that productshave their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki.

To obtain regulatory approval of an investigational drug or biological product under EU regulatory systems, we must submit a marketing authorization application either under the so-called centralized or national authorization procedures. The application used to file an NDA in the United States is similar to that required in the EU, but the exact requirements for authorization may be marketed only after an agreement on reimbursement price has been reached. Such pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after receipt of marketing approvalvary.

Centralized Procedure. The centralized procedure provides for a product. Political, economic and regulatory developments may further complicate pricing negotiations, and pricing negotiations may continue after reimbursement has been obtained. Other countries require the completion of additional health technology assessments that compare the cost-effectivenessgrant of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. Withinsingle marketing authorization by the European Union legislation relating toCommission following a favorable opinion by the EMA that is valid in all EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and regulation of the reimbursement ofNorway. The centralized procedure is compulsory for medicines produced by specified biotechnological processes, products designated as orphan medicinal products, and products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of specified diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders or autoimmune diseases, other immune dysfunctions and viral diseases. The centralized procedure is optional for other products that represent a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation, or whose authorization would be in the interest of public health or which contain a new active substance for indications other than those specified to controlbe compulsory.

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

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

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

The EU also provides opportunities for market exclusivity. For example, upon receiving marketing authorization, new chemical entities generally receive eight years of data exclusivity and an additional two years of market exclusivity. If granted, data exclusivity prevents regulatory authorities in the EU from referencing the innovator’s data to assess a generic or biosimilar application. During the additional two-year period of market exclusivity, a generic or biosimilar marketing authorization can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but no generic or biosimilar product can be marketed until the expiration of the market exclusivity. However, there is no guarantee that a product will be considered by the EU’s regulatory authorities to be a new chemical entity, and products may not qualify for data exclusivity.

The EMA grants orphan drug designation to promote the development of products for the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than five in 10,000 people in the EU. In addition, orphan drug designation can be granted if the drug is a matter for individual member states. European Union member states may approve a specific priceintended for a product, may adopt a system of directlife threatening or indirect controls onchronically debilitating condition in the profitabilityEU and without incentives it is unlikely that sales of the company placing the product on the market or monitor and control prescription volumes and issue guidance to physicians to limit prescriptions. Reference pricing used by various European Union member states and parallel distribution, or arbitrage between low-priced and high-priced member states, can further reduce prices. Furthermore, many countriesdrug in the European Union have increasedEU would be sufficient to justify the amount of discountsinvestment required on pharmaceutical products, and these efforts could continue as countries attempt to manage healthcare expenditures, especially in light ofdevelop the severe fiscal and debt crises experienced by many countriesdrug. Orphan drug designation is only available if there is no other satisfactory method approved in the European Union. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general,EU of diagnosing, preventing or treating the condition, or if such a method exists, the proposed orphan drug will be of significant benefit to patients. Orphan drug designation provides opportunities for free or reduced-fee protocol assistance, fee reductions for marketing authorization applications and prescription products in particular, has become increasingly intense. As a result, there are increasingly higher barriers to entry for new products. Thereother post-authorization activities and ten years of market exclusivity following drug approval, which can be no assurance that any country that has reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products,extended to 12 years if approvedtrials are conducted in those countries. Accordingly, the reimbursement for any products in Europeaccordance with an agreed-upon pediatric investigational plan. The exclusivity period may be reduced comparedto six years if the designation criteria are no longer met, including where it is shown that the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify maintenance of market exclusivity. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.

In the EU, early access mechanisms for innovative medicines (such as compassionate use programs and named patient supplies), pricing and reimbursement, and promotion and advertising, amongst other things, are subject to national regulations and oversight by national competent authorities and therefore significantly vary from country to country.

Sanctions for non-compliance with the United Statesaforementioned requirements, which may include administrative and may be insufficient to generate commercially reasonable revenuescriminal penalties, are generally determined and profits.

Furthermore,enforced at national level. However, under the containmentEU financial penalties regime, the EMA can investigate and report on alleged breaches of healthcare costs has becomethe EU pharmaceutical rules by holders of a priority of foreign and domestic governments as well as private third-party payors. The prices of drugs have been a focus in this effort. Governments and private third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coveragemarketing authorization for centrally authorized medicinal products and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications,European Commission could adopt decisions imposing significant financial penalties on infringing marketing authorization holders.

The United Kingdom left the EU on January 31, 2020. Following the transition period which ended on December 31, 2020, Brexit could affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably. We also expect to experience pricing pressures duematerially impact the regulatory regime with respect to the trend towards managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizationsdevelopment, manufacture, importation, approval and additional legislative changes. These and other cost-control initiatives could cause us to decrease the price we might establish for products, which could result in lower-than-anticipated product revenues. In addition, the publication of discounts by third-party payors or authorities may lead to further pressure on the prices or reimbursement levels within the country of publication and other countries. If pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels or if coverage and adequate reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, our revenues and the potential profitabilitycommercialization of our product candidates in thosethe United Kingdom in the coming years.

For other countries would be negatively affected.

Corporate Information

We were incorporated under the lawsoutside of the StateEU, such as countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America or Asia, the requirements governing the conduct of Delaware on January 4, 2016. clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary from country to country. In all cases, again, the clinical trials are conducted in accordance with GCP and the applicable regulatory requirements and the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki.

If we or our potential collaborators fail to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, we may be subject to, among other things, fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution.

Corporate Information

Our principal executive officescorporate headquarters are located at 500 Fairview Ave N,11682 El Camino Real, Suite 600, Seattle, Washington 98109,120, San Diego, California 92130, and our telephone number is (206) 456-2900.(858) 771-9307. Our corporate website address is www.silverbacktx.com.

www.ars-pharma.com. Information contained on, or accessible through, our website shall not be deemed incorporated into and is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our periodic and current reports are available on our website, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing. We have included our website in this Annual Report on Form 10-K solely as an inactive textual reference.

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On November 8, 2022 (the “Closing Date”), Silverback Therapeutics,” “Silverback,” Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Silverback”), now known as ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., completed its reverse merger (the “Merger”) with privately-held ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ARS Pharma”), in accordance with the Silverback logo, “ImmunoTAC,”terms of the agreement and other trademarks, trade names or service marksplan of merger and reorganization, dated July 21, 2022, as amended on August 11, 2022 and October 25, 2022 (the “Merger Agreement”), whereby Sabre Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”), a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Silverback, Therapeutics,merged into ARS Pharma, with ARS Pharma surviving as Silverback’s wholly-owned subsidiary. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Silverback changed its name to ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. appearing inSee Item 7- Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this Annual Report on Form 10-K areand Note 3- Merger and Related Transactions of our financial statements for the propertyyear ended December 31, 2022 included in Item 8 of Silverback Therapeutics, Inc. All other trademarks, trade names and service marks appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K arefor more information regarding the property of their respective owners.Merger.

Employees and Human Capital Resources

Employees

As of December 31, 2020,2022, we had 54seventeen full-time employees and three part-time employees. Of these employees, 20two held Ph.D., Pharm.D. or M.D. degrees, and 43 were engaged in research, development and technical operations. Asdegrees. None of such date, we had 51our employees based at our headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Our employees are not represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements.We consider our relationship with our employees to be good.

Our human capital resources objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and additional employees. The principal purposes of our equity incentive plans are to attract, retain and motivate selected employees, consultants and directors through the granting of stock-based compensation awards and cash-based performance bonus awards.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.Factors

We operate in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment that involves numerous risks and uncertainties. Certain factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and you should carefully consider them. Accordingly, in evaluating our business, we encourage you to consider the following discussion of risk factors, in its entirety, in addition to other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-Kand our other public filings with the SEC. Other events that we do not currently anticipate or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our BusinessFinancial Position and IndustryNeed for Capital

We haveare a limited operating history,clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and have incurred netsignificant losses since our inception, andinception. We anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future.

Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate effect or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval and become commercially viable. Our only product candidate, neffy, is in the clinical stage of development. We may never generatehave no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue or become profitable or, if we achieve profitability, may not be able to sustain it.

We are an early-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history that may make it difficult to evaluate the success of our businessfrom product sales to date, and we will continue to assessincur significant research and development and other expenses related to our future viability. Our operations to dateclinical development and ongoing operations. As a result, we are not profitable and have been limitedincurred losses in each period since our inception. Since our inception, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts and financial resources to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, developing and optimizing our technology platform, identifying potential product candidates, undertakingperforming research and preclinical studies and a clinical trial for our lead program, engaging in manufacturing for our development programs, establishing and enhancing our intellectual property portfolio,activities, and providing general and administrative support for these operations. We have one product candidate in early clinical developmentOur financial condition and all of our other product candidates are in preclinical development, and none have been approved for commercial sale. We have never generated any revenue from product sales and have incurredoperating results, including net losses, eachmay fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year since we commenced operations.

Forto year. Accordingly, you should not rely upon the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, ourresults of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance. Additionally, net losses were $32.9 million and $24.0 million, respectively. We expect that it will be several years, if ever, before we have a product candidate ready for regulatory approval and commercialization. We expect to incur increasing levels of operating losses over the next several years and for the foreseeable future as we advance our product candidates through clinical development. Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses,negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on ourOur stockholders’ deficitequity and working capital. Our net losses were approximately $34.7 million and $20.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $76.9 million. We expect to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our research and development of, and seek regulatory approvals and prepare for commercialization for our product candidate, neffy, an investigational, new formulation of epinephrine, for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and potential additional indications.

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We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

continue to develop and conduct nonclinical studies and clinical trials for neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and potential additional indications;

seek regulatory approvals in the United States, the EU and other geographic regions for neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and other indications that successfully complete clinical development;

seek to identify additional product candidates;

initiate and continue research, preclinical and clinical development efforts for any future product candidates;

experience any delays or encounter any issues with any of the above, including but not limited to failed studies, negative or mixed clinical trial results, safety issues or other regulatory challenges, the risk of which in each case may be exacerbated by COVID-19 or other health epidemic or pandemic;

add clinical, scientific, operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our product candidate development and potential future commercialization efforts and help us comply with our obligations as a public company;

maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;

establish or expand our sales, marketing, distribution, manufacturing, supply chain and other commercial infrastructure in the future to commercialize any products for which we may obtain regulatory approval; and

acquire or in-license other product candidates and technologies.

Our expenses could increase beyond our expectations if we are required by the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities to perform clinical trials or conduct nonclinical studies in addition to those that we currently expect, or if there are any delays in completing our clinical trials or the development of neffy, or if we choose to develop any future product candidates.

We have never generated revenue from product sales and may never be profitable.

Our ability to become and remain profitable depends on our ability to generate significant revenue from product sales. We do not expect to generate significant revenue, if any, unless and until we, must developeither alone or with a collaborator, are able to obtain regulatory approval for, and eventuallysuccessfully commercialize, a product or products with significant market potential. This neffy for its initial indication and potential additional indications. Successful commercialization of neffy will require us to be successfulachievement of many key milestones, which vary by jurisdiction and may include demonstrating safety and efficacy in a range of challenging activities, including completing preclinical studies and clinical trials, and obtaining regulatory approval for neffy. If neffy is approved, we, or any of our product candidates, obtaining marketing approval for these product candidates, manufacturing,current or future licensing and collaboration partners must also comply with post-approval requirements, such as those relating to marketing and selling those productsmanufacturing. Finally, obtaining adequate coverage and reimbursement for whichneffy from private or government payors will be crucial to neffy’scommercial success. Because of the uncertainties and risks associated with these activities, we may obtain marketing approvalare unable to accurately and satisfyingprecisely predict the timing and amount of revenues, the extent of any post-marketing requirements.further losses or if or when we might achieve profitability. We and any current and future licensing and collaboration partners may never succeed in these activities and, even if we succeed in commercializing onedo, or more of our product candidates,any current or future licensing and collaboration partners do, we may never generate revenuerevenues that is significant orare large enough for us to achieve profitability. In addition, as a young business, we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known and unknown challenges. IfEven if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis and we will continue to incur substantial research and development and other expenditures to develop and market additional product candidates. basis.

Our failure to become and remain profitable would decreasemay depress the valuemarket price of the companyour common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business or continue our operations. A decline

We have a limited operating history and only one current product candidate, neffy, which is in the valueclinical stage of development and has no commercial sales, which may make it difficult to evaluate the prospects for our future viability.

We are a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2015 as ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and our operations to date have been limited to organizing, staffing and financing our company, raising capital, and conducting research and development activities, including preclinical and nonclinical studies and clinical trials, for our only product candidate, neffy. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to generate product revenues, obtain regulatory approvals, manufacture a commercial product, or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Accordingly, you should consider our prospects in light of the costs, uncertainties, delays and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in clinical development, especially clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies such as us. Any predictions you make about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could also cause yoube if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products.

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We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known or unknown factors in achieving our business objectives. We are preparing to lose all or parttransition from a company with a development focus to a company capable of your investment.supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition.

IfWe may need additional funding, and if we are unable to raise additional capital when needed, we maycould be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programsactivities or other operations.commercialization efforts.

Since our inception, weOur operations have used substantialconsumed significant amounts of cash tosince inception. Based upon our current operating plan, we believe that our cash and cash equivalents will fund our operationsoperating and capital expenses for at least three years. We expect our expensesspending levels to increase substantially duringin connection with seeking regulatory approval and preparing for commercialization of neffy for the next few years. The developmentemergency treatment of biopharmaceutical product candidates is capital intensive. As our product candidates enter and advance through preclinical studies and clinical trials, we will need substantial additional funds to expand our clinical, regulatory, quality and manufacturing capabilities.Type I allergic reactions. In addition, if we obtain marketingregulatory approval for anythe marketing of our product candidates,neffy, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to commercial launch, product sales, medical affairs, marketing, sales, manufacturing and distribution. Furthermore, following the completion of our initial public offering in December 2020,Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Even if our nonclinical and clinical development of neffy is successful and we are able to gain marketing approval for neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions in the timeframe we anticipate, we may require significant additional amounts of cash in order to launch and commercialize neffy for this indication in the United States or for any additional indications for which neffy receives regulatory approval. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise in the course of our development efforts. Because the outcome of our ongoing and anticipated clinical trials and timeframe for regulatory approvals for neffy is highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts of cash necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of neffy for any indication we are pursuing.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $386.6 millionOur future capital requirements depend on many factors, including:

the scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and potential additional indications, as well as any future product candidates we may develop;

the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining regulatory approval for the marketing of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and potential additional indications, and any future product candidates we may develop and pursue;

the number of future product candidates that we may pursue and their development requirements, if any;

if approved, the costs of commercialization activities for neffy for any approved indications, or the similar cost of any other product candidate that receives regulatory approval to the extent such costs are not the responsibility of any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, including the costs and timing of establishing product sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities;

subject to receipt of regulatory approval, revenue received from commercial sales of neffy for any approved indications or from future product candidates, if any;

the amount and timing of potential royalty and milestone payments to our current or future licensing and collaboration partners;

the receipt of licensing fees, royalties and potential milestone payments under our current or future out-licensing arrangements;

the extent to which we in-licenses or acquire rights to other products, product candidates or technologies;

our headcount growth and associated costs as we expand our personnel, including personnel to support our product candidate development and potential future commercialization efforts and help us comply with our obligations as a public company;

the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and protecting our intellectual property rights, including enforcing and defending intellectual property related claims; and

the ongoing costs of operating as a public company.

We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. The global credit and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruptions, including diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in cashconsumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates, inflation, bank failures and cash equivalents. Based upon our current operating plan, we estimateuncertainty about economic stability. If the equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult, more costly or more dilutive.

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We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirementsplanned operations for at least the next 24 months. However, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to fund any of our product candidates through regulatory approval, and we will need to raise substantial additional capital to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

We have based these estimates on assumptions thatthree years. This estimate may prove to be incorrect or require adjustment as a result of business decisions,wrong, and we could utilizeuse our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our futureFurther, changing circumstances, some of which may be beyond our control, could cause us to consume capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

the initiation, trial design, progress, timing, costssignificantly faster than we currently anticipate, and results of drug discovery, preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates, and in particular the clinical trials for SBT6050;

the number and characteristics of product candidates that we pursue;

the length of our clinical trials, including, among other things, as a result of delays in enrollment, difficulties enrolling sufficient subjects or delays or difficulties in clinical trial site initiations;

the outcome, timing and costs of seeking FDA, European Medicines Agency (EMA) and any other regulatory approvals;

the costs of manufacturing our product candidates, in particular for clinical trials in preparation for marketing approval and in preparation for commercialization;

the costs of any third-party products used in our combination clinical trials that are not covered by such third party or other sources;

the costs associated with hiring additional personnel and consultants as our preclinical, manufacturing and clinical activities increase;

the receipt of marketing approval and revenue received from any commercial sales of any of our product candidates, if approved;

the cost of commercialization activities for any of our product candidates, if approved, including marketing, sales and distribution costs;

the emergence of competing therapies and other adverse market developments;

the ability to establish and maintain strategic collaboration, licensing or other arrangements and the financial terms of such agreements;

the extent to which we in-license or acquire other products and technologies;

the amount and timing of any payments we may be requiredneed to make pursuant to our current or future license agreements;seek additional funds sooner than planned.

the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, expanding, defending and enforcing patent claims, including litigation costs and the outcome of such litigation;

our need and ability to retain key management and hire scientific, technical, business, and medical personnel;

our implementationWe have no committed source of additional internal systemscapital other than potential milestone payments and infrastructure, including operational, financialroyalties under our collaboration and management information systems;

or costs associated with expanding our facilities or building out our laboratory space;

the effects of the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide from the COVID-19 pandemic; and

the costs of operating as a public company.

Because we do not expect to generate revenue from product sales for many years, if at all, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations and expected increases in expenses. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from sales of our product candidates, if ever, we expect to finance our cash needs through equity offerings, debt financings or other capital sources, including potentially grants, collaborations, licenses or other similar arrangements. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on capital markets may affect the availability, amount and type of financing available to us in the future.licensing agreements. If we are unable to raise additional capital when neededin sufficient amounts or on attractive terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or potential commercialization of neffy for additional indications. We may need to seek licensing and collaboration partners for neffy for commercialization in additional indications on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available or relinquish or license on unfavorable terms our rights to neffy in markets where we otherwise would be forcedseek to delay, reducepursue development or eliminatecommercialization ourselves. Any of the above events could significantly harm our researchbusiness, prospects, financial condition, and development programs or future commercialization efforts.

results of operations.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.candidate.

Until such time, if ever, asWe expect our expenses to increase in connection with our planned operations. Based upon our current operating plan, we believe that our cash and cash equivalents will fund our operating and capital expenses for at least three years. However, unless and until we can generate a substantial productamount of revenue from neffy, we expectmay seek to finance our operationsfuture cash needs through public or private equity offerings, royalty-based or debt financings, collaborations, licensing arrangements or other sources, or any combination of the foregoing. In addition, we may seek additional capital sources, including potentially grants, collaborations, licensesdue to favorable market conditions or other similar arrangements. strategic considerations, even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans.

To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common stock, convertible securities or other equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest willstockholders’ interests may be diluted, and the terms of these securities maycould include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. Additionalour stockholders’ rights. In addition, new debt financing, if available, may result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that further limiting or restrictinglimit our ability to take specific actions, beyond those contained in our existing loan agreement, such as further limitations onincurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, creating liens, redeeming stock or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to incur additional debt, make capital expenditures or declare dividends.conduct our business. In addition, securing financing could require a substantial amount of time and attention from our management and may divert a disproportionate amount of their attention away from day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect their ability to oversee the development and potential future commercialization of neffy.

If we raise additional funds through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.

Changes in tax law could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The rules dealing with U.S. federal, state and local income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department. Changes to tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application) could adversely affect us or holders of our common stock. In recent years, many such changes have been made and changes are likely to continue to occur in the future. Future changes in tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, financial condition, realization of tax assets or results of operations.

Risks Related to the Development of neffy or Any Future Product Candidates

We currently depend on the success of neffy, which is our only current product candidate. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we mayobtain regulatory approval for, and successfully commercialize, neffy, or experiences significant delays in doing so, our business will be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminatematerially harmed.

We currently only have one product candidate, neffy, and our product development orbusiness and future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

The terms of our loan agreement place restrictionssuccess depends entirely on our operating and financial flexibility. If we raise additional capital through debt financing, the terms of any new debt could further restrict our ability to operatedevelop, obtain regulatory approval for, and then successfully commercialize, neffy, which is currently in clinical development for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions in adults and children age 4 to 18 years. This may make an investment in our business.company riskier than similar companies that have multiple product candidates in active development that may be able to better sustain failure of a lead product candidate.

As of December 31, 2020, we had an outstanding term loan including principal43


We currently have no products approved for marketing and final payment fee of $0.8 million under our loan and security agreement, as amended, with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The loan is secured by a lien covering substantially allare investing the majority of our personalefforts and financial resources in the development of our sole product candidate, neffy, for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and potential other indications. Successful continued development and ultimate regulatory approval of neffy for our initial indication and potential additional indications is critical to the future success of our business. We will need to successfully complete our clinical development of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and other indications. The future regulatory and commercial success of neffy and any future product candidates is subject to a number of risks, including the following:

successful completion of nonclinical studies and clinical trials;

successful patient enrollment in clinical trials;

successful data from our nonclinical studies and clinical trials that support an acceptable risk-benefit profile of neffy or any future product candidates in the intended populations and indications;

satisfaction of applicable regulatory requirements, including to satisfy applicable rules governing combination products;

potential unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects;

receipt and maintenance of marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;

remaining in compliance with post-marketing regulatory requirements;

obtaining and maintaining patent and trade secret protection and regulatory exclusivity for neffy or any future product candidates;

making arrangements or maintaining existing arrangements with third-party manufacturers, or establishing manufacturing capabilities, for both clinical and commercial supplies of neffy or any future product candidates;

entry into collaborations to further the development of neffy or any future product candidates;

establishing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities and launching commercial sales of any approved products, whether alone or in collaboration with others;

successfully launching commercial sales of neffy or any future product candidates, if and when approved;

acceptance of neffy or any future product candidates, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community and third-party payors;

obtaining and maintaining third-party coverage and adequate reimbursement;

products, following approval, maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile;

effectively competing with other therapies;

ensuring that we promote and distribute our products consistent with all applicable healthcare laws; and

enforcing and defending intellectual property rights and claims.

Many of these risks are beyond our control, including the risks related to clinical development, the regulatory submission and review process, potential threats to our intellectual property rights and assets, excluding intellectual property. The loan agreement contains customary affirmativethe manufacturing, marketing and negative covenants and eventssales efforts of default applicableany current or future collaboration partner. If we are unable to us anddevelop, receive regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize neffy for the indications we are developing it for, or if we experience delays as a result of any subsidiaries. The affirmative covenants include, among others, covenants requiring us (and us to cause our subsidiaries, if any) to maintain governmental approvals, deliver certain financial reports, maintain insurance coverage, and protect material intellectual property. The negative covenants include, among others, restrictions on us and our subsidiaries transferring collateral, changingof these risks or otherwise, our business engaging in mergers or acquisitions, incurring additional indebtedness, paying cash dividends or making other distributions, making investments, creating liens, selling assets and making any payment on subordinated debt, in each case subject to certain exceptions. The restrictive covenantswill be materially harmed.

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In addition, of the loan agreement could cause us to be unable to pursue business opportunities that we or our stockholders may consider beneficial. In addition, SVB could declarelarge number of products in development in the pharmaceutical industry, only a default uponsmall percentage result in the occurrence of any event that it interprets as a material adverse change as defined under the loan agreement. If we default under the loan agreement, SVB may accelerate all of our repayment obligations and take control of our pledged assets, potentially requiring us to renegotiate our agreement on terms less favorable to us or to immediately cease operations. Further, if we are liquidated, SVB’s right to repayment would be senior to the rights of the holders of our common stock to receive any proceeds from the liquidation. Any declaration by SVBsubmission of an event of default could significantly harm our business and prospects and could cause the price of our common stock to decline. If we raise any additional debt financing, the terms of such additional debt could further restrict our operating and financial flexibility.

Risks Related to the Discovery, Development and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates

We are early in our development efforts and we have only one product candidate in clinical development. We have a limited history of conducting clinical trials to test our product candidates in humans.

We are early in our development efforts and most of our operations to date have been limited to developing our platform technologies and conducting drug discovery and preclinical studies. Our lead product candidate, SBT6050, entered Phase 1/1b clinical trial in July 2020, which was the first time one of our product candidates had been tested in humans. As a result, we have limited infrastructure, experience conducting clinical trials as a company and regulatory interactions, and cannot be certain that our current or planned clinical trials will be completed on time, if at all, that our planned development programs would be acceptableNDA to the FDA or other comparable foreigna MAA to the EMA, and even fewer are approved for marketing and commercialization. Furthermore, even if we receive regulatory authorities,approval to market neffy for any indication, any such approval may be subject to limitations on the indications or uses or the patient populations for which we may market the product. Accordingly, even if we are able to obtain the requisite financing to continue to fund our development activities, we cannot assure you that if approval is obtained, such product candidates can bewe will successfully commercialized.

Because of the early stage of developmentdevelop or commercialize neffy for any indication. If we or any of our products candidates,current or future licensing and collaboration partners are unable to develop, or obtain regulatory approval for, or, if approved, successfully commercialize neffy for its initial indication or potential additional indications, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to continue our business. In addition, our failure to satisfy other regulatory requirements could adversely affect our development efforts for neffy in other indications.

The denial of regulatory approval for neffy could mean that we need to delay or even cease operations, and a delay in obtaining such approval would delay commercialization of neffy and adversely impact our ability to eventually generate significant revenues from product salesrevenue, business and results of operations.

If we are not successful in commercializing neffy, or are significantly delayed in doing so, our business will depend on a number of factors, including:

successful completion of additional preclinical studies;

submission of our INDsbe materially harmed, and we may need to curtail or other regulatory applications to allow for initiation of our planned clinical trials or future clinical trials and authorizations from regulators to initiate clinical studies;

successful enrollment in, and completion of, clinical trials and achieving positive results from the trials;

demonstrating a risk-benefit profile acceptable to regulatory authorities;

receipt of marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;

establishing manufacturing capabilities or arrangements with third-party manufacturers for clinical supply and, if and whencease operations. We currently have no pharmaceutical products approved for commercial supply;

establishing sales,marketing, and we may never obtain regulatory approval to market and commercialize neffy for any indication. The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, sale, marketing and distribution capabilities and launching commercial sales of ourpharmaceutical products if and when approved, whether alone or in combination with others;

acceptance of our products, if and when approved,are subject to extensive regulation by patients, the medical community and third-party payors;

effectively competing with other therapies;

developing and implementing marketing and reimbursement strategies;

obtaining and maintaining third-party coverage and adequate reimbursement;

obtaining and maintaining patent, trade secretFDA, the EMA, and other intellectual property protection and regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates;

the ability to obtain clearance or approval of companion diagnostic tests, on a timely basis, or at all; and

maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of any product following approval, if any.

If we do not achieve one or more of these requirements in a timely manner, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, which would materially harm our business.

Preclinical and clinical development is a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not always predictive of future results. Any product candidate that we advance into clinical trials, including SBT6050, may not achieve favorable results in later clinical trials, if any, or receive marketing approval.

The research and development of drugs and biological products is extremely risky. Only a small percentage of product candidates that enter the development process ever receive marketing approval. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of our product candidates, we must conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, can take many years to complete and its outcome is uncertain. We may face unforeseen challenges in our product candidate development strategy, and we can provide no assurances that we will ultimately be successful in our current and future clinical trials or that our product candidates will be able to receive regulatory approval. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials of our product candidates and other products, even those with the same or similar mechanisms of action, may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. For example, it is not uncommon for product candidates to exhibit unforeseen safety or efficacy issues when tested in humans despite promising results in preclinical animal models. In particular, while we have conducted preclinical studies of SBT6050, we do not know how SBT6050 will perform in the ongoing Phase 1/1b clinical trial or in future clinical trials, whether any initial tumor responses that may be observed will be durable or whether adverse events will arise over time. Future results of preclinical and clinical testing of our product candidates are also less certain due to the novel and relatively untested nature of our approach to TLR8 and related platform technologies. In general, clinical trial failure may result from a multitude of factors including flaws in study design, dose selection, patient enrollment criteria and failure to demonstrate favorable safety or efficacy traits. As such, failure in clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered setbacks in the advancement of clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials.

Prior to obtaining approval to commercialize any product candidateagencies in the United States, EU and other countries, and such regulations differ from country to country. We are not permitted to market neffy until we receive approval or abroad, we must demonstrate with substantial evidencemarketing authorization from well-controlled clinical trials, and to the satisfaction ofrelevant regulatory authority. The FDA, the FDAEMA or comparableany other foreign regulatory authorities, that such product candidate is safe and effective agency can delay, limit or deny approval to market neffy for its intended uses. Results from preclinical studies and clinical trials can be interpreted in different ways. Even if we believe that the preclinical or clinical data for our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. The FDA may also require us to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials for our product candidates either prior to or post-approval, or it may object to elements of our clinical development program, requiring their alteration.many reasons, including:

If the results of our clinical trials are inconclusive or if there are safety concerns or adverse events associated with our product candidates, we may:

our inability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA, the EMA or any other applicable foreign regulatory agency that neffy is safe and effective for the requested indication;

our inability to gain agreement from applicable foreign regulatory authorities that neffy is appropriate for approval under applicable regulatory pathways;

incur unplanned costs;

the FDA’s, the EMA’s or any other applicable foreign regulatory agency’s disagreement with the interpretation of data from nonclinical and clinical studies and trials;

our inability to demonstrate that the clinical and other benefits of neffy outweigh any safety or other perceived risks;

be delayed in or prevented from continuing clinical development and obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;

our inability to enroll an adequate number of patients in and successfully complete our ongoing and any future clinical trials, including our pediatric clinical study EPI-10;

the FDA’s, the EMA’s or any other applicable foreign regulatory agency’s requirement for additional nonclinical or clinical studies or trials, including studies to satisfy applicable rules governing combination products;

obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;

the FDA’s, the EMA’s or any other applicable foreign regulatory agency’s having differing requirements for the trial protocols used in our clinical trials;

the FDA’s, the EMA’s or any other applicable foreign regulatory agency’s non-approval of the formulation, labeling and/or the specifications of neffy;

obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings including boxed warnings;

the FDA’s, the EMA’s or any other applicable foreign regulatory agency’s failure to accept the manufacturing processes or third-party manufacturers with which we contract; or

the potential for approval policies or regulations of the FDA, the EMA or any other applicable foreign regulatory agencies to significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.

be subject to changes or limitations in the way the product is administered;

be required to perform additional clinical trials to support approval or be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements;

have regulatory authorities withdraw their approval of the product or impose restrictions on its distribution in the form of a modified Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS);

be subject to the addition of labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications;

be sued; or

experience damage to our reputation.

Treatment of cancer patients with our oncology product candidates may be used in combination with other cancer drugs, such as other immuno-oncology agents, monoclonal antibodies or other protein-based drugs or small molecule anti-cancer agent such as targeted agents or chemotherapy, which can cause side effects or adverse events that are unrelated to our product candidate but may still impact the success of our clinical trials. Additionally, our product candidates could potentially cause adverse events. The inclusion of critically ill patients in our clinical trials may result in deaths or other adverse medical events due to other therapies or medications that such patients may be using. As described above, any of these events could prevent us from obtaining regulatory approval or achieving or maintaining market acceptance of our product candidates and impair our ability to commercialize our products. Because all of our product candidates are derived from our platform technologies, a clinical failure of one of our product candidates may also increase the actual or perceived likelihood that our other product candidates will experience similar failures.

Of the large number of pharmaceutical products in development, only a small percentage successfully complete the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreignother regulatory authorities’ approval processes and are commercialized. The lengthy approval process as well as the unpredictability of future clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates, which would significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

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Even if we eventually complete clinical testing and receivereceives approval of a biologics license application (BLA)an NDA, MAA or other foreign marketing applicationauthorization for our product candidates,neffy, the FDA, the EMA or the comparableother applicable foreign regulatory authoritiesagency may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly additional clinical trials, including post-market clinical trials.which may be required after approval. The FDA, the EMA or the comparableother applicable foreign regulatory authoritiesagency may also may approve a product candidate neffy for a more limited indication and/or a narrower patient population than we originally request, and the FDA, the EMA or comparableany other applicable foreign regulatory authoritiesagency may not approve the labeling that we believe is necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of a product candidate.neffy. Any delay in obtaining, or inability to obtain, applicable regulatory approvalapprovals would delay or prevent commercialization of that product candidate neffy and would materially adversely impact our business and prospects.

In addition,

We have never commercialized a product and may experience delays or unexpected costs or difficulties in obtaining regulatory approval for neffy for its initial indication or potential additional indications.

We have never obtained regulatory approval for, or commercialized, a pharmaceutical product. It is possible that the FDA and the EMA may refuse to accept any or all of our submitted or planned NDAs and MAAs for substantive review or may conclude after review of our data that an application is insufficient to obtain regulatory approval for neffy or any future product candidates. For example, the EMA required us to submit our preclinical dog anaphylaxis study results during the review process of our prior 1.0 mg dose of neffy MAA submission. If the FDA and the EMA do not initially approve any of our submitted or planned NDAs or MAAs, such regulatory authorities may require that we conduct additional costly clinical, nonclinical or manufacturing validation studies before they will reconsider future applications. Depending on the extent of these or any other required studies, approval of any NDA, MAA or other application that we submit may be significantly delayed, possibly for several years, or may require us to expend more resources than we have available. Any failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approvals would prevent us from commercializing neffy for any indication or any other product candidate, generating revenues and achieving and sustaining profitability. It is also possible that additional studies, if performed and completed, may not be considered sufficient by the FDA or EMA to approve any NDA, MAA or other application that we submit. For example, the FDA has indicated that the ongoing pediatric clinical trial, EPI-10, would be sufficient to support a submission of our NDA for pediatric approval of a 2.0 mg dose of neffy for children weighing more than 30 kg, and to support a separate submission for pediatric approval of a 1mg dose of neffy for children weighing between 15 and 30 kg; however, the FDA has not reviewed our complete clinical data, to date, and therefore there is no guarantee that the FDA will determine that the NDA currently under review by the FDA for approval of a 2.0 mg dose of neffy for children weighing more than 30 kg or any future NDA is sufficient for issuing a marketing approval of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions in children. If any of these outcomes occur, we may be forced to abandon the development of neffy or any future product candidates, which would materially adversely affect our business and could potentially cause us to cease operations. We face similar risks for applications in other foreign jurisdictions. In addition, difficulties in obtaining approval of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, could adversely affect our efforts to seek approval from regulatory authorities for neffy for use in other potential indications.

The regulatory approval processes of the FDA, the EMA and other comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable, and if we are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval for neffy or any future product candidates, our business will be substantially harmed.

We, and any current and future licensing and collaboration partners, are not permitted to commercialize, market, promote or sell any product candidate in the United States or the EU without obtaining regulatory approval from the FDA or the EMA, respectively. Regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions may have similar requirements. The time required to obtain approval by the FDA, the EMA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities is unpredictable, but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including substantial discretion of such regulatory authorities. In addition, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of preclinical and clinical data necessary to gain approval may change their policies, adopt additional regulations during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. To date, other than the NDA for neffy that we submitted to the FDA in the third quarter of 2022 and our MAA for neffy that was filed and validated for review by the EMA in the fourth quarter of 2022, we have not submitted any product approval submissions for neffy or revise existing regulationsany other product candidate to the FDA, EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities for neffy and there can be no assurance that we will receive such approval from such regulatory authorities after submitting any product approval application.

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Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take other actions, which may preventmany years to complete and is inherently uncertain as to outcome. We cannot guarantee that any clinical trials will be conducted as planned or delay approvalcompleted on schedule, if at all. The clinical development of ourneffy or any future product candidates underis susceptible to the risk of failure inherent at any stage of development, onincluding failure to demonstrate safety or efficacy in a timely basis. Such policyclinical trial or across a broad population of patients, the occurrence of adverse events that are severe or medically or commercially unacceptable, failure to comply with protocols or applicable regulatory changes could impose additional requirements, upon usand determination by the FDA, the EMA or any other comparable foreign regulatory authority that could delay our ability to obtain approvals, increase the costs of compliance or restrict our ability to maintain any marketing authorizations we may have obtained.

Our product candidates are based on novel technologies, which make it difficult to predict the timing, results and cost ofa product candidate development and likelihood of obtaining regulatory approval.

We have concentrated our research and development efforts on product candidates using our platform technologies, and our future success depends on the successful development of this approach. We have not yet succeeded and may not succeed in demonstrating efficacy and safety for

continue development or is not approvable. Additionally, our expenses could increase if it is required by the FDA, the EMA or any product candidates based on our platform technologies inother comparable foreign regulatory authority to perform clinical trials or studies in obtaining marketing approval thereafter, and use of our platform technologies may not ever result in marketable products. We may also experienceaddition to those currently expected, or if there are any delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible and scalable manufacturing process or transferring that process to commercial partners or establishing our own commercial manufacturing capabilities, which may prevent us from completing our clinical trials or commercializingthe development of neffy for additional indications. It is possible that even if neffy or any products onfuture product candidate has a timelybeneficial effect, that effect will not be detected during clinical evaluation as a result of one or profitable basis,more of a variety of factors, including the size, duration, design, measurements, conduct or analysis of our clinical trials. Conversely, as a result of the same factors, our clinical trials may indicate an apparent positive effect of neffy or any future product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect, if at all.

Ourany. Similarly, in our clinical trials we may fail to detect toxicity of or intolerability caused by neffy or any future product candidate, or mistakenly believe that neffy or any future product candidates are targetedtoxic or not well-tolerated when that is not in fact the case.

neffy and any future product candidates could fail to treat tumorsreceive regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:

the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree as to the design or implementation of our clinical trials;

we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities that a product candidate is safe and effective for its proposed indication and, if necessary, that a product candidate and any active components thereof are safe and effective for the proposed indication;

the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may find deficiencies with regards to the formulation components or specifications of neffy, including, without limitation, with respect to appearance, identity, impurities, or particle size;

the results of clinical trials may not meet the level of evidence or criteria required by the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities for approval;

we may be unable to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;

the FDA, the EMA and comparable authorities in other countries may disagree with our interpretation of data from clinical trials or nonclinical studies and may require additional trials or studies to support marketing approval;

the data collected from clinical trials of neffy or any future product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission of an NDA or other submission to the FDA or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States, the EU or elsewhere;

the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may find deficiencies with clinical trial sites or fail to approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and

the approval policies or regulations of the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.

This lengthy approval process as well as the unpredictability of clinical trial results may result in us failing to obtain regulatory approval to market neffy or any future product candidate we develop, which would significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects. Although we have successfully completed a pre-NDA meeting with the FDA, there is no assurance that express specific antigens at certain levels,the endpoints and trial designs used for the approval of a new formulation of epinephrine for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions will be acceptable for neffy. The FDA, the EMA and other comparable foreign authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and determining when or whether regulatory approval will be obtained for any product candidate that we develop. Even if we believe the data collected from current or future clinical trials of neffy or any future product candidates are promising, such as those that express moderate to high levels of HER2 or Nectin4. This requires diagnostic assays that may be subject to scrutiny by regulatory authorities. Commercial tests are available for HER2, but not currently for Nectin4. Wedata may not be successful in developing diagnostic assays or securing the assays for use. If we are successful in securing a diagnostic assay for a specific antigen, it may be difficultsufficient to enroll patients with tumors that have the required level of antigen expression.

In addition, the clinical trial requirements ofsupport approval by the FDA, the EMA or any other regulatory authority.

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There can be no assurance that the FDA and other regulatory agencies, including the EMA, will not require additional clinical trials or studies to support an application for the marketing of neffy in the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions or any other indication. This may be the case particularly as these regulatory authorities may consult with one another or as we may be required to apprise the respective agencies of studies we are conducting of neffy in conjunction with our requests for marketing approval or in response to requests and updates from the respective agency.

However, the FDA may not be able to continue its current pace and approval timelines could be extended, including where a pre-approval inspection or an inspection of clinical sites is required and due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions the FDA is unable to complete such required inspections during the review period.

With respect to new sites or facilities in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), which have never had a current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”) inspection or authorization, the EMA has stated that a distant assessment may be conducted in order to evaluate if the site could be authorized without an on-site pre-approval inspection. If an approval is granted, it should be indicated that the certificate has been granted on the basis of a distant assessment and an on-site inspection should be conducted when circumstances permit. If a cGMP certificate cannot be granted as Australiaa result of the distant assessment, a clock-stop in the regulatory approval process will be imposed until an on-site inspection is possible. In addition, even if we were to obtain approval, regulatory authorities may approve neffy or any future product candidates for fewer or more limited indications, may not approve the price we intend to charge for our products, may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials, or may approve a product candidate with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate. Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for neffy or any future product candidates.

If the FDA does not conclude that neffy or any future product candidates satisfy the requirements for the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory approval pathway, or if the requirements for such product candidates under Section 505(b)(2) are not as we expect, the approval pathway for those product candidates will likely take significantly longer, cost significantly more and entail significantly greater complications and risks than anticipated, and in either case may not be successful.

While we believe that we will have the criteria these regulators usenecessary supporting data to determinesubmit a marketing application under Section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“Section 505(b)(2)”) regulatory pathway to the FDA for neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions for adults and children greater than 30 kg in weight, and upon completion of our ongoing pediatric study, EPI-10, for children between 15 and 30 kg in weight, there can be no assurance that the FDA will agree that the Section 505(b)(2) pathway is appropriate or will approve any such application or any future application for additional indication or future product candidates.

The Hatch Waxman Act added Section 505(b)(2) to the FDCA. Section 505(b)(2) permits the filing of an NDA where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies that were not conducted by or for the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference. Section 505(b)(2), if available to us, would allow an NDA we submit to the FDA to rely in part on data in the public domain or the FDA’s prior conclusions regarding the safety and efficacyeffectiveness of aapproved compounds, which could expedite the development program for our future product candidates by potentially decreasing the amount of nonclinical and/or clinical data that we would need to generate in order to obtain FDA approval. This pathway does not, however, expedite the FDA review process timelines.

If the FDA does not allow us to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway as anticipated, we may need to conduct additional nonclinical studies and/or clinical trials, provide additional data and information, and meet additional standards for regulatory approval. If this were to occur, the time and financial resources required to obtain FDA approval for neffy or any future product candidate, vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended usecomplications and market of the potential products. The regulatory approval process for novelrisks associated with such product candidates, such as ours can bewould likely substantially increase. Moreover, inability to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway could result in new competitive products reaching the market more expensive and take longerquickly than for other, better known or extensively studied pharmaceutical or otherany product candidates.

The immuno-oncology industry is also rapidly developing, and our competitors may introduce new technologies improving the immune response to cancer that render our technologies obsolete or less attractive. New technology could emerge at any point in the development cycle of our product candidates.

The TLR field is also rapidly evolving and as competitors use orcandidates we develop, alternative TLR technologies, any failures of such technologieswhich could adversely impact our programs. For example,competitive position and prospects. Even if we are allowed to pursue the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we cannot assure you that neffy or any future product candidates we develop will receive the requisite approval for commercialization.

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In addition, notwithstanding the approval of a number of products by the FDA under Section 505(b)(2), certain pharmaceutical companies and others have objected to the FDA’s interpretation of Section 505(b)(2). If the FDA’s interpretation of Section 505(b)(2) is successfully challenged, the FDA may change its Section 505(b)(2) policies and practices, which could delay or even prevent the FDA from approving any NDA that we submit under Section 505(b)(2). In addition, the pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, and Section 505(b)(2) NDAs are developing TLR7, TLR7/8subject to certain requirements designed to protect the patent rights of sponsors of previously approved drugs that are referenced in a Section 505(b)(2) NDA. These requirements may give rise to patent litigation and TLR9 agonists, some of which are conjugated to monoclonal antibodies. Regardlessmandatory delays in approval of our belief that our approachNDAs for up to activating30 months or longer depending on the innate immune system has advantages, issues encounteredoutcome of any litigation. It is not uncommon for a manufacturer of an approved product to file a citizen petition with other TLR programs will create a negative perceptionthe FDA seeking to delay approval of, or increase scrutinyimpose additional approval requirements for, our technologiespending competing products. If successful, such petitions can significantly delay, or even prevent, the approval of a new product. Even if the FDA ultimately denies such a petition, the FDA may substantially delay approval while it considers and responds to the petition. In addition, even if we are able to utilize the Section 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, there is no guarantee this would ultimately lead to streamlined product development or earlier approval. Finally, a competitor might receive FDA approval before neffy and obtain non-patent market exclusivity, which could delay approval of neffy.

We may incur unexpected costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of neffy or any future product candidates.

To obtain the requisite regulatory approvals to market and commercialize neffy and any future product candidates, we must demonstrate through extensive nonclinical studies and clinical trials that such product candidates are safe and effective for their intended use in humans. Nonclinical and clinical testing are expensive and can take many years to complete, and their outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process and our future clinical trial results may not be successful.

We depend on enrollment of patientsmay experience delays in completing our clinical trials or nonclinical studies and initiating or completing additional studies or clinical trials. We may also experience numerous unforeseen events during our clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize neffy or any future product candidates we develop, including:

regulators, or IRBs or other reviewing bodies may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial, or to conduct or continue a clinical trial at a prospective or specific trial site;

we may not reach an 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;

a delay in receiving study or clinical trial material from outside the United States;

the number of subjects or patients required for clinical trials of neffy in an indication or any future product candidate may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be insufficient or slower than we anticipate, and the number of clinical trials being conducted at any given time may be high and result in fewer available patients for any given clinical trial, or patients may drop out of these clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate;

our third-party contractors, including those manufacturing neffy or any future product candidates or conducting clinical trials on our behalf, may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;

we may have to amend clinical trial protocol(s) submitted to regulatory authorities or conduct additional studies to reflect changes in regulatory requirements or guidance, which we may be required to resubmit to an IRB and regulatory authorities for re-examination;

unforeseen safety events may occur during the course of a clinical trial and these events may result in the temporary suspension or termination of a clinical trial, or require urgent safety measures or restrictions to protect human subjects during the conduct of a clinical trial;

regulators, IRBs or other reviewing bodies may fail to approve or subsequently find fault with the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we have entered and may enter into agreement for clinical and commercial supplies, or the supply or quality of neffy or any future product candidate or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of neffy or any future product candidates may be insufficient, inadequate or not available at an acceptable cost, or we may experience interruptions in supply; and

the potential for approval policies or regulations of the FDA, the EMA or any other applicable foreign regulatory agencies to significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.

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Regulators, IRBs of the institutions in which clinical trials are being conducted, or data monitoring committees may suspend or terminate a clinical trial due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to appear to demonstrate a benefit from using a drug, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.

Negative or inconclusive impressions of the results from our earlier clinical trials of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions or any other clinical trial or nonclinical studies in animals that we have conducted, could mandate repeated or additional nonclinical studies or clinical trials and could delay marketing approvals or result in changes to or delays in nonclinical studies or clinical trials of neffy for other indications. While data from our studies of neffy demonstrated nasally delivered epinephrine reached blood levels comparable to those of already approved epinephrine injectable products, we do not know whether any future clinical trials or studies that we may conduct will demonstrate adequate efficacy and safety necessary to result in obtaining regulatory approval to market neffy for its initial indication or potential additional indications, or any future product candidates.candidate. If later stage clinical trials, including our ongoing pediatric clinical study, EPI-10, do not produce favorable results that meet regulatory authority criteria, our ability to obtain regulatory approval for neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions or potential additional indications, or any future product candidate, may be adversely impacted.

Our failure to successfully initiate and complete clinical trials of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions or potential additional indications and to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of neffy, necessary to obtain regulatory approval to market neffy would significantly harm our business. Our product candidate development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or difficulties enrolling inregulatory approvals and we may be required to obtain additional funds to complete clinical trials. We cannot assure you that our clinical trials will begin as planned or be completed on schedule, if at all, or that we will not need to restructure our researchtrials after they have begun. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize neffy or any future product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and development efforts andimpair our ability to successfully commercialize such product candidates, which may harm our business financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Successful and timely completion of clinical trials will require that we enroll a sufficient number of patient candidates. These trials and other trials we conduct may be subject to delays as a result of patient enrollment taking longer than anticipated, patient withdrawal or adverse events. For example, we have an ongoing Phase 1/1b clinical trial for our lead product candidate, SBT6050, which could generate adverse events that may cause us to delay the trial or halt further development. As has been described with other immune agonists administered in the presence of ADA in preclinical species, anaphylaxis upon repeat intravenous dosing with SBT6050 was observed in animal models. While our product candidate in humans is administered by the subcutaneous route of administration, if similar adverse events were to manifest, that could adversely impact our enrollment.

Our clinical trials will likely compete with other clinical trials that are in the same therapeutic areas as our product candidates, and this competition will reduce the number and types of patients available to us, 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. Because the number of qualified clinical investigators and clinical trial sites is limited, we expect to conduct some of our clinical trials at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which will reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials at such clinical trial sites.

Patient enrollment depends on many factors, including the size and nature of the patient population, the severity of the disease under investigation, eligibility criteria for the trial, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the design of the clinical protocol, the ability to obtain and maintain patient consents, the ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience, the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of the trials before the administration of our product candidates or trial completion, the availability of competing clinical trials, the availability of new drugs approved for the indication the clinical trial is investigating, and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the drug being studied in relation to other available therapies. These factors may make it difficult for us to enroll enough patients to complete our clinical trials in a timely and cost-effective manner. Delays in the completion of any clinical trial of our product candidates will increase our costs, slow down our product candidate development and approval process and delay or potentially jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue.operations. In addition, somemany of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completiondelays of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of ourneffy or any future product candidates.candidate.

Serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or other unexpected properties

The results of our product candidates may be identified during development or after approval, which could lead to the discontinuation of our clinical development programs, refusal by regulatory authorities to approve our product candidates or, if discovered following marketing approval, revocation of marketing authorizations or limitations on the use of our product candidates thereby limiting the commercial potential of such product candidate.

To date, we have only tested SBT6050 in a limited number of patients with cancer and these clinical trial participants have only been observed for a limited period of time after dosing. As we continue developing our product candidates and initiateearly-stage clinical trials and preclinical studies may not be predictive of our additional product candidates, serious adverse events (SAEs), undesirable side effects, relapse of disease or unexpected characteristics may emerge causing us to abandon these product candidates or limit their development to more narrow uses or subpopulations in which the SAEs or undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective or in which efficacy is more pronounced or durable. For example, a significant risk observed with systemic administration of motolimod, an unconjugated TLR8 small molecule agonist, was the induction of significant injection site reactions (ISR), and cytokine-induced flu-like symptoms that prevented dose-escalation. Should we observe severe cases of ISR and cytokine release syndromefuture results. Initial data in our clinical trials may not be indicative of results obtained when these trials are completed or identify other undesirable side effectsin later stage trials.

The results of preclinical studies may not be predictive of the results of clinical trials, and the results of any early-stage clinical trials we commence may not be predictive of the results of the later-stage clinical trials. In addition, initial data in clinical trials may not be indicative of results obtained when such trials are completed. There can be no assurance that any of our ongoing, planned or other unexpected findings depending on their severity, ourfuture clinical trials couldwill ultimately be delayedsuccessful or even stoppedsupport further clinical development or regulatory approval of neffy or any future product candidates. There is a high failure rate for drugs and our development programs may be halted entirely.

Our TLR8 agonist containing productbiologics candidates including SBT6050, activate dendritic cells among other innate immune cells. As a result, significant anti-drug antibodies (ADA) could develop that neutralize the effectsproceeding through clinical trials. A number of SBT6050 by reducing exposure. The development of ADA could also trigger hypersensitivity reactions that manifest as serious adverse events. For example, as has been described with other immune agonists administeredcompanies in the presence of ADApharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in preclinical species, anaphylaxis upon repeat intravenous dosing with SBT6050 was observed. Asclinical development even after achieving promising results in earlier studies, and any such setbacks in our clinical development could have a result, we have modified our dosing to subcutaneous; however, if patients experiencematerial adverse events (AEs), including anaphylaxis, our trials could be delayed or stopped and our development programs may be halted entirely if this is observed during clinical development. Even if ADAs are not detected in the early

clinical trials, they may be detected after product launch and may significantly reduce the commercial potential or even result in the product being pulled from the market.

Even if our product candidates initially show promise in early clinical trials, the side effects of biological products are frequently only detectable after they are tested in larger, longer and more extensive clinical trials or, in some cases, after they are made available to patientseffect on a commercial scale after approval. Sometimes, it can be difficult to determine if the serious adverse or unexpected side effects were caused by the product candidate or another factor, especially in oncology subjects who may suffer from other medical conditions and be taking other medications. If serious adverse or unexpected side effects are identified during development or after approval and are determined to be attributed to our product candidate, we may be required to develop a REMS to ensure that the benefits of treatment with such product candidate outweigh the risks for each potential patient, which may include, among other things, a communication plan to health care practitioners, patient education, extensive patient monitoring or distribution systems and processes that are highly controlled, restrictive and more costly than what is typical for the industry. Product-related side effects could also result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business financial condition and prospects significantly.operating results.

In addition, if one or more of our product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects or ADA caused by such products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

regulatory authorities may suspend, withdraw or limit approvals of such product, or seek an injunction against its manufacture or distribution;

regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label, including “boxed” warnings, or issue safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases or other communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product;

we may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients;

we may be required to change the way a product is administered or conduct additional clinical trials;

the product may become less competitive, and our reputation may suffer;

we may decide to remove the product from the marketplace; and

we may be subject to fines, injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

Interim topline and 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 disclosepublish interim topline or preliminary interim or topline data from our preclinical studies andclinical trials. Interim data from clinical trials which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusionsthat we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment and treatment continues and more patient data become available. Adverse differences between previous preliminaryPreliminary or interim data and future interim or final data could significantly harm our business prospects. We may also announce topline data following the completion of a preclinical study or clinical trial, which may be subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or 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 interim, topline or preliminary results that we report may differ from

future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Topline 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, interim topline and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our reputation and business prospects.

Further, others, including

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neffy or any future product candidate may cause undesirable side effects, adverse events, or have other properties that could delay or prevent its regulatory agencies, may not acceptapproval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or agreeresult in significant negative consequences following regulatory approval, if obtained.

Undesirable side effects or adverse events caused by neffy, or any future product candidate, 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, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Although our clinical studies to date have demonstrated that neffy is well-tolerated by patients with no serious treatment-related adverse events, and reported adverse events generally no more severe than grade 1 and comparable with injection products, and with no meaningful pain or irritation based on formal scoring, results of our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusionsongoing or analyses future clinical trials for neffy or may interpretany future product candidate could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects, adverse events, or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the valueunexpected characteristics. Many compounds that initially showed promise in clinical or earlier stage testing are later found to cause undesirable or unexpected side effects or adverse events that prevented further development of the particular program,compound.

If unacceptable side effects or adverse events arise in the approvability development of neffy or commercialization of the particular product candidate or product and our company 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 to be 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 product candidate or our business. If the interim, topline, or preliminary 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 our product candidates, our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition may be harmed.

We may encounter substantial delays in our clinical trials or we may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of our product candidates, we, must conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product candidate for its intended indications. Clinical trials are expensive, time-consuming and uncertain as to outcome. We cannot guarantee that any clinical trials will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. For example, we cannot begin our planned Phase 1 clinical trials for SBT6290, our Nectin4-targeted product candidate until we complete certain preclinical development and submit and receive authorization to proceed under INDs. We also dosed the first patient in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial for SBT6050 in July 2020 and cannot predict how our technology may work in solid tumor indications until we have completed dose-escalation and dose expansion. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted clinical trials broadly, including our own with some sites pausing or slowing enrollment.

A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. Events that may prevent successful or timely completion of clinical development include:

delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory authorities on trial design or implementation of any future potential collaborators’, clinical trials;

delays in reaching agreement or failing to agree on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and clinical trial sites;

delays in opening sites, including delays in obtaining required approvals from institutional review boards (IRBs) and recruiting suitable patients to participate in our clinical trials;

delays in enrollment due to travel or quarantine policies, or other factors, related to COVID-19, other pandemics or other events outside our control;

failure by our CROs, other third parties or us to adhere to the trial protocol or applicable regulatory requirements, including the FDA’s good clinical practices (GCPs) or applicable regulatory requirements in other countries;

regulatory authorities may find deficiencies in the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we or any of our potential future collaborators contract for clinical and commercial supplies;

delays in the testing, validation, manufacturing and delivery of our product candidates to the treatment sites, including due to a facility manufacturing any of our product candidates or any of their components being ordered by the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to temporarilythe IRBs, or permanently shut down due to violations of current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) regulationsindependent ethics committees at the institutions in which our trials are conducted, or other applicable requirements,the independent safety monitoring committee could suspend or infections or cross-contaminations of product candidates in the manufacturing process;

imposition of aterminate our clinical hold by IRBstrials or regulatory authorities as a resultcould order us to cease clinical trials or deny approval of a serious adverse event, concerns with a class ofneffy or any future product candidates after an inspectionfor any or all targeted indications. Treatment-emergent side effects and adverse events that are deemed to be drug-related could also affect subject recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Undesirable side effects or adverse events in one of our clinical trial operations or trial sites, ortrials for other reasons;

suspensions or terminations by us, the IRBs of the institutions at which such trials are being conducted, by the Safety Review Committee or Data Safety Monitoring Board, for such trial or by regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including those described above;

delays neffy in having patients complete participation in a trial or return for post-treatment follow-up;

occurrence of serious adverse events associated with the product candidate that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits or the discovery of other safety issues;

lack of adequate funding; or

changes in regulatory requirements and guidance that require amending or submitting new clinical protocols.

For instance, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by the governmental authoritiesone indication could disrupt the supply chain and the manufacture or shipment of drug substances and finished drug products for our product candidates for use in our research and clinical trials, delay, limit or prevent our employees and CROs from continuing research and development activities, impede the ability of patients to enroll or continueadversely affect enrollment in clinical trials, or impede testing, monitoring, data collectionregulatory approval and analysis orcommercialization of neffy in other related activities, any of which could delay our clinical trials and increase our development costs, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our drug product is shipped from overseas and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken by the governmental authorities could disrupt the timing and therefore our clinical trials may not proceed orindications. Additionally, there may be delayed, interrupted, negative findings regarding components of neffy or stopped as a result.

future product candidates by other parties. Any inability to timely and successfully complete preclinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to usnegative findings by third parties may impact the future approvability or impair our ability to achieve regulatory and commercialization milestones. In addition, if we make manufacturing labeling of neffy or formulation changes to ourother product candidates we may need to conduct additional testing to bridge our modified product candidate to earlier versions. Clinical trial delays could also shortendevelop. In addition, all side effects and adverse events may not be appropriately recognized or managed by the treating medical staff. Inadequate training in recognizing or managing the potential side effects and adverse events of neffy or any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize ourfuture product candidates if approved,could result in patient injury or allow our competitors to bring comparable drugs to market before we do, which could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates anddeath. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition results of operations and prospects.prospects significantly.

Additionally, if the results of ourIn addition, clinical trials of neffy are inconclusive or if there are safety concerns or serious adverse events associated with our product candidates, we may:

be delayedconducted in obtaining marketing approval, if at all;

obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;

obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings;

be subjectcarefully defined sets of patients who have agreed to additional post-marketing testing requirements;

be required to perform additional clinical trials to support approval or be subject to additional post- marketing testing requirements;

have regulatory authorities withdraw, or suspend, their approval of the drug or impose restrictions on its distribution in the form of a modified risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS;

be subject to the addition of labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications;

be sued; or

experience damage to our reputation.

Our development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or obtaining marketing approvals. We do not know whether any of our preclinical studies or clinical trials will begin as planned, need to be restructured or be completed on schedule, if at all. 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 claims for differentiation or the effectiveness or safety of our product candidate. The FDA has substantial discretion in the review and approval process and may disagree that our data support the claims we propose.

Moreover, principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve and have served 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 comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected interpretation of the trial. The FDA or comparable 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 comparable foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of our product candidates.

Further, we, the FDA or an institutional review board may suspend our clinical trials at any time if it appears that we or our collaborators are failing to conduct a trial in accordance with regulatory requirements, including the FDA’s current GCP, regulations, that we are exposing participants to unacceptable health risks or if the FDA finds deficiencies in our INDs or the conduct of these trials. Therefore, we cannot predict with any certainty the schedule for commencement and completion of futureenter into clinical trials. If we experience delays in the commencement or completion ofConsequently, it is possible that our clinical trials, or if we terminatethose of any future collaborator, may indicate an apparent positive effect of neffy or a clinical trial prior to completion, the commercial prospects of our product candidates could be negatively impacted, and our ability to generate revenues from our product candidates may be delayed or eliminated entirely.

We may seek Breakthrough Therapy designation or Fast Track designation by the FDA for one or more of our product candidates, but we may not receive such designation, and even if we do, such designation may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval.

We may seek Breakthrough Therapy or Fast Track designation for some of our product candidates. If afuture product candidate that is intended forgreater than the treatmentactual positive effect, if any, or alternatively fail to identify undesirable side effects.

Finally, neffy is comprised of a serious or life-threatening conditionepinephrine and clinical or preclinical data demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for this condition, the product candidate may be eligible for Fast Track Designation. The benefitsIntravail® that is delivered via an intranasal device. Intra-muscular injection of fast track designation include more frequent meetings with FDA to discuss the drug’s development plan and ensure collection of appropriate data needed to support drug approval, more frequent written communication from FDA about such things as the design of the proposed clinical trials and use of biomarkers, eligibility for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review, if relevant criteria are met, and rolling review, which means that a drug company can submit completed sections of its BLA for review by FDA, rather than waiting until every section of the BLA is completed before the entire application can be reviewed. BLA review usually does not begin until the entire applicationepinephrine has been submitted to the FDA.

A breakthrough therapy is defined as a drug or biologic that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. Drugs or biologics designated as breakthrough therapiesapproved by the FDA may be eligible for all features of Fast Track designation, intensive guidance on an efficient drug development program, beginning as early as Phase 1, and organizational commitment involving senior managers at FDA.

The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant these designations, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible, we cannot assure you that the FDA would decide to grant it. Even if we have obtained Fast Track Designation and/or Breakthrough Therapy Designation for one or more of our product candidates, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to non-expedited FDA review procedures. In addition, the FDA may withdraw Fast Track Designation or Breakthrough Therapy Designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported. These designations do not guarantee qualification for the FDA’s priority review procedures or a faster review or approval process.

If we are required by the FDA to obtain approval of a companion diagnostic test in connection with approval of any of our product candidates, and we do not obtain or face delays in obtaining FDA approval of a diagnostic device, we will not be able to commercialize such product candidate and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

If safe and effective use of any of our product candidates depends on an in vitro diagnostic that is not otherwise commercially available, then the FDA generally will require approval or clearance of that diagnostic, known as a companion diagnostic, at the same time that the FDA approves our product candidates, if at all. Commercially available diagnostics are available for HER2, but not currently available for Nectin4. As an existing companion diagnostic does not currently exist for Nectin4, unless one is developed and approved, we may need to develop and obtain approval for a companion diagnostic for the SBT6290 program. The process of obtaining or creating such diagnostic is time consuming and costly.

Companion diagnostics are developed in conjunction with clinical programs for the associated product and are subject to regulation as medical devices by the FDA and comparable regulatory

authorities. The approval of a companion diagnostic as part of the therapeutic product’s labeling limits the use of the therapeutic product to only those patients who express the specific genetic alteration that the companion diagnostic was developed to detect. If the FDA or a comparable regulatory authority requires approval of a companion diagnostic for any of our product candidates, whether before or after it obtains marketing approval, we, and/or future collaborators, may encounter difficulties in developing and obtaining approval for such product candidate. Any delay or failure by us or third-party collaborators to develop or obtain regulatory approval of a companion diagnostic could delay or prevent approval or continued marketing of such product candidate.

We may also experience delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible and scalable manufacturing process for the companion diagnostic or in transferring that process to commercial partners or negotiating insurance reimbursement plans, all of which may prevent us from completing our clinical trials or commercializing our product candidate, if approved, on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, they will remain subject to ongoing regulatory oversight. Additionally, our product candidates, if approved, could be subject to labeling and other restrictions on marketing or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates, when and if any of them are approved

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, they will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, sampling and record-keeping. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMP regulations, as well as GCPs for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval, all of which may result in significant expense and limit our ability to commercialize such products. In addition, any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. The FDA may also require a REMS as a condition of approval of our product candidates, which could include requirements for a medication guide, physician communication plans or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. Such regulatory requirements may differ from country to country depending on where we have received regulatory approval.

The FDA’s and other regulatory authorities’ policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability. Moreover, if there are changes in the application of legislation or regulatory policies, or if problems are discovered with a product or our manufacture of a product, or if we or one of our distributors, licensees or co-marketers fails to comply with regulatory requirements, the regulators could take various actions. These include:

issuing warning or untitled letters;

mandating modifications to promotional materials or require us to provide corrective information to healthcare practitioners, or require other restrictions on the labeling or marketing of such products;

seeking an injunction or imposing civil or criminal penalties or monetary fines;

suspension or imposition of restrictions on operations, including product manufacturing;

seizure or detention of products, refusal to permit the import or export of products or request that we initiate a product recall;

suspension, modification or withdrawal of our marketing authorizations;

suspension of any ongoing clinical trials;

refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to applications submitted by us;

refusal to permit the import or export of products; or

requiring us to conduct additional clinical trials, change our product labeling or submit additional applications for marketing authorization.

Moreover, the FDA and other regulatory authorities strictly regulatefor the promotional claims that may be made about biologic products.emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions. In particular, a product may not be promoted for uses that are not approved by the FDA as reflectedaddition, Intravail® has previously been included in the product’sformulations of FDA approved labeling. Physicians, on the other hand, may prescribe products for off-label uses. Althoughsuch as VALTOCO® and TOSYMRA® nasal sprays. The intranasal apparatus we use to deliver neffy has been used to deliver several drugs approved by the FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate a physician’s choice of drug treatment made in the physician’s independent medical judgment, they do restrict promotional communications from companiesauthorities, including VALTOCO®, TOSYMRA® and NARCAN®. Even if neffy were to receive marketing approval or their sales force with respectbe commercialized, we would continue tooff-label uses of products for which marketing clearance has not been issued. Companies may only share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA approved labeling. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant civil, criminalthe risks that the FDA, EMA or similar regulatory authorities could revoke approval of intra-muscular epinephrine injection products, other drug formulations containing Intravail® or utilizing the same intranasal apparatus, or that efficacy, manufacturing or supply issues could arise with epinephrine API, Intravail® or our intranasal apparatus. This could result in our own products being removed from the market or being less commercially successful.

The increasing use of social media platforms presents new risks and administrative penalties.challenges.

Any government investigationSocial media is increasingly being used to communicate about our clinical development activities and the indications neffy is being developed to treat, and we intend to utilize appropriate social media in connection with our commercialization efforts following regulatory approval of neffy, if any. Social media practices in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries continue to evolve and regulations and regulatory guidance relating to such use are evolving and not always clear. This evolution creates uncertainty and risk of noncompliance with regulations applicable to our business, resulting in potential regulatory actions against us, along with the potential for litigation related to off-label marketing or other prohibited activities and heightened scrutiny by the FDA, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the SEC and other regulators. For example, patients may use social media channels to comment on their experience in an ongoing clinical trial or to report an alleged violationsside effect or adverse event. If such disclosures occur, there is a risk that trial enrollment may be adversely impacted, that we may fail to monitor and comply with applicable adverse event reporting obligations or that we may not be able to defend our business or the public’s legitimate interests in the face of law could require usthe political and market pressures generated by social media due to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described aboverestrictions on what we may inhibit our ability to commercializesay about our product candidates and harmcandidates. There is also a risk of inappropriate disclosure of sensitive or confidential information or negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us on any social networking website. In addition, we may encounter attacks on social media regarding us, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

management, neffy or future product candidates. If any of these events occurs,were to occur or we otherwise fail to comply with applicable regulations, we could incur liability, face regulatory actions or incur other harm to our business.

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If we fail to develop and commercialize neffy for additional indications or fail to discover, develop and commercialize other product candidates, we may be unable to grow our business and our ability to sell suchachieve our strategic objectives would be impaired.

Although the development and commercialization of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions is our current primary focus, as part of our longer-term growth strategy, we plan to evaluate neffy for use in other indications and may develop other product candidates. We intend to evaluate internal opportunities from neffy and may be impaired, and we may incur substantial additional expense to comply with regulatory requirements, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The market opportunitiesdo so for ourother potential product candidates may be relatively smallor choose to in-license or acquire other product candidates as itwell as commercial products to treat other indications like Type I allergic reactions. These other potential product candidates will be limitedrequire additional, time-consuming development efforts prior to those patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatmentscommercial sale, including preclinical studies, clinical trials and our estimates of the prevalence of our target patient populations may be inaccurate.

Cancer therapies are sometimes characterized as first line, second line, or third line, andapproval by the FDA, customarily approves new therapies only for a second line the EMA and/or later lines of use. When cancer is detected early enough, first line therapy is sometimes adequate to cure the cancer or prolong life without a cure. Whenever first line therapies, usually chemotherapy, antibody drugs, tumor-targeted small molecules, hormone therapy, radiation therapy, surgery or a combination of these, proves unsuccessful, second line therapy may be administered. Second line therapies often consist of more chemotherapy, radiation, antibody drugs, tumor-targeted small molecules or a combination of these. Third line therapies can include chemotherapy, antibody drugs and small molecule tumor-targeted therapies, more invasive forms of surgery and new technologies. We expect to initially seek approval of our product candidates in most instances at least as a second line therapy. Subsequently, depending on the nature of the clinical data and experience with any approved products or product candidates, if any, we may pursue approval as an earlier line therapy and potentially as a first line therapy. But there

is no guarantee that our product candidates, even if approved as a second or subsequent line of therapy, would be approved for an earlier line of therapy, and, prior to any such approvals, we may have to conduct additional clinical trials.

Our projections of both the number of people who have HER2 expression, are based on our assumptions and estimates. These estimates have been derived from a variety of sources, including scientific literature, surveys of clinics, patient foundations or market research, and may prove to be incorrect. Further, new therapies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence of the cancers that we are targeting. Consequently, even if ourother applicable foreign regulatory authorities. All product candidates are approved for a second or third lineprone to the risks of therapy,failure that are inherent in pharmaceutical product development, including the number of patients who maypossibility that the product candidate will not be eligible for treatment with our product candidates may turn outshown to be much lower than expected.sufficiently safe and effective for approval by regulatory authorities. In addition, we havecannot assure you that any such products that are approved will be manufactured or produced economically, successfully commercialized or widely accepted in the marketplace or be more effective than other commercially available alternatives.

Research activities to identify product candidates require substantial technical, financial and human resources, whether or not any product candidates are ultimately identified. Our research activities may initially show promise in identifying potential product candidates, yet conducted market researchfail to determine how treating physicians would expect to prescribe ayield product candidates for clinical development for many reasons, including the following:

the research methodology used may not be successful in identifying potential product candidates;

competitors may develop alternatives that render our potential product candidates obsolete;

product candidates that we develop may nevertheless be covered by third parties’ patents or other exclusive rights;

a product candidate may, on further study, be shown to have harmful side effects or other characteristics that indicate it is unlikely to be effective or otherwise does not meet applicable regulatory criteria;

a product candidate may not be capable of being produced in commercial quantities at an acceptable cost, or at all; and

a product candidate may not be accepted as safe and effective by patients, the medical community or third-party payors.

If we are unsuccessful in identifying and developing neffy for additional indications or other product candidates, its potential for growth and achieving its strategic objectives may be impaired.

Even if neffy is approved for multiple tumor typesthe emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, there remains significant uncertainty as to whether neffy will be successfully developed and ultimately approved for any other indication we are exploring or pursuing.

As part of our longer-term growth strategy, we plan to evaluate and potentially develop neffy for other indications. Our programs for such other indications are at a very early stage and there remains significant uncertainty as to whether neffy will be successfully developed and ultimately approved for any other indication we are exploring or pursuing. Even if neffy is approved for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, there are different lines of approved therapies for each such tumor type.

Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies 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 beingwill remain significant uncertainty regarding whether neffy will be successfully developed or approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.

The ability of the FDAfor any other indication. If we are unable 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 ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees, and other events that may otherwise affect the FDA’s ability to perform routine functions. Average review times at the agency 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 agencies may also slow the time necessary for new biologics to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, 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 agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical FDA employees and stop critical activities.

Separately, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 the FDA announced its intention to postpone most foreign inspections of manufacturing facilities and products, and to temporarily postpone routine surveillance inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities. Subsequently, in July 2020 the FDA resumed certain on-site inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities on a risk-based prioritization system. The FDA intends to use this risk-based assessment system to identify the categories of regulatory activity that can occur within a given geographic area, ranging from mission critical inspections to resumption of all regulatory activities. Regulatory authorities outside the United States may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs,successfully develop, or if global health concerns continue to prevent the FDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews, ordo not approve, neffy for any other regulatory activities, it could significantly impactindication, our potential for growth and achieving our strategic objectives may be impaired.

We may not be successful in our efforts to expand our pipeline by identifying additional indications for which to investigate neffy in the ability of the FDA or other regulatory authorities to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

future. We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidateindication or indicationformulation for neffy and fail to capitalize on product candidates, indications or indicationsformulations that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we must prioritize our research programs and will need to focus our discovery and developmentare focused on select product candidates and

indications. Correctly prioritizing our research and development activities is particularly importantspecific indications for us due to the breadth of potential product candidates and indications that we believe could be pursued using our platform technologies.neffy. As a result, we may foregofail to generate additional clinical development opportunities for neffy for a number of reasons, including, that neffy may in certain indications, on further study, be shown to have harmful side effects, limited to no efficacy or other characteristics that suggest it is unlikely to receive marketing approval and achieve market acceptance in such additional indications. In addition, we may forgo or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that later prove tocould have had greater commercial potential.potential or likelihood of success. Furthermore, research activities to identify additional indications for neffy require substantial technical, financial and human resources. We may not be able to develop neffy for any additional indications based on resource allocation decisions and other reasons. 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 research and development programs and product candidatesactivities for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate,

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Additionally, we may also relinquish valuable rightspursue in-licenses or acquisitions of development-stage assets or programs, which entails additional risk to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole developmentus. Identifying, selecting and commercialization rights to such product candidate.

We may not be successful in our efforts to identify or discover additionalacquiring promising product candidates in the future.

Our research programs may initially show promise in identifying potential product candidates, yet fail to yield product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons, including:

our inability to design such product candidates with the properties that we desire; or

potential product candidates may, on 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.

Research programs to identify new product candidates requirerequires substantial technical, financial and human resources.resources expertise. Efforts to do so may not result in the actual acquisition or license of a particular product candidate, potentially resulting in a diversion of our management’s time and the expenditure of our resources with no resulting benefit.

For example, if we are unable to identify programs that ultimately result in approved products, we may spend material amounts of our capital and other resources evaluating, acquiring and developing products that ultimately do not provide a return on our investment.

Competitive products may reduce or eliminate the commercial opportunity for neffy for its current or future indications. If our competitors develop technologies or product candidates more rapidly than us, or their technologies or product candidates are more effective or safer than ours, our ability to develop and successfully commercialize neffy may be adversely affected.

The clinical and commercial landscape for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions is highly competitive and subject to significant technological change. We face competition with respect to our current indications for neffy and will face competition with respect to any future indications of neffy or other product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future from large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug companies, academic institutions, government agencies and research institutions. If approved, we anticipate that neffy will compete primarily against epinephrine intra-muscular injectable products, for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions including EpiPen® and its generics, which is marketed by Viatris, Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Adrenaclick®, which is marketed by Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Auvi-Q®, which is marketed by Kaleo, Inc.; and Symjepi®, which is marketed by Sandoz, Inc., a Novartis division. Several other companies are also clinically developing larger dose intranasal epinephrine product candidates that may compete with neffy, including Bryn Pharma, Nasus Pharma and Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (previously INSYS Therapeutics, Inc.), Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is developing an intranasal candidate with an undisclosed dose, and Aquestive Therapeutics is developing a sublingual candidate based on a prodrug of epinephrine. If neffy is approved for other indications, it would also compete with a range of other therapeutic treatments that are well established or in development.

Many of our potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical, commercial and human resources than we do and significantly more experience in the discovery, development and regulatory approval of product candidates and the commercialization of those products. Accordingly, our competitors may be more successful than we may be in obtaining regulatory approval for therapies and achieving widespread market acceptance. Our competitors’ products may be more effective, safer, or more effectively marketed and sold, than any product candidate we may commercialize and may render neffy or any future product candidates obsolete or non-competitive before we can recover development and commercialization expenses. In addition, our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing technologies and drug products that are more effective or less costly than neffy or any future product candidates that we may develop, which could render such product candidates obsolete and noncompetitive.

If we obtain approval for neffy or any other future product candidate, we may face competition based on many different factors, including the efficacy, safety and tolerability of our products, the ease with which our products can be administered, the timing and scope of regulatory approvals for these products, the availability and cost of manufacturing, marketing and sales capabilities, price, reimbursement coverage and patent position. Such competitors could also recruit our employees, which could negatively impact our level of expertise and our ability to execute our business plan.

In addition, our competitors may obtain patent protection, regulatory exclusivities or regulatory approval and commercialize products more rapidly than we do, which may impact future approvals or sales of any of our product candidates that receive regulatory approval. If the FDA or the EMA approves the marketing and commercial sale of neffy or any future product candidate, we will also be competing with respect to marketing capabilities and manufacturing efficiency. We expect competition among products will be based on product efficacy and safety, the timing and scope of regulatory approvals, availability of supply, marketing and sales capabilities, product price, reimbursement coverage by government and private third-party payors, regulatory exclusivities and patent position. Our profitability and financial position will suffer if our product candidates receive regulatory approval but cannot compete effectively in the marketplace.

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

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If the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities approve generic versions of neffy or any future product candidate of ours that receives regulatory approval, or such authorities do not grant our products appropriate periods of non-patent exclusivity before approving generic versions of such products, the sales of such products could be adversely affected.

In the United States, once an NDA is approved, the product covered thereby becomes a “reference listed drug” in the FDA’s publication, “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” or the Orange Book. Manufacturers may seek approval of generic versions of reference listed drugs through submission of ANDAs in the United States. In support of an ANDA, a generic manufacturer generally must show that its product has the same active ingredient(s), dosage form, strength, route of administration, and adequate labeling as the reference listed drug and that the generic version is bioequivalent to the reference listed drug, meaning, in part, that it is absorbed in the body at the same rate and to the same extent. Generic products may be significantly less costly to bring to market than the reference listed drug and companies that produce generic products are generally able to offer them at lower prices. Moreover, third-party insurers require, and many states allow or require, substitution of therapeutically equivalent generic drugs at the pharmacy level even if the branded drug is prescribed. Thus, following the introduction of a generic drug, a significant percentage of the sales of any branded product or reference listed drug may be lost to the generic product.

The FDA may not finally approve an ANDA for a generic product or a Section 505(b)(2) NDA of a competitor until any applicable period of non-patent exclusivity for the reference listed drug has expired. The FDCA provides a period of five years of non-patent exclusivity for a new drug containing a new chemical entity (“NCE”). For the purposes of this provision, an NCE is a drug that contains no active moiety that has previously been approved by the FDA in any other NDA. An active moiety is the molecule or ion responsible for the physiological or pharmacological action of the drug substance. Specifically, in cases where such exclusivity has been granted, an ANDA may not be filed with the FDA until the expiration of five years unless the submission is accompanied by a Paragraph IV certification that a patent covering the listed drug is invalid, unenforceable or will not be infringed by the generic product. In that case, the applicant may submit its application four years following approval of the listed drug and seek to launch its generic product even if we still have patent protection for our product unless an infringement suit is timely filed by the NDA or patent holder in which case the FDA cannot approve the ANDA or a Section 505(b)(2) NDA for 30 months unless a court decision in favor of the generic manufacturer is issued earlier.

Competition that neffy or any future products, if approved, may face from competitor versions of such products could negatively impact our future revenue, profitability and cash flows and substantially limit our ability to obtain a return on our investments in those product candidates. Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of neffy or any future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory approval of those product candidates in other jurisdictions.

Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of neffy and any future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain regulatory approval in any other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. For example, even if a regulatory authority, such as the EMA, grants marketing approval of neffy, comparable regulatory authorities in the United States and other foreign jurisdictions must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of neffy in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the United States or the EU including additional nonclinical studies or clinical trials, as clinical trials conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States including certain jurisdictions in the EU, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval.

We have submitted and plan to submit additional marketing applications in the United States and in the EU. Regulatory authorities in jurisdictions outside of the United States have requirements for approval of product candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those jurisdictions and such regulatory requirements can vary widely from country to country. Obtaining other regulatory approvals and compliance with other regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could require additional nonclinical studies or clinical trials, which could be costly and time-consuming and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries. The foreign regulatory approval process involves all of the risks associated with FDA approval. We do not have any product candidates approved for sale in any jurisdiction, including international markets, and we do not have experience in obtaining regulatory approval in either domestic or international markets. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or obtain and maintain applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of neffy or any future product candidates will be harmed.

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We received Fast Track designation for neffy in the United States and may in the future pursue Fast Track designation for other product candidates that we may develop, but we might not receive such future designations, and Fast Track designations may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process.

If the FDA determines that a product candidate is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and preclinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need for this condition, the FDA may grant a product candidate Fast Track designation. Fast Track designation is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for reviewing new drug products meeting the specified criteria and gives the sponsor of a Fast Track product opportunities for more frequent interactions with the applicable FDA review team during product development and, once an NDA is submitted, the product candidate may be eligible for priority review. We were granted Fast Track designation for neffy for the treatment of Type I allergic reactions and may in the future request Fast Track designation for additional indications for neffy or for any future product candidates, however, we cannot assume that any such applications will meet the criteria for that designation. The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant this designation, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for this designation, we cannot assure you that the FDA would decide to grant it. Even if we do receive Fast Track Designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. The FDA may rescind the Fast Track designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development activities.

We may seek priority review by the FDA for neffy or a future product candidate, and we may be unsuccessful. If we are successful, the designation may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process.

A priority review designation means that the goal for the FDA to review an application is six months, rather than the standard review period of ten months. We may in the future request priority review designation for neffy and any future product candidates, however, we cannot assume that any application for priority review will meet the criteria for that designation. A product is eligible for priority review if it is designed to treat a serious condition, and if approved, would provide a significant improvement in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a serious condition compared to marketed products. The FDA has broad discretion with respect to whether or not to grant priority review status to a product candidate, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for such designation or status, the FDA may decide not to grant it. Moreover, a priority review designation does not necessarily mean a faster development or regulatory review or approval process or necessarily confer any advantage with respect to approval compared to standard FDA review and approval. Receiving priority review from the FDA does not guarantee approval within the six-month review cycle or at all.

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Product liability lawsuits against us or any of our current and future licensing and collaboration partners could divert our resources and attention, cause us to incur substantial liabilities and limit commercialization of neffy or any future product candidates.

We are exposed to potential product liability and professional indemnity risks that are inherent in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and use of pharmaceutical products. Currently, we have no products that have been approved for commercial sale; however, the use of neffy by us and any current and future licensing and collaboration partners in clinical trials, and the sale of neffy, if approved, in the future, may expose us to liability claims. Product liability claims may be brought against us or our partners by participants enrolled in our clinical trials, patients, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, our current and future licensing and collaboration partners or others using, administering or selling any of our future approved products. If we cannot successfully defend ourself against any such claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of neffy or any future product candidates. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

decreased demand for any of our future approved products;

injury to our reputation;

withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

termination of clinical trial sites or entire trial programs;

significant litigation costs, including with respect to potential class action lawsuits;

substantial monetary awards to, or costly settlements with, patients or other claimants;

product recalls or a change in the indications for which they may be used;

loss of revenue;

diversion of management and scientific resources from our business operations; and

the inability to commercialize neffy or any future product candidates.

Although the clinical trial process is designed to identify and assess potential side effects and adverse events, clinical development does not always fully characterize the safety and efficacy profile of a new drug, and it is always possible that a drug, even after regulatory approval, may exhibit unforeseen side effects. If neffy was to cause adverse events or side effects during clinical trials or after approval, we may be exposed to substantial liabilities. Physicians and patients may not comply with any warnings that identify known potential adverse effects, side effects, and patients who should not use neffy or any of our future product candidates. If any of our current or future product candidates, including neffy, are approved for marketing and commercial sale, we will be highly dependent upon consumer perceptions of us and the safety and quality of our products. We could be adversely affected if we are subject to negative publicity associated with illness or other adverse effects resulting from patients’ use or misuse of our products or any similar products distributed by other companies.

Although we maintain product liability insurance coverage in the amount of up to $5.0 million in the aggregate, including clinical trial liability, this insurance may not fully cover potential liabilities that we may incur. The cost of any product liability litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. We will need to increase our insurance coverage if we commercialize neffy or any future product candidate that receives regulatory approval. In addition, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive. If we are unable to identify suitablemaintain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, it could prevent or inhibit the development and commercial production and sale of neffy or any future product candidates, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

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If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could harm our business.

We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. From time to time and in the future, our operations may involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials, and may also produce hazardous waste products. Even if we contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and waste products, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from the use or disposal of our hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties for failure to comply with such laws and regulations.

We maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees, but this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. However, we do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us.

In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Environmental laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. In addition, failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.

Our business activities may be subject to the FCPA and similar anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws of other countries in which we may operate, as well as U.S. and certain foreign export controls, trade sanctions, and import laws and regulations. Compliance with these legal requirements could limit our ability to compete in foreign markets and subject us to liability if we violate them.

If we further expand our operations outside of the United States, we must dedicate additional resources to comply with numerous laws and regulations in each jurisdiction in which we plan to operate. Our business activities may be subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and similar anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws, regulations or rules of other countries in which we operate. The FCPA generally prohibits companies and their employees and third-party intermediaries from offering, promising, giving or authorizing the provision of anything of value, either directly or indirectly, to a non-U.S. government official in order to influence official action or otherwise obtain or retain business. The FCPA also requires public companies to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the transactions of the corporation and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls. Our business is heavily regulated and therefore involves significant interaction with public officials, including officials of non-U.S. governments. Additionally, in many other countries, hospitals owned and operated by the government, and doctors and other hospital employees would be considered foreign officials under the FCPA. Recently the SEC and Department of Justice have increased their FCPA enforcement activities with respect to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. There is no certainty that all of our employees, agents or contractors, or those of our affiliates, will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, particularly given the high level of complexity of these laws. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or employees, disgorgement, and other sanctions and remedial measures, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Any such violations could include prohibitions on our ability to offer neffy or any future product candidates in one or more countries and could materially damage our reputation, brand, international activities, ability to attract and retain employees, and business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

In addition, neffy and any of our future product candidates and activities may be subject to U.S. and foreign export controls, trade sanctions and import laws and regulations. Governmental regulation of the import or export of neffy or any future product candidates, or our failure to obtain any required import or export authorization for preclinicalneffy or any future product candidates, when applicable, could harm our international sales and clinical development,adversely affect our opportunitiesrevenue. Compliance with applicable regulatory requirements regarding the export of neffy or any future product candidates may create delays in the introduction of our product candidates in international markets or, in some cases, prevent the export of our product candidates to successfully developsome countries altogether. Furthermore, U.S. export control laws and commercialize therapeuticeconomic sanctions prohibit the shipment of certain products and services to countries, governments, and persons targeted by U.S. sanctions. If we fail to comply with export and import regulations and such economic sanctions, penalties could be imposed, including fines and/or denial of certain export privileges. Moreover, any new export or import restrictions, new legislation or shifting approaches in the enforcement or scope of existing regulations, or in the countries, persons, or products targeted by such regulations, could result in decreased use of neffy or any future product candidates by, or in our decreased ability to export neffy or any future product candidates to existing or potential customers with international operations. Any decreased use of neffy or any future product candidates or limitation on our ability to export or sell access to neffy or any future product candidates would likely adversely affect our business.

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Cyber-attacks or other failures in our telecommunications or information technology systems, or those of our licensing and collaboration partners, CROs, third-party logistics providers, distributors or other contractors or consultants, could result in information theft, data corruption and significant disruption of our business operations.

We, our licensing and collaboration partners, our CROs, third-party logistics providers, distributors and other contractors and consultants utilize information technology (“IT”) systems and networks to process, transmit and store electronic information in connection with our business activities. As use of digital technologies has increased, cyber incidents, including third parties gaining access to employee accounts using stolen or inferred credentials, computer malware, viruses, spamming or other means, and deliberate attacks and attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks, have increased in frequency and sophistication. Cyber-attacks also could include phishing attempts or e-mail fraud to cause payments or information to be transmitted to an unintended recipient. These threats pose a risk to the security of our, our licensing and collaboration partners’, our CROs’, third-party logistics providers’, distributors’ and other contractors’ and consultants’ systems and networks, and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data. There can be no assurance that we will be limited.successful in preventing cyber-attacks or successfully mitigating their effects. Similarly, there can be no assurance that our licensing and collaboration partners, CROs, third-party logistics providers, distributors and other contractors and consultants will be successful in protecting our clinical and other data that is stored on their systems. Any cyber-attack, data breach or destruction or loss of data could result in a violation of applicable U.S. and international privacy, data protection and other laws, and subject us to litigation and governmental investigations and proceedings by federal, state and local regulatory entities in the United States and by international regulatory entities, resulting in exposure to material civil and/or criminal liability. Further, our general liability insurance and corporate risk program may not cover all potential claims to which we are exposed and may not be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that maybe imposed; and could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed, ongoing or future clinical trials for neffy or any of our future product candidates could result in delays in our development and regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. In addition, we may suffer reputational harm or face litigation or adverse regulatory action as a result of cyber-attacks or other data security breaches and may incur significant additional expense to implement further data protection measures.

Risks Related to Manufacturing, Commercialization and RelianceOur Dependence on Third Parties

We intend to rely completely on third parties to manufacture and distribute our supply of neffy and intend to rely on third parties to manufacture and distribute any future product candidates.

We do not currently have, nor do we plan to acquire, the infrastructure or capability to manufacture or distribute commercial quantities of neffy. Our ability to commercially supply neffy, if approved, depends, in part, on the ability of third-party manufacturers to supply and manufacture neffy, the raw materials, API and other important components related to the manufacture of neffy, including Intravail® and our nasal sprayer apparatus. We also intend to rely on third parties to label and package the finished product. These third-party manufacturers may have limited experience manufacturing neffy, the raw materials and API for neffy to be supplied to patients in the United States. While we will work with our third-party suppliers and manufacturers to optimize the manufacturing process for neffy and any future product candidates, if approved, we cannot guarantee that such efforts will be successful. If we fail to develop and maintain supply relationships with these third parties, we may be unable to successfully commercialize neffy or any future product candidate, if approved.

We have entered into a commercial supply agreement with Renaissance Lakewood LLC (“Renaissance”), which has been actively involved in supporting the manufacture of neffy in our clinical development, and we intend to rely on Renaissance as the primary source for drug product manufacturing and final packaging. Unless and until we can secure an alternative source for drug product manufacturing and final packaging, our dependence on Renaissance will subject us to the possible risks of shortages, interruptions and price fluctuations if neffy is approved for commercialization.

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We may be unable to maintain or establish required agreements with third-party manufacturers or to do so on acceptable terms. Even if we are able to establish agreements with third-party manufacturers, reliance on third-party manufacturers entails additional risks, including:

the failure of the third party to manufacture neffy or any future product candidates according to our schedule, or at all, including if our third-party contractors give greater priority to the supply of other products over our products or product candidates or otherwise do not satisfactorily perform according to the terms of the agreements between us and them;

the reduction or termination of production or deliveries by suppliers, or the raising of prices or renegotiation of terms;

the termination or nonrenewal of arrangements or agreements by our third-party contractors at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us;

the breach by the third-party contractors of our agreements with them;

the failure of third-party contractors to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, whether related to neffy or another product;

the failure of the third party to manufacture our product candidates according to our specifications;

the mislabeling of clinical supplies, potentially resulting in the wrong dose amounts being supplied or study drug or placebo not being properly identified;

clinical supplies not being delivered to clinical sites on time, leading to clinical trial interruptions, or of drug supplies not being distributed to commercial vendors in a timely manner, resulting in lost sales; and

the misappropriation of our proprietary information, including our trade secrets and know-how.

We do not have complete control over all aspects of the manufacturing process of, and are dependent on, our contract manufacturing partners for compliance with cGMP regulations for manufacturing both active drug substances and finished drug products. Third-party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMP regulations or similar regulatory requirements outside of the United States. If our contract manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA and other foreign regulatory authorities, this could affect the review of the NDA submitted for neffy or post-approval sales. In addition, other than to conduct audits, we do not have control over the ability of our contract manufacturers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority does not approve these facilities for the manufacture of neffy or any future product candidates or if it withdraws any such approval in the future, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain marketing approvals for or commercialize neffy or any future product candidate. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, application review delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, import alerts, seizures or recalls of product candidates or drugs, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of neffy or any of our future product candidates or drugs and harm our business and results of operations. Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of neffy or any future product candidates or drugs may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to commercialize neffy or any future product candidate that receives marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.

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We rely on third parties to conduct supervise,our nonclinical studies and monitor our clinical trials and perform some of our research and preclinical studies.trials. If these third parties do not satisfactorilysuccessfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with applicable regulatory requirements or fail to meet expected deadlines, our development programs and our ability to seek or obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize neffy or any future product candidates may be delayed or subject to increased costs, each of which may have an adverse effect on our business and prospects.delayed.

We do not have the ability to conduct all aspects of our preclinical testing or clinical trials ourselves. As a result, we are and expect to remain dependent on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies, including GLP toxicologynonclinical studies and ongoing Phase 1/1bany clinical trialtrials. Specifically, we have used and any futurerelied on, and intend to continue to use and rely on, medical institutions, clinical investigators, CROs and consultants to conduct our nonclinical studies and past clinical trials of our product candidates. Specifically, CROs that manage preclinical studies, GLP toxicology studies andin accordance with our clinical studies as well as clinicalprotocols and regulatory requirements. These CROs, investigators and consultantsother third parties play a significant role in the conduct of our preclinical studies and clinical trials and the subsequent collection and analysis of data. The timing of the initiation and completion of these studies and trialstrials. While we have and will therefore be partially controlled by such third parties and may result in delays tohave agreements governing the activities of our development programs.third-party contractors, we have limited influence over their actual performance. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our preclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol and legal, requirements,regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on theour CROs and other third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our CROs are required to comply with GLP and GCP requirements, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these GLP and GCP requirementsGCPs through

periodic inspections of preclinical study sites, trial sponsors, clinical trialprincipal investigators and clinical trial sites. If we or any of our CROs or clinical trial sites fail to comply with applicable GLP or GCP requirements,GCPs, the clinical data generated in our preclinical studies and clinical trials may be deemed unreliable, and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional preclinical or clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with productproducts produced under cGMP regulations. Our failure to comply with these regulations may require us to stop and/or repeat clinical trials, which would delay the marketingregulatory approval process.

There is no guarantee that any suchof our CROs, clinical trial investigators or other third parties on which we rely will devote adequate time and resources to our development activitiessuch trials or studies or perform as contractually required. These risks are heightened as a result of the efforts of government agencies and the CROs themselves to limit the spread of COVID-19, including quarantines and shelter-in-place orders. If any of these third parties fail to meet expected deadlines, adhere to our clinical protocols or meet regulatory requirements, or otherwise performs in a substandard manner, or terminates its engagement with us, the timelines for our development programsclinical trials may be extended, or delayed or terminated. In addition, many of the third parties with whom we contract may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other development activities may be suspended or terminated. If any ofthat could harm our clinical trial sites terminates for any reason, we may experience the loss of follow-up information on subjects enrolled in such clinical trials unless we are able to transfer those subjects to another qualified clinical trial site, which may be difficult or impossible.competitive position. In addition, clinical trialprincipal investigators for our clinical trials mayare expected to serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and may receive cash or equity compensation in connection with such services. If these relationships and any related compensation result in perceived or actual conflicts of interest, or the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority concludes that the financial relationship may have affected the interpretation of the trial,study, the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site may be questioned and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized, which could result in the delay or rejection of any marketing application we submit by the FDA orof any comparable foreign regulatory authority.NDA we submit. Any such delay or rejection could prevent us from commercializing ourneffy or any future product candidates.

Furthermore,Our CROs have the right to terminate their agreements with us in the event of an uncured material breach. In addition, some of our CROs have an ability to terminate their respective agreements with us if it can be reasonably demonstrated that the safety of the subjects participating in our clinical trials warrants such termination, if we make a general assignment for the benefit of our creditors or if we are liquidated. If any of our relationships with these third parties may also have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, we will not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, marketing approvals for our product candidates and will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize our products.

We contract with third parties for the manufacturing and supply of certain of our product candidates for use in preclinical testing and clinical trials, which supply may become limited or interrupted or may not be of satisfactory quality and quantity.

We do not have any manufacturing facilities. We produce in our laboratory relatively small quantities of product for evaluation in our research programs. We rely on third parties for the manufacture of a portion of our product candidates for preclinical testing and all of our product candidates for clinical testing and we will continue to rely on such third parties for commercial manufacture if any of our product candidates are approved. We currently have limited manufacturing arrangements and expect that each of our product candidates, including SBT6050, will only be covered by single source suppliers for the foreseeable future. This reliance increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or products, if approved, or such quantities at an acceptable cost or quality, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.

Furthermore, all entities involved in the preparation of therapeutics for clinical trials or commercial sale, including our existing contract manufacturers for our product candidates, are subject to extensive

regulation. Components of a finished therapeutic product approved for commercial sale or used in clinical trials must be manufactured in accordance with cGMP requirements. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures, including record keeping, and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational products and products approved for sale. Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of contaminants, or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of our product candidates that may not be detectable in final product testing. We or our contract manufacturers must supply all necessary documentation in support of a BLA on a timely basis and must adhere to the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice regulations and cGMP regulations enforced by the FDA through its facilities inspection program. Comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require compliance with similar requirements. The facilities and quality systems of our third-party contract manufacturers must pass a pre-approval inspection for compliance with the applicable regulations as a condition of marketing approval of our product candidates. We do not control the manufacturing activities of, and are completely dependent on, our contract manufacturers for compliance with cGMP regulations.

In the event that any of our manufacturers fails to comply with such requirements or to perform its obligations to us in relation to quality, timing or otherwise, or if our supply of components or other materials becomes limited or interrupted for other reasons, including due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we may be forced to manufacture the materials ourselves, for which we currently do not have the capabilities or resources, or enter into an agreement with another third-party, whichterminate, we may not be able to doenter into arrangements with alternative third parties on commercially reasonable terms ifor at all. In particular, any replacement ofSwitching or adding additional CROs, investigators and other third parties involves additional cost and requires our manufacturers could require significant effortmanagement’s time and expertise because there may be a limited number of qualified replacements. In some cases, the technical skills or technology required to manufacture our product candidates may be unique or proprietary to the original manufacturer and we may have difficulty transferring such skills or technology to another third-party and a feasible alternative may not exist.focus. In addition, certain of our product candidates and our own proprietary methods have never been produced or implemented outside of our company, and we may therefore experience delays to our development programs if andthere is a natural transition period when we attempt to establish new third-party manufacturing arrangements for these product candidates or methods. These factors would increase our reliance on such manufacturer or require us to obtain a license from such manufacturer in order to have another third-party manufacture our product candidates. If we are required to or voluntarily change manufacturers for any reason, we will be required to verify that the new manufacturer maintains facilities and procedures that comply with quality standards and with all applicable regulations and guidelines and that the product produced is equivalent to that produced in a prior facility. The delays associated with the verification of a new manufacturer and equivalent product could negatively affectCRO commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can materially impact our ability to develop product candidates in a timely manner or within budget.

Our or a third-party’s failure to execute on our manufacturing requirements, do so on commercially reasonable terms and timelines and comply with cGMP requirements could adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including:

inability to meet our product specificationsdesired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, investigators and quality requirements consistently;

an inability to initiate or continue clinical trials of our product candidates under development;

delay in submitting regulatory applications, or receiving marketing approvals, for our product candidates, if at all;

loss of the cooperation of future collaborators;

subjecting third-party manufacturing facilities or our manufacturing facilities to additional inspections by regulatory authorities;

requirements to cease development or to recall batches of our product candidates; and

in the event of approval to market and commercialize our product candidates, an inability to meet commercial demands for our product or any other future product candidates.

Manufacturing antibody drug conjugate products is complex and our third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties in production. If any of our third-party manufacturers encounter such difficulties, our ability to provide supply of our product candidates for clinical trials or our products for patients, if approved, couldthird parties, there can be delayed or prevented.

Manufacturing antibody drug conjugate products is complex and require the use of innovative technologies to handle living cells. Manufacturing these products requires facilities specifically designed for and validated for this purpose and sophisticated quality assurance and quality control procedures are necessary. Slight deviations anywhere in the manufacturing process, including filling, labeling, packaging, storage and shipping and quality control and testing, may result in lot failures, product recalls or spoilage. When changes are made to the manufacturing process, we may be required to provide preclinical and clinical data showing the comparable identity, strength, quality, purity or potency of the products before and after such changes. If microbial, viral or other contaminations are discovered at manufacturing facilities, such facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination, which could delay clinical trials and adversely harm our business. The use of biologically derived ingredients can also lead to allegations of harm, including infections or allergic reactions, or closure of product facilities due to possible contamination.

In addition, there are risks associated with large scale manufacturing for clinical trials or commercial scale including, among others, cost overruns, potential problems with process scale-up, process reproducibility, stability issues, compliance with good manufacturing practices, lot consistency, significant lead times and timely availability of raw materials. Even if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, there is no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or our manufacturersdelays in the future or that these delays or challenges will be able to manufacture the approved product to specifications acceptable to the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to produce it in sufficient quantities to meet the requirements for the potential commercial launch of the product or to meet potential future demand. If our manufacturers are unable to produce sufficient quantities for clinical trials or for commercialization, our development and commercialization efforts would be impaired, which wouldnot have ana material adverse effectimpact on our business, financial condition results of operations and growth prospects.

Due to the early nature of our product candidates, the drug product may not be stable over time causing changes to be made to the manufacturing or storage process which may result in delays or stopping

We are dependent on international third-party licensees and assignees for the development and commercialization of neffy in several countries outside the United States. The failure of these third parties to meet their contractual, regulatory or other obligations could adversely affect our business.

We have entered into exclusive licensing and collaboration agreements for the development and commercialization of neffy with Alfresa Pharma in Japan and Pediatrix Therapeutics in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. As a result, we are dependent on these parties to achieve regulatory approval of neffy for marketing in these countries and for the commercialization of neffy, if approved. The timing and amount of any milestone and royalty payments we may receive under these agreements, as well as the commercial success of neffy in those regions outside of the product candidate.

Changes in methods of product candidate manufacturing may result in additional costs or delays.

As product candidates progress through preclinical to late-stage clinical trials to marketing approval and commercialization, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize yield, manufacturing batch size, change drug product dosage form, minimize costs and achieve consistent quality and results. Such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives. Any of these changes could cause our product candidates to perform differently and affect the results of planned clinical trials or other future clinical trials conducted with the altered materials. This could delay completion of clinical trials, require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of our product candidates and jeopardize our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate revenue.

Any approved products may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers, healthcare payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.

If any of our product candidates receive marketing approval, they may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community. For example, current cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy are well established in the medical community, and physicians may continue to rely on these treatments. Most of our product candidates target mechanisms for which there are limited or no currently approved products, which may result in slower adoption by physicians, patients and payors. If our product candidates do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenue and we may not become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale,United States, will depend on, a numberamong other things, the efforts, allocation of factors, including:

efficacyresources and potential advantages comparedsuccessful commercialization of neffy by Alfresa Pharma and Pediatrix Therapeutics. We also depend on such licensing and collaboration partners to alternative treatments;

comply with all applicable laws relative to the development and commercialization of neffy in those countries. They may take actions or fail to take actions that result in safety issues with neffy in their licensed territory, and such safety issues could negatively impact neffy in countries outside of the licensed territory. We do not control the individual efforts of our licensing and collaboration partners and have limited ability to offerterminate these agreements or have assigned assets returned to us if such licensing and collaboration partners do not perform as anticipated.

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The failure of our productslicensing and collaboration partners to devote sufficient time and effort to the development and commercialization of neffy; to meet their obligations to us, including for sale at competitive prices;

conveniencefuture royalty and easemilestone payments; to adequately deploy business continuity plans in the event of administration compareda crisis; to alternative treatments;

adequately respond to the willingnessadverse impact of military action, sanctions and market disruptions; and/or to satisfactorily resolve significant disagreements with us or address other factors could have an adverse impact on our financial results and operations. In addition, if these third parties violate, or are alleged to have violated, any laws or regulations during the targetperformance of their obligations for us, including with respect to safety, patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies;

the strength of marketingdata privacy, antitrust, and distribution support;bribery and

the prevalence corruption, it is possible that we could suffer financial and severity of any side effects.

reputational harm or other negative outcomes, including possible legal consequences and liabilities. We may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates, if approved, due to unfavorable pricing regulations or third-party coveragesuccessful in enforcing the terms and reimbursement policies, which could make it difficult for us to sell our product candidates profitably.

Obtaining coverage and reimbursement approval for a product from a government or other third-party payor is a time-consuming and costly process, with uncertain results, that could require us to provide supporting scientific, clinical and cost effectiveness data for the useconditions of our productslicensing and collaboration agreements in court or via agreed upon dispute resolution mechanisms, and even if we were to prevail in any such dispute, the payor. There may be significant delays in obtaining such coverage and reimbursement for newly approved products, and coverageremedies may not be available, or may be more limited than the purposes for which the product is approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Moreover, eligibility for coverage and reimbursement does not imply that a product will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, intellectual property, manufacture, sale and distribution expenses. Interim reimbursement levels for new products, if applicable, may also not be sufficientadequate to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the product and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost products and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for products may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors, by any future laws limiting drug prices and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of product from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States.

There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, there is no uniform policy among third-party payors for coverage and reimbursement. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting reimbursement policies, but also have their own methods and approval process apart from Medicare coverage and reimbursement determinations. Therefore, one third-party payor’s determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coveragecompensate us for the product.

Coverage and reimbursement by a third-party payor may depend upon a numberlosses. Any termination, breach or expiration of factors, including the third-party payor’s determination that useany of a product is:

a covered benefit under its health plan;

safe, effective and medically necessary;

appropriate for the specific patient;

cost-effective; and

neither experimental nor investigational.

We cannot be sure that reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize and, if coverage and reimbursement are available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Obtaining reimbursement for our products may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated with branded therapeutics and therapeutics administered under the supervision of a physician. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved products that we developthese licensing or collaboration agreements could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our abilityfinancial position by reducing or eliminating the potential for us to raise capital needed to commercialize productsreceive license fees, milestones and our overall financial condition.

Reimbursement may impact the demand for, and the price of, any product for which we obtain marketing approval. Even if we obtain coverage for a given product by a third-party payor, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Patients who are prescribed medications for the treatment of their conditions, and their prescribing physicians, generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with those medications. Patients are unlikely to use our products unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover all or a significant portion of the cost of our products. Therefore, coverage and adequate reimbursement are critical to a new product’s acceptance. Coverage decisions may depend upon clinical and economic standards that disfavor new products when more established or lower cost therapeutic alternatives are already available or subsequently become available.

For products administered under the supervision of a physician, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated withroyalties. In such drugs. Additionally, separate reimbursement for the product itself may or may not be available. Instead, the hospital or administering physician may be reimbursed only for providing the treatment or procedure in which our product is used. Further, from time to time, CMS revises the reimbursement systems used to reimburse health care providers, including the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, which may result in reduced Medicare payments.

We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of any of our product candidates due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations, and additional legislative changes. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription medicines, medical devices and surgical procedures and other treatments, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the successful commercialization of new products. Further, the adoption and implementation of any future governmental cost containment or other health reform initiative may result in additional downward pressure on the price that we may receive for any approved product.

Additionally, we or our collaborators may develop companion diagnostic tests for use with our product candidates. We, or our collaborators, will be required to obtain coverage and reimbursement

for these tests separate and apart from the coverage and reimbursement we may seek for our product candidates. While we have not yet developed any companion diagnostic tests for our product candidates, if we do, there is significant uncertainty regarding our ability to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement for the same reasons applicable to our product candidates.

Outside of the United States, many countries require approval of the sale price of a product before it can be marketed, and the pricing review period only begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some of these countries,an event, we may be required to conductdevote additional efforts and to incur additional costs associated with pursuing regulatory approval and commercialization of neffy. Alternatively, we may attempt to identify and transact with a clinical trialnew assignee or licensee, but there can be no assurance that compareswe would be able to identify a suitable partner or transact on terms that are favorable to us. For example, in February 2023, we terminated the cost-effectivenessRecordati License and Supply Agreement, which eliminated the potential for us to receive milestone and royalty payments from Recordati under the Recordati License and Supply Agreement. We intend to pursue strategic partnerships for the commercialization of ourneffy in additional regions outside of the United States, subject to FDA approval of neffy, including the regions previously licensed to Recordati, but there can be no assurance that we would be able to identify a suitable partner or transaction on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, under the termination agreement with Recordati (the “Termination Agreement”), we are obligated to pay certain milestone and royalty payments to Recordati.

We may seek to enter into additional collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements for neffy or any future product candidate to other available therapies. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a product candidate in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, and negatively impact the revenue, if any, we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates, even if such product candidates obtain marketing approval.

Our product candidates for which we intend to seek approval as biologic products may face competition sooner than anticipated.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the Affordable Care Act) signed into law on March 23, 2010, includes a subtitle called the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA) which created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that are biosimilar to or interchangeable with an FDA-licensed reference biological product. Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product may not be submittedsuccessful in doing so, and even if we are, we may relinquish valuable rights and may not realize the benefits of such relationships.

We may seek to enter into collaborations, joint ventures, licenses and other similar arrangements for the FDA until four years following the date that the referencedevelopment or commercialization of neffy in other geographic regions or of any future product was first licensed by the FDA. In addition, the approval of a biosimilarcandidates, due to capital costs required to develop or commercialize neffy or any future product candidate or manufacturing constraints. Such collaborative efforts may not be made effective by the FDA until 12 years from the date on which the referenceprofitable. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish or maintain such collaborations for neffy or any future product was first licensed. During this 12-year period of exclusivity, another companycandidates because our research and development pipeline may still market a competing version of the reference product if the FDA approves a full BLA for the competing product containing the sponsor’s own preclinical data and data from adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity and potency of their product.

We believe that any ofbe insufficient, our product candidates approved asmay be deemed to be at too early of a biological product under a BLA should qualifystage of development for the 12-year period of exclusivity. However, there is a risk that this exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action, court decisionscollaborative effort or otherwise, or that the FDA willthird parties may not considerview our product candidates as having the requisite potential to demonstrate safety and efficacy or significant commercial opportunity. In addition, we face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic partners, and the negotiation process can be reference products for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for generic competition sooner than anticipated. Other aspectstime-consuming and complex. We may have to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us, as part of the BPCIA, some of whichany such arrangement, and such arrangements may impact the BPCIA exclusivity provisions, have also been the subject of recent litigation. Moreover, the extent to whichrestrict us from entering into additional agreements with other potential licensing and collaboration partners. We cannot be certain that, following a biosimilar, once approved, will be substituted for any one of our reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biological products is not yet clear, and will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing.

If any approved products are subject to biosimilar competition sooner than we expect,collaboration, license or strategic transaction, we will face significant pricing pressureachieve an economic benefit that justifies such transaction.

Even if we are successful in our efforts to establish such collaborations, the terms that we agree upon may not be favorable to us, and we may not be able to maintain such collaborations if, for example, the development or approval of neffy or any future product candidate is delayed, the safety of neffy or any future product candidate is questioned or the sales of an approved product candidate are unsatisfactory.

In addition, any potential future collaborations may be terminable by our commercial opportunity willstrategic partners, and we may not be limited.

Ifable to adequately protect our rights under these agreements. Furthermore, strategic partners may negotiate for certain rights to control decisions regarding the development and commercialization of neffy or any future product candidate, if approved, and may not conduct those activities in the same manner as we do. Any termination of collaborations we enter into in the future, or any delay in entering into collaborations related to neffy or any future product candidate, could delay the development and commercialization of neffy or any future product candidate and reduce their competitiveness if they reach the market, opportunities for any of our product candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our revenue may be adversely affected, andwhich could have a material adverse effect on our business, may suffer.financial condition and results of operations.

We are focused initially on the development of treatments for cancer. Our projections of addressable patient populations that have the potential to benefit from treatment with our product

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candidates are based on estimates. If any of our estimates are inaccurate, the market opportunities for any of our product candidates could be significantly diminished and have an adverse material impact on our business.

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

Because we currently rely on third parties to research and develop manufacture neffy and to manufacture our product candidates,perform quality testing, we must, at times, share our proprietary information, including trade secrets and know-how, with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technologyinformation, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements, and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with our current and future licensing and collaboration partners, advisors, employees third-party contractors and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, including our trade secrets.proprietary information. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets, know-how and other confidentialproprietary information increases the risk that such trade secretsproprietary information become known by our competitors, are intentionally or inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based,We rely, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary information to develop and maintain our competitive position and a competitor’s independent discovery of our trade secretsproprietary information or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business.business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability

Risks Related to Commercialization of our advisors, employees, third-party contractors and consultants to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets, although our agreements may contain certainneffy or Any Future Product Candidates

We currently have limited publication rights. For example, any academic institution that we may collaborate with will likely expect to be granted rights to publish data arising out of such collaboration and any joint research and development programs may require us to share trade secrets under the terms of our research and developmentmarketing, sales or similar agreements. Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of our agreements with third parties, independent development or publication of information by any of our third-party collaborators. A competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business.

distribution infrastructure. If any of our product candidates are approved for marketing and commercialization and we are unable to establishfully develop our sales, marketing and distribution capability on our own or through collaborations with marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to sell and marketpartners, we may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates,candidates.

We are currently building our marketing, sales or distribution capabilities. As a company we have not commercialized or marketed any products to date. If neffy is approved for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions or other future indications or any future product candidate is approved, we will be unableneed to successfully commercializeexpand our product candidates if and when they are approved.

We have no sales, marketing or distribution capabilities or experience. To achieve commercial success for any approved product for which we retain sales and marketing responsibilities, we must either develop a sales and marketing organization, on our own and in collaboration with third parties, and add further technical expertise and supporting distribution capabilities to commercialize the approved product in key territories, which wouldwill require substantial additional resources. Some or all of these costs may be expensive and time consuming, incurred in advance of any approval of neffy or outsource these functions to other third parties. In theany future we may choose to build a focused sales and marketing infrastructure to sell, or participate in sales activities with our collaborators for, some of our product candidates if and when they are approved.

candidate. There are risks involved with both establishing our own sales, marketing and marketingdistribution capabilities and entering into arrangements with third parties to perform these services. For example, recruiting and training a sales forcecommercial organization is expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch. If the commercial launch of aneffy or any future product candidate 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.

Any failure or delay in the development of our or third parties’ internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of neffy and any future product candidates.

Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize neffy or any future productsproduct candidate on its own include:

our inability to recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;

the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to or persuade adequate numbers of allergists, pediatricians and other physicians to prescribe any future products;

the lack of complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines;

the availability of adequate coverage by and reimbursement from third-party payors; and

unforeseen costs and expenses associated with building out an independent sales and marketing organization.

We entered into exclusive licensing and collaboration agreements for the development and commercialization of neffy with Alfresa Pharma in Japan and Pediatrix Therapeutics in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. These licensing and collaboration partners have direct sales forces and established distribution systems to serve as an alternative to our own include:

our inability to recruitsales force and retain adequate numbersdistribution systems. We may enter into additional licensing and collaboration agreements in other territories for the commercialization of effective sales and marketing personnel;

the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians neffy or educate adequate numbers of physicians on the benefits of prescribing any future products;

the lack of complementary productsproduct candidates, however, we may be unable to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product portfolios; and

unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization.

If we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing and distribution services, oursuch agreements on favorable terms, if at all. Our product revenue or the profitability of these product revenue to us are likely tomay be lower than if we were to market and sell anydirectly marketed or sold our products, that we develop ourselves.if approved. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into arrangements with third parties to sell and market our product candidates or may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. In entering into third-party marketing or distribution arrangements, any revenue we receive will depend in whole or in part upon the efforts of thethese third parties, which may not be successful and we cannot assure youare generally not within our control.

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We also compete with many companies that suchcurrently have extensive, experienced and well-funded sales, distribution and marketing operations to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel. We also face competition in our search for third parties will establish adequateto assist us with the sales and distribution capabilities or devote the necessary resources marketing efforts of neffy and attention to sell and market any future products effectively. product candidates, if approved. 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.

If we do not establishexpand our sales and marketing capabilities successfully, either on our own orand in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing ourneffy or any future product candidates. If we are not successful in commercializing any approved products, our future product revenue will suffer and we may incur significant additional losses.

Furthermore, our efforts to educate patients, caregivers, allergists, pediatricians and other physicians, and payors on the benefits of neffy or any future product candidates may require more resources than we anticipate and may never be successful. Even if neffy or any future product candidates are approved, if we obtain FDA approval ofare unable to successfully market our products successfully, we will not be able to generate significant revenues from such products, if approved.

The market for neffy and any of ourfuture product candidates we may never obtain approval or commercialize such products outsidedevelop may be smaller than we expect.

We have focused our development of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions. We base our market opportunity estimates on a variety of factors, including our estimates of the United States,number of people who have experienced severe Type I allergic reactions and are at risk of anaphylaxis, the continued growth rate of our patient population, the number of those in our patient population who we expect will fill a prescription for neffy, including those that currently do not fill prescriptions for epinephrine intra-muscular injectable devices or whose prescriptions have lapsed, the estimated increase in per patient device acquisition of neffy as compared to epinephrine intra-muscular injectable devices and the net sales of epinephrine intra-muscular injectable devices. These estimates are based on many assumptions and may prove incorrect, and new studies or market research may reduce our estimated patient population and potential device sales. If we are unable to advance neffy, including with respect to the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and other potential indications, or any future product candidates with attractive market opportunities or if our market opportunities are smaller than we expected, our future product revenues may be smaller than anticipated, which would limitadversely affect our ability to realize their full market potential.business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In order to market any products outside of the United States, we must establish and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries regarding safety and efficacy. Clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries, and regulatory approval in one country does not mean that regulatory approval will be obtained in any other country. Approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional product testing and validation and additional administrative review periods. Seeking foreign regulatory approvals could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and may require additional preclinical studies or clinical trials which would be costly and time consuming. Regulatory requirements can vary widely from country to country and could delay or prevent the introduction

Any of our products in those countries. Satisfying thesecurrent and other regulatory requirements is costly, time consuming, uncertainfuture product candidates for which we, or any current or future licensing and subject to unanticipated delays. In addition, our failure tocollaboration partners, obtain regulatory approval in the future will be subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense. If approved, neffy and any country may delay or have negative effects on the process for regulatory approval in other countries. We do not have anyfuture product candidates approved for sale in any jurisdiction, including international markets,could be subject to post-marketing restrictions or withdrawal from the market and we, do not have experience in obtaining regulatory approval in international markets. Ifor any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, may be subject to substantial penalties if we, or they, fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we, or they, experience unanticipated problems with our products following approval.

neffy or any future product candidates for which we, or any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, obtain regulatory approval, as well as the manufacturing processes, post-approval studies, labeling, post-approval pharmacovigilance monitoring, advertising and promotional activities for such product, among other things, will be subject to ongoing requirements of and review by the FDA, the EMA and other applicable regulatory authorities. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration and listing requirements, requirements relating to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping. For certain commercial prescription drug products, manufacturers and other parties involved in international marketsthe supply chain must also meet chain of distribution requirements and build electronic, interoperable systems for product tracking and tracing and for notifying the FDA of counterfeit, diverted, stolen and intentionally adulterated products or other products that are otherwise unfit for distribution in the United States. We and our contract manufacturers will also be subject to user fees and periodic inspection by regulatory authorities to monitor compliance with these requirements and the terms of any product approval we may obtain. Even if regulatory approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indications or uses for which the product may be marketed or to obtainthe conditions of approval, including the requirement in the United States to implement a Risk Evaluation and maintain requiredMitigation Strategy or the inclusion of a Boxed Warning, which highlights a specific life-threatening safety risk.

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The FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities may also impose requirements for costly post-marketing studies or clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of a product. For example, the FDA and other agencies, including the Department of Justice, closely regulate and monitor the post-approval marketing and promotion of products to ensure that they are manufactured, marketed and distributed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. Regulatory authorities impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use. However, companies generally may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s approved labeling. If we, or any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, do not market neffy or any of our future product candidates for which we, or they, receive regulatory approval for only their approved indications, we, or they, may be subject to warnings or enforcement action for off-label marketing if it is alleged that we are doing so. Violation of laws and regulations relating to the promotion and advertising of prescription drugs may lead to investigations or allegations of violations of federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws and state consumer protection laws, including the False Claims Act and any comparable foreign laws. In the EU, the direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription-only medicinal products is prohibited. Violations of the rules governing the promotion of medicinal products in the EU could be penalized by administrative measures, fines and imprisonment. These laws may further limit or restrict the advertising and promotion of our products to the general public, and may also impose limitations on our promotional activities with health care professionals.

In addition, later discovery of previously unknown side effects, adverse events or other problems with our products or their manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may yield various results, including:

restrictions on the manufacturing of such products;

restrictions on the labeling or marketing of such products;

restrictions on product distribution or use;

requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials;

warning letters or untitled letters;

withdrawal of the products from the market;

refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;

recall of products;

restrictions on coverage by third-party payors;

fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenues;

exclusion from federal health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid;

suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals;

refusal to permit the import or export of products;

product seizure; or

injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

Even if we, or any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, obtains regulatory approvals for neffy or any future product candidate, the terms of approvals and ongoing regulation of our products may limit how we manufacture and market our products, which could impair our ability to realizegenerate revenue.

Once regulatory approval has been granted, an approved product and its manufacturer and distributor are subject to ongoing review and extensive regulation. We, and any current and future licensing and collaboration partners, must therefore comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for neffy or any future product candidate for which we or they obtain regulatory approval. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the full market potential of our products will be harmed.

Risks Related to Our In-Licenses and Other Strategic Agreements

We may not realize the benefits of any acquisitions, in-license or strategic alliances that we enter into.

We have entered into in-license agreements with multiple licensors andinformation in the product’s approved labeling. Thus, we and any current and future may seeklicensing and form strategic alliances, create joint ventures or collaborations, or enter into acquisitions or additional licensing arrangements with third parties that we believecollaboration partners will complement or augment our existing technologies and product candidates.

These transactions can entail numerous operational and financial risks, including exposure to unknown liabilities, disruption of our business and diversion of our management’s time and attention in order to manage a collaboration or develop acquired products, product candidates or technologies, incurrence of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of equity securities to pay transaction consideration or costs, higher than expected collaboration, acquisition or integration costs, write-downs of assets or goodwill or impairment charges, increased amortization expenses, difficulty and cost in facilitating the collaboration or combining the operations and personnel of any acquired business, impairment of relationships with key suppliers, manufacturers or customers of any acquired business due to changes in management and ownership and the inability to retain key employees of any acquired business. As a result, if we enter into acquisition or in-license agreements or strategic partnerships, we may not be able to realizepromote any products we develop for indications or uses for which they are not approved.

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In addition, manufacturers of approved products and those manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA, EMA and other foreign regulatory requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to cGMPs, which include requirements relating to quality control and quality assurance as well as the benefitcorresponding maintenance of such transactions if we are unablerecords and documentation and reporting requirements. We, our contract manufacturers, any current and future licensing and collaboration partners and their contract manufacturers would be subject to successfully integrate themperiodic unannounced inspections by the FDA, the EMA and other foreign regulators to monitor and ensure compliance with our existing operations and company culture, or if there are materially adverse impacts on our or the counterparty’s operations resulting from COVID-19, which could delay our timelines or otherwise adversely affect our business. We also cannot be certain that, following a strategic transaction or license, we will achieve the revenue or specific net income that justifies such transaction or such other benefits that led us to enter into the arrangement.

We may wish to form collaborations in the future with respect to our product candidates, but may not be able to do so or to realize the potential benefits of such transactions, which may cause us to alter or delay our development and commercialization plans.

The development and potential commercialization of our product candidates will require substantial additional capital to fund expenses. We may, in the future, decide to collaborate with other biopharmaceutical companies for the development and potential commercialization of those product candidates, including in territories outside the United States or for certain indications. We will face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. We may not be successful incGMPs. Despite 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 effortinspect 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, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of our technologies, product candidates and market opportunities. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product candidate. We may also be restricted under any license agreements from entering into agreements on certain terms or at all with potential collaborators.

Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of potential future collaborators and changes to the strategies of the combined company. As a result, we may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of such product candidate, reduce or delayverify regulatory compliance, one or more of our third-party manufacturing vendors may be found on regulatory inspection by the FDA, the EMA or other development programs, delayforeign regulators to be not in compliance with cGMP regulations, which may result in shutdown of the potential commercializationthird-party vendor or reduceinvalidation 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.

Accordingly, assuming we, or any current or future licensing and collaboration partners, receive regulatory approval for neffy or one or more future product candidates, we, and any current and future licensing and collaboration partners, and our and their contract manufacturers will continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, product surveillance and quality control.

If we, and any current and future licensing and collaboration partners, are not able to comply with post-approval regulatory requirements, we, and any current and future licensing and collaboration partners, could have the scoperegulatory approvals for neffy or any future products withdrawn by regulatory authorities and our, or any current or future licensing and collaboration partners’, ability to market any future products could be limited, which could adversely affect our ability to achieve or sustain profitability. Further, the cost of compliance with post-approval regulations may have a negative effect on our operating results and financial condition.

Even if neffy or any planned sales or marketing activities for suchfuture product candidate or increase our expendituresof ours receives regulatory approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by allergists, pediatricians and undertake development, manufacturing or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development, manufacturing or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital,other physicians, patients, caregivers, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success, in which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we

do not have sufficient funds,case we may not be ablegenerate significant revenues or become profitable.

We have never commercialized a product, and even if neffy for the treatment of any indication, or any future product candidate of ours, is approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities for marketing and sale, it may nonetheless fail to further develop our product candidates or bring them togain sufficient market acceptance by allergists, pediatricians and generate product revenue.

Our product candidates may also require specific components to work effectivelyother physicians, patients, caregivers, third-party payors and efficiently, and rights to those componentsothers in the medical community. Physicians may be held by others. Wereluctant to prescribe neffy in place of well-established epinephrine intra-muscular injectable devices. Further, patients and caregivers may be unablereluctant to in-license any compositions, methodsswitch unless their physicians recommend switching products or are required to switch due to lack of use, processes or other third party intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, which would harm our business. Evencoverage and adequate reimbursement. In addition, even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors accessdemonstrate neffy’s or any future product candidate’s safety and efficacy to the same technologies licensedFDA, the EMA and other regulators, safety or efficacy concerns in the medical community may hinder market acceptance.

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Efforts to us. In that event,educate patients, caregivers, the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of neffy and any future product candidates may require more resources than we may be required to expend significantanticipate, including management time and financial resources, to develop or license replacement technology.

Risks Related to Our Industry and Business Operations

The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to adversely impact our business, including our ongoing and planned clinical trials, supply chain and business development activities.

In December 2019, COVID-19, a novel strain of coronavirus, was first reported in Wuhan, China and has since become a global pandemic. The President of the United States declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency and many states and municipalities in the Unites States have announced aggressive actions to reduce the spread of the disease, including limiting non-essential gatherings of people, ceasing all non-essential travel, ordering certain businesses and government agencies to cease non-essential operations at physical locations and issuing “shelter-in-place” orders which direct individuals to shelter at their places of residence (subject to limited exceptions). For example, on March 23, 2020, the Office of the Governor issued Proclamation 20-25, ordering all individuals in the State of Washington to stay at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors. As a result of the Washington state order, almost all of our non-lab based employees are currently telecommuting, which has impacted certain of our operations and may continue to do so over the long term. We may experience further limitations on employee resources in the future, including because of sickness of employees or their families. The effects of government actions and our own policies and those of third parties to reduce the spread of COVID-19 may negatively impact productivity and slow down or delay our ongoing and future clinical trials, preclinical studies and research and development activities, and may cause disruptions to our supply chain and impair our ability to execute our business development strategy. In the event that government authorities were to enhance current restrictions, our employees who currently are not telecommuting may no longer be able to access our facilities, and our operations may be further limited or curtailed.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, we may experience ongoing disruptions that could severely impact our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials, including:

interruption or delays in our operations, which may impact our ability to conduct and produce preclinical results required for submission of an IND;

delays in receiving approval from local regulatory authorities to initiate our planned clinical trials;

delays or difficulties in enrolling patients in our clinical trials;

delays or difficulties in clinical site initiation, including difficulties in recruiting clinical site investigators and clinical site staff;

delays in clinical sites receiving the supplies and materials needed to conduct our clinical trials, including interruption in global shipping that may affect the transport of clinical trial materials;

changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 outbreak which may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or to discontinue the clinical trials altogether;

diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials;

interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site monitoring, due to limitations on travel imposed or recommended by federal or state governments, employers and others, or interruption of clinical trial subject visits and study procedures, the occurrence of which could affect the integrity of clinical trial data;

interruption or delays in the operations of the FDA or other regulatory authorities, which may impact review and approval timelines;

risk that participants enrolled in our clinical trials will acquire COVID-19 while the clinical trial is ongoing, which could impact the results of the clinical trial, including by increasing the number of observed adverse events; and

refusal of the FDA to accept data from clinical trials in affected geographies.

These and other disruptions in our operations and the global economy could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our clinical trials have been, and may in the future be, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, some of our clinical trial sites have slowed down or stop further enrollment of new patients in clinical trials, denied access to site monitors and otherwise curtailed certain operations. Similarly, our ability to recruit and retain principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19, may be adversely impacted. Our ongoing or planned clinical trials may also be impacted by interruptions or delays in the operations of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies. We and our CROs have also made certain adjustments to the operation of our trials in an effort to ensure the monitoring and safety of patients and minimize risks to trial integrity during the pandemic in accordance with the guidance issued by the FDA, and may need to make further adjustments in the future. Many of these adjustments are new and untested, may not be effective, and may have unforeseen effects on the enrollment, progress and completionsuccessful. If neffy or any future product candidate is approved but does not achieve an adequate level of these trials and the findings from these trials. These events could delay our clinical trials, increase the cost of completing our clinical trials and negatively impact the integrity, reliability or robustness of the data from our clinical trials.

In addition, quarantines, shelter-in-place and similar government orders, or the perception that such orders, shutdowns or other restrictions on the conduct of business operations could occur, related to COVID-19 or other infectious diseases could impact personnel at third-party manufacturing facilities upon which we rely, or the availability or cost of materials, which could disrupt the supply chain for our product candidates. To the extent our suppliers and service providers are unable to comply with their obligations under our agreements with them or they are otherwise unable to deliver or are delayed in delivering goods and services to us due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to continue meeting clinical supply demand for our product candidates or otherwise advancing development of our product candidates may become impaired.

The spread of COVID-19 and actions taken to reduce its spread may also materially affect us economically. While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, the COVID-19 pandemic may be difficult to assess or predict, there could be a significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could in the future negatively affect our liquidity

and financial position. In addition, the trading prices for other biopharmaceutical companies have been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result,market acceptance, we may face difficulties raising capital through sales of our common stock or such sales may be on unfavorable terms.

COVID-19not generate significant revenues and actions taken to reduce its spread continue to rapidly evolve. The extent to which COVID-19 may impede the development of our product candidates, reduce the productivity of our employees, disrupt our supply chains, delay our clinical trials, reduce our access to capital or limit our business development activities, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those relating to the timing and results of our clinical trials and our financing needs.

Our employees, principal investigators, consultants and commercial partners may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading.

We are exposed to the risk of fraud or other misconduct by our employees, principal investigators, consultants and commercial partners. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional failures to comply with the regulations of the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, provide accurate information to the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, comply with healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Such misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter employee 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 these laws or regulations. Ifbecome profitable. The degree of market acceptance of neffy and any such actions are instituted against us those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, additional reporting obligations and oversight if subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations.

We face potential product liability, and, if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability and costs. If the use of our product candidates harms patients or is perceived to harm patients even when such harm is unrelated to our product candidates, our regulatory approvals could be revoked or otherwise negatively impacted and we could be subject to costly and damaging product liability claims.

The use of our product candidates 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, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products. There is a risk that our product candidates may induce adverse events. 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:

impairment of our business reputation;

withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

costs due to related litigation;

distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;

substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;

the inability to commercialize our product candidates; and

decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale.sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:

the efficacy and safety of the product;

We believe

the potential advantages of the product compared to competitive therapies and our ability to successfully publicize these advantages or highlight them in any marketing materials;

the prevalence and severity of any side effects;

our ability, or the ability of any current or future licensing or collaboration partners, to offer the product for sale at competitive prices;

the product’s convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;

the willingness of the target patient population to try, and of physicians to prescribe, the product;

limitations or warnings, including distribution or use restrictions contained in the product’s approved labeling;

the strength of sales, marketing and distribution support;

changes in the standard of care for the targeted indications for the product; and

availability and adequacy of coverage and reimbursement from government payors, managed care plans and other third-party payors.

Any failure by neffy or any future product liability insurance coverage is sufficient in lightcandidate of our current clinical programs; however, we may not be ableours that obtains regulatory approval to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable costachieve market acceptance or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. If and when we obtain marketing approval for product candidates, we intend to expand our 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. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits based on drugs or medical treatments that had unanticipated adverse effects. A successful product liability claims, or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, couldsuccess would adversely affect our results of operations and business.business prospects.

Patients with cancer and other diseases targeted by our product candidates are often already in severe and advanced stages of disease and have both known and unknown significant pre-existing and potentially life-threatening health risks. During the course of treatment, patients may suffer adverse events, including death, for reasons that may be related to our product candidates. Such events could subject us to costly litigation, require us to pay substantial amounts of money to injured patients, delay, negatively impact or end our opportunity to receive or maintain regulatory approval to market our products, or require us to suspend or abandon our commercialization efforts. Even in a circumstance in which we do not believe that an adverse event is related to our products, the investigation into the circumstance may be time-consuming or inconclusive. These investigations may interrupt our sales efforts, delay our regulatory approval process in other countries, or impact and limit the type of regulatory approvals our product candidates receive or maintain. As a result of these factors, a product liability claim, even if successfully defended, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are highly dependent on our key personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.

Our ability to compete in the highly competitive biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific and medical personnel. We are highly dependent on our management, scientific and medical personnel. The loss of the services of any of our executive officers, other key employees, and other scientific and medical advisors, and our inability to find suitable replacements could result in delays in product development and harm our business.

We conduct substantially all of our operations at our facilities in Seattle. This region is headquarters to many other biopharmaceutical companies and many academic and research institutions. Competition for skilled personnel in our market is intense and may limit our ability to hire and retain highly qualified personnel on acceptable terms or at all.

To induce valuable employees to remain at our company, in addition to salary and cash incentives, we have provided stock options that vest over time. The value to employees of stock options that vest over time may be significantly affected by movements in our stock price that are beyond our control and may at any time be insufficient to counteract more lucrative offers from other companies. Despite our efforts to retain valuable employees, members of our management, scientific and development teams may terminate their employment with us on short notice. Although we have employment agreements with certain of our key employees, these employment agreements provide for at-will employment, which means that any of our employees could leave our employment at any time, with or without notice. We do not maintain “key person” insurance policies on the lives of these individuals or the lives of any of our employees. Our success also depends on our ability to continue to attract, retain and motivate highly skilled junior, mid-level and senior managers as well as junior, mid-level and senior scientific and medical personnel.

We expect to expand our development, regulatory and operational capabilities and, as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.

As of December 31, 2020, we had 56 employees which represents an increase of 33 employees since January 1, 2019. As we advance our research and development programs, we may be required to further increase the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of clinical development, quality, regulatory affairs and, if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, sales, marketing and distribution. To manage any future growth, we must:

identify, recruit integrate, maintain and motivate additional qualified personnel;

manage our development efforts effectively, including the initiation and conduct of clinical trials for our product candidates, both as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapeutics; and

improve our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures.

Our future financial performance and our ability to develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates, if approved, will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth, and our management may also have to divert financial and other resources, and a disproportionate amount of its attention away from day-to-day activities in order to devote a substantial amount of time, to managing these growth activities.

If we are not able to effectively expand our organization by hiring new employees and expanding our groups of consultants and contractors, we may not be able to successfully implement the tasks necessary to further develop and commercialize our product candidates and, accordingly, may not achieve our research, development and commercialization goals.

We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products more quickly or marketing them more successfully than us.

The development and commercialization of new products is highly competitive. We largely compete in the segments of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other related markets that develop immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient, or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, if ever, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market or make our development

more complicated. Moreover, with the proliferation of new drugs and therapies into oncology, we expect to face increasingly intense competition as new technologies become available. If we fail to stay at the forefront of technological change, we may be unable to compete effectively. Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future. The highly competitive nature of and rapid technological changes in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries could render our product candidates or our technology obsolete, less competitive or uneconomical.

Other products in a similar class as some of our product candidates have already been approved and other products in the same class are further along in development. As more product candidates within a particular class of biopharmaceutical products proceed through clinical development to regulatory review and approval, the amount and type of clinical data that may be required by regulatory authorities may increase or change. Consequently, the results of our clinical trials for product candidates in those class will likely need to show a risk benefit profile that is competitive with or more favorable than those products and product candidates in order to obtain marketing approval or, if approved, a product label that is favorable for commercialization. If the risk benefit profile is not competitive with those products or product candidates, we may have developed a product that is not commercially viable, that we are not able to sell profitably or that is unable to achieve favorable pricing or reimbursement. In such circumstances, our future product revenue and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected.

Specifically, there are many companies pursuing a variety of approaches to TLR-directed therapies, including Apros Therapeutics, Ascendis, BioNTech, Bolt Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, CureVac, Exicure, Galaderma, Gilead, Idera, Mologen, Nektar, Novartis, Primmune Therapeutics, Roche, Seven&Eight, Shanghai De Novo, Sumitomo Dainippon, TriSalus, and UroGen. Other companies using antibody-drug conjugates to target innate immune receptors include Actym Therapeutics, Mersana, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Immunotherapy and validated pathway approaches are further being pursued by many smaller biotechnology companies as well as larger pharmaceutical companies. We also face competition from validated pathway therapy treatments offered by companies such as AstraZeneca, Byondis, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, MacroGenics, Pieris, Puma, Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics), Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, and Zymeworks. We also face competition from companies that continue to invest in innovation in the antibody-drug conjugate field, including but not limited to AbbVie, ADC Therapeutics, Astellas, BioAtla, Celldex, CytomX, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Genmab, ImmunoGen, Immunomedics, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, MorphoSys AG, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics), Sutro Biopharma, and VelosBio.

Many of our competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, preclinical testing, clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing than we do. Future collaborations and mergers and acquisitions may result in further resource concentration among a smaller number of competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors will also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and subject registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or that may be necessary for, our programs.

The key competitive factors affecting the success of all of our programs are likely to be efficacy, safety, and convenience. If we are not successful in developing, commercializing and achieving higher levels of reimbursement than our competitors, we will not be able to compete against them and our business would be materially harmed.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

We have incurred substantial losses during our history and do not expect to become profitable in the near future, and we may never achieve profitability. Unused U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2018, may be carried forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused NOLs expire. Under the Tax ActRecently enacted in 2017, as modified by legislation enacted on March 27, 2020, entitled the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), U.S. federal NOLs incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, can be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such U.S. federal NOLs in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, is limited to 80% of taxable income. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act or to the CARES Act.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $89.7 million of U.S. federal NOLs. If not used, $18.2 million of the U.S. federal NOLs will begin to expire in 2036 and $71.5 million can be carried forward indefinitely under current law. As of December 31, 2020, we also had aggregate U.S. federal research and development (R&D) credits of approximately $1.5 million. Our NOL carryforwards and R&D credits are subject to review and possible adjustment by the U.S. and state tax authorities.

In addition, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and corresponding provisions of state law, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” which is generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change NOL carryforwards, R&D credits and certain other tax attributes to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. This could limit the amount of NOLs, R&D credit carryforwards or other applicable tax attributes that we can utilize annually to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities. Subsequent ownership changes and changes to the U.S. tax rules in respect of the utilization of NOLs, R&D credits and other applicable tax attributes carried forward may further affect the limitation in future years. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed.

Our business operations and current and future relationships with investigators, health care professionals, consultants, third-party payors and customers are subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, transparency laws and other healthcare laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.

Although we do not currently have any products on the market, our operations may be, directly or indirectly through our prescribers, customers and third-party payors, subject to various U.S. federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the U.S. federal civil and criminal false claims laws and the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and regulations. Healthcare providers and others play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any products for which we obtain marketing approval. These laws may impact, among other things, our current business operations, including our clinical research activities, and proposed sales, marketing and education programs and constrain the business of financial arrangements and relationships with healthcare providers and other parties through which we may market, sell and distribute our products for which we obtain marketing approval. In addition, we may be subject to additional healthcare, statutory and regulatory requirements and enforcement by foreign regulatory authorities in jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include:

the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or paying any remuneration (including

any kickback, bribe or certain rebates), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of, any good, facility, item or service, for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under U.S. federal and state healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;

the U.S. federal false claims, including the False Claims Act, which can be enforced through whistleblower actions, and civil monetary penalties laws, which, among other things, impose criminal and civil penalties against individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the U.S. federal government, claims for payment or approval that are false or fraudulent, knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim, or from knowingly making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the U.S. federal government. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items and services resulting from a violation of the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act;

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 knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement, in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services; similar to the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;

HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, impose requirements on certain covered healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses as well as their respective business associates that perform services for them, and their covered subcontractors, that involve the use, or disclosure of, individually identifiable health information, relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of such individually identifiable health information;

the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits, among other things, the adulteration or misbranding of drugs, biologics and medical devices;

the U.S. federal legislation commonly referred to as Physician Payments Sunshine Act, enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, and its implementing regulations, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies that are reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program to report annually to the CMS information related to certain payments and other transfers of value to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by the physicians described above and their immediate family members. Beginning in 2022, such obligations will include payments and other transfers of value provided in the previous year to certain other healthcare professionals, including physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologist assistants and certified nurse midwives;

analogous state laws and regulations, including: state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to our business practices, including, but not limited to, research, distribution, sales and marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including private insurers; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the U.S. federal government, or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential

referral sources; state laws and regulations that require drug manufacturers to file reports relating to pricing and marketing information, which requires tracking gifts and other remuneration and items of value provided to healthcare professionals and entities; and state and local laws requiring the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and

European and other foreign law equivalents of each of the laws, including reporting requirements detailing interactions with and payments to healthcare providers.

Ensuring that our internal operations and future business arrangements with third parties 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, agency guidance or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental laws and regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant penalties, including civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from U.S. government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, or similar programs in other countries or jurisdictions, disgorgement, imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws and the delay, reduction, termination or restructuring of our operations. Further, defending against any such actions can be costly and 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. If any of the physicians or other providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found to not be in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to significant criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs and imprisonment. If any of the above occur, it could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

Enacted and future legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize ourneffy or any future product candidates and affect the prices we may charge for such product candidates.obtain.

TheIn the United States and manysome foreign jurisdictions, there have enacted or proposedbeen, and we expect there will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes affectingand proposed changes regarding the healthcare system, including cost-containment measures, that could reduce or limit coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, prevent or delay marketing approval of ourneffy or any future product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell neffy or any future product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval.

In MarchFor example, in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the “ACA”), was signed into law. The ACA was intended, among other things, to broaden access to health insurance, reduce or constrain the growth of healthcare spending, enhance remedies against fraud and abuse, add new transparency requirements for the healthcare and health insurance industries, impose new taxes and fees on the health industry and impose additional health policy reforms. The ACA and subsequent regulations increased the Medicaid rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program for both branded and generic drugs and revised the definition of “average manufacturer price” for reporting purposes, which could further increase the amount of Medicaid drug rebates to states. However, on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law, which eliminates the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, beginning January 1, 2024. Further, the ACA imposed a significant annual fee on companies that manufacture or import branded prescription drug products, increased the number of entities eligible for discounts under the 340B program and included a discount on brand name drugs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries in the coverage gap, or “donut hole.” Substantial provisions affecting compliance have also been enacted, which includes measures that have significantly changed the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Theremay require us to modify our business practices with healthcare practitioners.

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Since its enactment, there have been judicial, executive judicial and congressionalCongressional challenges to certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act.ACA. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 included a provision which repealed, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate.” On December 14, 2018,June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a Texas U.S. District Court Judge ruledchallenge on procedural grounds that argued the Affordable Care ActACA is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate”individual mandate was repealed by Congress as part of the Tax Act. Additionally, on December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and remanded the case backCongress. Prior to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act are invalid as well. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the case, although it is unknown when a decision will be made. Further, although the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act,ruling on January 28, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to initiatethat initiated a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care ActACA marketplace. The executive order also instructsinstructed 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.ACA. In addition, 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 ACA 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 creating a new manufacturer discount program. It is possible that the ACA will be subject to judicial or Congressional challenges in the future. It is unclear how the Supreme Court ruling, otherany such litigation,challenges, and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact the Affordable Care Act. We continue to evaluate the effect that the Affordable Care ActACA and its possible repeal and replacement has on our business.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the Affordable Care ActACA was enacted. For example, in August 2011,These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to two percent per fiscal year pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011, which went into effect on April 1, 2013, and due to subsequent legislative amendments, will remain in effect until 2031, unless additional Congressional action is taken. Under current legislation, the actual reduction in Medicare payments will vary from 1% in 2022 to up to 4% in the final fiscal year of this sequester. In addition, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was signed into law which, among other things, included aggregate reductions tofurther reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of on average, 2% per fiscal year through 2030, withlimitations period for the exception of a temporary suspensiongovernment to recover overpayments to providers from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021, unless Congress takes additional action.three to five years.

Recently there has also been increasing legislative and enforcement interestheightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have beenwhich manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several recent U.S. Presidential executive orders, congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drugproduct 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 drugs.products. At the federal level, in July 2021, the TrumpBiden administration used several meansreleased an executive order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” with multiple provisions aimed at prescription drugs. In response to propose or implementBiden’s executive order, on September 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services (“HHS”) released a Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices that outlines principles for drug pricing reform including through federal budget proposals, executive orders and policy initiatives. For example, on July 24, 2020sets out a variety of potential legislative policies that Congress could pursue as well as potential administrative actions HHS can take to advance these principles. In addition, the IRA, among other things, (i) directs HHS to negotiate the price of certain high-expenditure, single-source drugs and September 13, 2020, the Trump administration announced several executive orders related to prescriptionbiologics covered under Medicare, and subject drug pricing that seek to implement several of the administration’s proposals. As a result, the FDA released a final rule on September 24, 2020, effective November 30, 2020, providing guidance for states to build and submit importation plans for drugs from Canada. Further, on November 20, 2020, HHS finalized a regulation removing safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsorscivil monetary penalties and a potential excise tax by offering a price that is not equal to or less than the negotiated “maximum fair price” for such drugs and biologics under the law, and (ii) imposes rebates with respect to certain drugs and biologics covered under Medicare Part B or Medicare Part D either directly orto penalize price increases that outpace inflation. The IRA permits HHS to implement many of these provisions through pharmacy benefit managers, unlessguidance, as opposed to regulation, for the price reductioninitial years. These provisions will take effect progressively starting in fiscal year 2023, although they may be subject to legal challenges. It is required by law. The implementation ofcurrently unclear how the rule has been delayed byIRA will be implemented but is likely to have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry. Further, the Biden administration from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023 in response to ongoing litigation. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a new safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers, the implementation of which have also been delayed pending review by the Biden administration until March 22, 2021. On November 20, 2020, CMS issuedreleased an interim final rule implementing the Trump administration’s Most Favored Nationadditional executive order which would tieon October 14, 2022, directing HHS to submit a report on how the Center for Medicare Part B paymentsand Medicaid Innovation can be further leveraged to test new models for certain physician-administered drugs to the lowest price paid in other economically advanced countries, effective January 1, 2021. On December 28, 2020, the U.S. District Court in Northern California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of the interim final rule.lowering drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. It is unclear whether the Biden administration will work to reverse these measuresthis executive order or pursue similar policy initiatives.initiatives will be implemented in the future.

Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare and other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payers. At the state level, legislatures have become increasingly passedaggressive in passing legislation and implementedimplementing regulations designed to control costs of pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and biological products. Moreover, regional healthcare authoritiesmarketing cost disclosure and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedurestransparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to determine what pharmaceutical productsencourage importation from other countries and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drugbulk purchasing.

These laws and the regulations and policies implementing them, as well as other healthcare programs.

We expect that the healthcare reform measures that have been adopted, and that may be adopted in the future, may resulthave a material adverse effect on our industry generally and on our ability to successfully develop and commercialize neffy or any future product candidates.

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Governments outside the United States may impose strict price controls, which may adversely affect our revenues, if any.

In some countries, including certain Member States of the EU, the pricing of prescription drugs is, in more rigorouspart, subject to governmental control. Additional countries may adopt similar approaches to the pricing of prescription drugs. In such countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after receipt of regulatory approval for a product. The EU provides options for the EU Member States to restrict the range of drug products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. EU Member States may approve a specific price for a product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the product on the market. Other EU Member States allow companies to fix their own prices for drug products, but monitor and control prescription volumes and issue guidance to physicians to limit prescriptions. In addition, there can be considerable pressure by governments and other stakeholders on prices and reimbursement levels, including as part of cost containment measures. Political, economic and regulatory developments may further complicate pricing negotiations, and pricing negotiations may continue after coverage criteria and reimbursement have been obtained. Reference pricing used by various countries and parallel distribution, or arbitrage between low-priced and high-priced countries, can further reduce prices. In some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical study or other studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of neffy or any future product candidates to other available therapies in additional downwardorder to obtain or maintain reimbursement or pricing approval, which is time-consuming and costly. We cannot be sure that such prices and reimbursement will be acceptable to us. Publication of discounts by third-party payors or authorities may lead to further pressure on the price thatprices or reimbursement levels within the country of publication and other countries. If pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels or if reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, our revenues from sales by us or our strategic partners and the potential profitability of neffy or any future product candidates in those countries would be negatively affected.

The successful commercialization of neffy or any future product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities and health insurers establish coverage, adequate reimbursement levels and favorable pricing policies. Failure to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.

The availability of coverage and the adequacy of reimbursement by governmental healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurers and other third-party payors are essential for most patients to be able to afford prescription medications such as neffy or any future product candidates, if approved. Our ability to achieve coverage and acceptable levels of reimbursement for our products by third-party payors will have an effect on our ability to successfully commercialize those products. Accordingly, we receivewill need to successfully implement a coverage and reimbursement strategy for any approved product candidate. Even if we obtain coverage for a given product by a third-party payor, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. We cannot be sure that coverage and could seriously harmreimbursement in the United States, the EU or elsewhere will be available for neffy or any future product candidate that we may develop, and any reimbursement that may become available may be decreased or eliminated in the future.

Third-party payors increasingly are challenging prices charged for biopharmaceutical products and services, and many third-party payors may refuse to provide coverage and reimbursement for particular drugs when an equivalent generic drug or a less expensive therapy is available. It is possible that a third-party payor may consider neffy or any future product candidate as substitutable and only offer to reimburse patients for the less expensive product. Even if we are successful in demonstrating improved efficacy or improved convenience of administration with neffy or any future product candidates, pricing of existing drugs may limit the amount we will be able to charge for neffy or any future product candidates. These payors may deny or revoke the reimbursement status of a given product or establish prices for new or existing marketed products at levels that are too low to enable us to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development. If reimbursement is not available or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize or obtain a satisfactory financial return on neffy or any future revenues. Any reductionproduct candidates that we may develop.

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There is significant uncertainty related to third-party payor coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, third-party payors, including private and governmental payors, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs, play an important role in determining the extent to which new drugs will be covered. Some third-party payors may require pre-approval of coverage for new or innovative devices or drug therapies before they will reimburse healthcare providers who use such therapies. There is significant uncertainty related to third-party payor coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, third-party payors, including private and governmental payors, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs, play an important role in determining the extent to which new drugs will be covered. Some third-party payors may require pre-approval of coverage for new or innovative devices or drug therapies before they will reimburse healthcare providers who use such therapies. Generally, third-party payors limit coverage and reimbursement for new medication prior to a formal review by the payors’ pharmacy and therapeutics committees. As such, several third-party payors have indicated that our products may be subject to denial or limited coverage prior to formal review. There may be significant delays in obtaining reimbursement for newly-approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the drug or therapeutic biologic is approved by the FDA or similar foreign regulatory authorities. Additionally, we may need to conduct expensive pharmaco-economic studies to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of our product candidates. There can be no assurance that our product candidates will be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. It is difficult to predict at this time what third-party payors will decide with respect to the coverage and reimbursement for neffy or any future product candidates. Further, coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future. It is difficult to predict at this time what third-party payors will decide with respect to the coverage and reimbursement for neffy or any future product candidates. Further, coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.

Obtaining and maintaining reimbursement status is time consuming, costly and uncertain. The Medicare and Medicaid programs increasingly are used as models for how private payors and other governmental payors develop their coverage and reimbursement policies for drugs. However, no uniform policy for coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors in the United States. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for products can differ significantly from Medicarepayor to payor. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. Furthermore, rules and regulations regarding reimbursement change frequently, in some cases at short notice, and we believe that changes in these rules and regulations are likely.

Outside the United States, international operations are generally subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations, and we believe the increasing emphasis on cost-containment initiatives in Europe and other countries has and will continue to put pressure on the pricing and usage of neffy or any future product candidates. In many countries, the prices of medical products are subject to varying price control mechanisms as part of national health systems. Other countries allow companies to fix their own prices for medical products but monitor and control company profits. Additional foreign price controls or other governmentchanges in pricing regulation could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for neffy or any future product candidates. Accordingly, in markets outside the United States, the reimbursement for neffy or any future product candidates may be reduced compared with the United States and may be insufficient to generate commercially reasonable revenue and profits.

Moreover, increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payors in the United States and abroad to cap or reduce healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and the level of reimbursement for newly approved products and, as a result, they may not cover or provide adequate payment for neffy or any future product candidates. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of neffy or any future product candidates due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative changes. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription drugs and surgical procedures and other treatments, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products.

Ongoing healthcare legislative and regulatory reform measures may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

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Our relationships with customers, health care professionals and third-party payors may be subject to applicable healthcare laws, which could expose us to penalties, including administrative, civil or criminal penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, reputational harm, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations and diminished future profits and earnings.

Healthcare professionals and third-party payors will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of neffy or any future product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our current and future arrangements with customers, healthcare professionals and third-party payors may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures orexpose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare reformslaws and regulations that may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitabilityconstrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we conduct research, market, sell and distribute neffy or any future product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations include the following, among others:

the federal 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. Although there are several statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting certain common activities from prosecution, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly, and practices that involve remuneration intended to induce prescribing, purchasing or recommending may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exception or safe harbor. Further a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;

federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the False Claims Act, 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 get a false claim paid. Over the past few years, several pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under these laws for a variety of alleged promotional and marketing activities, including: allegedly providing free items and services, sham consulting fees and grants and other monetary benefits to prescribers; reporting to pricing services inflated average wholesale prices that were then used by federal programs to set reimbursement rates; engaging in off-label promotion that caused claims to be submitted to government healthcare programs for non-covered, off-label uses; and submitting inflated best price information to the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to reduce liability for Medicaid rebates. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal False Claims Act;

federal civil monetary penalties laws impose civil fines for, among other things, the offering or transfer of remuneration to a Medicare or state healthcare program beneficiary if the person knows or should know it is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider, practitioner, or supplier of services reimbursable by Medicare or a state healthcare program, unless an exception applies;

the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) which prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, of any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless or the payor (e.g., public or private), willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense, and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services; like 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 in order to have committed a violation;

the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act, which requires 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 government 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, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members;

HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (“HITECH”), and their respective implementing regulations, which impose obligations on “covered entities,” including certain healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, as well as their respective “business associates” and their covered subcontractors that create, receive, maintain or transmit individually identifiable health information for or on behalf of a covered entity, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information;

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commercialize our products. Further,

federal price reporting laws require manufactures to calculate and report complex pricing metrics to government programs, where such reported prices may be used in the calculation of reimbursement and/or discounts on approved products;

federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers; and

analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, that may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers; some state laws that require biotechnology companies to comply with the industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government and may require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures; some state laws that require biotechnology companies to report information on the pricing of certain drug products; and some state and local laws require the registration or pharmaceutical sales representatives.

Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of available statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors, it is possible that additionalsome of our business activities, particularly any sales and marketing activities after neffy or any future product candidate has been approved for marketing in the United States, could be subject to legal challenge and enforcement actions. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental action is taken in responseregulations that apply to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Failure to comply with current or future federal, state and foreign laws and regulations and industry standards relating to privacy and data protection laws could lead to government enforcement actions (which could include civil or criminal penalties), private litigation, and/or adverse publicity and could negatively affect our operating results and business.

We and our collaborators and third-party providersus, we may be subject to significant penalties, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from governmental health care programs, a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance, imprisonment, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.

We are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, rules, contractual obligations, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; and other adverse business consequences.

In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, “process”) personal data and other sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we collect about trial participants in connection with clinical trials, sensitive third-party data, business plans, transactions, and financial information (collectively, “sensitive data”).

Our data processing activities may subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements, and other obligations relating to data privacy and security.

In the United States, federal, state, and foreignlocal governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, and regulations. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including federal health information privacy laws, state data breach notification laws, state health informationpersonal data privacy laws, and federal and state consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), that govern the collection, use, disclosure and protection of health-related and other personal information could apply to our operations or the operations of our collaborators and third-party providers. In addition, we may obtain health information from third parties (including research institutions from which we obtain clinical trial data) that are subject to privacy and security requirements under HIPAA. Depending on the facts and circumstances, we could be subject to significant penalties if we violate HIPAA.

In many jurisdictions, enforcement actions and consequences for noncompliance are rising. In the United States, these include enforcement actions in response to rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of federal agencies and state attorneys general and legislatures and consumer protection agencies. In addition, privacy advocates and industry groups have regularly proposed, and may propose in the future, self-regulatory standards that may legally or contractually apply to us. If we fail to follow these security standards, even if no customer information is compromised, we may incur significant fines or experience a significant increase in costs. Many state legislatures have adopted legislation that regulates how businesses operate online, including measures relating to privacy, data security and data breaches. Laws in all 50 states require businesses to provide notice to customers whose personally identifiable information has been disclosed as a result of a data breach. Thesimilar laws are not consistent, and compliance in the event of a widespread data breach is costly. States are also constantly amending existing laws, requiring attention to frequently changing regulatory requirements. Furthermore, California recently enacted(e.g., wiretapping laws). For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the CCPA) which became effective on January 1, 2020. The CCPA givesof 2018 (“CCPA”) applies to personal information of consumers, business representatives, and employees, and requires businesses to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of California residents expanded rights to access and delete their personal information, opt out ofexercise certain personal information sharing and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used.privacy rights. The CCPA provides for civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. In addition, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”) expands the CCPA’s requirements, including by adding a new right for violations,individuals to correct their personal information and establishing a new regulatory agency to implement and enforce the law. Although the CCPA exempts some data processed in the context of clinical trials, the CCPA increases compliance costs and potential liability with respect to other personal data we maintain about California residents.

Other states, such as Virginia and Colorado, have also passed comprehensive privacy laws, and similar laws are being considered in several other states, as well as a private right of action for data breaches that is expected to increase data breach litigation. At this time, we do not collect personal information relating to residents of California but should we begin to do so,at the federal and local levels. While these states, like the CCPA, will impose newalso exempt some data processed in the context of clinical trials, these developments may further complicate compliance efforts, and burdensomeincrease legal risk and compliance costs for us and the third parties upon whom we rely.

Outside the United States, an increasing number of laws, regulations, and industry standards may govern data privacy compliance obligations on our business and will raise new risks for potential fines and class actions.

Foreign data protection laws, includingsecurity. For example, the EUEuropean Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR), may also apply to health-related(“EU GDPR”) and other personal information obtained outside of the United States. TheKingdom’s GDPR which came into effect on May 25, 2018, imposes(“UK GDPR”), impose strict requirements for processing personal data.

For example, under the personalEU GDPR, companies may face temporary or definitive bans on data of individuals within the European Economic Area (EEA)processing and the United Kingdom, including clinical trial data, as well as potentialother corrective actions; fines for noncompliant companies of up to the greater of 20 million Euros or 4% of annual global revenue. The GDPR imposes strict requirements for the collection, use and disclosurerevenue, whichever is greater; or private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by classes of data subjects or consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests.

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In addition, we may be unable to transfer personal data from Europe and other jurisdictions to the United States or other countries due to data localization requirements or limitations on cross-border data flows. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. In particular, the EEA and the UK have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it 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 data from the EEA and UK to the United States in compliance with law, such as the EEA and UK’s standard contractual clauses, 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 data to the United States. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the EEA, the UK, 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 stringent requirements relatingthe interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to obtaining consent, providing information to individuals regardingrelocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities implementing safeguards to protectother jurisdictions at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the securityinability to transfer data and confidentialitywork with partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal data providing notificationnecessary to operate our business. Additionally, companies that transfer personal data out of data breachesthe EEA and takingUK to other jurisdictions, particularly to the United States, are subject to increased scrutiny from regulators, individual litigants, and activities groups. Some European regulators have ordered certain measures when engaging third-party processors. Among other requirements, the GDPR regulatescompanies to suspend or permanently cease certain transfers of personal data out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations.

Obligations related to data privacy and security are quickly changing, becoming increasingly stringent, and creating regulatory uncertainty. Additionally, these obligations may be subject to the GDPRdiffering applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or conflict among jurisdictions. Preparing for and complying with these obligations requires us to devote significant resources and may necessitate changes to our services, information technologies, systems, and practices and to those of any third countriesparties that have not been found to provide adequate protection to suchprocess personal data including the United States, and the efficacy and

on our behalf.

longevity of current transfer mechanisms between the EU and the United States remains uncertain. For example, in 2016, the EU and United States agreedWe may at times fail (or be perceived to a transfer framework for data transferred from the EU to the United States, called the Privacy Shield, but the Privacy Shield was invalidated in July 2020 by the Court of Justice of the European Union. At this time, we do not believe we are subject to the GDPR, but should this change, the GDPR will increase our responsibility and potential liability in relation to personal data that we process, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new EU data protection rules.

Compliance with U.S. and foreign data protection laws and regulations could require us to take on more onerous obligationshave failed) in our contracts, restrict our ability to collect, use and disclose data, or in some cases, impact our ability to operate in certain jurisdictions. Failure by us or our collaborators and third-party providersefforts to comply with U.S.our data privacy and foreignsecurity obligations. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties on whom we rely may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations. If we or the third parties on which we rely fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable data protection lawsprivacy and regulationssecurity obligations, we could result inface significant consequences, including but not limited to: government enforcement actions (which could include civil or criminal penalties)(e.g., privateinvestigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-action claims); additional reporting requirements and/or adverse publicityoversight; bans on processing personal data; and could negatively affect our operating results and business. Moreover, clinical trial subjects about whom weorders to destroy or our potential collaborators obtain information, as well as the providers who share this information with us, may contractually limit our ability tonot use and disclose such information. Claims that we have violated individuals’ privacy rights, failed to comply with data protection laws or breached our contractual obligations, even if we are not found liable, could be expensive and time consuming to defend, could result in adverse publicity andpersonal data. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, resultsincluding but not limited to: loss of customers; interruptions or stoppages in our business operations (including clinical trials); inability to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions; limited ability to develop or commercialize our products; expenditure of time and prospects.resources to defend any claim or inquiry; adverse publicity; or substantial changes to our business model or operations.

If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; and other adverse consequences.

In the ordinary course of our business, we and the third parties upon which we rely process sensitive data, and, as a result, we and the third parties upon which we rely face a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to ransomware attacks, which could cause security incidents. Cyber-attacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive data 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 states, and nation-state-supported actors.

Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyber-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, which could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce, sell and distribute our services.

We and the third parties upon which we rely are subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing), credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, telecommunications failures, earthquakes, fires, floods, and other similar threats.

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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.

In addition, our reliance on third-party service providers could introduce new cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, including supply-chain attacks, and other threats to our business operations. We rely on third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive data in a variety of contexts, including, without limitation, cloud-based infrastructure, data center facilities, encryption and authentication technology, employee email, content delivery to customers, and other functions. We also rely on third-party service providers to provide other products, services, parts, or otherwise to operate our business. 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 data 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 provide our services.

We may expend significant resources or modify our business activities (including clinical trials) to try to protect against security incidents. Additionally, certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures or industry-standard or reasonable security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive data.

While we have implemented security measures designed to protect against security incidents, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. We take steps to detect and remediate vulnerabilities, but we may not be able to detect and remediate all vulnerabilities because the threats and techniques used to exploit the vulnerability 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. These vulnerabilities pose material risks to our business. Further, we may experience delays in developing and deploying remedial measures designed to address any such identified vulnerabilities.

Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us to notify relevant stakeholders of security incidents. Such disclosures are costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse consequences.

If we (or a third party upon whom we rely) experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience adverse consequences, such as government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive data (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. Security incidents and attendant consequences may cause customers to stop using our services, deter new customers from using our services, and negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business.

Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims.

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.

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Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are unable

Our commercial success depends on our ability to obtain and maintain sufficient intellectual property protection for our platform technologies and product candidates or if the scope of the intellectual property protection is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our products may be adversely affected.other proprietary technologies.

We rely upon a combination of patents, know-how and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our products and technologies and to prevent third parties from copying and surpassing our achievements, thus eroding our competitive positionOur commercial success will depend, in our market.

Our success depends in large part, on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection forin the United States and other countries with respect to our platform technologies,product candidates. If we are unable to obtain or maintain patent protection with respect to our product candidates, and their uses, as well as our ability to operate without infringing the proprietary rightsbusiness, financial condition, results of others. operations and prospects could be materially harmed.

We generally seek to protect our proprietary position by filing or in-licensing patents or patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel discoveries and technologiesproduct candidates that are important to our business.business, as appropriate. Our pending and future patent applications may notcannot be enforced against third parties practicing the technology claimed in such applications unless, and until, patents issue from such applications, and then only to the extent the issued claims cover the technology. There can be no assurance that our patent applications will result in patents being issued or that issued patents will afford sufficient protection of our product candidates or their intended uses against competitors with similar technology, nor can there be any assurance that the patents issued will not be infringed, designed around or invalidated by third parties. Even issued patents may later be found invalid or unenforceable or may be modified or revoked in proceedings instituted by third parties before various patent offices or effectively prevent others from commercializingin courts. The degree of future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain. Only limited protection may be available and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep any competitive technologies, productsadvantage. This failure to obtain the intellectual property rights relating to our product candidates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The patent application process is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we or any of our potential future collaborators will be successful in protecting our product candidates.

candidates by obtaining and defending patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications, or maintain and/or enforce patents that may issue based on our patent applications, at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner, including delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting our or our licensors’ operations.manner. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development results before it is too late to obtain patent protection.

Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract research organizations,CROs, contract manufacturers, consultants, independent contractors, advisors and other third parties, any of

these parties may breach these agreements and disclose such results before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek adequate patent protection.

Composition

If the scope of matter patents for biological and pharmaceutical product candidates often provide a strong form of intellectual propertyany patent protection for those types of products, as such patents provide protection without regard to any method of use. We cannot be certain that the claims in our pending patent applications directed to composition of matter of our product candidates will be considered patentable by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)we obtain is not sufficiently broad, or by patent offices in foreign countries, or that the claims inif we lose any of our issued patents will be considered valid and enforceable by courts in the United States or foreign countries. Method of use patents protect the use of a product for the specified method. This type of patent does not prevent a competitor from making and marketing a product that is identical toprotection, our product for an indication that is outside the scope of the patented method. Moreover, even if competitors do not actively promote their product for our targeted indications, physicians may prescribe these products “off-label.” Although off-label prescriptions may infringe or contribute to the infringement of method of use patents, the practice is common and such infringement is difficultability to prevent our competitors from commercializing similar or prosecute.identical product candidates would be adversely affected.

The patent position of biopharmaceuticalpharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has in recent years been the subject of much litigation, resulting in court decisions, including United States Supreme Court decisions, which have increased uncertainties as to the ability to enforce patent rights in the future. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, or vice versa.

The patent application process is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we or any of our potential future collaborators will be successful in protecting our product candidates by obtaining and defending patents. For example,Further, we may not be aware of all third-party intellectual property rights potentially relating to our research programs and product candidates, or their intended uses, and as a result the potential impact of such third-party intellectual property rights upon the patentability of our own patents and patent applications, as well as the potential impact of such third-party intellectual property upon our freedom to operate, is highly uncertain. PatentBecause patent applications inare maintained as confidential for a certain period of time, until the United Statesrelevant application is published, we may be unaware of third-party patents that may be infringed by commercialization of any of our product candidates, and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing or, in some cases, not at all. Therefore, we cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our patents or pending patent applications, orbe certain that we were the first to file a patent application related to a product candidate or technology. Moreover, because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may infringe. In addition, identification of third-party patent rights that may be relevant to our technology is difficult because patent searching is imperfect due to differences in terminology among patents, incomplete databases and the difficulty in assessing the meaning of patent claims. There is also no assurance that there is not prior art of which we are aware, but which we do not believe is relevant to our business, which may, nonetheless, ultimately be found to limit our ability to make, use, sell, offer for patent protectionsale or import our products that may be approved in the future, or impair our competitive position. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of such inventions.our technologies infringes upon these patents. As a result, the issuance, inventorship, scope, validity, enforceability, and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain.

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Our patents or pending patent applications, or the patents or pending patent applications that we license, may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Even issued patents may later be found invalid or unenforceable or may be modified or revoked in proceedings instituted by third parties before various patent offices or in courts.other foreign jurisdictions. For example, our pending patent applicationswe may be subject to a third-party pre-issuance submissions submission of prior art to the USPTO or our issued patents may be subject tobecome involved in post-grant review (PGR) proceedings, oppositions,procedures, derivations, reexaminations, or inter partesparties review (IPR) proceedings, in the United States or elsewhere,oppositions or similar proceedings in foreign jurisdictions, challenging our patent rights or the patent rightsrights. The legal threshold for initiating such proceedings may be low, so that even proceedings with a low probability of others.success might be initiated. An adverse determination in any such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. In addition, given

Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. The degree of future protection forAs a result, our proprietary rights is uncertain. Only limited protection may be available andintellectual property may not adequately protect ourprovide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or permit usidentical to gain or keep any competitive advantage. Any failure to obtain or maintain patent protection with respect to our product candidates or their uses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

ours.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents. We may also rely on trade secret protection as temporary protection for concepts that may be included in a future patent filing. However, trade secret protection will not protect us from innovations that a competitor develops independently of our proprietary know how. If a competitor independently develops a technology that we protect as a trade secret and files a patent application on that technology, then we may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world, which could negatively impact our business.

Patents are of national or regional effect. Although we co-own or exclusively license four issued United States patents, one granted Australia patent, that technologyone granted Japanese patent, one granted Chinese patent, one granted South Korea patent, one granted European patent, and three granted United Kingdom patents for neffy and pending patent applications in the future, may require a license from the competitor to use our own know-how, and if the license is not available on commercially-viable terms, then we may not be able to launch our product. Although we require all of our employees to assign their inventions to us, and require all of our employees, consultants, advisors and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot be certain that our trade secretsUnited States, Europe, Japan, Australia, China, South Korea, and other confidential proprietary information will notforeign jurisdictions for neffy, filing, prosecuting and defending patents in all countries throughout the world would be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access toprohibitively expensive, and our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Furthermore,intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietaryintellectual property rights to the same extent oras federal and state laws in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result,Consequently, we may encounternot be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These competitor products may compete with our product candidates, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property bothrights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the United Statesenforcement of patents, trade secrets and abroad. If we are unableother intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to prevent unauthorized material disclosurebiotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our intellectual propertypatents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. As an example, European applications will soon have the option, upon grant of a patent, of becoming a Unitary Patent which will be subject to third parties, wethe jurisdiction of the Unitary Patent Court (“UPC”). The option of a Unitary Patent will be a significant change in European patent practice. As the UPC is a new court system, there is no precedent for the court, increasing the uncertainty. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantagesuccessful, could result in substantial costs and divert our market,efforts and this scenario could materially adversely affectattention from other aspects of our business, financial conditioncould put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and results of operations.

We cannot ensure that patent rights relating to inventions described and claimed in our pending patent applications will issue or that patents based on our patent applications willat risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be challenged and rendered invalid and/or unenforceable.

The patent application process is subjectcommercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we or any of our potential future collaborators will be successful in protecting our product candidates by obtaining and defending patents. We have pending U.S. and foreign patent applications in our portfolio; however, we cannot predict:

if and when patents may issue based on our patent applications;

the scope of protection of any patent issuing based on our patent applications;

whether the claims of any patent issuing based on our patent applications will provide protection against competitors;

whether or not third parties will find ways to invalidate or circumvent our patent rights;

whether or not others will obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our patents and patent applications;

whether we will need to initiate litigation or administrative proceedings to enforce and/or defend our patent rights which will be costly whether we win or lose; and/or

whether the patent applications that we own or in-license will result in issued patents with claims that cover our product candidates or uses thereof in the United States or in other foreign countries.

We cannot be certain that the claims in our pending patent applications directed to our product candidates and/or technologies will be considered patentable by the USPTO or by patent offices in foreign countries. There can be no assurance that any such patent applications will issue as granted patents. One aspect of the determination of patentability of our inventions depends on the scope and

content of the “prior art,” information that was or is deemed available to a person of skill in the relevant art prior to the priority date of the claimed invention. There may be prior art of which we are not aware that may affect the patentability of our patent claims or, if issued, affect the validity or enforceability of a patent claim. Even if the patents do issue based on our patent applications, third parties may challenge the validity, enforceability or scope thereof, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, patents in our portfolio may not adequately exclude third parties from practicing relevant technology or prevent others from designing around our claims. If the breadth or strength of our intellectual property position with respect to our product candidates is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop and threaten our ability to commercialize our product candidates. In the event of litigation or administrative proceedings, we cannot be certain that the claims in any of our issued patents will be considered valid by courts in the United States or foreign countries.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain becausearound the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protectin our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:

others mayexpected significant markets, we cannot ensure that we will be able to makeinitiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market our product candidates that are similarcandidates. Accordingly, our efforts to ours but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we own or have exclusively licensed;

we or our licensors or future collaborators might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by the issued patent or pending patent application that we own or have exclusively licensed;

we or our licensors or future collaborators might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our inventions;

others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringingprotect our intellectual property rights;

it is possible that noncompliance with the USPTO and foreign governmental patent agencies requirement for a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other provisions during the patent process can result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application, and partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction;

it is possible that our pending patent applications will not lead to issued patents;

issued patents that we own or have exclusively licensedsuch countries may be revoked, modified, or held invalid or unenforceable, as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;

our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;

we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;

we cannot predict the scope of protection of any patent issuing based on our patent applications, including whether the patent applications that we own or in-license will result in issued patents with claims that directed to our product candidates or uses thereof in the United States or in other foreign countries;

there may be significant pressure on the U.S. government and international governmental bodies to limit the scope of patent protection both inside and outside the United States for disease treatments that prove successful, as a matter of public policy regarding worldwide health concerns;

countries other than the United States may have patent laws less favorable to patentees than those upheld by U.S. courts, allowing foreign competitors a better opportunity to create, develop and market competing product candidates;

the claims of any patent issuing based on our patent applications may not provide protection against competitors or any competitive advantages, or may be challenged by third parties;

if enforced, a court may not hold that our patents are valid, enforceable and infringed;

we may need to initiate litigation or administrative proceedings to enforce and/or defend our patent rightsinadequate, which will be costly whether we win or lose;

we may choose not to file a patent application in order to maintain certain trade secrets or know-how, and a third party may subsequently file a patent application covering such intellectual property;

we may fail to adequately protect and police our trademarks and trade secrets; and

the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business, including if others obtain patents claiming subject matter similar to or improving that covered by our patents and patent applications.

Should any of these or similar events occur, they could significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.

We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products.

We cannot guarantee that any of our patent searches or analyses, including the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims or the expiration of relevant patents, are complete or thorough, nor can we be certain that we have identified each and every third-party patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization ofsuccessfully commercialize our product candidates in any jurisdiction.all of our expected significant foreign markets.

The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent’s prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect. For example, we may incorrectly determine that our products are not covered by a third-party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third-party’s pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent inVarious countries outside the United States or abroad that we consider relevanthave compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be incorrect. Our failurecompelled to identify and correctly interpret relevantgrant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. As a result, a patent owner may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our products.

We are currently party to an in-license agreement underhave limited remedies in certain circumstances, which we were granted rights to manufacture certain componentscould materially diminish the value of our product candidates.such patent. If we breach our obligations under these agreements, we may be requiredare forced to pay damages, lose our rightsgrant a license to these technologies or both, which would adversely affect our business and prospects.

We rely, in part, on license and other strategic agreements, which subject us to various obligations, including payment obligations for achievement of certain milestones on product sales. For example,third parties with respect to SBT6050, we have licensed a cell lineany patents relevant to manufacture these products under an agreement with WuXi Biologics. If we fail to comply with the obligations under our license agreements, including as a result of COVID-19 impactingbusiness, our operations, or use the intellectual property licensed to us in an unauthorized manner, wecompetitive position may be required to pay damages and our

licensors may have the right to terminate the license. If our license agreements are terminated, we may experience significant delays, difficulties, and costs in developing new cell lines and identifying an alternative source to manufacture components of our candidate products covered by our agreements and those being tested or approved in combination with such products. Such an occurrence could materially adversely affect the value of the product candidates being developed under any such agreement.

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

We control the prosecution of patents resulting from licensed technology. In the event we breach any of our obligations related to such prosecution, we may incur significant liability to our licensing partners. Licensing of intellectual property involves complex legal, business and scientific issues and is complicated by the rapid pace of scientific discovery in our industry. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including:

the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;

the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;

the sublicensing of patent and other rights;

our diligence obligations under the license agreement and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;

the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the creation or use of intellectual property by us alone or with our licensors and partners;

the scope and duration of our payment obligations; and

the priority of invention of patented technology.

If disputes over intellectual property and other rights that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates. We are generally also subject to all of the same risks with respect to protection of intellectual property that we license as we are for intellectual property that we own, which are described herein. If we or our licensor fail to adequately protect this intellectual property, our ability to develop, manufacture, or commercialize products could suffer.

In addition, while we cannot currently determine the amount of the royalty obligations we would be required to pay on sales of future products, if any, the amounts may be significant. The amount of our future royalty obligations will depend on the technology and intellectual property we use in products that we successfully develop and commercialize, if any. Therefore, even if we successfully develop and commercialize products, we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.

If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have, we may have to abandon development of the relevant research programs or product candidatesimpaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could suffer.

Inmay be adversely affected. Accordingly, our efforts to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights around the future,world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in our expected significant markets, we cannot ensure that we will be able to initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may needwish to obtain additional licenses of third-party technology thatmarket our product candidates. Accordingly, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may not be available to us or are available only on commercially unreasonable terms, andinadequate, which may cause ushave an adverse effect on our ability to operate our business in a more costly or otherwise adverse manner that was not anticipated.

We currently own intellectual property directed tosuccessfully commercialize our product candidates in all of our expected significant foreign markets.

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Further, the standards applied by the USPTO and other proprietary technologies. Other pharmaceutical companiesforeign patent offices in granting patents are not always applied uniformly or predictably. As such, we do not know the degree of future protection that we will have on our technologies, products and academic institutions may also have filed or are planning to file patent applications potentially relevant to our business. From time to time, in order to avoid infringing these third-party patents, we may be required to license technology from additional third parties to further develop or commercialize our product candidates. ShouldWhile we be requiredwill endeavor to obtain licensestry to any third-party technology, including any such patents required to manufacture, use or sellprotect our technologies, products and product candidates such licenses may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. The inability to obtain any third-party license required to develop or commercialize any of our product candidates could cause us to abandon any related efforts, which could seriously harm our business and operations.

The licensing or acquisition of third-partywith intellectual property rights such as patents, as appropriate, the process of obtaining patents is a competitive area,time-consuming, expensive and several more established companies may pursue strategies to licenseunpredictable.

Further, geo-political actions in the United States and in foreign countries could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution or acquire third-party intellectual property rights we may consider attractive or necessary. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, capital resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us.

Moreover, somemaintenance of our ownedpatent applications or those of any current or future licensors and in-licensedthe maintenance, enforcement or defense of our issued patents or those of any current or future licensors. For example, the United States and foreign government actions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may limit or prevent filing, prosecution and maintenance of patent applications in Russia. Government actions may also prevent maintenance of issued patents in Russia. These actions could result in abandonment or lapse of the patents or patent applications that we own, co-own or future patents areexclusively license, resulting in partial or may be co-owned with third parties.complete loss of patent rights in Russia. If we are unablesuch an event were to obtain an exclusive license to any such third-party co-owners’ interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners of our patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us. Furthermore, our owned and in-licensed patents may be subject to a reservation of rights by one or more third parties. Any of the foregoingoccur, it could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects.

If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, such litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent or delay us from developing or commercializing our product candidates.

Our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates without infringing the intellectual property and other proprietary rights of third parties. Third parties may allege that we have infringed or misappropriated their intellectual property. Litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims, with or without merit, is unpredictable and generally expensive and time consuming and, even if resolved in our favor, is likely to divert significant resources from our core business, including distracting our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities.business. In addition, there could be public announcements ofa decree was adopted by the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developmentsRussian government in March 2022, allowing Russian companies and if securities analysts or investors perceive these resultsindividuals to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios.

Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products candidates. We cannot be certain that our product candidates and other proprietary technologies we may develop will not infringe existing or future patentsexploit inventions owned by third parties. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing or future intellectual property rights. For example, we have identified certain third party patents that may be asserted against us with respect to our lead product SBT6050. These patents may expire prior to commercial launch of SBT6050, if approved. We believe that the relevant claims of these third party patents are likely invalid or unenforceable, and we may choose to challenge those patents, though the outcome of any challenge that we may initiate in the future is uncertain. We may also decide in the future to seek a license to those third party patents, but we might not be able to do so on reasonable terms. Proving invalidity may be difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity in court requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing or commercializing the infringing candidate product or product. Alternatively, we may be required to obtain a license from such third party in order to use the infringing technology and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing candidate product or product. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our investigational products or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business.

We may not be aware of patentspatentees that have already been issued and that a third party, for example, a competitorcitizenship or nationality in, the fieldsare registered in, which we are developing our product candidates, might assert are infringed by our current or future product candidates, including claims to compositions, formulations, methodshave predominately primary place of manufacturebusiness or methods of use or treatment that cover our product candidates. It is also possible that patents owned by third parties of which we are aware, but which we do not believe are relevant to our product candidates and other proprietary technologies we may develop, could be found to be infringed by our product candidate. In addition, because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may infringe. Our competitors in both the United States and abroad, many of which have substantially greater resources and have made substantial investments in patent portfolios and competing technologies, may have applied for or obtained or may in the future apply for and obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use and sell our product candidates. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have produced a considerable number of patents, and it may not always be clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we were sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates, products or methods either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that the patent claims are invalid or unenforceable, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity may be difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity in court requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents, and there is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in pursuing these

proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion.

We may choose to challenge the enforceability or validity of claims in a third party’s U.S. patent by requesting that the USPTO review the patent claims in an ex-partere-exam,inter partes review or post-grant review proceedings. These proceedings are expensive and may consume our time or other resources. We may choose to challenge a third party’s patent in patent opposition proceedings in the EPO, or other foreign patent office. The costs of these opposition proceedings could be substantial, and may consume our time or other resources. If we fail to obtain a favorable result at the USPTO, EPO or other patent office then we may be exposed to litigation by a third party alleging that the patent may be infringed by our product candidates or proprietary technologies.

If we are found to infringe a third-party’s intellectual property rights, we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing or commercializing the infringing product candidate or product. Alternatively, we may be required to obtain a license from such third-party in order to use the infringing technology and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing product candidate. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, and could divert the time and attention of our technical personnel and management, cause development delays, and/or require us to develop non-infringing technology, which may not be possible on a cost-effective basis, any of which could materially harm our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, pay royalties and other fees, redesign our infringing drug or obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.

Competitors or other third parties may infringe our patents, trademarks or other intellectual property. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. Our pending patent applications cannot be enforced against third parties practicing the technology claimed in such applications unless and until a patent issues from such applications. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents, in addition to counterclaims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable, or both. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, non-enablement or insufficient written description. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO or made a misleading statement during prosecution. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. In any patent infringement proceeding, there is a risk that a court will decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in

part, and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue. There is also a risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will construe the patent’s claims narrowly or decide that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover the invention, or decide that the other party’s use of our patented technology falls under the safe harbor to patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. §271I(1). An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against those parties or other competitors and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making and selling similar or competitive products. Any of these occurrences could adversely affect our competitive business position, business prospects and financial condition. Similarly, if we assert trademark infringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be forced to cease use of such trademarks.

Even if we establish infringement, the court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of shares of our common stock. Moreover, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which typically last for years before they are concluded. Even if we ultimately prevail in such claims, the monetary cost of such litigation and the diversion of the attention of our management and scientific personnel could outweigh any benefit we receive as a result of the proceedings.

Because of the expense and uncertainty of litigation, we may not be in a position to enforce our intellectual property rights against third parties.

Because of the expense and uncertainty of litigation, we may conclude that even if a third-party is infringing our issued patent, any patents that may be issued as a result of our pending or future patent applications or other intellectual property rights, the risk-adjusted cost of bringing and enforcing such a claim or action may be too high or not in the best interest of our company or our stockholders, or it may be otherwise impractical or undesirable to enforce our intellectual property against some third parties. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. In such cases, we may decide that the more prudent course of action is to simply monitor the situation or initiate or seek some other non-litigious action or solution. In addition, the uncertainties associated with litigation could compromise our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our clinical trials, continue our internal research programs, in-license needed technology or other product candidates, or enter into development partnerships that would help us bring our product candidates to market.

We may be subject to claims that we have wrongfully hired an employee from a competitor or that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

As is common in the pharmaceutical industry, in addition to our employees, we engage the services of consultants to assist us in the development of our product candidates. Many of these consultants, and many of our employees, were previously employed at, or may have previously provided or may be currently providing consulting services to, other pharmaceutical companies

including our competitors or potential competitors. We could in the future be subject to claims that we or our employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed alleged trade secrets or other confidential information of former employers or competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees and consultants do not use the intellectual property, proprietary information, know-how or trade secrets of others in their work for us, we may become subject to claims that we caused an employee to breach the terms of his or her non-competition or non-solicitation agreement, or that we or these individuals have, inadvertently or otherwise, used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of a former employer or competitor.

While we may litigate to defend ourselves against these claims, even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial costs and could be a distraction to management. If our defenses to these claims fail, in addition to requiring us to pay monetary damages, a court could prohibit us from using technologies or features that are essential to our product candidates, if such technologies or features are found to incorporate or be derived from the trade secrets or other proprietary information of the former employers. Moreover, any such litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our reputation, our ability to form strategic alliances or sublicense our rights to collaborators, engage with scientific advisors or hire employees or consultants, each of which would have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

Changes in patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves both technological and legal complexity and is therefore costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States could increase the uncertainties and costs, and may diminish our ability to protect our inventions, obtain, maintain, and enforce our intellectual property rights and, more generally, could affect the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our owned and licensed patents. Patent reform legislationprofit-making activities in the United States and other countries includingthat Russia has deemed unfriendly without consent or compensation. Consequently, we would not be able to prevent third parties from practicing the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the Leathy-Smith Act), signedinventions that we own, co-own or exclusively license in Russia or from selling or importing products made using the inventions that we own, co-own or exclusively license in and into law on September 16, 2011,Russia. Accordingly, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected.

Recent patent reform legislation could increase thosethe uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.

On September 16, 2011, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the “Leahy-Smith Act”) was signed into law in the United States. The Leahy-Smith Act includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These include provisions that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. In particular, under the Leahy-Smith Act, the United States transitioned in March 2013 to a “first inventor to file” system in which, assuming that other requirements of patentability are prosecuted, redefinemet, the first inventor to file a patent application will be entitled to the patent regardless of whether a third party was first to invent the claimed invention. A third party that files a patent application in the USPTO after March 2013 but before we could therefore be awarded a patent covering any of our inventions even if we had made the invention before it was made by such third party. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application. Furthermore, our ability to obtain and maintain valid and enforceable patents depends on whether the differences between our technology, or the technologies we license for our product candidates, and the prior art allow the technology we use for our product candidates to be patentable over the prior art. Since patent applications in the United States and provide more efficientmost other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing or until issuance, we cannot be certain that we were the first to either file any patent application related to our product candidates or invent any of the inventions claimed in our patents or patent applications.

The Leahy-Smith Act also includes a number of significant changes that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and cost-effective avenues for competitors to challenge the validity of patents.also may affect patent litigation. These include allowing third-party submission of prior art to the USPTO during patent prosecution and additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent by USPTO administered post-grant proceedings, including post-grant review, inter partes review,Post Grant Review, Inter Partes Review, and derivation proceedings. Further, becauseAn adverse determination in any such submission or proceeding could reduce the scope or enforceability of, or invalidate, our patent rights, which could adversely affect our competitive position. Because of a lower evidentiary standard in these USPTO post-grant proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in United States federal courts necessary to invalidate a patent claim, a third party could potentially provide evidence in a USPTO proceeding sufficient for the USPTO to hold a claim invalid even though the same evidence would be insufficient to invalidate the claim if first presented in a district court action. Accordingly, a third party may attempt to use the USPTO procedures to invalidate our patent claims that would not have been invalidated if first challenged by the third party as a defendant in a district court action. Thus, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

After March 2013, under the Leahy-Smith Act, the United States transitioned to a first inventor to file system

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Changes in which, assuming that the other statutory requirements are met, the first inventor to file a

patent application will be entitled to the patent on an invention regardless of whether a third-party was the first to invent the claimed invention. A third party that files a patent application in the USPTO after March 2013, but before we file an application covering the same invention, could therefore be awarded a patent covering an invention of ours even if we had made the invention before it was made by such third party. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application. Since patent applicationslaw in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a periodjurisdictions could diminish the value of time after filing or until issuance, we cannot be certain that we orpatents in general, thereby impairing our licensors wereability to protect our product candidates.

As is the first to either (i) file any patent application relatedcase with other pharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents relating to our product candidatescandidates. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the pharmaceutical industry involves both technological and legal complexity and is therefore costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws, rules and regulations in the United States and other proprietary technologies we may develop or (ii) invent any of the inventions claimed in our or our licensor’s patents or patent applications. Even where we have a valid and enforceable patent, we may not be able to exclude others from practicing the claimed invention where the other party can show that they used the invention in commerce before our filing date or the other party benefits from a compulsory license. However, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementationcountries could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents. We cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be allowed or enforced in the patents all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

we own, co-own or license from third-parties. In addition, U.S. Congress or other foreign legislative bodies may pass patent reform legislation that is unfavorable to us.

Depending on decisions by the patent positions of companiesU.S. Congress, the U.S. federal courts, the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce the existing patents we own, co-own or license and patents we or our licensors might obtain in the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain. Thefuture. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained.

Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. courts, the USPTO, and the relevant law-making bodiesor similar authorities in other countries,foreign jurisdictions, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that wouldcould weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce ourthe existing patents we own, co-own or license and patents that we or our licensors might obtain in the future. For example, in the 2013 case Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v.Myriad Genetics, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain claims to DNA molecules are not patentable. While we do not believe that any of the patents owned or licensed by us will be found invalid based on this decision, we cannot predict how future decisions by the courts, the U.S. Congress or the USPTO may impact the value of our patents.

Obtaining and maintaining patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submissions, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuitiesannuity fees and various other governmental fees on patents and/or patent applications arewill be due to be paid to the USPTO and various foreign patent agencies in severalat various stages over the lifetime of the patentour patents and/or patent application. Theapplications. We have systems in place to remind us to pay these fees, and we rely on our outside patent annuity service to pay these fees when due. In addition, the USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies also require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. WhileWe employ reputable law firms and other professionals to help us comply with these provisions. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse including due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on us or our patent maintenance vendors, can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules,rules. However, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of thea patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events thatIf such an event were to occur, it could result in abandonmenthave a material adverse effect on our business. If we or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If weour licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our product candidates, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and growth prospects.

Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position would beon our product candidates for an adequate amount of time and may adversely affected.

affect our anticipated future revenues and operating earnings.

We may rely on patent, trademark, trade secret and proprietary know-how which can be difficult to traceother intellectual property protection in the discovery, development, manufacturing and enforce and, if we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.

In addition to seeking patents for some of our technology and product candidates, we may also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. Elementssale of our product candidate, including processes for their preparation and manufacture, may involve proprietary know-how, information, or technology thatcandidates. In particular, patent protection is not covered by patents, and thus for these aspects we may consider trade secrets and know-how to be our primary intellectual property. Any disclosure, either intentional or unintentional, by our employees, the employees of third parties with whom we share our facilities or third-party consultants and vendors that we engage to perform research, clinical trials or manufacturing activities, or misappropriation by third parties (such as through a cybersecurity breach) of our trade secrets or proprietary information could enable competitors to duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in our market. Because we expect to rely on third partiesimportant in the development and manufactureeventual commercialization of our product candidates. Patents covering our product candidates normally provide market exclusivity, which is important in order for our product candidates to become profitable.

Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years. In the United States, if all maintenance fees are timely paid, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years from its earliest U.S. non-provisional filing date. Various extensions may be available, but the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such product candidates might expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product, we must, at times, share trade secretsmay be open to competition from generic products. As a result, our patent portfolio may not provide us with them. Our reliance on third parties requires ussufficient rights to shareexclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.

The patents we currently co-own or exclusively license for neffy are expected to expire as early as 2038, absent any patent term adjustments. The API in neffy is epinephrine, a generic API that is used in FDA-approved intra-muscular injectables. If neffy is approved by the FDA under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, our trade secrets, which increasesU.S. patents for neffy will not be eligible for patent term restoration under the possibilityDrug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984. While we are planning to seek additional patent coverage for neffy, there can be no assurances that such additional patent protection will be granted, or if granted, that these patents will not be infringed upon or otherwise held enforceable. Even if we are successful in obtaining a competitorpatent, patents have a limited lifespan. Without patent protection, we may be open to competition from generic versions of neffy.

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We cannot ensure that patent rights relating to inventions described and claimed in our pending patent applications will discover themissue or that patents based on our trade secretspatent applications will not be misappropriated challenged and rendered invalid and/or disclosed.unenforceable.

Trade secrets and know-how can be difficultWe co-own or exclusively license patent applications in our portfolio relating to protect. We require our employees to enter into written employment agreements containing provisions of confidentiality and obligations to assign to us any inventions generatedproduct candidates that are pending at the patent offices in the course of their employment. We and any third parties with whom we share facilities enter into written agreements that include confidentiality and intellectual property obligations to protect each party’s property, potential trade secrets, proprietary know-how, and information. We further seek to protect our potential trade secrets, proprietary know-how, and information in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who are given access to them, such as our corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract research organizations, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisorsUnited States, Europe, Japan, and other third parties. With our consultants, contractors, and outside scientific collaborators, these agreements typically include invention assignment obligations. Weforeign jurisdictions, however, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or has had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. predict:

if and when patents may issue based on the patent applications we own, co-own or exclusively license;

the scope of protection of any patent issuing based on the patent applications we own, co-own or exclusively license;

whether the claims of any patent issuing based on the patent applications we own, co-own or exclusively license will provide protection against competitors,

whether or not third parties will find ways to invalidate or circumvent our patent rights;

whether or not others will obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by the patent applications we own, co-own or exclusively license;

whether we will need to initiate litigation or administrative proceedings to enforce and/or defend our patent rights which will be costly whether we win or lose;

whether the patent applications that we own, co-own or exclusively license will result in issued patents with claims that cover our product candidates or uses thereof; and/or

whether we may experience patent office interruption or delays to our ability to timely secure patent coverage to our product candidates.

We cannot be certain that the claims in our trade secretspending patent applications directed to our product candidates will be considered patentable by the USPTO or by patent offices in foreign countries. One aspect of the determination of patentability of our inventions depends on the scope and other confidential proprietarycontent of the “prior art,” information that was or is deemed available to a person of skill in the relevant art prior to the priority date of the claimed invention. There may be prior art of which we are not aware that may affect the patentability of our patent claims or, if issued, affect the validity or enforceability of a patent claim relevant to our business. There is no assurance that there is not prior art of which we are aware, but which we do not believe is relevant to our business, which may, nonetheless, ultimately be found to limit our ability to make, use, sell, offer for sale or import our products that may be approved in the future, or impair our competitive position. Even if the patents do issue based on the patent applications we own, co-own or exclusively license, third parties may challenge the validity, enforceability or scope thereof, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, patents in our portfolio may not adequately exclude third parties from practicing relevant technology or prevent others from designing around our claims. If the breadth or strength of our intellectual property position with respect to our product candidates is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop, and threaten our ability to commercialize, our product candidates. In the event of litigation or administrative proceedings, we cannot be certain that the claims in any of our issued patents will be considered valid by courts in the United States or foreign countries.

We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our products.

As the pharmaceutical industry expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties. There can be no assurance that our operations do not, or will not in the future, infringe existing or future third-party patents. Identification of third-party patent rights that may be relevant to our operations is difficult because patent searching is imperfect due to differences in terminology among patents, incomplete databases and the difficulty in assessing the meaning of patent claims. We cannot guarantee that any of our patent searches or analyses, including the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims or the expiration of relevant patents, are complete or thorough, nor can we be certain that we have identified each and every third-party patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to our operations or necessary for the commercialization of our product candidates in any jurisdiction.

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Numerous U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications exist in our market that are owned by third parties. Our competitors in both the United States and abroad, many of which have substantially greater resources and have made substantial investments in patent portfolios and competing technologies, may have applied for or obtained or may in the future apply for and obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use and sell our products. We do not always conduct independent reviews of pending patent applications and patents issued to third parties. Patent applications in the United States and elsewhere are typically published approximately 18 months after the earliest filing for which priority is claimed, with such earliest filing date being commonly referred to as the priority date. Certain U.S. patent applications that will not be disclosedfiled outside the U.S. can remain confidential until patents issue. In addition, patent applications in the United States and elsewhere can be pending for many years before issuance, or unintentionally abandoned patents or applications can be revived. Furthermore, pending patent applications that have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover our technologies, our products or the use of our products. As such, there may be applications of others now pending or recently revived patents of which we are unaware. These patent applications may later result in issued patents, or the revival of previously abandoned patents, that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use or sell our product candidates.

The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent’s prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to market our products. We may incorrectly determine that our products are not covered by a third-party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third party’s pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our product candidates. Our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our products.

We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist which might be enforced against our current technology, including our research programs, product candidates, their respective methods of use, and manufacture thereof, and could result in either an injunction prohibiting our manufacture or future sales, or, with respect to our future sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties, which could be significant.

If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, such litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent or delay us from developing or commercializing our product candidates.

Our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates without infringing the intellectual property and other proprietary rights of third parties. Third parties may allege that we have infringed or misappropriated their intellectual property. Litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims, with or without merit, is unpredictable and generally expensive and time consuming and, even if resolved in our favor, is likely to divert significant resources from our core business, including distracting our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the pharmaceutical industry, and we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products candidates. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing or future intellectual property rights. The pharmaceutical industry has produced a significant number of patents, and it may not always be clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we were sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates, or of use either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secretsthe patent claims are invalid or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Despite these efforts, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets,unenforceable, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity of third-party patents may be difficult and uncertain. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in defending our rights in these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion.

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If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing or commercializing the infringing product candidate or product. Alternatively, we may be required to obtain adequate remediesa license from such third party in order to use the infringing technology and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing product candidate. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In addition, we could be found liable for such breaches. Enforcingmonetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a claimpatent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a party illegally disclosedsimilar negative impact on our business.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or misappropriatedenforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful and could result in a trade secret is difficult,court or administrative body finding our patents to be invalid or unenforceable.

Even if the patent applications we own, co-own or license are issued, third parties may challenge or infringe upon our patents. To counter infringement, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable.time-consuming. In addition, some courts inside and outsidepatent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are less willing or unwillingcommonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to protect trade secrets. We may need to share our proprietary information, including trade secrets, with future business partners, collaborators, contractors and others located in countries at heightened risk of theft of trade secrets, including through direct intrusion by private parties or foreign actors, and those affiliated with or controlled by state actors. Further, ifmeet any of several statutory requirements, including novelty, non-obviousness (or inventive step), written description or enablement. In addition, patent validity challenges may, under certain circumstances, be based upon non-statutory obviousness-type double patenting, which, if successful, could result in a finding that the claims are invalid for obviousness-type double patenting or the loss of patent term if a terminal disclaimer is filed to obviate a finding of obviousness-type double patenting. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld information material to patentability from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution.

Third parties may raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in the revocation or cancellation of or amendment to our trade secretspatents in such a way that they no longer cover our current or future products or provide any competitive advantage. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. If a third party were to be lawfully obtainedprevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or independently developed by a competitorunenforceability, we could lose part or all of the patent protection on one or more of our current or future products, which could result in our competitors and other third-party, we would have no right to prevent them fromthird parties using thatour technology or information to compete with us. If anySuch a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.

We are currently a party to an inter partes review of U.S. Patent No. 10,682,414 B2 that was instituted on February 14, 2022, and may, in the future, be a party to other intellectual property litigation or administrative proceedings that are very costly and time-consuming and could interfere with our ability to sell and market our products. Some of our trade secrets werecompetitors may be able to be disclosedsustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us, especially as we gain greater visibility and market exposure as a public company.

In an infringement proceeding, even one initiated by us, there is a risk that a court will decide that our patents are not valid and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions they describe. There is also the risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will refuse to stop the other party on the ground that such other party’s activities do not infringe our rights to these patents.

An adverse outcome in a litigation or independently developed by a competitorproceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against competitors, affect our ability to receive royalties or other third-party,licensing consideration from our licensees, and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making, using and selling similar or competitive products. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.

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Competitors may infringe our patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property that relate to our research programs and product candidates, their respective methods of use, manufacture and formulations thereof. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents, in addition to counterclaims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable, or both. In any patent infringement proceeding, there is a risk that a court will decide that a patent that we own or have licensed is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue. There is also a risk that, even if the validity of our patents is upheld, the court will construe the claims of our patents narrowly or decide that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover the invention at issue. An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against those parties or other competitors, and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making and selling similar or competitive products. Any of these occurrences could adversely affect our competitive business position, business prospects and financial condition. Similarly, if we assert trademark infringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be forced to cease use of such trademarks.

Even if we established infringement by competitors, a court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity by competitors and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. Moreover, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which typically last for years before they are concluded. Even if we ultimately prevail in such infringement claims, the monetary cost of such litigation and the diversion of the attention of our management and scientific personnel could outweigh any benefit we receive as a result of the proceedings.

Our product candidates may face competition sooner than expected, and our patents may be challenged.

Our success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection for our product candidates and technologies and to prevent third parties from infringing upon our proprietary rights. We must also operate without infringing upon patents and proprietary rights of others, including by obtaining appropriate licenses to patents or other proprietary rights held by third parties, if necessary. However, the patent applications we have filed or may file in the future may never yield patents that protect our inventions and intellectual property assets. Failure to obtain patents that sufficiently cover our formulations and technologies would limit our protection against generic drug manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and other parties who may seek to copy our products, produce substantially similar products or use technologies substantially similar to those we own, co-own, or exclusively license.

We do not expect to receive non-patent regulatory exclusivity for neffy if approved by the FDA under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. Without non-patent marketing exclusivity for neffy, we may face competition by third parties seeking to market generic versions of neffy as early as our approval by the FDA. In seeking approval for a drug product under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, applicants are required to list with the FDA certain patents of the applicant or that are held by third parties whose claims cover the applicant’s product. Upon approval of an NDA, each of the patents listed in the application for the drug is then published in the Orange Book. Any subsequent applicant who files an ANDA seeking approval of a generic equivalent version of a drug product listed in the Orange Book or an NDA submitted under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway referencing a drug listed in the Orange Book must make one of the following certifications to the FDA concerning patents: (1) the patent information concerning the reference listed drug product has not been submitted to the FDA; (2) any such patent that was filed has expired; (3) the date on which such patent will expire; or (4) such patent is invalid or will not be harmed.infringed upon by the manufacture, use or sale of the drug product for which the application is submitted. This last certification is known as a paragraph IV certification. A notice of the paragraph IV certification must be provided to each owner of the patent that is the subject of the certification and to the holder of the approved NDA to which the ANDA or 505(b)(2) application refers. Although we expect that our patents will be vigorously defended from infringement by third parties, there can be no assurances that we will be successful with respect to such defense or any other legal proceedings which may arise in the ordinary course of our business. Such a failure may have a material impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition in the future.

Because of the expense and uncertainty of litigation, we may not be in a position to enforce our intellectual property rights against third parties.

Because of the expense and uncertainty of litigation, we may conclude that even if a third party is infringing any one of our issued patents or other intellectual property rights, the risk-adjusted cost of bringing and enforcing such an infringement claim or action may be too high or not in the best interest of our company or our stockholders. In such cases, we may decide that the more prudent course of action is to simply monitor the situation or initiate or seek some other non-litigious action or solution.

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Intellectual property litigation may lead to unfavorable publicity that harms our reputation.

During the course of any intellectual property litigation, there could be public announcements of the initiation of the litigation as well as results of hearings, rulings on motions, and other interim proceedings in the litigation. Such announcements could harm our reputation, the perceived value of our intellectual property or the market for our existing or future products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may become subject to claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of our patents and other intellectual property.

We may be subject to claims that former employees, consultants, independent contractors, collaborators or other third parties have an interest in our patents or other intellectual property as an owner, co-owner, inventor or co-inventor. The failure to name

the proper inventors on a patent application can result in the patents issuing thereon being unenforceable. Inventorship disputes may arise from conflicting views regarding the contributions of different individuals named as inventors, the effects of foreign laws where foreign nationals are involved in the development of the subject matter of the patent, conflicting obligations of third parties involved in developing our product candidates or as a result of questions regarding co-ownership of potential joint inventions. Litigation may be necessary to resolve these and other claims challenging inventorship and/or ownership. Alternatively, or additionally, we may enter into agreements to clarify the scope of our rights in such intellectual property. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.

Our licensors may have relied on third-party consultants or collaborators or on funds from third parties, such as the U.S. government, such that our licensors are not the sole and exclusive owners of the patents we in-licensed. If other third parties have ownership rights or other rights to our in-licensed patents, they may be able to license such patents to our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. This could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

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

Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our product candidates for an adequate amount of time.

Patent rights are of limited duration. In the United States, if all maintenance fees are paid timely, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after its first effective filing date. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product, we may be open to competition from biosimilar or generic products. As a result, our patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing product candidates similar or identical to ours. Upon issuance in the United States, the term of a patent can be increased by patent term adjustment, which is based on certain delays caused by the USPTO, but this increase can be reduced or eliminated based on certain delays caused by the patent applicant during patent prosecution. The term of a United States patent may also be shortened if the patent is terminally disclaimed over an earlier-filed patent. A patent term extension (PTE) based on regulatory delay may be available in the United States. However, only a single patent can be extended for each marketing approval, and any patent can be extended only once, for a single product. Moreover, the scope of protection during the period of the PTE does not extend to the full scope of the claim, but instead only to the scope of the product as approved. Laws governing analogous PTEs in foreign jurisdictions vary widely, as do laws governing the ability to obtain multiple patents from a single patent family. Additionally, we may not receive an extension if we fail to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, apply within applicable deadlines, fail to apply prior to

expiration of relevant patents or otherwise fail to satisfy applicable requirements. If we are unable to obtain PTE or restoration, or the term of any such extension is less than we request, the period during which we will have the right to exclusively market our product will be shortened and our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration and may take advantage of our investment in development and clinical trials by referencing our clinical and preclinical data to launch their product earlier than might otherwise be the case, and our revenue could be reduced, possibly materially.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.

We have registered trademarks in the United States, as well as in foreign jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, European Union, and Japan. Our current or future trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented, or declared generic or descriptive, or determined to be infringing on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names or may be forced to stop using these names, which we need for name recognition by potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. During trademark registration proceedings, we may receive rejections of our applications by the USPTO or in other foreign jurisdictions.rejections. Although we would be given an opportunity to respond to or appeal those rejections, we may be unable to overcome such rejections. In addition, in the USPTO and in comparable agencies in many foreign jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings. If we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. We may license our trademarks and trade names to third parties, such as distributors. AlthoughThough these license agreements may provide guidelines for how our trademarks and trade names may be used, a breach of these agreements or misuse of our trademarks and tradenamestrade names by our licensees may jeopardize our rights in or diminish the goodwill associated with our trademarks and trade names.

Moreover,

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Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.

Once granted, patents may remain open to opposition, interference, re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, nullification or derivation action in court or before patent offices or similar proceedings for a given period after allowance or grant, during which time third parties can raise objections against such grant. In the course of such proceedings, which may continue for a protracted period of time, the patent owner may be compelled to limit the scope of the allowed or granted claims thus attacked, or may lose the allowed or granted claims altogether. In addition, the degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because even granted intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business. The following examples are illustrative:

others may be able to make formulations that are similar to neffy or any of our future product candidates but that are not covered by the claims of our patent rights;

the patents of third parties may have an adverse effect on our business;

we or our licensors or any future strategic partners might not have been the first to conceive or reduce to practice the inventions covered by the issued patents or pending patent applications that we own, co-own or exclusively license;

we or our licensors or any future strategic partners might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our inventions;

others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our intellectual property rights;

it is possible that our pending patent applications will not lead to issued patents;

issued patents that we may own or co-own or that we exclusively license in the future may not provide us with any competitive advantage, or may be held invalid or unenforceable, as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;

our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;

third parties performing manufacturing or testing for us using our product candidates or technologies could use the intellectual property of others without obtaining a proper license;

we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable; and

the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.

Should any nameof these events occur, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.

In addition to seeking patent protection for some of our technology and product candidates, we also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. Elements of our product candidates, including processes for their preparation and manufacture, may involve proprietary know-how, information, or technology that is not covered by patents, and thus for these aspects we may consider trade secrets and know-how to be our primary intellectual property. Any disclosure, either intentional or unintentional, by our employees, the employees of third parties with whom we share our facilities or third-party consultants and vendors that we engage to perform research, clinical trials or manufacturing activities, or misappropriation by third parties (such as through a cybersecurity breach) of our trade secrets or proprietary information could enable competitors to duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in our market.

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Trade secrets and unpatented know-how can be difficult to protect. We require our employees to enter into written employment agreements containing provisions of confidentiality and obligations to assign to us any inventions generated in the course of their employment. We and any third parties with whom we share facilities enter into written agreements that include confidentiality and intellectual property obligations to protect each party’s property, potential trade secrets, proprietary know-how and information. We further seek to protect our potential trade secrets, proprietary know-how and information in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who are given access to them, such as our corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract research organizations, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties. With our consultants, contractors and outside scientific collaborators, these agreements typically include invention assignment obligations. Although we have proposedtaken steps to use withprotect our product candidate intrade secrets and unpatented know-how, we cannot provide any assurances that all such agreements have been duly executed, and any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary technologies will be effective. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to copy or reverse engineer certain aspects of our products that we consider proprietary. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States mustare less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets.

Trade secrets may be approvedindependently developed by the FDA, regardless of whether we have registered it, or applied to register it, as a trademark. Similar requirements exist in Europe. The FDA typically conducts a review of proposed product names, including an evaluation of potential for confusion with other product names. If the FDA (or an equivalent administrative bodyothers in a foreign jurisdiction) objectsmanner that could prevent legal recourse by us. Trade secrets will over time be disseminated within the industry through independent development, the publication of journal articles and the movement of skilled personnel from company to company or academic to industry scientific positions. Though our agreements with third parties typically restrict the ability of our advisors, employees, collaborators, licensors, suppliers, third-party contractors and consultants to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets, our agreements may contain certain limited publication rights. Because from time-to-time we expect to rely on third parties in the development, manufacture and distribution of our products and provision of our services, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. Despite employing the contractual and other security precautions described above, the need to share trade secrets increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. If any of our proposedtrade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, our competitive position would be harmed.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

We employ individuals who previously worked with other companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. We could in the future be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed alleged trade secrets or other confidential information of current or former employers or competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants and independent contractors do not use the intellectual property, proprietary information, know-how or trade secrets of others in their work for us, we may become subject to claims that we caused an individual to breach the terms of his or her non-competition or non-solicitation agreement, or that we or these individuals have, inadvertently or otherwise, used or disclosed the alleged intellectual property, proprietary information, know-how or trade secrets of a current or former employer or competitor.

While we may litigate to defend against these claims, even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial costs and could be a distraction to management and other employees. If our defenses to these claims fail, in addition to requiring us to pay monetary damages, a court could prohibit us from using technologies that are essential to our product names, itcandidates, if such technologies are found to incorporate or be derived from the trade secrets or other proprietary information of the current or former employers. Moreover, any such litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our reputation, our ability to form strategic alliances or sublicense our rights to collaborators, engage with scientific advisors or hire employees or consultants, each of which would have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In the future, we may need to obtain additional licenses of third-party technology that may not be available to us or are available only on commercially unreasonable terms, and which may cause us to operate our business in a more costly or otherwise adverse manner that was not anticipated.

From time to time, we may be required to expend significantlicense technologies relating to our therapeutic programs from additional resources in an effort to identify a suitable substitute name that would qualify under applicable trademark laws, not infringe the existing rights of third parties andto further develop or commercialize our product candidates. Should we be acceptablerequired to the FDA. Furthermore, in many countries, owning and maintaining a trademark registrationobtain licenses to any third-party technology, including any such patents required to manufacture, use or sell our product candidates, such licenses may not provide an adequate defense against a subsequent infringement claim asserted bybe available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. The inability to obtain any third-party license required to develop or commercialize any of our product candidates could cause us to abandon any related efforts, which could seriously harm our business and operations.

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Any collaboration arrangements that we may enter into in the owner of a senior trademark. At times, competitors or other third partiesfuture may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impedingnot be successful, which could adversely affect our ability to build brand identitydevelop and possibly leadingcommercialize our products.

Any future collaborations that we enter into may not be successful. The success of our collaboration arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and activities of our collaborators. Collaborations are subject to market confusion. In addition,numerous risks, which may include that:

collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to collaborations;

collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of our products or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on trial or test results, changes in their strategic focus due to the acquisition of competitive products, availability of funding or other external factors, such as a business combination that diverts resources or creates competing priorities;

collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our products or product candidates;

a collaborator with marketing, manufacturing and distribution rights to one or more products may not commit sufficient resources to or otherwise not perform satisfactorily in carrying out these activities;

we could grant exclusive rights to our collaborators that would prevent us from collaborating with others;

collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our intellectual property or proprietary information in a way that gives rise to actual or threatened litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential liability;

disputes may arise between us and a collaborator that causes the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization of our current or future products or that results in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management attention and resources;

collaborations may be terminated, and, if terminated, may result in a need for additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable current or future products;

collaborators may own or co-own intellectual property covering our products that results from our collaborating with them, and in such cases, we would not have the exclusive right to develop or commercialize such intellectual property; and

a collaborator’s sales and marketing activities or other operations may not be in compliance with applicable laws resulting in civil or criminal proceedings.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations, Employee Matters and Managing Growth

A pandemic, epidemic, or outbreak of an infectious disease may materially and adversely affect our business, including our nonclinical studies, clinical trials, third parties on whom we rely, our supply chain, our ability to raise capital, our ability to conduct regular business and our financial results.

We are subject to risks related to public health crisis and any efforts to halt the spread of any public health crises. For example, COVID-19 and policies and regulations implemented by governments in response to its outbreak, such as directing businesses and governmental agencies to cease non-essential operations at physical locations, prohibiting certain nonessential gatherings and ceasing non-essential travel had a significant impact, both direct and indirect, on businesses and commerce, as worker shortages occurred, supply chains were disrupted, facilities and production were suspended, and demand for certain goods and services, such as medical services and supplies, spiked, while demand for other goods and services fell. We experienced certain impacts of COVID-19, including inability to conduct clinical trial site monitoring for certain earlier phase clinical trials and delays in completing clinical trials, bioanalytical sample analysis and study reports. There can be no guarantee we will not experience other impacts from a resurgence of COVID-19 or other pandemics, epidemics or infectious disease outbreaks, such as being forced to further delay or pause enrollment, experiencing potential interruptions to our supply chain, facing difficulties or additional costs in enrolling patients in future clinical trials or being able to achieve full enrollment of our studies within the timeframes we anticipate, or at all. Additionally, pandemics, epidemics or other infectious disease outbreaks could have extensive impacts in many aspects of society and could result in significant disruptions to the global economy, as well as businesses and capital markets around the world. Other global health concerns could also result in social, economic, and labor instability in the countries in which we or the third parties with whom we engage operate.

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While we have been working closely with our third-party manufacturers, distributors and other partners to manage our supply chain activities and mitigate potential disruptions to the production of neffy as a result of pandemics, epidemics or other infectious disease outbreaks, if such a public health crisis were to persist for an extended period of time, there could be potential trade namesignificant and material disruptions to our supply chain and operations, and associated delays in the manufacturing and supply of neffy and any future product candidates. Any such supply disruptions, including disruptions in procuring items that are essential for our development activities and securing manufacturing slots for the products needed for such activities, could adversely impact our ability to initiate and complete nonclinical studies or trademark infringement claims brought by ownersclinical trials and generate sales of and revenue from our product candidates, if approved, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

COVID-19 affected and a resurgence of COVID-19 or other registered trademarkspublic health crisis may in the future affect employees of third-party CROs located in affected geographies that we rely upon to carry out our clinical trials. If any future public health crisis is not contained, we may experience disruptions that could severely impact our business and clinical trials, including:

delays or difficulties in our commercialization efforts;

delays or difficulties in enrolling patients in our clinical trials;

delays or difficulties in clinical site initiation, including difficulties in recruiting clinical site investigators and clinical site staff;

diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of sites or facilities serving as our clinical trial sites and staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials, including our trained therapists, or absenteeism that reduces site resources;

interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site monitoring, due to limitations on travel imposed or recommended by federal, state or national governments, employers and others or interruption of clinical trial subject visits and study procedures, the occurrence of which could affect the integrity of clinical trial data;

risk that participants enrolled in our clinical trials will acquire a virus or illness while the clinical trial is ongoing, which could impact the results of the clinical trial, including by increasing the number of observed adverse events or patient withdrawals from our trials;

limitations in employee resources that would otherwise be focused on conducting our clinical trials, including because of sickness of employees or their families or the desire of employees to avoid contact with large groups of people;

delays in receiving authorizations from regulatory authorities to initiate our future clinical trials;

delays in clinical sites receiving the supplies and materials needed to conduct our clinical trials;

interruption in global shipping that may affect the transport of clinical trial materials, such as neffy used in our clinical trials;

changes in local regulations as part of a response to the public health crisis which may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or the discontinuation of the clinical trials altogether;

interruptions or delays in nonclinical studies due to restricted or limited operations at research and development laboratory facilities;

delays in necessary interactions with local regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government employees; and

refusal of the FDA, the EMA or the other regulatory bodies to accept data from clinical trials in affected geographies outside the United States, the EU or other relevant local geographies.

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Any negative impact a resurgence of COVID-19 or trademarks that incorporate variationsother public health crisis has on patient enrollment or treatment, or the development of neffy and any future product candidates, could cause costly delays to clinical trial activities, which could adversely affect our ability to obtain regulatory approval for and to commercialize neffy and any future product candidates, if approved, increase our operating expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. COVID-19 also caused significant volatility in public equity markets and disruptions to the United States and global economies and any future pandemic, epidemic, infectious disease outbreak or similar public health crisis could lead to further market dislocation. Any such increased volatility and economic dislocation may make it more difficult for us to raise capital on favorable terms, or at all. If we or any of the third parties with whom we engage were to experience renewed shutdowns or other business disruptions, our ability to conduct our business in the manner and on the timelines presently planned could be materially and negatively affected, which could have a material adverse impact on our business and our results of operations and financial conditions. To the extent a resurgence of COVID-19 or any future pandemic, epidemic, infectious disease outbreak or other public health crisis adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also heighten many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those relating to the timing and completion of our registeredclinical trials and our ability to obtain future financing.

Our success is highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled executive officers and employees.

Our success depends, and will likely continue to depend, upon our ability to hire and retain the services of our current executive officers and our other highly qualified personnel. We have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers but they may terminate their employment or unregistered trademarksengagement with us at any time. The loss of their services might impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives.

Our ability to compete in the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific and medical personnel. Our industry has experienced a high rate of turnover of management personnel in recent years. Replacing executive officers or trade names.other key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize products successfully.

Our industry has experienced a high rate of turnover in recent years. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these additional key employees on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions.

We rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors, which includes entities owned by our executive officers and directors, may be employed by other entities and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with those entities that may limit their availability to us. If we assert trademark infringement claims,are unable to continue to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, our ability to develop and commercialize neffy or any future product candidates will be limited.

We only have a courtlimited number of employees to manage and operate our business.

As of December 31, 2022, we had seventeen full-time employees and three part-time employees. Our focus on the development of neffy requires us to optimize cash utilization and to manage and operate our business in a highly efficient manner. We cannot assure you that it will be able to hire and/or retain adequate staffing levels to develop neffy or to run our operations and/or to accomplish all of the objectives that we otherwise would seek to accomplish.

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Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, current and future licensing and collaboration partners and CROs may determine that the marks we have assertedengage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could cause significant liability for us and harm our reputation.

We are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rightsexposed to the marksrisk that our employees, independent contractors, consultants, current and future licensing and collaboration partners and CROs may engage in question. Infraudulent conduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by those parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates:

FDA regulations or similar regulations of comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities, including those laws requiring the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities;

manufacturing standards;

federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations and similar laws and regulations established and enforced by comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities; and

laws that require the reporting of financial information or data accurately.

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 product materials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this case,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 be in compliance with such laws, standards or regulations. Additionally, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could ultimatelyallege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, integrity oversight and reporting obligations, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

We expect to expand our organization, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.

We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of regulatory affairs and sales, marketing and distribution, as well as to support our public company operations. To manage these growth activities, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Our management may need to devote a significant amount of our attention to managing these growth activities. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be forcedable to cease useeffectively manage the expansion or relocation of our operations, retain key employees, or identify, recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Our inability to manage the expansion or relocation of our operations effectively 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 also require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such trademarks.

as the development of neffy for additional indications or future product candidates. If we are unable to effectively manage our expected growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate revenues could be reduced and we may not be able to implement our business strategy, including the successful commercialization of neffy or any future product candidates.

Risks Related to the Securities Markets and Ownership of Our Common Stock

An active trading

The market forprice of our common stock may not continue tocould be developed or be sustained, which may make it difficult for you to sell your shares.volatile.

Prior to our initial public offering in December 2020, there had been no publicThe market for our common stock. The trading market for our common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market has been limited and an active trading market for our shares may not be sustained. If an active market for our common stock is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares at a price that is attractive to you, or at all.

The price of our common stock could be subject to volatility related or unrelatedsignificant fluctuations. Market prices for securities of pre-commercial pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other life sciences companies have historically been particularly volatile. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to our operations.fluctuate include:

our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates, and delays or failures to obtain such approvals;

failure of any of our product candidates, if approved, to achieve commercial success;

failure by us to maintain our existing third-party license and supply agreements;

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failure by us or our licensors to prosecute, maintain, or enforce our intellectual property rights;

changes in laws or regulations applicable to our product candidates;

any inability to obtain adequate supply of our product candidates or the inability to do so at acceptable prices;

adverse regulatory authority decisions;

introduction of new products, services or technologies by our competitors;

failure to meet or exceed financial and development projections we may provide to the public;

failure to meet or exceed the financial and development projections of the investment community;

the perception of the pharmaceutical industry by the public, legislatures, regulators and the investment community;

announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic collaborations, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors;

disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters, and our ability to obtain patent protection for our product candidates;

additions or departures of key personnel;

significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;

if securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our business and stock;

changes in the market valuations of similar companies;

general market or macroeconomic conditions;

sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders in the future;

trading volume of our common stock;

announcements by commercial partners or competitors of new commercial products, clinical progress or the lack thereof, significant contracts, commercial relationships or capital commitments;

adverse publicity generally, including with respect to other products and potential products in such markets;

the introduction of technological innovations or new therapies that compete with potential products of ours;

changes in the structure of health care payment systems; and

period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results.

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Moreover, the stock price may be volatile. The stock marketmarkets in general and the market for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, in particular, have experienced extremesubstantial volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particularindividual companies. As a result of this volatility, youThese broad market fluctuations may not be able to sell your shares at a price that is attractive to you, or at all. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:    

results from our ongoing clinical trials and future clinical trials with our current and future product candidates or of our competitors;

adverse results or delays in clinical trials;

failure to commercialize our product candidates;

unanticipated serious safety concerns related to immuno-oncology or related to the use of our product candidates;

changes in our projected operating results that we provide to the public, our failure to meet these projections or changes in recommendations by securities analysts that elect to follow our common stock;

any delay in our regulatory filings for our product candidates and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority’s review of such filings, including without limitation the FDA’s issuance of a “refusal to file” letter or a request for additional information;

regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;

the level of expenses related to future product candidates or clinical development programs;

our failure to achieve product development goals in the timeframe we announce;

announcements of acquisitions, strategic alliances or significant agreements by us or by our competitors;

recruitment or departure of key personnel;

the economy as a whole and market conditions in our industry;

trading activity by a limited number of stockholders who together beneficially own a majority of our outstanding common stock;

the expiration of market standoff or contractual lock-up agreements;

the size of our market float;

political uncertainty and/or instability in the United States;

the ongoing and future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken to slow its spread; and

any other events or factors discussed in this report.

In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue toalso adversely affect the market prices of equity securities of many immune-oncology companies. Stock prices of many immune-oncology companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. The trading prices for common stock of other biopharmaceutical companies have also been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, stockholders have filed securities class action lawsuits following periods of market volatility. If such securities litigation were instituted against us, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business, and adversely affect our business.

Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.

Certain of our executive officers, directors and large stockholders own a significant percentage of our outstanding capital stock. As a result of their share ownership, these stockholders will have the ability to influence us through their ownership positions. These stockholders may be able to determine all matters requiring stockholder approval. For example, these stockholders, acting together, may be able to control elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets, or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that you may believe are in your best interest as one of our stockholders.

If there are substantial sales of shares of our common stock, the price of our common stock could decline.stock.

The price of our common stock could decline if there are substantial sales of our common stock, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and significant stockholders, or if there is a large number of shares of our common stock available for sale and the market perceives that sales will occur. As of February 28, 2021, we had 34,894,423 outstanding shares of our common stock. Of these shares, approximately 13.1 million shares are freely tradable and substantially all of the remaining shares of common stock will be available for sale in the public market beginning in June 2021 following the scheduled expiration of lock-up agreements that certain of our stockholders and the underwriters entered into in connection with our initial public offering.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, SVB Leerink LLC and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated may release these stockholders from their lock-up agreements with the underwriters at any time and without notice, which would allow for earlier sales of shares in the public market.

The market price of the shares of our common stock could decline as a result of the sale of a substantial number of our shares of common stock in the public market or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell their shares.

Future sales and issuances of our common stock or rights to purchase common stock, including pursuant to our equity incentive plans, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to fall.

Additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial

dilution. We may sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner, we determine from time to time. If we sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. These sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to our existing stockholders.

Pursuant to our 2020 Plan, our management is authorized to grant stock options and other equity-based awards to our employees, directors and consultants. The number of shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under our 2020 Plan will automatically increase on January 1 of each calendar year, starting on January 1, 2021 through January 1, 2030, in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) 5.0% of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding on the last day of the calendar month before the date of each automatic increase; or (ii) a lesser number of shares determined by our board of directors prior to the applicable January 1st. If our board of directors elects to increase the number of shares available for future grant by the maximum amount each year, our stockholders may experience additional dilution, which could cause our stock price to fall.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations, or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.

We may seek additional capital through a combination of public and private equity offerings, debt financings, strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a stockholder. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed payment obligations and could involve certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms unfavorable to us.

We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.

We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock.

We could be subject to securities class action litigation.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a declineperiods of volatility in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because pharmaceutical companiesa company’s securities, stockholders have experienced significantoften instituted class action securities litigation against those companies. For example, following a decline in Silverback’s stock price, volatilitya federal securities class action complaint was filed on November 5, 2021 against Silverback and certain of its former officers and directors in recent years. Ifthe U.S. District for the Western District of Washington, captioned Dresner v. Silverback Therapeutics, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-01499, which alleges violations of (i) Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act; and (ii) Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action in May 2022. The court held a hearing on October 28, 2022 and issued an order granting defendants’ motion to dismiss without prejudice on November 4, 2022. Plaintiffs were given leave to amend and filed a Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) on December 5, 2022, which asserted Section 11 claims only with respect to Silverback’s December 3, 2020 IPO and Section 10(b) claims during a shorter class period of March 29, 2021 through March 31, 2022. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the SAC on January 2, 2023. Lead plaintiff filed an opposition brief on January 23, 2023, and defendants filed a reply brief January 27, 2023. The court is expected to issue a ruling on the motion to dismiss in the first half of 2023.Even if we faceare successful in defending against this action or any similar claims that may be brought in the future, such litigation it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain ifAdditionally, a decrease in the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will makestock price of our common stock less attractivemay cause our common stock to investors.no longer satisfy the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. If we are not able to maintain the requirements for listing on Nasdaq, we could be delisted, which could have a materially adverse effect on our ability to raise additional funds as well as the price and liquidity of our common stock.

We will incur costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies.

We will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company prior to the Merger, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We will also incur costs associated with corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as new requirements implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq. These rules and regulations are an “emerging growth company” as defined inexpected to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time consuming and costly. For example, our management team consists of the JOBS Act, and we intendexecutive officers of ARS Pharma prior to take advantage ofthe Merger, some of the exemptions from reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including:

being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure;

not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting;

not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;

reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation; and

not being required to hold a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation or obtain stockholder approval of any golden parachute paymentswhom have not previously approved.

In addition,managed and operated a public company. These executive officers and other personnel will need to devote substantial time to gaining expertise regarding operations as an “emerging growth company” the JOBS Act allowsa public company and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. These rules and regulations also may make it difficult and expensive for us to delay adoption of new or revised accounting pronouncements applicable to public companies until such pronouncements are made applicable to private companies, unless we later irrevocably elect not to avail ourselves of this exemption. We have elected to use this extended transition period under the JOBS Act.obtain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of issuers who are required to comply with the effective dates for new or revised accounting standards that are applicable to public companies, which may make comparison of our financials to those of other public companies more difficult.

We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock priceit may be more volatile. Wedifficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our board of directors or as our executive officers, which may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliestadversely affect investor confidence in us and could cause our business or stock price to occur of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have at least $1.07 billion in annual revenue; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act); (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt securities during the prior three-year period; and (iv) December 31, 2025.suffer.

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Delaware law and provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could make a merger, tender offer or proxy contest difficult, thereby depressing the trading price of our common stock.

Our status as a Delaware corporation and the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and

restated bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our companyus more difficult, including the following:

a classified board of directors with three-year staggered terms, which could delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our board of directors;

the ability of our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;

a classified board of directors with three-year staggered terms, which could delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our board of directors;

the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of our board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;

a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders;

the ability of our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;

the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our entire board of directors, the chair of our board of directors or our chief executive officer, which could delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;

the requirement for the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66-2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of our voting stock, voting together as a single class, to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation relating to the management of our business or our amended and restated bylaws, which may inhibit the ability of an acquirer to affect such amendments to facilitate an unsolicited takeover attempt; and

the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of our board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;

advance notice procedures with which stockholders must comply to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.

a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders;

the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our entire board of directors, the chairman of our board of directors or our chief executive officer, which could delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;

the requirement for the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66-2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of the voting stock, voting together as a single class, to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation relating to the management of our business or our amended and restated bylaws, which may inhibit the ability of an acquirer to affect such amendments to facilitate an unsolicited takeover attempt; and

advance notice procedures with which stockholders must comply to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.

In addition, as a Delaware corporation, we arewill be subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.DGCL. These provisions may prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us for a certain period of time. A Delaware corporation may opt out of this provision by express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or by amendment to its certificate of incorporation or bylaws approved by its stockholders. However, we have not opted out of this provision.

These and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirors to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by our then-current board of directors, including delay or impede a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company.us. The existence of these provisions could negatively affect the price of our common stock and limit opportunities for youour stockholders to realize value in a corporate transaction.

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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the state courts the State of Delaware or, if no state court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal court for the District of Delaware, and the federal district courts of the United States of America to be the exclusive forums for certain types of actionssubstantially all disputes between us and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could discourage lawsuits againstlimit our company andstockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers and employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of

the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) and any appellate court therefrom shall will be the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;behalf of us; (ii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees, arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law,DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; (iv) any action or proceeding to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; (v) any action or proceeding as to which the Delaware General Corporation LawDGCL confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; and (vi) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or other employees, governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided, that, thisdoctrine.

This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act or any other claimcreates concurrent jurisdiction for which thefederal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

In addition,jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum.

These exclusive-forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees and may discourage these types of lawsuits, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.Act. While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid and several state trial courts have enforced such provisions and required that suits asserting Securities Act claims be filed in federal court, there is no guarantee that courts of appeal will affirm the enforceability of such provisions and a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions. In such instance, we would expect to vigorously assert the validity and enforceability of the exclusive forum provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This may require significant additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions and there can be no assurance that the provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. If a court were to find either exclusive forum provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur further significant additional costs associated with litigating Securities Act claims in state court, or both state and federal court, which could seriously harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

General Risk FactorsThese exclusive forum provisions may make it more expensive for stockholders to bring a claim than if the stockholders were permitted to select another jurisdiction and limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. If a court were to find either exclusive-forum provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur further significant additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, all of which could seriously harm our business.

We incur significantly increased costs asdo not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

We plan to retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of operating as a public company,our common stock will be our stockholders’ sole source of gain, if any, for the foreseeable future.

An active trading market for our common stock may not develop and our managementstockholders may not be able to resell their shares of common stock for a profit, if at all.

Prior to the Merger, there had been no public market for our common stock. An active trading market for our shares of common stock may never develop or be sustained. If an active market for our common stock does not develop or is requirednot sustained, it may be difficult for our stockholders to devotesell their shares at an attractive price or at all.

Future sales of shares by existing stockholders could cause our stock price to decline.

If our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial timeamounts of our common stock in the public market after any applicable legal restrictions on resale lapse, the trading price of our common stock could decline. We are not able to new compliance initiatives.

As a public company listedpredict the effect that sales may have on the Nasdaq Global Market, we incur significant legal, accountingprevailing market price of our common stock.

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If equity research analysts do not publish research or reports, or publish unfavorable research or reports, about us, our business or our market, our stock price and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implementedtrading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the SEC,research and the Nasdaq Global Market have imposed various requirements on public companies. In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reformreports that equity research analysts publish about us and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act) was enacted. There are significant corporate governance and executive compensation related provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act that require the SECour business. Equity research analysts may elect not to adopt additional rules and regulations in these areas such as “say on pay” and proxy access. Recent legislation permits smaller “emerging growth companies” to implement many of these requirements over a longer period and up to five years from the pricingprovide research coverage of our initial public offering. We intend to continue to take advantagecommon stock, and such lack of this new legislation but cannot guarantee thatresearch coverage may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the event we do have equity research analyst coverage, we will not be requiredhave any control over the analysts, or the content and opinions included in their reports. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our stock or issue other unfavorable commentary or research. If one or more equity research analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to implement these requirements sooner than budgetedpublish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which in turn could cause our stock price or planned and thereby incur unexpected expenses. Stockholder activism, the current political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may leadtrading volume to substantial new regulations and

decline.

disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currently anticipate. Our management and other personnel need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time- consuming and costlier. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we are required to incur substantial costs to maintain our current levels of such coverage.

If we fail to maintain proper and effective disclosureinternal controls, and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulationson a timely basis could be impaired.

As a public company, weWe are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Global Market, the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources. Company responsibilities required by theNasdaq. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act include,requires, among other things, that we maintain corporate oversight and adequate internal control over financial reporting andeffective disclosure controls and procedures. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. We are also continuing to improve our internal control over financial reporting. In order to develop, maintain, and improve the effectiveness of our internal controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended,reporting. We must perform system and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costsprocess evaluation and significant management oversight

Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate becausetesting of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a private company prior to the Merger, we have never been required to test our internal controls within a specified period. This will require that we incur substantial professional fees and internal costs to expand our accounting and finance functions and that we expend significant management efforts. We may be discoveredexperience difficulty in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet ourmeeting these reporting obligations and may resultrequirements in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain, or any disruptions or difficulties in implementing or using, such a system could adversely affect our controls and harm our business. Moreover, such disruption or difficulties could result in unanticipated costs and diversion of management attention. In addition, wetimely manner.

We may discover weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.

If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud,that were to happen, the market price of our business and results of operationscommon stock could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial informationdecline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Any failure

We are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to maintain effective disclosure controls

and internal control over financial reporting could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition and could cause a decline in the trading price of“emerging growth companies” will make our common stock.stock less attractive to investors.

Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”). For so long as we are an “emerging growth company,” we plan to take advantage of certain exemptions from reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive, or us less comparable to certain other public companies because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

Under the JOBS Act, “emerging growth companies” can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourself of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards, and, therefore, will be subject to the periodic reporting requirementssame new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.”

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Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

We have incurred substantial losses during our history. Unused federal net operating losses (“NOLs”) for the tax years beginning before January 1, 2018, will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire. Unused federal NOLs generated in tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, will not expire and may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal NOL carryforwards in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, is limited to 80% of taxable income. In addition, both current and future unused losses and other tax attributes may be subject to limitation under Sections 382 and 383 of the Exchange Act. We designedCode if we undergo an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in our disclosure controls and proceduresequity ownership by certain stockholders over a three-year period. The Merger resulted in an ownership change of our company. The NOL carryforwards of pre-Merger, privately-held ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ARS Pharma”) may also be subject to reasonably assure that information we must discloselimitation as a result of prior shifts in reports we file equity ownership and/or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, and recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specifiedMerger. Additional ownership changes in the rules and formsfuture could result in additional limitations on our NOL carryforwards. Similar provisions of state tax law may also apply to limit our use of accumulated state tax attributes. In addition, at the SEC. We believe that any disclosure controls and proceduresstate level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well-conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met.

These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple errorotherwise limited, which could accelerate or mistake. For example, our directors or executive officers could inadvertently fail to disclose a new relationship or arrangement causing us to fail to make any related party transaction disclosures. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements due to error or fraudpermanently increase state taxes owed. Consequently, even if we achieve profitability, we may occur and not be detected.

Future changes in financial accounting standards or practices may cause adverse and unexpected revenue fluctuations and adversely affect our reported results of operations.

Future changes in financial accounting standards may cause adverse, unexpected revenue fluctuations and affect our reported financial position or results of operations. Financial accounting standards in the United States are constantly under review and new pronouncements and varying interpretations of pronouncements have occurred with frequency in the past and are expectedable to occur again in the future. As a result, we may be required to make changes in our accounting policies. Those changes could affect our financial condition and results of operations or the way in which such financial condition and results of operations are reported. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from business activities to compliance activities. See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Accounting Pronouncements.”

Changes in tax laws or regulations that are applied adversely to us or our customers may haveutilize a material adverse effect onportion of our, NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes, which could adversely affect our business, cash flow, financial condition or results of operations.

New income, sales, use, or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be enacted at any time, which could adversely affect our business operations and financial performance. Further, existing tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations, or ordinances could be interpreted, changed, modified, or applied adversely to us. For example, the Tax Act enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to the Tax Act may affect us, and certain aspects of the Tax Act could be repealed or modified in future legislation. For example, the CARES Act modified certain provisions of the Tax Act. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act or any newly enacted federal tax legislation. Changes in corporate tax rates, the realization of net deferred tax assets relating to our operations, the taxation of foreign earnings, and the deductibility of expenses under the Tax Act or future reform legislation could have a material impact on the value of our deferred

tax assets, could result in significant one-time charges, and could increase our future U.S. tax expense.

Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and stock price.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken to slow its spread, the global credit and financial markets have recently experienced extreme volatility and disruptions, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates and uncertainty about economic stability. There can be no assurance that further deterioration in credit and financial markets and confidence in economic conditions will not occur. Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment or continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions. If the current equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult, more costly and more dilutive. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our growth strategy, financial performance and stock price and could require us to delay or abandon clinical development plans. In addition, there is a risk that one or more of our current service providers, manufacturers and other partners may not survive an economic downturn, which could directly affect our ability to attain our operating goals on schedule and on budget.

Our internal information technology systems, or those of our third-party CROs or other contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, loss or leakage of data, and other disruptions, which could result in a material disruption of our product candidates’ development programs, compromise sensitive information related to our business or prevent us from accessing critical information, potentially exposing us to liability or otherwise adversely affecting our business.

We are increasingly dependent upon information technology systems, infrastructure and data to operate our business. In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store and transmit confidential information (including but not limited to intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information). It is critical that we do so in a secure manner to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of such confidential information. We also have outsourced elements of our operations to third parties, and as a result we manage a number of third-party contractors who have access to our confidential information.

Despite the implementation of security measures, given their size and complexity and the increasing amounts of confidential information that they maintain, our internal information technology systems and those of our third-party CROs and other contractors and consultants are potentially vulnerable to breakdown or other damage or interruption from service interruptions, system malfunction, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures, as well as security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees, contractors, consultants, business partners, and/or other third parties, or from cyber-attacks by malicious third parties (including the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information), which may compromise our system infrastructure or lead to data leakage. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and reputational damage and the further development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed.

We cannot assure you that our data protection efforts and our investment in information technology will prevent significant breakdowns, data leakages, breaches in our systems or other cyber

incidents that could have a material adverse effect upon our reputation, business, operations or financial condition. For example, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our programs and the development of our product candidates could be delayed. In addition, the loss of clinical trial data for our product candidates could result in delays in our marketing approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Furthermore, significant disruptions of our internal information technology systems or security breaches could result in the loss, misappropriation, and/or unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of, or the prevention of access to, confidential information (including trade secrets or other intellectual property, proprietary business information, and personal information), which could result in financial, legal, business, and reputational harm to us. For example, any such event that leads to unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of personal information, including personal information regarding our clinical trial subjects or employees, could harm our reputation directly, compel us to comply with federal and/or state breach notification laws and foreign law equivalents, subject us to mandatory corrective action, and otherwise subject us to liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy and security of personal information, which could result in significant legal and financial exposure and reputational damages that could potentially have an adverse effect on our business.

We or the third parties upon whom we depend may be adversely affected by earthquakes, fires or other natural disasters and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans may not adequately protect us from a serious disaster.

Our headquarters and main research facility are located in Seattle, Washington, which in the past has experienced severe earthquakes and fires. If these earthquakes, fires, other natural disasters, terrorism and similar unforeseen events beyond our control prevented us from using all or a significant portion of our headquarters or research facility, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. We do not have a disaster recovery or business continuity plan in place and may incur substantial expenses as a result of the absence or limited nature of our internal or third-party service provider disaster recovery and business continuity plans, which, particularly when taken together with our lack of earthquake insurance, could have a material adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, integral parties in our supply chain are operating from single sites, increasing their vulnerability to natural disasters or other sudden, unforeseen and severe adverse events. If such an event were to affect our supply chain, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our clinical trials, our development plans and business.

We are subject to certain U.S. and foreign anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, export control, sanctions, and other trade laws and regulations. We can face serious consequences for violations.

U.S. and foreign anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, export control, sanctions, and other trade laws and regulations, or collectively, Trade Laws, prohibit, among other things, companies and their employees, agents, CROs, legal counsel, accountants, consultants, contractors, and other partners from authorizing, promising, offering, providing, soliciting, or receiving directly or indirectly, corrupt or improper payments or anything else of value to or from recipients in the public or private sector. Violations of Trade Laws can result in substantial criminal fines and civil penalties, imprisonment, the loss of trade privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm, and other consequences. We have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or government-affiliated hospitals, universities, and other organizations. We also expect our non-U.S. activities to increase over time. We expect to rely on third parties for research, preclinical studies, and clinical trials and/or to obtain necessary permits, licenses, patent registrations, and other marketing approvals. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our personnel, agents, or partners, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have prior knowledge of such activities.

If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

We, and the third parties with whom we share our facilities, are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. Each of our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological and radioactive materials. Each of our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. We could be held liable for any resulting damages in the event of contamination or injury resulting from the use of hazardous materials by us or the third parties with whom we share our facilities, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties.

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

In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research and development. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Patent protection is available on a national or regional level. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents throughout the world and on all of our product candidates would be prohibitively expensive. As such, our intellectual property rights outside the United States may not extend to all other possible countries outside the United States and we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in countries outside the United States where we do not have patent protection, or from selling in and importing products into other jurisdictions made using our inventions in such countries outside the United States. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products or technology and may export otherwise infringing products or technology to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement rights are not as strong as those in the United States. These products may compete with our products, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing. Further, the legal systems of certain countries particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to pharmaceuticals or biologics, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any such lawsuits that we initiate and the damages and other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Similarly, if our trade secrets are disclosed in a foreign jurisdiction, competitors worldwide could have access to our proprietary information and we may be without satisfactory recourse. Such disclosure could have a material adverse effect on our business. Moreover, our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights may be adversely affected by unforeseen changes in foreign intellectual

property laws. We currently have and may in the future enter into more contract research and manufacturing relationships with organizations that operate in certain countries that are at heightened risk of theft of technology, data and intellectual property, including through direct intrusion by private parties or foreign actors, and those affiliated with or controlled by state actors. In addition, certain developing countries, including China and India, have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled under certain circumstances to grant licenses to third parties at nominal or no consideration. In those countries, we and our licensors may have limited remedies if patents are infringed or if we or our licensors are compelled to grant a license to a third-party, which could materially diminish the value of those patents. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. This could limit our potential revenue opportunities. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on our company. If no or only very few securities analysts commence coverage of us, or if industry analysts cease coverage of us, the trading price for our common stock would be negatively affected. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our common stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our common stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which might cause our common stock price and trading volume to decline.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.

Our corporate headquarters isare located in Seattle, Washington,San Diego, California, where we lease approximately 19,8294,047 square feet of office laboratory and storage space pursuant to aspace. This existing lease agreement that commencedwill expire on November 1, 2016 and expires on October 31, 2026.February 28, 2025. We believe that our existing facilities are adequate for the foreseeable future. As we expand, we believe that suitable additional alternative spaces will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms, if required.our current needs.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

From time to time, we may becomebe involved in various claims and legal proceedings or be subjectrelating to claims arising in the ordinary courseout of our business. We are not currently a party tooperations. See Note 7- Commitments and Contingencies of this Annual Report, which is incorporated by reference in this Item 3, for any material legal proceedings. Regardless of outcome, such proceedings or claims can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of resources and other factors, and there can be no assurances that favorable outcomes will be obtained.required disclosure.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

OurOn November 8, 2022, Silverback completed its reverse merger with privately-held ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. On November 9, 2022, the combined company changed its name to ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Silverback’s shares of common stock has beenwere listed on the Nasdaq Global Market from December 4, 2020 through the close of business on November 8, 2022 under the ticker symbol “SBTX.” On November 9, 2022, we began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “SBTX” since December 4, 2020. Prior to that date, there was no public market for our common stock.“SPRY.”

Holders of Common Stock

As of February 28, 2021,March 17, 2023, there were 34,894,423 sharesapproximately 29 holders of record of our common stock. Because most of our common stock issued andis held by approximately 61brokers, nominees, and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, of record. The actualwe are unable to estimate the total number of stockholders is greater than this number ofrepresented by these record holders and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners but whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other nominees.holders.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

Information about securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans is incorporated herein by reference to Item 12 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Dividend Policy

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to support our operations and finance the growth and development of our business. We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued and sold the following unregistered securities:None.

(1)

In March 2020, we entered into a Series B Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with various investors, pursuant to which we issued and sold to such investors an aggregate of 10,027,666 shares of our Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of $2.16 per share, and received gross proceeds of $21.5 million and 4,673,388 shares upon conversion of then outstanding convertible notes.

(2)

In July 2020, pursuant to the March 2020 Series B Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with various investors, we issued and sold to such investors an aggregate of 10,669,834 shares of our Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of $2.16 per share, and received gross proceeds of $23.0 million.

(3)

In September 2020, pursuant to the March 2020 Series B Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with various investors, we issued and sold to such investors an aggregate of 11,063,028 shares of our Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of $2.16 per share, and received gross proceeds of $23.9 million.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(4)

In September 2020, we entered into a Series C Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with various investors, pursuant to which we issued and sold to such investors an aggregate of 24,926,685 shares of our Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of $3.41 per share, and received gross proceeds of $84.9 million.

(5)

From January 1, 2020 through December 2, 2020, which is the day before we priced our initial public offering, we granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of 3,213,541 shares of our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $3.67 per share, to certain of our employees and directors in connection with services provided to us by such persons. Of these, 131,266 options have been exercised and 5,772 options have been cancelled through December 31, 2020.

The issuance of securities described above in paragraphs (1) through (4) were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) (or Regulation D promulgated thereunder) in that the issuance of securities to the accredited investors did not involve a public offering. The recipients of securities in each of these transactions acquired the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and appropriate legends were affixed to the securities issued in these transactions. Each of the recipients of securities in these transactions was an accredited investor under Rule 501 of Regulation D. No underwriters were involved in these transactions.None.

The issuance of securities described above in paragraph (5) was deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on either Rule 701 in that the transactions were under compensatory benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation as provided under Rule 701 or Section 4(a)(2) in that the issuance of securities to the accredited investors did not involve a public offering. The recipients of such securities were our employees and directors and received the securities under our 2016 Equity Incentive Plan.

Use of Proceeds

On December 3, 2020, we commenced our initial public offering (“IPO”) pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009) that was declared effective by the SEC on December 3, 2020, for 11,500,000 shares of our common stock for sale to the public at a price of $21.00 per share. In addition, in December 2020, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option to purchase 1,725,000 additional shares of our common stock in the initial public offering at the public offering price of $21.00 per share, such that the aggregate offering price of our initial public offeringthe IPO was $277.7 million. The net offering proceeds to us, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering costs, were $255.3 million. No offering expenses were paid directly or indirectly to any of our directors or officers (or their associates) or persons owning 10% or more of any class of our equity securities or to any other affiliates. The underwriters for our initial public offering were Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, SVB Leerink LLC, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, and H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC.

Upon receipt,On November 8, 2022, Silverback completed its reverse merger with privately-held ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. On November 9, 2022, the combined company changed its name to ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The net proceeds from ourthe IPO wereare held in cash and cash equivalents, primarily in treasury money market accounts.accounts, and investments, primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. Through December 31, 2020, we have not used any2022, approximately $95.7 million of the net proceeds from our IPO. the IPO have been used, of which, (i) an estimated $51.7 million was used toward development of Silverback’s product candidates, (ii) $0.8 million was used to repay outstanding indebtedness, (iii) $16.0 million was used for transaction costs related to the Merger, including $7.0 million in severance and change in control benefit payments made to Silverback’s former officers and (iv) an estimated $27.2 million was used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

There hashave been no material change inupdates to the planned use of proceeds information from our initial public offeringthe IPO as described in our final prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) on December 4, 2020.2020, except as otherwise disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on August 11, 2022. We continue to intend to use the remaining net proceeds from the IPO, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, to fund the development and, if approved, commercialization of neffy for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions and other indications, as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds from the IPO to in-license, acquire or invest in complementary businesses, technologies, products or assets. However, we have no current commitments or obligations to do so.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities95


Not applicable.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.[Reserved]

Not applicable.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.Operations

You should read the following discussion and analysis together with our financial statements and related notes included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Report. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a complete discussion of forward-looking statements, see the section above entitled “Forward Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under the caption “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with onefocused on the development of our novel, potentially first-in-class product candidate, in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial, and we are focused on leveraging our proprietary ImmunoTAC technology platformneffy (previously referred to develop systemically delivered, tissue targeted therapeuticsas ARS-1) for the emergency treatment of cancer, chronic viral infections,Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. neffy is a proprietary composition of epinephrine with an innovative absorption enhancer called Intravail®, which allows neffy to provide intranasal delivery of epinephrine.

We believe neffy’s “no needle, no injection” approach will address a significant unmet need in the use of epinephrine, which is currently approved only in injectable formulations for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions. There are approximately 25 to 40 million people in the United States who experience Type I allergic reactions. Of this group, approximately 16 million people have been diagnosed and other serious diseases. Our platform enables usexperienced severe Type I allergic reactions that may lead to strategically pair proprietary linker-payloads that modulate key disease-modifying pathwaysanaphylaxis, but only 3.3 million currently have an active epinephrine autoinjector prescription, and of those, only half consistently carry their prescribed autoinjector with monoclonal antibodies directed to specific disease sites. Initially, we are applying our platform to create a new class of targeted immuno-oncology agents that direct a myeloid cell activatorthem due to the tumor microenvironmentmany drawbacks of these devices. In aggregate, we estimate that 90% of patients prescribed an epinephrine device are not achieving an optimal treatment outcome today. These drawbacks include the use of needles in solid tumorsthe devices, which can result in patient and caregiver injury as well as hesitation and delays in administration due principally to promote cancer cell killing. Our lead product candidate, SBT6050, is comprisedapprehension and pain of needles, allowing the allergic reaction to progress in severity leading to symptoms that seriously impact patient quality of life, to potential need for emergency services and/or hospitalizations, and to life-threatening symptoms or events. Intra-muscular injections also are subject to dosing errors and risk of accidental blood vessel injections, which can cause a TLR8 agonist linker-payload conjugatedsignificant spike in the intravascular delivery of epinephrine potentially leading to serious cardiovascular complications or events. We believe neffy’s “no needle, no injection” delivery that eliminates apprehension, pain and safety concerns, small size allowing for ease of portability, ease of use, and high reliability provide it with a user-friendly profile that will increase prescriptions for epinephrine and make it more likely for patients and caregivers to administer epinephrine sooner, achieve more rapid symptom relief and prevent the allergic reaction from progressing to a HER2-directed monoclonal antibodylevel of severity that targets tumors such as certain breast, gastric and non-small cell lung cancers. SBT6050 is currently in a Phase 1/1b clinical trial as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab, in patients with advancedcould lead to hospitalization or metastatic HER2-expressing solid tumors. In this trial, we have observed changes in pharmacodynamic markers in the first dose cohort, and we anticipate providing an update on interim dataeven death.

Data from the Phase 1 single agent dose-escalation cohorts in the second halfour studies of 2021. SBT6290 is our second product candidate, expanding on the potentialneffy demonstrated nasally delivered epinephrine reached blood levels comparable to those of a TLR8 agonist as a payload. SBT6290 is a TLR8 linker-payload conjugated to a monoclonal antibody that targets Nectin4, which is expressed in certain bladder, triple negative breast, head and neck, and non-small cell lung cancers. We anticipate submitting an investigational new drug applicationalready approved epinephrine injectable products. Our NDA was accepted for SBT6290review by FDA in the fourth quarter of 2021. Our third TLR8 program, SBT8230,2022 with an anticipated mid-2023 PDUFA target action date and if our NDA is comprised of a TLR8 linker-payload conjugated to an ASGR1 monoclonal antibody that is under developmentapproved, we believe neffy will be the first “no needle, no injection” marketed epinephrine product for the emergency treatment of cHBV. We are also developing agents that localize therapiesType I allergic reactions. However, the timing for regulatory approvals is outside our control, may be delayed and is uncertain.

Since our inception in 2015 as ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we have devoted substantially all of our efforts and financial resources to modulate important pathways in additional oncologyorganizing and fibrosis indications using TLR8 and other linker-payloads.

Our ImmunoTAC platform drivesstaffing our development pipeline of tissue targeted therapeutic candidates as summarized in the chart below:

LOGO

We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception. As of December 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $96.7 million. Our net losses were $32.9 million and $24.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our losses have resulted primarily from costs incurred in connection withcompany, business planning, raising capital, performing research and development activities, and providing general and administrative expenses.support for these operations. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenueproduct sales. We have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from product sales or otherwise.the Merger, private placement of convertible preferred stock, licensing, supply and distribution arrangements with our commercialization partners, and bank debt. From inception to December 31, 2022, we have raised $262.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, net of transaction costs, from the Merger, net proceeds of $76.3 million from the issuance of convertible preferred and common stock, $27.8 million from our collaboration, licensing, supply and distribution arrangements, and $10.0 million from bank debt. As of December 31, 2022, we had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $274.4 million.

96


We expecthave incurred net losses from operations since our expenses will increase substantially and that we will continue to incur significant lossesinception. Our net loss was $34.7 million for the foreseeable futureyear ended December 31, 2022 and as of December 31, 2022 we continue our developmenthad an accumulated deficit of and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates and begin to commercialize any approved products, seek to expand our product pipeline, invest in our organization and technology platform, as well as incur expenses associated with operating as a public company.$76.9 million. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on a variety of factors including the timing and scope of our preclinical studiesclinical trials, our expenditures on other development activities, the cost for regulatory filings, expenses for pre-commercial activities to establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for our product candidates, and our ability to earn potential regulatory and commercial milestones under our collaboration arrangements. We expect our expenses and operating losses will increase substantially as our product candidate, neffy potentially is approved by the FDA and we commence commercialization efforts, any future product candidates advance through clinical trials. Accordingly,trials, we expand our clinical, regulatory, quality, manufacturing and pre-commercial sales and marketing capabilities, and incur additional costs to operate as a public company following the completion of the Merger. If we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we will incur significant commercialization expenses for marketing, sales, manufacturing and distribution activities, and added expenditures to expand our operational, financial and management systems and increase personnel to support these operations.

We do not expect to generate any revenues from product sales unless and until we successfully obtain regulatory approval for one or more product candidates, if ever. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate significantsubstantial product revenue, from sales of our product candidates, if ever, we expect tomay finance our operations through our existing cash, needs through public or privatecash equivalents, short-term investments, equity offerings, debt financings and other capital sources which may include collaborations, andstrategic alliances, marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements or other arrangements with third parties. However, we may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other arrangements when needed on favorable terms or at all. In addition, any future debt agreements may limit our ability to enter into certain debt financings without the consent of the lenders thereunder. Our failure to raise capital sources.or enter into such other arrangements when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and may require us to delay, reduce or terminate our research and development programs or other operations, or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

We do not own or operate manufacturing facilities. We currently rely on third-party manufacturers and suppliers for neffy, and we expect to continue to do so to meet our nonclinical, clinical and any commercial activities. Our third-party manufacturers are required to manufacture our product candidates under cGMP requirements and other applicable laws and regulations.

Merger

On November 8, 2022 (the “Closing Date”), privately-held ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ARS Pharma ) merged with Silverback Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Silverback”), a publicly traded company. In December 2020, we completed our initial public offeringaccordance with the terms of the agreement and plan of merger and reorganization, dated July 21, 2022, as amended on August 11, 2022 and October 25, 2022 (the “Merger Agreement”), Sabre Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Silverback, merged into ARS Pharma, with ARS Pharma surviving as Silverback’s wholly-owned subsidiary. At the completion of the Merger, the prior ARS Pharma equityholders owned 62% and the prior Silverback equityholders owned 38% of the combined company, in which we sold 13,225,000each case on a fully diluted basis using the treasury stock method and excluding out-of-money options of Silverback. Upon completion of the Merger, Silverback changed its name to ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. As, among other facts, the stockholders of ARS Pharma owned a majority of the combined company, the Merger was treated for accounting purposes as if ARS Pharma had acquired Silverback. As a result of the Merger being accounted for as if ARS Pharma had acquired Silverback, the financial statements of ARS Pharma are presented as the historical financial statements of the combined company for all periods presented.

At the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), each share of ARS Pharma common stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all shares of ourpreferred stock of ARS Pharma into shares of ARS Pharma common stock at $21.00 per shareimmediately prior to the Effective Time (the “Preferred Stock Conversion”), (excluding shares held as treasury stock by ARS Pharma or held or owned by Silverback, Merger Sub or any subsidiary of Silverback or ARS Pharma and received net proceeds, after underwriting discountsdissenting shares) were automatically converted into the right to receive shares of Silverback common stock equal to the exchange ratio of 1.1819. Outstanding and offering costs,unexercised options and warrants to purchase shares of $255.3 million. Further, in March, July,ARS Pharma common stock were converted into options and warrants to purchase shares of Silverback common stock.

Recent Events

In September 2020, we raised net proceedsentered into a license and supply agreement (the “Recordati License and Supply Agreement”) with Recordati Ireland, Ltd (“Recordati”). Pursuant to the Recordati License and Supply Agreement, we granted Recordati an exclusive, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license under our patents relating to neffy to (i) perform Recordati’s development activities on the epinephrine compositions (“Recordati Licensed Compositions”) and related products (“Recordati Licensed Products”) for commercialization in the EU, United Kingdom, and certain countries in the Middle East, Africa and Eurasia (the “Recordati Territory”), (ii) manufacture (or have manufactured) the Recordati Licensed Products for commercialization in the Recordati Territory, (iii) file and hold regulatory approvals for the Licensed Products in the Recordati Territory, and (iv) commercialize the Recordati Licensed Products in the Recordati Territory (collectively, the “Recordati Rights”).

97


On February 22, 2023, we entered into the Termination Agreement with Recordati, pursuant to which, among other things, we and Recordati agreed to terminate the Recordati License and Supply Agreement. Pursuant to the Termination Agreement, we will reacquire all of $153.3the Recordati Rights and have agreed to pay Recordati a one-time upfront payment of €3.0 million and additional payments upon achievement of certain milestones including: (i) an EMA regulatory milestone payment of €2.0 million, (ii) a milestone payment of €5.0 million upon first commercial sale of a Recordati Licensed Product in the Recordati Territory, and (iii) milestone payments of up to €5.0 million in the aggregate from sales of Recordati Licensed Product(s) in the Recordati Territory.

Financial Overview

Revenues

To date, we have not generated any revenues from the commercial sale of any products, and we may not generate revenues from the commercial sale of any products. We have signed collaboration and license agreements including supply and distribution for neffy with Alfresa Pharma in Japan and Pediatrix in China. The terms of these agreements may include payment to us of one or more of the following: non-refundable, up-front license fees; clinical, regulatory, and/or commercial milestone payments; clinical development fees; and royalties or a transfer price on net sales of licensed products if neffy receives marketing approval in these regions. In addition, we previously entered into the Recordati License and Supply Agreement, which was terminated in February 2023. We expect revenues to fluctuate in future periods based on our redeemable convertible preferred stock.ability to meet various regulatory milestones, and contingent on successfully obtaining regulatory approval for neffy in the US and the licensed regions, US product sales, commercial milestones, royalties or transfer price earned from our partner’s net sales and the supply of commercial product as set forth in the agreements described earlier.

Components of Our Results of OperationsResearch and Development Expenses

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses consist of (i)To date, our research and development expenses have related primarily to clinical development, process development and (ii) general and administrative expenses.

manufacturing costs of our product candidate. Research and Developmentdevelopment expenses are recognized as incurred and payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services to be used in research and development are capitalized until the goods or services are received.

Research and development expenses include:

salaries, payroll taxes, benefits and stock-based compensation charges for personnel engaged in research and development efforts;

external research and development expenses incurred under agreements with contract research organizations, or CROs, investigative sites and consultants and other third-party organizations to conduct our clinical studies and development activities;

costs related to manufacturing our product candidates for clinical trials and process validation studies, including fees paid to third-party manufacturers;

costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements and regulatory filings; and

indirect expenses including insurance and facility-related expenses.

Our external research and development expenses consistfor our clinical stage product candidate consists primarily of directfees, materials and other costs paid to CROs, CMOs, consultant and contractors. Our clinical trials and manufacturing costs for the periods presented below reflect an allocation of expenses associated with personnel costs, equity-based compensation expense, and indirect costs incurred in connection with the developmentsupport of our ImmunoTAC technology platform, product candidates, discovery efforts and preclinical studies and clinical trial activities related to our program pipeline, including our lead product candidate, SBT6050.

Our direct costs include:

expenses incurred under agreements with CROs and other vendors that conduct our preclinical and clinical activities;

expenses associated with manufacturing our product candidates including under agreements with CDMOs and other vendors; and

consulting fees.

Our indirect costs include:

personnel-related expenses, consisting of employee salaries, bonuses, benefits, and stock-based compensation expense and recruiting costs for personnel engaged inoverall research and development, activities;

facility and equipment related expenses, consisting of indirect and allocated expenses for rent, depreciation, and equipment maintenance; and

other unallocated research and development expenses incurred in connection with our research and development programs, including laboratory materials and supplies and license fees.

We expense research and development costssuch as incurred. Non-refundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used over time for research and development are capitalized and recognized as goods are delivered or as the related services are performed. In-licensing fees and other costs to acquire technologies used in research and development that have not yet received regulatory approval and that are not expected to have an alternative future use are expensed when incurred. We track direct costs by stage of program, clinical or preclinical. However, we do not track indirect costs on a program specific or stage of program basis because these costs are deployed across multiple programs and, as such, are not separately classified.facilities-related costs.

We expect that our research and development expenses will substantially increaselikely decrease in 2023 based on our planned clinical development and manufacturing activities, as we plan to transition to commercialization efforts for the foreseeable future as we continue the clinical development of SBT6050 and discovery and developmentpotential launch of our other development candidatesfirst product that year. However, the timing for regulatory approvals is outside our control, may be delayed and discovery programs and development, particularly as our product candidates move into later stages of development which increases costs considerably.is uncertain. We cannot reasonably determine with certainty the timing of initiation, the duration or the completion costs of current or future clinical trials and preclinical studiesthe manufacturing costs of IND and developmentour product candidates due to the inherently unpredictable nature of preclinicalclinical development and clinical development.manufacturing activities. Clinical development and preclinical developmentmanufacturing timelines, the probability of success and development costs can differ materially from expectations. We anticipate that we will make determinations as to which developmentproduct candidates and discovery programs to pursue and how much funding to direct to each product candidate or program on an ongoing basis in response to the results of ongoing and future preclinical studies and clinical trials, regulatory developments and our ongoing assessments as to each product candidate’s commercial potential. In addition, we cannot forecast to what degree our licensing, supply and distribution arrangements would affect our development plans and capital requirements.

98


The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials and development of our product candidates will depend on a variety of factors that include:

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 trials are 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;

potential additional safety monitoring or other studies requested by regulatory agencies;

the efficacy and safety profile of our product candidates, and

the cost to seek regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials

the timing, receipt, and terms of any approvals from applicable regulatory authorities including the FDA and non-U.S. regulators;

maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of our product candidates following approval, if any, of our product candidates;

establishing or maintaining commercial manufacturing capabilities or making arrangements with third-party manufacturers in order to ensure that we or our third-party manufacturers are able to make product successfully;

significant and changing government regulation and regulatory guidance;

the impact of any business interruptions to our operations or to those of the third parties with whom we work; and

the extent to which we establish additional strategic collaborations or other arrangements.

A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any of our product candidates could significantly change the costs and timing associated with the development of that product candidate. The process of conducting the necessary clinical research and manufacturing to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time-consuming. The actual probability of success for our product candidates or any future candidates may be affected by a variety of factors. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for our product candidates or any future candidates. Further, a number of factors, including those outside of our control, could adversely impact the timing and duration of our product candidates’ or any future candidates’ development, which could increase our research and development expenses.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including employee salaries, bonuses, benefits, and stock-basedequity-based compensation and recruiting costs for

personnel in executive, finance, business development, sales and marketing and other corporate administrative functions. Other significant generalGeneral and administrative expenses also include legal fees incurred relating to intellectual propertycorporate and corporatepatent matters, professional fees incurred for accounting, auditing, tax and administrative consulting services, facility costs, market research costs, and insurance costs, travel expenses and facility related expenses.costs.

We expect thatanticipate our general and administrative expenses will increase substantially increase for the foreseeable futurein 2023 as we continue to increase our generaladd sales and administrative headcountmarketing personnel, infrastructure and programs to support our continued research and developmentpre-commercial activities, and if anyour product candidates receive marketing approval, commercialization activities, as well asactivities. We also anticipate increased general and administrative personnel to support our operations, generally.and higher patent and facility related costs. We also expect to incur increased expenses associated with operating as a public company, including costs related to accounting,added audit, legal, regulatory and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with exchange listing and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance costs,premiums, board of director fees, and investor andrelations costs associated with operating as a public relations costs.company following the Merger.

Interest99


Total Other Income (Expense), Net

InterestTotal other income (expense), net includes consists primarily of interest earned onexpense from bank debt, interest income from our cash, and cash equivalents, carried atand investments, and changes in the fair value of our warrant liability prior to the Merger. As a result of the Merger, the warrant liability was reclassified to equity and interest expense on our borrowings.fair value adjustments are no longer required.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 20202022 and 20192021:

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019:2021 (in thousands, except percentages):

  Year Ended
December 31,
  Dollar
Change
 %
Change
 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

Dollar

 

 

%

 

  2020 2019 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

 

Change

 

 

Change

 

  (in thousands)   

Revenue under collaboration agreements

 

$

1,316

 

 

$

5,506

 

 

$

(4,190

)

 

 

(76

%)

Operating expenses:

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development(1)

  $24,577  $21,505  $3,072  14

 

 

18,376

 

 

 

20,273

 

 

 

(1,897

)

 

 

(9

)

General and administrative(1)

   8,341  2,562  5,779  * 

 

 

18,456

 

 

 

4,687

 

 

 

13,769

 

 

 

294

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

Total operating expenses

   32,918  24,067  8,851  37 

 

 

36,832

 

 

 

24,960

 

 

 

11,872

 

 

 

48

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

Loss from operations

   (32,918 (24,067 (8,851 37 

 

 

(35,516

)

 

 

(19,454

)

 

 

(16,062

)

 

 

83

 

Interest income (expense), net

   (29 100  (129 (129
  

 

  

 

  

 

  

Net loss and comprehensive loss

  $(32,947 $(23,967 $(8,980 37
  

 

  

 

  

 

  

Total other income (expense):

 

 

834

 

 

 

(789

)

 

 

1,623

 

 

 

(206

)

Net loss

 

 

(34,682

)

 

 

(20,243

)

 

 

(14,439

)

 

 

71

 

Unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities

 

 

407

 

 

 

 

 

 

407

 

 

 

100

 

Comprehensive loss attributable to common stockholders

 

$

(34,275

)

 

$

(20,243

)

 

$

(14,032

)

 

 

69

%

*

Not meaningful

______________

Research and Development Expenses(1) Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows (in thousands):

The following table summarizes our research and development expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Research and development

 

$

213

 

 

$

2,114

 

General and administrative

 

 

5,630

 

 

 

715

 

Total

 

$

5,843

 

 

$

2,829

 

   Year Ended
December 31,
   Dollar
Change
  %
Change
 
   2020   2019 
   (in thousands)    

Direct costs:

       

SBT6050

  $4,710   $8,723   $(4,013  (46)% 

Preclinical programs

   6,108    2,297    3,811   166 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

Total direct costs

   10,818    11,020  �� (202  (2
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

Indirect costs:

       

Personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation

   9,657    6,571    3,086   47 

Facility and equipment related expenses

   2,426    2,250    176   8 

Other unallocated research and development expenses

   1,676    1,664    12   1 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

Total research and development expenses

  $24,577   $21,505   $3,180   14
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

Research and development expenses were $24.6Revenues. Revenue under collaboration agreements was $1.3 million and $21.5$5.5 million for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively. The increaserevenues for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 include the recognition of $3.2revenue for the portion of upfront and clinical and regulatory milestone payments under our collaborations with Alfresa and Recordati that have been allocated to research and development services provided for during the years. Revenue under these collaboration agreements decreased $1.2 million was due primarilyfrom 2021 to an increase in preclinical programs of $3.8 million as we began advancing certain pipeline programs, including SBT6290 and SBT8230, into preclinical development.2022. The increase was alsoremaining decrease from 2021 to 2022 is due to increasesthe recognition of an upfront payment of $3.0 million under our collaboration and distribution agreement with Pediatrix signed in personnel-relatedMarch 2021 relating to the issuance and delivery of a technology license, with no comparable activity in 2022. We expect revenues to fluctuate in future periods based on our ability to meet various regulatory milestones, and contingent on successfully obtaining regulatory approval for neffy in the licensed regions, commercial milestones, royalties or transfer price earned from our partner’s net sales and the supply of commercial product as set forth in these agreements.

Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses of $3.1were $18.4 million and facility and equipment related expenses of $0.2 million. These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $4.0 million in research and manufacturing expenses related to the development of SBT6050 as the program completed manufacturing activities and initiated a Phase 1/1b clinical trial in the second half of 2020.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were $8.3 million and $2.6$20.3 million for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively. The increasedecrease of $5.8$1.9 million was primarily due primarily to an increase of $3.9a $3.1 million decrease in clinical trial costs associated with neffy and a $1.9 million decrease in stock-based compensation. These aggregated decreases were partially offset by $1.1 million in personnel-related expenses due to increased headcountin-process research and development acquired in 2020, including new executives, as well as increases in salaries, bonuses, and stock-based compensation. Tothe Merger, a lesser extent, the$1.0 million increase in generallicense fees for the milestone payment to Aegis upon the FDA’s acceptance of our US NDA filing, and a $0.9 million increase in regulatory consulting costs.

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Clinical trials

 

$

8,894

 

 

$

10,560

 

Manufacturing and non-clinical development

 

 

9,482

 

 

 

9,713

 

Total research and development expenses

 

$

18,376

 

 

$

20,273

 

100


General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses was due to an increase in legal fees of $0.8 million, professional fees of $0.7were $18.5 million and $0.4 million in other various general and administrative expenses as we prepared to become a public company.

Interest Income (Expense), Net

Interest income (expense), net was ($29,000) and $0.1$4.7 million for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively. The changeincrease of $0.1$13.8 million was primarily due to a decrease$4.9 million increase in stock-based compensation of which $3.0 million was for the replacement of stock awards held by Silverback employees and directors in connection with the Merger and $1.3 million for the vesting of previously issued performance-based options, a $3.6 million increase in outside services associated with marketing and consulting, a $2.3 million increase in legal fees, a $2.2 million increase in payroll and related expenses, and a $0.6 million increase in insurance costs.

Total Other Income (Expense). Total other income was $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and total other expense was $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The difference of $1.6 million was primarily due to a $1.8 million increase in interest earned onincome from our cash, and cash equivalents, and investments partially offset by a $0.1 million loss due to changesthe change in interest rates.fair value of the preferred stock warrant liability.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We

Sources of Liquidity and Capital

Since our inception, we have not generated any revenue from any product sale and have incurred netsignificant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations since our inceptionoperations. We have not yet commercialized any of our product candidates and anticipate we will continuedo not expect to incur net losses forgenerate revenue from sales of any product candidates until the foreseeable future. Since our inception, wesecond half of 2023 or after, if at all. We have funded our operations almost exclusivelyto date primarily with proceeds from the Merger, the sale of preferred and common stock, revenue earned under collaboration, licensing, supply and distribution agreements and bank debt. From inception to December 31, 2022, we have raised $262.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, net of transaction costs, from the Merger, net proceeds of $76.3 million from the issuance of shares of our redeemable convertible preferred and common stock, and debt financings. We will need to raise substantial

additional capital in the future. In 2020, we raised net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering costs, of $255.3$27.8 million from our initial public offering in December 2020collaboration, licensing, supply and net proceeds of $153.3distribution arrangements, and $10.0 million from the sale of our redeemable convertible preferred stock in March, July, and September 2020.

bank debt. As of December 31, 2020,2022, we had $386.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and cash equivalents. short-term investments of $274.4 million.

Cash flows

The following table sets forth a summary of the netsummarizes our cash flow activityflows for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019:2021 (in thousands):

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Net cash and cash equivalents used in operating activities

 

$

(40,078

)

 

$

(17,561

)

Net cash and cash equivalents used in investing activities

 

 

(199

)

 

 

(55

)

Net cash and cash equivalents provided by financing activities

 

 

190,732

 

 

 

53,158

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

 

$

150,455

 

 

$

35,542

 

   Year Ended
December 31,
 
   2020  2019 
   (in thousands) 

Net cash provided by (used in):

   

Operating activities

  $(31,196 $(18,898

Investing activities

   (917  (96

Financing activities

   408,506   8,610 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

  $376,393  $(10,384
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Operating Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020,2022, net cash used in operating activities was $31.2$40.1 million. This consisted primarily of a net loss of $32.9$34.7 million and an increase in our operating assets and liabilities of $2.6$12.8 million, partially offset by non-cash charges of $4.4 million. The non-cash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $2.6 million, non-cash lease expense of $1.1 million, and depreciation expense of $0.6$7.4 million. The increase in our operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $10.3 million, an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $3.5$1.2 million, and a decrease in our leasecontract liability of $0.9$1.3 million. The non-cash charges primarily consisted of non-cash stock-based compensation of $5.8 million, partially offset by an increaseacquired in-process research and development of $1.1 million, depreciation, amortization and accretion expense of $0.3 million, and change in accounts payable and accrued expensesfair value of $1.8 million after adjusting for non-cash items. The increase in prepaid expenses and other assets was primarily due to the purchasewarrant liability of $2.6 million in prepaid insurance.$0.1 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2019,2021, net cash used in operating activities was $18.9$17.6 million. This consisted primarily of a net loss of $24.0$20.2 million partially offset by a decreaseand an increase in our operating assets and liabilities of $3.3$0.4 million, and partially offset by non-cash charges of $1.8$3.0 million. The non-cash charges primarily consisted of non-cash lease expense of $1.0 million, depreciation expense of $0.5 million, stock-based compensation expense of $0.2 million, and amortization of debt issuance costs of $0.1 million. The decreaseincrease in our operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a decrease in contract liability of $2.5 million, partially offset by a decrease in prepaid and other assets of $1.2 million and an increase in accounts payable and accrued expensesliabilities of $4.0$1.0 million. The non-cash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation of $2.8 million and a decrease in prepaid expensesdepreciation, amortization and other assetsaccretion expense of $0.1 million, partially offset by a decrease in our lease liability of $0.8$0.2 million.

Investing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020,2022, the cash and cash equivalents used in investing activities was $0.9primarily due to $0.2 million due toin purchases of property and equipment.

During the year ended December 31, 2019,2021, the cash and cash equivalents used in investing activities was primarily due to $0.1 million due toin purchases of property and equipment.

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Financing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020,2022, the cash and cash equivalents provided by financing activities was $408.5 million. This consisted primarily ofdue to $198.8 million in net proceeds received from the issuance of our common

stock in connection with our initial public offering of $255.7 million, net proceeds received from the issuance of shares of our redeemable convertible preferred stock of $153.4 million, and proceeds from the exerciseMerger. In addition, we acquired $63.5 million in short-term investments through the Merger. Also, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we used cash of common stock options$8.7 million for repayment of $0.2 million, which were partially offset by principal payments on term loan payable of $0.7 million.

the bank note. During the year ended December 31, 2019,2021, the cash and cash equivalents provided by financing activities was $8.6 million. This consisted primarily due to $54.8 million of net proceeds received from the issuance of ourSeries D convertible notes of $10.0preferred stock in August 2021 plus $0.2 million which wasfrom common stock option exercises, partially offset by principal payments$1.8 million repayments on term loan payable of $1.4 million.the bank note.

Future Funding Requirements

WeBased on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents of $386.6 million at December 31, 2020 will be sufficient to fundmeet our operating expenses and capital expenditureanticipated cash requirements through at least the next 24 months.three years. In particular, we expect our cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments will allow us to fund our expenses related to the FDA’s review of our NDA for neffy, fund proof of concept clinical trials of neffy for additional indications, fund pre-commercial manufacturing and sales and marketing activities, and if and when neffy is approved by the FDA, fund our commercial launch. However, our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement that involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could deplete our capital resources sooner than we expect. Additionally, the process of testing product candidates in clinical trials is costly, and the timing of progress and expenses in these trials is uncertain.

Our future capitalfunding requirements will depend on many factors, including:

the scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing our current product candidates, as well as other additional product candidates we may develop and pursue in the future;

the scope and costs of manufacturing our product candidates and commercial manufacturing activities;

the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining marketing approvals for our product candidates;

the number of future product candidates that we may pursue and their development requirements;

subject to receipt of regulatory approval, the costs of commercialization activities for our product candidates, to the extent such costs are not the responsibility of any collaborators, including the costs and timing of establishing product sales, marketing, distribution and manufacturing capabilities;

subject to receipt of regulatory approval, revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our product candidates or any other additional product candidates we may develop and pursue in the future;

the timing and amount of any milestone and royalty payments under the Aegis License Agreement and the Termination Agreement;

the extent to which we in-license or acquire rights to other products, product candidates or technologies;

our headcount growth and associated costs as we expand our employee headcount and establish a commercial infrastructure;

the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and protecting our intellectual property rights, including enforcing and defending intellectual property related claims; and

the costs of operating as a public company.

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the initiation, trial design, progress, timing, costs and results of drug the discovery, preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates, and in particular the clinical trials for SBT6050;

the number and characteristics of product candidates that we pursue;

the length of our clinical trials;

the outcome, timing and costs of seeking FDA, EMA and any other regulatory approvals;

the costs of manufacturing our product candidates, in particular for clinical trials in preparation for marketing approval and in preparation for commercialization;

the costs of any third-party products used in our combination clinical trials that are not covered by such third party or other sources;

the costs associated with hiring additional personnel and consultants as our preclinical, manufacturing and clinical activities increase;

the receipt of marketing approval and revenue received from any commercial sales of any of our product candidates, if approved;

the cost of commercialization activities for any of our product candidates, if approved, including marketing, sales and distribution costs;

the emergence of competing therapies and other adverse market developments;

the ability to establish and maintain strategic collaboration, licensing or other arrangements and the financial terms of such agreements;

the extent to which we in-license or acquire other products and technologies;

the amount and timing of any payments we may be required to make pursuant to our current or future license agreements;

the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, expanding, defending and enforcing patent claims, including litigation costs and the outcome of such litigation;

our need and ability to retain key management and hire scientific, technical, business, and medical personnel;

our implementation of additional internal systems and infrastructure, including operational, financial and management information systems;

or costs associated with expanding our facilities or building out our laboratory space;

the effects of the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide from the COVID-19 pandemic; and

the costs of operating as a public company.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues to support our cost structure, we expect to finance our cash needs through public or privatea combination of our existing cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, equity offerings, debt financings orand other capital sources which may include collaborations, strategic collaborations,alliances, marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements or other arrangements with third parties. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be or could be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Debt financing and 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. In addition, our current or future debt agreements may limit our ability to incur additional debt. If we raise funds through strategicadditional collaborations, or other similar arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our platform technology,technologies, future revenue streams, researchdevelopment programs or product candidates or may have to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us and/or may reduce the value of our common stock. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts.

Our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United StatesUS, including due to recent bank failures, and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise.macroeconomic factors. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we cannot predict the timing or amount of increased expenses and cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations and commitments at December 31, 2020:Material Cash Requirements

   Payments Due by Period 
   Total   Less than
1 Year
   1-3
Years
   3-5
Years
   More than
5 Years
 
   (in thousands) 

Operating lease obligations(1)

  $3,586   $1,132   $2,454   $     —     $     —   

Term loan payable(1)(2)

   848    848    —      —      —   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $4,434   $1,980   $2,454   $—    $—  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1)

Refer to Notes 6 and 7 to our financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

(2)

Payments due for the term loan include both principal and interest portions calculated using the interest rate at December 31, 2020 of 1.75%.

Under our license agreements,agreement with Aegis, we have payment obligations that areof up to $20.0 million contingent upon future events such as our achievement of specified development,certain regulatory and commercial milestones and are required to make royalty payments in connection with the salessale of products developed under those agreements. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we werethat agreement. We are unable to estimate the timing or likelihood of achieving theadditional milestones or making future productroyalty payments under this agreement. We are also responsible for reimbursing Aegis for patent costs incurred in connection with prosecuting and maintaining patent rights that are specific to epinephrine or epinephrine products.

Pursuant to the Termination Agreement with Recordati, we have payment obligations of up to €10.0 million contingent upon our achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestones, and up to €5.0 million based on a low double-digit percentage of sales and, therefore, any related payments are not includedof sales of Recordati Licensed Product(s) in the table above. For additional details regardingRecordati Territory We are unable to estimate the timing or likelihood of achieving these agreements, see Part I, Item 1 ofmilestones and sales-based payments under this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the section titled “License Agreement”.agreement.

In November 2016,October 2021, we entered into a loan and securitylease agreement to rent office space with SVB that allowed borrowings up to $5.0 million in two tranches, the first that was immediately drawn and the second to be drawn beforea lease commencement date of December 31, 2017 if certain financing milestones were met. We drew $3.5 million in the first tranche, and the second tranche expired undrawn.2021. The outstanding principal amount of the term loan accrues interest at an annual rate of 1.75% per annum. At closing, we incurred de minimis debt issuance costs and owedlease has a final payment fee of $0.3 million, both of which are amortized to interest expense over the remaining term of the debt under the effective interest method. The effective interest rate38 months. Annual rent expense is $0.2 million and is subject to annual increases of 3%, plus our term loan is 5.14%. In April 2020, SVB amended our term loan to defer principal payments for six monthsshare of operating expenses and extend the maturity date to May 1, 2021, which we determined to be a debt modification.taxes.

In October 2019, we entered into a cell line license agreement with WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited (WuXi Bio), pursuant to which we received a non-exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license under certain of WuXi Bio’s intellectual property rights, know-how and biological materials (the WuXi Bio Licensed Technology) to make, use, sell, offer for sale and import developed through the use of the WuXi Bio Licensed Technology (the WuXi Bio Licensed Product). In consideration for the license, we paid a license fee of $100,000 to WuXi Bio which was recorded in research and development expense in 2019. In 2020 we incurred an additional license fee of $50,000 to WuXi Bio which was recorded in research and development expense in 2020. Additionally, if we do not engage WuXi Bio to manufacture the WuXi Bio Licensed Products for our clinical and commercial supplies, we are required to make aggregate milestone payments of up to $10.8 million to WuXi Bio upon the achievement of certain sales milestones. To date, other than the license fee, no payments have been made under this agreement.

We enter into contracts in the normal course of business with clinical supply manufacturersthird-party contract organizations and with vendors for preclinicalclinical studies, research suppliesmanufacturing and other services and products for operating purposes.products. These contracts generally provide for termination after a notice period, and, therefore, are cancelable contracts and not included in the table above.period.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Since our inception,To date, we have not engaged inrecognized any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulationsreserves related to uncertain tax positions. As of the SEC.December 31, 2022, we had no accrued interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant JudgmentsJudgements and Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)(“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenuesrevenue and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to accruedrevenues recognized under collaboration agreements, accruals for research and development expenses stock-based compensation, and valuation allowances for deferred tax assets.of equity awards. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that are believed 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 may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

While our significant accounting policies and estimates are described in more detail in Note 22- Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our auditedconsolidated financial statements, appearing in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe the following accounting policies and estimates to be most critical to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Research

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Revenue

Our revenues generally consist of licenses and Development Expensesresearch services under license and collaboration agreements.

AllWe recognize revenue when we transfer promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for contracts with customers we perform the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligation(s) in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligation(s) in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy the performance obligation(s). At contract inception, we assess the goods or services promised within each contract, assess whether each promised good or service is distinct and identify those that are performance obligations. We recognize as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.

The upfront payments and fees received prior to satisfying the relevant revenue recognition criteria are recorded as contract liability in the balance sheet and recognized as revenue when the related revenue recognition criteria are met.

Collaboration agreements typically contain multiple elements, or performance obligations, including research and development services and technology licenses. Our assessment of what constitutes a separate performance obligation requires us to apply judgement. Specifically, we have to identify which goods and services we are required to provide under the contract are distinct. For our collaboration agreements, we have identified several performance obligations at the inception of the contract since the delivered elements are deemed capable of being distinct within the context of the contract. Accordingly, the initial transaction price is allocated to the various performance obligations where we recognized revenue related to the license, which was delivered upon contract inception, and the remaining performance obligation is recognized as the underlying services are provided under the cost-based input method over the research terms. Using the cost-based input method, we recognize revenue based on actual costs are expensedincurred as a percentage of total estimated costs as we complete our performance obligations. Any cumulative effect of revisions to estimated costs to complete our performance obligations is recorded in the period incurred. Advance payments, including nonrefundablein which changes are identified and amounts can be reasonably estimated. This approach requires us to use significant judgement and make estimates of future expenditures. If our estimates or judgements change over the course of the collaboration, they may affect the timing and amount of revenue that it recognizes in the current and future periods.

The transaction price for a contract represents the amount to which we are entitled in exchange for providing goods orand services to the customer. The transaction price does not include amounts subject to uncertainties unless it is probable that there will be usedno significant reversal of revenue when the uncertainty is resolved. Apart from the upfront license payment and certain milestones, all other fees we may earn under our collaborative agreements are subject to significant uncertainties of product development and commercial sales targets. The transaction price of an agreement is allocated to each performance obligation on a relative stand-alone selling price basis, for which we recognize revenue as or rendered for futurewhen the performance obligations under the contract are satisfied.

Accrued Research and Development

We have entered into various agreements with CROs, CMOs, and other service providers. Our research and development activitiesaccruals are capitalized until such goods are delivered or the related services are performed, or such time when we do not expect the goods to be delivered or services to be performed. We estimate the period over which such services will be performed andestimated based on the level of effort to be expendedservices performed, progress of the studies, including the phase or completion of events, and contracted costs. The estimated costs of research and development provided, but not yet invoiced, are included in each period.accrued liabilities on the balance sheet. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from the estimate,original estimates, we will adjust the accrual accordingly. Payments made to third parties under these arrangements in advance of the performance of the related services are recorded as prepaid expenses and other current assets until the services are rendered. Although we do not expect our estimates to be materially different from amounts recorded accordingly. Weactually incurred, if our estimates of the status and timing of services performed differ from the actual status and timing of services performed, it could result in us reporting amounts that are too high or too low in any particular period. To date, our estimated accruals have not experienced any material differences between accrued or prepaid costs anddiffered materially from actual costs since our inception.incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense represents the grant date fair value of equity awards recognized in the period using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. We recognize stock-based compensationthe expense for stock optionsequity awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period and account for forfeitures as a reductionperiods of stock-based compensation expensethe awards, which is usually the vesting period. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur. Our stock-based compensation costs are based uponEstimating the grant date fair value of options estimated usingequity awards pursuant to the Black-Scholes option pricing model.model requires us to make assumptions regarding a number of variables, including the risk-free interest rate, the expected stock price volatility, the expected term of stock options, the expected dividend yield and the fair value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized.

104


The Black-Scholes option pricing model utilizes inputs which are highly subjective assumptions and generally require significant judgment. TheseWe determine these assumptions include:in the following manner:

Fair Value of Common Stock. For all periods priorStock. Prior to our initialthe Merger, since there was no public offering, the fair value of the shares ofmarket for our common stock, underlying our share-based awards was estimated on each grant date by our board of directors. To determinedirectors, with input from management, determined the fair value of our common stock underlying option grants, our boardon each grant date by considering a number of directors considered, among other things, input from management, valuationsobjective and subjective factors, including the most recent independent third-party valuation of our common stock, prepared bysales of our convertible preferred stock to unrelated third-parties, our operating and financial performance, the lack of liquidity of our capital stock and general and industry-specific economic outlook, and our board of directors’ assessment of additional objective and subjective factors that it believed were relevant and that may have changed from the date of the most recent valuation through the date of the grant. Historically, these independent third-party valuation firms in accordancevaluations of our equity instruments were generally performed contemporaneously with the guidance provided by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 2013 Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation (the Practice Aid).identified value inflection points. Following the closing of our initial public offering,Merger, the fair market value of our common stock is based on its closing price as reported on the date of grant on the primary stock exchange on which our common stock is traded.

Expected Term.Term. The expected term represents the period that the options granted are expected to be outstanding. The expected term of stock options issued is determined using the simplified method (based on the mid-point between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term) as we have concluded that our stock option exercise history does not provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate expected term.

Expected Volatility.Volatility. Given our limited historical stock price volatility data, we derived the expected volatility from the average historical volatilities over a period approximately equal to the expected term of comparable publicly traded companies within our peer group that were deemed to be representative of future stock price trends as we have limited trading history for our common stock. We will continue to apply this process until a sufficient amount of historical information regarding the volatility of our own stock price becomes available.

Risk-Free Interest Rate.Rate. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues in effect at the time of grant for periods correspondingrate, with maturities similar to the expected term of the stock options.

Expected Dividend Yield.Yield. We have never paid dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, we used an expected dividend yield of zero.

Income Taxes

We recognize deferred income taxes for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amountsRecent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2- Summary of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carry forwards. In evaluating our valuation allowance, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies, and recent financial performance. DueSignificant Accounting Policies to our lack of earnings history and uncertainties surrounding our ability to generate future taxable income, the net deferred tax assets have been fully offset by a valuation allowance.

As of December 31, 2020, we had net operating loss carryforwards for income tax purposes of approximately $89.7 million. If not used, $18.2 million of this carryforward will begin to expire in 2036 and $71.5 million has no expiration. We also have research and development tax credits of approximately $1.5 million which will begin to expire in 2037 if left unused.

Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, substantial changes in our ownership may limit the amount of NOL and research and development credit carryforwards that could be used annually in the future to offset taxable income. The tax benefits related to future utilization of federal and state NOL carryforwards, credit carryforwards, and other deferred tax assets may be limited or lost if cumulative changes in ownership exceeds 50% within any three-year period. We have not completed a Section 382/383 analysis under the Code regarding the limitation of NOL and credit carryforwards. If a change in ownership were to have occurred, the annual limitation may result in the expiration of NOL carryforwards and credits before utilization.

As of December 31, 2020, we did not have any liabilities for unrecognized income tax benefits associated with uncertain tax positions, including any interest and penalties.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our auditedconsolidated financial statements appearing in Part II, Item 8for information about recent accounting pronouncements, the timing of this Annual Reporttheir adoption, and our assessment, if any, of their potential impact on Form 10-K for additional information.

Emerging Growth Company Status

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to rely on certain exemptions from various public company reporting requirements, including not being required to have our internal control over financial reporting audited by our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards

apply to private companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period for complying with certain new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that we (i) are no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the new or revised accounting pronouncements ascondition and results of public company effective dates.operations.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest to occur of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have at least $1.07 billion in annual revenue; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt securities during the prior three-year period; and (iv) December 31, 2025.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.Risk

Not applicable to a “smaller reporting company” as defined under Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act.

105


Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.Data

Page

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 42)

143

107

Consolidated Balance Sheets

144

108

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

145

109

Consolidated Statements of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

146

110

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

147

111

Notes to Financial Statements

148

112

106


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the StockholdersShareholders and the Board of Directors of Silverback Therapeutics,ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Silverback TherapeuticsARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020,2022, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements’“consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020,2022, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’sCompany's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’sCompany's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.2019.

Seattle, Washington

San Diego, California

March 29, 2021

23, 2023

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Balance Sheets

107


ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(inIn thousands, except share and par value data)and share amounts)

  December 31, 

 

December 31,

 

  2020 2019 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Assets

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

  $386,569  $9,976 

 

$

210,518

 

 

$

60,063

 

Short-term investments

 

 

63,863

 

 

 

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

   4,087  552 

 

 

3,319

 

 

 

667

 

  

 

  

 

 

Total current assets

   390,656  10,528 

 

 

277,700

 

 

 

60,730

 

Property and equipment, net

   1,618  1,316 

Restricted cash

   350  550 

Right-of-use asset

   2,180  3,253 

 

 

445

 

 

 

621

 

  

 

  

 

 

Fixed assets, net

 

 

329

 

 

 

72

 

Other assets

 

 

2,961

 

 

 

23

 

Total assets

  $394,804  $15,647 

 

$

281,435

 

 

$

61,446

 

  

 

  

 

 

Liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

   

Liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

  $2,583  $3,518 

Accrued expenses

   5,278  2,112 

Term loan payable, net

   844  1,522 

Convertible notes, net

     9,991 

Current portion of lease liability

   896  783 
  

 

  

 

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (including related party amounts of $16 in 2022 and $159 in 2021)

 

$

4,931

 

 

$

3,107

 

Lease liability, current

 

 

230

 

 

 

144

 

Contract liability, current

 

 

283

 

 

 

1,457

 

Note payable, current

 

 

 

 

 

3,479

 

Total current liabilities

   9,601  17,926 

 

 

5,444

 

 

 

8,187

 

Lease liability, net of current portion

   2,326  3,324 

 

 

251

 

 

 

480

 

  

 

  

 

 

Contract liability, net of current portion

 

 

2,854

 

 

 

2,996

 

Note payable, net of current portion

 

 

 

 

 

4,930

 

Preferred stock warrant liability

 

 

 

 

 

83

 

Total liabilities

   11,927  21,250 

 

 

8,549

 

 

 

16,676

 

  

 

  

 

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 12)

   

Redeemable convertible preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share; no shares and 17,142,854 shares authorized, no shares and 15,714,283 shares issued and outstanding with aggregate liquidation preference of $0 and $55,000 at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively

     53,174 

Stockholders’ equity (deficit):

   

Preferred Stock, $0.0001 par value per share; 10,000,000 and no shares authorized at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively; no shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2020 and 2019

       

Common stock, $0.0001 par value per share; 200,000,000 and 23,500,000 shares authorized, 34,801,537 and 670,477 shares issued, and 34,701,274 and 664,431 shares outstanding at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively

   3    

Commitments and contingencies (Note 7)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized at December 31, 2022 and 2021; no shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value; no shares and 4,764,000 shares authorized at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively; no shares and 4,764,000 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively

 

 

 

 

 

365

 

Series B convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value; no shares and 606,060 shares authorized at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively; no shares and 606,060 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively

 

 

 

 

 

1,000

 

Series C convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value; no shares and 7,749,999 shares authorized at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively; no shares and 7,692,309 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively

 

 

 

 

 

19,868

 

Series D convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value; no shares and 9,337,066 shares authorized at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively; no shares and 9,337,066 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively

 

 

 

 

 

54,806

 

Stockholders’ equity (deficit)

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 and 56,000,000 shares authorized at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively; 93,943,316 and 30,369,413 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively

 

 

9

 

 

 

3

 

Additional paid-in capital

   479,608  5,010 

 

 

349,408

 

 

 

10,984

 

Accumulated other comprehensive gain

 

 

407

 

 

 

 

Accumulated deficit

   (96,734 (63,787

 

 

(76,938

)

 

 

(42,256

)

  

 

  

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

   382,877  (58,777

 

 

272,886

 

 

 

(31,269

)

  

 

  

 

 

Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

  $394,804  $  15,647 
  

 

  

 

 

Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

 

$

281,435

 

 

$

61,446

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss108


ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(inIn thousands, except share and per share data)information)

   Years ended
December 31,
 
   2020  2019 

Operating expenses:

   

Research and development

  $24,577  $21,505 

General and administrative

   8,341   2,562 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

   32,918   24,067 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 
Loss from operations   (32,918  (24,067

Interest income (expense), net

   (29  100 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net loss and comprehensive loss

  $(32,947 $(23,967
  

 

 

 ��

 

 

 

Net loss per share applicable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

  $(11.33 $(36.27
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

   2,907,542      660,893 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Revenue under collaboration agreements

 

$

1,316

 

 

$

5,506

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development (including related party amounts of $2,144 in 2022 and $1,072 in 2021)

 

 

18,376

 

 

 

20,273

 

General and administrative (including related party amounts of $603 in 2022 and $476 in 2021)

 

 

18,456

 

 

 

4,687

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

36,832

 

 

 

24,960

 

Loss from operations

 

 

(35,516

)

 

 

(19,454

)

Other income (expense):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other income (expense), net

 

 

974

 

 

 

(789

)

Change in fair value of financial instruments

 

 

(140

)

 

 

 

Total other income (expense):

 

 

834

 

 

 

(789

)

Net loss

 

$

(34,682

)

 

$

(20,243

)

Unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities

 

 

407

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss attributable to common stockholders

 

$

(34,275

)

 

$

(20,243

)

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

 

$

(0.87

)

 

$

(0.70

)

Weighted-average shares outstanding used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

 

 

39,956,043

 

 

 

28,872,242

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

109


Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Statements of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

(inIn thousands, except share data)amounts)

 

 

Series A
Convertible
Preferred Stock

 

 

 

Series B
Convertible
Preferred Stock

 

 

 

Series C
Convertible
Preferred Stock

 

 

 

Series D
Convertible
Preferred Stock

 

 

 

Common Stock

 

 

Additional
Paid-in

 

 

Accumulated Other

 

 

Accumulated

 

 

Total
Stockholders’
Equity

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

Capital

 

 

Comprehensive Gain

 

 

Deficit

 

 

(Deficit)

 

Balance at December 31, 2020

 

 

4,764,000

 

 

$

365

 

 

 

 

606,060

 

 

$

1,000

 

 

 

 

7,692,309

 

 

$

19,868

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

26,411,772

 

 

$

3

 

 

$

7,958

 

 

$

 

 

$

(22,013

)

 

$

(14,052

)

Issuance of Series D convertible preferred stock for cash, net of issuance costs of $194

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,337,066

 

 

 

54,806

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vesting of restricted common stock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,756,226

 

 

 

 

 

 

28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28

 

Exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

201,415

 

 

 

 

 

 

169

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

169

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,829

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,829

 

Net loss and comprehensive net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(20,243

)

 

 

(20,243

)

Balance at December 31, 2021

 

 

4,764,000

 

 

 

365

 

 

 

 

606,060

 

 

 

1,000

 

 

 

 

7,692,309

 

 

 

19,868

 

 

 

 

9,337,066

 

 

 

54,806

 

 

 

 

30,369,413

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

10,984

 

 

 

 

 

 

(42,256

)

 

 

(31,269

)

Conversion of preferred stock to common stock as a result of the Merger

 

 

(4,764,000

)

 

 

(365

)

 

 

 

(606,060

)

 

 

(1,000

)

 

 

 

(7,692,309

)

 

 

(19,868

)

 

 

 

(9,337,066

)

 

 

(54,806

)

 

 

 

26,473,899

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

76,036

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

76,039

 

Issuance of common stock to Silverback stockholders as a result of the Merger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36,535,541

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

255,758

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

255,761

 

Reclassification of warrant liability to equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

223

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

223

 

Exercise of common stock options, shares issued under the employee stock purchase plan, and release of restricted stock units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

564,463

 

 

 

 

 

 

564

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

564

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,843

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,843

 

Net loss and comprehensive loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

407

 

 

 

(34,682

)

 

 

(34,275

)

Balance at December 31, 2022

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

93,943,316

 

 

$

9

 

 

$

349,408

 

 

$

407

 

 

$

(76,938

)

 

$

272,886

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements

  Redeemable Convertible
Preferred Stock
        Common Stock  Additional
Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Total
Stockholders’
Equity (Deficit)
 
  Shares  Amount        Shares  Amount 

Balance as of December 31, 2018

  15,714,283  $53,174     656,820  $      —  $4,843  $(39,820 $(34,977

Exercise of common stock options and vesting of early exercised common stock options

          7,611      19      19 

Stock-based compensation

                148      148 

Net loss and comprehensive loss

                   (23,967  (23,967
 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2019

  15,714,283  $53,174     664,431  $  $5,010  $(63,787 $(58,777
 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Issuance of Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock for cash, net of $76 in issuance costs

  31,760,528   68,401                  

Issuance of Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock upon conversion of convertible notes

  4,673,388   10,095                  

Issuance of Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock for cash, net of $53 in issuance costs

  24,926,685   84,897                  

Redeemable convertible preferred stock converted into shares of common stock

  (77,074,884  (216,567    20,758,098   2   216,565      216,567 

Initial public offering of common stock, net of $22,386 in issuance costs

          13,225,000   1   255,338      255,339 

Exercise of common stock options and warrants and vesting of early exercised common stock options

          53,745      55      55 

Stock-based compensation

                2,640      2,640 

Net loss and comprehensive loss

                   (32,947  (32,947
 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2020

    $     34,701,274  $3  $479,608  $    (96,734 $    382,877 
 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

110


ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(34,682

)

 

$

(20,243

)

Non-cash adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used) in operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

5,843

 

 

 

2,829

 

Acquired in-process research and development

 

 

1,056

 

 

 

 

Change in fair value of warrant liability

 

 

140

 

 

 

(4

)

Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense

 

 

319

 

 

 

213

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid and other assets

 

 

(1,186

)

 

 

1,173

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (including related party amounts of $(143) in 2022 and $13 in 2021)

 

 

(10,285

)

 

 

974

 

Operating right-of-use assets and lease liabilities, net

 

 

33

 

 

 

4

 

Contract liability

 

 

(1,316

)

 

 

(2,507

)

Net cash used in operating activities

 

 

(40,078

)

 

 

(17,561

)

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of property and equipment

 

 

(199

)

 

 

(55

)

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

(199

)

 

 

(55

)

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash proceeds from the Merger, net of transaction costs

 

 

198,843

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from exercise of common stock options

 

 

570

 

 

 

169

 

Repayment of bank note payable

 

 

(8,681

)

 

 

(1,817

)

Proceeds from issuance of preferred stock, net

 

 

 

 

 

54,806

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

 

190,732

 

 

 

53,158

 

Net change in cash and cash equivalents

 

 

150,455

 

 

 

35,542

 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

 

 

60,063

 

 

 

24,521

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

 

$

210,518

 

 

$

60,063

 

Supplemental cash flow information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conversion of Series A, B, C, and D convertible preferred stock to common stock

 

$

76,039

 

 

$

 

Short-term investments assumed in the Merger

 

$

63,473

 

 

$

 

Prepaid expense and other current assets assumed in the Merger

 

$

4,404

 

 

$

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities assumed in the Merger

 

$

12,017

 

 

$

 

Reclassification of warrant liability to equity

 

$

223

 

 

$

 

Purchases of property and equipment included in accounts payable

 

$

91

 

 

$

 

Interest paid

 

$

366

 

 

$

576

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)111


   Year ended
December 31,
 
   2020  2019 

Cash flows from operating activities:

   

Net loss

  $(32,947 $(23,967

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

   

Depreciation expense

   637   544 

Amortization of debt issuance costs

   31   75 

Stock-based compensation expense

   2,640   148 

Non-cash lease expense

   1,073   1,002 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

   (3,535  66 

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

   1,790   4,014 

Lease liability

   (885  (780
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

   (31,196  (18,898
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

   

Purchase of property and equipment

   (917  (96
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

   (917  (96
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

   

Proceeds from issuance of redeemable convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs

   153,351    

Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon initial public offering, net of underwriting discounts and commissions

   258,284    

Payment of deferred offering costs

   (2,606 

Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes

      10,000 

Payment of convertible notes issuance costs

    (9

Principal payments on term loan payable

   (700  (1,400

Proceeds from exercise of common stock options

   177   19 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

   408,506   8,610 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

   376,393   (10,384

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period

   10,526   20,910 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period

  $386,919  $10,526 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:

   

Unpaid initial public offering costs included in accounts payable and accrued expenses

  $339  $ 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Change in early exercise liability included in accounts payable and accrued expenses

  $122  $ 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Issuance of Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock upon conversion of convertible notes

  $10,095  $ 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Conversion of redeemable convertible preferred stock upon closing of initial public offering

  $216,567  $ 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

1. Nature of Business

Description of Business

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ARS” or the “Company”) is focused on the development of ARS-1 (brand name neffy®), a proprietary product candidate for the needle-free intranasal delivery of epinephrine for the emergency treatment of type 1 allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. The Company incorporated in Delaware in January 2016 and is located in San Diego, California. The Company has a wholly owned subsidiary, ARS Pharmaceuticals Operations, Inc., incorporated in Delaware in August 2015 through which it conducts substantially all its operations, which survived the Merger as more fully described below. ARS Pharmaceuticals Operations, Inc. has a wholly owned subsidiary in Ireland, ARS Pharmaceuticals IRL, Limited, to facilitate the filing of regulatory approval for neffy in European countries.

Merger Transaction

On November 8, 2022 (the “Closing Date”), Silverback Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Silverback” or “the Company”), now known as ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., completed its reverse merger (the “Merger”) iswith privately-held ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ARS Pharma”), in accordance with the terms of the agreement and plan of merger and reorganization, dated July 21, 2022, as amended on August 11, 2022 and October 25, 2022 (the “Merger Agreement”), whereby Sabre Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceuticalDelaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Silverback, merged into ARS Pharma, with ARS Pharma surviving as Silverback’s wholly-owned subsidiary. ARS Pharma was renamed ARS Subsidiary, Inc. At the completion of the Merger, the prior ARS Pharma equityholders owned 62% and the prior Silverback equityholders owned 38% of the combined company, focusedin each case on leveraging its proprietary ImmunoTAC technology platform to develop systemically delivereda fully diluted basis using the treasury stock method and tissue targeted therapeuticsexcluding out-of-money options of Silverback.

The Merger was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization, with ARS Pharma being treated as the treatment of cancer, chronic viral infections, and other serious diseases. The Company’s platform enables us to strategically pair proprietary linker-payloads that modulate key disease-modifying pathways with monoclonal antibodies directed at specific disease sites. The Company was formed in Seattle, Washington, and incorporated in the state of Delaware on January 4, 2016.

Reverse Stock Split

In November 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an amendmentacquirer for accounting purposes. Pursuant to the Company’s certificate of incorporationMerger Agreement, Silverback changed its name to effect a reverse split of sharesARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and changed its corporate ticker symbol on the Nasdaq Global Market to “SPRY”. See discussions of the Company’s common stock on a one-for-3.713 basis, which was effected on November 30, 2020 (the “Reverse Stock Split”). The number of authorized shares and the par values of the common stock and redeemable convertible preferred stock were not adjusted as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Intransactions in connection with the Reverse Stock Split, the conversion ratio for the Company’s outstanding redeemable convertible preferred stock was proportionately adjusted such that the common stock issuable upon conversion of such preferred stock was decreased in proportion to the Reverse Stock Split. All references to common stock and options to purchase common stock share data, per share data, and related information contained in the financial statements have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the effect of the Reverse Stock Split for all periods presented.

Initial Public OfferingMerger at Note 3- Merger and Related TransactionTransactions.

On December 3, 2020, the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009) for its initial public offering of common stock (“IPO”) was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). On December 8, 2020, the Company issued and sold 13,225,000 shares of common stock in the IPO at a public offering price of $21.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds of $255.3 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses paid by the Company.

In connection with the IPO, all 77,074,884 shares of redeemable convertible preferred stock outstanding at the time of the IPO converted into 20,758,098 shares of the Company’s common stock.

Risks and Uncertainties

The Company is subject to a number of inherent risks which include, but are not limited to, the need to obtain adequate additional funding, possible failure of clinical trials or other events demonstrating a lack of clinical safety or efficacy of its product candidates, dependence on key personnel, reliance on third-party service providers for manufacturing drug product and conducting clinical trials, the ability to successfully secure its proprietary technology, and risks related to the regulatory approval and commercialization of a product candidate. Additionally, the development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. Products or technologies developed by competitors may diminish or render obsolete the Company’s existing products under development.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has incurred net operating losses since its inception and had an accumulated deficit of $96.7$76.9 million as of December 31, 2020.2022. The Company had cash, and cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $386.6$274.4 million as of December 31, 20202022 and has not generated positive cash flows from operations. To date, the Company has been able to fundfunded its operations primarily throughwith proceeds from the Merger, the issuance of redeemable convertible preferred stock, payments earned under collaboration agreements and convertible notes. During 2020, the Company has received an aggregate of $68.4 million in gross proceeds from the issuance of shares of its Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock and an aggregate of $84.9 million in gross proceeds from the issuance of shares of its Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock. In December 2020, the Company completed an initial public offering in which it sold 13,225,000 shares of common stock at $21.00 per share and received net proceeds, after underwriting discounts and offering costs, of $255.3 million.bank debt. The Company’s currently available cash, and cash equivalents, and investments as of December 31, 20202022 are sufficient to meet its anticipated cash requirements for at least the 12 months following the date the financial statements are issued. Management considers that there

From August 5, 2015 (inception) through December 31, 2022, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to developing intellectual property and conducting product development and clinical trials, raising capital, and building infrastructure. The Company has a limited operating history, and the sales and income potential of the Company’s business and market are no conditionsunproven. If the Company does not successfully commercialize any product candidates for which it receives regulatory approval, it will be unable to generate recurring product revenue or events, in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date the financial statements are issued.

achieve profitability. Management expects operating lossesexpenses to continueincrease for the foreseeable future. Therefuture and there can be no assurance that the Company will ever earn revenues or achieve profitability, or if achieved, that theyit will be sustained on a continuing basis. In addition, the preclinical manufacturing,

The novel coronavirus-2019 (“COVID-19”) epidemic and clinical development activities as well as the commercializationgeopolitical events have resulted in a significant disruption of theglobal financial markets. The Company’s products, if approved, will require significantability to raise additional financing. The Companycapital may be unableadversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and further disruptions to, secureand volatility in, the credit and financial markets in the United States, including recent bank failures, and worldwide resulting from a resurgence of COVID-19, future health epidemics or pandemics, geopolitical actions or other macroeconomic factors. If such financing when needed, or if available, such financings may be under terms that are unfavorable tofurther disruption occurs, the Company or the current stockholders.could experience an inability to access additional capital. If the Company is unablenot able to raisesecure adequate additional funds when needed,funding, it may be requiredforced to delay, reducemake reductions in spending, extend payment terms with suppliers, liquidate assets where possible, and/or suspend or curtail planned programs. Any of these actions could materially harm the scopeCompany’s business, results of or eliminate development programs, which may adversely affect its businessoperations, and operations.future prospects.

112


2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). 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 Update (“ASU”), of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and ARS Pharmaceuticals IRL, Limited for the year ended December 31, 2022. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company’s functional and reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. Assets and liabilities that are not denominated in the functional currency are remeasured into U.S. dollars at foreign currency exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date except for nonmonetary assets, which are remeasured at historical foreign currency exchange rates in effect at the date of transaction. Net realized and unrealized gains and losses from foreign currency transactions and remeasurement are reported in other income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. All adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included.

Since ARS Pharma was determined to be the accounting acquirer in connection with the Merger, for periods prior to the Merger the consolidated financial statements were prepared on a stand-alone basis for ARS Pharma and did not include the combined entities activity or financial position. Subsequent to the Merger, the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 include Silverback’s activity and Silverback’s assets and liabilities at their acquisition date fair value. Historical share and per share figures of ARS Pharma have been retroactively restated based on the exchange ratio of 1.1819.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements requires it to make estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. The most significant estimates in the Company’s consolidated financial statements relate to revenue recognized for its collaboration agreements, accruals for research and development expenses and valuation of equity awards, and valuation allowances for deferred tax assets.awards. These estimates and assumptions are based on current facts, historical experience future expectations, and various other factors believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the recording of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ materially and adversely from these estimates.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

The full To the extent to whichthere are material differences between the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will directly or indirectly impactestimates and actual results, the Company’s business,future results of operations and financial condition, including expenses, clinical trials and research and development costs, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain, including as a result of new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions taken to contain or treat COVID-19, as well as the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets. The Company has considered potential impacts arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and is not presently aware of any events or circumstances that would require the Company to update its estimates, judgments or revise the carrying value of its assets or liabilities.be affected.

Segments

The Company has determined that it operates and manages one operating segment, which is the business of developing and commercializing tissue targeted therapeutics. The Company’s chief operating decision maker, its chief executive officer, reviews financial information on an aggregate basis for the purpose of allocating resources.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are comprised of short-term, highly-liquidinclude cash readily available in checking, money market and sweep accounts. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of 90 daysthree months or less at the date of purchase. Aspurchase to be cash equivalents.


Investments

The Company invests excess cash in investment grade intermediate-term fixed income securities. These investments are included in short-term investments on the balance sheets, classified as available-for-sale, and reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses included in accumulated other comprehensive loss. Realized gains and losses on the sale of December 31, 2020these securities are recognized in net loss.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Cash and 2019, the Company’s cash equivalents consistedand investments are carried at fair value. The carrying amounts of money market funds.all prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and contract liability, are considered to be representative of their respective fair values because of the short-term nature of those instruments.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of a deposit securing a collateral letterFinancial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit issued in connection with the Company’s facility operating lease.

The following table provides a reconciliationrisk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the balance sheets that sum to the amounts shown in the statements of cash flows (in thousands):

   December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Cash and cash equivalents

  $386,569   $9,976 

Restricted cash

   350    550 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash

  $386,919   $  10,526 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Concentrations of Credit Risk

equivalents. The Company is subject to credit risk from holding its cashmaintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits and cash equivalents at one commercial bank. The Company limits its exposure to credit lossescash risk by investing in money market funds through a U.S. bankplacing its cash with high credit ratings. Cash may consist of deposits held with banks that may at times exceed federally insured limits, however, exposure to credit risk in the event of default by thequality financial institution is limited to the extent of amounts recorded on the balance sheets. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and management believes that the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held.institutions.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses consist primarily of operating expenses paid in advance.

Property and Equipment Net

Property and equipment net consists of furniture and fixtures and laboratory equipment and isare stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Furniture and fixtures and laboratory equipment are depreciatedDepreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, (each three togenerally five years) using the straight-line method. When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the balance sheet and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in operations in the period realized.years. Repairs and maintenance costs are charged to expense as incurred.

113


Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Leases

LeasesLong-lived assets consist primarily of property and equipment. The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparison of the Company’s operating lease. In accordance with ASC 842, carrying amount to the future undiscounted net cash flows which the asset or asset group are expected to generate. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds its fair value. The Company has not recognized any impairment losses from inception through December 31, 2022.

Leases,

Effective January 1, 2021, the Company determines if an arrangement isearly adopted ASC No. 2016-02, Leases(Topic 842) (“ASC 842”), which supersedes the current accounting for leases, using the modified retrospective transition method. The Company has elected to apply the practical expedients allowed by the standard for existing leases. The new standard, while retaining two distinct types of leases, finance and operating, (i) requires lessees to record a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and a related liability for the rights and obligations associated with a lease, at inceptionregardless of lease classification, and evaluates eachrecognize lease agreementexpense in a manner similar to determine whethercurrent accounting, (ii) eliminates current real estate specific lease provisions, (iii) modifies the lease is an operating or finance lease. For leases whereclassification criteria and (iv) aligns many of the underlying lessor model principles with those in the new revenue standard. The Company isdetermines the lessee, right-of-use (“ROU”) assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlyinginitial classification and measurement of its ROU asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent an obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based onand thereafter, if modified. The Company recognizes a ROU asset for its operating leases with lease terms greater than 12 months. The lease term includes any renewal options and termination options that the Company is reasonably assured to exercise. The lease liability is calculated by using the present value of all lease payments, overwith the lease term. The Company uses itspresent value determined by using the incremental borrowing rate based onfor operating leases determined by using the information available at the commencement date in determining the present valueincremental borrowing rate of lease payments. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any prepaid lease payments, lease incentives received, and costs which will be incurred in exiting a lease. The Company’s lease includes options to extend or terminate the lease. Periods covered by an option to extend the lease are included in the lease term when it is reasonably certaininterest that the Company will exercise that option. Periods covered bywould pay to borrow on a collateralized basis an optionamount equal to terminate the lease payments in a similar economic environment as well as a review of peer companies. Variable charges for common area maintenance and other variable costs are included in the lease term when it is reasonably certain that the Company will not exercise that option. At the inception of the lease andrecognized as of December 31, 2020, the Company was not reasonably certain that it will exercise its option to extend the lease and was not reasonably certain that it will not exercise its option to terminate the lease, therefore, the periods covered by the options are not included within the lease term. Short-term leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. The Company does not have material short-term lease costs. Leaseexpense as incurred. Rent expense for minimum lease paymentsoperating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the reasonably assured lease term. For real estate leases,term based on the total lease payments and is included in research and development and general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Warrant Liability

The Company has issued freestanding warrants to purchase shares of its Series C convertible preferred stock. Prior to the Merger, the Company does not separate lease and non-lease components. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets consist of property and equipment and ROU assets. These assets are reviewed for impairment whenever facts or circumstances either internally or externally may suggest thatadjusted the carrying value of such Series C convertible preferred stock warrants to the estimated fair value at each reporting date, with any related increases or decreases in the fair value being recorded within other income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement the Series C convertible preferred stock warrants became warrants to purchase shares of the combined company's common stock. As a result of the Merger, the warrants no longer meet the requirements for liability accounting, as such, the Company adjusted the value of the warrants to the estimated fair value as of the Merger date and reclassified them to equity.

Revenue Recognition

Our revenues generally consist of licenses and research services under license and collaboration agreements. We recognize revenue when we transfer promised goods or services to customers in an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recorded if and when events and circumstances indicateamount that assets might be impaired andreflects the undiscounted cash flows estimatedconsideration to which we expect to be generated byentitled in exchange for those assetsgoods or services. To determine revenue recognition for contracts with customers we perform the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligation(s) in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligation(s) in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy the performance obligation(s). At contract inception, we assess the goods or services promised within each contract, assess whether each promised good or service is distinct and identify those that are less thanperformance obligations. We recognize as revenue the carrying amount of those assets. The Company has not recognized any impairment losses through December 31, 2020.the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

Research and Development ExpensesCosts

All researchResearch and development costs are expensed in the period incurred. Research and development costs primarily consist of salaries and related expenses consist primarily of directfor personnel, stock-based compensation expense, external research and indirectdevelopment costs incurred in connection with the development of the Company’s ImmunoTAC technology platform, discovery efforts, and preclinical study and clinical trial activities related to the Company’s program pipeline, including the Company’s lead product candidate, SBT6050. Direct costs include expenses incurred under agreements with contract research organizations, (“CROs”)investigative sites and other vendors thatconsultants to conduct the Company’s preclinical andour clinical activities, expenses associatedstudies, costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements, costs related to manufacturing the Company’s product candidates including under agreements with contract development and manufacturing organizations (“CDMOs”)for clinical trials and other vendors, and consulting fees. Indirect costs include personnel-related expenses, consisting of employee salaries, bonuses, benefits, and stock-based compensation expense and recruiting costsallocated expenses.

114


Payments for personnel engaged in research and development activities, facility and equipment related expenses, consisting of indirect and allocated expenses for rent, depreciation, and equipment maintenance, and other unallocated research and development expenses incurred in connection with the Company’s research and development programs, including laboratory materials and supplies and license fees. Research and development expenses are charged to operating expenses as incurred when these expenditures relate to the Company’s research and development efforts and have no alternative future use.

The Company is obligated to make upfront payments upon execution of certain research and development agreements. Advance payments, including nonrefundable amounts, for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are capitalized until such goodsbased on the terms of the individual agreements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and payments made in advance of performance are delivered orreflected in the related services are performed, or such time whenaccompanying consolidated balance sheets as prepaid expenses. The Company records accruals for estimated costs incurred for ongoing research and development activities. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued liabilities, the Company does not expectanalyzes progress of the goods to be deliveredservices, including the phase or services to be performed.completion of events, invoices received and contracted costs. The Company uses judgments and estimates to determine the period over which such services will be performed andprepaid or accrued balances at the levelend of effort to be expended in eachany reporting period. If actual timing of performance or the level of effort variesActual results could differ from the estimate, the Company will adjust the amountsCompany’s estimates.

Patent Costs

Costs related to filing and pursuing patent applications are recorded accordingly. Since inception, the Company has not experienced any material differences between accrued or prepaid costs and actual costs.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including employee salaries, bonuses, benefits, and stock-based compensation, and recruiting costs for personnel in executive, finance, and other administrative functions. Other significantas general and administrative expenses include legal fees relating to intellectual propertyin the statements of operations and corporate matters, professional fees for accounting, tax and consulting services, insurance costs, travel expenses and facility related expenses. General and administrative costs are expensed as incurred.incurred since recoverability of such expenditures is uncertain.

License Fees

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company has stock-based compensation plans thatCosts incurred to acquire technology licenses and milestone payments made on existing agreements are describedcharged to research and development expense or capitalized based upon the asset achieving technological feasibility in Note 9. As of December 31, 2020,accordance with management’s assessment regarding the Company had issued stock options and permitted eligible employees to participate in an employee stock purchase plan whereby sharesultimate recoverability of the Company’s common stock may be purchased at a discount. Further discussion ofamounts paid and the measurement andpotential for alternative future use.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense methodology related to these programs is described below:

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

Stock Option Awards

Therepresents the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of an equity instrument is measured at the grant date based on the award’s estimated fair value using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The estimated fair value of the awards isstock option grants recognized into expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. Stock-based compensationperiod of the awards (usually the vesting period) on a straight-line basis. The Company recognizes expense for an award with a performance condition is recognizedawards subject to performance-based milestones over the remaining service period when themanagement determines that achievement of such performance conditionthe milestone is determined to be probable. If the outcome of such performance condition is not determined to be probable or is not met, no compensation expense is recognized, and any previously recognized compensation expense is reversed. Management evaluates when the achievement of a performance conditionperformance-based milestone is probable based on the expected satisfaction of the performance conditionconditions at each reporting date. Forfeitures are recognized as a reduction of stock-based compensation expense as they occur. The option plan permits, but does not require,Company estimates the inclusion of early exercise provisions in individual awards. Proceeds from early option exercises are recorded as a liability until the underlying restricted shares vest. While the restricted shares have voting rights, they are not considered outstanding for accounting purposes.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

In December 2020, the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) became effective, pursuant to which eligible employees can purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at a discount to the fair market value at semi-annual intervals. In determining the grant date fair value of shares expected to be purchased under the ESPP, the Company usesstock option grants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Black-Scholes inputsmodel and recognizes forfeitures as they occur.

The Company’s equity incentive plans allow for the issuance of restricted stock awards that may be subject to vesting. The unvested shares of any restricted stock awards are determinedheld in escrow as the same manner asstock award vests or until the holder’s termination of services, whichever occurs first. In the event the holder’s services terminate, the Company has the right of repurchase, at its option, the portion of unvested stock awards. For all early exercised unvested stock awards, a liability is established related to the cash received for the unvested portion of the stock option awards. The estimated grant date fair value of shares expectedaward, which represents the Company’s repurchase rights if the award holders were to be purchased is recognized into expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.terminated and their stock repurchased.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company recognizes net deferred tax assets to the extent that the Company believes these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, management considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies, and results of recent operations. If management determines that the Company is more likely than notwould be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, management would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would reduce the provision for income taxes in the period in which the adjustment is made.taxes.

The Company records uncertain tax positions on the basis of a two-step process whereby (1) management determines whether it is more likely than not that the tax positions will be sustained on

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

the basis of the technical merits of the position and (2) for those tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, management recognizes the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with the related tax authority. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within income tax expense. Any accrued interest and penalties are included within the related tax liability. The Company did not have any uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss is defined as athe change in equity during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources. The Company’s comprehensive loss was equal tothe same as its reported net loss for all periods presented.

115


Segment Reporting

Operating segments are components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the years ended December 31, 2020chief operating decision-maker for purposes of making decisions regarding resource allocation and 2019.assessing performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business as one operating segment.

Net Loss Per Share Attributable to Common StockholdersShare

Basic net loss per share attributable to common stockholders is calculated by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period, without consideration of potentially dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders is the same as basic net loss per share attributable to common stockholders since the effect of potentially dilutive securities is anti-dilutive given the net loss of the Company. For purposes of this calculation, redeemable convertible preferred stock, stock options, employeeand preferred stock purchase rights, and unvested common stock subject to repurchasewarrants are considered to be common stock equivalents but are not included in the calculations of diluted net loss per share for the periods presented as their effect would be antidilutive.

Emerging Growth Company Status

The Company is an emerging growth company, as defined infollowing securities are excluded from the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Actcalculation of 2012 (“JOBS Act”). Underweighted-average dilutive common shares because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. Historical share figures have been retroactively restated based on the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactmentexchange ratio of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period for complying with certain new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that it is (1) no longer an emerging growth company or (2) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, these financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.1.1819.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13,Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted ASU 2018-13 on January 1, 2020 and the standard did not have a material impact on its financial statements and related disclosures.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12,Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, which simplifies the accounting for income taxes, eliminates certain

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

Convertible preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

26,473,899

 

Warrants to purchase convertible preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

45,456

 

Warrants to purchase common stock

 

 

45,456

 

 

 

 

Common stock options granted and outstanding

 

 

12,063,560

 

 

 

4,769,572

 

Total

 

 

12,109,016

 

 

 

31,288,927

 

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

exceptions within ASC 740, Income Taxes, and clarifies certain aspects of the current guidance to promote consistency among reporting entities. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted ASU 2019-12 on January 1, 2020 and the standard did not have a material impact on its financial statements and related disclosures.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13,Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,. The objective which changes the accounting for recognizing impairments of financial assets. Under the standard is to provide information about expectednew guidance, credit losses onfor certain types of financial instruments at each reporting datewill be estimated based on expected losses. The new guidance also modifies the impairment models for available-for-sale debt securities and to change how other-than temporary impairments on investment securities are recorded. The guidancefor purchased financial assets with credit deterioration since their origination. This update is effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2023, with early adoption permitted.2023. The Company is currently evaluating the impact the standard may have on its financial statements and related disclosures.

3. Merger and Related Transactions

3.As described in Note 1- Nature of Business, ARS Pharma merged with Silverback on November 8, 2022. The Merger was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization under U.S. GAAP. ARS Pharma was considered the accounting acquirer for financial reporting purposes. This determination was based on the facts that, immediately following the Merger: (i) ARS Pharma stockholders own a substantial majority of the voting rights of the combined organization; (ii) ARS Pharma has designated a majority (eight of eleven) of the initial members of the board of directors of the combined organization; and (iii) ARS Pharma’s senior management holds all key positions in senior management of the combined organization. The transaction was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization because on the effective date of the Merger, the pre-combination assets of Silverback were primarily cash and other non-operating assets. Additionally, the Company concluded that the in-process research and development (IPR&D) assets that remained as of the combination were not significant when compared to the cash and investments obtained through the transaction.

Under reverse recapitalization accounting, the assets and liabilities of Silverback were recorded at their fair value which approximated book value due to the short-term nature of the instruments. No goodwill or intangible assets were recognized. Consequently, the Company's consolidated financial statements reflect the issuance of 36,535,541 shares to the former stockholders of Silverback.

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger, each share of ARS Pharma’s preferred stock was converted into a share of ARS Pharma’s common stock.

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As the accounting acquirer, ARS Pharma is deemed to have assumed all of Silverback’s outstanding and unexercised stock options. The assumed options continue to be governed by the terms of the 2016 and 2020 Equity Incentive Plans of Silverback (as discussed more in Note 10- Stock-Based Compensation) under which the options were originally granted.

As part of the reverse recapitalization, ARS Pharma obtained $262.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, net of transaction costs. ARS Pharma also obtained prepaids and other current assets of approximately $4.4 million and assumed payables and accruals of approximately $12.0 million. ARS Pharma also obtained $1.1 million in IPR&D assets that have no alternative future use. The fair value attributable to these assets was recorded as research and development expense in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2022. ARS Pharma also incurred transaction costs of approximately $2.1 million and this amount is recorded as a reduction to additional paid-in capital in the accompanying consolidated statement of convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit) for the year ended December 31, 2022.

4. Fair Value Measurements

The Company followscategorizes its assets and liabilities measured at fair value in accordance with the authoritative accounting guidance which among other things, defines fair value,that establishes a consistent framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosuredisclosures for each major asset and liability category measured at fair value on either a recurring or nonrecurring basis. Fair value is defined as the exchangeexit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (at exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, the guidance establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1- Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2- Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are either directly or indirectly observable; and

Level 3- Unobservable inputs in which little or no market activity exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing.

In 2021, based on the measurement date. The three levels of inputs that may be usedborrowing rates currently available to measurethe Company for loans with similar terms, management believe the fair value include:

Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. The Company’s Level 1 assets consist of money market funds.

Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.note payable approximates its carrying value. In 2022, the note payable was fully paid off.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity.

The following table identifies the Company’s assets and liabilities that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands):

December 31, 2022

Level

 

 

Amortized Cost

 

 

Gross unrealized gains

 

 

Gross unrealized losses

 

 

Estimated
Fair Value

 

Money market funds

 

1

 

 

$

209,273

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

209,273

 

Short-term investments - U.S. Treasury securities

 

1

 

 

 

63,456

 

 

 

407

 

 

 

 

 

 

63,863

 

Total

 

1

 

 

 

272,729

 

 

 

407

 

 

 

 

 

 

273,136

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money market funds

 

1

 

 

$

59,401

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

59,401

 

   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3 

December 31, 2020

      

Assets:

      

Money market funds

  $386,369   $        —   $        — 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

December 31, 2019

      

Assets:

      

Money market funds

  $9,976   $   $ 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

There were no transfers between the Level 1 and Level 2 categories or into or out of the Level 3 category during the periods presented.

The Company’s short-term investments portfolio contains investments in U.S. Treasury securities that have an effective maturity date that is less than one year from the respective balance sheet date. As of December 31, 2022, the Company did not have any investments in an unrealized loss position.

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As of December 31, 2022, the Company did not have any liabilities that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis. As a result of the Merger, the preferred stock warrant liability that was outstanding was remeasured as of the Merger date and reclassified to equity. During 2022, the Company recorded total other expense relating to this warrant of $0.1 million. There were no transfers between the Level 1 and Level 2 categories or into or out of the Level 3 category during the periods presented.

5. Balance Sheet Details

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

Prepaid insurance

 

$

1,539

 

 

$

666

 

Prepaid expenses

 

 

771

 

 

 

 

Interest receivable

 

 

796

 

 

 

1

 

Other receivables

 

 

213

 

 

 

 

Total

 

$

3,319

 

 

$

667

 

Property and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

Equipment

 

$

377

 

 

$

86

 

Less accumulated depreciation

 

 

(48

)

 

 

(14

)

Total

 

$

329

 

 

$

72

 

Depreciation expense was immaterial for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019.2021.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

4. Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment are summarized as followsOther assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

Prepaid insurance

 

$

2,940

 

 

$

 

Security deposit

 

 

21

 

 

 

23

 

Total

 

$

2,961

 

 

$

23

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

 

December 31, 2021

 

Accounts payable

 

$

1,659

 

 

$

1,786

 

Accrued legal and professional fees

 

 

908

 

 

 

53

 

Accrued clinical expenses

 

 

609

 

 

 

477

 

Accrued compensation

 

 

447

 

 

 

660

 

Accrued tax expenses

 

 

174

 

 

 

 

Accrued development expenses

 

 

133

 

 

 

109

 

Other

 

 

1,001

 

 

 

22

 

Total

 

$

4,931

 

 

$

3,107

 

6. Collaboration and Out-Licensing

   December 31, 
   2020  2019 

Furniture and fixtures

  $269  $156 

Laboratory equipment

   3,401   2,610 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Property and equipment, gross

   3,670   2,766 

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

   (2,052  (1,450
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

  $1,618  $1,316 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

DepreciationThe Company has entered into collaboration and amortization expenselicensing agreements to license certain rights to neffy to third parties. The terms of these arrangements typically include payment to the Company of one or more of the following: non-refundable, up-front license fees; clinical, regulatory, and/or commercial milestone payments; payment for clinical and commercial supply and royalties or a transfer price on the net sales of licensed products.

Licenses of Intellectual Property. If the license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the arrangement, revenue is recognized from non-refundable, up-front payments allocated to the license when the license is transferred to the customer and the customer is able to use and benefit from the license. If the license is not a distinct performance obligation, the Company evaluates the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue from non-refundable, up-front fees. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognition.

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Milestone Payments. At the inception of each arrangement that includes clinical, regulatory or commercial milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether achieving the milestones is considered probable and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. If it is probable that a significant revenue reversal would not occur, the value of the associated milestone is included in the transaction price. Milestone payments that are not within the Company’s control, such as approvals from regulators or where attainment of the specified event is dependent on the development activities of a third party, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received or the specified event occurs. Revenue is recognized when the underlying performance obligation has been transferred to the customer.

Research and Development Revenues. For arrangements that contain research and development commitments, any arrangement consideration allocated to the research and development work is recognized as the underlying services are performed over the research and development term.

Clinical and Commercial Supply. Arrangements that include a promise for the future supply of drug product for either clinical development or commercial supply at the licensee’s discretion are generally considered as options. We assess if these options provide a material right to the licensee and if so, they are accounted for as separate performance obligations. The Company has not earned revenues for clinical or commercial supply sales as of December 31, 2022.

Royalty/Transfer Price Revenues. For arrangements that include sales-based royalties or transfer price, including milestone payments based on the level of sales, and the license is deemed to be the predominant item to which the royalties relate, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). The Company has not received any royalty or transfer price revenues as of December 31, 2022.

Alfresa Agreement

In March 2020, the Company signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with Alfresa Pharma Corporation (“Alfresa”) for the right to negotiate a definitive agreement for the exclusive license and sublicensable right to develop, register, import, manufacture and commercialize neffy in Japan in exchange for an upfront payment of $2.0 million. In April 2020, the Company entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement for the rights pursuant to the LOI. Under the agreement, the Company delivered a license to the neffy technology and is responsible for completion of a certain clinical study and for the manufacturing of development and commercial drug supply. The parties agreed to share the cost of any additional clinical studies required for approval of neffy in Japan. Alfresa is solely responsible for regulatory and commercialization activities and may elect to assume responsibility for manufacturing and supplying drug product for commercial use in Japan. Either party may terminate the agreement for certain breaches of the agreement. Unless terminated earlier by either or both parties, the term of the agreement will continue until the later of (i) expiration of the last-to-expire patent in Japan; or (ii) 10 years after the commercial sale of neffy in Japan.

In addition to the $2.0 million received under the LOI, the Company is eligible to receive up to $13.0 million of milestone payments upon achievement of certain clinical and regulatory milestones. Further, the Company is eligible to receive a negotiable transfer price expected to be in the low double-digit percentage on net sales subject to the regulatory approval to commercialize neffy in Japan. In July 2020, the Company earned a $5.0 million milestone payment upon the completion of a clinical milestone in Japan.

At the commencement of this collaboration, the Company identified the following performance obligations: the license for neffy and research and development services. The Company determined the initial transaction price to be the $7.0 million, which includes a clinical milestone as it was $0.6deemed not probable of significant reversal at the inception of the agreement. Due to the uncertainty in the achievement of the regulatory and commercial milestones, the variable consideration associated with these future milestone payments has been fully constrained and is excluded from the transaction price until such time that the Company concludes that it is probable that a significant reversal of previously recognized revenue will not occur. These estimates will be re-assessed at each reporting period. The transaction price was allocated to the performance obligations based on the estimated stand-alone selling price of each performance obligation. The Company recognized revenue of $0.1 million and $0.5$0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019, respectively.

5. Accrued Expenses

Accrued expenses consisted2021, respectively and had a contract liability of the following (in thousands):

   December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Research and development expenses

  $   2,063   $827 

Employee compensation and benefits

   2,634    1,024 

Professional services and other

   581    261 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total accrued expenses

  $5,278   $   2,112 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

6. Leases

The Company leases an officeimmaterial amount and laboratory space in Seattle, Washington. The components of lease expense and related cash flows were as follows (in thousands):

   Year Ended
December 31,
 
   2020   2019 

Lease expense

    

Operating lease expense

  $1,388   $1,388 

Variable lease expense

   386    334 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total lease expense

  $1,774   $1,722 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating cash outflows from operating leases

  $1,591   $1,522 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The remaining term on the Company’s lease was 1.8 years and 2.8 years$0.1 million as of December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively. To compute the present value of the lease liability, the Company used a discount rate of 8.5%.

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Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial StatementsRecordati Agreement

Future minimum commitments due under the operating lease agreement as of December 31,In September 2020, are as follows (in thousands):

Year Ending December 31,

  Amount 

2021

  $1,132 

2022

   2,454 

Thereafter

    
  

 

 

 

Total undiscounted lease payments

   3,586 

Present value adjustment

   (364
  

 

 

 

Total present value of lease payments

  $3,222 
  

 

 

 

7. Convertible Notes and Other Debt

Convertible Notes

In October 2019, the Company issued convertible promissory notes for proceeds of $10.0 million. The notes were unsecured, bore an interest rate of 3% per year, and had a maturity date of March 31, 2020. On March 4, 2020, these notes and accrued interest of $0.1 million converted into 4,673,388 shares of the Company’s Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock at the Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock issuance price of $2.16 per share.

Term Loan Payable

In November 2016, the Company entered into a loanLicense and security agreementSupply Agreement (the “Recordati Agreement”) with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) that allowed borrowingsRecordati Ireland, Ltd. (“Recordati”) for the exclusive license and sublicensable right to develop, import, manufacture or have manufactured commercial product, file and hold regulatory approvals and commercialize neffy in Europe and certain European Free Trade Association, Russia/the Commonwealth of Independent States, Middle East and African countries (the “Recordati Territory”). Under the Recordati Agreement, the Company is responsible for completion of any clinical studies for neffy required by the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) before granting European Union Marketing Authorization, and by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) prior to granting United Kingdom Marketing Authorization. The Company filed the initial regulatory submissions with the EMA in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will file the initial regulatory submissions with the MHRA for neffy and is responsible for the manufacturing of commercial supply. Recordati is solely responsible all regulatory activities in the region after the Company’s initial regulatory submissions to the EMA and MHRA, for any post-approval clinical studies and commercialization activities. Either party may terminate the Recordati Agreement for certain breaches. Unless terminated earlier by either or both parties, the term of the Recordati Agreement will continue as long as Recordati has commercial sales of neffy in the region.

Under the terms of the Recordati Agreement, the Company received an upfront payment of $11.8 million and a regulatory milestone payment of $6.0 million during 2020. In addition, the Company is eligible to receive up to $5.090.0 million euros of milestone payments upon achievement of certain regulatory and commercial sales milestones. Subject to regulatory approval, the Company will earn tiered royalties in two tranches. $3.5the low double-digits on annual net sales in the region and will receive a per unit supply price for the sale of commercial supply to Recordati. The per unit commercial supply costs are subject to a cap. The combined tiered royalty and supply price have a low double-digit cap.

At the commencement of this collaboration, the Company identified the following performance obligations: the license for neffy in the defined territory and the research and development services. The Company determined the initial transaction price to be the $11.8 million. Due to the uncertainty in the achievement of all the developmental and commercial milestones, at inception of the contract, the variable consideration associated with future milestone payments was fully constrained and excluded from the transaction price until such time that the Company concludes that it is probable that a significant reversal of previously recognized revenue will not occur. These estimates will be re-assessed at each reporting period. The transaction price was allocated to the performance obligations based on the estimated stand-alone selling price of each performance obligation. In November 2020, the Company earned a regulatory milestone of $6.0 million. The Company recognized revenue of $1.2 million and $2.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there was immediately drawna contract liability of $3.1 million and $4.4 million, respectively.

On February 22, 2023, the Company and Recordati entered into a termination agreement (the “Termination Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, the Company and Recordati agreed to terminate the Recordati Agreement and the Company will reacquire all of the Recordati’s rights under the Recordati Agreement, as described in Note 14- Subsequent Events.

Pediatrix Agreement

In March 2021, the Company entered into a term loanCollaboration and Distribution Agreement with Pediatrix Therapeutics, Inc. (“Pediatrix”) for the exclusive license and sublicensable right to develop, import, manufacture or have manufactured commercial product, file and hold regulatory approvals and commercialize neffy in the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong. Under the agreement, Pediatrix is responsible, at its sole cost and expense, for all ongoing development work that is necessary for or otherwise supports regulatory approval in the defined territory, including all clinical trials, and activities related to post approval commitments and commercialization tests. In addition, Pediatrix is responsible for commercialization activities and may elect to assume responsibility for manufacturing and supplying drug product for commercial use. The Company is responsible for the manufacturing of product for clinical studies as well as commercial supply, all at a negotiated transfer price. Either party may terminate the agreement for certain breaches of the agreement. Unless terminated earlier by the Company. In conjunction witheither or both parties, the term loan, SVB received a warrant to purchase 7,601 shares of the Company’s common stock with an exercise priceagreement will continue as long as Pediatrix has commercial sales of $2.31 per share. The warrant was recorded as a discount toneffy in the loan and an increase in additional paid-in capital. In December 2020,region, or 10 years after the warrant was exercised in full.first commercial sale.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company was able to drawreceived an additional $1.5 million through a second tranche before December 31, 2017 if it met certain financing milestones. SVB wasupfront payment of $3.0 million. In addition, the Company is eligible to receive an additional warrant contingentup to $84.0 million of milestone payments upon achievement of certain regulatory and commercial sales milestones. Subject to regulatory approval, the Company’s drawCompany will earn tiered royalties in the low double-digits on annual net sales in the region and will receive a per unit supply price for the sale of commercial supply to Pediatrix.

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At the commencement of this additional tranche. However, in December 2017,collaboration, the Company amendedidentified performance obligations related to the loandelivery of the license for neffy in the defined territory and security agreementmanufacturing of product for clinical studies and commercial supply. The Company concluded that the license was distinct from potential supply obligation. The supply provisions are effectively options granted to extend the second tranche draw window to March 31, 2018. This tranche expired undrawn. In exchange for the extension, SVB received an additional warrantPediatrix to purchase 1,553 sharesfuture goods and would only constitute a performance obligation if they contain a material right. The Company determined the option to purchase the clinical and commercial supply was not at a significantly discounted price and does not represent a material right, therefore does not constitute a performance obligation. The Company determined the initial transaction price to be the $3.0 million. Due to the uncertainty in the achievement of all the developmental and commercial milestones, the variable consideration associated with these future milestone payments has been fully constrained and is excluded from the transaction price until such time that the Company concludes that it is probable that a significant reversal of previously recognized revenue will not occur. These estimates will be re-assessed at each reporting period. The Company recognized revenue of the Company’s common stock with an exercise price of $2.42 per share and, because the tranche expired undrawn, an unused term loan fee. Neither the additional warrant to purchase common stock or the unused term loan fee were material to the financial statements. In December 2020, the warrant was exercised in full.

The outstanding principal amount of the term loan accrues interest at an annual rate of 1.75% per annum. At closing, the Company incurred de minimis debt issuance costs and owed a final payment fee of $0.3full $3.0 million both of which are amortized to interest expense over the remaining term of the debt under the effective interest method. The effective interest rate of the Company’s term loan is 5.14%. Interest expense under the term loan was not material to the financial statements forduring the year ended December 31, 20202021.

A reconciliation of contract liability from collaboration agreements was as follows (in thousands):

Balance at December 31, 2021

 

$

4,453

 

Revenue recognized

 

 

(1,316

)

Balance at December 31, 2022

 

$

3,137

 

7. Commitments and totaled $0.1Contingencies

Note Payable

In September 2019, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (“Loan Agreement”) with Silicon Valley Bank for working capital in the principal amount, as amended, of $10.0 million (the “Note”). The Note required interest only payments through June 30, 2021 and had a maturity date of March 1, 2024. In addition, there was a final payment (“Balloon Payment”) of $0.3 million at maturity.

In connection with the Note, the lender received warrants to purchase 38,460 shares of Series C convertible preferred stock at $2.60 per share. The warrants were immediately exercisable and will expire on September 30, 2029. The estimated fair value of the warrants at issuance was $86,000 which was recorded as a debt discount. In addition, the Company recorded debt issuance costs totaling $47,000.

The debt discount, debt issuance costs and Balloon Payment were amortized to interest expense using the effective interest rate method over the loan term. The Company recognized interest expense of $0.6 million and $0.8 million for the yearyears ended December 31, 2019.

2022 and 2021, respectively, and debt discount amortization of $0.3 million and $0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

On November 7, 2022, the Company paid off the remaining balance of $5.4 million on its loans with Silicon Valley Bank, including all principal and interest and the Balloon Payment. The warrants issued to Silicon Valley Bank in connection with the loans continue to be outstanding.

Leases

In October 2021, the Company entered into a 38-month noncancelable lease for its current headquarters location consisting of 4,047 rentable square feet of office space in San Diego, California. Under the terms of the agreement, there is no option to extend the lease, and the Company is subject to additional charges for common area maintenance and other costs. Monthly rental payments due under the lease commenced on December 6, 2021 and escalate through the lease term. The Company prepaid the first month’s rent upon execution of the lease, and the lease agreement provided full rent abatement for the second and third months of the rental term. As of December 31, 2022, the remaining lease term of the Company’s operating lease was 26 months, and the discount rate on the Company’s operating lease was 8%. As there was not an implicit rate within the lease, the discount rate was determined by using a set of peer companies incremental borrowing rates. The Company's operating lease expense was $0.2 million and immaterial for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Company's variable lease expense was $0.1 million and immaterial for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities was $0.2 million and zero for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

121


Future minimum noncancelable operating lease payments are as follows (in thousands):

Year ended December 31,

 

Amount

 

2023

 

$

238

 

2024

 

 

245

 

2025

 

 

42

 

Total lease payments

 

 

525

 

Less imputed interest

 

 

(44

)

Lease liability

 

 

481

 

Less current portion of lease liability

 

 

(230

)

Lease liability, net of current portion

 

$

251

 

Contingencies

From time to time, the Company may be involved in various legal proceedings and subject to claims that arise in the ordinary course of business.

On August 12, 2021, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Amphastar”) filed a Petition for Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), seeking to invalidate claims 1-20 of United States Patent No. 10,682,414 (the “‘414 patent”). The ‘414 patent issued on June 16, 2020 and is entitled “Intranasal Epinephrine Formulations and Methods for the Treatment of Disease.” The claims of the ‘414 patent are directed to methods of treating a type-1 hypersensitivity reaction, including anaphylaxis, using an aqueous nasal spray pharmaceutical formulation containing epinephrine or a salt thereof, including the Company’s neffy product candidate, in a single dose. On February 9, 2023, the USPTO issued a Final Written Decision finding claims 3-6 and 18-20, which encompass the Company’s neffy product candidate, patentable, and claims 1-2 and 7-17 unpatentable. Both the Company and Amphastar have the right to file a motion for reconsideration with the USPTO in addition to a notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Although the results of any motion for reconsideration or notice of appeal are inherently unpredictable and uncertain, and could result in either the USPTO or the Federal Circuit finding some or all of claims 1-20 of the ‘414 patent to be invalid or unenforceable, the Company does not believe that an adverse outcome will have a material adverse effect on its business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition.

On November 5, 2021, a securities class action complaint was filed against Silverback and certain of Silverback’s former officers and directors in the U.S. District for the Western District of Washington, captioned Dresner v. Silverback Therapeutics, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-01499 (the “Dresner Case”). The court has appointed lead plaintiff and lead plaintiff's counsel, and plaintiff's counsel then filed the amended complaint on April 11, 2022. The amended complaint alleges that between December 3, 2020 and March 31, 2022, Silverback and certain of its officers and directors violated (1) Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; and (2) Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by making allegedly false and misleading statements in various SEC filings and press releases regarding the clinical and commercial prospects of its product candidate, SBT6050, which is now discontinued. The complaint seeks unspecified damages and interest, as well as attorneys’ fees and other costs. Silverback and the other defendants filed a motion to dismiss on May 26, 2022 and lead plaintiff filed an opposition brief on July 11, 2022. On August 10, 2022, Silverback and the other defendants filed a reply brief. The court held a hearing on October 28, 2022 and issued an order granting defendants’ motion to dismiss without prejudice on November 4, 2022. Plaintiffs were given leave to amend and filed a Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) on December 5, 2022, which asserted Section 11 claims only with respect to Silverback’s December 3, 2020 IPO and Section 10(b) claims during a shorter class period of March 29, 2021 through March 31, 2022. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the SAC on January 2, 2023. Lead plaintiff filed an opposition brief on January 23, 2023, and defendants filed a reply brief January 27, 2023. The court is expected to issue a ruling on the motion to dismiss in the first half of 2023.

Notes to Financial Statements

Regardless of the outcome, involvement in legal proceedings may have an adverse impact on the Company because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors. The term loan is collateralizedCompany cannot predict the outcome of these suits, and failure by the Company’s tangible and intangible assets, excluding intellectual property. The proceeds areCompany to be used as working capital and to fund general business requirements. The agreement includes customary nonfinancial covenants and events of default that include, among other things, non-payment, inaccuracy of representations and warranties, covenant breaches, cross default to material indebtedness or material agreements, bankruptcy and insolvency, material judgments,obtain favorable resolutions could have a change of control, or any material adverse event.effect on its business, results of operations, and financial condition. The Company’s chances of success on the merits of either of these suits are still uncertain and any possible loss or range of loss cannot be reasonably estimated and as such the Company was in compliance with all related covenantshas not recorded a liability as of December 31, 20202022.

Except as described above, the Company is not currently involved in any legal proceeding that it believes could have a materially adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations. Except as described above, there is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or by any court, public board, government agency, self-regulatory organization or other body pending or, to the knowledge of the Company’s executive officers, threatened against or affecting the Company, the Company’s common stock, any of its subsidiaries or its subsidiaries’ officers or directors in their capacities as such, in which an adverse decision could have a material adverse effect.

122


8. In-Licensing and 2019. GivenSupply

License Agreement with Aegis

In June 2018, the existenceCompany entered into a License Agreement (the “Aegis Agreement”) with Aegis Therapeutics, LLC (“Aegis”). Under the Aegis Agreement, the Company licensed the exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing, sublicensable, rights to certain proprietary Aegis technology, patent rights and know-how to develop and commercialize epinephrine products. The Company utilizes this technology for the development of its lead product candidate, neffy. As consideration for the license, the Company paid an upfront license fee of $50,000, which was recorded in research and development expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.

The Company is required to make aggregate milestone payments of up to $20.0 million upon achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestones. The regulatory milestone payments under the Aegis Agreement will be recognized as research and development expense upon completion of the required events, as the triggering events are not considered to be probable until they are achieved. The Company made a $0.5 million milestone payment to Aegis upon the achievement of a subjective acceleration clause, all amounts dueregulatory milestone during 2019, and a $1.0 million payment to SVBAegis upon the FDA’s acceptance of the Company’s New Drug Application (“NDA”) submission for neffy, which occurred in the third quarter of 2022. The Company may be required to pay royalties based on annual net product sales in the low to mid-single digits on its or its sublicensees’ net sales of the Licensed Products (as defined in the Aegis Agreement) on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis.

The Company is responsible for reimbursing Aegis for patent costs incurred in connection with prosecuting and maintaining patent rights that are classified as a current liability atspecific to epinephrine or epinephrine products. There were no expenses recognized in connection with legal patent fees for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019, though SVB has not accelerated any amounts due2021.

The Company may terminate the Aegis Agreement with 30 days written notice or either party may terminate the Aegis Agreement for certain breaches of the Aegis Agreement. Unless terminated earlier by either or both parties, the term of the Aegis Agreement will continue until the final expiration of all royalty obligations under the debtAegis Agreement.

In conjunction with the Aegis Agreement, the Company also entered into a Supply Agreement (the “Supply Agreement”) with Aegis that allows the Company to purchase materials for preclinical, development and commercial use at predetermined prices. The Company may elect to have Aegis supply minimum quantities but there are no minimum or maximum purchase obligations under the Supply Agreement unless this election is made. The parties may terminate the Supply Agreement at any time by mutual agreement. In addition, the parties may terminate the Supply Agreement in the event of certain breaches of the Supply Agreement or upon the earlier of the expiration or termination of the Aegis Agreement or June 2028. The Supply Agreement term may be extended by mutual written agreement. Expense recognized under the Supply Agreement was $1.0 million and $0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The term loan’s original maturity date was November 1, 2020. However, in AprilManufacturing Agreement with Renaissance

In September 2020, the Company amendedentered into a manufacturing agreement (the “Renaissance Agreement”) with Renaissance Lakewood, LLC (“Renaissance”). Pursuant to the loanRenaissance Agreement, Renaissance agreed to manufacture for, and security agreementprovide to defer principal paymentsthe Company, neffy nasal unit dose sprays (“Renaissance Products”). The Company is obligated to provide Renaissance with certain supplies to manufacture the Renaissance Products and to purchase from Renaissance a mid double-digit percentage of the Company’s annual aggregate Renaissance Product requirements in the E.U., and a high double-digit percentage of the Company’s annual aggregate Renaissance Product requirements in the U.S. The Renaissance Agreement contains conventional commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing provisions including certain minimum purchase amounts to be determined in the future based on forecast needs and minimum batch size projections. The Company may also request Renaissance to perform certain services related to the Renaissance Product, for which the Company will pay reasonable compensation to Renaissance.

123


The initial term of the Renaissance Agreement commenced on September 9, 2020 and continues (a) for Renaissance Product designated for commercial sale in the U.S. until the earlier of the fifth anniversary of the (i) target U.S. launch date and (ii) the initial U.S. launch date (“U.S. Initial Term”), and (b) for Renaissance Product designated for commercial sale in the E.U. and other countries, the earlier of the fifth anniversary of (i) the target E.U. launch date and (ii) the initial E.U. launch date (“E.U. Initial Term”), in each case unless earlier terminated by one of the parties. The U.S. Initial Term and E.U. Initial Term automatically renew for successive two-year terms (“Renewal Term”). Either party may elect not to renew the U.S. Renewal Term and/or the E.U. Renewal Term by providing the requisite prior notice to the other party. Either party may terminate the Renaissance Agreement (1) for uncured material breach of the other party, (2) upon notice for insolvency-related events of the other party that are not discharged within a defined time period, (3) on a product-by-product basis if the manufacture, distribution or sale would materially contravene any applicable law, (4) by providing the requisite notice if (a) the Company has not submitted a regulatory filing for any Renaissance Product in the U.S. on or before June 30, 2022, (b) the authorization and approval to distribute or sell Renaissance Product in the U.S. is not granted on or before the target U.S. launch date, (c) the authorization and approval representing more than a targeted number of units of Renaissance Product sold in the U.S. during the last calendar year is withdrawn by the FDA, or (d) the Company decided in its sole discretion to cease commercializing the Renaissance Product in the U.S., (5) in the case of a force majeure event that continues for six months or more, or (6) a violation by the other party of trade control or anti-corruption laws. Expense recognized under the Renaissance Agreement was $2.0 million and extend the maturity date to May 1, 2021. There were no costs or additional warrant issuances in connection with this amendment. The Company accounted$3.1 million for the amendment as a debt modificationyears ended December 31, 2022 and is amortizing the remaining debt discount over the remaining term.2021, respectively.

8. Redeemable 9. Convertible Preferred Stock and Common Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

Authorized Shares

In connection with the completion of theThe Company’s IPO in December 2020, the Company amended itscurrent Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to authorize authorizes 200,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001$0.0001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001$0.0001 per share.

Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock

Prior to its conversion to common stock,In April 2016, the Company’s redeemableARS Pharma issued 3,600,000 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock was classified as mezzanine equity on the Company’s balance sheets as theat $0.0833 per share for net cash proceeds of $0.3 million. Subsequently, in July 2017, an additional 1,164,000 shares are contingently redeemable upon a deemed liquidation such as a change in control and in that event, there is no guarantee that all stockholders would be entitled to receive the same form of consideration. No accretion to redemption value was recorded during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 as a deemed liquidation event was not considered probable.

The Company did not issue any redeemableSeries A convertible preferred stock during the year ended December 31, 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Companywere issued at $0.0833 per share for net cash proceeds of $0.1 million.

In March, June and July 2018, ARS Pharma issued a total of 606,060 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock at $1.65 per share for net cash proceeds of $1.0 million.

In September and December 2018, ARS Pharma issued 7,692,309 shares of Series C convertible preferred stock at $2.60 per share for net cash proceeds of $19.8 million.

In August 2021, ARS Pharma issued 9,337,066 shares of Series D convertible preferred stock at $5.89 per share for net cash proceeds of $54.8 million.

Collectively, the Series A, B, C and D convertible preferred stock issuances will be referred to as follows:“Series Convertible Preferred Stock.”

In March 2020,On November 8, 2022, ARS Pharma completed the CompanyMerger with Silverback in accordance with the Merger Agreement. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger, 22,399,435 shares of ARS Pharma’s preferred stock were converted into 26,473,899 shares of ARS Pharma’s common stock.

Common Stock

Upon completion of the Merger on November 8, 2022, as the accounting acquirer, ARS Pharma is deemed to have issued 14,701,05436,535,541 shares of its Series B redeemable convertible preferredcommon stock including 4,673,388 shares issued upon conversion of then outstanding convertible notes and accrued interest, and 10,027,666 shares issuedto Silverback stockholders.

Common stock reserved for cash at a purchase price of $2.16 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $21.5 million. The Series B purchase agreement provides that the Company will issue, and the Series B holders will purchase, an additional 21,732,862 sharesfuture issuance consisted of the Company’s Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock across two tranches for aggregate proceeds of $46.9 million in the event that certain agreed upon milestones are achieved or the preferred majority approves their closing. The future Series B tranches did not meet the definition of freestanding instruments or the definition of derivatives, therefore, they were not accounted for separately or bifurcated.following:

December 31,
2022

Common stock options granted and outstanding

12,063,560

Common stock reserved for future awards or option grants

3,373,801

Total

15,437,361

124


Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

In July 2020, the Company issued 10,669,834 shares of its Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock for cash at a purchase price of $2.16 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $23.0 million.

In September 2020, the Company issued 11,063,028 additional shares of its Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock for cash at a purchase price of $2.16 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $23.9 million, and 24,926,685 shares of its Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock for cash at a purchase price of $3.41 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $84.9 million.

Common Stock

The Company has reserved shares of common stock for the following potential future issuances:

   December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Conversion of outstanding redeemable convertible preferred stock

       4,232,232 

Shares underlying outstanding equity awards

   6,316,569    555,636 

Shares available for future equity award grants

   1,506,806    433,729 

Shares underlying early exercised equity awards

   100,263    6,046 

Exercise of common stock warrants

       9,154 

Shares underlying ESPP withholdings

   4,393     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

   7,928,031    5,236,797 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

9.10. Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense recognized for all equity awards has been reported in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as follows (in thousands):

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Research and development expense

 

$

213

 

 

$

2,114

 

General and administrative expense

 

 

5,630

 

 

 

715

 

Total stock-based compensation expense

 

$

5,843

 

 

$

2,829

 

   Year Ended
December 31,
 
       2020           2019     

Research and development expense

  $1,180   $131 

General and administrative expense

   1,460    17 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stock-based compensation expense

  $2,640   $   148 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2020,2022, the total unrecognized stock-based compensation expense was $60.8$4.6 million, which is expected to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of approximately 3.42.48 years.

Stock-basedFor the year ended December 31, 2022, ARS Pharma recognized $1.3 million in stock-based compensation expense includes October 2020 and November 2020 grantsfor 236,380 performance-based options that were originally granted with a strike price basedvested upon the estimated grant date fair market valueclosing of our common stock as a private company; however, when determining the Black-Scholes value of theseMerger. For the year ended December 31, 2021, no performance-based stock-based compensation was recognized.

In connection with the Merger, the Company replaced (only for accounting purposes) 6,599,068 stock options we utilizedand 493,456 restricted stock units held by Silverback employees and directors. The replacement awards were revalued at their acquisition-date fair value and then attributed to pre and post-combination service. This resulted in $3.1 million in expense attributed to post-combination service to be recognized as compensation cost by the public offering priceCompany, of $21.00 per sharewhich $3.0 million has been recognized in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022. 482,805 replaced restricted stock units vested in connection with the Merger and the remaining 10,651 are outstanding as of December 31, 2022.

Equity Incentive Plans

In September 2018, ARS Pharma adopted the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan. As a result of the Merger, on November 8, 2022 ARS Pharma, as the estimated grant date fair market value of common stock.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notesaccounting acquirer, is deemed to Financial Statements

Stock Option Awards

In November 2020, the Company’s board of directorshave assumed Silverback's 2016 and stockholders approved the 2020 Equity Incentive Plans, and Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2020 Plan”(“ESPP”). The 2020 Plan became effective uponFor the date of the underwriting agreement relatedyear ended December 31, 2022, ESPP activity is not material to the IPO. Upon adoption of the 2020 Plan, the Company restricted future grants from its 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2016 Plan”)consolidated financial statements.

Under the 2020 Plan, the Company may grant stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock awards, performance cash awards and other forms of stock awards to employees, directors, and consultants, including employees and consultants of the Company’s affiliates. A total of 4,132,681 new shares of common stock were initially reserved for issuance under the 2020 Plan. The number of shares reserved under the 2020 Plan also includes 67,319 shares of common stock that remained available for issuance under the 2016 Plan at the time the 2020 Plan became effective and will be increased by the number of shares under the 2016 Plan that are repurchased, forfeited, expired or cancelled on or after the effective date of the 2020 Plan. In addition, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2020 Plan will automatically increase on January 1 of each calendar year, starting on January 1, 2021 through January 1, 2030, in an amount equal to 5% of the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding on December 31 of the preceding year, or a lesser number of shares determined by the Company’s board of directors.

As of December 31, 2022, the 2016 and 2020 the Company’s plansEquity Incentive Plans authorized a total of 7,824,72111,321,495 shares, of which 1,506,8063,079,688 shares are available for future grant, and 6,316,5696,439,311 shares are outstanding. Not included in the outstanding option balance are 100,263 shares pursuant to stock options that were early exercised and subject to repurchase under the 2016 Plan that remain unvested as of December 31, 2020.

As of December 31, 2020,2022, the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan authorized a total of 6,634,333 shares, of which 294,113 shares are available for future grant, and 5,634,900 shares are outstanding. The Company has granteddoes not intend to grant future stock options or other equity awards under its equity incentive plans. the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan.

Stock Options

Stock options granted under thesethe Company’s equity incentive plans expire no later than 10 years from the date of grant and generally vest over a four yearfour-year period, with vesting either occurring at a rate of 25%25% at the end of the first year and thereafter in 36 equal monthly installments or on a monthly basis. In the case of awards granted to our non-employee board members, vesting generally occurs on a monthly basis over three years.years or in full on an annual basis. The Company issues new shares of common stock upon the exercise of stock options.

125


A summary of the Company’s stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 20202022 is as follows (in thousands, except share and per share data and years):follows:

   Stock Options Outstanding 
   Shares
Subject to
Options
Outstanding
  Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
   Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life (Years)
   Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
 

Balance at December 31, 2019

   555,636  $1.61    8.5   $154 

Granted

   5,906,735  $11.57     

Exercised

   (139,478) $1.27     $6,285 

Canceled

   (6,324) $1.29     
  

 

 

      

Balance at December 31, 2020

   6,316,569  $10.93    9.5   $223,647 
  

 

 

      

Vested at December 31, 2020

   449,290  $2.20    7.5   $19,832 
  

 

 

      

 

 

Shares
Subject to
Options
Outstanding

 

 

Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price

 

 

Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life (Years)

 

 

Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value (in thousands)

 

Outstanding at December 31, 2021

 

 

4,828,667

 

 

$

1.06

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assumed in the Merger

 

 

6,599,068

 

 

$

10.14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granted

 

 

1,472,647

 

 

$

1.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

(548,768

)

 

$

1.04

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited

 

 

(288,054

)

 

$

1.26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding at December 31, 2022

 

 

12,063,560

 

 

$

6.07

 

 

 

5.56

 

 

$

60,437

 

Vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2022

 

 

12,063,560

 

 

$

6.07

 

 

 

5.56

 

 

$

60,437

 

Exercisable at December 31, 2022

 

 

12,032,474

 

 

$

6.06

 

 

 

5.56

 

 

$

60,336

 

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

NotesThe exercisable shares subject to Financial Statements

The total fair value of shares vested during the years endedoptions outstanding at December 31, 20202022 in the table above include vested and 2019 was $1.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively.early exercisable awards. The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying options and the estimated fair value of the Company’s common stock for all options that were in-the-money at December 31, 2020. 2022.The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $1.2 million and $0.1 million, respectively.

The weighted-average grant date fair value per share of option grants for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 20192021 was $10.50$1.50 and $0.96,$0.97, respectively.

The grant datetotal fair value of shares vested during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $2.7 million and $0.4 million, respectively.

The fair value of stock options granted or assumed in connection with the Merger was estimated using a Black-Scholes option pricingoption-pricing model (“Black-Scholes”) with the following weighted-average assumptions:

 

 

Assumed on

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

November 8, 2022

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Expected term (in years)

 

 

0.8

 

 

 

6.1

 

 

 

6.0

 

Expected volatility

 

 

98.9

%

 

 

91.3

%

 

 

91.6

%

Risk-free interest rate

 

 

4.5

%

 

 

2.1

%

 

 

1.2

%

Expected dividend yield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

126

   Year Ended
December 31,
 
       2020          2019     

Expected term (in years)

   6.0   6.1 

Expected volatility

   81%  80%

Risk-free interest rate

   0.51%  2.08%

Expected dividend yield

       

The fair value of stock options was determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and the assumptions below. Each of these inputs is subjective and generally requires significant judgement.

Fair Value of Common Stock. The

Fair Value of Common Stock. Prior to the Merger on November 8, 2022, grant date fair market value of the shares of common stock underlying stock options was determined by ARS Pharma’s Board of Directors. Following the Merger, the fair market value of the Company's common stock is based on its closing price as reported on the date of grant on the primary stock exchange on which the Company’s common stock is traded. Prior to the Merger, there was no public market for the ARS Pharma’s common stock, therefore the ARS Pharma Board of Directors determined the fair value of common stock at the time of grant of the option by considering a number of objective and subjective factors including independent third-party valuations of the ARS Pharma common stock, sales of convertible preferred stock to unrelated third parties, operating and financial performance, the lack of liquidity of capital stock and general and industry specific economic outlook, amongst other factors.

Expected Term. The expected term represents the period that the options granted are expected to be outstanding. The expected term of stock options issued is determined using the simplified method (based on the mid-point between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term) as the Company has concluded that its stock option exercise history does not provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate expected term.

Expected Volatility. Given the Company’s limited historical stock price volatility data, the Company derived the expected volatility from the average historical volatilities over a period approximately equal to the expected term of comparable publicly traded companies within its peer group that were deemed to be representative of future stock price trends as the Company has limited trading history for its common stock. The Company will continue to apply this process until a sufficient amount of historical information regarding the volatility of its own stock price becomes available.

Risk-free Interest Rate. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rate, with maturities similar to the expected term of the stock options.

Expected Dividend Yield. The Company has never paid dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the Company uses an expected dividend yield of zero.

11. Income Taxes

A reconciliation of the shares of common stock underlying stock options is determined byfederal statutory income tax rate to the Company’s board of directors. Following the closingeffective tax rate is as follows (in thousands):

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Tax computed at federal statutory rate

 

$

(7,283

)

 

$

(4,251

)

State income taxes, net of federal benefit

 

 

(21

)

 

 

(9

)

Equity compensation

 

 

290

 

 

 

562

 

Research and development credits

 

 

(624

)

 

 

(1,120

)

Other

 

 

452

 

 

 

38

 

Valuation allowance

 

 

7,186

 

 

 

4,780

 

Provision for income taxes

 

$

 

 

$

 

127


Significant components of the Company’s IPO, the fair market value of our common stock is based on its closing pricenet deferred tax assets were as reported on the date of grant on the primary stock exchange on which the Company’s common stock is traded. Prior to the Company’s IPO, because there was no public market for the Company’s common stock, the board of directors exercised reasonable judgment and considered a number of objective and subjective factors to determine the best estimate of the fair market value, which included contemporaneous valuations performed by an independent third-party, the Company’s results of operations and financial position, including its levels of available capital resources, its stage of development and material risks related to the Company’s business, progress of the Company’s research and development activities, the Company’s business conditions and projections, the lack of marketability of the Company’s common stock and preferred stock as a private company, the prices at which the Company sold shares of its redeemable convertible preferred stock to outside investors in arms-length transactions, the rights, preferences and privileges of the Company’s redeemable convertible preferred stock relative to those of its common stock, the analysis of IPOs and the market performance of similar companies in the biopharmaceutical industry, the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event for the Company’s securityholders, such as an IPO or a sale of the company, given prevailing market conditions, the hiring of key personnel and the experience of management, trends and developments in the Company’s industry and external market conditions affecting the life sciences and biotechnology industry sectors.follows (in thousands):

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Deferred tax assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net operating losses

 

$

8,252

 

 

$

5,457

 

Research and development credits

 

 

2,964

 

 

 

2,340

 

Intangible assets

 

 

3,746

 

 

 

219

 

Equity compensation

 

 

2,279

 

 

 

63

 

Contract liability

 

 

661

 

 

 

943

 

Other

 

 

104

 

 

 

257

 

Total deferred tax assets

 

 

18,006

 

 

 

9,279

 

Deferred tax liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROU asset

 

 

(94

)

 

 

(131

)

Other

 

 

(155

)

 

 

(10

)

Total deferred liabilities

 

 

(249

)

 

 

(141

)

Gross deferred tax assets

 

 

17,757

 

 

 

9,138

 

Valuation allowance

 

 

(17,757

)

 

 

(9,138

)

Net deferred tax assets

 

$

 

 

$

 

Expected Term. The expected term represents the period that the options granted are expected to be outstanding. The expected term of stock options issued is determined using the simplified method (based on the mid-point between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term) as the Company has concluded that its stock option exercise history does not provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate expected term.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

Expected Volatility. Given the Company’s limited historical stock price volatility data, the Company derived the expected volatility from the average historical volatilities over a period approximately equal to the expected term of comparable publicly traded companies within its peer group that were deemed to be representative of future stock price trends as the Company has limited trading history for its common stock. The Company will continue to apply this process until a sufficient amount of historical information regarding the volatility of its own stock price becomes available.

Risk-free Interest Rate. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rate, with maturities similar to the expected term of the stock options.

Expected Dividend Yield.The Company has never paid dividends on its common stock and doesestablished a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty that such assets will be realized. The Company periodically evaluates the recoverability of the deferred assets. At such time as it is determined that it is more likely than not anticipate paying any dividendsthat the deferred tax asset will be realized, the valuation allowance will be reduced. The change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the Company uses an expected dividend yield of zero.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

In November 2020, the Company’s board of directors and stockholders approved and adopted the 2020 ESPP. The ESPP became effective immediately prior to the date of the underwriting agreement related to the IPO. The ESPP permits eligible employees who elect to participate in an offering under the ESPP to have up to 15% of their eligible earnings withheld, subject to certain limitations, to purchase shares of common stock pursuant to the ESPP. The price of common stock purchased under the ESPP is equal to 85 percent of the lower of the fair market value of the common stock at the commencement date of each offering period or the relevant date of purchase. A total of 350,000 shares of common stock were initially reserved for issuance under the ESPP. In addition, the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the ESPP will automatically increase on January 1 of each calendar year, starting on January 1, 2021 through January 1, 2030, in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) 1% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year, and (ii) 700,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, or a lesser number of shares determined by the Company’s board of directors.

As of December 31, 2020, no shares were issued under the ESPP. The weighted average per share fair value rights granted during the year ended December 31, 2020 was $10.28.

In determining the grant date fair value of shares to be issued under the ESPP, the Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Black-Scholes inputs are determined in the same manner as for stock option awards. The weighted average inputs used for the ESPPvaluation allowance for the year ended December 31, 2020, were2022 was an increase of $8.6 million.

At December 31, 2022, the Company had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards (“NOL”) of $38.9 million and $7.2 million, respectively. Federal NOL carryforwards of $38.9 million, generated after 2017, may be carryforward indefinitely but can only be utilized to offset 80% of future taxable income. The state NOL carryforwards begin expiring in 2036. State NOLs totaling $1.6 million may be carried forward indefinitely. In addition, the Company also has federal and California research and development credit carryforwards totaling $3.4 million and $0.7 million, respectively. The federal research and development credit carryforwards will begin to expire in 2035 unless previously utilized. The California research credits do not expire. The NOL and credit carryovers noted above do not include the pre-Merger amounts attributable to Silverback as follows:noted in the IRC Section 382 disclosure in the paragraph below.

Year Ended
December 31,
    2020    

Expected term (in years)

1.2

Expected volatility

82

Risk-free interest rate

0.11

Expected dividend yield

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

NotesPursuant to Financial Statements

10. Income Taxes

Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Sections 382 and 383, annual use of the company's NOL and research and development credit carryforwards may be limited in the event a cumulative change in ownership of more than 50% occurs within a three-year period. The Company has not completed an ownership change analysis pursuant to IRC Section 382. If ownership changes have occurred or occurs in the future, the amount of remaining tax attribute carryforwards available to offset taxable income and income tax expense in future years may be restricted or eliminated. If eliminated, the related asset would be removed from deferred tax assets with a corresponding reduction in the valuation allowance. Due to the existence of the valuation allowance, limitations created by future ownership changes, if any, will not impact the Company’s effective tax ratesrate.

Additionally, as part of the transaction with Silverback, certain deferred tax assets generated in the Silverback pre-Merger periods were acquired by the Company consisting of federal and state net operation loss carryovers, research tax credit carryovers, and other tax attributes. These deferred tax assets will be subject to limitations on future use under IRC Section 382 and some of the attributes may expire unused. The Company has not completed an analysis under IRC Section 382 to determine the amount of such tax attributes that will be available annually and how much, if any, of the tax attributes may expire unused. As a result, the Company has not included any of these deferred tax assets in its components of deferred tax asset in the table above. Once the analysis is complete, to the extent that such deferred tax assets are available for future utilization, such assets will be included in the deferred tax assets and will be fully offset by valuation allowance as of December 31, 2022.

The evaluation of uncertainty in a tax position is a two-step process. The first step involves recognition. The Company determines whether it is more likely than not that a tax position will be sustained upon tax examination, including resolution of any related appeals or litigation, based on only the technical merits of the position. The technical merits of a tax position are derived from both statutory and judicial authority (legislation and statutes, legislative intent, regulations, rulings, and case law) and their applicability to the facts and circumstances of the tax position. If a tax position does not meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, the benefit of that position is not recognized in the financial statements. The second step is measurement. A tax position that meets the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold is measured to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the financial statements. The tax position is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate resolution with a taxing authority.

128


The following table summarizes the reconciliation of the unrecognized tax benefits activity during the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019 differ from the U.S. federal statutory rate as follows2021 (in thousands):

 

 

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Unrecognized tax benefits - beginning

 

$

1,147

 

 

$

941

 

Gross increase – current-period tax positions

 

 

373

 

 

 

206

 

Unrecognized tax benefits - ending

 

$

1,520

 

 

$

1,147

 

   Year Ended
December 31,
 
   2020  2019 

Tax at the federal statutory rate

  $(6,919 $(5,033

Benefit from R&D tax credits

   (586  (561

Stock-based compensation

   331    

Other temporary and permanent differences

   21   (3

Change in valuation allowance

   7,153   5,597 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total provision for income taxes

  $  $ 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

The significant componentsunrecognized tax benefit amounts are reflected in the determination of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows (in thousands):

   December 31, 
   2020  2019 

Deferred tax assets:

   

Net operating loss carryforward

  $18,832  $12,575 

Lease liability

   677   862 

R&D tax credit carryforward

   1,502   941 

Other deferred tax assets

   336   41 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total deferred tax assets

   21,347   14,419 

Deferred tax liabilities—Right of use asset

   (458  (683

Valuation allowance

   (20,889  (13,736
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net deferred tax assets

  $  $ 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

At December 31, 2020, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards for income tax purposesassets. If recognized, none of approximately $89.7 million. If not used, $18.2 million of this carryforward will begin to expire in 2036 and $71.5 million has no expiration. At December 31, 2020, the Company also had research and development tax credits of approximately $1.5 million which will begin to expire in 2037 if left unused. The Company did not have any foreign tax provision and did not generate material net operating losses in any states with an income tax.

FASB ASC 740 requires that the tax benefit of net operating losses, temporary differences, and credit carryforwards be recorded as an asset to the extent that management assesses the realization is “more likely than not.” Realization of the future tax benefits from the net operating losses or credit carryforwards, if any, is dependent onthese amounts would affect the Company’s ability to generate sufficient taxable income within the applicable carryforward period. Because of the Company’s recent history of operating losses, the Company maintains a full valuation allowanceeffective tax rate, since it would be offset by an equal corresponding adjustment in the amount of $20.9 million and $13.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

deferred tax asset valuation allowance. The Company may have already experienced one or more ownership changes. Depending on the timing of any future utilization of its carryforwards, the Company may be limited as to the amount that

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

can be utilized each year as a result of such previous ownership changes. However, the Company does not believe such limitations will causeforesee material changes to its carryforwards to expire unutilized.liability for uncertain tax benefits within the next twelve months.

Future changesThe Company files income tax returns in the Company’s stock ownership as well as other changes that may be outsideUnited States, various states within the United States, and Ireland. Due to the Company’s control could potentially result in further limitations onlosses incurred, the Company’s abilityincome tax returns for all jurisdictions are subject to utilize its net operating lossexamination by tax authorities from inception. The Company’s policy is to recognize interest expense and penalties related to income tax credit carryforwards.

matters as tax expense. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company did not have any liabilities2022, there were no significant accruals for interest related to unrecognized income tax benefits associated with uncertainor tax positions, including any interest and penalties.

11. Licensing Agreement

Cell Line License Agreement with WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited

In October 2019, the Company entered into a cell line license agreement with WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited (“WuXi Bio”). Under the license agreement, WuXi Bio granted the Company a non-exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable, under certain of WuXi Bio’s intellectual property rights, know-how and biological materials (“WuXi Bio Licensed Technology”), to make, use, sell, offer for sale and import a product developed through the use of the WuXi Bio Licensed Technology (“WuXi Bio Licensed Product”). The WuXi Bio Licensed Technology is currently used to manufacture a component of the Company’s lead product, SBT6050.

In consideration for the license, the Company paid WuXi Bio a license fee of $100,000 which was recorded as research and development expense in 2019 accordance with ASC 730. In 2020 we incurred an additional license fee of $50,000 to WuXi Bio which was recorded in research and development expense in 2020. In the event the Company manufactures its commercial supplies of a product produced by the Licensed Cell Line using a manufacturer other than WuXi Bio or its affiliates, the Company will become obligated to pay WuXi Bio aggregate milestone payments, upon achievement of certain sales milestones, of up to $10.8 million.

The Company has not incurred any material interest or penalties as of the rightcurrent reporting date with respect to terminateincome tax matters. The Company does not expect that there will be unrecognized tax benefits of a significant nature that will increase or decrease within 12 months of the license by giving at least six months prior written notice to WuXi Bio and paying all amounts due to them through the terminationreporting date.

12. Employee Benefit Plans

In the eventJune 2022, the Company fails to pay all amounts due to WuXi Bio under the license agreement, and fails to pay the amounts within 30 days after receiving written notice of such failure, WuXi Bio may terminate the license with 45 days written notice to the Company. In the event either party commits a material breach under the license and fails to cure the breach within 30 days after receiving written notice from the other party of such breach, either party may terminate the license immediately upon written notice to the other party.

12. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, the Company may have certain contingent liabilities that arise in the ordinary course of its business activities. The Company accrues a liability for such matters when it is probable that future expenditures will be made and can be reasonably estimated. Significant judgment is required to determine both probability and the estimated amount.

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

Indemnifications

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into agreements that may include indemnification provisions. Pursuant to such agreements, the Company may indemnify, hold harmless, and defend an indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party. Some of the provisions will limit losses to those arising from third party actions. In some cases, the indemnification will continue after the termination of the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these provisions is not determinable. The Company has never incurred material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification provisions. The Company intends to enter into indemnification agreements with its directors and officers that may require the Company to indemnify its directors and officers against liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware corporate law. The Company currently has directors’ and officers’ insurance coverage that reduces its exposure and enables the Company to recover a portion of any future amounts paid. The Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements in excess of applicable insurance coverage is minimal.

COVID-19

The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly evolve, and management continue to monitor the situation closely. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business, operations and clinical development timelines and plans remains uncertain, and will depend on certain developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and its impact on the Company’s clinical trial enrollment, trial sites, CROs, third-party manufacturers, and other third parties with whom the Company does business, as well as its impact on regulatory authorities and the Company’s key scientific and management personnel. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar health epidemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. To the extent possible, management is conducting business as usual, with necessary or advisable modifications to employee travel and most of the Company’s non-lab based employees working remotely. Management will continue to actively monitor the rapidly evolving situation related to COVID-19 and may take further actions that alter Company operations, including those that may be required by federal, state or local authorities, or that management determines are in the best interests of the Company’s employees and other third parties with whom the Company does business. At this point, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the Company’s business, operations and clinical development timelines and plans, including the resulting impact on Company expenditures and capital needs, remains uncertain and is subject to change.

13. Related Party Transactions

The Company reimburses certain travel expenses incurred by one of its investors to support the business. Amounts due to the investor totaled less than $0.1 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. Reimbursable travel expenses incurred by the investor totaled less than $0.1 million during each of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

14. Employee Benefit Plans

The Company maintainsadopted a retirement plan, which is qualified under section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for the Company’s U.S. employees. The plan allows eligible

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc.

Notes to Financial Statements

employees to defer, at the employee’s discretion, pretax compensation up to the IRSInternal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) annual limits. The Company does not matchmatches up to 5% of an employee’s contributions, madesubject to IRS limitations. Expense associated with the Company’s matching contribution totaled $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

13. Related-Party Transactions

In September 2015, the Company entered into a consulting agreement, superseded in July 2022, for regulatory and development services with Pacific-Link Consulting, LLC, an entity owned by employees.

15. Net Loss Per Share Attributable to Common Stockholders

The following outstanding shares of potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the computationPresident/Chief Executive Officer/director and the Chief Medical Officer of the diluted net loss per share attributableCompany. The Company incurred consulting expense related to common stockholdersthis agreement totaling $2.1 million and $1.1 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

In September 2018, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Marlinspike Group, LLC (“Marlinspike Group”) to provide management, business consulting services and business development support. In addition, Marlinspike Group provides the use of its facilities to the Company from time to time. The managing member of Marlinspike Group is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Company and one of its stockholders. The Company incurred annual expenses related to this agreement totaling $0.2 million for both of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

In November 2018, the Company entered into a consulting agreement for commercial and marketing consulting services with Red Team Associates, LLC (“Red Team”), an entity controlled by the Executive Vice President of Commercial Strategy of the Company. The Company incurred consulting expense related to this agreement totaling $0.2 million and $0.1 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

In April 2021, the Company entered into a consulting agreement, as amended in April 2022, with a member of the Board of Directors of the Company for general advice and assistance with the development of its current and future product candidates. As compensation for the periods presented because their effect would have been anti-dilutive:consulting services the Company granted the member of the Board of Directors 590,950 stock options that vest over a four-year period. The Company incurred stock-based compensation expense related to this agreement totaling $0.1 million for both of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

129

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Redeemable convertible preferred stock

       4,232,232 

Common stock options

   6,316,569    555,636 

Unvested common stock

   100,263    6,046 

Common stock warrants

       9,154 

ESPP withholdings

   4,393     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total potentially dilutive shares

   6,421,225    4,803,068 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

14. Subsequent Events

Termination Agreement

On February 22, 2023, the Company entered into the Termination Agreement with Recordati, pursuant to which, among other things, the Company and Recordati agreed to terminate the Recordati License and Supply Agreement. Pursuant to the Termination Agreement, the Company will reacquire all of the Recordati Rights and has agreed to pay Recordati a one-time upfront payment of €3.0 million and additional payments upon achievement of certain milestones including: (i) an EMA regulatory milestone payment of €2.0 million, (ii) a milestone payment of €5.0 million upon first commercial sale of a Recordati Licensed Product in the Recordati Territory, and (iii) milestone payments of up to €5.0 million in the aggregate from sales of Recordati Licensed Product(s) in the Recordati Territory.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

NoneNone.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As required by Rules 13a-15(b) and 15d-15(b) of the Exchange Act, 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 December 31, 2020.2022. The term “disclosure controls and procedures” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020,2022, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

This annual report does not include a report of management’s assessment regardingOur management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, oras such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an attestation reportevaluation of the company’s registered public accounting firm due to a transition period establishedeffectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the 2013 framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by rulesthe Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the SEC for newly public companies.Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 20202022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information.

None.

Item 9C. Disclosure regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.

Not applicable.

130


PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

Information required by this item and not set forth below will be set forth in the sections headedElection of Directors and Executive Officerscontained in our definitive Proxy Statementproxy statement for our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the conclusion of our year ended December 31, 2020on or before May 1, 2023 (the “Proxy Statement”) pursuant to General Instructions G(3) of Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all officers, directors and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or person performing similar functions. A current copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on the Corporate Governance section of our website at www.silverbacktx.com.ir.ars-pharma.com. If we make any substantive amendments to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics or grants any waiver from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to any executive officer or director that are required to be disclosed pursuant to SEC rules, we will promptly disclose the nature of the amendment or waiver on our website or in a current report on Form 8-K.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

The information required by this item will be set forth in our Proxy Statement in the sectionssection headed Executive and Director Compensation and Director Compensation contained in ourthe Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

Information required by this item will be set forth in the sections headed Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Executive Executive and Director Compensationcontained in ourthe Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

Information required by this item will be set forth in the sections headedCertain Related-Person TransactionsandInformation Regarding the Board of Directors and Corporate Governancecontained in ourthe Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

Information required by this item will be set forth in the sections headedRatification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firmcontained in ourthe Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

131


PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

(a) Documents filed as part of this report.

(1) Financial Statements. The following financial statements of Silverback Therapeutics,ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., together with the report of Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, required to be filed pursuant to Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-Kare included on the following pages:

Page

Page

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 42)

143

Consolidated Balance Sheets

144

108

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

145

109

Consolidated Statements of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

146

110

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

147

111

Notes to Financial Statements

148

112

(2) Financial Statement Schedules. None.

(3) List of exhibits required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K. See part (b) below.

(b)Exhibits.

Exhibit

Number

Description

3.1

2.1

AmendedAgreement and Restated CertificatePlan of IncorporationMerger and Reorganization, dated as of July 21, 2022, by and among Silverback Therapeutics, Inc., Sabre Merger Sub, Inc. and ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as amended by the First Amendment, dated August 11, 2022 and the Second Amendment, dated October 25, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.12.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, as amended, filed with the SEC on DecemberNovember 8, 2020)2022).

3.1

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended.

3.2

Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on December 8, 2020).

4.1

4.1

Reference is made to Exhibit 3.1 and 3.2.

4.2

4.2

Form of Common Stock Certificate of the registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit  4.1 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 30, 2020).

4.3Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement, by and between the registrant and certain of its stockholders, dated September 22, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020).

4.3

Description of Registrant’s Common Stock.

4.4

4.5

Warrant to purchase stock issued to Silicon Valley Bank, dated November  21, 2016as of September 30, 2019, as amended on December 7, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.34.1 to the registrant’s Registration Statementregistrant's Current Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

4.5Warrant to purchase stock issued to Silicon Valley Bank, dated December  22, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020).
4.6Description of Registrant’s Common Stock.

Exhibit

Number10.1+

Description

10.1+Form of Indemnity Agreement, by and between the registrant and its directors and officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020).

10.2+

10.2+

Silverback Therapeutics,ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and Forms of Option Agreement, Notice of Exercise, Notice of Early Exercise, Restricted Stock Grant Notice and Restricted Stock Award Agreement thereunder (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020).

10.3+

10.3+

Silverback Therapeutics,ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, and Forms of Option Grant Notice, Option Agreement and Notice of Exercise thereunder (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 30, 2020).

10.4+

Forms of Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement under the ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.15 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022).

132


10.4+

10.5+

Silverback Therapeutics,ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 30, 2020).

10.6+

10.5+¥

Letter Agreement, by and between the registrant and Laura Shawver, Ph.D., dated March  6, 2020,ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.599.1 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1S-8 (File No.  333-250009), as amended, 333-269262) filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020)January 17, 2023).

10.7+

Forms of Stock Option Grant Notice, Option Agreement, Notice of Exercise and Early Exercise Stock Purchase Agreement under the ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-269262) filed with the SEC on January 17, 2023).

10.6+¥

10.8+

LetterARS Pharmaceuticals Inc. Change in Control and Severance Benefit Plan.

10.9+

Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on May 12, 2022).

10.10*

Termination Agreement, dated as of February 22, 2023, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Recordati Ireland, Ltd.

10.11*

License Agreement, dated as of June 18, 2018, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Aegis Therapeutics, LLC, as amended by the registrantFirst Amendment to License Agreement, dated as of July 15, 2020, and Valerie Odegard, Ph.D.,the Second Amendment to License Agreement, dated July  23, 2016as of January 6, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 8, 2022).

10.12*

Collaboration and License Agreement, dated as of April 30, 2020, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alfresa Pharma Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 8, 2022).

10.13*

Collaboration and Distribution Agreement, dated as of March 1, 2021, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pediatrix Therapeutics (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 8, 2022).

10.14*

Manufacturing Agreement, dated as September 9, 2020, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Renaissance Lakewood, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 8, 2022).

10.15+

Executive Employment Agreement, dated as of September 14, 2018, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Richard E. Lowenthal (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

10.16+

10.7+¥

LetterExecutive Employment Agreement, dated as of February 9, 2022, by and between the registrantARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Naomi Hunder, M.D., dated December  22, 2018Kathleen Scott (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

10.17+

10.8+¥

LetterExecutive Employment Agreement, dated as of September 14, 2018, by and between the registrantARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Jonathan Piazza,Dr. Sarina Tanimoto, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Executive Employment Agreement, dated November  3, 2020as of September 1, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

10.18+

10.9¥

Lease,Executive Employment Agreement, as of February 16, 2022, by and between the registrantARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and BMR-500 Fairview Avenue LLC, dated June  8, 2016Eric Karas (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

10.19+

10.10*¥

Master Laboratory ServicesExecutive Employment Agreement, dated as of June 1, 2019, by and between the registrantARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Q Squared Solutions LLC, dated May  25, 2020Justin Chakma (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

10.20+

10.11*¥

Master ServicesExecutive Employment Agreement, by and between the registrantARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and CE3,Brian T. Dorsey, effective as of October 1, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on December 9, 2022).

10.21+

Executive Employment Agreement, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Alex Fitzpatrick, effective as of December 1, 2022.

10.22+

Consulting Agreement, dated January  21, 2020as of April 26, 2021, by and between ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Brenton L. Saunders, as amended on April 25, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

10.23+

10.12*¥

Cell Line LicenseConsulting Agreement, by and between the registrantARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited,Marlinspike Group, LLC, dated October  11, 2019September 14, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

Exhibit

Number10.24+

Description

10.13Loan and SecurityConsulting Agreement, by and between the registrantARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Silicon Valley Bank,Pacific-Link Regulatory Consulting, Inc., dated November  21, 2016, as amendedJuly 1, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the registrant’s Registration StatementCurrent Report on Form S-1 (File No.  333-250009), as amended,8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020) 8, 2022).

23.1

10.14+

Silverback Therapeutics, Inc. 2020 Change in Control and Severance Benefit Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020).

10.15+Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-250009), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 30, 2020).
10.16**Amendment No. 1 to Cell Line License Agreement, by and between the registrant and WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited, dated January 12, 2021.
23.1Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

133


24.1

Power of Attorney (see signature page).

31.1

31.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.2

31.2

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

32.1

32.1

Certification of Principal Executive and Financial Officers Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

+

Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.

¥

101.INS

Schedules have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. The registrant undertakes to furnish supplemental copies of any of

Inline XBRL Instance Document

101.SCH

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

101.CAL

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

101.DEF

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

101.LAB

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document

101.PRE

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

104

Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the omitted schedules upon request by the SEC.Inline XBRL document)

*

Certain portions of this exhibit are omitted because they are not material and would likely cause competitive harm to the registrant if disclosed.

**

Certain information in this exhibit is omitted because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential.

+ Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.

Schedules have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. The registrant undertakes to furnish supplemental copies of any of the omitted schedules upon request by the SEC.

* Certain information in this exhibit is omitted because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

None.

134


SIGNATURES

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

authorized.

Company Name
Date: March 29, 2021

By:

/s/ Laura Shawver, Ph.D.

Laura Shawver, Ph.D.

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Date: March 23, 2023

By:

/s/ Richard Lowenthal, M.S., MBA

Richard Lowenthal, M.S., MBA

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Laura ShawverRichard Lowenthal and Jonathan Piazza,Kathy Scott , and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact, each with full power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact or their substitute or substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this Reportreport has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrantregistrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Name

Title

Date

Name

Title

Date

/s/ Laura Shawver, Ph.D.        

Laura Shawver, Ph.D.Richard Lowenthal, M.S., MBA

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director

March 23, 2023

Richard Lowenthal, M.S., MBA

(Principal Executive Officer)

March 29, 2021

/s/ Jonathan Piazza        

Jonathan PiazzaKathy Scott

Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer)

March 29, 2021

23, 2023

/s/    Russ Hawkinson        

Russ HawkinsonKathy Scott

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

Senior Vice President of Finance
(Principal Accounting Officer)
March 29, 2021

/s/ Peter Thompson, M.D.        

Peter Thompson, M.D.Pratik Shah, Ph.D.

Chairman of the Board of Directors

March 29, 2021

23, 2023

/s/    Vickie L. Capps        

Vickie L. CappsPratik Shah, Ph.D.

DirectorMarch 29, 2021

/s/    Robert Hershberg, M.D., Ph.D.        

Robert Hershberg, M.D., Ph.D.

DirectorMarch 29, 2021

/s/ Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D.

Director

March 23, 2023

Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D.

/s/ Rajeev Dadoo, Ph.D.

Director

March 23, 2023

Rajeev Dadoo, Ph.D.

/s/ Brenton L. Saunders

Director

March 23, 2023

Brenton L. Saunders

/s/ Phillip Schneider

Director

March 23, 2023

Phillip Schneider

/s/ Michael Kelly

Director

March 23, 2023

Michael Kelly

/s/ Jonathan S. Leff

Director

March 23, 2023

Jonathan S. Leff

/s/ Laura Shawver, Ph.D.

Director

March 23, 2023

Laura Shawver, Ph.D.

/s/ Peter A. Thompson, M.D.

Director

March 23, 2023

Peter A. Thompson, M.D.

/s/ Saqib Islam, J.D.

Director

March 23, 2023

Saqib Islam, J.D.

DirectorMarch 29, 2021

/s/    Andrew Powell, J.D.        

Andrew Powell, J.D.

DirectorMarch 29, 2021

/s/    Jonathan Root, M.D.        

Jonathan Root, M.D.

DirectorMarch 29, 2021

/s/    Thilo Schroeder, Ph.D.        

Thilo Schroeder, Ph.D.

DirectorMarch 29, 2021

/s/    Maria Koehler, M.D., Ph.D.        

Maria Koehler, M.D., Ph.D.

DirectorMarch 29, 2021

172135