COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Legal Proceedings From time to time, the Company may face legal claims or actions in the normal course of business. Except as disclosed below, the Company is not currently a party to any litigation and, accordingly, does not have any amounts recorded for any litigation related matters. Xtampza ER Litigation The Company filed the NDA for Xtampza ER as a 505(b)(2) application, which allows the Company to reference data from an approved drug listed in the FDA’s Orange Book, in this case OxyContin. The 505(b)(2) process requires that the Company certify to the FDA that the Company does not infringe any of the patents listed for OxyContin in the Orange Book, or that the patents are invalid. The process also requires that the Company notify Purdue Pharma, L.P (“Purdue”), as the holder of the NDA, and any other Orange Book-listed patent owners that it has made such a certification. On February 11, 2015, the Company made the required certification documenting why Xtampza ER does not infringe any of the 11 Orange Book listed patents for OxyContin, five of which have been invalidated in court proceedings, and provided the required notice to Purdue. Under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, Purdue had the option to sue the Company for infringement and receive a stay of up to 30 months before the FDA could issue a final approval for Xtampza ER, unless the stay was earlier terminated. In response to these actions, Purdue sued the Company for infringement in the District of Delaware on March 24, 2015 asserting infringement of three of Purdue’s Orange Book-listed patents (Patent Nos. 7,674,799, 7,674,800, and 7,683,072) and a non-Orange Book-listed patent (Patent No. 8,652,497), and accordingly, received a 30-month stay of FDA approval. The Delaware court transferred the case to the District of Massachusetts. After the Company filed a partial motion for judgment on the pleadings relating to the Orange Book-listed patents, the District Court of Massachusetts ordered judgment in the Company’s favor on those three patents, and dismissed the claims asserting infringement of those patents with prejudice. Upon dismissal of those claims, the 30-month stay of FDA approval was lifted. As a result, the Company was able to obtain final approval for Xtampza ER and launch the product commercially. Purdue subsequently filed two follow-on lawsuits asserting infringement of two patents that had been late-listed in the Orange Book and therefore could not trigger any stay of FDA approval: Purdue filed suit asserting infringement of Patent No. 9,073,933 in November 2015, and asserted infringement of Patent No. 9,522,919 in April 2017. In addition, Purdue filed suit on two patents that had not been listed in the Orange Book, filing suit in June 2016 asserting infringement of Patent No. 9,155,717 and in September 2017, asserting infringement of Patent No. 9,693,961. On March 13, 2018, the Company filed a Petition for Post-Grant Review (“PGR”) of the ʼ961 patent with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). The PGR argues that the ʼ961 patent is invalid for lack of a written description, for lack of enablement, for indefiniteness, and as being anticipated by prior art. The PTAB held oral argument on the proceedings on July 10, 2019 and was scheduled to issue a decision on the patentability of the ʼ961 patent by no later than October 4, 2019. On September 15, 2019, Purdue commenced a voluntary case under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. On September 24, 2019, Purdue gave the PTAB notice of its bankruptcy filing and sought the imposition of an automatic stay of the PGR proceedings. On October 2, 2019, the PTAB extended the one-year period for issuing its decision by up to six months. In October 2017, and in response to the filing of the Company’s Supplemental NDA (“sNDA”) seeking to update the drug abuse and dependence section of the Xtampza ER label, Purdue filed another suit asserting infringement of the ʼ933 and ʼ919 patent. The Company filed a motion to dismiss that action, and the Court granted its motion on January 16, 2018. The suits that remain pending were consolidated by the District of Massachusetts, which has ruled that the Xtampza ER formulation does not infringe the ‘497 and ʼ717 patents. As a result, only the ʼ933, the ʼ919, and the ʼ961 patents remain in dispute. On October 16, 2018, the Company filed a motion to stay proceedings in the district court on the ‘961 patent pending the PGR. Purdue has made a demand for monetary relief but has not quantified its alleged damages. Purdue has also requested a judgment of infringement, an adjustment of the effective date of FDA approval, and an injunction on the sale of the Company’s products accused of infringement. The Company has denied all claims and has requested a judgment that the remaining asserted patents are invalid and/or not infringed; the Company is also seeking a judgment that the case is exceptional and has requested an award of the Company’s attorneys’ fees for defending the case. A claim construction hearing was held on June 1, 2017. On November 21, 2017, the Court issued its claim construction ruling, construing certain claims of the ʼ933, ʼ497, and ʼ717 patents. No trial date has been scheduled. On September 18, 2019, Purdue gave the Court notice of its bankruptcy filing and sought the imposition of an automatic stay of the proceedings. On September 20, 2019, the matter was stayed pending further order of the Court. On September 1, 2020, the Bankruptcy Court entered an Order Granting Motions for Relief from the Automatic Stay, lifting the automatic stays in both the District of Massachusetts and PTAB proceedings. The Company appealed the Bankruptcy Court’s Order, in part, and that appeal is stayed, on consent by Purdue, pending the outcome of the PTAB proceedings and any appeal thereto. On September 11, 2020, Purdue filed a motion to terminate the PTAB action on the basis that those proceedings had gone beyond the 18-month statutory period. The Company opposed Purdue’s motion and the parties are awaiting PTAB’s decision. In light of the PTAB proceeding, the entirety of District of Massachusetts proceedings, beyond the single ’961 patent that is also the subject of the PTAB proceeding, had been stayed. During a January 22, 2021 hearing, Purdue asked the District of Massachusetts Court to lift the stay as to the ʼ933 and ʼ919 patents, and advised the Court of its intention to file another patent litigation concerning U.S. Patent No. 10,407,434. The Court set a briefing schedule through mid-March and a hearing for March 18, 2021. If the stay is lifted, the Company plans to defend this case vigorously. At this stage, the Company is unable to evaluate the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome or estimate the amount or range of potential loss, if any. Nucynta Litigation On February 7, 2018, Purdue filed a patent infringement suit against the Company in the District of Delaware. Specifically, Purdue argues that the Company’s sale of immediate-release and extended-release Nucynta infringes U.S. Patent Nos. 9,861,583, 9,867,784, and 9,872,836. Purdue has made a demand for monetary relief in its complaint but has not quantified its alleged damages. On December 6, 2018, the Company filed an Amended Answer asserting an affirmative defense for patent exhaustion. On December 10, 2018, the Court granted the parties’ stipulation for resolution of the Company’s affirmative defense of patent exhaustion and stayed the action, with the exception of briefing on and resolution of the Company’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings related to patent exhaustion and any discovery related to that Motion. Also, on December 10, 2018, the Company filed a Rule 12(c) Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, arguing that the Purdue’s claims were barred by the doctrine of patent exhaustion. On June 18, 2019, the Court heard oral argument on the Company’s Rule 12(c) Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. On June 19, 2019, the Court issued an order stating that “judgment in Collegium’s favor is warranted under the doctrine of patent exhaustion to the extent Collegium’s alleged infringing activities resulted from sales that fall within the scope of that covenant.” The Court explained, however, that based on the current record, it was not possible “to determine whether title of the Nucynta Products was transferred to Collegium” from sales authorized by Purdue’s covenant not to sue. The Court ordered discovery on this issue and the case remained “stayed with the exception of discovery and briefing on and resolution of the Company’s anticipated motion for summary judgment based on patent exhaustion.” On September 19, 2019, Purdue gave the Court notice of its bankruptcy filing and sought the imposition of an automatic stay of the proceedings. The Nucynta litigation is subject to the automatic bankruptcy stay. Pending resolution of the bankruptcy action, the Company plans to defend this case vigorously. At this stage, the Company is unable to evaluate the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome or estimate the amount or range of potential loss, if any. Teva Litigation Presently, the Company has nineteen patents listed in the FDA Orange Book as covering the Company’s abuse-deterrent product and methods of using it to treat patients: Patents Nos. 7,399,488; 7,771,707; 8,449,909; 8,557,291; 8,758,813; 8,840,928; 9,044,398; 9,248,195; 9,592,200; 9,682,075; 9,737,530, 9,763,883; 9,968,598; 10,004,729; 10,188,644; 10,525,052; 10,525,053; 10,646,485; and 10,668,060 (the “Orange Book Patents”). Teva filed an ANDA seeking FDA approval to market generic extended-release oxycodone capsule products (the “proposed ANDA products”). Teva also filed certifications with the FDA that its proposed ANDA products will not infringe the Orange Book Patents and/or that the Orange Book Patents are invalid. Teva sent the Company a Notice Letter indicating that it had made such certification to the FDA. On February 22, 2018—within the 45-day period that gives the Company a 30-month stay of FDA approval of Teva’s ANDA while the parties have an opportunity to litigate—the Company sued Teva in the District of Delaware on eleven of the twelve Orange Book Patents that were listed at that time. Teva responded to the complaint on May 14, 2018, denying infringement by Teva’s proposed ANDA products and asserting counterclaims of non-infringement and invalidity of the asserted patents. The Company answered Teva’s counterclaims on June 4, 2018. The Company listed two additional patents in the Orange Book in 2018 and Teva amended its ANDA to include certifications to the FDA of non-infringement and invalidity with respect to those patents. Teva notified the Company of its certification and the Company filed a second lawsuit in the District of Delaware, asserting those two patents, on November 30, 2018. Teva responded to the complaint on January 11, 2019 denying infringement by Teva’s proposed ANDA products, and asserting counterclaims of non-infringement and invalidity of the asserted patents. The Company answered Teva’s counterclaims on February 1, 2019. The court consolidated the second suit with the first suit, and thus both suits are proceeding on the same schedule. The parties briefed claim construction and the court heard argument on April 12, 2019. On September 11, 2019, the Court issued a Report and Recommendation construing two of the six terms or sets of terms that are in dispute. The remaining terms will be addressed in one or more forthcoming Report and Recommendations. Fact discovery was scheduled to close on September 20, 2019 and expert discovery was scheduled to close on January 24, 2020. The Company listed an additional patent in the Orange Book in January 2019 and Teva amended its ANDA to include certifications to the FDA of non-infringement and invalidity with respect to that patent. Teva notified us of its certification and the Company filed a third lawsuit in the District of Delaware, asserting the additional Orange Book Patent, on May 9, 2019. Teva responded to the complaint on June 6, 2019, denying infringement by Teva’s proposed ANDA products, and asserting counterclaims of non-infringement and invalidity of the asserted patent. The Company answered Teva’s counterclaims on June 27, 2019. The parties filed a proposed Scheduling Order, which the Court entered on September 4, 2019. On September 20, 2019, the parties jointly agreed to stay both litigations. The Company listed four additional patents in the Orange Book in first half of 2020, which brings the total number of Orange Book Patents for Xtampza ER to nineteen. On September 29, 2020, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with Teva resolving the patent litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, which is subject to review by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, the Company will grant Teva a license to market its generic version of Xtampza ER in the United States beginning on or after September 2, 2033 (subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, and acceleration under certain circumstances). As a result of the settlement, Teva has agreed to a consent judgment confirming that its proposed generic products infringe upon the Company’s asserted patents and that those patents are valid and enforceable with respect to Teva’s proposed generic products. Additional details regarding the settlement are confidential. Opioid Litigation As a result of the opioid epidemic, numerous state and local governments, healthcare providers, and other entities have brought suit against manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and pharmacies alleging a variety of claims related to opioid marketing and distribution practices. In late 2017, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered the consolidation of what were then a few hundred cases pending around the country in federal court against opioid manufacturers and distributors into a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of Ohio. Currently, the Opioid MDL consists of over 2,000 opioid-related cases brought primarily by states, cities, counties, and other local entities. Generally speaking, these suits do not seek damages for injuries to individuals but rather compensation for the cost of public services needed to address the consequences of addicted communities, ranging from emergency response capabilities to rehabilitation services. The Company has been named as a defendant in a small subset of the MDL cases. Of the Eight cases that name the Company as a defendant, originally filed in three states, remain pending in the MDL: ● Virginia. On January 11, 2019, the City of Portsmouth filed a lawsuit in Virginia Circuit Court against the Company and other pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. The lawsuit alleges a variety of claims related to opioid marketing and distribution practices including public nuisance, common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, and violations of state consumer protection laws. On October 3, 2019, the City of Portsmouth case was transferred to the MDL. ● New Jersey. On March 15, 2019, the Company was named in a lawsuit in the MDL by the City of Paterson, New Jersey. The lawsuit alleges violations of fraud, public nuisance, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of state consumer protection laws, and seeks, generally, penalties and/or injunctive relief. On June 14, 2019, the City of Trenton filed a lawsuit in the New Jersey Superior Court against the Company and other pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. The lawsuit alleges a variety of claims related to opioid marketing and distribution practices including public nuisance, common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, and violations of state consumer protection laws and the New Jersey Drug Dealer Liability Act. On December 18, 2019, the case was transferred to the MDL. ● Connecticut. On April 9, 2019, the City of Norwich, Connecticut and the Town of Enfield, Connecticut filed lawsuits that name the Company in Connecticut Superior Court. The lawsuits allege violations of fraud, public nuisance, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of state consumer protection laws. On June 28, 2019, both cases were transferred to the MDL. In October 2019, the Company was named in two additional Connecticut lawsuits: the City of Middletown and the Town of Wethersfield. These cases were both also transferred to the MDL in July 2019. Finally, on January 15, 2020, the Town of Windham, Connecticut filed a lawsuit that names the Company, among other pharmaceutical manufacturers, in Connecticut Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges violations of fraud, public nuisance, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of state consumer protection laws. On March 3, 2020, the lawsuit was transferred to the MDL. Each of the lawsuits in the MDL naming the Company seeks, generally, penalties and injunctive relief. None of the lawsuits naming the Company are designated as representative cases in the MDL, and therefore, are effectively currently stayed. Outside of the MDL, there are several cases pending against the Company in state courts in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts: ● In Pennsylvania, six lawsuits naming the Company have been consolidated for discovery purposes in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas as part of a consolidated proceeding of similar lawsuits brought by numerous Pennsylvania counties against other pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. These include lawsuits filed between May 2018 and July 2019 on behalf of Bucks County, Clinton County, Mercer County, Warrington Township, Warminster Townerhip, and the City of Lock Haven, each of Pennsylvania, alleging claims related to opioid marketing and distribution, including negligence, fraud, unjust enrichment, public nuisance, and violations of state consumer protections laws. None of these cases has been designated a Track One case in which discovery would commence, and therefore they are all effectively stayed at present. ● In Massachusetts, there are lawsuits by the City of Worcester, the City of Salem, the City of Framingham, the Town of Lynfield, the City of Springfield, the City of Haverhill, the City of Gloucester, the Town of Canton, the Town of Wakefield, the City of Chicopee, the Town of Natick, the City of Cambridge and the Town of Randolp, all of which have been consolidated before the Business Litigation Session of the Superior Court. The actions allege a variety of claims related to opioid marketing and distribution practices including public nuisance, common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, violations of Mass Gen. Laws ch. 93A, Section 11 , unjust enrichment and civil conspiracy. The case brought by the City of Springfield was selected to advance for the purpose of motion practice, defendants’ motions to dismiss were denied on January 3, 2020. There is no trial date set for this case. The Company disputes the allegations in these lawsuits and intends to vigorously defend these actions. At this stage, the Company is unable to evaluate the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome or estimate the amount or range of potential loss, if any. Opioid-Related Request and Subpoenas The Company, like a number of other pharmaceutical companies, has received subpoenas or civil investigative demands related to opioid sales and marketing. The Company has received such subpoenas or civil investigative demands from the Offices of the Attorney General of each of Washington, New Hampshire, Maryland and Massachusetts. The Company is currently cooperating with each of the foregoing states in their respective investigations. |