If we are unable to timely and effectively integrate the operations of Collegium and Ironshore, the anticipated growth opportunities and other synergies of the Ironshore Acquisition may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected, which would adversely affect our costs. Further, even if the integration is timely and effective, we may never realize the benefits expected from the integration of the operations of Ironshore.
Our business may be adversely affected by certain events or circumstances outside our control, including macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical turmoil.
Events or circumstances outside of our control, including macroeconomic conditions such as recession or depression, inflation, and declines in consumer-spending could result in reduced demand for our products. An economic downturn could result in business closures, higher levels of unemployment, or declines in consumer disposable income which could have an impact on the number of patients seeking and receiving treatment for conditions that might otherwise result in the prescription of our products, as patients may make efforts to avoid or postpone seeking non-essential medical care to allocate their resources to other priorities or essential items. These circumstances, in addition to the impact of geopolitical turmoil, such as the ongoing Ukrainian War and current conflict in Israel and Gaza (including any escalation or expansion), social unrest, political instability in the United States and elsewhere, terrorism, cyberwarfare or other acts of war, may result in reduced demand for our products and negatively impact our sales, results of operations, and liquidity.
Security breaches and other disruptions to our, or our vendors’, information technology systems may compromise our information and expose us to liability that could adversely impact our financial condition, operations, and reputation.
We, our collaborators, third-party providers, distributors, customers and other contractors utilize information technology systems and networks (“Systems”) to transmit, store and otherwise process electronic data in connection with our business activities, including our supply chain processes, operations and communications including, in some cases, our business proprietary information, and Electronic Data Interchange (“EDI”) on purchase orders, invoices, chargebacks, among other things. Our Systems, along with those of the third parties whom we rely on to process confidential and sensitive data in a variety of contexts, are potentially vulnerable to a variety of evolving threats that may expose this data to unauthorized persons or otherwise compromise its integrity. These threats may include, but are not limited to, social-engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), business email compromise, online and offline fraud, malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks, access attacks (such as credential stuffing), 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.
We may expend significant resources to try to protect against these threats to our Systems. Certain data privacy and security laws, as well as industry best practice standards, may require us to implement and maintain security measures. While we have implemented security measures designed to protect our Systems and confidential and sensitive data, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. Threat actors and their techniques change frequently, are often sophisticated in nature, and may not be detected until after a security incident has occurred. 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. These consequences may include: 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. Further, our insurance coverage may not be adequate or sufficient in type or amount to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices.
Litigation or regulatory action regarding opioid medications could negatively affect our business.
Beginning in 2018, lawsuits alleging damages related to opioids have been filed naming us as a defendant along with other manufacturers of prescription opioid medications. These lawsuits, filed in multiple jurisdictions, are brought by various local governments as well as private claimants, against various manufacturers, distributors and retail pharmacies. These lawsuits generally allege that we had engaged in improper marketing practices related to Xtampza ER and the Nucynta Products. In March 2022, we entered into a Master Settlement Agreement resolving 27 pending opioid-related lawsuits brought against us by cities, counties, and other subdivisions in the United States. As part of the Master Settlement Agreement, we paid $2.75 million to the plaintiffs and the cases were dismissed, with prejudice. In late