Yumanity’s employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners, and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements.
Yumanity is exposed to the risk of fraud, misconduct, or other illegal activity by its employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners, and vendors. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless, and negligent conduct that fails to: comply with the laws of the FDA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities; provide true, complete and accurate information to the FDA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities; comply with manufacturing standards Yumanity has established; comply with healthcare fraud and abuse laws in the United States and similar foreign fraudulent misconduct laws; or report financial information or data accurately or to disclose unauthorized activities to us. If Yumanity obtains FDA approval of any of its product candidates and begins commercializing those products in the United States, its potential exposure under such laws will increase significantly, and its costs associated with compliance with such laws are also likely to increase. In particular, sales, marketing, and other business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws designed to prevent fraud, 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 and commission, certain customer incentive programs, and other business arrangements generally. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of patient recruitment for clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to its reputation. Yumanity has adopted a code of business conduct and ethics, but it is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and third parties, and the precautions Yumanity take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting Yumanity from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws. If any such actions are instituted against us, and Yumanity is not successful in defending itself or asserting its rights, those actions could have a significant impact on its business, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.
If Yumanity or any contract manufacturers and suppliers Yumanity engages fails to comply with environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations, Yumanity could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of its business.
Yumanity and any contract manufacturers and suppliers Yumanity engages are subject to numerous federal, state, and local environmental, health, and safety laws, regulations, and permitting requirements, including those governing laboratory procedures; the generation, handling, use, storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous and regulated materials and wastes; the emission and discharge of hazardous materials into the ground, air, and water; and employee health and safety. Under certain environmental laws, Yumanity could be held responsible for costs relating to any contamination at its current or past facilities and at third-party facilities. Yumanity also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties.
Yumanity could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and other worldwide anti-bribery laws.
Its business activities may be subject to the FCPA and similar anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws, regulations or rules of other countries in which Yumanity operates, including the U.K. Bribery Act. The FCPA generally prohibits offering, promising, giving, or authorizing others to give 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. Its business is heavily regulated and therefore involves significant interaction with public officials, including officials of non-U.S. governments. Additionally, in many other countries, the healthcare providers who prescribe pharmaceuticals are employed by their government, and the purchasers of pharmaceuticals are government entities; therefore, its dealings with these prescribers and purchasers are subject to regulation 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 its employees, agents, contractors, or collaborators, or those of its 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, its officers, or its employees, the closing down of its facilities, requirements to obtain export licenses, cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries, implementation of compliance programs, and prohibitions on the conduct of its business. Any such violations could include prohibitions on its ability to offer its products in one or more countries and could materially damage its reputation, its brand, its international expansion efforts, its ability to attract and retain employees, and its business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition.
24