Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As required by Rule 13a-15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, conducted an evaluation as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective at the reasonable assurance level in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit 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 us in the reports we file under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control
As required by Rule 13a-15(d) of the Exchange Act, our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, conducted an evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting to determine whether any changes occurred during the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Based on that evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded no changes during the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q materially affected, or were reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
Actions in which we are the Plaintiff
LINZESS
We and Allergan have received Paragraph IV certification notice letters, or Notice Letters, regarding Abbreviated New Drug Applications, or ANDAs, submitted to the FDA by generic drug manufacturers requesting approval to engage in commercial manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of (i) 145 mcg and 290 mcg linaclotide capsules, or the Potential Generic Products, and/or (ii) 72 mcg linaclotide capsules, or the Potential 72mcg Generic Products, each proposed generic versions of our FDA-approved drug LINZESS.
In October 2016, we received a Notice Letter relating to an ANDA that was submitted to the FDA by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., or Teva. Teva’s Notice Letter contends that United States patents for LINZESS (U.S. Patent Nos. 7,371,727, 7,704,947, 7,745,409, 8,080,526, and 8,110,553 (expiring 2024); 7,304,036 (expiring 2026); and 8,748,573, 8,802,628, and 8,933,030 (expiring 2031), or the Challenged Patents) listed in the FDA’s list of Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly referred to as the Orange Book, are invalid, unenforceable and/or would not be infringed by Teva’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products. In September 2017, we received a second Notice Letter relating to the ANDA submitted to the FDA by Teva contending that U.S. Patent No. 9,708,371 (expiring 2033) listed in the Orange Book is invalid and/or would not be infringed by Teva’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential Generic Products. In December 2017, we received a Notice Letter relating to an ANDA that was submitted to the FDA by Teva, contending that U.S. Patent Nos. 7,371,727, 7,704,947, 7,745,409, 8,080,526, and 8,110,553; 7,304,036; 8,933,030; and 9,708,371, or the 72mcg Challenged Patents, are invalid, unenforceable and/or would not be infringed by Teva’s manufacture, use, sale or offer for sale of the Potential 72 mcg Generic Product.