We may be unable to compete successfully with larger competitors in our highly competitive industry.
The medical device industry is intensely competitive, subject to rapid change and significantly affected by new product introductions and other market activities of industry participants. Our competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, management and commercial personnel, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our products. Because of the complex and technical nature of our products and the dynamic market in which we compete, any failure to attract and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees could materially harm our ability to develop and commercialize our products, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In the U.S., we currently compete with LifeCell Corporation, an affiliate of Allergan plc, and Davol Inc., a subsidiary of Becton, Dickinson and Company, which produce, among other things, soft tissue reconstruction surgery products, including Strattice and Phasix, respectively. In the EEA, we compete with Bard, a subsidiary of Becton, Dickinson and Company, who produces other soft tissue reinforcement products. Many of these competitors are large, well-capitalized companies with significantly greater market share and resources than us. As a consequence, they are able to spend more on product development, marketing, sales and other product initiatives than we can. We believe other emerging businesses are in the early stages of developing similar products designed for soft tissue reconstruction surgery. Although we are the only ovine-derived implantable product designed for soft tissue reconstruction surgery, there are other soft tissue reconstruction surgery products derived solely, or in part, from other biological sources.
Most of the other soft tissue reconstruction surgery products currently have a greater penetration into the soft tissue reconstruction surgery market. Often, other soft tissue reconstruction surgery products with which our products compete are marketed as part of a bundled product line, which may provide our potential customers a better price-per-product than we could offer. If we are unable to penetrate the soft tissue reconstruction surgery market, or offer competitive pricing on our products compared with products sold as part of a bundled product line, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, competitors with greater financial resources could acquire other companies to gain enhanced name recognition and market share, as well as new technologies or products that could effectively compete with our existing products, which may cause our revenue to decline and would harm our business.
We may be unable to obtain additional contract positions with major GPOs and integrated delivery networks, or IDNs, for our products, and even if we are able to do so, such contracts may not generate sufficient sales of our products.
Many existing and potential customers for our products within the U.S. are members of GPOs and IDNs, including accountable care organizations or public-based purchasing organizations, and our business strategy is focused on entering into major contracts with these organizations. Our products can be contracted under national tenders or with larger hospital GPOs. GPOs and IDNs typically award contracts on a category-by-category basis through a competitive bidding process. We are currently responding to bids and negotiating a number of GPO and IDN agreements.
Due to the highly competitive nature of the bidding process and the GPO and IDN contracting processes in the U.S., we may not be able to obtain contract positions with major GPOs and IDNs for our products. In addition, while having a contract with a major purchaser for a given product category can facilitate sales, sales volumes of those products may not be maintained. For example, GPOs and IDNs are increasingly awarding contracts to multiple suppliers for the same product category. Even if we are the sole contracted supplier of a GPO or IDN for our product category, members of the GPO or IDN generally are free to purchase from other suppliers. Furthermore, GPO and IDN contracts typically are terminable without cause upon 60 to 90 days’ notice.
We face the risk of product liability claims that could be expensive, divert management’s attention and harm our reputation and business.
Our business exposes us to the risk of product liability claims that are inherent in the testing, manufacturing and marketing of medical devices. This risk exists even if a product is cleared or approved for commercial sale by the FDA