Many of our competitors have greater resources and capital than us, putting us at a competitive disadvantage. If our competitors develop and market products that are more effective than lumateperone or our other product candidates, they may reduce or eliminate our commercial opportunity.
Competition in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is intense and increasing. We face competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as numerous academic and research institutions and governmental agencies, both in the United States and abroad. Some of these competitors have products or are pursuing the development of drugs that target the same diseases and conditions that are the focus of our drug development programs.
For example, CAPLYTA for the treatment of schizophrenia and, if approved, lumateperone for the treatment of bipolar depression would compete with, among other branded products, Latuda®, marketed by Sunovion, Rexulti®, marketed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical, VRAYLAR®, marketed by Allergan, Saphris®, marketed by Allergan, and Fanapt®, marketed by Vanda Pharmaceuticals. In addition, lumateperone and our other product candidates, if approved, will compete with, among other generic antipsychotic products, aripiprazole, haloperidol, paliperidone, risperidone, quetiapine/XR, olanzapine and clozapine.
Many of our competitors and their collaborators have significantly greater experience than we do in the following:
| • | | identifying and validating targets; |
| • | | screening compounds against targets; |
| • | | preclinical studies and clinical trials of potential pharmaceutical products; |
| • | | obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals; and |
| • | | commercializing pharmaceutical products. |
In addition, many of our competitors and their collaborators have substantially greater capital and research and development resources, manufacturing, sales and marketing capabilities, and production facilities. Smaller companies also may prove to be significant competitors, particularly through proprietary research discoveries and collaboration arrangements with large pharmaceutical and established biotechnology companies. Many of our competitors have products that have been approved or are in advanced development and may develop superior technologies or methods to identify and validate drug targets and to discover novel small molecule drugs. Our competitors, either alone or with their collaborators, may succeed in developing drugs that are more effective, safer, more affordable, or more easily administered than ours and may achieve patent protection or commercialize drugs sooner than us. Our competitors may also develop alternative therapies that could further limit the market for any drugs that we may develop. Our failure to compete effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Any claims relating to improper handling, storage, or disposal of biological, hazardous, and radioactive materials used in our business could be costly and delay our research and development efforts.
Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of potentially harmful hazardous materials, including volatile solvents, biological materials such as blood from patients that have the potential to transmit disease, chemicals that cause cancer, and various radioactive compounds. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We face the risk of contamination or injury from the use, storage, handling or disposal of these materials. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling, and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. The cost of compliance with these laws and regulations could be significant, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development, or production efforts. If one of our employees were accidentally injured from the use, storage, handling, or disposal of these materials, the medical costs related to his or her treatment would be covered by our workers’ compensation insurance policy. However, we do not carry specific biological or hazardous waste
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