By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events, competitive dynamics, and healthcare, regulatory and scientific developments and depend on the economic circumstances that may or may not occur in the future or may occur on longer or shorter timelines than anticipated. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this Quarterly Report, we caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Part I, Item 1A of our 2020 Annual Report and Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report, in each case under the heading “Risk Factors.” In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods.
Any forward-looking statement that we make in this Quarterly Report speaks only as of the date of such statement, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Quarterly Report except as required by law. You should read carefully the factors described in the “Risk Factors” section of our 2020 Annual Report and this Quarterly Report to better understand the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business and underlying any forward-looking statements.
Overview
We are a global, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for rare diseases with significant unmet needs.
Our first commercial product is Keveyis (dichlorphenamide), the first and only treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) for hyperkalemic, hypokalemic, and related variants of primary periodic paralysis (“PPP”), a group of rare hereditary disorders that cause episodes of muscle weakness or paralysis.
We have two clinical-stage product candidates for rare endocrine diseases, Recorlev and veldoreotide. Recorlev (levoketoconazole), the pure 2S,4R enantiomer of the enantiomeric pair comprising ketoconazole, is a next-generation steroidogenesis inhibitor being investigated as a chronic therapy for adults with endogenous Cushing’s syndrome. Veldoreotide is a next-generation somatostatin analog being investigated for potential applications in conditions amenable to somatostatin receptor activation. Both levoketoconazole and veldoreotide have received orphan designation from the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”).
Recent Developments
We have received a notice of allowance, dated April 22, 2021, from the United States Patent and Trademark Office relating to patent application 17/010,387 (entitled “Methods of Treating Disease with Levoketoconazole”). The patent application covers a method of treating Cushing’s syndrome patients with Recorlev who also have Type 2 diabetes. We expect the notice of allowance to result in the issuance of a U.S. patent after administrative processes are completed.
We have submitted our NDA for Recorlev with the FDA.
COVID-19
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and on March 13, 2020 the United States declared a national emergency with respect to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted global supply chains and created significant volatility and disruption in the financial markets.
While the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2021, we have experienced operational business disruptions as a result