approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Moreover, if a real or perceived security breach affects our systems (or those of our third party providers or suppliers) or results in the loss of or accidental, unlawful or unauthorized access to, use of, release of or other processing of personally identifiable information or clinical trial data, our reputation could be materially damaged. In addition, such a breach may require notification to governmental agencies, the media or individuals pursuant to applicable data privacy and security laws. We would also be exposed to a risk of loss, negative publicity, harm to our reputation, governmental investigation and/or enforcement actions, claims or litigation and potential liability, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The global data protection landscape is rapidly evolving, and we may be affected by or subject to new, amended or existing laws and regulations in the future, including as our operations continue to expand or if we begin to operate in foreign jurisdictions.
Our employees and independent contractors, including principal investigators, consultants, commercial collaborators, service providers and other vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
We are exposed to the risk that our employees and independent contractors, including principal investigators, consultants, any future commercial collaborators, service providers and other vendors may engage in misconduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or other unauthorized activities that violate the laws and regulations of the FDA and other similar regulatory bodies, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such regulatory bodies; manufacturing standards; U.S. federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, data privacy and security laws and other similar non-U.S. laws; or laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs, and other business arrangements. Such misconduct also could involve the improper use or misrepresentation of individually identifiable information, including, without limitation, information obtained in the course of clinical trials, the creation of fraudulent data in our preclinical studies or clinical trials, or illegal misappropriation of product, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third-parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. In addition, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and financial results, including, without limitation, the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other U.S. federal healthcare programs or healthcare programs in other jurisdictions, integrity oversight and reporting obligations to resolve allegations of non-compliance, imprisonment, other sanctions, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
Risks Related to Development, Regulatory Approval and Commercialization
The regulatory approval process of the FDA is costly, lengthy and inherently unpredictable, and if we are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval for pitolisant in other potential indications for which we may seek to develop pitolisant, our business will be substantially harmed.
Although the commercialization of WAKIX is our primary focus, as part of our longer-term growth strategy, we plan to evaluate pitolisant in other indications and develop other product candidates. The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, selling, import, export, pricing and reimbursement marketing and distribution of drug products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies in the United States. Although we have obtained regulatory approval for WAKIX in the United States for the treatment of EDS or cataplexy in adult patients with narcolepsy, it is possible that we may not obtain regulatory approval for pitolisant for other indications, or for any other product candidates we may seek to develop in the future. We received a Complete Response Letter for pitolisant for the treatment of cataplexy in adult patients with narcolepsy, and therefore the FDA did not approve WAKIX for this indication during the initial NDA review. Subsequently, in June 2020, we received a general advice letter from the FDA stating that the FDA had re-analyzed data