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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 11. Commitments and Contingencies

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into agreements that may include indemnification provisions. Pursuant to such agreements, the Company may indemnify, hold harmless and defend an indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party. Some of the provisions will limit losses to those arising from third party actions. In some cases, the indemnification will continue after the termination of the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these provisions is not determinable. The Company has also entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and officers that may require the Company to indemnify its directors and officers against liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers to the fullest extent permitted by California corporate law. The Company carries a directors’ and officers’ insurance policy. To date, the Company has not incurred material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to the indemnification agreements. The Company believes that the fair value of these indemnification agreements is minimal and has not accrued any amounts for the obligations.

Legal Proceedings

The Company is a party to the legal action described below. The Company recognizes accruals for such actions to the extent that it concludes that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. The Company accrues for the best estimate of a loss within a range; however, if no estimate in the range is better than any other, it accrues the minimum amount in the range. If the Company determines that a loss is reasonably possible and the loss or range of loss can be estimated, it discloses the possible loss.

On January 23, 2020, the Company initiated arbitration proceedings with the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce against Zealand Pharma A/S (“Zealand”) related to a collaboration agreement the Company and Zealand entered into in 2012 and terminated in 2014. The agreement provides for certain post-termination payment obligations to Zealand with respect to compounds related to the collaboration that the Company elects to further develop and meet specified conditions. In the Company’s arbitration claim, it is seeking a declaration that the Company has no past, present or future milestone or royalty payment obligations under the agreement with respect to rusfertide because it is not a compound relating to the collaboration for which post-termination payments to Zealand apply. The Company is also seeking repayment of $1.0 million in milestone payments it has made, as well as its costs, fees, and expenses of the proceeding. Zealand disputes the Company’s claims and has filed counterclaims for payment of a development milestone Zealand claims is due, as well as payment of their arbitration costs, fees and expenses. The arbitration is pending. If Zealand prevails in the arbitration, the Company could be required to reimburse Zealand’s arbitration costs, fees and expenses, and make contractual payments to Zealand described in its prior periodic reports filed with the SEC. If we successfully develop and commercialize rusfertide without a partner, those payments could include up to an additional aggregate of $28.0 million for achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones, and up to $100.0 million for achievement of sales milestones. In addition, Zealand could be eligible to receive a low single digit royalty on worldwide net sales of the product.

Although the Company cannot predict with certainty the ultimate outcome of these arbitration proceedings, it has concluded that the probability of any related loss is remote and therefore no related accruals were recognized as of December 31, 2020.