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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

13. Commitments and Contingencies

The Company has certain non-cancelable purchase obligations related to the manufacturing of drug substance and drug product. The Company has agreed to purchase from Bachem Americas, Inc. a significant portion of its requirements for the pegcetacoplan drug substance. Under a commercial supply agreement with NOF Corporation ("NOF"), the Company has agreed to purchase activated polyethylene glycol derivative, or PEG, which is a component of pegcetacoplan. In September 2024, the Company terminated the minimum purchase obligation with NOF for 2025. Under these agreements, as of September 30, 2024, the Company is obligated to pay

up to an aggregate of $56.1 million to these vendors. As a result of this termination, the Company incurred an expense of $6.4 million, which is included in Other Liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.

In addition, the Company has other non-cancelable purchase agreements as of September 30, 2024, under which it is obligated to pay up to an aggregate of $17.5 million to vendors.

 

The Company is a party to a master lease agreement under which the Company leases vehicles with initial terms of 36 months from the date of delivery. If the Company were unable to take delivery of a previously ordered vehicle, the Company may incur nominal fees.

 

Indemnifications—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 indemnified parties 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 not incurred any cost to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification provisions.

 

Legal—During the normal course of business, the Company may be a party to legal claims that may not be covered by insurance.

 

On August 2, 2023, Judith M. Soderberg filed a putative class action in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against the Company and certain current and former executive officers of the Company (the “Complaint”). The Complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants violated Sections 10(b) and/or 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by misrepresenting and/or omitting certain material facts related to the design of SYFOVRE’s clinical trials and the risks associated with SYFOVRE’s commercial adoption. The Complaint seeks, among other relief, compensatory damages and equitable relief in favor of the alleged class against all defendants, including interest, and reasonable costs and expenses incurred by plaintiffs, including attorneys’ and expert fees.

On October 2, 2023, the defendants moved to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

 

On October 23, 2023, the Court appointed Ray Peleckas and Michigan Laborers’ Pension Fund together as Co-Lead Plaintiffs and assigned the action the caption In Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Litigation, Case 1:23-cv-00834-MN. The Co-Lead Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on February 8, 2024 (the “Amended Complaint”). The Amended Complaint is brought on behalf of a class of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Apellis common stock between January 28, 2021 and July 28, 2023, inclusive, names the Company and Cedric Francois, our chief executive officer, as defendants, and makes similar allegations, asserts the same claims and seeks the same relief as the Complaint. On May 17, 2024, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware approved the motion to transfer to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The defendants moved to dismiss the Complaint on June 12, 2024, and the Court has scheduled oral argument on this motion for November 14, 2024.

The Company’s businesses may also be subject at any time to other commercial disputes, product liability claims, personal injury claims, third-party subpoenas or various other lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of business, including intellectual property infringement, employment or investor matters, and the Company expects that this will continue to be the case in the future.

For example, in August 2024, an individual filed a civil action against the Company in the United States District Court in the Northern District of Texas, alleging personal injury claims in connection with the use of SYFOVRE. We moved to dismiss this civil action in September 2024. The Court has not yet ruled on this motion to dismiss, as of the date of issuance of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

The outcome of the matters described above cannot be predicted with certainty and therefore any loss is neither probable nor reasonably estimable. However, the Company intends to vigorously defend against these matters.