Impact of Adoption of SFAS No. 123R
The Company elected to adopt the modified prospective application method as provided by SFAS
No. 123R. Under that transition method, compensation costs recognized in the three and six months
ended June 30, 2006, include (a) compensation cost for all share-based payments granted prior to,
but not yet vested as of January 1, 2006, based on the grant-date fair value estimated in
accordance with the original provisions of SFAS No. 123, and (b) compensation costs for all
share-based payments granted subsequent to January 1, 2006, based on the grant-date fair value
estimated in accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 123R.
In the three and six months ended June 30, 2006, we recognized compensation expense in
connection with the adoption of FAS 123R of $0.9 million and $1.8 million, respectively. Diluted
earnings per share was reduced by $0.03 and $0.05 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2006
as a result of the Companys adoption of FAS 123R. As of June 30, 2006 the stock-based compensation
capitalized as inventory was minimal.
As a result of adoption FAS 123R, the Companys income before income taxes and net income for
the three months ended June 30, 2006 are $0.7 million and $0.4 million lower, respectively, than if
the Company had continued to account for share-based compensation under Opinion 25.
Equity Incentive Program
The Companys equity incentive program is a long-term retention program that is intended to
attract and retain qualified management and technical employees and align stockholder and employee
interests. At June 30, 2006, the equity incentive program consisted of the 2004 Equity Incentive
Plan (the 2004 Plan). Under the 2004 Plan, options, stock appreciation rights, stock purchase
rights and restricted stock may be issued to employees, officers, directors, and consultants of
Adeza. The 2004 Plan permits the grant of share options for up to 1,875,000 shares of common stock.
The maximum number of shares shall be increased annually on January 1 of each year by a number of
shares equal to the lesser of (a) three percent of the number of shares issued and outstanding on
the immediately preceding December 31, (b) 525,000 Shares, and (c) a number of Shares set by the
Board. The 2004 Plan provides that the exercise price for incentive stock options will be no less
than 100% of fair value of Adezas common stock on the date of grant. Generally, these options vest
ratably over four years and have a term of 10 years. No restricted stock, stock appreciation or
purchase rights have been issued as of June 30, 2006.
The following table provides certain information with respect to the 2004 Plan, which was in
effect as of June 30, 2006:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Securities |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remaining Available |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
for Future Issuance |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under Equity |
| |
|
Number of |
|
|
|
|
|
Compensation Plan |
| |
|
Securities to be |
|
|
|
|
|
(Excluding |
| |
|
Issued upon |
|
Weighted-Average |
|
Securities |
| |
|
Exercise of |
|
Exercise Price of |
|
Reflected in |
| |
|
Outstanding Options |
|
Outstanding Options |
|
Column (a)) |
| |
|
(a) |
|
(b) |
|
(c) |
Equity
compensation plan
approved by
security holders
|
|
|
1,633,408 |
|
|
$ |
9.26 |
|
|
|
2,486,091 |
|
The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes
valuation model, consistent with the provisions of SFAS No. 123R, SEC SAB No. 107 and the Companys
prior period pro forma disclosures of net earnings, including stock-based compensation (determined
under a fair value method as prescribed by SFAS No. 123). Expected volatilities used in 2006 are
based on volatilities from the Companys peer group, which is consistent with the technique the
Company used prior to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R. Due to the Companys short public trading
history the Company determined that the use of a peer group is more reflective of market conditions
and a better indicator of expected volatility than a historical volatility. The Company uses
historical data to estimate the expected option forfeiture rate. The
expected term of options granted is derived from analysis of the Companys peer group and
historical data. The risk-free rate
10
for periods within the contractual life of the option is based
on a risk-free zero-coupon spot interest rate at the end of the reporting period. The Company has
never declared or paid any cash dividends and does not presently plan to pay cash dividends in the
foreseeable future.
The fair value of stock options granted to employees in the three and six months ended June
30, 2006 and June 30, 2005 was estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes model using
the following weighted-average assumptions:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
Six Months Ended |
| |
|
June 30, |
|
June 30, |
| |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
Expected volatility
|
|
|
60 |
% |
|
|
75 |
% |
|
|
65 |
% |
|
|
75 |
% |
Risk-free interest rate
|
|
|
5.17 |
% |
|
|
3.72 |
% |
|
|
5.0 |
% |
|
|
4.01 |
% |
Expected term (in years)
|
|
|
5.0 |
|
|
|
4.0 |
|
|
|
5.0 |
|
|
|
4.0 |
|
Dividends
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SFAS No. 123R requires the use of option pricing models that were not developed for use in
valuing employee stock options. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model was developed for use in
estimating the fair value of short-lived exchange traded options that have no vesting restrictions
and are fully transferable. In addition, option-pricing models require the input of highly
subjective assumptions, including the options expected life and the price volatility of the
underlying stock.
The following table summarizes the combined activity under the equity incentive plans for the
indicated periods:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted- |
|
|
Weighted-Average |
|
|
Aggregate |
|
| |
|
Available |
|
|
Options |
|
|
Average |
|
|
Remaining Contract |
|
|
Intrinsic Value |
|
| |
|
for Grant |
|
|
Outstanding |
|
|
Exercise Price |
|
|
Term (in years) |
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
Balance at December 31, 2005 |
|
|
2,035,208 |
|
|
|
1,668,688 |
|
|
$ |
8.53 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares authorized |
|
|
521,290 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options granted |
|
|
(85,600 |
) |
|
|
85,600 |
|
|
|
17.28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options exercised |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(105,687 |
) |
|
|
3.74 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options forfeited |
|
|
15,193 |
|
|
|
(15,193 |
) |
|
|
12.68 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at June 30, 2006 |
|
|
2,486,091 |
|
|
|
1,633,408 |
|
|
$ |
9.26 |
|
|
|
7.2 |
|
|
$ |
9,125 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vested and expected to vest at June 30, 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,577,779 |
|
|
$ |
9.10 |
|
|
|
7.2 |
|
|
$ |
9,023 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercisable at June 30, 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
934,608 |
|
|
$ |
6.29 |
|
|
|
6.2 |
|
|
$ |
7,547 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the total pretax intrinsic value,
based on the Companys closing stock price of $14.02 as of June 30, 2006, which would have been
received by the option holders had all option holders with in-the-money options exercised their
options as of that date. Stock options that expired during the six months ended June 30, 2006 were
minimal.
The weighted average grant date fair value of options granted during the three months ended
June 30, 2006 was $8.29 per share. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the three
month period ended June 30, 2006 was approximately $0.4 million. The total cash received from
employees as a result of stock option exercises during the three months ended June 30, 2006 was
approximately $0.1 million. In connection with these exercises, the tax benefits realized by the
Company for the three months ended June 30, 2006 was minimal.
The Company settles employee stock option exercises with newly issued common shares.
11
As of June 30, 2006, the unrecorded deferred stock-based compensation balance related to stock
options was $5.3 million and will be recognized over an estimated weighted average amortization
period of 1.4 years.
The Company makes quarterly assessments of the adequacy of its tax credit pool to determine if
there are any deficiencies which require recognition in its condensed statements of operations.
8. PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
The Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $0.5 million for the three months ended
June 30, 2006, related to federal and state taxes, compared to a provision for income taxes of $0.1
million for the three months ended June 30, 2005. The Companys effective tax rate for the three
months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005 was 50.0% and 5.3%, respectively. The Company recorded a
provision for income taxes of $0.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2006, related to
federal and state taxes, compared to a provision for income taxes of $0.2 million for the six
months ended June 30, 2005. The Companys effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2006
and 2005 was 50.0% and 5.3%, respectively. For the three months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, the
provision for income taxes is based on the Companys annual effective tax rate in compliance with
SFAS 109. The annual effective tax rate was calculated on the basis of the Companys expected level
of profitability that results in federal and state income taxes. To the extent the Companys
expected profitability changes during the year, the effective tax rate would be revised to reflect
any changes in the projected profitability. For the three months ended June 30, 2006, the
difference between the provision for income tax that would be derived by applying the statutory
rate to the Companys income before tax and the provision actually recorded is primarily due to the
impact of non-deductible 123R stock option compensation expenses. For the three months ended June
30, 2005, the difference between the provision for income tax that would be derived by applying the
statutory rate to the Companys income before tax and the provision actually recorded is primarily
due to the benefit of operating loss carryforwards that reduced the provision to federal
alternative minimum tax and state income tax. Excluding the effects of FAS123R, the Companys tax
rate would be closer to the statutory rate.
The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income
Taxes, which requires that deferred tax assets and liabilities be recognized using enacted tax
rates for the effect of temporary differences between the book and tax bases of recorded assets and
liabilities. SFAS No. 109 also requires that deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation
allowance if it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be
realized. The Company evaluates quarterly the realizability of its deferred tax assets by assessing
its valuation allowance and, if necessary, the Company adjusts the amount of such allowance. The
factors used to assess the likelihood of realization include the Companys forecast of future
taxable income and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the net
deferred tax assets. The Company assessed its deferred tax assets at the end of 2005, as well as
the end of the first and second quarters of 2006, and determined that it was more likely than not
that the Company would be able to realize approximately $5,122,000 of net deferred tax assets based
upon its forecast of future taxable income and other relevant factors. Changes to the realization
of the net deferred tax assets would have an impact to the Companys tax provision and in turn
would affect net income.
12
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read
in conjunction with the condensed financial statements and the notes thereto included in Item 1 of
this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Statements in this Managements Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations and elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q
which express that we believe, anticipate, expect or plan to as well as other statements
which are not historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding expected financial results, tax rates and stock-based compensation
expense, the expansion of products, markets and offerings and additional product indications.
Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of the risks and uncertainties described
herein and elsewhere including, but not limited to, those factors described under Risk Factors
below and those described under Business set forth in Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year-ended December 31, 2005.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
We design, develop, manufacture and market innovative products for womens health. Our initial
focus is on reproductive healthcare, using our proprietary technologies to predict preterm birth
and assess infertility. Our principal product is a patented diagnostic test FullTerm, The Fetal
Fibronectin Test, that utilizes a single-use, disposable cassette and is analyzed on our patented
instrument, the TLiIQ® System. This FDA-approved product is designed to objectively
determine a womans risk of preterm birth by detecting the presence of a specific protein, fetal
fibronectin, in vaginal secretions during pregnancy. We began selling our single-use, disposable
FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test in 1999 and launched our second-generation system, the
TLiIQ® System, in 2001. Sales of TLiIQ® Systems to hospital and clinical
laboratories allow healthcare providers access to our FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test,
resulting in the potential for better patient care and for significant cost savings by avoiding
unnecessary medical treatment. We have also submitted to the FDA a New Drug Application, or NDA,
for Gestiva (17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection 250 mg/ml), our product candidate to
prevent preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery.
We believe the key factors underlying our growth since 1999 include greater healthcare
provider acceptance, demonstrated cost savings from the use of our tests, expanded reimbursement
coverage by insurance companies, expansion of our sales force and increased marketing efforts.
Continued growth in test volume and revenue will depend on the above and a number of factors,
including placing additional TLiIQ® Systems in hospitals and clinical laboratories,
increasing utilization of existing TLiIQ® Systems, increasing healthcare provider
acceptance for other FDA-approved uses of the product and developing additional applications or
products.
Recent Business Developments
Gestiva
On May 4, 2006, we announced our submission of a New Drug Application, or NDA, with the FDA
for Gestiva, our product candidate to prevent preterm birth in women with a history of preterm
birth. Gestiva is an injectable long-acting form of a naturally occurring progesterone. On June 5,
2006, we announced that our Gestiva NDA was granted priority review status by the FDA. A priority
review designation set a six month goal date, which will be on October 20, 2006, for FDA response
to the NDA. Priority review is granted by the FDA if the subject drug product, if
approved, would be a significant improvement compared to marketed approved products in the
treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of a disease. On July 6, 2006, we announced that our Gestiva
NDA was accepted for filing by the FDA. We have also submitted an application to the FDA requesting
Orphan Drug designation for Gestiva. The FDA Orphan Drug designation is reserved for promising new
therapies being developed to treat life-threatening or very serious diseases that affect fewer than
200,000 people in the United States. On July 18, 2006, we announced that our Gestiva NDA will
be reviewed by the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee to the FDA on August 29, 2006.
At present, no drug product is approved by the FDA for the prevention of preterm birth in
women who have a history of preterm delivery. If Gestiva is approved for marketing in the United
States, we plan to use our existing sales force to market the product to the same physicians to
whom we market FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test, thereby leveraging our direct sales efforts.
13
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and
judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. We base
our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be
reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about
the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources.
Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Except as
stated below regarding SFAS No. 123R, our critical accounting policies and estimates have not
changed significantly from the critical accounting policies and estimates discussed in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.
Stock-Based Compensation
Beginning as of January 1, 2006 we account for our employee stock option plans under the
provisions of SFAS No. 123R. SFAS No. 123R requires the recognition of the fair value of
stock-based compensation in net income. The fair value of our stock options was estimated using a
Black-Scholes option valuation model. This model requires the input of highly subjective
assumptions and elections in adopting and implementing SFAS No. 123R, including expected stock
price volatility and the estimated life of each award. The fair value of stock-based awards is
amortized over the vesting period of the award. We have elected to use the straight-line method for
awards granted after the adoption of SFAS No. 123R and continue to use a graded vesting method for
awards granted prior to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R. We make quarterly assessments of the
adequacy of our tax credit pool to determine if there are any deficiencies which require
recognition in our condensed statements of operations. Prior to adoption of SFAS No. 123R, we
accounted for our stock option plans under the provisions of Accounting Principles Board (APB)
Opinion No. 25 Accounting For Stock Issued to Employees (APB No. 25) and Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) Interpretation No. 44, Accounting for Certain Transactions Involving Stock
Compensation an Interpretation of APB Opinion No. 25 and made pro forma footnote disclosures as
required by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 148, Accounting For Stock-Based
Compensation Transition and Disclosure, which amends SFAS No. 123, Accounting For Stock-Based
Compensation. Pro forma net income and pro forma net income per share disclosed in the footnotes
to our condensed financial statements were estimated using a Black-Scholes option valuation model.
For more information, see Note 7 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements,
Stock-Based Compensation.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Product Sales
Our product sales are derived primarily from the sale of our disposable FullTerm, The Fetal
Fibronectin Test. In addition, we derive a small portion of our revenues from the sale of
TLiIQ® Systems and other consumables. We currently use distributors for sales outside of
the United States and Canada. Our business has been in the past and may continue to be seasonal and
is affected by customer ordering patterns, which may involve quarterly or semi-annual orders, as
well as other factors which may cause quarterly variances in our sales. As a result, our sales may
not increase in sequential quarters and our net income may fluctuate significantly.
The following is a summary of product sales for the three months and six months ended June 30,
2006 and June 30, 2005:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Product sales
|
|
$ |
13,029 |
|
|
$ |
10,634 |
|
|
|
22.5 |
% |
|
$ |
23,822 |
|
|
$ |
20,244 |
|
|
|
17.7 |
% |
14
The $2.4 million increase in product sales in the three months ended June 30, 2006, compared
to the three months ended June 30, 2005 was entirely attributable to increased sales volume of our
Fetal Fibronectin Test cassettes. The $3.6 million increase in product sales in the six months
ended June 30, 2006, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2005 was primarily attributable to
increased sales volume of our Fetal Fibronectin Test cassettes, which was partially offset by
slight decreases in sales from other products.
Geographic sales information is based on the location of the end customer. The following is a
summary of product sales by geographic region for the three months and six months ended June 30,
2006 and June 30, 2005:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
United States
|
|
$ |
12,689 |
|
|
$ |
10,405 |
|
|
|
22.0 |
% |
|
$ |
23,260 |
|
|
$ |
19,812 |
|
|
|
17.4 |
% |
Percentage of total product sales
|
|
|
97.4 |
% |
|
|
97.8 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
97.6 |
% |
|
|
97.9 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
International
|
|
$ |
340 |
|
|
$ |
229 |
|
|
|
48.5 |
% |
|
$ |
562 |
|
|
$ |
432 |
|
|
|
30.1 |
% |
Percentage of total product sales
|
|
|
2.6 |
% |
|
|
2.2 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.4 |
% |
|
|
2.1 |
% |
|
|
|
|
International sales, as well as sales in the United States, remained relatively consistent as
a percentage of total product sales for the three and six months ended June 30, 2006 compared to
the three and six months ended June 30, 2005. We expect international sales, as a percentage of
total product sales, to remain relatively consistent for the remainder of the year ending December
31, 2006.
Cost of Product Sales
Our cost of product sales represents the cost of materials, direct labor and overhead
associated with the manufacture of our products, and delivery charges, lab services and royalties.
The following is a summary of cost of product sales for the three months and six months ended June
30, 2006 and June 30, 2005:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Cost of product sales |
|
$ |
1,907 |
|
|
$ |
1,429 |
|
|
|
33.4 |
% |
|
$ |
3,662 |
|
|
$ |
2,856 |
|
|
|
28.2 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
14.6 |
% |
|
|
13.4 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
15.4 |
% |
|
|
14.1 |
% |
|
|
|
|
The increase in cost of product sales in the three and six months ended June 30, 2006,
compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2005 was primarily due to the increase in sales
volume over the respective periods and partially due to stock-based compensation expense associated
with the adoption of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006.
Royalties
We have certain royalty commitments associated with the shipment and licensing of certain
products. Royalty costs are generally based on a dollar amount per unit shipped or a percentage of
the underlying revenue. The following is a summary of royalty costs for the three months and six
months ended June 30, 2006 and June 30, 2005:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Royalty costs |
|
$ |
777 |
|
|
$ |
645 |
|
|
|
20.5 |
% |
|
$ |
1,445 |
|
|
$ |
1,238 |
|
|
|
16.7 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
6.0 |
% |
|
|
6.1 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
6.1 |
% |
|
|
6.1 |
% |
|
|
|
|
15
The increase in royalty costs in the three and six months ended June 30, 2006, compared to the
three and six months ended June 30, 2005 was primarily due to the increase in sales volume over the
respective periods. As a percentage of product sales, royalty costs remained relatively consistent
for the three and six months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005. Although royalty costs as a percentage
of product sales is expected to fluctuate as it is dependent on several factors, including the
level and type of sales and the level of allowed deductions, we believe royalty costs as a
percentage of product sales will remain below 7.5% for the year ended December 31, 2006, assuming
no new licenses involving royalties are required.
Gross Profit
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Gross profit |
|
$ |
11,122 |
|
|
$ |
9,205 |
|
|
|
20.8 |
% |
|
$ |
20,160 |
|
|
$ |
17,388 |
|
|
|
15.9 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
85.4 |
% |
|
|
86.6 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
84.6 |
% |
|
|
85.9 |
% |
|
|
|
|
The decrease in gross margins, or gross profit as a percentage of sales, in the three and six
months ended June 30, 2006, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2005, was primarily due to
slight changes in average selling price and partially due to stock-based compensation expense
associated with the adoption of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of sales and marketing personnel and sales
force incentive compensation and costs related to travel, tradeshows, promotional materials and
programs, advertising and healthcare provider education materials and events.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Sales and marketing expenses |
|
$ |
7,416 |
|
|
$ |
4,787 |
|
|
|
54.9 |
% |
|
$ |
13,461 |
|
|
$ |
9,512 |
|
|
|
41.5 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
56.9 |
% |
|
|
45.0 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
56.5 |
% |
|
|
47.0 |
% |
|
|
|
|
The $2.6 million increase in sales and marketing expenses in the three months ended June 30,
2006, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2005 was primarily attributable to (i) an
increase of $1.5 million related to the expansion of our direct sales force and associated costs,
(ii) an increase of $0.7 million in marketing expenses due to the timing of certain programs, and
(iii) an increase of $0.4 million in stock-based compensation expense, primarily associated with
the adoption of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006.
The $3.9 million increase in sales and marketing expenses in the six months ended June 30,
2006, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2005 was primarily attributable to (i) an increase
of $2.6 million related to the expansion of our direct sales force and associated costs, (ii) an
increase of $0.8 million in stock-based compensation expense, primarily associated with the
adoption of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006, and (iii) an increase of $0.5 million in marketing
expenses due to the timing of certain programs.
16
We expect our selling and marketing expenditures to increase as we continue our efforts to
increase our market penetration and commence any marketing and selling efforts related to Gestiva.
We also expect our employee related costs to increase, including stock-based compensation expense.
General and Administrative
Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses for
accounting, human resources, information technology and corporate administration functions. Other
costs include facility costs, professional fees for legal and accounting services including patent
expenses.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
General and administrative expenses |
|
$ |
2,160 |
|
|
$ |
1,867 |
|
|
|
15.7 |
% |
|
$ |
4,462 |
|
|
$ |
3,404 |
|
|
|
31.1 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
16.6 |
% |
|
|
17.6 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
18.7 |
% |
|
|
16.8 |
% |
|
|
|
|
The $0.3 million increase in general and administrative expenses in the three months ended
June 30, 2006, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2005 was primarily attributable to (i)
an increase of $0.4 million in costs associated with operating as a public company, including
personnel costs, professional services related to audit and tax and other general costs, and (ii)
an increase of $0.2 million in stock-based compensation expense, primarily associated with the
adoption of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006. This increase was partially offset by a decrease of
$0.3 million in legal fees and facility costs.
The $1.1 million increase in general and administrative expenses in the six months ended June
30, 2006, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2005 was primarily attributable to (i) an
increase of $0.9 million in costs associated with operating as a public company, including
personnel costs, professional services related to audit and tax and other general costs, and (ii)
an increase of $0.5 million in stock-based compensation expense, primarily associated with the
adoption of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006. This increase was partially offset by a decrease of
$0.3 million in legal fees and facility costs.
We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase primarily related to
continuously increasing costs associated with being a public company and anticipated increased
headcount. We also expect our employee related costs to increase, including stock-based
compensation expense.
Research and Development
Our research and development expenses consist of costs incurred for company-sponsored and
collaborative research and development activities. These expenses consist primarily of direct and
research-related allocated overhead expenses such as facilities costs, salaries and benefits, and
material and supply costs and include costs associated with clinical trials.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Research and development expenses |
|
$ |
1,600 |
|
|
$ |
1,213 |
|
|
|
31.9 |
% |
|
$ |
3,273 |
|
|
$ |
2,077 |
|
|
|
57.6 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
12.3 |
% |
|
|
11.4 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
13.7 |
% |
|
|
10.3 |
% |
|
|
|
|
17
The increase in research and development expenses in the three and six months ended June 30,
2006, compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2005, was primarily attributable to an
increase in costs associated with our continued product development efforts, including costs
related to Gestiva, our drug candidate for the prevention of preterm birth in women who
have a history of preterm delivery.
We expect that our research and development costs will increase as a result of our continued
product development efforts. We also expect our employee-related costs to increase, including
stock-based compensation expense.
Interest Income
Interest income consists primarily of interest income generated from our investments in
commercial paper, money market funds and repurchase agreements.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Interest income |
|
$ |
1,128 |
|
|
$ |
593 |
|
|
|
90.2 |
% |
|
$ |
2,122 |
|
|
$ |
1,073 |
|
|
|
97.8 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
8.7 |
% |
|
|
5.6 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
8.9 |
% |
|
|
5.3 |
% |
|
|
|
|
The increase in interest income in the three and six months ended June 30, 2006, compared to
the three and six months ended June 30, 2005, was primarily attributable to an increase in the
levels of cash and cash equivalents, as well as higher average interest rates.
Provision for Income Taxes
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30, |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Percent |
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
Change |
Provision for income taxes |
|
$ |
537 |
|
|
$ |
102 |
|
|
|
426.5 |
% |
|
$ |
543 |
|
|
$ |
183 |
|
|
|
196.7 |
% |
Percentage of product sales |
|
|
4.1 |
% |
|
|
1.0 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.3 |
% |
|
|
0.9 |
% |
|
|
|
|
18
We recorded a provision for income taxes of $0.5 million for the three months ended June 30,
2006, related to federal and state taxes, compared to a provision for income taxes of $0.1 million
for the three months ended June 30, 2005. Our effective tax rate for the three months ended June
30, 2006 and 2005 was 50.0% and 5.3%, respectively. We recorded a provision for income taxes of
$0.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2006, related to federal and state taxes, compared
to a provision for income taxes of $0.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2005. Our
effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005 was 50.0% and 5.3%,
respectively. For the three months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, the provision for income taxes is
based on our annual effective tax rate in compliance with SFAS 109. The annual effective tax rate
was calculated on the basis of our expected level of profitability that results in federal and
state income taxes. To the extent our expected profitability changes during the year, the effective
tax rate would be revised to reflect any changes in the projected profitability. As a result, the
tax rate recorded for the three and six months ended June 30, 2006 may not be indicative of future
tax rates. For the three months ended June 30, 2006, the difference between the provision for
income tax that would be derived by applying the statutory rate to our income before tax and the
provision actually recorded is primarily due to the impact of non-deductible 123R stock option
compensation expenses. For the three months ended June 30, 2005, the difference between the
provision for income tax that would be derived by applying the statutory rate to our income before
tax and the provision actually recorded is primarily due to the benefit of operating loss
carryforwards that reduced the provision to federal alternative minimum tax and state income tax.
Excluding the effects of FAS123R, our tax rate would be closer to the statutory rate.
We account for income taxes in accordance with SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes,
which requires that deferred tax assets and liabilities be recognized using enacted tax rates for
the effect of temporary differences between the book and tax bases of recorded assets and
liabilities. SFAS No. 109 also requires that deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation
allowance if it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be
realized. We evaluate quarterly the realizability of our deferred tax assets by assessing our
valuation allowance and, if necessary, we adjust the amount of such allowance. The factors used to
assess the likelihood of realization include our forecast of future taxable income and available
tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the net deferred tax assets. We
assessed our deferred tax assets at the end of 2005, as well as the end of the first and second
quarters of 2006, and determined that it was more likely than not that we would be able to realize
approximately $5,122,000 of net deferred tax assets based upon our forecast of future taxable
income and other relevant factors. Changes to the realization of the net deferred tax assets would
have an impact to our tax provision and in turn would affect net income.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Since our inception, our operations have been primarily financed through public and private
equity investments, working capital provided by our product sales, capital leases, and research and
development contracts. Our cash and cash equivalents were $93.4 million as of June 30, 2006. All of
our cash equivalents have original maturities of three months or less.
Our operating, investing and financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2006 and
June 30, 2005 are summarized as follows:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Six Months Ended |
|
| |
|
June 30, |
|
| (Dollars in thousands) |
|
2006 |
|
|
2005 |
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
|
$ |
3,394 |
|
|
$ |
2,602 |
|
Net cash used in investing activities |
|
|
(154 |
) |
|
|
(117 |
) |
Net cash provided by financing activities |
|
|
395 |
|
|
|
356 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
|
$ |
3,635 |
|
|
$ |
2,841 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
19
Operating Activities
Our operating activities generated cash of $3.4 million during the six months ended June 30,
2006, compared to generating cash of $2.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2005. The
increase of $0.8 million was primarily driven by working capital sources of cash, which included
higher cash flows from the collection of accounts receivables.
Investing Activities
Our investing activities consumed cash of $0.2 million during the six months ended June 30,
2006, compared to consuming cash of $0.1 million during the six months ended June 30, 2005. Cash
consumed by investing activities for both periods was related to the purchase of property and
equipment.
Financing Activities
Our financing activities generated cash of $0.4 million during the six months ended June 30,
2006, compared to generating cash of $0.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2005. Cash
generated from financing activities for both periods was due to the proceeds from the exercise of
employee stock options.
In addition to cash generated from product sales, we believe our existing cash and cash
equivalents will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash requirements for at least the next two
years. However, future research and development, clinical trials and sales and marketing expenses,
as well as administration support, or licensing or acquisition of other products may require
additional capital resources. We may raise additional funds through public or private equity
offerings, debt financings, capital lease transactions, corporate collaborations or other means.
Due to the uncertainty of financial markets, financing may not be available to us on acceptable
terms or at all. Therefore, we may raise additional capital from time to time due to favorable
market conditions or strategic considerations even if we have sufficient funds for planned
operations.
Our future capital requirements are difficult to forecast and will depend on many factors,
including:
| |
|
success of our product sales and related collections; |
| |
| |
|
future expenses to expand and support our sales and marketing activities; |
| |
| |
|
costs relating to changes in regulatory policies or laws that affect our operations; |
| |
| |
|
maintaining and expanding our manufacturing capacity; |
| |
| |
|
the level of investment in research and development and clinical trials required to maintain and improve our
technology position; |
| |
| |
|
costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing patent claims and other intellectual property rights; and |
| |
| |
|
our need or decision to acquire or license businesses, products or technologies. |
If at any time sufficient capital is not available, either through existing capital resources
or through raising additional funds, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of, eliminate or
divest one or more of our research, clinical or sales and marketing programs or our entire
business.
Contractual Obligations
As of June 30, 2006, we had two facility leases which include a one-year term with two
one-year renewal options, as well as an operating lease for a telephone system. We had no long-term
debt, capital lease obligations, long-term purchase agreements or other commitments. There have
been no new contractual obligations since December 31, 2005. See Note 5 of our Notes to Financial
Statements included in our annual Report on Form 10-K for the year 2005 for more detailed
information.
20
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
There have been no significant changes in our market risk compared to the disclosures in Item
7A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures. As required by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(b),
as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-Q, we carried out an evaluation, under the
supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and
our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure
controls and procedures as defined in Rule 13a-15(e). Based upon that evaluation, our Chief
Executive Officer along with our Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls
and procedures are effective at the reasonable assurance level.
Changes in internal controls. There were no changes in our internal controls over financial
reporting during the quarter ended June 30, 2006 that have materially affected, or are reasonably
likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations on Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls. We intend to review and evaluate the
design and effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures on an ongoing basis and to
correct any material deficiencies that we may discover. Our goal is to ensure that our senior
management has timely access to material information that could affect our business. While we
believe the present design of our disclosure controls and procedures is effective to achieve our
goal, future events affecting our business may cause us to modify our disclosure controls and
procedures. The effectiveness of controls cannot be absolute because the cost to design and
implement a control to identify errors or mitigate the risk of errors occurring should not outweigh
the potential loss caused by errors that would likely be detected by the control. Moverover, we
believe that disclosure controls and procedures cannot be guaranteed to be 100% effective all of
the time. Accordingly, a control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only
reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control systems objectives will be met.
21
PART II OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
None.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
In addition to other information in this report, the following factors should be considered
carefully in evaluating our company. If any of the risks or uncertainties described in this Form
10-Q or in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 actually occurs, our
business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially adversely affected. The
risks and uncertainties described in this Form 10-Q are not the only ones facing the company.
Additional risks and uncertainties of which we are unaware or currently deem immaterial may also
become important factors that may harm our business. The risk factors set forth below contain a
number of material changes relative to those set forth in the RISK FACTORS section of our annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 21, 2005. The changes relate primarily to Gestiva,
our therapeutic product candidate for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history
of preterm delivery.
RISKS RELATING TO OUR BUSINESS
Because our revenues and financial results depend significantly on a limited product line, if we
are unable to manufacture or sell our products in sufficient quantities and in a timely manner, our
business will suffer.
To date, substantially all of our revenue has resulted from sales of our principal product
line, our FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test, the TLiIQ® System (and its predecessor,
the TLi System) and related consumables. Although we intend to introduce additional products, we
expect sales of the Fetal Fibronectin Test to account for substantially all of our near-term
revenue. Because our business is highly dependent on our Fetal Fibronectin Tests, the
TLiIQ® System and the related consumables, factors adversely affecting the pricing of or
demand for these products could have a material and adverse effect on our business and cause the
value of our securities to decline substantially. We will lose revenue if alternative diagnostic
products or technologies gain commercial acceptance or if reimbursement is limited. We cannot
assure you that we will be able to continue to manufacture these products in commercial quantities
at acceptable costs. Our inability to do so would adversely affect our operating results and cause
our business to suffer.
If our products do not achieve and sustain market acceptance, we may fail to generate sufficient
revenue to maintain our business.
Our commercial success depends in large part on our ability to achieve and sustain market
acceptance of our principal product line, FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test and the
TLiIQ® System. A key element of our business plan calls for us to expand sales of our
TLiIQ® System in hospitals and clinical laboratories and increase the related sales of
the Fetal Fibronectin Test and other consumables used in conjunction with the TLiIQ®
System. To accomplish this, we will need to convince healthcare providers of the benefits of our
products through various means, including through published papers, presentations at scientific
conferences and additional clinical trials. If existing users of our products determine that these
products do not satisfy their requirements, or if our competitors develop a product perceived to
better satisfy their requirements, our sales of Fetal Fibronectin Tests and other consumables may
decline, and our revenues may correspondingly decline.
In addition, our commercial success may depend on our ability to gain market acceptance for
our other products and product candidates, including Gestiva. Market acceptance of our product
portfolio will depend on our ability to develop additional applications of our existing products
and to introduce new products to additional markets, including the oncology diagnostic market, the
reproductive endocrinology and infertility markets and other womens health markets.
Other factors that might influence market acceptance of our products and product candidates
include the following:
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evidence of clinical utility; |
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convenience and ease of use; |
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availability of alternative and competing diagnostic products; |
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cost-effectiveness; |
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effectiveness of marketing, distribution and pricing strategy; |
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publicity concerning these products or competitive products and |
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reimbursement. |
Our marketing and development efforts could require us to expend significant time and
resources, and we may not succeed in these efforts. If our products are unable to achieve or
maintain broad market acceptance, our revenues and operating results may be negatively impacted and
our business would suffer.
Our quarterly revenues and operating results are subject to significant fluctuations, and our stock
price may decline if we do not meet the expectations of investors and analysts.
As of June 30, 2006, we had an accumulated deficit of $31.9 million. For the quarters ended
June 30, 2006 and March 31, 2006, we had net income of $537,000 and $6,000, respectively. However,
we may not sustain profitability and cannot guarantee losses will not occur in the future. Our
quarterly revenues and operating results are difficult to predict and have in the past and may in
the future fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter due to a number of factors, many of
which are outside our control. These factors include, but are not limited to:
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our ability to increase market acceptance of womens health diagnostics
generally and of our products in particular, as discussed under Risk Factors If our
products do not achieve and sustain market acceptance, we may fail to generate sufficient
revenue to maintain our business; |
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our need and ability to generate and manage growth as discussed under Risk
Factors If we fail to properly manage our anticipated growth in the United States or
abroad, we may incur significant additional costs and expenses and our operating results may
suffer; |
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delays in, or failure of, delivery of components by our suppliers as more fully
described in Risk Factors We rely on a limited number of suppliers, and if these
suppliers fail or are unable to perform in a timely and satisfactory manner, we may be
unable to manufacture our products or satisfy product demand in a timely manner, which could
delay the production or sale of these products; |
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risks related to Gestiva described below, including those discussed under Risk
Factors If we are unable to obtain or maintain regulatory approval for Gestiva, we will be
limited in our ability to commercialize Gestiva, and our business will be harmed, The
market for Gestiva may be very competitive because we have no patent protection for Gestiva,
and we may not obtain regulatory exclusivity for Gestiva, and We rely on a limited
number of suppliers, and if these suppliers fail or are unable to perform in a timely and
satisfactory manner, we may be unable to manufacture our products or satisfy product demand
in a timely manner, which could delay the production or sale of our products. |
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the quarterly variations and seasonal nature of our business, and the resulting
demand for our products based on procurement cycles of our customers; |
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changes in the manner in which our operations are regulated; |
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the adoption of new accounting policies; |
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increases in the length of our sales cycle; |
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fluctuations in gross margins; and |
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difficult political and economic conditions. |
These and other factors make it difficult for us to predict sales for subsequent periods and
future performance. If our quarterly operating results fail to meet or exceed the expectations of
securities analysts or investors, our stock price could drop suddenly and significantly. We believe
quarterly comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be
relied upon as an indication of our future performance.
In addition, we expect to incur additional expenses to execute our business plan, and these
expenses will increase as we expand our marketing efforts, research and development activities,
clinical testing and manufacturing capacity. These expenses, among other things, may cause our net
income and working capital to decrease or result in a net loss. If sales do not continue to grow,
we may not be able to maintain profitability. Our expansion efforts may prove more expensive than
we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenues sufficiently to offset
these higher expenses. If we fail to do so, the market price for our common stock will likely
decline.
If third-party payors do not adequately reimburse our customers, market acceptance of our products
may be impaired, which may adversely affect our revenues and our operating results.
Market acceptance of our products and the majority of our sales depend, in large part, on the
availability of adequate reimbursement for the use of our products from government insurance plans,
including Medicare and Medicaid, managed care organizations, private insurance plans and other
third-party payors primarily in the United States and, to a lesser extent abroad. Third-party
payors are often reluctant to reimburse healthcare providers for the use of medical diagnostic
products incorporating new technology.
Because each third-party payor individually approves reimbursement, obtaining these approvals
can be a time-consuming and costly process that requires us to provide scientific and clinical
support for the use of each of these products to each third-party payor separately with no
assurance that approval will be obtained. For example, the policies of some third-party payors
limit reimbursement for the use of our Fetal Fibronectin Test to women with signs and symptoms of
preterm labor. In addition, if Gestiva is approved, we will need to dedicate considerable resources
to obtaining approvals for reimbursement. This individualized process can delay the market
acceptance of new products and may have a negative effect on our revenues and operating results.
Market acceptance of our products internationally may depend in part upon the availability of
reimbursement within prevailing healthcare payment systems. Reimbursement and healthcare payment
systems in international markets vary significantly by country and include both government
sponsored healthcare and private insurance. We may not obtain international reimbursement approvals
in a timely manner, if at all. Our failure to receive international reimbursement approvals may
negatively impact market acceptance of our products in the international markets in which those
approvals are sought.
We believe third-party payors are increasingly limiting coverage for medical diagnostic and
pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally, and in many instances are
exerting pressure on product suppliers to reduce their prices. Consequently, third-party
reimbursement may not be consistently available or adequate to cover the cost of our products.
Additionally, third-party payors who have previously approved a specific level of reimbursement may
reduce that level. Under prospective payment systems, in which healthcare providers may be
reimbursed a set amount based on the type of diagnostic procedure performed, such as those utilized
by Medicare and in many privately managed care systems, the cost of our diagnostic products may not
be justified and reimbursed. Any limitations on reimbursement for our products could limit our
ability to commercialize and sell new products and continue to sell our existing products, or may
cause the prices of our existing products to be reduced, which may adversely affect our revenues
and operating results.
If we fail to properly manage our anticipated growth in the US or abroad, we may incur significant
additional costs and expenses and our operating results may suffer.
Growth of our business is likely to place a significant strain on our managerial, operational
and financial resources and systems. In the United States, while we anticipate hiring additional
personnel to assist in the planned expansion of sales efforts for our current products and the
development of future products, we may not be able to successfully increase sales of
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current products or introduce new products and meet our growth goals. The strain on our
management and staff may be particularly acute as we expand into the therapeutic business as well
as the diagnostic business. To manage our anticipated growth, we must attract and retain qualified
personnel and manage and train them effectively. We will depend on our personnel and third parties
to effectively market our products to an increasing number of hospitals, physicians and other
healthcare providers. We will also depend on our personnel to develop next generation technologies.
Further, our anticipated growth will place additional strain on our suppliers and manufacturers, as
well as our own internal manufacturing processes, resulting in an increased need for us to
carefully monitor for quality assurance. In addition, we may choose or be required to relocate or
expand our manufacturing facility to accommodate potential growth in our business. Any failure by
us to manage our growth effectively could have an adverse effect on our ability to achieve our
revenue and profitability goals.
Our plans to expand our presence in international markets will cause us to incur various costs
and expenses and may strain our operating and financial systems and resources in a manner that
could materially and adversely affect our operating results. We will be subject to the regulatory
oversight of additional authorities as we expand internationally. These authorities may impose
regulations and restrictions on the sales and marketing of our products that are different and
potentially more restrictive than those placed on us by regulators in the US. We may be required to
expend considerable resources to comply with these requirements. Ultimately, we may not be able to
comply with such regulations in a timely manner, if at all. If we are unable to satisfy these
requirements on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to commercialize our products would be
hampered and our revenues may be adversely affected.
We will need to devote considerable resources to comply with federal, state and foreign regulations
and, if we are unable to fully comply, we could face substantial penalties.
We are directly or indirectly through our customers subject to extensive regulation by both
the federal government and the states and foreign countries where we conduct our business.
Companies such as ours are required to expend considerable resources complying, in particular, with
laws such as the following:
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the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which regulates the design, testing,
manufacture, labeling, marketing, distribution and sale of medical devices and
pharmaceuticals; |
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the Federal Anti-Kickback Law, which prohibits the illegal inducement of
referrals for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs such as the
Medicare and Medicaid Programs; |
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Medicare laws and regulations that prescribe the requirements for coverage and
payment, including the amount of such payment, and laws prohibiting false claims for
reimbursement under Medicare and Medicaid; |
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CE mark which could limit our ability to sell in Europe; and |
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ISO 13485 which could limit our ability to sell in Canada. |
Companies such as ours are also required to comply with laws and regulations regarding the
practice of medicine by non-physicians, consumer protection and Medicare and Medicaid payments. If
our past or present operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or
the other governmental regulations to which we or our customers are subject, we may be subject to
the applicable penalty associated with the violation, including civil and criminal penalties,
damages, fines, exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the curtailment or
restructuring of our operations. If we are required to obtain permits or licenses under these laws
that we do not already possess, we may become subject to substantial additional regulation or incur
significant expense. Any penalties, damages, fines, curtailment or restructuring of our operations
may adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Because many of
these laws have not been fully interpreted by the regulatory authorities or the courts, and their
provisions are open to a variety of interpretations and additional legal or regulatory change, we
may be at a heightened risk of being found to be in violation of these laws. As we expand our
business beyond diagnostic products, we will need to comply with laws and regulations in addition
to those applicable to diagnostic products. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even
if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses, divert
our managements attention from the operation of our business and damage our reputation.
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If we are unable to maintain our existing regulatory approvals and clearances for our existing
diagnostic products, or obtain new regulatory approvals and clearances for our diagnostic product
candidates, our ability to commercially
distribute our products and our business may be significantly harmed.
The FDA, and comparable agencies of other countries generally regulate our diagnostic products
as medical devices. In the United States, FDA regulations govern, among other things, the
activities that we perform, including product development, product testing, product labeling,
product storage, manufacturing, advertising, promotion, product sales, reporting of certain product
failures and distribution. Most of the new products that we plan to develop and commercialize in
the United States will require either pre-market notification, also known as 510(k) clearance, or
pre-market approval, from the FDA prior to marketing. The 510(k) clearance process requires us to
notify the FDA of our intent to market a medical device. The overall 510(k) clearance process
usually takes from three to twelve months from the time of submission to the time that you can
begin to sell a product in the market, but can take significantly longer. The pre-market approval
process, often referred to as the PMA process, is much more costly, lengthy and uncertain and
generally takes between one and three years from submission to PMA approval, but may take
significantly longer and such clearance or approval may never be obtained.
All of the diagnostic products that we have submitted and may submit in the future for FDA
clearance or approval are or will be subject to substantial restrictions, including, among other
things, restrictions on the indications for which we may market our products, which could result in
reductions in or an inability to grow our revenues. Even if regulatory approval of a product is
granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may
be marketed or certain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor
the performance and clinical utility of the product. For example, any of our products that have
received FDA approval, such as our FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test or TLiIQ®
System, remain subject to ongoing post-marketing regulation and oversight by the FDA, and Gestiva,
if approved would also be subject to such regulation and oversight. The marketing claims that we
are permitted to make in labeling our diagnostic products, if cleared or approved by the FDA, are
limited to those specified in any clearance or approval. Our intention to expand the use of our
products into new areas such as the prediction of successful induction of labor and oncology will
require us to make new submissions to the FDA.
In addition, we are subject to review, periodic inspection and marketing surveillance by the
FDA to determine our compliance with regulatory requirements for any product for which we obtain
marketing approval. Following approval, our manufacturing processes, subsequent clinical data and
promotional activities are subject to ongoing regulatory obligations. If the FDA finds that we have
failed to comply with these requirements or later discovers previously unknown problems with our
products, including unanticipated adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency,
manufacture or manufacturing processes or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, it can
institute a wide variety of enforcement actions, ranging from a public warning letter to more
severe sanctions, including:
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fines, injunctions and civil penalties; |
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recall or seizure of our products; |
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restrictions on our products or manufacturing processes, including operating
restrictions, partial suspension or total shutdown of production; |
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denial of requests for 510(k) clearances or PMAs of product candidates; |
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withdrawal of 510(k) clearances or PMAs already granted; |
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disgorgement of profits; and |
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criminal prosecution. |
Any of these enforcement actions could affect our ability to commercially distribute our
products in the United States and may also harm our ability to conduct the clinical trials
necessary to support the marketing, clearance or approval of these products and could materially
and adversely affect our business.
Our PMA supplement seeking approval for use of our FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test in
predicting successful induction of labor has been submitted to the FDA. The FDA initially placed
its review of the application on hold while a third party we have engaged conducts an audit of all
of the clinical study sites because of the number of protocol deviations, in
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order to confirm the accuracy of the data. The audit has been completed and we will need to
submit new analyses of the data and a corrective action plan to the FDA before it will resume its
review of the application. The new analyses of the data or the corrective action plan may not be
acceptable to us or to the FDA and we may not continue to pursue or obtain FDA approval for this
application.
We rely on our CLIA-certified laboratory located at our facility in Sunnyvale, California to
process E-tegrity Tests. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or the CMS, requires that
operators of CLIA-certified laboratories submit to surveillance and follow-up inspections. If we
are unable to meet the CMSs requirements for continued operation pursuant to CLIA, our laboratory
may lose its CLIA certification, and we may be unable to continue to process E-tegrity Tests. As a
result, our business may be harmed.
If we modify our marketed diagnostic products, we may be required to obtain new 510(k) clearances
or PMAs, or we may be required to cease marketing or recall the modified products until clearances
are obtained.
Any modification to a 510(k)-cleared or pre-market approved diagnostic device that could
significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in its
intended use, requires a new 510(k) clearance or PMA, such as the development of our FullTerm, The
Fetal Fibronectin Test as a diagnostic test for the induction of labor. The FDA requires every
manufacturer to make the determination of whether new clearance or approval is required for
510(k)-cleared devices. The FDA may review any manufacturers decision. The FDA may not agree with
our decisions regarding whether new clearances or approvals are necessary. If the FDA requires us
to seek 510(k) clearance or PMA for any modification to a previously cleared or approved product,
we may be required to cease marketing or to recall the modified product until we obtain clearance
or approval, and we may be subject to significant regulatory fines or penalties. Any recall or FDA
requirement that we seek additional approvals or clearances could result in delays, fines, costs
associated with modification of a product, loss of revenue and potential operating restrictions
imposed by the FDA.
If we are unable to obtain or maintain regulatory approval for Gestiva, we will be limited in our
ability to commercialize Gestiva, and our business will be harmed.
The research, testing, manufacturing, selling and marketing of pharmaceutical product
candidates are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the
United States and other countries, which regulations differ from country to country. Obtaining and
maintaining regulatory approval typically is an uncertain process, is costly and takes many years.
In addition, failure to comply with the FDA and other applicable foreign and U.S. regulatory
requirements may subject us to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions. These include
warning letters, civil and criminal penalties, injunctions, product seizure or detention, product
recalls, total or partial suspension of production, and refusal to approve pending NDAs, or
supplements to approved NDAs.
Regulatory approval of an NDA or NDA supplement is never guaranteed. Despite the time,
resources and effort expended, failure can occur at any stage. The FDA has substantial discretion
in the approval process for human medicines. The FDA can deny, delay or limit approval of a product
candidate for many reasons including:
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the FDA may not find that there is adequate evidence that our product candidate is safe or effective; |
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the FDA may not find data from the clinical or preclinical testing to be sufficient; or |
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the FDA may not approve our or our third party manufacturers processes or facilities. |
Future governmental action or changes in FDA policy or personnel may also result in delays or
rejection of an NDA in the United States. If we receive regulatory approval for Gestiva, we will
also be subject to ongoing FDA obligations and continued regulatory oversight and review, such as
continued safety reporting requirements; and we may also be subject to additional FDA
post-marketing obligations, such as Phase IV studies. If we are not able to maintain regulatory
compliance, we may not be permitted to market Gestiva or any other therapeutic product candidates.
Any regulatory approvals that we receive for Gestiva or any other product candidates may also
be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the medicine may be marketed or contain
requirements for potentially costly post-marketing follow-up studies. In addition, if the FDA
approves any of our product candidates, the labeling, packaging, adverse event reporting, storage,
advertising, promotion and record-keeping for the medicine will be subject to extensive regulatory
requirements. The subsequent discovery of previously unknown problems with the medicine, including
adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, may result in restrictions on the marketing
of the medicine, and could include
withdrawal of the medicine from the market.
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Even if we receive approval for the marketing and sale of Gestiva for the prevention of preterm
birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery, it may never be accepted as a treatment for
preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery.
Many factors may affect the market acceptance and commercial success of Gestiva for the
prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery. Although there is
currently no FDA-approved treatment for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history
of preterm delivery, the comparable formulation to Gestiva, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate
(or 17P), is available from compounding pharmacies, and there is one other company developing a
different formulation of progesterone applied via a vaginal gel. Even if the FDA approves Gestiva,
physicians may adopt Gestiva only if they determine, based on experience, clinical data, side
effect profiles and other factors, that it is preferable to other products or treatments then in
use. Acceptance of Gestiva among influential practitioners will be essential for market acceptance
of Gestiva.
Other factors that may affect the market acceptance and commercial success of Gestiva include:
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the effectiveness of Gestiva, including any side effects, as compared to alternative treatment methods; |
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the product labeling or product insert required by the FDA for Gestiva; |
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the cost-effectiveness of Gestiva and the availability of insurance or
other third-party reimbursement for patients using Gestiva; |
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the timing of market entry of Gestiva relative to competitive products; |
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the extent and success of our sales and marketing efforts; and |
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the rate of adoption of Gestiva by physicians and by target patient population. |
The failure of Gestiva to achieve market acceptance would prevent us from generating
meaningful product revenue from Gestiva.
We have limited experience marketing pharmaceutical products, and will need to develop
pharmaceutical sales and marketing capabilities to successfully commercialize Gestiva.
We plan to use our existing sales force to market Gestiva. However, our management and sales
force have limited experience in marketing or selling pharmaceutical products. To achieve
commercial success for Gestiva, we must invest considerable time and resources in educating and
training our management and sales force in pharmaceutical marketing generally, and in the marketing
of Gestiva specifically. However, our Gestiva sales and marketing efforts may not be successful or
cost-effective. For example, in the event that the commercial launch of Gestiva is delayed due to
FDA requirements or other reasons, we may make investments in Gestiva marketing and sales too early
relative to the launch of Gestiva. If our Gestiva sales and marketing efforts are not successful,
cost-effective and timely, our profitability may be adversely affected.
If we experience delays in the development of new products or delays in planned improvements to our
products, our commercial opportunities will be reduced and our future competitive position may be
adversely affected.
To improve our competitive position, we believe that we will need to develop new diagnostic
and therapeutic products, as well as improve our existing instruments, reagents and ancillary
products. Improvements in automation and the number of tests that can be performed in a specified
period of time will be important to the competitive position of our products as we market to a
broader, perhaps less technically proficient, group of customers. Our ability to develop new
products and make improvements in our products may face difficult technological challenges leading
to delays in development, particularly as we expand our business beyond diagnostic products. If we
are unable to successfully complete development of new products or if we are unable to successfully
complete the planned enhancements to our products, in each case without significant delays, our
future competitive position may be adversely affected.
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If other companies develop and market technologies or products faster than we do, or if those
products are more cost
effective or useful than our products, our commercial opportunities will be reduced or eliminated.
The extent to which any of our technologies and products achieve and sustain market acceptance
will depend on numerous competitive factors, many of which are beyond our control. Competition in
the medical device, diagnostic product and pharmaceutical industries is intense and has been
accentuated by a rapid pace of technological development.
While no company directly competes with us in our core diagnostic markets, there are other
diagnostic techniques currently in use to diagnose the likelihood of preterm birth, such as
ultrasound. In addition, other companies may develop new diagnostic products or technologies that
could compete with or entirely displace our products and technologies. For example, other
biomarkers, including cytokines and other proteins indicative of infection, and proteomics are the
subject of research that may yield new products or technologies. The effectiveness of these
alternative techniques may improve with time and additional research by clinicians or
manufacturers. The medical devices and diagnostic products industries include large diagnostics and
life sciences companies. Most of these entities have substantially greater research and development
capabilities and financial, scientific, manufacturing, marketing, sales and service resources than
we do.
Gestiva, if approved for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of
preterm delivery, will compete with compounding pharmacies selling 17P for the prevention of
preterm birth, such as Wedgewood Pharmacy. We are also aware of another company, Columbia
Laboratories, that is currently enrolling patients in a clinical trial for a product candidate for
the prevention of preterm birth. Any regulatory exclusivity we obtain with respect to Gestiva will
not block the Columbia Laboratories product candidate, because the product candidate being
developed by Columbia Laboratories contains a different active ingredient and is applied
differently than Gestiva.
Some of our actual and potential competitors have more experience than we do in research and
development, clinical trials, regulatory matters, manufacturing, marketing and sales.
These organizations also compete with us to:
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pursue acquisitions, joint ventures or other collaborations; |
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license proprietary technologies that are competitive with our technologies; |
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attract funding; and |
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attract and hire scientific and other talent. |
If we cannot successfully compete with new products or technologies, sales of our products and
our competitive position will suffer, and our stock price might be adversely affected. Because of
their greater experience with commercializing technologies and larger research and development
capabilities, other companies might succeed in developing and commercializing technologies or
products earlier and obtaining regulatory approvals and clearances from the FDA more rapidly than
we do. Other companies also might develop more effective technologies or products that are more
predictive, more highly automated or more cost-effective, which may render our technologies or
products obsolete or non-competitive.
If we or any of our third-party manufacturers for our diagnostic do not operate in accordance with
Quality System Regulations, we could be subject to FDA enforcement actions, including the seizure
of our products and the halt of our production.
We and any third-party manufacturers that we currently rely on or will rely on in the future
for our diagnostic products, including those we rely on to produce components of our products, must
continuously adhere to the current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, set forth in the FDAs
Quality System Regulations, or QSR, and enforced by the FDA through its facilities inspection
program. In complying with QSR, we and our third-party manufacturers must expend significant time,
money and effort in design and development, testing, production, record keeping and quality control
to assure that our products meet applicable specifications and other regulatory requirements. The
failure to comply with these specifications and other requirements could result in an FDA
enforcement action, including the seizure of products and shutting down of production. We or any of
these third-party manufacturers may also be subject to comparable or more stringent regulations of
foreign regulatory authorities. In any of these circumstances, our ability to develop, produce and
sell our products could be impaired.
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We have received regulatory approvals for some of the operations located at our Sunnyvale,
California headquarters, including our CLIA-certified laboratory. Should we choose to relocate, or
if for some reason we are required to relocate some or all of our facilities from this location, we
may be required to apply for regulatory approvals for the new location. It may be difficult or
impossible for us to obtain the necessary approvals to continue our business in its present form at
any such new location, and our business may be harmed as a result.
We rely on a limited number of suppliers, and if these suppliers fail or are unable to perform in a
timely and satisfactory manner, we may be unable to manufacture our products or satisfy product
demand in a timely manner, which could delay the production or sale of our products.
We rely on a limited number of suppliers for both raw materials and components necessary for
the manufacture of our diagnostic products, including our FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test and
TLiIQ® System. We acquire all of these components, assemblies and raw materials on a
purchase-order basis, which means that the supplier is not required to supply us with specified
quantities over a certain period of time or to set aside part of its inventory for our forecasted
requirements. If we need alternative sources for key components, assemblies or raw materials for
any reason, such components, assemblies or raw materials may not be immediately available. If
alternative suppliers are not immediately available, we will have to identify and qualify
alternative suppliers, and delivery of such components, assemblies or raw materials may be delayed.
Consequently, if we do not forecast properly, or if our suppliers are unable or unwilling to supply
us in sufficient quantities or on commercially acceptable terms, we may not have access to
sufficient quantities of these components, assemblies and raw materials on a timely basis and may
not be able to satisfy product demand. We may not be able to find an adequate alternative supplier
if required, in a reasonable time period, or on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. Our
inability to obtain a supplier for the manufacture of our products may force us to curtail or cease
operations, which would have a material adverse effect on our product sales and profitability. We
also relied upon a fulfillment provider to process orders for our products, coordinate invoicing
and collections, as well as ship our products to customers in the United States through September
30, 2005. In the fourth quarter of 2005, we transferred the fulfillment operation back to Adeza.
Any problems with this transition may have a material adverse effect on our product sales and
profitability.
In addition, if any of these components, assemblies or raw materials are no longer available
in the marketplace, we will be forced to further develop our technologies to incorporate alternate
components, assemblies and raw materials and to do so in compliance with QSR. If we incorporate new
components, assemblies or raw materials into our products, we may need to seek and obtain
additional approvals or clearances from the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies, which could delay
the commercialization of these products.
We have no manufacturing capabilities for Gestiva and we may depend on third parties who are single
source suppliers to manufacture Gestiva. If these suppliers are unable to continue manufacturing
Gestiva and we are unable to obtain supply from alternative sources, our business will be harmed.
We currently have no experience in, and we do not own facilities for, nor do we plan to
develop our own facilities for, manufacturing Gestiva. To date, our need for Gestiva has been
limited to the amounts required in connection with our Gestiva NDA submission, which includes
stability studies related to Gestiva. We have obtained our supply of Gestiva pursuant to a clinical
supply agreement with a contract manufacturer, and we have obtained our supply of the active
pharmaceutical ingredient in Gestiva on a purchase order basis. We do not intend to establish our
own manufacturing facilities for Gestiva, and we are in the process of negotiating commercial
supply agreements with the contract manufacturer and the supplier of the active ingredient. If we
are successful in negotiating commercial supply agreements with those parties, each of them may be
a single source supplier to us. In the event we are unable, for whatever reason, to obtain Gestiva
or the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Gestiva in quantities sufficient for commercialization,
we may not be able to identify alternate manufacturers able to meet our needs on commercially
reasonable terms and in a timely manner, or at all. If we are unable, for whatever reason, to
obtain sufficient quantities of Gestiva from our contract manufacturers, we may not be able to
manufacture in a timely manner, if at all.
If our third party manufacturers of Gestiva fail to comply with FDA regulations or otherwise fail
to meet our requirements, our product development and commercialization efforts may be delayed.
We depend on third party manufacturers to supply Gestiva. Our suppliers and manufacturers must
comply with the FDAs current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, regulations and guidelines.
Our suppliers and manufacturers may encounter difficulties in achieving quality control and quality
assurance and may experience shortages of qualified personnel.
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Their failure to follow cGMP or other regulatory requirements and to document their compliance
with cGMP may lead to significant delays in the availability of products for commercial use or
clinical study or the termination or hold on a clinical study, or may delay or prevent filing or
approval of marketing applications for Gestiva.
Failure of our third party suppliers and manufacturers or us to comply with applicable
regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil
penalties, failure of regulatory authorities to grant marketing approval of our products, delays,
suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of products,
operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could harm our business. If the
operations of any current or future supplier or manufacturer were to become unavailable for any
reason, commercialization of Gestiva could be delayed and our revenue from product sales could be
reduced.
If we use a different third-party manufacturer to produce commercial quantities of Gestiva
than we used for the studies we conducted in connection with the Gestiva NDA submission, the FDA
may require us to conduct a study to demonstrate that the product used in our studies are
equivalent to the final commercial product. If we are unable to establish that the product is
equivalent, or if the FDA disagrees with the results of our study, commercial launch of Gestiva
would be delayed.
We depend on distributors to market and sell our products in overseas markets, and if our foreign
distributors fail in their efforts or are unwilling or unable to devote sufficient resources to
market and sell our products, our ability to effectively market our products and our business will
be harmed.
Our international sales totaled $0.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2006, $0.2
million for the three months ended March 31, 2006, $1.0 million in the years ended December 31,
2005 and 2004, and $0.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2003. Our international sales
currently depend upon the marketing efforts of and sales by certain distributors in Europe,
Australia, the Pacific Rim region and South America. In most instances, our distribution
arrangements are governed by short-term purchase orders. We also rely upon certain of these
distributors to assist in obtaining product registration and reimbursement approvals in certain
international markets, and we may not be able to engage qualified distributors in our targeted
markets. The distributors that we are able to obtain may not perform their obligations. If a
distributor fails to invest adequate resources and support in promoting our products and training
physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers in the proper techniques for using our
products or in awareness of our products, or if a distributor ceases operations, we would likely be
unable to achieve significant sales in the territory represented by the distributor. If we decide
to market new products abroad, we will likely need to educate our existing or new distributors
about these new products and convince them to distribute the new products. If these distributors
are unwilling or unable to market and sell our products, we may experience delayed or reduced
market acceptance and sales of our products outside the United States. Our failure to engage
adequate distributors, or the failure of the distributors to perform their obligations as expected,
may harm our ability to effectively market our products and our business.
The regulatory approval process outside the United States varies depending on foreign regulatory
requirements and may limit our ability to develop, manufacture and sell our products
internationally.
To market any of our products outside of the United States, we and certain of our
distributors, are subject to numerous and varying foreign regulatory requirements, implemented by
foreign health authorities, governing the design and conduct of human clinical trials and marketing
approval for pharmaceutical and diagnostic products. The approval procedure varies among countries
and can involve additional testing, and the time required to obtain approval may differ from that
required to obtain FDA approval. The foreign regulatory approval process includes all of the risks
associated with obtaining FDA approval set forth above, and approval by the FDA does not ensure
approval by the health authorities of any other country, nor does the approval by foreign health
authorities ensure approval by the FDA.
If our products do not perform as expected, we may experience reduced revenue, delayed or reduced
market acceptance of our products, increased costs and damage to our reputation.
Our success depends on the markets confidence that we can provide reliable, high quality
medical diagnostic devices. Our customers are particularly sensitive to product defects and errors
because of the use of our products in medical practice. Our reputation and the public image of our
products may be impaired for any of the following reasons:
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failure of our products to perform as expected; |
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a perception that our products are difficult to use; and |
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litigation concerning the performance of our products. |
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Even after any underlying problems are resolved, any manufacturing defects or performance
errors in our products could result in lost revenue, delay in market acceptance, damage to our
reputation, increased service and warranty costs and claims against us.
If product liability suits or other claims and product field actions are initiated against us, we
may be required to engage in expensive and time-consuming litigation, pay substantial damages, face
increased insurance rates and sustain damage to our reputation, which would significantly impair
our financial condition.
Our business exposes us to potential product liability claims and field action risks that are
inherent in the testing, manufacturing, marketing and sale of pharmaceutical and diagnostic
products. We may be unable to avoid product liability claims or field actions, including those
based on claims that the use or failure of our products resulted in a misdiagnosis or harm to a
patient. Although we believe that our liability coverage is adequate for our current needs, and
while we intend to expand our product liability insurance coverage to any products for which we
obtain marketing approval, including Gestiva, insurance may be unavailable, prohibitively expensive
or may not fully cover our potential liabilities. If we are unable to maintain sufficient insurance
coverage on reasonable terms or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims or
field actions, we may be unable to continue to market our products and develop new markets.
Defending a lawsuit could be costly and significantly divert managements attention from conducting
our business. A successful product liability claim brought against us in excess of any insurance
coverage we have at that time could cause us to incur substantial liabilities, potentially in
excess of our total assets, and our business to fail. In addition, we are a specialty company
focused on womens health. We have a narrow customer base that is subject to significant
malpractice litigation that may place us at risk of the same. Product liability claims, product
field actions or other regulatory proceedings may damage our reputation by raising questions about
our products safety and efficacy, could significantly harm our reputation, interfere with our
efforts to market our products and make it more difficult to obtain the funding and commercial
relationships necessary to maintain our business.
If we or others identify side effects after our therapeutic products are on the market, we may be
required to perform lengthy additional clinical trials, change the labeling of our products or
withdraw our products from the market, any of which would hinder or preclude our ability to
generate revenues.
If we or others identify side effects after any of our therapeutic products are on the market:
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regulatory authorities may withdraw their approvals; |
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we may be required to reformulate our products, conduct additional
clinical trials, make changes in labeling of our products or implement changes to or
obtain re-approvals of our manufacturing facilities; |
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we may experience a significant drop in the sales of the affected products; |
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our reputation in the marketplace may suffer; and |
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we may become the target of lawsuits, including class action lawsuits. |
Any of these events could harm or prevent sales of the affected products or could increase the
costs and expenses of commercializing and marketing these products.
We depend on the services of key personnel to implement our strategy, and if we lose key management
or scientific personnel, scientific collaborators or other advisors or are unable to attract and
retain other qualified personnel, we may be unable to execute our business plan and our operations
and business would suffer.
Our success depends, in large part, on the efforts and abilities of Emory Anderson, who is our
President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Durlin Hickok, who is our Vice President, Medical
Affairs, Dr. Robert Hussa, our Vice President,
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Research and Development, Mark Fischer-Colbrie, who is our Vice President of Finance and
Administration and Chief Financial Officer, and Marian Sacco, our Vice President, Sales and
Marketing, as well as the other members of our senior management and our scientific and technical
personnel. While we have executed management continuity agreements, we do not currently have
employment agreements with any of these individuals. We do not currently carry key person insurance
on the lives of any of these executives. Many of these people have been members of our executive
team for several years, and their knowledge of our business would be difficult or time-consuming to
replace. We also depend on our scientific collaborators and other advisors, particularly with
respect to our research and development efforts. If we lose the services of one or more of our key
officers, employees or consultants, or are unable to retain or attract the services of existing or
new scientific collaborators and other advisors, our research and development and product
development efforts could be delayed or curtailed, our ability to execute our business strategy
would be impaired, and our stock price might be adversely affected.
Most of our operations are currently conducted at a single location that may be at risk from
earthquakes and other natural or unforeseen disasters.
We currently conduct all of our manufacturing, development and management activities at a
single location in Sunnyvale, California near known fault zones. In addition, our E-tegrity Tests
are currently processed solely through our CLIA-certified laboratory located at our Sunnyvale
facility. Despite precautions taken by us, any future natural or man-made disaster, such as a fire,
earthquake or terrorist activity, could cause substantial delays in our operations, damage or
destroy our equipment or inventory, and reduce our sales or cause us to incur additional expenses.
In addition, the facility and some pieces of manufacturing equipment would be difficult to replace
and could require substantial replacement lead-time. A disaster could seriously harm our business
and results of operations. While we carry insurance for certain business interruptions, some
natural and man-made disasters are excluded from our insurance policies, including those caused by
terrorist acts or earthquakes. We believe that our insurance coverage is generally adequate for our
current needs in the event of losses not caused by excluded events, but we may be subject to
interruptions caused by excluded events or extraordinary events resulting in losses in excess of
our insurance coverage or for which we have no coverage. This could impair our operating results
and financial condition.
If we use biological and hazardous materials in a manner that causes injury, we could be liable for
damages.
Our research and development activities sometimes involve the controlled use of potentially
harmful biological materials, hazardous materials and chemicals that are dangerous to human health
and safety or the environment. We are subject on an ongoing basis 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 might be significant and
could negatively affect our profitability. We believe our safety procedures for handling and
disposing of these materials comply in all material aspects with federal, state and local laws and
regulations and to date, we have not been required to take any action to correct any noncompliance.
However, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury to third
parties from the use, storage, handling or disposal of these materials. Although we believe our
insurance coverage is adequate for our current needs, in the event of contamination or injury, we
could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources or any
applicable insurance coverage we may have.
Potential business combinations could require significant management attention and prove difficult
to integrate with our business, which could distract our management, disrupt our business, dilute
stockholder value and adversely affect our operating results.
If we become aware of potential business combination candidates to our business, which could
include license, co-promote, joint venture, and other types of arrangements, we may decide to
combine with such businesses or acquire their assets in the future. We have acquired businesses or
product lines in the past. For example, we acquired exclusive rights to the SalEst Test in 2003.
While we have not encountered such difficulties following our prior acquisitions, business
combinations generally involve a number of additional difficulties and risks to our business,
including:
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failure to integrate management information systems, personnel, research
and development and marketing, operations, sales and support; |
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potential loss of key current employees or employees of the other company; |
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disruption of our ongoing business and diversion of managements attention from other business concerns; |
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potential loss of the other companys customers; |
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failure to develop further the other companys technology successfully; |
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unanticipated costs and liabilities; and |
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other accounting consequences. |
In addition, we may not realize benefits from any business combination we may undertake in the
future. If we fail to successfully integrate such businesses, or the technologies associated with
such business combinations into our company, the revenue and operating results of the combined
company could be adversely affected. Any integration process would require significant time and
resources, and we may not be able to manage the process successfully. If our customers are
uncertain about our ability to operate on a combined basis, they could delay or cancel orders for
our products. We may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology or accurately
forecast the financial impact of a combination, including accounting charges or volatility in the
stock price of the combined entity. We may find challenges associated with integration particularly
difficult if we acquire a business in an area unfamiliar to us or our senior management team. If we
fail to successfully integrate other companies with which we may combine in the future, our
business could be harmed.
If we fail to obtain necessary funds for our operations, we will be unable to continue to develop
and commercialize new products and technologies and we may need to downsize or halt our operations.
We expect capital outlays and operating expenditures to increase over the next several years
as we expand our infrastructure, commercialization, manufacturing, clinical trials and research and
development activities. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents, will be sufficient to meet
our operating and capital requirements for at least the next two years. However, our present and
future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, among other things:
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the level of research and development investment required to maintain and improve our technology position; |
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costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing patent claims and other intellectual property rights; |
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the success of our product sales and related collections; |
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our need or decision to acquire or license businesses, products or technologies; |
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maintaining or expanding our manufacturing or commercialization capacity; |
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greater than expected costs associated with Gestiva; |
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competing technological and market developments; and |
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costs relating to changes in regulatory policies or laws that affect our operations. |
As a result of these factors, we may need to raise additional funds, and we cannot be certain
that such funds will be available to us on acceptable terms when needed, if at all. In addition, if
we raise additional funds through collaboration, licensing or other similar arrangements, it may be
necessary to relinquish potentially valuable rights to our future products or proprietary
technologies, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If we cannot raise funds on
acceptable terms, we may not be able to expand our operations, develop new products, take advantage
of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated customer requirements
and may be required to delay, reduce the scope of, eliminate or divest one or more of our research,
clinical or sales and marketing programs or our entire business.
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RISKS RELATING TO OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
If we are unable to protect our proprietary rights, we may not be able to compete effectively.
Our success depends significantly on our ability to protect our proprietary rights to the
technologies used in our products. We rely on patent protection, as well as a combination of
copyright, trade secret and trademark laws, and nondisclosure, confidentiality and other
contractual restrictions, to protect our proprietary technology. However, these legal means afford
only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep any
competitive advantage. For example, our pending US and foreign patent applications may not issue as
patents at all, or if they do, they may not issue as patents in a form that will be advantageous to
us or may issue and be subsequently successfully challenged by others and invalidated.
Additionally, our family of issued patents and patent applications, if and when issued, relating to
our FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test and TLiIQ® System, have a range of expiration
dates from 2007 to 2025. Upon the expiration of one or more patents relating to our FullTerm, The
Fetal Fibronectin Test and TLiIQ® System, we may not be able to protect our proprietary
rights relating to the technologies used in these products. In addition, our pending patent
applications include claims to material aspects of our products and procedures that are not
currently protected by issued patents. Both the patent application process and the process of
managing patent disputes can be time-consuming and expensive. Competitors may be able to design
around our patents or develop products that provide outcomes comparable to ours. Although we have
taken steps to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology, including entering
into confidentiality agreements and intellectual property assignment agreements with our employees,
consultants and advisors, such agreements may not be enforceable or may not provide meaningful
protection for our trade secrets or other proprietary information in the event of unauthorized use
or disclosure or other breaches of the agreements. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries
may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United
States.
If any of these events occur, our business will suffer and the market price of our common
stock may decline.
Although we may initiate litigation to stop the infringement of our patent claims or to
attempt to force an unauthorized user of our patented inventions or trade secrets to compensate us
for the infringement or unauthorized use, patent and trade secret litigation is complex and often
difficult and expensive, and would consume the time of our management and other significant
resources. If the outcome of litigation is adverse to us, third parties may be able to use our
technologies without payments to us. Moreover, other companies against whom we might initiate
litigation may be better able to sustain the costs of litigation because they have substantially
greater resources. Because of these factors relating to litigation, we may be effectively unable to
prevent misappropriation of our patent and other proprietary rights.
Our rights to use technologies and patents licensed to us by third parties are not within our
control, and we may not be able to commercialize our products without these technologies.
We have licensed a number of patents, including patents related to our FullTerm, The Fetal
Fibronectin Test and our E-tegrity Test from third parties, including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, Inverness Medical and the University of Pennsylvania. Our business may
significantly suffer if one or more of these licenses terminate or expire, if we or our licensors
fail to abide by the terms of the licenses or fail to prevent infringement by third parties or if
the licensed patents are found to be invalid.
If we violate the terms of our licenses, or otherwise lose our rights to these patents, we may
be unable to continue developing and selling our products. Our licensors or others may dispute the
scope of our rights under any of these licenses. The licensors under these licenses may breach the
terms of their respective agreements or fail to prevent infringement of the licensed patents by
third parties. Loss of any of these licenses for any reason could materially harm our financial
condition and operating results.
In addition, if we determine that our products do not incorporate the patented technology that
we have licensed from third parties, or that one or more of the patents that we have licensed is
not valid, we may dispute our obligation to pay royalties to our licensors.
Any dispute with a licensor could be complex, expensive and time-consuming and an outcome
adverse to us could materially harm our business and impair our ability to commercialize our
products, including our FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test. As a result, our stock price might
be adversely affected.
If the use of our technologies conflicts with the intellectual property rights of third parties, we
may incur substantial liabilities, and we may be unable to commercialize products based on these
technologies in a profitable manner, if at all.
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Other companies may have or acquire patent rights that they could enforce against us. If they
do so, we may be required to alter our technologies, pay licensing fees or cease activities. If our
technologies conflict with patent rights of others, third parties could bring legal action against
us or our licensees, suppliers, customers or collaborators, claiming damages and seeking to enjoin
manufacturing and marketing of the affected products. If these legal actions are successful, in
addition to any potential liability for damages, we might have to obtain a license in order to
continue to manufacture or market the affected products. A required license under the related
patent may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.
Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending
applications unknown to us or reissuance applications that may later result in issued patents upon
which our technologies may infringe. There could also be existing patents of which we are unaware
that our technologies may infringe. In addition, if third parties file patent applications or
obtain patents claiming technology also claimed by us in pending applications, we may have to
participate in interference proceedings in the US Patent and Trademark Office to determine priority
of invention. If third parties file oppositions in foreign countries, we may also have to
participate in opposition proceedings in foreign tribunals to defend the patentability of the filed
foreign patent applications. We may have to participate in interference proceedings involving our
issued patents or our pending applications.
If a third party claims that we infringe upon its proprietary rights, it could cause our
business to suffer in a number of ways, including:
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we may become involved in time-consuming and expensive litigation, even if
the claim is without merit; |
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we may become liable for substantial damages for past infringement if a
court decides that our technologies infringe upon a competitors patent; |
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a court may prohibit us from selling or licensing our product without a
license from the patent holder, which may not be available on commercially acceptable
terms, if at all, or which may require us to pay substantial royalties or grant
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we may have to redesign our product so that it does not infringe upon
others patent rights, which may not be possible or could require substantial funds or
time. |
If any of these events occur, our business will suffer and the market price of our common
stock may decline.
If we are involved in intellectual property claims and litigation, the proceedings may divert our
resources and subject us to significant liability for damages, substantial litigation expense and
the loss of our proprietary rights.
In order to protect or enforce our patent rights, we may initiate patent litigation. In
addition, others may initiate patent litigation against us. We may become subject to interference
proceedings conducted in patent and trademark offices to determine the priority of inventions.
There are numerous issued and pending patents in the medical device field. The validity and breadth
of medical technology patents may involve complex legal and factual questions for which important
legal principles may remain unresolved.
Litigation may be necessary to assert or defend against infringement claims, enforce our
issued and licensed patents, protect our trade secrets or know-how or determine the enforceability,
scope and validity of the proprietary rights of others. Our involvement in intellectual property
claims and litigation could:
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divert existing management, scientific and financial resources; |
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subject us to significant liabilities; |
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allow our competitors to market competitive products without obtaining a license from us; |
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cause product shipment delays and lost sales; |
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require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements, which may not be
available on terms acceptable to us, if at all; or |
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force us to discontinue selling or modify our products, or to develop new
products. |
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The market for Gestiva may be very competitive because we have no patent protection for Gestiva,
and we may not obtain regulatory exclusivity for Gestiva.
There is no United States patent covering either the formulation of 17P, or the use of 17P for
the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery. Accordingly, we
currently have no patent protection with respect to Gestiva and do not expect to obtain patent
protection for Gestiva.
We will have marketing exclusivity for Gestiva only if we obtain either Orphan Drug
designation or three year regulatory exclusivity for Gestiva. The FDA Orphan Drug designation is
reserved for promising new therapies being developed to treat life-threatening or very serious
diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. The Orphan Drug Act guarantees market
exclusivity from any other companies, other than potentially compounding pharmacies which are not
regulated by the FDA, for the FDA approved indication for seven years to the first sponsor that
obtains market approval for an orphan-designated product. There can be no assurance that our Orphan
Drug designation request will be approved.
If the FDA approves the Gestiva NDA but does not approve our Orphan Drug application for
Gestiva, we may be granted regulatory exclusivity for three years from approval of the Gestiva NDA
because the use of 17P for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm
delivery would be a new indication of a previously approved active ingredient. An award of three
years of exclusivity to a drug product means that the FDA cannot approve an application submitted
under Section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or an abbreviated new drug
application for the same product for the same indication for three years. To obtain three-year
exclusivity, the NDA covering a subject drug must include reports of new clinical investigations
conducted by the sponsor that are essential to FDA approval of the new indication or dosage form.
As we may not meet the guidelines for obtaining exclusivity there can be no assurance that we will
receive three years of exclusivity.
Gestiva, if approved for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of
preterm delivery, will compete with compounding pharmacies selling 17P for the prevention of
preterm birth, and, possibly, another company that is developing a product candidate for the
prevention of preterm birth. Our present and potential competitors include large compounding
pharmacies and major pharmaceutical companies which have considerably greater financial, technical
and marketing resources than we do.
Because we have no patent covering the composition of 17P or the use of 17P for the prevention
of preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery, if an NDA covering the use of 17P
for another indication is approved by the FDA, physicians could prescribe 17P labeled for other
indications for patients at risk for preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery.
Monitoring and ensuring that patients who have a history of preterm delivery receive Gestiva rather
than another form of 17P may be difficult and costly.
We may be subject to damages resulting from claims that we or our employees have wrongfully used or
disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.
Many of our employees were previously employed at universities or other diagnostic or
biotechnology companies, including our potential competitors. Although no claims against us are
currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these employees or we have inadvertently or
otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former
employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in
defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction
to management. If we fail in defending such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may
lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. A loss of key research personnel or their
work product could hamper or prevent our ability to market existing or new products, which could
severely harm our business.
If we cannot obtain additional licenses to intellectual property owned by third parties that we
desire to incorporate into new products we plan to develop, we may not be able to develop or
commercialize these future products.
We are developing diagnostic products designed to expand the utility of fetal fibronectin in
multiple applications. The technology that we ultimately may use in the development and
commercialization of these future products may be
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protected by patent and other intellectual property rights owned by third parties. If we are
unable to obtain rights to use necessary third-party intellectual property under commercially
reasonable terms, or at all, we may be unable to develop these products, and this could harm our
ability to expand our commercial product offerings and to generate additional revenue from these
products.
RISKS RELATING TO OUR COMMON STOCK
If we are unable to timely satisfy regulatory requirements relating to internal controls, our stock
price could suffer.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that certain companies perform a
comprehensive evaluation of their internal control over financial reporting. At the end of each
year, we must perform an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting, include in
our annual report the results of the evaluation, and have our independent auditors attest to such
evaluation. If we fail to complete future evaluations on time, or if our independent auditors
cannot attest to our future evaluations, we could fail to meet our regulatory reporting
requirements and be subject to regulatory scrutiny and a loss of public confidence in our internal
controls, which could have an adverse effect on our stock price.
If our principal stockholders, executive officers and directors choose to act together, they may be
able to control our management and operations, which may prevent us from taking actions that may be
favorable to our stockholders.
Our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders, and entities affiliated with
them, beneficially owned in the aggregate approximately 32% of our common stock as of June 30,
2006. This significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of
our common stock because investors often perceive disadvantages in owning stock in companies with
controlling stockholders. These stockholders, acting together, have the ability to exert
substantial influence over all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the
election and removal of directors and any proposed merger, consolidation or sale of all or
substantially all of our assets. In addition, they could dictate the management of our business and
affairs. This concentration of ownership could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing
a change in control of us or impeding a merger or consolidation, takeover or other business
combination that could be favorable to our stockholders.
The future sale of our securities could dilute our common stockholders investments and negatively
affect our stock price.
If our common stockholders sell substantial amounts of common stock in the public market, or
the market perceives that such sales may occur, the market price of our common stock could fall.
The holders of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, subject to some conditions,
could require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares
in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. Furthermore, if we
were to include in a company-initiated registration statement shares held by those holders pursuant
to the exercise of their registration rights, the sale of those shares could impair our ability to
raise needed capital by depressing the price at which we could sell our common stock. If we issue
equity or debt securities to raise additional funds, our existing stockholders may experience
dilution and the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior
to those of our existing stockholders. Furthermore, we may enter into financing transactions at
prices that represent a substantial discount to market price. Raising funds through the issuance of
equity securities will dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders. A negative reaction by
investors and securities analysts to any sale of debt or our equity securities could result in a
decline in the trading price of our common stock.
The price and volume of our common stock experience fluctuations, which could lead to costly
litigation for us.
Our stock price has been volatile. From December 10, 2004, the date of our initial public
offering, through June 30, 2006, our stock has traded as high as $23.35 and as low as $10.97. The
market price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially due to a variety of factors,
including:
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media reports and publications and announcements about womens health and cancer
diagnostic products or new cancer treatments or innovations that could compete with our
products; |
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new regulatory pronouncements, changes in regulatory guidelines, such as adverse
changes in reimbursement for womens health and cancer diagnostic products, and the timing
of regulatory approvals concerning the products in our
pipeline; |
38
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market conditions or trends related to the medical devices and diagnostic
products industries or the market in general; |
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changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts; |
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the seasonal nature of our revenues and expenses; |
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analysts perceptions of our ability to compete successfully in both the diagnostic and therapeutic businesses; |
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variations in our quarterly operating results; and |
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changes in accounting principles. |
The market prices of the securities of medical devices and diagnostic products companies,
particularly companies like ours without a long history of product sales and earnings, have been
highly volatile and are likely to remain highly volatile in the future. This volatility has often
been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. Moreover, market prices for
stocks of biotechnology and medical diagnostic related companies, particularly following an initial
public offering, frequently reach levels that bear no relationship to the operating performance of
these companies. These market prices may not be sustainable and are highly volatile. In the past,
companies that experience volatility in the market price of their securities have often faced
securities class action litigation. Whether or not meritorious, litigation brought against us could
result in substantial costs, divert our managements attention and resources and harm our ability
to grow our business.
Anti-takeover provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and under Delaware law may
inhibit a change in control or a change in management that our stockholders consider favorable.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could delay or prevent a change of
control or change in management that would provide our stockholders with a premium to the market
price of our common stock. These provisions include those:
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authorizing the issuance without further approval of blank check preferred
stock that could be issued by our board of directors to increase the number of outstanding
shares and thwart a takeover attempt; |
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prohibiting cumulative voting in the election of directors, which would
otherwise allow less than a majority of stockholders to elect director candidates; |
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limiting the ability to remove directors; |
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limiting the ability of stockholders to call special meetings of stockholders; |
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prohibiting stockholder action by written consent, thereby requiring all
stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of stockholders; and |
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establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the
board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at
stockholder meetings. |
In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law limits business combination
transactions with 15% stockholders that have not been approved by our board of directors. These
provisions and others could make it difficult for a third party to acquire us, or for members of
our board of directors to be replaced, even if doing so would be beneficial to our stockholders.
Because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team,
these provisions could in turn affect any attempt to replace the current management team. If a
change of control or change in management is delayed or prevented, our stockholders may lose an
opportunity to realize a premium on their shares of common stock or the market price of our common
stock could decline.
39
We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. As a result, our stockholders must
rely on stock
appreciation for any return on their investment in our common stock.
We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any
payment of cash dividends will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital
requirements and other factors and will be at the discretion of our board of directors.
Accordingly, our stockholders will have to rely on capital appreciation, if any, to earn a return
on their investment in our common stock. Furthermore, we may, in the future, become subject to
contractual restrictions on, or prohibitions against, the payment of dividends.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
On December 10, 2004, we completed an initial public offering of 3,750,000 shares of our
common stock. The common stock sold in the offering was registered under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, on the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Reg. No. 333-118012) that was declared
effective by the SEC on December 9, 2004. The offering commenced on December 10, 2004. On December
21, 2004, the underwriters in the offering exercised their over-allotment option to purchase an
additional 562,500 shares of our common stock to cover over-allotments. All 4,312,500 of the shares
sold in the offering were sold at the initial public offering price of $16.00 per share. After
deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, we received net proceeds
form the offering of approximately $61.9 million.
During the six months ended June 30, 2006, we spent (i) approximately $13.4 million of the
proceeds from the offering on sales and marketing efforts, (ii) approximately $3.3 million on
research and development activities related to product development, clinical trials and regulatory
approvals for additional indications for our Fetal Fibronectin Test, and (iii) approximately $4.5
million on other general corporate purposes. The remaining proceeds from the offering have been
placed in temporary investments of marketable securities for future use as needed.
Item 3. Defaults upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
| (a) |
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The Company held its annual meeting of stockholders on June 6, 2006. |
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| (b) |
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Votes regarding the election of our directors for terms expiring at our 2006 annual meeting
of stockholders: |
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| Term expiring in 2006 |
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For |
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Withheld |
Andrew E. Senyei, MD
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15,762,958 |
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78,356 |
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Michael P. Downey
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15,788,593 |
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52,721 |
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The above directors constitute our Class II directors.
Our board is composed of the elected Class II directors and the following continuing directors:
Emory V. Anderson
Nancy D. Burrus
Kathleen D. LaPorte
Craig C. Taylor
C. Gregory Vontz
Ms. Burrus subsequently resigned from our board of directors effective July 31, 2006.
40
| (c) |
|
Votes on the proposal to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Companys
Registered Public Accounting firm for the 2006 fiscal year were as follows: |
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Abstentions and broker |
| For |
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Against |
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non-votes |
15,834,947
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4,387 |
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1,980 |
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Item 5. Other Information
Gestiva
General. We have submitted a New Drug Application, or NDA, with the FDA for Gestiva, our
product candidate to prevent preterm birth in women with a history of preterm birth.
Clinical Study. Our NDA submission includes data from a randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled clinical study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, or NICHD, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003. Data from this
study demonstrated a 34% reduction in the rate of preterm birth in women who have a history of
preterm delivery among women who were treated with the active ingredient in Gestiva, an injectable
long-acting form of a naturally occurring progesterone known as 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone
caproate, or 17P, as compared to placebo. NICHD, which is one of the National Institutes of Health,
used 17P in a multi-center trial that enrolled 463 women with a prior history of preterm birth.
Patients were enrolled at 16 to 21 weeks of gestation and randomly assigned to receive weekly
injections of 17P or placebo. The most common side effects were local injection-site reactions.
Treatment continued until delivery or 36 weeks of gestation, resulting in a reduction in the
preterm birth rate of 34% among women treated with 17P. In addition, infants born to women treated
with 17P had significantly lower rates of necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular hemorrhage,
supplemental oxygen need, and days of respiratory therapy.
Priority Review. On June 5, 2006, we announced that our Gestiva NDA was granted priority
review status by the FDA. A priority review designation set a six month goal date, which will be
October 20, 2006, for FDA response to the NDA. Priority review is granted by the FDA if
the subject drug product, if approved, would be a significant improvement compared to marketed
approved products in the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of a disease. At present, no drug
product is approved by the FDA for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of
preterm delivery. There is no effective NDA covering 17P for any indication. 17P was previously
approved and marketed for various indications such as uterine cancer. Currently, the only
commercially available source of 17P is compounding pharmacies, which are not required to follow
strict FDA guidelines covering manufacturing, product quality and labeling.
Orphan Drug Designation; Regulatory Exclusivity. We have submitted an application to the FDA
requesting Orphan Drug designation for Gestiva. The FDA Orphan Drug designation is reserved for
promising new therapies being developed to treat life-threatening or very serious diseases that
affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. The Orphan Drug Act guarantees market exclusivity from
any other companies, other than potentially compounding pharmacies which are not regulated by the
FDA for the FDA approved indication for seven years to the first sponsor that obtains market
approval for an orphan-designated product. There can be no assurance that our Orphan Drug
designation request will be approved.
If the FDA approves the Gestiva NDA but does not approve our Orphan Drug application for
Gestiva, we may be granted regulatory exclusivity for three years from approval of the Gestiva NDA
because the use of 17P for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm
delivery would be a new indication of a previously approved active ingredient. An award of three
years of exclusivity to a drug product means that the FDA cannot approve an application submitted
under Section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or an abbreviated new drug
application for the same product for the same indication for three years. To obtain three-year
exclusivity, the NDA covering a subject drug must include reports of new clinical investigations
conducted by the sponsor that are essential to FDA approval of the new indication or dosage form.
As we may not meet the guidelines for obtaining exclusivity there can be no assurance that we will
receive three years of exclusivity.
Marketing. If Gestiva is approved for marketing in the United States, we plan to use our
existing sales force to market the product.
41
Manufacturing. To date, our need for Gestiva has been limited to the amounts required in
connection with our Gestiva NDA submission, which includes, among others, stability and toxicology
studies related to Gestiva. We have obtained our supply of Gestiva pursuant to a clinical supply
agreement with a contract manufacturer, and we have obtained our supply of the active
pharmaceutical ingredient in Gestiva on a purchase order basis. We do not intend to establish our
own manufacturing facilities for Gestiva, and we are in the process of negotiating commercial
supply agreements with the contract manufacturer and the supplier of the active ingredient. If we
are successful in negotiating commercial supply agreements with those parties, each of them may be
a single source supplier to us. In the event we are unable, for whatever reason, to obtain Gestiva
or the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Gestiva, we may not be able to identify alternate
manufacturers able to meet our needs on commercially reasonable terms and in a timely manner, or at
all.
Intellectual Property. There is no United States patent covering either the formulation of
17P, or the use of 17P for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm
delivery. Accordingly, we currently have no patent protection with respect to Gestiva. We will have
marketing exclusivity for Gestiva only if we obtain either Orphan Drug designation or three year
regulatory exclusivity, as described above under Orphan Drug Designation; Regulatory Exclusivity.
Competition. Gestiva, if approved for the prevention of preterm birth in women who have a
history of preterm delivery, will compete with compounding pharmacies selling 17P for the
prevention of preterm birth, such as Wedgewood Pharmacy. We are also aware of another company,
Columbia Laboratories, that is developing a product candidate for the prevention of preterm birth
and is currently enrolling patients in a clinical trial. Any regulatory exclusivity we obtain with
respect to Gestiva will not block the Columbia Laboratories product candidate, because the product
candidate being developed by Columbia Laboratories is a vaginal gel formulation with progesterone.
In addition, other forms of progesterone administration could be developed. Our present and
potential competitors include large compounding pharmacies and major pharmaceutical companies which
have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do.
As noted above, although we may receive regulatory exclusivity for the use of 17P for the
prevention of preterm birth in women who have a history of preterm delivery, we do not have a
patent covering the composition of 17P or the use of 17P for the prevention of preterm birth in
women who have a history of preterm delivery. If an NDA covering the use of 17P for another
indication is approved by the FDA, physicians could prescribe 17P labeled for other indications for
patients at risk for preterm birth. Monitoring and ensuring that patients who have a history of
preterm delivery receive Gestiva rather than another form of 17P may be difficult and costly.
United States Government Regulation. Prescription pharmaceutical products and product
candidates such as Gestiva are subject to extensive pre- and post-market regulation, including
regulations that govern the testing, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, labeling, storage,
distribution, record keeping, advertising, and promotion of the products under the Federal Food,
Drug and Cosmetic Act. The process of complying with federal and state statutes and regulations in
order to obtain the necessary approvals and subsequently complying with federal and state statutes
and regulations involves significant time and expense.
The Gestiva NDA must be approved by the FDA prior to commercialization. The FDA reviews all
NDAs submitted before it accepts them for filing. The Gestiva NDA has been accepted for filing.
When the agency accepts an NDA for filing, the FDA may grant marketing approval, request additional
information or deny the application if it determines that the application does not meet regulatory
approval criteria. The FDA may seek the input and recommendations of a public advisory committee of
outside experts in its review of an NDA. On July 18, 2006, we announced that our Gestiva NDA
will be reviewed by the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee to the FDA on August 29,
2006. Advisory Committee recommendations are not binding and FDA approval may not be granted
on a timely basis, or at all.
If the FDA approves an NDA, the subject drug becomes available for physicians to prescribe in
the United States. Once approved, the FDA may withdraw the product approval if compliance with pre-
and post-market regulatory standards is not maintained. The drug developer must submit periodic
reports to the FDA. Adverse experiences with the product must be reported to the FDA and could
result in the imposition of marketing restrictions through labeling changes or product removal.
Product approvals may be withdrawn if problems with safety or efficacy occur after the product
reaches the marketplace. In addition, the FDA may require post-marketing studies, referred to as
Phase 4 studies, to monitor the long term safety and effectiveness of approved products in larger
populations, and may limit further marketing of the product based on the results of these
post-market studies.
42
Facilities used to manufacture drugs are subject to periodic inspection by the FDA and other
authorities where applicable, and must comply with current Good Manufacturing Practices
regulations, or cGMP. Failure to comply with the statutory and regulatory requirements subjects the
manufacturer to possible legal or regulatory action, such as suspension of manufacturing, seizure
of product or voluntary recall of a product.
With respect to post-market product advertising and promotion, the FDA imposes a number of
complex regulations on entities that advertise and promote pharmaceuticals, which include, among
others, standards and regulations for direct-to-consumer advertising, off-label promotion, industry
sponsored scientific and educational activities, and promotional activities involving the Internet.
The FDA has very broad enforcement authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and
failure to abide by these regulations can result in penalties including the issuance of a warning
letter directing a company to correct deviations from FDA standards, a requirement that future
advertising and promotional materials be pre-cleared by the FDA, and state and federal civil and
criminal investigations and prosecutions.
In addition to studies requested by the FDA after approval, a drug developer may conduct other
trials and studies to explore use of the approved product for treatment of new indications. The
purpose of these trials and studies and related publications is to broaden the application and use
of the drug and its acceptance in the medical community. Data supporting the use of a drug for
these new indications must be submitted to the FDA in a new or supplemental NDA that must be
approved by the FDA before the drug can be marketed for the new indications. Even if the Gestiva
NDA is approved, other drug developers may conduct trials on 17P for preterm birth in women who
have a history of preterm delivery or other indications.
Regulatory Approvals outside the United States. We have not started the regulatory approval
process for Gestiva in any jurisdiction other than the United States and we are unable to estimate
when, if ever, we will commence the regulatory approval process in any foreign jurisdiction. We
will have to complete an approval process similar to the U.S. approval process in foreign target
markets for Gestiva before we can commercialize it in those countries. The approval procedure and
the time required for approval vary from country to country and can involve additional testing.
Foreign approvals may not be granted on a timely basis, or at all. Regulatory approval of prices is
required in most countries other than the United States. The prices approved may be too low to
generate an acceptable return to us.
Quest Diagnostics
We have entered into an arrangement with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the nations leading
provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, whereby Quest Diagnostics is offering
national reference laboratory service for FullTerm, The Fetal Fibronectin Test, to physicians and
obstetric healthcare professionals. Through its network of laboratories and patient service
centers, Quest Diagnostics will collect fetal fibronectin test samples directly from physicians
offices and clinics throughout the United States.
Item 6. Exhibits
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| Exhibit |
|
|
| number |
|
Description |
31.1
|
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Certificate pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended of Emory V. Anderson. |
|
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31.2
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Certificate pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended of Mark D. Fischer-Colbrie. |
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32.1
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Certificate pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 of Emory V.Anderson. |
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32.2
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Certificate pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 of Mark D. Fischer-Colbrie. |
43
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, on
this 7th day of August 2006.
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ADEZA BIOMEDICAL CORPORATION
|
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By: |
/s/ Emory V. Anderson
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Emory V. Anderson |
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President and Chief Executive Officer |
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By: |
/s/ Mark D. Fischer-Colbrie
|
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Mark D. Fischer-Colbrie |
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Vice President, Finance and Administration and
Chief Financial Officer |
|
44
EXHIBIT INDEX
| |
|
|
| Exhibit |
|
|
| number |
|
Description |
31.1
|
|
Certificate pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended of Emory V. Anderson. |
|
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|
31.2
|
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Certificate pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended of Mark D. Fischer-Colbrie. |
|
|
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32.1
|
|
Certificate pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 of Emory V. Anderson. |
|
|
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32.2
|
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Certificate pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 Mark D. Fischer-Colbrie. |
45