UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO |
Commission File Number
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) |
(Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
|
Trading Symbol(s) |
|
Name of each exchange on which registered |
|
|
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
|
☒ |
|
Accelerated filer |
|
☐ |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Non-accelerated filer |
|
☐ |
|
Smaller reporting company |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Emerging growth company |
|
|
|
|
|
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant as of June 30, 2022 was approximately $
The number of shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of February 21, 2023 was
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the definitive proxy statement, or the Proxy Statement, for the Registrant’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Proxy Statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the Registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
Auditor PCAOB ID: |
Auditor: |
Address: |
Table of Contents
|
|
Page |
PART I |
|
|
Item 1. |
4 |
|
Item 1A. |
76 |
|
Item 1B. |
120 |
|
Item 2. |
121 |
|
Item 3. |
121 |
|
Item 4. |
121 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 5. |
122 |
|
Item 6. |
123 |
|
Item 7. |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
124 |
Item 7A. |
137 |
|
Item 8. |
138 |
|
Item 9. |
Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure |
181 |
Item 9A. |
181 |
|
Item 9B. |
183 |
|
Item 9C. |
Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdiction that Prevent Inspections |
183 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 10. |
184 |
|
Item 11. |
184 |
|
Item 12. |
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
184 |
Item 13. |
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence |
184 |
Item 14. |
184 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 15. |
185 |
|
Item 16 |
191 |
i
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INDUSTRY DATA
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our strategy, future financial condition, future operations, research and development, potential of, and expectations for, our pipeline, planned clinical trials and preclinical studies, technology platforms, the timing and likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals for our product candidates, our ability to commercialize our product candidates, the potential benefits of collaborations, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives of management, expected market growth, the timing of availability of clinical data, program updates and data disclosures, the ability of sotrovimab to treat and/or prevent COVID-19, our plans for sotrovimab, and our plans for our hepatitis B virus, hepatitis D virus, influenza, COVID-19 and human immunodeficiency virus portfolios, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “design,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this report. Other sections of this report may include additional factors that could harm our business and financial performance. Drug development and commercialization involve a high degree of risk, and only a small number of research and development programs result in commercialization of a product. Results in early-stage clinical trials may not be indicative of full results or results from later stage or larger scale clinical trials and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data presented. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements.
In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this report, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur at all. You should refer to the section titled “Risk Factors” for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes statistical and other industry and market data that we obtained from industry publications and research, surveys, and studies conducted by third parties as well as our own estimates of potential market opportunities. All of the market data used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such data. Industry publications and third-party research, surveys, and studies generally indicate that their information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. Our estimates of the potential market opportunities for our product candidates include several key assumptions based on our industry knowledge, industry publications, third-party research, and other surveys, which may be based on a small sample size and may fail to accurately reflect market opportunities. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, no independent source has verified such assumptions.
1
RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Below is a summary of material factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. Importantly, this summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, as well as other risks that we face, can be found under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our business is subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before making a decision to invest in our common stock. These risks include, among others, the following:
2
3
Item 1. Business.
Overview
Our mission is to create a world without infectious disease.
We are a commercial-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide and can cause trillions of dollars of direct and indirect economic burden each year – as evidenced by the coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, pandemic. We believe that now is the time to apply the recent and remarkable advances in immunology to combat current and prepare for future infectious diseases. Our approach begins with identifying the limitations of the immune system in combating a particular pathogen, the vulnerabilities of that pathogen and the reasons why previous approaches have failed. We then bring to bear powerful technologies that we believe, individually or in combination, will lead to effective therapies.
Our current pipeline consists of sotrovimab (previously VIR-7831; and where marketing authorization has been granted, marketed under the brand name Xevudy®) and other product candidates targeting hepatitis B virus, or HBV, hepatitis D virus, or HDV, influenza A virus, COVID-19, and human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. We have assembled four technology platforms, focused on antibodies, T cells, innate immunity and small interfering ribonucleic acid, or siRNA, through internal development, collaborations and acquisitions. We have built an industry-leading team that has deep experience in immunology, infectious diseases, and product development and commercialization. Given the global impact of infectious diseases, we are committed to developing cost-effective treatments that can be delivered at scale.
Our Pipeline
Our current product and product candidates are summarized in the chart below:
IFN-α: interferon alfa-2a; HBV: Hepatitis B Virus; HDV: Hepatitis D Virus; HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus
1: MARCH trial (Part B), PREVAIL platform trial (THRIVE/STRIVE sub-protocols); 2: GS-9688
*Vaccine designed to establish proof of concept in Phase 1 clinical trial to determine whether unique immune response observed in non-human primates can be replicated in humans; ultimately, any candidates we advance as a potential HIV vaccine will require modifications to VIR-1111 before further clinical development.
sotrovimab for early treatment by intravenous (IV) administration currently has marketing approval, temporary authorization or emergency authorization, supplying >40 countries. In April 2022, the FDA (as defined below) deauthorized sotrovimab‘s use in all U.S. regions.
Sotrovimab and VIR-2482 incorporate Xencor’s XtendTM technology. VIR-3434 incorporates Xencor’s XtendTM and other Fc technologies.
4
HBV: According to the Hepatitis B Foundation, approximately 300 million people globally are chronically infected with HBV and approximately 900,000 of them die from HBV-associated complications each year. There is a significant unmet medical need for more effective therapies that lead to life-long control of the virus after a finite duration of therapy, which is the definition of a functional cure. For a registrational trial to demonstrate a functional cure, the formal endpoint accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is undetectable hepatitis B virus surface antigen, or HBsAg, defined as less than 0.05 international units per milliliter, or IU/ml, as well as HBV deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, less than the lower limit of quantification, in the blood six months after the end of therapy. Currently, a year-long course of pegylated interferon-alpha, or IFN-α, is the best available curative therapy. It has a low functional cure rate of approximately 3% to 7%. Alternatively, suppressive therapy with nucleotide/nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or NRTIs, is commonly used, but patients often require a lifetime of therapy.
We are developing VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the functional cure of HBV. Each of these product candidates has the potential to stimulate an effective immune response and also has direct antiviral activity against HBV. We believe that a functional cure for HBV will require an effective immune response in addition to antiviral activity based on the observation that severe immunosuppression can reactivate HBV disease. While monotherapy with VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 may provide a functional cure in some patients, we believe combination therapy will be necessary for a functional cure in many patients.
VIR-2218 is an investigational subcutaneously administered HBV-targeting siRNA. By targeting a conserved region of the HBV genome, it is designed to inhibit the production of all HBV proteins: X, polymerase, S, and core. Suppression of HBV proteins, particularly HBsAg, is hypothesized to remove the inhibition of T cell and B cell activity directed against HBV, allowing VIR-2218 to potentially result in a functional cure. VIR-2218 was the first siRNA in the clinic to include Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s, or Alnylam, Enhanced Stabilization Chemistry Plus, or ESC+, technology, which has the potential to enhance the therapeutic index.
Building on previously disclosed data, in November 2022, we announced initial end of treatment data from our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04412863) evaluating VIR-2218 in combination with IFN-α for 24 and up to 48 weeks. 30.8% (4/13) of the participants receiving up to 48 weeks of VIR-2218 plus IFN-α treatment achieved higher rates of HBsAg seroclearance with anti-HBs seroconversion by the end of treatment. Participants receiving longer duration of VIR-2218 plus IFN-α had the greatest mean declines from baseline HBsAg (log10 IU/mL) levels at week 48 (2.9 ± 1.36). Across all cohorts, 10 participants receiving VIR-2218 plus IFN-α for 24 or up to 48 weeks achieved HBsAg seroclearance by week 48, and nine achieved anti-HBs levels >10 mIU/mL. All patients were virally suppressed on NRTIs. The treatment regimens were generally well tolerated and resulted in no new safety signals. Additional data are expected in the first half of 2023.
VIR-2218 is also being evaluated in additional clinical trials with collaborators. Brii Biosciences Offshore Limited, or Brii Bio, continues to lead the Phase 2 trial (NCT04749368) of VIR-2218 in combination with BRII-179, an investigational T cell vaccine, for the treatment of chronic HBV infection. Treatment has completed in this trial. Interim safety and efficacy were presented at the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) in February 2023. Treatment of VIR-2218 alone or in combination with BRII-179 with and without coadjuvant IFN-α was generally well tolerated. Although the combination of VIR-2218 and BRII-179 had greater anti-HBs responses and improved HBsAg-specific T-cell responses, comparable HBsAg reduction was observed in all cohorts at end of treatment (EOT) (-1.7-1.8 log10 IU/mL). In December 2021, we and Gilead Sciences, Inc., or Gilead, initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04891770) of VIR-2218 in combination with GS-9688 (selgantolimod), Gilead’s investigational TLR-8 agonist, and nivolumab, an approved PD-1 inhibitor, in both NRTI-suppressed patients and viremic patients. Patients with HBV treatment experience also may receive tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, or TAF. In February 2023, due to immune-related adverse events associated with nivolumab, which are consistent with the safety profile of the class, in the cohorts evaluating nivolumab in combination with VIR-2218 and GS-9688, nivolumab was discontinued.
VIR-3434 is an investigational subcutaneously administered HBV-neutralizing monoclonal antibody, or mAb. By targeting a conserved region of HBsAg, it is designed to block entry of all 10 genotypes of HBV into liver cells called hepatocytes and reduce the level of virions and subviral particles in the blood. VIR-3434, which incorporates Xencor, Inc.'s, or Xencor, Xtend and other Fc technologies, has been engineered to potentially function as a T cell vaccine against HBV in infected patients, as well as to have an extended half-life. These modifications are intended to enhance its potential to result in an HBV functional cure.
Building on previously disclosed data, in November 2022 we announced that a single dose of 75 mg or 300 mg of VIR-3434 to trial participants with chronic HBV infection with viremia resulted in rapid reductions in HBsAg and HBV DNA in the majority of participants not on NRTI therapy.
In July 2021, we initiated the Phase 2 Monoclonal Antibody siRNA Combination against Hepatitis B, or MARCH, trial (NCT04856085) to evaluate the combination of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as a functional cure regimen for chronic HBV infection. In April 2022, we announced initial results from MARCH Part A, demonstrating that the combination of VIR-3434 and VIR-2218 resulted in an approximate 3 log decline in HBsAg with no drug-related safety signals reported at that time. In November 2022, we announced end of treatment data for all MARCH Part A cohorts, including that the combination of VIR-3434 and VIR-2218 achieved
5
mean HBsAg reductions ≥2.7 log10 IU/mL in all cohorts, absolute HBsAg levels <10 IU/mL were achieved in most participants, and the combination was generally well tolerated with most adverse events being mild. All patients were virally suppressed on NRTIs. Additional MARCH Part A data are expected in the first half of 2023 and initial MARCH Part B data, evaluating VIR-2218 in combination with VIR-3434 for 24 and 48 weeks with and without interferon, are expected in the second half of 2023.
Initiation of the Phase 2 PREVAIL platform trial (NCT05612581) and its THRIVE/STRIVE sub-protocols of VIR-3434 and/or VIR-2218 and/or IFN-α in viremic patients with chronic HBV infection is expected in the first half of 2023. The THRIVE sub-protocol will evaluate inactive carriers defined as adults with chronic HBV that are hepatitis B virus e-antigen, or HBeAg, negative with HBV DNA ≤2000 IU/mL and alanine transaminase, or ALT, less than the upper limits of normal, or ULN. The STRIVE sub-protocol will evaluate immune active, treatment-naïve patients defined as adults with chronic HBV who have not received prior NRTI or IFN-α therapy and are HBeAg positive or negative with HBV DNA >2000 IU/mL, ALT > ULN and ≤ 5× ULN. Initial data are expected in the first half of 2024.
HDV: According to a 2020 article in the Journal of Hepatology, approximately 12 million people globally are infected with HDV, representing approximately 5% of the HBV population. HDV is considered the most severe and aggressive form of viral hepatitis leading to increased rates of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC, hepatic decomposition, and liver failure. People with HDV are 3.9 times more likely to have hepatocellular carcinoma than people with HBV and have more rapid progression to liver-related death. There are no approved therapies for HDV in the U.S. and Hepcludex (bulevirtide), a once daily subcutaneous injection, has conditional approval in the European Union, or EU, and the U.K.
We are developing VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the chronic treatment and suppression of HDV. HBsAg is a critical component necessary for the HDV lifecycle. Both VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 act independently to inhibit the replication of HDV by targeting HBsAg. VIR-2218 inhibits the production of HBsAg by targeting a conserved region of the HBV genome and inhibiting production of all HBV proteins including HBsAg. VIR-3434 binds to a conserved region of HBsAg, which reduces the levels of HDV virions and also prevents the infection of hepatocytes with HDV.
In September 2022, we initiated the Phase 2 SOLSTICE trial (NCT05461170) evaluating once monthly subcutaneous injections of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as monotherapy and in combination for the chronic treatment of people living with HDV. The trial is assessing the safety and ability of the combination to reduce HDV viremia and normalize ALT, surrogate endpoints used for regulatory approval and endpoints that may improve clinical outcomes. Initial data are expected in the second half of 2023.
Influenza: According to the World Health Organization, or WHO, on average, each year the influenza virus is estimated to infect 1 billion people and to result in 290,000 to 650,000 deaths globally. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, in the 2018-2019 flu season, despite the availability of the flu vaccine, approximately 36 million people were diagnosed with influenza, 500,000 people were hospitalized, and 34,000 people died from influenza in the United States alone. Influenza vaccines have historically had limited success, with an average efficacy of 40% overall, across all populations. This limited efficacy results from incomplete coverage against seasonal strains and the lack of an effective immune response in many individuals after receiving the vaccine.
We are developing VIR-2482 as a universal prophylactic for influenza A and have designed it to address the limitations of flu vaccines, which we believe will lead to meaningfully higher levels of protection against seasonal and pandemic strains of influenza A. We anticipate that the initial registration population for VIR-2482 will include individuals at high risk of influenza A complications, such as the elderly with chronic lung disease or congestive heart failure.
In May 2021, we signed a definitive collaboration agreement, or the 2021 GSK Agreement, with Glaxo Wellcome UK Limited to expand our existing collaboration to include the research and development of new therapies for influenza and other respiratory viruses. See the section titled “Our Collaboration, License and Grant Agreements—Collaboration Agreements with GSK” for a description of the 2021 GSK Agreement.
VIR-2482 is an investigational intramuscularly, or IM, administered influenza A-neutralizing mAb. In vitro, VIR-2482 has been shown to neutralize all major strains of influenza A that have arisen since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and is designed as a universal prophylactic for influenza A. We believe that VIR-2482 has the potential to address the limitation of current flu vaccines and be able to be used year after year because it has broad strain coverage as opposed to the limited strain coverage generated by current vaccines. We also believe that it provides passive immunity rather than relying on a person to generate active immunity via a functional immune response, an ability that is known to decline with age. VIR-2482, which incorporates Xencor’s Xtend technology, has been engineered to extend its half-life so that a single IM dose has the potential to last the entire flu season, which is typically five to six months long. VIR-2482 is estimated to have a half-life of 58 days based on preliminary data.
6
In August 2019, we initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial (NCT04033406) for VIR-2482. VIR-2482 was well-tolerated in the approximately 100 healthy volunteers under age 65 dosed in Phase 1. In September 2022, we initiated a Phase 1b prophylaxis trial evaluating the safety of VIR-2482 in elderly participants (aged 65 and older) receiving a flu vaccine. Initial data are expected in mid-2023. In October 2022, we initiated the Phase 2 PrevENtIoN of IllnesS DUe to InfLuenza A, or PENINSULA, trial (NCT05567783) in healthy volunteers aged 18 to 64 to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of two different IM administered doses of VIR-2482 in preventing illness due to influenza A. The primary efficacy endpoint is the proportion of trial participants with protocol-defined influenza illness, requiring one systemic symptom and one respiratory symptom, with PCR confirmed influenza A infection, compared to placebo. Other endpoints will evaluate the effect of VIR-2482 on the severity and duration of illness in trial participants with confirmed influenza A compared to placebo. Initial data are expected in mid-2023. The PENINSULA trial is being funded in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS; the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, or ASPR; and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, under Other Transaction, or OT, number 75A50122C00081.
COVID-19: According to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, as of February 27, 2023, there have been almost 675.1 million recorded infections and almost 6.9 million recorded deaths worldwide from COVID-19. The FDA has granted either Emergency Use Authorization, or EUA, or marketing approvals to multiple vaccines, drugs and/or antibodies to prevent or treat COVID-19. The ongoing efficacy of these medicines, however, particularly as the virus mutates while it infects more people and comes under increased immune pressure, is uncertain.
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have moved rapidly to address this global health challenge. Our focus is on treating and preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 illness), as well as potential future coronavirus outbreaks. To do so, together with our collaborator Glaxo Wellcome UK Limited and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (individually and collectively referred to as GSK), we are developing sotrovimab, as well as small molecules. Vir is also developing additional differentiated mAbs as well as vaccines.
Sotrovimab is a SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing mAb, based on a parent antibody, S309, which was derived from samples previously gathered for research on pan-coronavirus-neutralizing mAbs. Data suggest that sotrovimab has the potential for ‘dual-action’, or the ability to block viral entry into healthy cells and an enhanced ability to clear infected cells.
Early Treatment
In August 2020, we initiated the lead-in phase of our Phase 2/3 trial (NCT04545060) COVID-19 Monoclonal antibody Efficacy Trial - Intent to Care Early, or COMET-ICE, for the treatment of adults at high risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 via intravenous, or IV, administration. In May 2021, the FDA granted an EUA to sotrovimab for the early treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. In December 2021, the European Commission granted marketing authorization to Xevudy® (sotrovimab) in the EU for the treatment of adults and adolescents at increased risk of progressing to severe COVID-19.
In March 2022, the FDA de-authorized sotrovimab’s use in all U.S. regions due to increases in the proportion of COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron BA.2 subvariant. Sotrovimab has obtained emergency authorization, temporary authorization or marketing approval (under the brand name Xevudy®️) for early treatment of COVID-19, supplying more than 40 countries. Sotrovimab is not authorized in the U.S. Over 2.1 million doses of sotrovimab have been delivered as of December 31, 2022.
We continue to conduct in vitro testing of sotrovimab against new variants and subvariants as they emerge, and to collect and evaluate real-world evidence, both of which are being shared with regulatory authorities.
Prophylaxis
In August 2022, sotrovimab entered the Phase 3 PROphylaxis for PaTiEnts at Risk of COVID-19 InfecTion, or PROTECT-V, platform trial (NCT04870333) sponsored by Cambridge University Hospitals National Health Service, or NHS, Foundation Trust assessing the use of a 2 g dose of sotrovimab administered IV in uninfected, high-risk immunocompromised individuals. Timing of initial data will depend on continued rate of enrollment.
Hospitalized treatment
In December 2021, sotrovimab entered the Randomized Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy, or RECOVERY, trial, a Phase 3 trial (NCT04381936) in the U.K. evaluating standard of care alone versus usual standard of care plus a single 1 g dose of sotrovimab given IV. Timing of initial data will depend on continued rate of enrollment.
7
In addition to sotrovimab, we are preparing for future pandemics with coronavirus mAbs that have the potential to be even broader and more potent than sotrovimab, pan-coronavirus vaccines designed with the aim to be variant-proof (initial pre-clinical proof of concept achieved), and small molecules that have the potential to treat multiple respiratory diseases like COVID-19 and influenza (initial pre-clinical proof of concept achieved).
VIR-7832, which has similar properties to sotrovimab, but is also designed to potentially enhance virus-specific T cell function, was evaluated in the U.K.’s NHS-supported AGILE initiative. The Phase 1b portion of the trial (NCT04746183) assessed safety of VIR-7832 at 50 mg, 150 mg and 500 mg IV doses. The Phase 2 portion of the trial was designed to assess safety and efficacy at 500 mg IV dose. The Phase 2a was stopped early due to concerns about the evolving COVID landscape, including circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. No safety signals were reported in the Phase 1b or 2a portions of the trial.
HIV: According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS, each year there are approximately 1.5 million new cases of HIV and approximately 700,000 HIV-related deaths globally. Current prevention approaches such as behavioral modification and pharmacological intervention have had only a modest effect on HIV transmission globally, leaving a high unmet medical need for a safe and effective vaccine for the billions of individuals who are or may become sexually active.
We are developing VIR-1111 as a proof-of-concept HIV vaccine designed to elicit a type of immune response that is different from other vaccines. Learnings from VIR-1111 have informed the trial design for VIR-1388, which has additional modifications that have the potential to enhance immunogenicity compared to VIR-1111. We anticipate the initial registration population for our eventual HIV vaccine will be individuals at high risk of contracting HIV.
VIR-1111 is an investigational subcutaneously administered HIV T cell vaccine based on human cytomegalovirus, or HCMV. VIR-1111 has been designed to elicit T cells that recognize HIV epitopes that are different from those recognized by prior HIV vaccines and to stimulate a different and specific type of T cell immune response to HIV, known as an HLA-E restricted immune response. An HLA-E restricted immune response has been shown to be associated with protection of non-human primates, or NHPs, from simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV, the NHP equivalent of HIV. VIR-1111 is a vaccine designed solely to establish proof of concept in a Phase 1 clinical trial to determine whether the unique immune response observed in NHPs can be replicated in humans.
In December 2020, we initiated a Phase 1 trial (NCT04725877) of VIR-1111. In November 2022, we announced that safety and immunology data from the initial two cohorts of the trial showed no safety signals and no vector shedding or viremia reported to date. In addition, no sustained HIV insert-specific T cell responses were observed in the lower dose cohorts 1 and 2. Safety and immunology data from the highest dose cohort 3 are expected in the first half of 2023. This trial is being funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
VIR-1388 is a preclinical subcutaneously administered HIV T cell vaccine based on HCMV. Like VIR-1111, VIR-1388 has been designed to elicit T cells that recognize HIV epitopes that are different from those recognized by prior HIV vaccines and to stimulate a different and specific type of T cell immune response to HIV, known as an HLA-E restricted immune response. VIR-1388 has additional modifications that have the potential to enhance immunogenicity compared to VIR-1111. We expect to initiate a Phase 1 trial of VIR-1388 in the second half of 2023. This trial will be funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health’s Division of AIDS, through the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.
Additionally, in January 2022, we expanded our collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to explore the development of broadly neutralizing antibodies designed to provide a “vaccinal effect” for the functional cure of HIV as well as the prevention of malaria.
Our Technology Platforms
Our four current technology platforms are designed to stimulate and enhance the immune system by exploiting critical observations of natural immune processes. We are using our platforms to advance sotrovimab and other current product candidates and generate additional product candidates for multiple indications.
Antibody Platform: We have established a robust method for capitalizing on unusually successful immune responses naturally occurring in people who are protected from, or have recovered from, infectious diseases. We identify rare antibodies from survivors that have the potential to treat and prevent rapidly evolving and/or previously untreatable pathogens via direct pathogen neutralization and immune system stimulation. The fully-human antibodies that we discover may also be modified to enhance their therapeutic potential. We have applied these methods to identify mAbs for a range of pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, HBV, HDV, influenza A and influenza B virus, Ebola, HIV, respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, metapneumovirus, or MPV, malaria, rabies, clostridium difficile, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter spp. Examples of the power of this platform are sotrovimab (previously VIR-7831; and where marketing authorization has been granted, marketed under the brand name Xevudy®),
8
our anti-SARS-CoV-2 mAb, and Ebanga (ansuvimab-zykl, formerly known as mAb114), the anti-Ebola virus mAb identified by our scientists in collaboration with the NIH and others and marketed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP.
T Cell Platform: We are exploiting the unique immunology of HCMV, a commonly occurring virus in humans, as a vaccine vector to potentially treat and prevent infection by pathogens refractory to current vaccine technologies. This approach is based on fundamental observations made in NHPs, with rhesus cytomegalovirus, or RhCMV. HCMV is the most potent known inducer of T cell responses of any human virus and may induce potent and long-lasting T cell responses to a broader range of epitopes than observed for other viral vaccines. In addition, we can make proprietary modifications in the HCMV genome that we expect will elicit different types of pathogen-appropriate T cell responses. We term this approach “immune programming.” We believe that this platform may also have applicability beyond infectious diseases, to areas such as cancer.
Innate Immunity Platform: Moving beyond more traditional approaches that are used to evoke adaptive immunity or that directly target pathogens, where the development of resistance can occur, we plan to target host proteins as a means of creating host-directed therapies with high barriers to resistance. We believe that by leveraging the power of innate immunity, we can create medicines that break the “one-drug-for-one-bug” paradigm by producing “one-drug-for-multiple-bugs.” For example, we believe this platform can create a single product for respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. This is enabled using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR, -based genomics, computational biology and machine learning to identify key host factors necessary for each pathogen’s survival and the protective effects of the innate immune system. We then identify product candidates that may be able to safely target host proteins to block pathogen replication or induce innate immunity to control infection. We believe that this platform may also have applicability beyond infectious diseases.
siRNA Platform: We are harnessing the power of siRNA to inhibit pathogen replication, eliminate key host factors necessary for pathogen survival and remove microbial immune countermeasures. Our collaboration with Alnylam includes VIR-2218 for HBV and up to four additional programs for infectious diseases. This platform can leverage Alnylam’s proprietary N-acetylgalactosamine, or GalNAc, delivery technology, for product candidates targeting the liver, allowing for subcutaneous administration and extended tissue half-life, as well as ESC+ technology to enhance stability and minimize off-target activity, which potentially can result in an increased therapeutic index.
Our Team
We have an industry-leading management team and board of directors with significant experience in immunology and infectious diseases and progressing product candidates from early-stage research to clinical trials, regulatory approval and ultimately commercialization.
Our Chief Executive Officer, George Scangos, Ph.D., has spent over 30 years developing treatments in infectious disease, neuroscience and oncology, among other fields, and was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Biogen Inc., or Biogen, the Chief Executive Officer of Exelixis, Inc. and the President of Bayer Biotechnology. Dr. Scangos notified us on January 19, 2023, that he will retire from his position as President and CEO, effective April 3, 2023. Upon his retirement as President and CEO, Dr. Scangos will transition to an advisory role through June 2, 2023 and will continue as a member of the Board of Directors. His appointed successor is Marianne De Backer, MSc, Ph.D., MBA, currently Executive Vice President, Head of Pharmaceuticals Strategy, Business Development and Licensing/Open Innovation, and member of the Executive Committee for Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Dr. De Backer brings deep scientific expertise to her new role, as well as more than two decades of broad international leadership experience, including a strong track record in global expansion, innovation technology licensing and multiple billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions. She will be appointed as a member of the Board of Directors on April 3, 2023. Our Chief Medical Officer and Interim Head of Research, Phil Pang, M.D., Ph.D., was previously Chief Medical Officer of Riboscience LLC, and before that was the Harvoni® project lead at Gilead, where he led the team responsible for worldwide regulatory approval. Our Senior Vice President and Senior Research Fellow, Antonio Lanzavecchia, M.D., is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, was a co-founder of Humabs BioMed SA, or Humabs, which we acquired in 2017, and was the Director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Bellinzona, Switzerland. Our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Johanna Friedl-Naderer, was previously President of Europe, Canada & Partner Markets for Biogen, where she served on the company's Global Leadership Team. Our Chief Technology Officer, Aine Hanly, Ph.D., was previously Vice President of Process Development for Amgen Inc., where she was accountable for clinical manufacturing and global supply of clinical trial materials. Our Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Program Leadership & Management, Lynne Krummen, Ph.D., previously served in many roles at Genentech, Inc. and F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, including Head of U.S. Technical Development, Global Head of Technical Regulatory for Biologics, Head of Process Development and Clinical Development Project Team Lead for Avastin®. Our Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Bolyn Hubby, Ph.D., was previously Chief Scientific Officer at Agenovir Corporation, which we acquired in 2018, and before that was the Vice President of Vaccines and Antimicrobials at Synthetic Genomics, Inc. Our Chief Administrative Officer, Steven Rice, was previously Chief Human Resources Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and before that was Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources at Juniper Networks, Inc. Our Chief Financial Officer, Howard Horn, was previously Vice President,
9
Business Planning at Biogen, and before that was a senior consultant at McKinsey & Company and an equity analyst at UBS Group AG. On February 13, 2023, the Board of Directors appointed Sung Lee as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective as of March 27, 2023. Mr. Horn will step down as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective upon Mr. Lee’s appointment on March 27, 2023, and will remain with the Company as Executive Vice President until April 28, 2023, to assist with the transition. Mr. Lee is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Management Board member of MorphoSys AG, a biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Lee brings a strong track record of driving financial performance, scaling global operations, leading large teams and communicating with investors around the world. Our Chief Data Officer, Amalio Telenti, was previously Chief Scientific Officer at Human Longevity, Inc., and before that was Chief Data Scientist at the Scripps Research Translational Institute and professor of genomics at Scripps Research.
Our board of directors is composed of leaders: from academia, Nobel laureate Phillip Sharp, Ph.D.; from the biopharmaceutical industry, Jeffrey Hatfield, Robert Perez, Saira Ramasastry, Elliott Sigal, M.D., Ph.D., and our Chairman Vicki Sato, Ph.D.; from the life science investment community, Robert More and Robert Nelsen (a co-founder); and from government, Janet Napolitano.
Our Strategy
We are a commercial-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. The core elements of our business strategy include:
Pipeline
Our current pipeline consists of a product and product candidates that address unmet needs caused by HBV, HDV, influenza A virus, COVID-19, and HIV.
10
IFN-α: interferon alfa-2a; HBV: Hepatitis B Virus; HDV: Hepatitis D Virus; HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus
1: MARCH trial (Part B), PREVAIL platform trial (THRIVE/STRIVE sub-protocols); 2: GS-9688
*Vaccine designed to establish proof of concept in Phase 1 clinical trial to determine whether unique immune response observed in non-human primates can be replicated in humans; ultimately, any candidates we advance as a potential HIV vaccine will require modifications to VIR-1111 before further clinical development.
sotrovimab for early treatment by intravenous (IV) administration currently has marketing approval, temporary authorization or emergency authorization, supplying >40 countries. In April 2022, the FDA (as defined below) deauthorized sotrovimab‘s use in all U.S. regions.
Sotrovimab and VIR-2482 incorporate Xencor’s XtendTM technology. VIR-3434 incorporates Xencor’s XtendTM and other Fc technologies.
Functional Cure for HBV
Summary
We are developing VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the functional cure of HBV. Each of these product candidates has the potential to stimulate an effective immune response and also has direct antiviral activity against HBV. We believe that a functional cure for HBV will require an effective immune response, in addition to antiviral activity, based on the observation that severe immunosuppression can reactivate HBV disease. While monotherapy with VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 may provide a functional cure in some patients, we believe combination therapy will be necessary for a functional cure in many patients.
VIR-2218, an HBV-targeting siRNA, is currently in several Phase 2 clinical trials. Initial data with VIR-2218 in healthy volunteers demonstrated that it was generally well tolerated up to 900 mg. In addition, durable, dose-dependent reductions in HBsAg were observed in patients with chronic HBV suppressed on NRTI therapy at doses ranging from 20 mg to 200 mg with durability out to at least 48 weeks. In November 2022, we announced initial end of treatment data from our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating VIR-2218 in combination with IFN-α for 24 and up to 48 weeks. 30.8% (4/13) of the participants receiving up to 48 weeks of VIR-2218 plus IFN-α treatment achieved higher rates of HBsAg seroclearance with anti-HBs seroconversion by the end of treatment. Participants receiving longer duration of VIR-2218 plus IFN-α had the greatest mean declines from baseline HBsAg (log10 IU/mL) levels at week 48 (2.9 ± 1.36). Across all cohorts, 10 participants receiving VIR-2218 plus IFN-α for 24 or up to 48 weeks achieved HBsAg seroclearance by week 48, and nine achieved anti-HBs levels >10 mIU/mL. All patients were virally suppressed on NRTIs. The treatment regimens were generally well tolerated and resulted in no new safety signals. Additional data are expected in the first half of 2023.
VIR-2218 is also being evaluated in additional Phase 2 clinical trials with collaborators. Brii Bio continues to lead the Phase 2 trial of VIR-2218 in combination with BRII-179, an investigational T cell vaccine, for the treatment of chronic HBV infection. Treatment has completed in this trial. Interim safety and efficacy data was presented at the APASL in February 2023. Treatment of VIR-2218 alone or in combination with BRII-179 with and without coadjuvant IFN-α was generally well tolerated. Although the combination of VIR-2218 and BRII-179 had greater anti-HBs responses and improved HBsAg-specific T-cell responses, comparable
11
HBsAg reduction was observed in all cohorts at EOT (-1.7-1.8 log10 IU/mL). In December 2021, we and Gilead initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of VIR-2218 in combination with GS-9688 (selgantolimod), Gilead's investigational TLR-8 agonist, and nivolumab in both NRTI-suppressed patients and viremic patients. Patients with HBV treatment experience also may receive TAF. In February 2023, due to immune-related adverse events associated with nivolumab, which are consistent with the safety profile of the class, in the cohorts evaluating nivolumab in combination with VIR-2218 and GS-9688, nivolumab was discontinued.
VIR-3434, an HBV-neutralizing mAb, is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Two analyses from our Phase 1 trial showed no safety signals in healthy volunteers dosed with up to 3,000 mg. Single doses of VIR-3434 up to 300 mg demonstrated dose-dependent, rapid reductions in HBsAg in chronic HBV patients suppressed on NRTI therapy. In November 2022, we announced that a single dose of 75 mg or 300 mg of VIR-3434 to trial participants with chronic HBV with viremia not on NRTI therapy resulted in rapid reductions in HBsAg and HBV DNA in the majority of participants. In July 2021, we initiated the Phase 2 MARCH trial to evaluate the combination of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as a functional cure regimen for chronic HBV infection in patients suppressed on NRTI therapy.
In April 2022, we announced initial results from MARCH Part A that the combination of VIR-3434 and VIR-2218 resulted in an approximate 3 log decline in HBsAg with no safety signals reported to date. In November 2022, we announced end of treatment data for all MARCH Part A that the combination of VIR-3434 and VIR-2218 achieved mean HBsAg reductions >2.7 log10 IU/mL in all cohorts, absolute HBsAg levels <10 IU/mL were achieved in most participants, and no safety signals were reported to date. Additional MARCH Part A data are expected in the first half of 2023 and initial MARCH Part B data, evaluating VIR-2218 in combination with VIR-3434 for 24 and 48 weeks with and without interferon, are expected in the second half of 2023.
Initiation of the Phase 2 PREVAIL platform trial, which will evaluate the efficacy and safety of investigational therapies in participants with chronic HBV infection, is expected in the first half of 2023. The trial allows for a modular approach with a master protocol containing common elements shared across sub-protocol trials and interventions with an adaptive approach. Two sub-protocols are initially planned: the THRIVE sub-protocol in inactive carriers and the STRIVE sub-protocol in immune active, treatment naïve patients. Initial data are expected in the first half of 2024.
Disease Overview and Limitations of Current Standard of Care
HBV is a significant global health threat, characterized by high morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. According to the Hepatitis B Foundation, approximately 300 million people globally are chronically infected with HBV. In the United States, up to two million people are chronically infected with HBV. Up to 40% of patients with chronic HBV will develop significant clinical consequences including cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, liver failure, and HCC. Globally, approximately 900,000 people die each year from HBV-associated complications.
There is a significant unmet medical need for finite versus chronic therapies that achieve functional cure. The most commonly used therapy for chronic HBV is life-long suppressive therapy with NRTIs, like tenofovir or entecavir. However NRTIs rarely achieve functional cure , defined as the sustained loss (seroclearance) of detectable HBsAg and HBV DNA in serum, after a finite course of treatment NRTIs prevent HBV ribonucleic acid, or RNA, from being transcribed into HBV DNA, which is a process known as reverse transcription. NRTIs therefore have little to no direct impact on covalently closed circular DNA, or cccDNA, the reservoir for HBV. It has been reported that after a year of therapy with NRTIs, zero to 3% of patients experience a functional cure. Additionally, NRTIs reduce, but do not eliminate, the risk of HBV associated liver failure and liver cancer. Despite its low utilization rate, suppressive therapy with NRTIs for HBV represented over a billion-dollar market in 2021.
An alternative treatment option for chronic HBV is a year-long course of IFN-α therapy, which has poor tolerability and low functional cure approximately 3% to 7% of the time. The mechanisms by which IFN-α, an immune cytokine, achieves a functional cure are not known, but there is additional evidence supporting the need for immune stimulation to achieve a functional cure.
Of the hundreds of millions of people with chronic HBV worldwide, only about 10% are diagnosed, and of those diagnosed, only about 22% are treated. New, functional cure therapies have potential to increase diagnosis and treatment rates. The projected size of the global HBV functional cure market is >$10 billion annually.
12
HBV Life Cycle and Undetectable HBsAg as a Clinical Endpoint
The viral life cycle of HBV is shown in the figure below. After infecting a cell, the virus forms cccDNA. This form of HBV DNA is located in the nucleus of hepatocytes and acts like a mini-chromosome. HBV DNA can also integrate into the patient’s DNA. This form of HBV DNA is known as integrated DNA, or intDNA.
HBV lifecycle with inhibition of processes by currently available therapies. Arrows indicate viral life cycle process. Perpendicularly-ended lines indicate inhibition of viral process.
HBV releases infectious virions and subviral particles, or SVPs, from infected cells. Both virions and SVPs include forms of an HBV protein called HBsAg, a blood biomarker that indicates that the HBV cccDNA and/or intDNA in that patient’s hepatocytes are actively making HBV RNA and HBV proteins. For a registrational trial to demonstrate a functional cure, the formal endpoint accepted by the FDA, is undetectable HBsAg, defined as less than 0.05 IU/ml, as well as HBV DNA less than the lower limit of quantification, in the blood six months after the end of therapy. Achievement of this endpoint has been shown to predict improved clinical outcomes and the lack of need for further therapy.
VIR-2218 for HBV
Molecular Characteristics. VIR-2218 is an investigational, single siRNA targeting a conserved sequence of HBV that allows for predicted activity against 99.7% of the strains of HBV, including all 10 HBV genotypes. Because this conserved sequence falls within a specific region of the X gene of HBV that exists within all four HBV RNA transcripts, VIR-2218 is able to degrade each transcript, and consequently decrease the expression of all proteins produced by the virus: X, polymerase, S, and core. VIR-2218 is thus potentially a broad-spectrum, potent antiviral.
HBV DNA can become integrated into human DNA as intDNA. Because VIR-2218 targets a region of HBV that is conserved in the large majority of HBV intDNA, this single siRNA is predicted to be able to prevent the production of HBV proteins derived from intDNA, as well as the production of all other HBV proteins from cccDNA.
We believe that the large amount of HBV protein that is transcribed in liver cells can suppress the immune system. There are at least two potential mechanisms by which suppression occurs. The first mechanism is T cell tolerance and exhaustion by the presentation of intracellular HBV antigens on hepatocytes. The second is the large quantities of HBV proteins that are released into the blood, especially HBsAg, which may also be immunosuppressive. By directly reducing the amount of HBV proteins made, VIR-2218 has the potential to decrease the ability of HBV to suppress the immune system—in effect removing a brake on the immune system. In mice models, siRNAs that are able to reduce HBsAg expression can transform an otherwise ineffective therapeutic HBV vaccine into one that can functionally cure such mice of HBV, suggesting that HBsAg suppression has the ability to enhance the immune response against HBV.
13
We believe that VIR-2218 is the only HBV-targeting siRNA currently in development that includes ESC+ technology. We believe this technology may be able to enhance the potential safety of VIR-2218.
Phase 1/2 Trial of VIR-2218. The trial was an adaptive clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and antiviral activity of VIR-2218. It evaluated single ascending doses of VIR-2218 in healthy volunteers and multiple ascending doses in adults with chronic HBV suppressed on NRTI therapy. The study design is shown below.
VIR-2218 trial in healthy volunteers and patients with chronic HBV infection. Arrows indicate trial progression. HBeAg- = hepatitis B virus e-antigen negative; HBeAg+ = hepatitis B virus e-antigen positive; MAD = multiple ascending dose; SAD = single ascending dose; SC = subcutaneous.
Across healthy volunteers and chronic HBV patients, VIR-2218 has been generally well-tolerated. No clinically significant ALT abnormalities, which are a marker of liver inflammation, have been observed. In the Part A 900 mg cohort, asymptomatic Grade 1 ALT elevations with no associated changes in bilirubin, or other markers of liver function, have been observed. Three serious adverse events, or SAEs, have been reported, all in Part B. The first, a Grade 2 headache, resolved with intravenous fluids and non-opioid pain medications. This patient had additional symptoms of fever, nausea, vomiting and dehydration, assessed by us as consistent with a viral syndrome. The second SAE, a Grade 4 depression, occurred over 50 days after the last drug dose was administered, and was assessed by us as not related to VIR-2218. The third SAE, a patient suicide, occurred 241 days after the last dose of study drug and was assessed by us as not related to VIR-2218. Three Grade 3 adverse events of upper-respiratory tract infection, chest pain and low phosphate levels in the blood have also been reported. We did not consider any of these Grade 3 events as related to VIR-2218.
The biologic activity of VIR-2218 was assessed by declines in HBsAg. The activity of VIR-2218 through Week 48 for each dose level is shown in the graph below. For Parts B and C, the average baseline HBsAg levels were 3.3 log10 IU/mL and 3.9 log10 IU/mL, respectively. The average decline in HBsAg across HBeAg negative and HBeAg positive subjects at Week 16 was 1.5 log10, or an approximately 32-fold reduction. The declines observed in HBsAg at Week 16 ranged from 0.97 log10 to 2.2 log10, or an approximately nine to 160-fold reduction, after two 200 mg doses of VIR-2218 given four weeks apart. The average HBsAg level at Week 16 was 314 IU/mL, with half of the patients achieving HBsAg values < 100 IU/mL and 5/6 achieving HBsAg values < 1000 IU/mL. Five of the 12 patients that achieved HBsAg values of <100 IU/mL maintained it through Week 48. Therefore, even though HBsAg levels gradually rebounded, overall, a durable effect was observed.
14
The ability of VIR-2218 to result in substantial and durable declines in HBsAg after only two doses suggests that VIR-2218 has the potential to play an important role in the functional cure of chronic HBV. We have initiated and plan to initiate additional clinical trials evaluating VIR-2218 in combination with other immunomodulatory agents.
Change from Baseline in HBsAg following administration of VIR-2218. Each line represents the average decline from baseline in HBsAg for VIR-2218 for each dosing level or pooled placebo in Parts B and C.
VIR-3434 for HBV
Molecular Characteristics and Preclinical Data. VIR-3434 is an investigational mAb targeting a conserved region on HBsAg that allows it to neutralize strains from all 10 HBV genotypes. VIR-3434 specifically targets the antigenic loop, or AGL, on HBsAg. The AGL helps the virus bind to hepatocytes and subsequently infect these liver cells. By binding to the AGL, VIR-3434 prevents viral entry, which prevents the spread of HBV to uninfected hepatocytes. VIR-3434, through a process called opsonization, also helps remove HBV virions and SVPs from the blood. Hepatitis B immunoglobulin, or HBIG, an approved therapy for preventing reinfection after transplantation and which consists of polyclonal antibodies against HBV, acts by similar mechanisms. In vitro, VIR-3434 demonstrates approximately 5000-fold greater potency than HBIG in neutralization assays. As shown in the figure below, VIR-3434 is better able to prevent the spread of HBV to uninfected cells in vivo compared to HBIG.
Progression of infection in primary human hepatocytes with hepatitis B immune globulin or VIR-3434 in vivo. PHH = primary human hepatocytes.
VIR-3434 also has the potential to activate the immune system, via three different processes. First, due to specialized mutations in the Fc domain of VIR-3434, it has the potential to act as a T cell vaccine. VIR-3434, which incorporates Xencor’s XtendTM and other Fc technologies, has been engineered with mutations that enhance binding to the FcR IIa activating receptor and diminish binding to the FcR IIb inhibitory receptor. As such, VIR-3434 is designed to capture virions and SVPs, deliver such virions and SVPs to dendritic cells, or DCs, and instruct these DCs to mature and stimulate T cells that can eliminate HBV infected hepatocytes.
15
Second, VIR-3434 has the potential to act via antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, or ADCC. In this process, by binding to HBsAg at the cell surface, VIR-3434 recruits natural killer cells to eliminate infected hepatocytes. The Fc domain of VIR-3434 has been engineered to promote ADCC. Third, by reducing the amount of HBsAg in the blood, VIR-3434 has the potential to remove a brake on the immune system by decreasing the ability of HBV to suppress it.
We have also evaluated the antiviral activity of the combination of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 in an adeno-associated virus-HBV mouse model. As shown in the figure below, VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 work together to reduce the level of HBsAg.
VIR-2218 and VIR-3434, which was modified to have a mouse mAb backbone for this experiment, administered alone or together result in reduced HBsAg in a mouse model.
Phase 1 Trial of VIR-3434. The trial is an adaptive clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and antiviral activity of VIR-3434. The current trial design of VIR-3434-1002 is shown below.
The Phase 1 clinical trial has four parts. Part A is a single ascending dose design in healthy volunteers with Parts B and C as single ascending dose designs in adults with chronic HBV on NRTIs. Patients in Part B had HBsAg levels less than 1,000 IU/ml for the 6 mg cohort and less than 3,000 IU/mL for the other cohorts. It is possible that patients with lower HBsAg levels will have a more profound response to VIR-3434 than patients with higher HBsAg levels. Patients with HBsAg levels greater than or equal to 3,000 IU/ml were evaluated in an optional Part C. In Part D, patients with HBV DNA greater than or equal to 1,000 IU/mL who were not receiving NRTI therapy were evaluated.
VIR-3434-1002 is an adaptive clinical trial design in healthy volunteers and patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Arrows indicate trial progression. SC = subcutaneous.
SAD = single ascending dose. IV = intravenous.
16
The primary endpoints across all parts of the trial were safety and tolerability. The key secondary endpoint in Parts B and C is the maximum reduction of serum HBsAg from baseline. In Part D, an additional key secondary endpoint is the maximum change of HBV DNA from baseline.
All cohorts have completed dosing up to 3,000 mg administered intravenously. Data from Part A up to 3000 mg IV was generally well tolerated with no clinical safety concerns observed. In Part B, most participants achieved a ≥1 log10 IU/mL reduction from baseline in HBsAg within 1-3 days. Mean HBsAg reductions in the 6 mg, 18 mg, 75 mg, and 300 mg groups were 1.30, 1.27, 1.96, and 2.21 log10 IU/mL, respectively, at nadir. All participants who received 75 mg or 300 mg of VIR-3434 achieved HBsAg <100 IU/mL and 5/6 (83%) in the 300 mg group achieved HBsAg <10 IU/mL. In Part D, single doses of 75 mg or 300 mg was associated with rapid reductions in HBsAg and HBV DNA in the majority of participants. Across both cohorts, 11/12 participants receiving VIR-3434 achieved a >1 log10 IU/mL decline in HBsAg and 11/12 achieved a >1 log10 IU/mL decline in HBV DNA with the changes in HBsAg and HBV DNA showing similar kinetics. Across all parts of the study, VIR-3434 was generally well tolerated with the majority of adverse events being mild to moderate in severity.
HBV Combinations and New Product Candidates
Phase 2 Trial of VIR-2218 in combination with IFN-α. The trial is a clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and antiviral activity of VIR-2218 alone and in combination with IFN-α in adults with chronic HBV infection on NRTIs. The trial is evaluating multiple doses of VIR-2218 200 mg, alone or in combination with IFN-α for 24 to 48 weeks. The trial cohorts are shown below.
VIR-2218-1001 Parts D and F are evaluating multiple doses of VIR-2218 alone or in combination with IFN-α in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
17
VIR-2218 in combination with IFN-α for 24 weeks from Day 1 (Cohort 3) resulted in a more rapid and substantial decline in HBsAg compared to VIR-2218 alone (Cohort 1) and VIR-2218 lead-in followed by concomitant administration with IFN-α from Week 12-24 (Cohort 2). Through Week 24, mean HBsAg change from baseline were -1.9, -2.0, and -2.4 log10 IU/mL in Cohorts 1, 2, and 3, respectively, with greater than 1 log10 decline in HBsAg still at Week 48. Cohorts 4 and 5 evaluated treatment beyond 24 weeks. In both Cohorts 4 and 5, participants took VIR-2218 and IFN-α from Day 1 through Week 24. In Cohort 4, participants were eligible to continue IFN-α up to 48 weeks if they did not achieve HBsAg less than the lower limit of quantitation, or LLOQ, and participants in Cohort 5 were able to continue VIR-2218 and IFN-α up to Week 48 if they did not achieve HBsAg <LLOQ. If a participant in Cohorts 4 or 5 achieved HBsAg <LLOQ at 2 consecutive visits, they were eligible to stop therapy. Through Week 48, mean HBsAg change from baseline were -1.8 and -2.9 log10 IU/mL in Cohorts 4 and 5, respectively. Overall, 10 participants achieved HBsAg seroclearance by Week 48 across all cohorts with the majority occurring in Cohorts 4 and 5. Importantly, nine out of these 10 participants, including all four in Cohort 5, also achieved seroconversion defined as anti-HBsAb > 10 mIU/mL, which suggests the potential for durability of response after stopping therapy. The treatment regimens were generally well tolerated and resulted in no new safety signals.
Preliminary 48-week safety and efficacy data from novel investigative cohorts of VIR-2218 alone and in combination with IFN-α in participants with chronic HBV infection. All participants are virally suppressed on NRTIs.
Phase 2 Trial of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 with and without IFN--α. In July 2021, we initiated the Phase 2 MARCH trial to evaluate the combination of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as a functional cure regimen for chronic HBV infection. We believe VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 have the potential to act in concert by inhibiting virion production, removing potentially tolerogenic HBV proteins, and stimulating new HBV specific T cells. All patients were virally suppressed on NRTIs.
MARCH: Monoclonal Antibody siRNA Combination against Hepatitis B; QW: weekly; Q4W, every 4 weeks
*Not exhaustive – does not include mono therapy arms for VIR-3434. Additional cohorts may be added
Part A of the MARCH trial evaluated the safety of the combination of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434. Cohort 1 was a lead-in with VIR-2218 followed by coadministration of VIR-3434 from Week 16-20. Cohort 2 and 3 evaluated the concomitant administration of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 from Day 1 through Week 12, evaluating 18 mg and 75 mg VIR-3434 administered weekly. Cohort 1 demonstrated a mean 3.1 log10 decline in HBsAg at end of treatment while Cohorts 2 and 3 demonstrated a 2.7 log10 decline in
18
HBsAg. Although no participants achieved HBsAg <LLOQ, most participants achieved HBsAg <10 IU/mL. VIR-2218 in combination with VIR-3434 was generally well tolerated with most adverse events being mild.
Preliminary data from the ongoing open-label Phase 2 MARCH trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and antiviral activity of VIR-2218 in combination with VIR-3434 in virally suppressed participants with chronic HBV infection who received continuous NRTI therapy for two months or more. All participants are virally suppressed on NRTIs
Part B of the MARCH trial is currently enrolling and is evaluating the combination of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 with and without IFN-α for 24 and 48 weeks. Initial data from Part B is expected in the second half of 2023.
Other Collaborators. In December 2021, we and Gilead initiated a multi-center, open-label Phase 2 clinical trial which is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of various combinations of VIR-2218, GS-9688 (selgantolimod), Gilead’s investigational TLR-8 agonist, nivolumab, an approved PD-1 inhibitor, and TAF in adults with chronic HBV. The trial will enroll approximately 120 patients ages 18 to 65 who are either viremic or are NTRI-suppressed. Patients who are HBeAg-positive (an indicator of acute viral replication), as well as those who are HBeAg-negative, will be enrolled. The primary efficacy endpoint is the proportion of patients who achieve a functional cure (defined as HBsAg loss and HBV DNA <20 IU/mL at follow-up week 24). In February 2023, due to immune-related adverse events associated with nivolumab, which are consistent with the safety profile of the class, in the cohorts evaluating nivolumab in combination with VIR-2218 and GS-9688, nivolumab was discontinued.
In April 2021, Brii Bio initiated a Phase 2 trial of VIR-2218 in combination with BRII-179, an investigational T cell vaccine, for the treatment of chronic HBV infection. Treatment has completed in this trial. Interim safety and efficacy data were presented at the APASL in February 2023. Treatment of VIR-2218 alone or in combination with BRII-179 with and without coadjuvant IFN-α was generally well tolerated. Although the combination of VIR-2218 and BRII-179 had greater anti-HBs responses and improved HBsAg-specific T-cell responses, comparable HBsAg reduction was observed in all cohorts at EOT (-1.7-1.8 log10 IU/mL).
Initiation of the Phase 2 PREVAIL platform trial (NCT05612581) and its THRIVE/STRIVE sub-protocols of VIR-3434 and/or VIR-2218 and/or IFN-α in viremic patients with chronic HBV infection is expected in the first half of 2023. The PREVAIL platform approach allows for a modular approach with a master protocol containing common elements shared across sub-protocol trials and interventions with an adaptive approach. Two sub-protocols are initially planned. The THRIVE sub-protocol will initially evaluate the safety and efficacy of regimens containing combinations of an NRTI with VIR-3434 and/or VIR-2218 in inactive carriers defined as adults with chronic HBV that are HBeAg negative with HBV DNA ≤2000 IU/mL and ALT ≤ULN. The STRIVE sub-protocol will evaluate the safety and efficacy of regimens containing combinations of an NRTI with VIR-3434 and/or VIR-2218 and/or IFN-α in adults with chronic HBV infection who have not received prior NRTI or IFN-α treatment. Participants will be HBeAg positive or negative with HBV DNA >2000 IU/mL, ALT>ULN and ≤ 5× ULN. Initial data from the PREVAIL platform trial are expected in the first half of 2024.
Furthermore, in parallel with the above development programs, research efforts are underway to use our innate immunity platform to identify and disrupt the host proteins necessary for HBV cccDNA formation and stability, which we believe could result in a complete cure. We also have an HBV therapeutic vaccine that leverages our T cell platform in preclinical development. This is an example of the potential value of combining outputs from our four technology platforms to complex infectious diseases.
Chronic Treatment for HDV
19
Summary
We are developing VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 for the chronic treatment and suppression of HDV. HBsAg is a critical component necessary for the HDV lifecycle and both VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 act independently to inhibit the replication of HDV by targeting HBsAg. VIR-2218 inhibits the production of HBsAg by targeting a conserved region of the HBV genome and inhibiting production of all HBV proteins including HBsAg. VIR-3434 binds to a conserved region of HBsAg, which reduces the levels of HDV virions and prevents the infection of hepatocytes with HDV. VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as monotherapy have independently demonstrated reduction in HBsAg of greater than 1 log10 and initial data when VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 are given together have demonstrated an additive effect of almost 3 log10 decline in HBsAg through at least 20 weeks of treatment. As HBsAg is required for the lifecycle of HDV, both VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 are expected to suppress the replication of HDV and to potentially improve clinical outcomes.
Disease Overview and Limitations of Current Standard of Care
HDV is a replication-defective virus that uses HBsAg as its envelope protein and therefore only occurs with HBV co-infection. Approximately 12 million people globally are infected with HDV, representing approximately 5% of the HBV population. HDV is considered the most severe and aggressive form of viral hepatitis leading to significantly more rapid progression towards cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatic decomposition, and liver failure. People with HDV are 3.9 times more likely to have hepatocellular carcinoma than people with HBV and 2 times more likely to die from HDV vs. HBV mono-infection. Despite this high disease severity, there are no approved therapies for HDV in the U.S. although pegylated interferon alpha has been used off label with limited success due to its tolerability profile and low rates of sustained virologic response. Hepcludex (bulevirtide), a once daily subcutaneous injection, has conditional approval in the EU and the U.K. for the chronic treatment of HDV but has not yet been approved in the U.S. The projected size of the global HDV treatment market is >$2 billion annually.
VIR-2218 + VIR-3434 for HDV
Phase 2 Trial of VIR-2218 in combination with VIR-3434. In September 2022, we initiated the Phase 2 SOLSTICE trial evaluating once monthly subcutaneous injections of VIR-2218 and VIR-3434 as monotherapy and in combination for the chronic treatment of people living with HDV. The trial is assessing the safety and ability of the combination to reduce HDV viremia and normalize ALT, surrogate endpoints used for regulatory approval and endpoints that may improve clinical outcomes. Initial data are expected in the second half of 2023.
Universal Prophylaxis for Influenza A
Summary
We are developing VIR-2482 as universal prophylaxis for influenza A. VIR-2482 is a mAb that targets a conserved region of the influenza A hemagglutinin protein and consequently has the potential to prevent illness from any strain of influenza A, including seasonal and pandemic strains. In vitro, VIR-2482 has been shown to cover all major strains of influenza A that have arisen since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Since flu vaccines have incomplete strain coverage and limited efficacy, the broad coverage of VIR-2482 may allow it to achieve higher protection levels and for it to be used year after year. In addition, because VIR-2482 is an antibody that can directly confer protection, it does not rely on a person to create their own antibodies. Thus, we believe VIR-2482 has the potential to be effective even in a person with a compromised immune system. VIR-2482 has been half-life engineered so that a single dose has the potential to last the entire flu season, which is typically five to six months long. VIR-2482 is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial. VIR-2482 was well-tolerated in the approximately 100 healthy volunteers dosed in Phase 1.
In May 2021, we signed the 2021 GSK Agreement to expand our existing collaboration to include the research and development of new therapies for influenza and other respiratory viruses. See the section titled “Our Collaboration, License and Grant Agreements—Collaboration Agreements with GSK” for a description of the 2021 GSK Agreement.
Disease Overview and Limitations of Current Standard of Care
Seasonal influenza is a significant medical and economic burden, even with vaccines. There are two major types of influenza virus: type A and type B. Influenza A has been associated with more severe illness and has been the source of all known influenza pandemics. According to the CDC, influenza A accounts for nearly 80% of infections and approximately 75-85% of influenza hospitalizations.
Seasonal influenza is a huge medical and economic burden, even with vaccines. According to the WHO, on average, each year the influenza virus is estimated to infect 1 billion people and results in approximately 6 million hospitalizations and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths globally. According to the CDC, there are approximately X infections, 500,000 hospitalizations and 34,000 deaths in
20
the U.S. alone each year due to flu. The large majority of these influenza-related deaths occurred in the elderly, defined as those 65 and older, and/or those with comorbidities at high risk for severe disease. These patients comprise a population with a high unmet need for better preventive measures. There are approximately 140 million people in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Japan who are 65 and older with a risk-factor for severe disease and between 21 and 42% of them are hospitalized each year if they get the flu.
According to the CDC, the efficacy of the seasonal flu vaccine has ranged from 10% to 60% over the past 16 years, with an average of 40%, overall, across all populations. The seasonal flu vaccine's efficacy in the elderly has been found to be notably lower, in some flu seasons as low as 10%. The limited success rate of current influenza vaccines has been attributed to two primary factors. First, flu vaccines have incomplete strain coverage and therefore often do not provide protection against all strains of influenza that circulate in a given season, despite being updated every year.
Second, flu vaccines are active immunizations that rely on a person's own immune system to create protective influenza virus antibodies, and many individuals do not generate an effective immune response. Clinical and technological advances in flu vaccines, such as cell-based manufacturing, mRNA-based vaccines and higher dose administration, do not address these fundamental limitations.
The projected size of the mAb flu prevention market is >$5 billion annually.
VIR-2482 for Influenza A
Molecular Characteristics and Preclinical Data. VIR-2482 is an investigational mAb targeting a functionally conserved epitope on the influenza A hemagglutinin protein located within the stem region. We believe that all strains of influenza, past and future, have and likely will contain this conserved epitope within the stem region. In preclinical studies, we have demonstrated that, in vitro, VIR-2482 covers all the major strains of influenza A that have arisen since 1918. Thus, unlike flu vaccines, whose incomplete strain coverage results in limited efficacy despite being updated every year, the broad coverage of VIR-2482 may allow it to achieve higher protection levels and to be used year after year. In addition, because VIR-2482 is an antibody that can directly confer protection, it does not rely on a person to create their own antibodies. Thus, we believe VIR-2482 has the potential to be effective irrespective of the status of a person’s immune system.
Notably, in a 2019 clinical epidemiology study, it was observed that the presence of rare, stem-binding influenza antibodies correlated with protection from influenza infection. While other stem-binding influenza A antibodies have been identified, we have demonstrated that VIR-2482 has the broadest coverage when compared to a large representative panel of stem-binding mAbs. In prophylactic lethal challenge studies of influenza A in mice, VIR-2482 was able to protect mice from death at VIR-2482 exposures we believe to be clinically relevant.
We engineered the parent form of VIR-2482 to extend its half-life to create VIR-2482, which incorporates Xencor’s XtendTM technology. This half-life extension potentially allows for a single injection of VIR-2482 given at the start of the influenza season to maintain a protective concentration in the respiratory tract for the duration of the influenza season.
VIR-2482 targets a highly conserved region of the influenza virus and exhibits potency against the last century of influenza viruses. Following vaccination, most anti-influenza antibodies target the variable head region. VIR-2482 binds to the stem region which is highly conserved over time. HA = hemagglutinin.
Phase 1 and 2 Trials of VIR-2482.
21
VIR-2482-3001 was a Phase 1 first-in-human, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled single ascending dose trial in healthy adult volunteers with endpoints of safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics, or PK, when VIR-2482 is administered IM in four different doses: 60 mg, 300 mg, 1200 mg, and 1800 mg. This trial initiated in August 2019 and is now complete. The trial showed VIR-2482 was well-tolerated up to 1800 mg and is estimated to have a half-life of 58 days based on preliminary clinical data.
In September 2022, we initiated VIR-2482-4004, a Phase 1b prophylaxis trial evaluating the safety of VIR-2482 in elderly participants (aged 65 and older) receiving a flu vaccine. The trial is ongoing and initial data are expected in mid-2023.
In October 2022, we initiated PENINSULA, a Phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial in healthy adult volunteers aged 18 to 64 to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of two different intramuscularly administered doses of VIR-2482 in preventing illness due to influenza A. The primary efficacy endpoint is the proportion of trial participants with protocol-defined influenza illness, requiring one systemic symptom and one respiratory symptom, with PCR confirmed influenza A infection, compared to placebo. Other endpoints will evaluate the effect of VIR-2482 on the severity and duration of illness in trial participants with confirmed influenza A compared to placebo. Enrollment is complete and initial data are expected in mid-2023. The PENINSULA trial is being funded in part with federal funds from the HHS; the ASPR; and the BARDA, under OT number 75A50122C00081.
In addition to VIR-2482, we are developing next generation antibodies that have the potential to be even broader, treating both influenza A and B, and more potent.
Treatment and Prophylaxis for COVID-19
Summary
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have moved rapidly to address this global health challenge. Our focus is on treating and preventing COVID-19, as well as potential future coronavirus outbreaks. To do so, together with our collaborator GSK, we are developing the mAb sotrovimab, as well as small molecules. Vir is also developing additional differentiated mAbs as well as vaccines.
We are developing sotrovimab for the treatment and prophylaxis of COVID-19. Sotrovimab is based on a parent antibody, S309, which was derived from samples previously gathered for research on pan-coronavirus-neutralizing mAbs. Data suggest that sotrovimab and VIR-7832 have the potential for ‘dual-action’, or the ability to block viral entry into healthy cells and an enhanced ability to clear infected cells.
In May 2021, the FDA granted an EUA to sotrovimab for the early treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. In December 2021, the European Commission granted marketing authorization to Xevudy® (sotrovimab) in the EU for the treatment of adults and adolescents at increased risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. In March 2022, the FDA de-authorized sotrovimab’s use in all U.S. regions due to increases in the proportion of COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron BA.2 subvariant.
22
Sotrovimab has obtained emergency authorization, temporary authorization or marketing approval (under the brand name Xevudy®️) for early treatment of COVID-19, supplying more than 40 countries. Sotrovimab is not authorized in the U.S. Over 2.1 million doses of sotrovimab have been delivered as of December 31, 2022.
We continue to conduct in vitro testing of sotrovimab against new variants and subvariants as they emerge, and to collect and evaluate real-world evidence, both of which are being shared with regulatory authorities.
We are also evaluating the use of sotrovimab in two additional indications: (1) to determine if sotrovimab can prevent symptomatic COVID-19 infection in uninfected immunocompromised adults, and (2) to evaluate if sotrovimab treatment can improve clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
In addition to sotrovimab, we are preparing for future pandemics with coronavirus mAbs that have the potential to be even broader and more potent than sotrovimab, pan-coronavirus vaccines designed with the aim to be variant-proof (initial pre-clinical proof of concept achieved), and small molecules that have the potential to treat multiple respiratory diseases like COVID-19 and influenza (initial pre-clinical proof of concept achieved).
VIR-7832, which has similar properties to sotrovimab, but is also designed to potentially enhance virus-specific T cell function, was evaluated in the U.K.’s NHS-supported AGILE initiative. The Phase 1b portion of the trial assessed safety of VIR-7832 at 50 mg, 150 mg and 500 mg IV doses. The Phase 2 portion of the trial was designed to assess safety and efficacy at 500 mg IV dose. The Phase 2a was stopped early due to concerns about the evolving COVID landscape, including circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. No safety signals were reported in the Phase 1b or 2a portions of the trial.
Disease Overview and Limitations of Current Standard of Care
According to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, as of February 27, 2023, there were almost 675.1 million recorded infections and almost 6.9 million recorded deaths worldwide from COVID-19. The FDA has granted either EUAs or marketing approvals to multiple vaccines, drugs and/or antibodies to prevent or treat COVID-19 in the U.S.
For prophylaxis, despite the high efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, there are still populations in whom vaccine immunogenicity is suboptimal, such as the elderly with comorbidities, immunocompromised persons, or those who may not want or be able to tolerate vaccines.
For early treatment, both mAbs and small molecules have shown strong efficacy data and have pros and cons around convenience and compliance. For example, for some patients and their physicians, IM or IV mAbs may be preferred to small molecules due to administration in a single treatment visit (“one and done”), concerns about compliance with small molecules (multiple pills, multiple times per day, over multiple days), and concerns about oral treatment initiation requirements.
For hospitalized patients, there is still significant unmet need. Preliminary data suggest that COVID-19 mAbs may have a role in improving clinical outcomes such as decreasing intensive care unit stays and/or mortality in hospitalized patients who have severe or critical COVID-19.
Importantly, the ongoing durability of current vaccines, small molecules, and mAbs in the setting of the continued emergence of variants is uncertain.
The size of the COVID-19 prevention and treatment market is projected to continue to be double-digit billions of dollars annually.
Sotrovimab for COVID-19
Molecular Characteristics. Sotrovimab is an investigational engineered human IgG1 neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody that has Fc modifications that are designed to improve bioavailability in the respiratory mucosa and increase half-life, and incorporates Xencor’s XtendTM technology. Sotrovimab binds with high affinity to the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. It is designed to have dual-actions of neutralizing the virus by blocking viral entry into healthy cells, while also enhancing the ability to clear infected cells. Sotrovimab potently neutralizes live SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in vivo, and binds to a highly conserved epitope that is shared with SARS-CoV-1, thus potentially leading to a wide breadth of sarbecovirus coverage and a higher barrier to resistance.
Phase 2/3 Trials of Sotrovimab.
23
COMET-ICE: Sotrovimab was evaluated as a treatment in adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 at high risk of hospitalization or death. This trial was a Phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind, multi-center, placebo-controlled trial investigating IV infusion of 500 mg of sotrovimab in adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 at high-risk of progression to severe disease, who were not hospitalized and did not require oxygen. The trial included a lead-in phase to evaluate the safety and tolerability of sotrovimab, followed by an expansion phase with 1:1 randomization of sotrovimab and placebo. The final COMET-ICE trial results in the full trial population of 1,057 participants demonstrated an adjusted relative risk reduction of 79% (p<0.001) in all-cause hospitalization for more than 24 hours or death due to any cause by Day 29 compared to placebo, meeting the primary endpoint of the trial.
PROTECT-V: Sotrovimab is being evaluated in a Phase 3 platform trial sponsored by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust assessing the use of a 2 g IV dose of sotrovimab in uninfected, high-risk individuals. This is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial that is currently enrolling participants. The primary endpoint is PCR-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 infection at three months. Key secondary endpoints include PCR-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 infection at subsequent timepoints, time to confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection, safety, mortality and disease severity. Due to significant uncertainty in the anticipated infection rate, the sample size will be monitored and reviewed regularly by the independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC). Timing of initial data will depend on continued rate of enrollment.
RECOVERY: Sotrovimab is being evaluated in a randomized, controlled, open-label, platform trial assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.K. Trial participants who are hospitalized with COVID-19 are eligible for random assignment in a 1:1 ratio to usual standard of care alone versus usual standard of care plus a single dose of sotrovimab given IV. Timing of initial data will depend on continued rate of enrollment.
Vaccine for HIV Prophylaxis
Summary
We are developing a vaccine to prevent HIV. We have designed VIR-1111 and VIR-1388 to elicit T cells that recognize HIV epitopes that are different from those recognized by prior HIV vaccines and to stimulate a different and specific type of T cell immune response to HIV, known as an HLA-E restricted immune response. An HLA-E restricted immune response has been shown to be associated with protection of NHPs from SIV. In December 2020, we initiated a Phase 1 trial for VIR-1111. VIR-1111 is a proof of concept vaccine, because, at minimum, changes to the vaccine antigen from HIV will be required before starting subsequent phases of clinical development. VIR-1388 has incorporated modifications that have the potential to enhance immunogenicity compared to VIR-1111 and provide broader coverage against circulating strains of HIV. We expect to initiate a Phase 1 trial of VIR-1388 in the second half of 2023.
Disease Overview and Limitations of the Current Standard of Care
According to UNAIDS, each year there are approximately 1.5 million new cases of HIV and approximately 700,000 HIV-related deaths globally. Unless treated, infection with HIV results in an almost universally fatal disease, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. According to the WHO, almost 36 million people have died from HIV-related illnesses globally.
Highly effective HIV treatments are now available, but these medicines only suppress HIV and are not curative. They require life-long administration and carry the risk for viral breakthrough and resistance. Furthermore, while HIV prevention programs based on behavioral modification, pharmacological intervention, use of barrier devices and other methods continue to be developed, such approaches have had at most a modest effect on HIV transmission globally in high-risk populations. Therefore, we believe the most effective means of curbing the worldwide HIV epidemic would be a safe and effective vaccine for individuals who are or may become sexually active. We believe that the target population for an HIV vaccine is comprised of billions of individuals and is potentially larger than the target population for Gardasil®, a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus and the cancers human papillomavirus cause, due to the higher lethality associated with HIV. In 2022, Gardasil® revenue approximated $6.9 billion. Despite nearly 30 years of intensive efforts, no vaccine for HIV has been successfully developed.
The projected size of the HIV functional cure and prevention market is >$40 billion annually.
VIR-1111 and VIR-1388 for HIV
Molecular Characteristics and Preclinical Data. VIR-1111 is a proof-of-concept T cell vaccine based on HCMV that is designed to elicit T cells that recognize parts of HIV epitopes that are different from those recognized by prior HIV vaccines, and to stimulate a different and specific type of T cell immune response to HIV, known as an HLA-E restricted immune response. VIR-1388 contains modifications to enhance its immunogenicity and provide broader coverage against circulating strains of HIV compared to VIR-1111. In NHP models, T cell vaccines based on an RhCMV elicited T cells that recognized 3-4 times the number of epitopes
24
compared to other vaccine platforms; the specific epitopes recognized were also different, as shown in the figure below. SIV is the NHP equivalent of HIV.
Number of epitopes recognized by T cells using RhCMV compared to other vaccine vector technologies or NHPs naturally achieving SIV control. Each line represents a different NHP. Each box denotes the relative location of the epitope within the antigen that is recognized by the T cells elicited by that vaccine vector or SIV. The total number of epitopes recognized is shown on the right. RM = rhesus macaque; SIVmac239-controller = infected with a virulent strain of SIV; EP DNA/gag = electroporation of DNA expressing the SIV gag protein; Ad5/gag = Adenovirus type 5 expressing the SIV gag protein; MVA/gag = Modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing the SIV gag protein.
Further, in such NHP models, introducing different mutations to RhCMV allows the vector to be programmed to elicit an HLA-E restricted immune response. An HLA-E restricted immune response has been shown to be associated with protection of NHPs from SIV. In these series of experiments, large groups of NHPs were given an RhCMV-based vaccine, which protected more than 50% of the NHPs from repeated exposure to SIV.
Preliminary data suggest the ability to predict which NHPs will be protected from SIV after administration of the RhCMV-based vaccine. This is made possible using transcriptomic signatures, a blood test that evaluates how cells in the body respond to the vaccine. Transcriptomic signatures will be analyzed in human clinical trials. If protection effectiveness is found to be less than 100%, such data may allow us to predict who will be protected as well as to generate next-generation vaccines.
Phase 1 Trial of VIR-1111. The trial is a multiple ascending dose clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of VIR-1111 in CMV-positive healthy adult volunteers. The immunogenicity evaluation includes an assessment of the breadth and nature of the T cell response to the vaccine. The current trial design of VIR-1111-2001 is shown below. We initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial for VIR-1111 in December 2020. In November 2022, we announced that safety and immunology data from the initial two cohorts of the trial showed no safety signals and no vector shedding or viremia reported to date. In addition, no sustained HIV insert-specific T cell responses were observed in the first two cohorts. Safety and immunology data from the highest dose cohort is expected in the first half of 2023. The manufacture and early clinical development of VIR-1111 is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Modifications to VIR-1111 will be required before subsequent phases of clinical development, as VIR-1111 is a proof of concept vaccine and will not in its current format result in a commercial product.
VIR-1111-2001 is a multiple ascending dose escalation trial in CMV seropositive, HIV uninfected healthy adult volunteers. Arrows indicate trial progression. CMV = cytomegalovirus, HIV = human immunodeficiency virus, SC = subcutaneous, ffu = focus forming units
25
Phase 1 Trial of VIR-1388. Learnings from VIR-1111 have informed the trial design of VIR-1388. We expect to initiate a Phase 1 trial of VIR-1388 in the second half of 2023. This trial will be funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the NIH’s Division of AIDS, through the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.
Technology Platforms
Platforms for the Creation of Transformative Medicines for Infectious Diseases
We have purposefully assembled a portfolio of technology platforms that we believe will, individually or in combination, allow us to stimulate and enhance the immune system in innovative ways and to exploit the vulnerabilities of pathogens. Our current platforms are focused on antibodies, T cells, the innate immune response and siRNAs. We have assembled these platforms through internal development, collaborations and acquisitions. We are using our platforms, and continue to evaluate others, to advance our current product candidates and generate additional product candidates for multiple indications.
We follow the science to select the modality, or combination of modalities, that gives us the highest chance of success for a specific infection in a given patient population. The diversity of our different platforms allows us to select the best modality or modalities for a given clinical need.
Antibody Platform
Overview
We are using specialized mAbs to treat or prevent rapidly evolving and/or previously untreatable pathogens. These mAbs act in a variety of ways, including direct pathogen neutralization and immune system stimulation. We combine high-throughput, rapid isolation of rare, highly potent, broad-spectrum and fully human antibodies with targeted engineering to enhance their therapeutic potential. We expect that these specialized mAbs can be administered to transfer protective immunity to all at-risk individuals.
We expect the following benefits from our antibody platform:
Sotrovimab (previously VIR-7831), VIR-3434 and VIR-2482 were generated using our antibody platform.
Our Approach
We use a proprietary antibody screening technology that allows us to characterize the antibodies produced from hundreds of millions of B cells derived from survivors of an infection to identify those rare antibodies that have the characteristics needed to create an effective medicine. Rare characteristics include, for example, the ability to bind to a highly conserved antigen within a pathogen and the ability to neutralize multiple different pathogens. We refer to this technology as High Throughput Isolation since we are able to screen hundreds of millions of B cells to find rare antibodies in just weeks.
26
Following isolation, we clone the antibody genes and express the resulting fully human antibody for further trials, engineering and development.
We have applied these methods to identify mAbs for a range of pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, HBV, HDV, influenza A and influenza B virus, Ebola, HIV, RSV, MPV, malaria, rabies, clostridium difficile, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter spp. Examples of the power of this platform are sotrovimab (previously VIR-7831; and where marketing authorization has been granted, marketed under the brand name Xevudy®), our anti-SARS-CoV-2 mAb, and Ebanga (ansuvimab-zykl, formerly known as mAb114), the anti-Ebola virus mAb identified by our scientists in collaboration with the NIH and others and marketed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP.
Precision Antibody Engineering to Create the Best Medicines
Our strategy is to optimize both the Fab and Fc domains of a mAb to generate the best medicine to treat or prevent infection. Having isolated a rare, fully human antibody via High Throughput Isolation, we then engineer as desired both parts of the mAb, the Fab and Fc domains, to enhance efficacy, potency and manufacturability. The Fab portion binds to the protective antigen on the pathogen. The Fc portion binds to effector proteins and cells in the body to engage the immune system in killing and clearing the infection.
Fab engineering is performed to further increase mAb potency and breadth of coverage. mAb potency and breadth are based on the epitope bound, affinity of binding and valency. In some cases, it may be valuable to create mAbs that bind to more than one epitope, so-called “multi-specific” mAbs, by engineering the Fab region. There are many approaches to creating multi-specific antibodies, and we are exploring a number of them, including some that naturally occur in people. We believe that naturally occurring multi-specific antibodies can be leveraged to create new and potent therapeutics and to enhance antibody prophylaxis of disease, and have the potential for higher manufacturing yields and better pharmacokinetics in patients, as compared to artificial multi-specific formats currently being developed.
Fc engineering selects and optimizes the specific ways in which mAbs engage Fc receptors, or FcRs, which in turn govern “effector functions” such as the half-life of the antibody and the way that the immune system is recruited by the mAb to fight infection. Effector functions can be enhanced or reduced via Fc mutations that alter the binding affinity of the Fc domain of a mAb to the various FcRs, based on a detailed understanding of the role of individual FcRs in half-life and immunity. Examples of immunity that can be altered in this way include the recruitment of serum proteins to infected areas, phagocytosis and destruction of viruses and viral particles, the killing of virus-infected cells through a process known as ADCC and the presentation of antigens to elicit B and T cell immunity.
Antibodies as T Cell Vaccines
We are using Fc engineering to create antibodies that are designed to not only directly treat or prevent infection but also to immunize an infected individual against future infections. We refer to this property as a vaccinal effect, i.e., eliciting continued protection even after the mAb is no longer present. This technology benefits from the fact that FcRs on specialized antigen-presenting cells, which are called dendritic cells, or DCs, internalize complexes of antibody and antigen. Our strategy leverages the observation that different FcRs on antigen presenting cells can bind different parts of the Fc portion of the mAb. By engineering the Fc region, we can select which FcRs interact with the antibody-antigen complex to generate activated DCs that we believe can effectively induce T cell immunity.
27
Design and mechanism of vaccinal antibodies intended to induce enhanced immunity through induction of T cells. The Fc portion of mAbs interacts with FcRs on DCs to trigger uptake of antigen and induction of T cells. Engineering of the Fc portion of the mAb is predicted to increase the induction of T cells by these DCs.
Specific vaccinal mutations in the Fc domain can enhance immune responses to a pathogen in two ways. First, the mAb can deliver increased amounts of antigen to DCs. Second, FcRs deliver signals that activate DCs. In turn, activated DCs can stimulate T cells specific to the delivered antigen, resulting in T cell immunity. In this way, an antibody with vaccinal mutations can potentially actively immunize infected patients. The in vivo data supporting enhancement of the vaccinal effect through Fc mutants has been demonstrated by others in a CD20 positive tumor model, using mice with humanized Fc receptors. In this experiment, anti-CD20 mAbs and CD20 tumor cells were administered to mice months before being later rechallenged with a lethal dose of CD20 tumor cells. 80% of the mice who received a mAb with Fc mutants that enhanced binding to activating FcRs IIa and IIIa survived. Conversely, 70% or more mice who received a mAb without the enhancing Fc mutations died. This durable protection is believed to be the result of the induction of a T-cell response. We have also generated similarly compelling animal data in influenza. We are testing this technology in chronic HBV infection with VIR-3434, and if it performs as expected, we believe it may have applicability to multiple other infections including influenza and HIV.
T Cell Platform
Overview
T cells can prevent or control infection and cancer. T cells are diverse in how they sense pathogens and cancer cells, the tissues that they protect and the effector functions that they use to control infection or cancer. Our approach is to use HCMV as a vaccine vector to potentially treat and prevent infection by pathogens refractory to current vaccine technologies because HCMV may induce potent and long-lasting T cell responses to a broader range of epitopes than observed for other viral vaccines. In addition, we can make proprietary modifications in the HCMV genome that we expect will elicit different types of pathogen-appropriate T cell responses. Experiments in NHPs demonstrate the ability of vaccine vectors based on the closely related RhCMV to protect against SIV, a close relative of HIV, and TB, two of the most challenging infections for which to create effective vaccines.
HCMV infects a large proportion of the human population and causes a life-long asymptomatic infection that typically causes no harm. This is due to millions of years of co-evolution between the virus and host in which the virus evades sterilizing immunity using specialized viral genes, while at the same time allowing the generation of certain T cell responses that prevent HCMV infection from becoming lethal.
We expect the following benefits from our T cell platform:
28
VIR-1111 and VIR-1388 were generated using our T cell platform.
Our Approach
We believe that the type of T cell response elicited by an HCMV-based vaccine vector can be selected by mutating certain genes in HCMV. We term this approach “immune programming.” We believe that immune programming is critical to combatting infections such as HIV and TB that have proven intractable, to date, for other vaccine technologies.
Immune programming is best understood in the context of the normal processes that elicit T cell immunity. T cells that fight infection and cancer are elicited by DCs, as well as other types of cells. The elicited T cells detect small peptide fragments from antigens on the surface of DCs and other antigen presenting cells, which have been captured in grooves found within specialized proteins encoded by major histocompatibility complex, or MHC, genes.
The unique immunology of HCMV depends on the virus’s ability to regulate the normal immune processes of antigen presentation by MHC genes. HCMV contains multiple genes that regulate many of the steps in antigen presenting cells that elicit T cell immunity by altering antigen presenting cell biology, the types of antigen presenting cells infected by the viral vaccine and the mechanisms responsible for the ability of a T cell to recognize antigens together with MHC molecules. Through manipulation of the HCMV genome, we believe we can program different types of pathogen-appropriate T cell responses.
MHC-E as a Near-Universal Target for Medicines that Leverage T Cell Receptors
T cells need to be able to recognize a highly diverse set of pathogen proteins to be effective. This diversity comes from the use of multiple different host immune response MHC genes to present foreign antigens to T cells. Some immune response MHC genes are highly variable between individuals, while others are less variable between individuals as illustrated below. The immune response MHC genes that are highly variable between individuals are responsible for most T cell responses. These MHC molecules enable T cells to recognize foreign proteins through the use of a highly specialized T cell receptor, or TCR, on the T cell surface.
An important consequence of the inter-individual variation in some immune response MHC genes is that a TCR that recognizes an antigenic peptide associated with one person’s MHC molecules could attack even normal tissues of a person with different MHC genes. As a result, identifying universal TCRs and universal T cell antigens that work in all people has been very challenging.
Our T cell platform may enable us to create vaccines or other types of medicines that are near universal in their effects on human immunity. The programmed T cell responses elicited by engineered HCMV vectors are predicted to use immune response MHC genes that vary minimally between people, instead of the highly variable immune response MHC genes targeted by other types of vaccines. As demonstrated by the graphic below, TCRs recognizing antigenic peptides together with MHC-E may be functional in all individuals, potentially allowing for the generation of universal TCR-based medicines, such as off-the-shelf cancer cell therapy. The peptides presented by MHC-E may be immunogenic in all individuals, potentially allowing for the generation of universal infectious disease and cancer vaccines.
29
Comparison of standard T cell responses to MHC-E responses. Peptides that are bound to MHC-I, -II or -E proteins are expressed on cell surfaces where they are recognized by T cell receptors on T cells (TCRs). This interaction results in the expansion of T cells that can recognize diverse antigen peptides (top row) and that carry out functions that protect the host. Since MHC-I and MHC-II molecules are highly variable between people, peptide presentation to TCRs has a high degree of individual specificity, as illustrated by the different colors of each peptide in the top row. In contrast to MHC-I and MHC-II, MHC-E proteins (bottom row) are conserved in the human population.
Specifically programmed RhCMV vectors can elicit strong T cell responses that target MHC molecules which vary minimally between NHPs. One such protein is MHC-E. The fundamental discovery, by some of our founders, that enables this part of our T cell platform is that RhCMV responses can be programmed to generate abundant MHC-E-restricted T cells.
We believe that using our T cell programming approach will allow us to select vaccine antigens and to identify TCRs that work across the human population. An example of a use of such a TCR would be creating a biological product that specifically recognizes infected cells in all individuals.
Programming T Cell Responses to Create HIV and TB Vaccines
Two of the most challenging infections for vaccine development are HIV and TB. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that programmed RhCMV vectors can be used to vaccinate against either SIV or TB in NHPs. For example, as shown in the figure below, in an NHP study, an MHC-E programmed RhCMV vaccine effectively protected more than half of NHPs from infection when challenged with a highly virulent form of SIV, under conditions in which all animals in the control group became infected. SIV vaccines programmed in other ways were not protective, demonstrating the potential value of having a programmable T cell vaccine platform.
Primary data for the protective effects of RhCMV-derived T cell vaccines on SIV infection. Rhesus monkeys were vaccinated with an RhCMV vaccine that elicits CD8 T cells recognizing SIV peptides presented by MHC-E and MHC-II or a control before challenge with SIV by rectal or vaginal routes. SIV genome copies were measured in peripheral blood (vertical axis) at intervals
30
after challenge (horizontal axis). SIV infection was cleared in approximately 51% of intrarectal challenged animals and approximately 60% of intravaginal challenged animals while the infection was progressive in all unvaccinated controls.
Protection has also been observed against TB in preclinical studies of NHPs after immunization with either of two different RhCMV vaccines. One of the protective vaccines was programmed to elicit MHC-II and MHC-E responses, while the other was programmed to elicit a response depending on MHC-I genes. This shows the potential significance of being able to specifically program a T cell vaccine to target a given infection, as the programming of a vaccine to protect against SIV can be different from the programming of a vaccine to protect against TB. These preclinical data support our plans to use our T cell platform to vaccinate against HIV and TB.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing funds for the process development and manufacturing and early clinical development of our HIV and TB vaccine programs. If proof of concept for the potential efficacy of our T cell vaccine platform is obtained in currently planned clinical trials, we plan to apply this T cell platform for treating additional types of infections, as well as potentially even cancers.
Innate Immunity Platform
Overview
Innate immunity protects us during the early stages of infection until antibodies and T cells can be generated by the immune system. Importantly, innate immunity is not pathogen-specific. We believe that we can target innate immunity to create medicines that break the “one-drug-for-one-bug” paradigm by producing “one-drug-for-multiple-bugs.” We term this concept “host-directed therapy” because the medicine would target a host protein instead of pathogen proteins, which are the target of standard antibiotics and antivirals. We can also identify proteins that are critical for a high priority infection, such as HBV, for which host-directed therapy might be part of a functional cure or complete cure. This platform may also identify targets relevant to diseases outside of infection.
Our scientists have developed and applied cutting-edge CRISPR-based genetic technologies to identify host genes that regulate innate immunity and/or pathogen replication. We have built internal capacity to systematically extend such trials to multiple pathogens and multiple aspects of innate immunity. We have joined the Broad Institute’s Functional Genomics Consortium, which provides us access to cutting-edge CRISPR reagents and computational services for whole-genome and custom-designed genetic screens.
Design of steps in our innate immunity platform. We are systematically mapping the genes that regulate pathogen control across a diverse set of pathogens. To accomplish this, advanced gene editing technology (CRISPR) is used to create cell libraries in which individual genes are either knocked out or activated. By exposing these cell libraries to pathogens of interest, under different screening conditions, we can systematically create genomic maps that identify genes that could lead to pathogen control. By computationally comparing these genomic maps, genes or pathways that are common to multiple pathogens can be identified and could lead to the development of products that could treat more than a single pathogen. Human rhinovirus = HRV.
We expect the following benefits from our innate immunity platform:
31
Our Approach
Our innate immunity platform envisions three steps leading to new medicines, as illustrated in the figure above.
Step 1: CRISPR Screens to Map the Genomic Landscape of Infection and Innate Immunity
Multiple types of proteins participate in innate immunity and infection, as they may be required for entry, replication, gene expression, pathogenicity and/or innate immune control of an infectious agent.
To identify such proteins, we screen CRISPR-derived cell libraries after infection, treatment with cytokines that trigger innate immunity, or both, and then select cells with desired properties. Using next-generation sequencing, we identify genes responsible for the desired property. By combining these data across screens and across pathogens, our team has created, and is continuously expanding, a proprietary database of the genomic landscape of infection and innate immunity.
CRISPR screen for genes involved in RSV replication. A CRISPR cell library was prepared in cells in which RSV can replicate. After a period of infection with an RSV strain expressing a fluorescent protein which serves as a surrogate for viral replication, cells were separated using flow cytometry into populations in which RSV replication was decreased or increased. Deep sequencing of the population exhibiting decreased replication compared to control revealed candidate genes required for efficient replication. Computational analysis represented on the right panel revealed that some of these genes fall into nodes that function in specific cellular processes. These nodes are represented as dots interconnected with a dense network of lines.
As an example, to identify genes required for RSV growth, we performed a screen in which a CRISPR-generated cell library was infected with RSV, as shown in the figure above. We then purified and sequenced populations exhibiting low or high RSV growth. Sequencing of the RSV low population revealed genes potentially required for RSV infection. When analyzed computationally, these genes fell into sets involved in specific cellular processes. These genes are potential targets for product candidates. We performed a similar screen with the influenza A virus and HRV and found that certain genes are shared between RSV, influenza A virus and HRV. Targeting such proteins might result in a pan-respiratory virus product candidate capable of treating RSV, influenza A virus and HRV.
The result from this step of the innate immune platform is a continuously updated database of the genomic landscape of pathogen replication and innate immunity. We have already performed multiple screens, and additional screens and target validation trials are in progress.
Step 2: Computational Analysis for Identification of Product Targets
Results from CRISPR screens provide the critical data that helps identify host targets necessary for a given pathogen. When creating a single drug for multiple pathogens, host targets in common among multiple pathogens are identified. After having identified the critical set of host targets necessary for a pathogen or pathogens, the specific target for a new medicine is selected by computationally integrating diverse data sets that account for tissue gene expression, human genetic variation, redundancies in cellular pathways and protein-protein interaction networks, among other factors.
32
Step 3: Product Discovery
Once a specific target has been chosen, the modality used to disrupt the function of the target is then selected. Potential modalities may include small molecules, antibodies or siRNAs. Standard drug discovery efforts are then applied to identify a lead product candidate. Alternatively, machine learning and database mining can be used to identify pre-existing chemical matter that is already known to inhibit an identified host target. This chemical matter can then be verified as having anti-pathogen activity, and serve as a lead compound. There are two potential outcomes from Step 3: one-drug-for-one-bug and one-drug-for-multiple-bugs.
siRNA Platform
Overview
Gene expression can be altered by two main types of synthetic oligonucleotides: (i) antisense oligonucleotides; and (ii) siRNAs. We believe that our current approach leveraging siRNAs may have safety and potency advantages over antisense oligonucleotides. The first FDA-approved siRNA in the United States was ONPATTRO® (patisiran), which was developed by our collaborator, Alnylam.
Mechanism of siRNA action to regulate gene expression. Intracellular double stranded RNA, or dsRNA, is processed by the “dicer” complex to produce siRNAs that become integrated into a multi-subunit protein complex, the RNA-induced silencing complex, or RISC, which guides the siRNAs to the target messenger RNA, or mRNA, sequence. The siRNA duplex unwinds, and the antisense strand remains bound to RISC and directs site-specific cleavage of the target complementary mRNA sequence, resulting in mRNA degradation and reduced expression of the target protein. (A)n = polyadenylation.
siRNAs act via an RNA interference, or RNAi, mechanism involving sequence-specific knockdown of target RNAs. Our bodies create their own so-called endogenous siRNAs, which act via the RNAi mechanism. This RNAi mechanism can be exploited by chemically synthesizing synthetic siRNAs that are introduced as medicines to knock down target RNAs that express pathogen or host proteins of interest. Pursuant to our collaboration and license agreement with Alnylam, we have an option to license Alnylam’s siRNA technology for use in up to four other infectious disease targets in addition to VIR-2218 for HBV. See the section titled “Our Collaboration, License and Grant Agreements” for a description of the collaboration and license agreement.
We expect the following benefits from our siRNA platform and siRNAs generally:
33
VIR-2218 was generated using our siRNA platform.
Our Approach
We have elected to develop modified siRNAs initially for infectious diseases of the liver because these product candidates can be administered subcutaneously, are highly stable in the blood stream and are efficiently delivered into hepatocytes via GalNAc sugar modification. Once in a liver cell, the siRNA can act to reduce pathogen or host gene expression. Such siRNAs can be further modified to reduce off-target activity, and potentially increase the therapeutic index. Since October 2017, we have collaborated with Alnylam to leverage this validated technology, with the goal of eliminating key host factors necessary for pathogen survival and removing microbial immune countermeasures.
We believe that HBV persists in part due to the expression of viral proteins such as HBsAg, which potentially inhibit antibody, T cell, and innate immune responses. This prevents the immune response from clearing HBV. By inhibiting the expression of these viral proteins, we envision enhancing immune function in persistently infected individuals. Furthermore, we believe that combining siRNA therapy with products derived from our other platforms, including antibodies, T cells and innate immune modulators, may allow us to rapidly advance a functional cure for HBV and a chronic treatment for HDV as well.
siRNA Delivery Mechanism
Since unmodified synthetic siRNAs can be unstable in the blood stream, methods to stabilize synthetic siRNAs have been pioneered by Alnylam including using their ESC technology.
An approach that has been used successfully to deliver siRNA to liver cells is to conjugate siRNAs to a specific sugar known as a GalNAc, whose receptor is exclusively expressed at high levels on hepatocytes, allowing for uptake of large quantities of siRNA into hepatocytes. Importantly, a GalNAc-conjugated siRNA can be delivered to the liver by subcutaneous injection, making administration relatively simple.
Potentially Enhancing the Therapeutic Index by Diminishing Off-Target Activity of siRNAs
A distinguishing characteristic of VIR-2218 siRNA, and of future siRNAs that we may develop with Alnylam, is the application of a new approach to diminish off-target effects of RNAi. siRNAs may cause unwanted alterations to non-target host RNAs, a process known as off-target activity, which can result in short- or long-term toxicity. To reduce off-target activity, which is thought to be due in part to microRNA, or miRNA, activity, it is necessary to preserve the RNAi activity of an siRNA while simultaneously decreasing its miRNA activity, as shown in the figure below. Alnylam scientists have pioneered placement of a modified nucleotide called a glycol nucleic acid, or GNA, into the part of the siRNA that generates miRNA-like activity. GNA modification has been shown to reduce miRNA activity, while preserving the RNAi activity of siRNA. The combination of GNA modification and other chemical modifications that enhance siRNA stability is called ESC+ technology. In animal models, reducing off-target miRNA activity can result in an increased therapeutic index of approximately five-fold. A higher therapeutic index has the potential to allow for higher siRNA doses and/or a longer duration of therapy, while maintaining a favorable safety profile. VIR-2218 was the first siRNA to enter the clinic with ESC+ technology.
34
On-Target and Off-Target Activity of siRNA. siRNAs can have off-target activity when siRNA binds to mRNA with a partial sequence match, leading to translation repression or mRNA destabilization of unrelated messages (right side). This contrasts with the intended on-target activity of an siRNA, which binds to an mRNA through a match to the entire sequence, leading to mRNA cleavage (left side). mRNA = messenger ribonucleic acid; RISC = ribonucleic acid-induced silencing complex.
Our Collaboration, License and Grant Agreements
Collaboration Agreements with GSK
2020 Collaboration Agreement with GSK
In June 2020, we entered into a definitive collaboration agreement with GSK, or the 2020 GSK Agreement, pursuant to which we agreed to collaborate to research, develop and commercialize products for the prevention, treatment and prophylaxis of diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and potentially other coronaviruses. The collaboration initially focused on the development and commercialization of three types of collaboration products under three programs: (1) antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2, and potentially other coronaviruses, or the Antibody Program; (2) vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2, and potentially other coronaviruses, or the Vaccine Program, and (3) products based on genome-wide CRISPR screening of host targets expressed in connection with exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and potentially other coronaviruses, or the Functional Genomics Program. The initial antibodies under the Antibody Program are sotrovimab (previously VIR-7831) and VIR-7832.
The original 2020 GSK Agreement contained the following key terms. For a period of four years beginning April 2020, the parties agreed to conduct certain research and development activities under mutually agreed development plans and associated budgets for each of the three programs, and under the oversight of a joint steering committee, or JSC. During such period, generally, subject to certain rights granted to WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited, or WuXi Biologics, under then existing agreements between us and WuXi Biologics, the parties would have an exclusive research collaboration with respect to antibody products directed to SARS-CoV-2 or to any other coronavirus, and in connection with functional genomics CRISPR screens for drug discovery and development in connection with SARS-CoV-2 or other coronaviruses. We are primarily responsible for the development and clinical manufacturing activities for the Antibody Program, and for conducting the initial development activities directed to a vaccine in the Vaccine Program. GSK is primarily responsible for the commercialization activities for the Antibody Program (except in connection with sales of antibody products licensed to WuXi Biologics in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), the later-stage development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for the Vaccine Program and the development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for the Functional Genomics Program. We and GSK are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to conduct the activities assigned to each party under each development plan and to seek and obtain regulatory approval for collaboration products that arise from such activities in the United States and specified major markets. Subject to an opt-out mechanism, we and GSK share all development costs, manufacturing costs and costs and expenses for the commercialization of the collaboration products, with us bearing 72.5% of such costs for the antibody products, 27.5% of such costs for the vaccine products, and we and GSK sharing equally all such costs for the functional genomics products, and all profits will be shared in the same ratios. If we and GSK elect to conduct a technology transfer of manufacturing technology under our agreement with WuXi Biologics (as further described below), we will bear 72.5% of the costs related to such manufacturing technology transfer and for commercial manufacturing of the antibody products under such agreement with WuXi Biologics, and GSK will bear 27.5% of such costs. The parties will also share the committed costs for the reservation of manufacturing capacity for the drug substance for antibody products in the foregoing ratio under our agreement
35
with Samsung as well as such costs relating to committed manufacturing capacity for antibody products as are approved by the JSC from time to time.
On a collaboration product-by-collaboration product basis, each party has the one-time right, at specified points in development, to opt out of its co-funding obligations, and the other party may, at its election, either pursue such program unilaterally, or also cease research and development activities and funding of such collaboration product. If the opt-out provisions are not exercised by either party subject to the terms of the 2020 GSK Agreement, the parties share all profits and losses arising from any collaboration product in the same ratios in which the parties bore development costs for such collaboration program. For each collaboration product as to which a party exercises its opt-out right, the commercializing party pays to the opt-out party royalties on net sales of the applicable collaboration product at rates based on factors such as the stage of development of such collaboration product at the time the opt-out party exercises such right, and whether the opt-out party is the lead party, or a portion of the sublicense revenue if the commercializing party chooses to sublicense or otherwise divest rights to such collaboration product. On an antibody product-by-antibody product basis, we have a co-promotion right for such antibody product in the United States, under which we have the right to perform up to 20% of details in connection with such antibody product. GSK will lead commercialization and book all sales and is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize each collaboration product following regulatory approval in the United States and specified major markets. This definitive agreement superseded and replaced the April 2020 preliminary agreement with GSK. In connection with the 2020 GSK Agreement, we also entered into a stock purchase agreement in April 2020, pursuant to which we issued 6,626,027 shares of our common stock to Glaxo Group Limited, or GGL, an affiliate of GSK, at a price per share of $37.73, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $250.0 million.
The 2020 GSK Agreement as amended will remain in effect with respect to each collaboration program for as long as there is a collaboration product being developed or commercialized by the lead party, or the non-opt-out party, in such program. Either party has the right to terminate the 2020 GSK Agreement in the case of the insolvency of the other party, an uncured material breach of the other party with respect to a collaboration program or collaboration product, or as mutually agreed by the parties.
In December 2021, Beecham S.A. assigned and transferred all its rights, title, interest, and benefit in the 2020 GSK Agreement to GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A., including all its rights to bring claims under such agreement.
On May 27, 2022, we entered into Amendment No. 1 to the 2020 GSK Agreement, or Amendment No. 1. Pursuant to Amendment No. 1, we and GSK acknowledged that the antibody products that had been licensed to WuXi Biologics in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and had reverted to us pursuant to the Termination Agreement (described below) and agreed with GSK that they are now included in and governed by the 2020 GSK Agreement, subject to certain amendments relating to sotrovimab.
Under the terms of Amendment No. 1, GSK has the sole right to develop (including to seek, obtain or maintain regulatory approvals), manufacture and commercialize sotrovimab in and for mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan at GSK’s sole cost and expense (other than certain payments for which we remain responsible under certain of our existing agreements with third parties). GSK paid us a one-time upfront payment of $7.0 million in consideration for the rights and licenses granted to GSK under Amendment No. 1. In addition, GSK will be obligated to pay us tiered royalties on net sales of sotrovimab in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in percentages ranging from the high teens to the low thirties. Such royalties are payable to us during the term of the 2020 GSK Agreement applicable to the Antibody Program.
On February 8, 2023, we and GSK entered into Amendment No. 2 and Amendment No. 3 to the 2020 GSK Agreement. Pursuant to Amendment No. 2 to the 2020 GSK Agreement, effective as of March 31, 2022, or the Effective Date, we and GSK agreed to remove the Vaccine Program from the 2020 GSK Agreement, and to wind down and terminate the cost-sharing arrangements and all ongoing activities in relation to the Vaccine Program. As of the Effective Date, the Vaccine Program had not yet advanced to its predefined development candidate stage. We retain the right to progress development of vaccine products directed to SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses independently (including with or for third parties) outside the scope of the 2020 GSK Agreement, subject to the payment of tiered royalties to GSK on net sales of any vaccine products covered by certain GSK intellectual property rights in the low single digits, subject to certain deductions in certain circumstances. Pursuant to Amendment No. 3 to the 2020 GSK Agreement, we and GSK agreed to modify the Antibody Program to remove from the collaboration all coronavirus antibodies other than sotrovimab and VIR-7832, and certain variants thereof. Sotrovimab and VIR-7832, and certain variants thereof, remain subject to the terms of the 2020 GSK Agreement, and we retain the sole right to progress the development and commercialization of the terminated antibody products independently (including with or for third parties), subject to the payment of tiered royalties to GSK on net sales of such terminated antibody products at percentages ranging from the very low single digits to the mid-single digits, depending on the nature of the antibody product being commercialized, and subject to certain deductions in certain circumstances.
2021 Expanded GSK Collaboration
36
In May 2021, we entered into the 2021 GSK Agreement under which the parties agreed to expand the 2020 GSK Agreement, to include collaboration on three separate programs: (1) a program to research, develop and commercialize mAbs for the prevention, treatment or prophylaxis of the influenza virus, or the Influenza Program, excluding VIR-2482 unless GSK exercises its option as described below; (2) an expansion of the parties' current Functional Genomics Program to focus on functional genomics screens directed to targets associated with respiratory viruses, or the Expanded Functional Genomics Program; and (3) additional programs to develop neutralizing mAbs directed to up to three non-influenza target pathogens selected by GSK, or the Selected Pathogens, and such programs, or the Additional Programs. Under the Influenza Program, we will collaborate to research, develop and commercialize our next generation mAbs for the prevention, treatment or prophylaxis of influenza. In addition, after we complete and report the Phase 2 clinical trial outcomes for VIR-2482, GSK has the exclusive option to obtain exclusive rights to co-develop and commercialize VIR-2482, or the Option.
In connection with the 2021 GSK Agreement, we entered into a stock purchase agreement with GGL pursuant to which we issued 1,924,927 shares of our common stock to GGL for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $120.0 million. The 2021 GSK Agreement superseded and replaced the preliminary agreement entered into with GSK in February 2021, or the 2021 Preliminary Agreement.
For a period of three years following the effective date of the 2021 GSK Agreement, or the Research Term, the parties will conduct certain research and development activities under mutually agreed development plans and associated budgets for the programs within the expanded collaboration. Subject to certain exceptions, we will exclusively collaborate with respect to (a) all of our mAbs that the parties agree to develop for the prevention, treatment or prophylaxis of the influenza virus, until such time there are none of our mAbs being developed under the expanded collaboration, (b) functional genomic screens for targets associated with respiratory viruses during the Research Term, and compounds or products developed through the Expanded Functional Genomics Program directed to a collaboration target for five years following the target selection (unless either party elects to opt-out earlier), and (c) products directed to Selected Pathogens during the Research Term. We will be responsible for continuing the development and clinical manufacturing activities for VIR-2482 unless and until GSK exercises the Option. If GSK does not exercise the Option for VIR-2482, then, in general, we have the right to continue the development and/or commercialization of VIR-2482 by itself or with a third party. GSK will be the lead party for development, clinical and commercial manufacturing, and commercialization activities for products under the Influenza Program (other than VIR-2482 unless and until GSK exercises the Option, if applicable). We will mutually agree upon the allocation of responsibility for the development of products under the Expanded Functional Genomics Program, and for the development and early-stage manufacturing of products under the Additional Programs if and when GSK decides which Selected Pathogens to pursue. GSK will be primarily responsible for commercial manufacturing and commercialization activities for products under the Expanded Functional Genomics Program and Additional Programs, if and when selected by GSK. For each collaboration program, upon execution of the definitive agreement, we will grant GSK certain license rights related to the development, manufacturing and commercialization of products arising from the program.
The parties will share 50% of all development costs in accordance with the budget for each of the collaboration programs (other than for the Selected Pathogens and VIR-2482, unless GSK exercises the Option), with each party having the right (on a target-by-target, or collaboration product-by-collaboration product basis, as applicable) to opt-out of its co-funding obligations at specified points in development. In such case, the party continuing with the program will pay to the opt-out party a royalty on net sales of products arising from such program at specified rates based on the stage of development at which the opt-out is exercised. Following the exercise of an opt-out right by a party the other party may, at its election, either pursue development and commercialization of such product or program unilaterally, or also cease the conduct and funding of such collaboration product or program. In the absence of any opt-out, the parties will also share 50% of all profits and losses arising from any collaboration product. Each party is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to conduct the activities assigned to it under each development plan and, where applicable, to seek and obtain regulatory approval for collaboration products that arise from such activities in the United States and specified major markets. GSK will lead commercialization and book all sales, and is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize each collaboration product following regulatory approval in the United States and specified major markets.
GSK made an upfront payment to us of $225.0 million, 50% became payable at the effective date of the 2021 Preliminary Agreement and 50% of became payable following the execution of the 2021 GSK Agreement. If GSK exercises the Option, GSK will pay us an Option exercise fee of $300.0 million unless certain agreed product criteria for VIR-2482 are not met, in which case the parties will negotiate an alternative option exercise fee. Upon achievement of a pre-defined regulatory milestone for the first product in the Influenza Program, which may be (i) VIR-2482 (if GSK exercised the Option), (ii) a next-generation mAb, or (iii) any other influenza mAb approved by the JSC to be included in the collaboration, arising from the Influenza Program, GSK will make a milestone payment to us of up to $200.0 million.
In September 2022, GSK exercised its first Selected Pathogen Right, selecting RSV as its first pathogen under the Additional Programs of the 2021 GSK Agreement. GSK agreed to retroactively share the research and development costs that we had incurred under its RSV program since April 2022 in accordance with the applicable provisions of the 2021 GSK Agreement.
37
With respect to the Influenza Program and each Additional Program, unless earlier terminated, the 2021 GSK Agreement will remain in effect for as long as there is a product from such collaboration program being developed or commercialized by the lead party in the collaboration program or by the non-opt-out party, if applicable. With respect to the Expanded Functional Genomics Program, unless earlier terminated, the 2021 GSK Agreement will remain in effect (a) until the end of the Research Term, if no targets are selected for the Expanded Functional Genomics Program prior to the end of the Research Term, or (b) if at least one target is selected for the Expanded Functional Genomics Program prior to the end of the Research Term, for as long as there is a product from the Expanded Functional Genomics Program being developed or commercialized by the lead party in the Expanded Functional Genomics Program or by the non-opt-out party, if applicable. Either party has the right to terminate the 2021 GSK Agreement in the case of the insolvency of the other party, an uncured material breach of the other party with respect to a collaboration program or a collaboration product, or as mutually agreed by the parties.
Collaboration and License Agreement with Alnylam
In October 2017, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Alnylam, or the Alnylam Agreement, for the development of siRNA products for the treatment of HBV and following the exercise of certain program options, the development and commercialization of siRNA products directed to up to four other infectious disease targets selected by us. The technology licensed under the Alnylam Agreement forms the basis of our siRNA technology platform.
Pursuant to the Alnylam Agreement, we obtained a worldwide, exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize the HBV siRNA product candidates, including VIR-2218, for all uses and purposes other than agricultural, horticultural, forestry, aquaculture and other residential applications, such excluded fields, the Excluded Fields. In addition, Alnylam granted us an exclusive option, for each of the infectious disease siRNA programs directed to our selected targets, to obtain a worldwide, exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize siRNA products directed to the target of each such program for all uses and purposes other than the Excluded Fields. Our options are each exercisable during a specified period following selection of candidates for each program, or two years following the initiation of certain activities under an agreed-upon development plan, if earlier. On a product-by-product basis for each product arising from the HBV and, following our option exercise, the infectious disease programs, Alnylam has an exclusive option, exercisable during a specified period prior to the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical trial for each such product, to negotiate and enter into a profit-sharing agreement for such product.
We and Alnylam were jointly responsible for funding the initial research and development activities for VIR-2218 through completion of proof of concept trials. Prior to the exercise of our option for each siRNA program directed to one of our selected infectious disease targets, Alnylam is responsible for conducting all development activities, at our expense, in accordance with an agreed-upon development plan. Following our exercise of an option for a program and payment of the program option exercise fee and any outstanding program costs due to Alnylam, we are solely responsible, at our expense, for conducting all development, manufacture and commercialization activities for products arising from each such program unless Alnylam exercises its profit-sharing option. We are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize one siRNA product directed to HBV and one siRNA product directed to the target of each other infectious disease program for which we exercise our option, in each of the major markets. If Alnylam exercises a profit-sharing option for a product, we will negotiate the terms of such profit-sharing agreement, which will include sharing equally with Alnylam all subsequent costs associated with the development of such product, as well as the profits and losses in connection with such product, subject to reimbursement by Alnylam of a portion of specified development costs in certain circumstances.
We retain final decision-making authority with respect to which infectious disease product candidates we advance and the development programs for the HBV and infectious disease product candidates, subject to certain limitations. During the term of the Alnylam Agreement, neither we nor Alnylam may develop or commercialize any gene-silencing, oligonucleotide-based product directed to the same target as any product candidate under the Alnylam Agreement, other than pursuant to the Alnylam Agreement, subject to certain exceptions.
Pursuant to the Alnylam Agreement, we paid Alnylam an upfront fee of $10.0 million and issued to Alnylam 1,111,111 shares of our common stock. Upon the achievement of a certain development milestone, as further discussed below, we were obligated to issue shares of our common stock equal to the lesser of (i) 1,111,111 shares or (ii) a certain number of shares based on our stock price at the time such milestone was achieved. We will be required to pay Alnylam up to $190.0 million in the aggregate for the achievement of specified development and regulatory milestones by the first siRNA product directed to HBV, and up to $115.0 million for the achievement of specified development and regulatory milestones for the first product directed to the target of each infectious disease siRNA program for which we exercised our option. Following commercialization, we will be required to pay to Alnylam up to $250.0 million in the aggregate for the achievement of specified levels of net sales by siRNA products directed to HBV and up to $100.0 million for the achievement of specified levels of net sales by products directed to the target of each infectious disease siRNA program for which we exercised our option. We will also be required to pay Alnylam tiered royalties at percentages ranging from the low double-digits to mid-teens on annual net sales of HBV products, and tiered royalties at percentages ranging from
38
the high single-digits to the sub-teen double-digits on annual net sales of licensed infectious disease products, in each case subject to specified reductions and offsets. The royalties are payable on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis until the later of the expiration of all valid claims of specified patents covering such product in such country and 10 years after the first commercial sale of such product in such country. Alnylam is also entitled to receive a portion of any consideration we receive as a result of granting a sublicense under the licenses granted to us by Alnylam under the Alnylam Agreement or an option to acquire such a sublicense, determined based on the timing of the grant of such sublicense. In November 2018, in connection with the inclusion of the HBV siRNA program as the subject of a potential grant of a sublicense to Brii Bio under the Brii Agreement, as defined under the section titled “—Collaboration, Option and License Agreement with Brii Bio,” which triggered certain payment obligations under the Alnylam Agreement, we entered into a letter agreement with Alnylam, or the Alnylam Letter, making certain modifications to the payments due to Alnylam as a result of the grant of the option and potential payments that would result from Brii Bio’s exercise of rights under such sublicense. As a result of the rights granted under the Brii Agreement and pursuant to the Alnylam Letter, in February 2020 we transferred to Alnylam a specified percentage of the equity consideration allocable to the HBV siRNA program that we received from Brii Bio and its affiliated companies in connection with the entry into the Brii Agreement.
The term of the Alnylam Agreement will continue, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until expiration of all royalty payment obligations under the Alnylam Agreement. If we do not exercise our option for an infectious disease program directed to one of our selected targets, the Alnylam Agreement will expire upon the expiration of the applicable option period with respect to such program. However, if Alnylam exercises its profit-sharing option for any product, the term of the Alnylam Agreement will continue until the expiration of the profit-sharing arrangement for such product. We may terminate the Alnylam Agreement on a program-by-program basis or in its entirety for any reason on 90 days’ written notice. Either party may terminate the agreement for cause for the other party’s uncured material breach on 60 days’ written notice (or 30 days’ notice for payment breach), or if the other party challenges the validity or enforceability of any patent licensed to it under the Alnylam Agreement on 30 days’ notice.
In March 2020, we achieved one of the specified development milestones relating to VIR-2218 pursuant to the Alnylam Agreement, as amended. As such, we paid Alnylam $15.0 million in April 2020, and issued Alnylam 1,111,111 shares of our common stock in May 2020.
In March and April 2020, we entered into two further amendments to the Alnylam Agreement, or the Amended Alnylam Agreement, to expand our existing collaboration to include the development and commercialization of siRNA products targeting SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other coronaviruses, and up to three targeting human host factors for SARS-CoV-2, or collectively, the COVID Collaboration Targets.
In December 2020, we and Alnylam entered into a letter amendment, or the Letter Agreement, further amending the Amended Alnylam Agreement to modify certain funding and governance provisions in connection with the siRNA products directed to the COVID Collaboration Targets, including VIR-2703, or the COV Target, and to modify certain rights of each party with respect to products arising from such programs. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, Alnylam was responsible for conducting pre-clinical research activities set forth in the existing workplan for the COV Target, or the COV Workplan, at its discretion and sole expense, and we were no longer obligated to reimburse Alnylam for any share of costs incurred by Alnylam in conducting activities under the COV Workplan after July 1, 2020. In July 2021, Alnylam elected to discontinue the development of the COV Target, and all other related research and development activities in accordance with their rights under the Letter Agreement. As a result, the COV Target and the siRNA program related thereto are no longer included within the Amended Alnylam Agreement and all rights to the siRNA program directed to the COV Target reverted to Alnylam.
License Agreements with MedImmune
2012 Sub-License and Collaboration Agreement with MedImmune
In March 2012, our subsidiary Humabs entered into a sub-license and collaboration agreement with MedImmune, LLC, or MedImmune, as amended, or the 2012 MedImmune Agreement, pursuant to which Humabs conducted certain activities under a mutually agreed research plan for the development of therapeutic antibodies directed to influenza viruses (including influenza A and influenza B) and to Klebsiella bacteria. The 2012 MedImmune Agreement was amended in April 2013, April 2015, December 2015, August 2016, July 2017, and September 2018 to designate Klebsiella as an extra target, to extend the term of the research program and provide for related payments, and to incorporate certain research activities funded by MedImmune under a specified government grant. Under the 2012 MedImmune Agreement, as amended, MedImmune obtained a worldwide exclusive license from Humabs to develop and commercialize products directed to such targets for all uses in humans and animals except for active vaccination. MedImmune is obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop at least one product directed to influenza viruses.
In consideration for the grant of the license, MedImmune made certain upfront payments to Humabs. MedImmune is obligated to pay Humabs development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to $96.5 million in the aggregate for the first product directed to influenza viruses to achieve the applicable milestones, and up to $12.0 million for the first product directed to
39
Klebsiella to achieve the applicable milestones. MedImmune will also be obligated to pay royalties based on net sales of products directed to influenza viruses or Klebsiella at certain fixed percentages in the low to mid-single-digits, with the rate determined based on the specific target to which the product is directed, in each case subject to specified reductions and a royalty floor. The royalties are payable, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the later of the last to expire valid claim that would, but for the licenses granted under the 2012 MedImmune Agreement, be infringed by the sale of such product in such country, and 10 years from the first commercial sale of the first product in such country. MedImmune also made certain payments to Humabs in consideration for Humabs’ conduct of the research program. We will be obligated to pass through the milestone payments and royalty payments that we receive under the 2012 MedImmune Agreement, following deduction of certain expenses incurred by us or Humabs thereunder, to Humabs’ securities holders pursuant to the Humabs SPA, as defined under the section titled “—Securities Purchase Agreement with Humabs.”
The 2012 MedImmune Agreement will remain in force until MedImmune has fulfilled all of its obligations to make milestone and royalty payments. MedImmune may terminate the 2012 MedImmune Agreement in its entirety, or on a product-by-product, license-by-license or country-by-country basis, for convenience, upon 90 days’ notice. Either MedImmune or Humabs may terminate the 2012 MedImmune Agreement for the other party’s uncured material breach or in the event of bankruptcy of the other party.
2018 License Agreement with MedImmune
In September 2018, we entered into a license agreement with MedImmune, or the 2018 MedImmune Agreement, pursuant to which we obtained a worldwide, exclusive license to develop and commercialize half-life extended versions of two specified antibodies under development by MedImmune that target influenza A and influenza B, respectively, for all uses in humans and animals. The license from MedImmune includes the grant of a sublicense under MedImmune’s license to certain intellectual property controlled by Humabs that was granted to MedImmune pursuant to the 2012 MedImmune Agreement. Under certain circumstances and during certain periods of time we have the right to nominate up to two variants of each of these antibodies for inclusion under the license. MedImmune retained the rights to continue to develop and to commercialize the two specified antibodies that target influenza A and influenza B, in each case that are not the half-life extended versions that are licensed to us. Additionally, we obtained a worldwide, exclusive license under MedImmune’s antibody half-life extension technology to develop and commercialize half-life extended antibodies directed to up to two additional targets selected by us for all uses in humans or animals for the prevention, treatment or diagnosis of infectious diseases and had the right to nominate such additional targets during a specified period following the effective date of the 2018 MedImmune Agreement.We are solely responsible, at our sole cost, for the development of products containing half-life extended versions of antibodies directed to the influenza targets and any additional selected targets, and are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and obtain regulatory approval for at least one product containing half-life extended versions of antibodies directed to each of influenza A, influenza B and any additional targets, if applicable, in the United States and specified markets in Europe and Asia. We are also obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize products containing half-life extended versions of antibodies directed to such targets in such markets. We are developing VIR-2482 using technology licensed under the 2018 MedImmune Agreement.
In consideration for the grant of the licenses under the 2018 MedImmune Agreement, we made an upfront payment to MedImmune of $10.0 million. We will be obligated to make development and regulatory milestone payments to MedImmune of up to $92.0 million, of which $5.0 million was paid in the third quarter of 2019, in the aggregate for products containing half-life extended versions of antibodies directed to influenza A that we licensed, up to an additional $39.2 million in the aggregate for such products directed to influenza B that we licensed, and up to $250,000 in the aggregate for certain specified products directed to the additional selected targets, if applicable. We will also be required to make sales-related milestone payments to MedImmune following commercialization up to an aggregate of $200.0 million for the achievement of specified levels of aggregate annual net sales of products containing half-life extended versions of antibodies directed to influenza A and/or influenza B. MedImmune will also be entitled to receive tiered royalties based on net sales of products containing half-life extended versions of antibodies directed to influenza A and/or influenza B at percentages ranging from the mid-single-digits to sub-teen double-digits and a royalty based on net sales of products containing half-life extended versions of antibodies directed to any additional selected targets, if applicable, at a percentage in the low single-digits, in each case subject to specified reductions. These royalties are payable, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the latest to occur of expiration of the last to expire valid claim covering such product in such country, expiration of regulatory exclusivity for such product in such country, and 12 years after the first commercial sale of such product in such country. Additionally, we are responsible for paying any royalties due under the 2012 MedImmune Agreement as a result of our commercialization of products under the 2018 MedImmune Agreement.
The 2018 MedImmune Agreement will remain in force until the expiration on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis of all of our obligations to pay royalties to MedImmune. We may terminate the 2018 MedImmune Agreement in its entirety or on a product-by-product basis, for convenience, upon 120 days’ notice. Either party may terminate the 2018 MedImmune Agreement for cause for the other party’s uncured material breach on 60 days’ notice or immediately in the event of bankruptcy of the other party.
40
Additionally, MedImmune may terminate the 2018 MedImmune Agreement for cause on 30 days’ written notice if we challenge the validity or enforceability of the patents to which we have obtained a license under the 2018 MedImmune Agreement.
Master Exclusive License Agreement with OHSU
In June 2012, our subsidiary TomegaVax, Inc., or TomegaVax, entered into a master exclusive license agreement, or the OHSU Agreement, with Oregon Health & Science University, or OHSU. The OHSU Agreement was revised and restated in August 2014 and again in August 2019, at which time we assumed TomegaVax’s rights and obligations as licensee under the OHSU Agreement. Under the OHSU Agreement, we obtained a worldwide exclusive license under certain patent rights and a non-exclusive license under certain know-how to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, have sold and import certain products relating to CMV vectors in all fields of use. The OHSU Agreement provides for us to include within the license grant additional patent or know-how rights covering certain inventions arising at OHSU and relating to the use of CMV vaccine vectors through the execution of technology addenda, each such addendum, a Technology Addendum. Each Technology Addendum relates to one or more invention disclosures and their corresponding patent family or know-how rights. During the term of the OHSU Agreement to date, we have entered into 17 such Technology Addenda. We must use reasonably diligent efforts to develop and commercialize the CMV vector products consistent with its reasonable business practices and judgment, including by achieving certain specified development and regulatory milestones within certain periods. We use technology licensed under the OHSU Agreement in our T cell platform and in our product candidate VIR-1111.
Pursuant to the initial entry into the OHSU Agreement and certain of the Technology Addenda, TomegaVax issued a specified percentage of its then outstanding common stock to OHSU, which was subsequently exchanged for shares of our common stock as a result of our acquisition of TomegaVax in September 2016. In connection with the second revision and restatement of the OHSU Agreement in August 2019, we issued an additional specified number of shares of our common stock to OHSU. We are obligated to pay OHSU up to $1.3 million upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones for each CMV vector product, and up to $2.0 million upon the achievement of certain aggregate annual net sales milestones for all CMV vector products. We will also be required to pay OHSU a royalty in the low single-digits on net sales of licensed products on a product-by-product basis, subject to specified reductions and offsets, and specified minimum annual royalty payments. The royalties are payable, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the later of (a) the expiration of all valid claims in the licensed patents covering such product in the country of sale or country of manufacture, as applicable, and (b) 10 years after the first commercial sale of such product in the country of sale. OHSU is also entitled to receive a specified percentage of any consideration received by us as a result of the grant of a sublicense under the rights granted under the OHSU Agreement, with the applicable percentage based on the development stage of the applicable program at the time of the grant of the sublicense.
The OHSU Agreement will remain in force until the expiration of all licensed patent rights or 10 years after the effective date of the last Technology Addendum, whichever is the later. Each individual Technology Addendum remains in force until the expiration of the patent rights to which it applies, or 10 years after the effective date of such Technology Addendum, whichever is later. Either party may terminate the OHSU Agreement, or any individual Technology Addendum, for the other party’s uncured material breach on 60 days’ written notice, which may be extended by an additional 120 days under certain conditions. The OHSU Agreement and each Technology Addendum also terminate in the event of bankruptcy of either party. We may also terminate the OHSU Agreement in its entirety, or any Technology Addendum individually, upon 60 days’ notice. OHSU may immediately terminate the OHSU Agreement if we or our sublicensees bring any action or proceeding against OHSU, subject to certain exceptions.
Exclusive License Agreement with the Institute for Research in Biomedicine
In December 2011, Humabs Holdings GmbH, or Humabs Holdings, the former parent company of our subsidiary Humabs, entered into an exclusive license agreement, or the IRB Agreement, with the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, or IRB. The IRB Agreement amended and restated an original 2004 exclusive license agreement between the parties in connection with IRB’s proprietary technologies relating to human monoclonal antibodies and the discovery of unique epitopes recognized by such antibodies. In May 2008, Humabs entered into an exclusive license agreement with IRB, or the Humabs IRB Agreement, and together with the IRB Agreement, the Current IRB License Agreements. Pursuant to the Humabs IRB Agreement, IRB granted to Humabs an exclusive license under certain intellectual property rights for the development of certain monoclonal antibodies. Following the entry into the Humabs IRB Agreement, in February 2012, Humabs and IRB entered into a research agreement, or the IRB Research Agreement, concurrently with the termination of an original research agreement dated July 2004 between Humabs Holdings and IRB, to provide for a continuing research collaboration between Humabs and IRB, and to coordinate the exploitation of intellectual property rights arising from the IRB Research Agreement with the rights granted under the Current IRB License Agreements. Under the terms of the IRB Research Agreement, IRB performs certain research activities for Humabs, and all intellectual property rights arising under the IRB Research Agreement are either owned by Humabs, or included in and licensed to Humabs pursuant to the terms of the Current IRB License Agreements. In August 2017, we acquired all of the share capital of Humabs as described further below. Prior to the closing of such acquisition, Humabs Holdings was consolidated into Humabs, such that Humabs Holdings ceased to exist as a separate
41
legal entity, and Humabs became the successor-in-interest to Humabs Holdings’ rights under the IRB Agreement. As a result, Humabs is the licensee under each of the Current IRB License Agreements.
We use technology licensed under the Current IRB License Agreements in our antibody platform and in our product candidates VIR-2482 and VIR-3434.
Pursuant to the Current IRB License Agreements, IRB granted to Humabs an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license under patent and know-how rights covering or associated with IRB’s proprietary technology platform relating to antibody discovery, as well as rights in certain antibodies, including as a result of activities under the IRB Research Agreement, in each case for all purposes, including to practice the licensed technology platform, and to develop, manufacture and commercialize any drug, vaccine or diagnostic product containing such licensed antibodies. Humabs is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize licensed products, and must maintain an active program to commercialize licensed products. Humabs is required to pay to IRB a flat royalty on net sales of licensed products approved for non-diagnostic use in the low single-digits, and a flat royalty on licensed products for diagnostic use at 50% of the non-diagnostic product rate, in each case subject to standard reductions and offsets. A single royalty stream is payable on products that include the licensed antibodies (including antibodies that are owned by Humabs, but developed using the licensed technology), irrespective of whether a given product is covered by patents under both of the Current IRB License Agreements. Humabs’ obligation to pay royalties to IRB, on a country-by-country basis, is reduced upon the expiration of the relevant patents in such country, and expires 10 years after the date of first commercialization of a licensed product in such country. Humabs is also required to pay to IRB a specified percentage in the sub-teen double-digits of consideration received in connection with the grant of a sublicense to a non-affiliate third party, subject to a specified maximum dollar amount for the first up front or milestone payment received under such sublicense for each licensed product, and a lower specified maximum dollar amount for subsequent up front or milestone payments for such licensed product.
Each of the Current IRB License Agreements remains in force until the expiration of all valid claims of the licensed patent rights and trade secrets included in the licensed IRB know-how. Humabs may terminate the IRB Agreement at will on 90 days’ written notice to IRB, and either party may terminate either of the Current IRB License Agreements on 60 days’ written notice for the uncured material breach of the other party.
Exclusive License Agreement with The Rockefeller University
In July 2018, we entered into an exclusive license agreement with The Rockefeller University, or Rockefeller, which was amended in May 2019, in September 2020, and in March 2021, or the Rockefeller Agreement. Pursuant to the Rockefeller Agreement, Rockefeller granted us a worldwide exclusive license under certain patent rights, and a worldwide non-exclusive license under certain materials and know-how covering certain antibody variants relating to a specified mutation leading to enhanced antibody function and utility, to develop, manufacture and commercialize infectious disease products covered by the licensed patents, or that involve the use or incorporation of the licensed materials and know-how, in each case for all uses and purposes for infectious diseases. The licenses granted to us are freely sublicensable to third parties. Rockefeller retains the right to use the licensed patents outside the field of use, and within the field of use solely in connection with educational, research and non-commercial purposes, as well as for certain research being conducted in collaboration with us. We are obligated to grant sublicenses to third parties with respect to products that are not being pursued and are not of interest to us following a specified anniversary of the May 2019 amendment date. Pursuant to the Rockefeller Agreement, we are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize infectious disease products as soon as reasonably practicable, including by achieving certain specified development milestone events within specified time periods for products arising from our HBV and influenza programs.
We use technology licensed under the Rockefeller Agreement in our antibody platform and in our product candidates VIR-3434 and VIR-7832.
We paid Rockefeller an upfront fee of $0.3 million for entry into the Rockefeller Agreement, and are required to pay annual license maintenance fees of $1.0 million, which will be creditable against royalties following commercialization. In addition, for the achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial success milestone events, we will be required to pay up to $80.3 million, in the aggregate, for up to six infectious disease products. Any follow-on products beyond six products may result in additional milestone event payments. We will also be required to pay to Rockefeller a tiered royalty at a low single-digit percentage rate on net sales of licensed products, subject to certain adjustments. Our obligation to pay royalties to Rockefeller will terminate, on a product-by-product and jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis, upon the latest of the expiration of the last valid claim of a licensed patent in such jurisdiction, the expiration of all regulatory exclusivity in such jurisdiction or 12 years following the first commercial sale of the applicable licensed product in such jurisdiction. If we grant a sublicense to a non-affiliate third party under the Rockefeller technology, we will be required to pay to Rockefeller a specified percentage of the consideration received from such sublicensee for the grant of the sublicense, depending on the date of receipt of the applicable sublicense income from such sublicensee.
42
The Rockefeller Agreement will remain in force, absent earlier termination, until the expiration of all of our obligations to pay royalties to Rockefeller in all jurisdictions. We have the right to terminate the Rockefeller Agreement in its entirety, or in part, for any reason on 60 days’ written notice to Rockefeller. Rockefeller may terminate the Rockefeller Agreement on 90 days’ written notice for our uncured material breach, or if we challenge the validity or enforceability of any of the licensed patents, or immediately in the event of our insolvency. Rockefeller may also terminate the Rockefeller Agreement if we cease to carry on business with respect to the rights granted to us under the agreement.
Collaboration, Option and License Agreement with Brii Bio
In May 2018, we entered into a collaboration, option and license agreement with Brii Biosciences Limited (previously named BiiG Therapeutics Limited), or Brii Bio Parent, and Brii Bio, and such agreement, the Brii Agreement, pursuant to which we granted to Brii Bio, with respect to up to four of our programs (excluding mAbs in Vir’s active research and development program against coronaviruses), an exclusive option to obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize compounds and products arising from such programs in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, or collectively the China Territory, for the treatment, palliation, diagnosis, prevention or cure of acute and chronic diseases of infectious pathogen origin or hosted by pathogen infection, or the Field of Use. Our HBV siRNA program being developed under the Amended Alnylam Agreement (described above) is included within the Brii Agreement as a program for which Brii Bio may exercise one of its options. Brii Bio may exercise each of its options following the achievement by us of proof of concept for the first product in such program. In partial consideration for the options granted by us to Brii Bio, Brii Bio Parent and Brii Bio granted us, with respect to up to four of Brii Bio Parent’s or Brii Bio’s programs, an exclusive option to be granted exclusive rights to develop and commercialize compounds and products arising from such Brii Bio programs in the United States for the Field of Use. The number of options that we may exercise for a Brii Bio program is limited to the corresponding number of options that Brii Bio exercises for a Vir program. All options granted to Brii Bio under the Brii Agreement that are not exercised will expire no later than seven years following the effective date, or two years earlier than such date if Brii Bio has not undergone an initial public offering within such shorter period. All options granted to us under the Brii Agreement that are not exercised will expire no later than two years following the expiration of all options granted to Brii Bio.
We are responsible, at our expense and discretion, for the conduct of all development activities under our programs prior to the exercise of Brii Bio’s options, and Brii Bio is responsible, at its expense and discretion, for all activities under its programs prior to the exercise of our options. Following the exercise of an option for a specified program by either us or Brii Bio, the exercising party is granted an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products arising from the applicable program in the United States (where we are exercising the option) or the China Territory (where Brii Bio is exercising the option), and such party is thereafter responsible for all development and commercialization activities, at its expense, in the optioned territory. If Brii Bio exercises its option with respect to our development program being conducted under the Amended Alnylam Agreement, Brii Bio’s rights will be subject to the terms of such amended agreement.
Under the terms of the Brii Agreement, following our option exercise, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop at least one licensed product arising from each optioned Brii Bio program, and to commercialize each such product in the United States following regulatory approval, and following Brii Bio’s option exercise, Brii Bio is obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop at least one licensed product arising from each optioned Vir program and to commercialize each such product in the China Territory following regulatory approval.
With respect to programs for which Brii Bio exercises its options, Brii Bio will be required to pay us an option exercise fee for each such Vir program ranging from the mid-single-digit millions up to $20.0 million, determined based on the commercial potential of the licensed program. Brii Bio will also be required to pay regulatory milestone payments on a licensed product-by-licensed product basis ranging from the mid-single-digit millions up to $30.0 million, also determined based on the commercial potential of such program. Following commercialization, Brii Bio will be required to make sales milestone payments based on certain specified levels of aggregate annual net sales of products arising from each licensed program in the China Territory, up to an aggregate of $175.0 million per licensed program. Brii Bio also will pay us royalties that range from the mid-teens to the high-twenties, as described below. On June 12, 2020, Brii Bio notified us of the exercise of its option to obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize compounds and products arising from VIR-2218 in the China Territory. Brii Bio paid us a $20.0 million option exercise fee in connection with the option exercise. We separately paid $10.0 million, half of the option proceeds, to Alnylam in connection with the Amended Alnylam Agreement. In July 2022, Brii Bio notified us of the exercise of its option to obtain exclusive rights to develop and commercialize compounds and products arising from VIR-3434 in the China Territory. Brii Bio paid us a $20.0 million option exercise fee in connection with the option exercise. We are also eligible to receive the following payments related to VIR-3434 in the China Territory: a $30.0 million regulatory milestone payment, up to $175.0 million in sales-based milestone payments, and royalties on net sales ranging from mid-teens to mid-twenties.
As partial consideration for our entry into the Brii Agreement, upon closing of Brii Bio Parent’s Series A preferred stock financing, we received Class A ordinary shares equal to 9.9% of the outstanding shares in Brii Bio Parent. As a result of Brii Bio’s
43
right to exercise one of its options for our HBV siRNA program, under the terms of the Amended Alnylam Agreement, in February 2020 we transferred to Alnylam a specified percentage of such equity consideration allocable to such program. In July 2021, Brii Bio Parent completed its initial public offering, or the Brii Bio Parent IPO, on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. Upon completion of the Brii Bio Parent IPO, our Class A ordinary shares held at Brii Bio Parent converted into the same single class of ordinary shares issued in the Brii Bio Parent IPO.
Upon exercise of each option for a Brii Bio program, we will be required to pay to Brii Bio an option exercise fee ranging from the low tens of millions to up to $50.0 million, determined based on the commercial potential of the licensed program. We will be required to make regulatory milestone payments to Brii Bio on a licensed product-by-licensed product basis ranging from the low tens of millions up to $100.0 million, also determined based on the commercial potential of such program. We will also be required to make sales milestone payments based on certain specified levels of aggregate annual net sales of products in the United States arising from each licensed program, up to an aggregate of $175.0 million per licensed program.
In addition, we are obligated under the Brii Agreement to pay Brii Bio tiered royalties based on net sales of products arising from the licensed programs in the United States, and Brii Bio is obligated to pay us tiered royalties based on net sales of products arising from the licensed programs in the China Territory. The rates of royalties payable by us to Brii Bio, and by Brii Bio to us on net sales range from mid-teens to high-twenties. Each party’s obligations to pay royalties expires, on a product-by-product and territory-by-territory basis, on the latest of 10 years after the first commercial sale of such licensed product in the United States or China Territory, as applicable; the expiration or abandonment of licensed patent rights that cover such product in the United States or China Territory, as applicable; and the expiration of regulatory exclusivity in the United States or the China Territory, as applicable. Royalty rates are subject to specified reductions and offsets.
The Brii Agreement will remain in force until the expiration of all options or, if any option is exercised, expiration of all royalty payment obligations for all licensed products within such licensed program, unless terminated in its entirety or on a program-by-program basis by either party. Each party may terminate for convenience all rights and obligations with respect to any program for which it has an option, with 30 days’ written notice (if the terminating party has not exercised an option for such program) or 180 days’ notice (following the exercise of an option for such program). The Brii Agreement may also be terminated by either party for insolvency of the other party, and either party may terminate the Brii Agreement in its entirety or on a program-by-program basis for the other party’s uncured material breach on 60 days’ written notice (or 30 days’ notice following failure to make payment).
Patent License Agreements with Xencor
In August 2019, we entered into a patent license agreement, which was amended in February 2021, or the 2019 Xencor Agreement, with Xencor, pursuant to which we obtained a non-exclusive, sublicensable (only to our affiliates and subcontractors) license to incorporate Xencor’s licensed technologies into, and to evaluate, antibodies that target influenza A and HBV, and a worldwide, non-exclusive, sublicensable license to develop and commercialize products containing such antibodies incorporating such technologies for all uses, including the treatment, palliation, diagnosis and prevention of human or animal diseases, disorders or conditions. We are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize an antibody product that incorporates Xencor’s licensed technologies, for each of the influenza A and HBV research programs. These technologies are used in our VIR-2482, incorporating Xencor’s Xtend technology, and VIR-3434, incorporating Xencor’s Xtend and other Fc technologies.
In consideration for the grant of the license, we paid Xencor an upfront fee. For each of the influenza A and HBV research programs, we will be required to pay Xencor development and regulatory milestone payments of up to $17.8 million in the aggregate, and commercial sales milestone payments of up to $60.0 million in the aggregate, for a total of up to $77.8 million in aggregate milestones for each program and $155.5 million in aggregate milestones for both programs. On a product-by-product basis, we will also be obligated to pay tiered royalties based on net sales of licensed products ranging from low- to mid-single-digits. The royalties are payable, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the expiration of the last to expire valid claim in the licensed patents covering such product in such country.
In March 2020, we entered into a patent license agreement, which was amended in February 2021, or the 2020 Xencor Agreement, with Xencor pursuant to which we obtained a non-exclusive license to Xencor’s licensed technologies into, and to evaluate, antibodies that target any component of a coronavirus, including SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, and a worldwide, non-exclusive, sublicensable license to develop and commercialize products containing such antibodies incorporating such technologies for all uses, including the treatment, palliation, diagnosis and prevention of human or animal diseases, disorders or conditions. We are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize an antibody product that incorporates Xencor’s licensed technologies, for each of the coronavirus research programs. These technologies are used in sotrovimab, incorporating Xencor’s Xtend technology, and VIR-7832, incorporating Xencor’s Xtend and other Fc technologies.
44
In consideration for the grant of the license, we are obligated to pay royalties based on net sales of licensed products at the mid-single-digits. The royalties are payable, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the later of the expiration of the last to expire valid claim in the licensed patents covering such product in such country or 12 years.
The 2019 Xencor Agreement and 2020 Xencor Agreement will remain in force, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, until the expiration of all royalty payment obligations under each of the respective agreements. We may terminate each agreement in its entirety, or on a target-by-target basis, for convenience upon 60 days’ written notice. Either party may terminate each agreement for the other party’s uncured material breach upon 60 days’ written notice (or 30 days in the case of non-payment) or in the event of bankruptcy of the other party immediately upon written notice. Xencor may terminate each agreement immediately upon written notice if we challenge, or upon 30 days’ written notice if any of our sublicensees challenge, the validity or enforceability of any patent licensed to us under each respective agreement.
Amended and Restated Letter Agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
In January 2022, we entered into an amended and restated letter agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or the Gates Agreement, which amended and restated the letter agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that we entered into in December 2016. In connection with the Gates Agreement, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation purchased $10.0 million of shares of our Series A-1 convertible preferred stock in December 2016, $10.0 million of shares of our Series B convertible preferred stock in January 2019 and $40.0 million of shares of our common stock in January 2022. We were obligated to use the proceeds of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s December 2016 and January 2019 investments in furtherance of its charitable purposes to (i) conduct our programs to develop products to treat or prevent infectious disease caused by HIV and TB, respectively, with at least 50% of the funds to be used for such programs and (ii) develop our HCMV-based vaccine technology platform in a manner reasonably expected to result in the generation of products for the treatment or prevention of other specified infectious diseases, and we are obligated to use the proceeds of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s January 2022 investment in furtherance of its charitable purposes to develop our vaccinal antibody program, in each case for use in specified developing countries. We agreed to use reasonable efforts to achieve specified research and development milestones with respect to our HIV program, TB program and vaccinal antibody program, and, if requested by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on an additional mutually agreeable infectious disease program. Additionally, we are bound by specified global access commitments including a commitment to provide any products developed using the proceeds of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s investment at an affordable price to the people most in need within the specified developing countries, not to exceed a specified percentage over our fully burdened manufacturing and sales costs.
If we fail to comply with (i) our obligations to use the proceeds of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s investment for the purposes described in the paragraph above and to not use such proceeds for specified prohibited uses, (ii) specified reporting requirements or (iii) specified applicable laws, or if we materially breach our specified global access commitments (any such failure or material breach, a Specified Default), we will be obligated to redeem or arrange for a third party to purchase all of our stock purchased by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under the Gates Agreement at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s request, at a price equal to the greater of (a) the original purchase price or (b) the fair market value, such redemption or sale, a Gates Foundation Redemption. Following a Gates Foundation Redemption, if a sale of the company or all of our material assets relating to the Gates Agreement occurs prior to the six month anniversary of the first redemption or sale of any stock in such Gates Foundation Redemption, then the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will receive compensation equal to the excess of what it would have received in such transaction if it still held the stock redeemed or sold at the time of such sale transaction over what it actually received in the Gates Foundation Redemption. Additionally, if a specified default occurs, if we are unable or unwilling to continue the HIV program, TB program, vaccinal antibody program or, if applicable, the mutually agreed additional program (except for scientific or technical reasons), or if we institute bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, then the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will have the right to exercise a non-exclusive, fully-paid license (with the right to sublicense) under our intellectual property to the extent necessary to use, make and sell products arising from such programs, in each case solely to the extent necessary to benefit people in the developing countries in furtherance of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s charitable purpose.
In the event that we sell, exclusively license or transfer to a third party all or substantially all of our assets, the technology platform, or products arising from programs that are funded using the proceeds of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s investment, such third party is required to assume our specified global access commitments on terms that are reasonably acceptable to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, we will not grant to any third party any rights or enter into any agreement with any third party that would restrict the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s rights with respect to our specified global access commitments unless such third party expressly assumes such commitments to the reasonable satisfaction of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Consistent with the foregoing restriction, we also specifically will not enter into any such agreement negotiated in connection with a decision by us not to pursue the technology platform controlled by us as a result of our acquisition of TomegaVax. The global access commitments will continue for as long as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continues to be a charitable entity.
45
In connection with the purchase of $40.0 million of shares of our common stock in January 2022, we entered into a stock purchase agreement, or the Gates Stock Purchase Agreement, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation purchased the shares of our common stock at $45.3841 price per share, which is the average of the volume weighted average price of a share of our common stock for the 30 trading day period prior to the date of the Gates Stock Purchase Agreement. We have agreed to register the shares for resale following expiration of the one-year lock-up period if Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, is not available for such resale without any volume or manner of sale restrictions.
Separately, in January 2018, March 2018 and January 2022, we entered into three grant agreements with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, pursuant to which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation agreed to grant additional funding to us for our HIV, TB and vaccinal antibody programs, respectively, through the award of three research grants totaling in the aggregate up to $12.2 million with respect to the HIV program, up to $14.9 million with respect to the TB program, and up to $10.0 million with respect to the vaccinal antibody program if we achieve all the specified research and development milestones or reporting deliverables under the grants. In February 2020, we amended the HIV grant agreement pursuant to which we were awarded with a supplemental grant of $8.6 million. In addition, the term of the HIV grant agreement was extended through October 31, 2022, and we entered another amendment in September 2022 to further extend the term through September 2023. The TB grant agreement remained in effect until March 31, 2022 and was amended to extend the term through December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2022, we had received $29.7 million with respect to the HIV program and $12.2 million with respect to the TB program.
In November 2021, we entered into a grant agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under which we were awarded a grant totaling up to $10.0 million to support the manufacturing and clinical activities of our HIV and TB vaccine programs. This grant agreement will remain in effect until August 30, 2023. As of December 31, 2022, we had received $6.5 million under this grant agreement.
The grant agreements may be terminated early by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for our breach, failure to progress the applicable funded projects, in the event of our change of control, change in our tax status, or significant changes in our leadership that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reasonably believes may threaten the success of the applicable project.
Our Acquisition Agreements
Agreement and Plan of Merger with TomegaVax
In September 2016, we entered into an agreement and plan of merger with TomegaVax, or the TomegaVax Merger Agreement, pursuant to which we purchased all equity interests of TomegaVax, a preclinical private biotechnology company. The primary asset purchased in the acquisition was a CMV vector-based vaccine platform for the development of products directed to HBV, HIV and TB.
In connection with the entry into the TomegaVax Merger Agreement, we also entered into a letter agreement with TomegaVax, or the TomegaVax Letter Agreement, which provides for certain payments to TomegaVax’s former stockholders prior to September 2024, in each case so long as we are continuing to pursue the development of the TomegaVax technology. Under the terms of the TomegaVax Letter Agreement, we will be required to pay to the former stockholders of TomegaVax milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $30.0 million if the per-share price of our publicly traded common stock, or implied price per share of our Series A-1 convertible preferred stock (or common stock upon conversion) upon a certain asset sale, merger or stock sale, is at least $45 (as adjusted in the case of any stock dividend, stock split or other similar recapitalization), with the amount of such payments determined by the share price and/or the stage of our clinical development at the time of the relevant event triggering the payment. The share price of our publicly traded common stock will be determined using the average of the daily volume-weighted average trading price of our common stock for each trading day during a consecutive 90-day period. The foregoing payments are payable (i) during any date after the completion of an initial public offering by the company or any successor or affiliate controlling the TomegaVax technology, provided that no payment will be due before the first anniversary of the initial public offering, (ii) upon the sale of all assets related to the TomegaVax technology or (iii) upon a merger or stock sale of the company or any successor or affiliate controlling the TomegaVax technology, in each case subject to certain conditions with respect to the timing of the payments. The payments under the TomegaVax Letter Agreement can be made in cash or shares of our common stock, at the discretion of our board of directors.
The TomegaVax Letter Agreement may be amended, modified or terminated and the observance of any term may be waived only with the written consent of the stockholders’ representative (as such term is defined in the TomegaVax Merger Agreement) and us.
In February 2021, we achieved one of the milestones related to the specified per-share price of our common stock, which resulted in a $10.0 million payable to TomegaVax’s former stockholders. In July 2021, we made the milestone payment to the former TomegaVax stockholders through a combination of $8.1 million in cash and the issuance of 42,737 shares of common stock with a total fair value of $1.9 million. The remaining milestone payments of up to $20.0 million in the aggregate will be triggered if (i) the
46
per-share price of our publicly traded common stock is at least $45 (as adjusted in the case of any stock dividend, stock split or other similar recapitalization) and upon the achievement of a certain milestone related to the stage of our clinical development at the time of the relevant event triggering the payment and/or (ii) the per-share price of our publicly traded common stock is at least $90 (as adjusted in the case of any stock dividend, stock split or other similar recapitalization).
Securities Purchase Agreement with Humabs
In August 2017, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with Humabs and its securities holders, or the Humabs SPA, pursuant to which we purchased all equity interests of Humabs. Pursuant to the Humabs SPA, we are required to pay up to $135.0 million upon the first achievement of certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones for an HBV product, or the HBV Milestones, and up to $105.0 million upon the first achievement of certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones for another product. Pursuant to the Humabs SPA, we are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve such milestones during a specified period following the closing of the Humabs acquisition. In addition, Humabs’ securities holders are also entitled to receive certain pass-through payments that Humabs receives under certain license agreements, including the 2012 MedImmune Agreement, following deduction of certain expenses incurred by us or Humabs thereunder.
Sales and Marketing
Given our stage of development, we have not yet established a commercial organization or distribution capabilities. We intend to build a commercial infrastructure to support sales of our product candidates. We expect to manage sales, marketing and distribution through internal resources and third-party relationships. While we may commit significant financial and management resources to commercial activities, we will also consider collaborating with one or more pharmaceutical companies to enhance our commercial capabilities.
Manufacturing
We are currently manufacturing product candidates from three of our platforms: antibodies, T cells and siRNAs. We have established our own internal process development, manufacturing and quality capabilities and are working with contract development and manufacturing organizations, or CDMOs, to supply our early- and late-stage product candidates in the near term. We continue to expand our internal capabilities and resources in process development, analytical development, quality, manufacturing and supply chain, which are supported by our San Francisco, California, and Portland, Oregon facilities that include laboratories for process development, production of HCMV research viral seed stock and selected quality control testing for our product candidates.
We have established relationships with multiple CDMOs and have produced material to support preclinical studies and Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials. Material for any Phase 3 clinical trials and commercial supply will generally require large-volume, low-cost-of-goods production. For example, for our COVID-19 program, we and our collaborator GSK have executed manufacturing agreements with CDMOs having large-scale capacity to support future scale-up and product supply, particularly for commercialization. However, there are no assurances that our manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure will remain uninterrupted and reliable, or that the third parties we rely on to manufacture our COVID-19 therapies will be able to satisfy demand in a timely manner or not have supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 related shutdowns, stock-outs due to raw material shortages, extended lead times, and/or greater than anticipated demand or quality issues given the operational challenges and raw material shortages that have been experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Production Modalities
Antibody Platform
The technology and industrial processes for producing mAbs are well-established across the biopharmaceutical industry. Over the last 30 years, process optimization and standardization has enabled process portability and facilitated manufacturing with high success rates at most biologic CDMOs, as well as the partnered use of excess capacity with other biopharmaceutical companies. We rely on the mAb process platforms and manufacturing facilities of our CDMOs and strategic collaborators for all of our product candidate clinical supplies. For sotrovimab, we and our collaborator GSK have executed manufacturing agreements with large-scale CDMOs to support future scale-up and capacity, particularly for potential commercialization.
T Cell Platform
Our T cell platform is based on genetically engineered HCMV. We have attenuated the HCMV for the purpose of patient safety, but this attenuation also reduces its yield in production. To improve manufacturing efficiency and scale-up, we have made significant internal investments in process development, largely funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We have established a
47
reproducible current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, manufacturing process in support of Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials that has been successfully transferred to and executed at CDMOs specializing in live virus manufacturing.
siRNA Platform
We assumed responsibility for all manufacturing of Phase 2 and 3 clinical supplies for VIR-2218 in the first half of 2022 as well as for all commercial manufacturing in advance of any Phase 3 clinical trial. In addition to the current CDMOs supplying our clinical trials, other CDMOs as well as Alnylam are capable of producing kilogram-scale batches of siRNA and we may contract for scale-up and Phase 3 manufacturing at one of these qualified facilities.
Manufacturing Agreements
In connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have entered into the following agreements to date in support of our COVID-19 program:
Letter Agreement, Assignment and Master Services Agreement with Samsung
In April 2020, we entered into a binding letter agreement with Samsung pursuant to which Samsung will perform process development and manufacturing services for our SARS-CoV-2 mAbs. Under the terms of the letter agreement, we had committed to purchase a firm and binding capacity reservation for a specified number of drug substance manufacturing slots in 2021 and 2022. Samsung will reserve such manufacturing slots on a non-cancellable, non-adjustable basis and will not offer such manufacturing slots under our capacity reservation to third parties. We were obligated to pay a total of approximately $362.0 million for such capacity reservation on a take-or-pay basis regardless of whether such manufacturing slots are utilized by us, subject to annual adjustment based on the Korean Consumer Price Index. The amounts were to be payable during 2021 and 2022 and invoiced on a per-batch basis, with shortfalls invoiced at the end of the year in which such shortfall occurs.
In August 2020, we entered into an Assignment and Novation Agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Trading Services Limited, or GSKTSL, and Samsung effective as of July 31, 2020 pursuant to which we assigned and transferred to GSKTSL all of our right, title, and interest in, to and under the letter agreement, and GSKTSL became our successor in interest in and to all of our rights, duties, and obligations in, to and under the letter agreement. On August 4, 2020, GSKTSL entered into a Master Services Agreement with Samsung effective as of July 31, 2020, or the Samsung MSA, thereby superseding the letter agreement, and pursuant to which, among other things, Samsung will perform technology transfer, development, and manufacturing services for clinical and commercial supply of antibody products under our SARS-CoV-2 antibody program.
Development and Manufacturing Collaboration Agreement with WuXi Biologics
In February 2020, we entered into a development and manufacturing collaboration agreement with WuXi Biologics, or the WuXi Biologics Collaboration Agreement, for the clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization of our proprietary antibodies developed for SARS-CoV-2. Under the WuXi Biologics Collaboration Agreement, WuXi Biologics conducted cell-line development, process and formulation development, and initial manufacturing for clinical development. WuXi Biologics had the right to commercialize products incorporating such SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan pursuant to an exclusive license granted for the selected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies that were developed. We had the right to commercialize such products in all other markets worldwide.
On May 16, 2022, we and WuXi Biologics entered into a Termination Agreement, or the Termination Agreement, pursuant to which we and WuXi Biologics terminated the WuXi Biologics Collaboration Agreement. Other existing agreements between us and WuXi Biologics remain in effect. Under the terms of the Termination Agreement, all licenses granted under the WuXi Biologics Collaboration Agreement were terminated and all rights to the SARS-CoV-2 antibody products in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan reverted to us. We made a one-time termination payment to WuXi Biologics of $7.0 million in consideration for WuXi Biologics’ development activities under the WuXi Biologics Collaboration Agreement. Under the terms of the Termination Agreement, we are obligated to pay WuXi Biologics tiered royalties on net sales of sotrovimab in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan ranging from low single digits to low double digits. Royalties are payable to WuXi Biologics for a specified royalty term and are subject to reduction in certain circumstances.
Letter Agreement, Assignment and Master Services Agreement with WuXi Biologics
48
In June 2020, we entered into a binding letter of intent with WuXi Biologics, or WuXi Biologics Letter of Intent, pursuant to which WuXi Biologics performs certain development and manufacturing services for our SARS-CoV-2 antibody program. Under the terms of the WuXi Biologics Letter of Intent, we had committed to purchase a firm and binding capacity reservation for the manufacture of a specified number of batches of drug substance of our SARS-CoV-2 antibody in 2020 and 2021. In addition, we had the right to order an additional specified number of batches of drug substance, provided we make such election by a specified date in the fourth calendar quarter in 2020. WuXi Biologics is obligated to reserve such manufacturing slots on a non-cancellable basis, and will manufacture the agreed number of batches of drug substance in accordance with an agreed manufacturing schedule. We were obligated to pay a total of approximately $130.0 million for such capacity reservation, if all batches are manufactured, inclusive of estimated raw material costs, with between 70% and 80% of the batch production fees owed to WuXi Biologics on a take-or-pay basis regardless of whether we utilize such manufacturing slots. The amounts were to be payable during 2020 and 2021 and invoiced on a per-batch basis. The SARS-CoV-2 antibody drug substance contemplated to be manufactured in accordance with the terms of the WuXi Biologics Letter of Intent will be utilized in connection with progressing the development and commercialization of the SARS-CoV-2 antibody product under our collaboration with GSK.
In August 2020, we entered into an Assignment and Novation Agreement with GSKTSL and WuXi Biologics effective as of July 29, 2020 pursuant to which we assigned and transferred to GSKTSL all of our right, title, and interest in, to and under the WuXi Biologics Letter of Intent, and GSKTSL became our successor in interest in and to all of our rights, duties, and obligations in, to and under the WuXi Biologics Letter of Intent. On August 4, 2020, GSKTSL entered into a non-exclusive Master Services Agreement for Commercial Manufacture of Drug Substance with WuXi Biologics effective as of July 29, 2020, or the WuXi Biologics MSA, thereby superseding the WuXi Biologics Letter of Intent, and pursuant to which, among other things, WuXi Biologics will perform development and manufacturing services for clinical and commercial supply of antibody products under our SARS-CoV-2 antibody program.
GSKTSL entered into the WuXi Biologics MSA and Samsung MSA in connection with the performance of GSK and our obligations pursuant to the 2020 GSK Agreement. In accordance with the terms of the 2020 GSK Agreement, we will continue to be responsible for 72.5% of the costs under each of the WuXi Biologics MSA and Samsung MSA, and GSK will bear 27.5% of such costs under each of the Samsung MSA and the WuXi Biologics MSA, subject to certain conditions and exceptions.
Competition
The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. While we believe that our technology, the expertise of our executive and scientific team, research, clinical capabilities, development experience and scientific knowledge provide us with competitive advantages, we face increasing competition from many different sources, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. Product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize may compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future. For example, the industry and competitive landscape for COVID-19 treatments is rapidly changing, which could result in more competition from new and existing therapies in the future.
Many of our competitors, either alone or with their collaborators, have significantly greater financial resources, established presence in the market, expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical and clinical testing, obtaining regulatory approvals and reimbursement and marketing approved products than we do. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, sales, marketing and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or potentially necessary for, our programs. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Additional mergers and acquisitions may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors.
Our commercial potential could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market or make our development more complicated. The key competitive factors affecting the success of all of our programs are likely to be efficacy, safety, convenience, and cost/access.
COVID-19
49
There are limited FDA-approved treatments and prophylactic vaccines for COVID-19 and several treatments, and a prophylactic vaccine are available under EUA. An IV administered antiviral, remdesivir, marketed by Gilead, is FDA-approved for treatment in the hospitalized and early-treatment settings. Currently, there are no mAbs available in the U.S. for use as treatment or prophylaxis against COVID-19. For example, in February 2022, the FDA approved an EUA for Eli Lilly and Company’s, or Eli Lilly, antibody, bebtelovimab, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kilograms) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death and when alternative treatment options are not accessible or clinically appropriate; however, in November 2022 the FDA announced that bebtelovimab is no longer authorized in any U.S. region due to lack of activity against recent Omicron subvariants. AstraZeneca plc’s, or AstraZeneca . EVUSHELD, a cocktail of two mAbs, was previously approved under an EUA for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in adults and pediatric individuals over the age of 12 at risk for severe disease progression of COVID-19, but was deauthorized by the FDA in January 2023. EVUSHELD currently remains authorized in other countries where it is approved for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis and treatment, including the EU and Japan. Oral antiviral therapies from Merck & Co, Inc., or Merck, and Pfizer Inc., or Pfizer (molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, respectively), are available under EUA in the mild to moderate early treatment setting. Additionally, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty®, was approved by the FDA for individuals 12 years of age or older, Moderna, Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax®, was approved by the FDA for individuals 18 years of age or older and a COVID-19 vaccine is available in the United States under EUA from Janssen Biotech, Inc. Numerous large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are developing programs with various mechanisms of actions, including prophylactic vaccines, oral antivirals, immunomodulators, and antibodies, some of which are further along in the development process than we are. Companies with antibodies in clinical development include Invivyd, Inc., or Invivyd, AstraZeneca, Brii Bio, Celltrion Healthcare Co., Ltd., Eli Lilly and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Companies with oral antivirals in clinical development include Shionogi Inc., Gilead, Pardes Biosciences, Inc., Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and others. Companies with prophylactic vaccines in clinical development include AstraZeneca, GSK, Novavax, Inc. and Sanofi S.A. In addition, COVID-19 treatment standards are susceptible to rapid changes in epidemiology and the emergence of new variants, thus, sotrovimab may be rendered inferior or obsolete in the future.
HBV
Current FDA-approved treatments for chronic HBV infection include IFN-α, marketed by Roche Holding AG, or Roche, and oral antiviral agents such as NRTIs, marketed by Gilead and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. These treatments do not lead to either a functional or a complete cure in the vast majority of patients, and in the case of NRTIs, require life-long therapy. Several large and small pharmaceutical companies are developing programs with various mechanisms of action, to be used alone or in combination, with the goal of achieving an HBV functional or complete cure. Companies with RNAi agents in clinical development include Arbutus Biopharma Corporation, GSK, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Janssen (part of Johnson & Johnson, in partnership with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), and Roche (in partnership with Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) In addition, several companies are developing antibodies against surface antigen including GC Pharma, Bluejay Therapeutics & Huahui Health. Several companies, including Gilead, GSK, Janssen, and Vaccitech plc have therapeutic vaccines in late-preclinical or early-clinical development.
Influenza
There are numerous approved seasonal flu vaccines, including trivalent, quadrivalent, high-dose, and adjuvanted products, marketed by GSK, Sanofi Pasteur, and Seqirus (owned by CSL Limited). In addition, there are approved antiviral agents to treat influenza, such as Xofluza and Tamiflu, marketed by Roche, as well as other neuraminidase inhibitors. Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (in partnership with Janssen) is working to develop an antiviral conjugate which could be a novel method for long-acting prophylaxis.
While several companies, including Janssen and SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc., have conducted clinical trials of antibodies for the treatment of influenza, to our knowledge, there are no other prophylactic antibodies currently in clinical development. Invivyd has stated that it intends to develop prophylactic antibodies for influenza.
Several vaccines are in clinical development from large and small pharmaceutical companies including GSK (in partnership with CureVac N.V.), Moderna, Inc., Novavax, Inc., Pfizer (in partnership with BioNTech SE) and Sanofi S.A. (in partnership with Translate Bio). Some aim to improve efficacy or convenience over existing seasonal vaccines, and others are pursuing a universal flu vaccine approach with broad strain coverage and at least one year of protection.
50
HIV
No FDA-approved vaccine is currently available for the prevention of HIV. Several pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, Moderna Inc., and Worcester HIV Vaccine are actively engaged in vaccine research and development in this area. These and other companies are developing vaccines using viral vectors, nanoparticles, DNA, RNA, or formulations, with the goal of stimulating T cell-mediated and/or neutralizing antibody responses against HIV. To our knowledge, none are using a CMV-based vector. Numerous clinical trials of these vaccines are ongoing with support from the NIH Vaccine Research Center, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. military, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the European Vaccine Initiative, the South African AIDS Initiative, and their academic and industry partners. In addition, many of these institutions, as well as pharmaceutical companies like Gilead and Viiv Healthcare Limited, or Viiv, are also studying the passive transfer of broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV for prophylactic and therapeutic applications.
We may also compete with oral or long-acting antiretroviral therapies for pre-exposure prophylaxis of HIV. Truvada, marketed by Gilead, is a once-daily therapy approved for this indication. Viiv recently received FDA approval for long-acting antiretroviral therapy, cabotegravir for pre-exposure prophylaxis of HIV. Gilead, Janssen, Merck and Viiv have additional long-acting formulations in development.
Intellectual Property
Our intellectual property is critical to our business and we strive to protect it, including by obtaining and maintaining patent protection in the United States and internationally for our product candidates, new therapeutic approaches and potential indications, and other inventions that are important to our business. Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary and intellectual property position by, among other methods, filing U.S. and foreign patent applications related to our proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are important for the development and implementation of our business. We also rely on the skills, knowledge and experience of our scientific and technical personnel, as well as that of our advisors, consultants and other contractors. To help protect our proprietary know-how that is not patentable, we rely on confidentiality agreements to protect our interests. We require our employees, consultants and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements prohibiting the disclosure of confidential information and requiring disclosure and assignment to us of the ideas, developments, discoveries and inventions important to our business.
Our patent portfolio includes patents and patent applications that are licensed from a number of collaborators and other third parties, including Alnylam, OHSU, MedImmune, IRB, Rockefeller and Xencor, and patents and patent applications that are owned by us. Our patent portfolio includes patents and patent applications that cover our product candidates sotrovimab (previously VIR-7831), VIR-7832, VIR-2218, VIR-3434, VIR-2482, VIR-1111 and VIR-1388, and the use of these candidates for therapeutic purposes. Our proprietary technology has been developed primarily through acquisitions, relationships with academic research centers and contract research organizations.
For our product candidates, we will, in general, initially pursue patent protection covering compositions of matter and methods of use. Throughout the development of our product candidates, we seek to identify additional means of obtaining patent protection that would potentially enhance commercial success, including through additional methods of use, process of making, formulation and dosing regimen-related claims.
In total, our patent portfolio, including patents licensed from our collaborators and other third parties, comprises over 100 different patent families as of December 31, 2022, filed in various jurisdictions worldwide. Our patent portfolio includes issued patents and patent applications in the United States and in many international countries. Our patent portfolio for our product candidates and technology platforms is outlined below:
Patent Portfolio by Product Candidate
Sotrovimab
Licensed Patents
Our sotrovimab intellectual property portfolio includes patents and patent applications that we have non- exclusively licensed from Xencor. As of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include five issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, methods of extending antibody serum half-life claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2025, absent any available patent
51
term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include 90 issued patents in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. directed to composition of matter claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2028, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The patents and applications we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor also include, as of December 31, 2022, one patent application pending in the United States directed to composition of matter claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from this application is estimated to expire in 2025, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
Additionally, we own four patent families relating to sotrovimab. These families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2041, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, these families collectively include two patent applications and three provisional patent applications in the United States, one pending international Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, application and 50 patent applications in Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The applications in these families include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2041 and 2043, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also co-own two patent families that collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two pending PCT applications. These applications include pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also co-own one patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one pending PCT application. This application includes method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also co-own one patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one pending PCT application related to delivery of sotrovimab. This application includes composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
VIR-7832
Licensed Patents
Our VIR-7832 intellectual property portfolio includes a patent family that we have exclusively licensed from Rockefeller, which includes, as of December 31, 2022, issued patents in Nigeria and Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) (Africa), one pending patent application in the United States and 31 pending patent applications in the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) (Africa), Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eurasia, Europe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the Ukraine and Vietnam. The applications in this family include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from the application in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2038, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Our VIR-7832 intellectual property portfolio also includes patents and patent applications that we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor. As of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include 10 issued patents in the United States directed to
52
composition of matter claims, methods of extending antibody serum half-life claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, methods of treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2026, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include 119 issued patents in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2028, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The patents and applications we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor also include, as of December 31, 2022, one patent application pending in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, and one patent application pending in India. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from these patent applications is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2025, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
Additionally, we own three patent families relating to VIR-7832. These families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2041, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, these families collectively include two patent applications in the United States, one pending international PCT application and s50 patent applications in Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The applications in these families include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2041 and 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also co-own two patent families that collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two pending PCT patent applications. These applications include pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also co-own one patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one pending PCT application. This application includes method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also co-own one patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one pending PCT application related to delivery of VIR-7832. This application includes composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
VIR-2218
Licensed Patents
Our VIR-2218 intellectual property portfolio includes three different patent families that we have exclusively licensed from Alnylam.
One of these families includes, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. This family also includes 52 issued patents in Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Eurasia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Monaco, North Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, the U.K. and Vietnam directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2035, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. A third party filed a
53
request for invalidation of the patent issued in China with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on December 31, 2021 and this invalidation proceeding has now concluded in favor of Vir and the subject China patent was held valid as amended.
Another of these families includes, as of December 31, 2022, one issued patent in the United States directed to method of treatment claims. This family also includes three issued patents in ARIPO (Africa), Nigeria and OAPI (Africa) directed to method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2038, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Another of these families includes, as of December 31, 2022, one issued patent in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. This family also includes two issued patents in Nigeria and OAPI (Africa) directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2039, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The three licensed families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, three patent applications in the United States and 82 patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, OAPI (Africa), Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2035 and 2039, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
In addition, we own four different patent families that are directed to VIR-2218 in combination with one or more other therapeutics. One of these families includes, as of December 31, 2022, one issued patent in OAPI (Africa) directed to composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of this patent is presently estimated to expire in 2040, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. The four families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, three pending provisional patent applications in the United States, two patent applications in the United States and 46 patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam. The applications in these families include method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims for VIR-2218 in combination as a second therapeutic. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2039 and 2043, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also co-own another patent family directed to VIR-2218 in combination with another therapeutic. This family includes a pending PCT application and patent applications in Argentina and Taiwan, directed to method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
VIR-3434
Licensed Patents
Our VIR-3434 intellectual property portfolio includes a patent family that we have exclusively licensed from Rockefeller, which includes, as of December 31, 2022, issued patents in Nigeria and OAPI (Africa), one pending patent application in the United States and 31 pending patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eurasia, Europe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the Ukraine and Vietnam. The applications in this family include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from the application in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2038, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Our VIR-3434 intellectual property portfolio also includes patents and patent applications that we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor. As of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include 10 issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, methods of extending antibody serum half-life claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2026, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, these
54
patents and applications include 119 issued patents in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2028, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The patents and applications we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor also include, as of December 31, 2022, one patent application pending in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, and one patent application pending in India. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from these patent applications is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2025, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
We also own two different patent families that include, as of December 31, 2022, one pending PCT patent application, one patent application in the United States and 19 patent applications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Ukraine. These applications include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire between 2040 and 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
In addition, through our subsidiary Humabs, we own two different patent families related to VIR-3434. One of these families includes, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. This family also includes, as of December 31, 2022, 47 issued patents in Albania, ARIPO (Africa), Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Eurasia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungry, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. that include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2036, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The other patent family owned through our subsidiary Humabs that relates to VIR-3434 includes, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in Nigeria and OAPI (Africa), directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2039, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
These two families owned by Humabs also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two pending patent applications in the United States and 50 pending patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, New Zealand, OAPI (Africa), Oman, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. The applications in these families include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2036 and 2039, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
VIR-2482
Licensed Patents
Our VIR-2482 intellectual property patent portfolio includes two different patent families that we have exclusively licensed from MedImmune, which collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. These families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, 55 issued patents in Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungry, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the U.K. that include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2034 and 2037, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
55
The two families licensed from MedImmune also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, three patent applications in the United States and 25 patent applications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The applications in these families include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2034 and 2037, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Our VIR-2482 intellectual property portfolio also includes patents and patent applications that we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor. As of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include five issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, methods of extending antibody serum half-life claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2025, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include 90 issued patents in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. directed to composition of matter claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2028, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The patents and applications we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor also include, as of December 31, 2022, one patent application pending in the United States directed to composition of matter claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from this application is estimated to expire in 2025, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
We also own one patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one pending application in the United States and 18 patent applications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Ukraine. These applications include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2040, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Through our subsidiary Humabs, we co-own a patent family (with MedImmune) that includes, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. This family also includes 54 issued patents in Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungry, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the U.K. that include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2034, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
This co-owned family also includes, as of December 31, 2022, one patent application in the United States and 15 patent applications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan. The applications in this family include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2034, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
In addition, through our subsidiary Humabs, we own a patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one pending application in the United States and 34 pending applications in Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. The application in this family includes composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from the patent application in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2040, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
In addition, through our subsidiary Humabs, we own a patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, two pending provisional applications in the United States. These applications include pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment
56
claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from the patent application in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2043, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
VIR-1111
Licensed Patents
Our VIR-1111 intellectual property patent portfolio includes three different patent families that we have exclusively licensed from OHSU. These patent families are generally directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims.
The three families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, five issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2031 and 2035, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, the three patent families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, 180 issued patents in Albania, ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Eurasia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Monaco, North Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.K. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2035, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The three licensed families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, three patent applications in the United States and 20 patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2035, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
VIR-1388
Licensed Patents
Our VIR-1388 intellectual property patent portfolio includes four different patent families that we have exclusively licensed from OHSU. These patent families are generally directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims.
Two of these four families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, three issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire in 2035, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, three of the four patent families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, 33 issued patents in ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Canada, China, Eurasia, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Macao, Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine and the U.K. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2035, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The four licensed families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, five patent applications in the United States and 77 patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eurasia, Europe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, OAPI (Africa), Panama, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2040, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
We co-own a patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one issued patent in the United States directed to composition of matter claims and method of treatment claims. Additionally, this patent family includes, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in Eurasia and Mexico, directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The family also includes two patent applications in the United States and 28 patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and the Ukraine directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of the issued patents and any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2035, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
57
Additionally, we own a family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, a pending PCT application and patent applications in Argentina and Taiwan, directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patent Portfolio by Technology Platform
siRNA Platform
Licensed Patents
Our siRNA intellectual property portfolio includes three additional different patent families that we have exclusively licensed from Alnylam. Two of the three families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, 10 issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2024 and 2031, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, the three patent families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, 79 issued patents in Albania, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2024 and 2031, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The three licensed families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two patent applications in the United States and seven patent applications in Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Thailand directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of the issued patent and any patents issuing from pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2024 and 2031, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We have also exclusively licensed from Alnylam, as of December 31, 2022, three issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims and method of treatment claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2022 and 2028, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also have an exclusive license to additional Alnylam platform technology for HBV licensed products.
Antibody Platform
Licensed Patents
We have exclusively licensed from Rockefeller a patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, issued patents in Nigeria and OAPI (Africa), one pending patent application in the United States and 31 pending patent applications in ARIPO (Africa), Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eurasia, Europe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the Ukraine and Vietnam. The applications in this family include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from the application in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2038, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
We have exclusively licensed from IRB two patent families that relate to our antibody platform technology. One of these families includes, as of December 31, 2022, two issued patents in the United States directed to process (methods of producing) claims, and 23 issued patents in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. directed to process (methods of producing) claims. The two families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, two pending patent applications in the United States directed to process (methods of producing) claims, as well as one patent application in the United States and 19 patent applications in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Eurasia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Ukraine directed to composition of matter claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of the issued patents and any patent issuing from the pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2024 and 2038, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
58
In addition, we have non-exclusively licensed a group of patents and applications from Xencor. As of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include 10 issued patents in the United States directed to composition of matter claims, methods of extending antibody serum half-life claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2026, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. Additionally, as of December 31, 2022, these patents and applications include 119 issued patents in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K. directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of these patents is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2028, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The patents and applications we have non-exclusively licensed from Xencor also include, as of December 31, 2022, two patent applications pending in the United States directed to composition of matter claims and process (methods of producing) claims, and one patent application pending in India. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from these patent applications is presently estimated to expire between 2023 and 2025, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
We also own, with our subsidiary Humabs, one patent family that includes, as of December 31, 2022, one pending PCT application and one patent application in Taiwan. These applications include composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and composition for use in treatment claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from patent applications in this family is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
T Cell Platform
Licensed Patents
We have exclusively licensed from OHSU 10 different patent families related to our T cell portfolio.
Eight of the 10 families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, 15 issued patents in the United States, directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of the issued patents in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2031 and 2037, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions. In addition, nine of the 10 families collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, 259 issued patents in Albania, ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Eurasia, Finland, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Macao, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, OAPI (Africa), Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.K. directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treating claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of the issued patents in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2037, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
The 10 patent families also collectively include, as of December 31, 2022, nine patent applications in the United States, and 100 patent applications in Algeria, ARIPO (Africa), Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eurasia, Europe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, OAPI (Africa) Panama, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the Ukraine and Vietnam directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treating claims and process (methods of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patents issuing from pending patent applications in these families is presently estimated to expire between 2025 and 2040, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Patents Owned by Us
In addition, we own two patent families that include, as of December 31, 2022, two pending PCT applications and three patent applications in Argentina and Taiwan directed to composition of matter claims, pharmaceutical composition claims, method of treatment claims, composition for use in treating claims and process (method of producing) claims. The 20-year term of any patent issuing in these families is presently estimated to expire in 2042, absent any available patent term adjustments or extensions.
Innate Immunity Platform
59
We have know-how relating to our innate immunity platform and are continually developing our intellectual property in this area, as well as evaluating external technologies and assets that may also help grow this platform.
We do not currently license or own any patents related to our innate immunity platform.
Patent Term and Term Extensions
Individual patents have terms for varying periods depending on the date of filing of the patent application or the date of patent issuance and the legal term of patents in the countries in which they are obtained. Generally, utility patents issued for applications filed in the United States are granted a term of 20 years from the earliest effective filing date of a non-provisional patent application. In addition, in certain instances, the term of a U.S. patent can be extended to recapture a portion of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s, or the USPTO, delay in issuing the patent as well as a portion of the term effectively lost as a result of the FDA regulatory review period. However, as to the FDA component, the restoration period cannot be longer than five years and the restoration period cannot extend the patent term beyond 14 years from FDA approval. In addition, only one patent applicable to an approved drug is eligible for the extension, and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it, or a method of manufacturing may be extended. The duration of foreign patents varies in accordance with provisions of applicable local law, but typically is also 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. All taxes, annuities or maintenance fees for a patent, as required by the USPTO and various foreign jurisdictions, must be timely paid in order for the patent to remain in force during this period of time.
The actual protection afforded by a patent may vary on a product by product basis, from country to country, and can depend upon many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, the availability of regulatory-related extensions and the availability of legal remedies in a particular country and the validity and enforceability of the patent.
Our patents and patent applications may be subject to procedural or legal challenges by others. We may be unable to obtain, maintain and protect the intellectual property rights necessary to conduct our business, and we may be subject to claims that we infringe or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others, which could materially harm our business. For more information, see the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.”
Trademarks and Know-How
In connection with the ongoing development and advancement of our products and services in the United States and various international jurisdictions, we seek to create protection for our marks and enhance their value by pursuing trademarks and service marks where available and when appropriate. In addition to patent and trademark protection, we rely upon know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect our proprietary information, in part, by using confidentiality agreements with our commercial partners, collaborators, employees and consultants, and invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants. These agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information and, in the case of the invention assignment agreements, to grant us ownership of technologies that are developed by our employees and through relationships with third parties. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. To the extent that our contractors, commercial partners, collaborators, employees, and consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions. For more information, see the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.”
Government Regulation and Product Approval
The FDA and other regulatory authorities at federal, state and local levels, as well as in foreign countries, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, import, export, safety, effectiveness, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, record keeping, approval, advertising, promotion, marketing, post-approval monitoring and post-approval reporting of drugs and biologics such as those we are developing.
In the United States, the FDA approves and regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA. Biological products, or biologics, are licensed for marketing under the Public Health Service Act, or the PHSA, and regulated under the FDCA. A company, institution, or organization which takes responsibility for the initiation and management of a clinical development program for such products is typically referred to as a sponsor. We, along with third-party contractors, will be required to navigate the various preclinical, clinical and commercial approval requirements of the governing regulatory agencies of the countries in which we wish to conduct studies or trials or seek approval or licensure of our product candidates.
60
U.S. Biopharmaceuticals Regulation
The process required by the FDA before drug and biologic product candidates may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:
Preclinical and Clinical Development
Prior to beginning the first clinical trial with a product candidate, we must submit an IND to the FDA. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational new drug product to humans. The central focus of an IND submission is on the general investigational plan and the protocol or protocols for preclinical studies and clinical trials. The IND also includes results of animal and in vitro studies assessing the toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology and pharmacodynamic characteristics of the product, chemistry, manufacturing and controls information, and any available human data or literature to support the use of the investigational product. These studies are typically referred to as IND-enabling studies. An IND must become effective before human clinical trials may begin. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA, within the 30-day period, raises safety concerns or questions about the proposed clinical trial. In such a case, the IND may be placed on clinical hold and the IND sponsor, and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns or questions before the clinical trial can begin. Submission of an IND therefore may or may not result in FDA authorization to begin a clinical trial.
Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational product to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators in accordance with GCPs, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent for their participation in any clinical study. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. A separate submission to the existing IND must be made for each successive clinical trial conducted during product development and for any subsequent protocol amendments. Furthermore, an independent institutional review board for each site proposing to conduct the clinical trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial and its informed consent form before the clinical trial begins at that site, and must monitor the trial until completed.
Regulatory authorities, the institutional review board or the sponsor may suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk or that the trial is unlikely to meet its stated objectives. Some trials also include oversight by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board, which provides authorization for whether or not a trial may move forward at designated check points based on access to certain data from the trial and may halt the clinical trial if it determines that there is an unacceptable safety risk for subjects or other grounds, such as no demonstration of efficacy.
61
For purposes of biopharmaceutical development, human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:
In some cases, the FDA may require, or companies may voluntarily pursue, additional clinical trials after a product is approved to gain more information about the product. These so-called Phase 4 trials may be made a condition to approval of the application. Concurrent with clinical trials, companies may complete additional animal trials and develop additional information about the characteristics of the product candidate, and must finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final product, or for biologics, the safety, purity and potency. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability trials must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.
In December 2022, with the passage of the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act, or FDORA, Congress required sponsors to develop and submit a diversity action plan for each phase 3 clinical trial or any other “pivotal study” of a new drug or biological product. These plans are meant to encourage the enrollment of more diverse patient populations in late-stage clinical trials of FDA-regulated products. Specifically, action plans must include the sponsor’s goals for enrollment, the underlying rationale for those goals, and an explanation of how the sponsor intends to meet them. In addition to these requirements, the legislation directs the FDA to issue new guidance on diversity action plans.
During all phases of clinical development, regulatory agencies require extensive monitoring and auditing of all clinical activities, clinical data, and clinical trial investigators. The FDA or the sponsor or its data safety monitoring board may suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research patients or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an institutional review board can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the institutional review board’s requirements or if the product candidate has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.
A sponsor may choose, but is not required, to conduct a foreign clinical study under an IND. When a foreign clinical study is conducted under an IND, all IND requirements must be met unless waived by the FDA. When a foreign clinical study is not conducted under an IND, the sponsor must ensure that the study complies with certain regulatory requirements of the FDA in order to use the study as support for an IND or application for marketing approval. Specifically, the studies must be conducted in accordance with GCP, including undergoing review and receiving approval by an independent ethics committee and seeking and receiving informed consent from subjects.
Under the PHSA, sponsors of clinical trials are required to register and disclose certain clinical trial information on a public registry (clinicaltrials.gov) maintained by the NIH. In particular, information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, study sites and investigators and other aspects of the clinical trial is made public as part of the registration of the clinical trial. The failure to submit clinical trial information to clinicaltrials.gov, as required, is a prohibited act under the FDCA with violations subject to potential civil monetary penalties of up to $10,000 for each day the violation continues. Although the FDA has historically not enforced these reporting requirements due to HHS’s long delay in issuing final implementing regulations, those regulations have now been issued and the FDA has issued several Notices of Noncompliance to manufacturers since April 2021.
NDA/BLA Submission and Review
Assuming successful completion of all required testing in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, the results of product development, nonclinical trials and clinical trials are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA or BLA, as applicable, requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. The application must include all relevant data available from pertinent preclinical studies and clinical trials, including negative or ambiguous results as well as positive findings, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacturing, controls, and proposed labeling, among other things. The
62
submission of an application requires payment of a substantial application user fee to the FDA, unless a waiver or exemption applies. The FDA has sixty days from the applicant’s submission to either issue a refusal to file letter, or RTF, or accept the application for filing, indicating that it is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review.
Once an NDA or BLA has been accepted for filing, the FDA’s goal is to review standard applications within 10 months after it accepts the application for filing, or, if the application qualifies for priority review, six months after the FDA accepts the application for filing. In both standard and priority reviews, the review process is often significantly extended by FDA requests for additional information or clarification. The FDA reviews an NDA to determine whether a drug is safe and effective for its intended use and a BLA to determine whether a biologic is safe, pure and potent. The FDA also reviews whether the facility in which the product is manufactured, processed, packed or held meets standards designed to assure and preserve the product’s identity, safety, strength, quality, potency and purity. The FDA may convene an advisory committee to provide clinical insight on application review questions.
Before approving an NDA or BLA, the FDA will typically inspect the facility or facilities where the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve an application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. The PREVENT Pandemics Act, which was enacted in December 2022, clarifies that foreign drug manufacturing establishments are subject to registration and listing requirements even if a drug or biologic undergoes further manufacture, preparation, propagation, compounding, or processing at a separate establishment outside the United States prior to being imported or offered for import into the United States. Additionally, before approving an application, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCPs. With passage of FDORA, Congress clarified the FDA’s authority to conduct inspections by expressly permitting inspection of facilities involved in the preparation, conduct or analysis of clinical and non-clinical studies submitted to the FDA as well as other persons holding study records or involved in the study process.
After the FDA evaluates an application and conducts inspections of manufacturing facilities where the investigational product and/or its drug substance will be manufactured, the FDA may issue an approval letter or a Complete Response letter, or CRL. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the product with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A CRL will describe all of the deficiencies that the FDA has identified in the application, except that where the FDA determines that the data supporting the application are inadequate to support approval, the FDA may issue the CRL without first conducting required inspections, testing submitted product lots and/or reviewing proposed labeling. In issuing the CRL, the FDA may recommend actions that the applicant might take to place the application in condition for approval, including requests for additional information or clarification, which may include the potential requirement for additional clinical trials. The FDA may delay or refuse approval of an application if applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied, require additional testing or information and/or require post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor safety or efficacy of a product.
If regulatory approval of a product is granted, such approval will be granted for particular indications and may entail limitations on the indicated uses for which such product may be marketed. For example, the FDA may approve the application with a REMS to ensure the benefits of the product outweigh its risks. A REMS is a safety strategy to manage a known or potential serious risk associated with a product and to enable patients to have continued access to such medicines by managing their safe use, and could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. The FDA also may condition approval on, among other things, changes to proposed labeling or the development of adequate controls and specifications. Once approved, the FDA may withdraw the product approval if compliance with pre- and post-marketing requirements is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the marketplace. The FDA may require one or more Phase 4 post-market trials and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization, and may limit further marketing of the product based on the results of these post-marketing trials.
Expedited Development and Review Programs
The FDA offers a number of expedited development and review programs for qualifying product candidates. The fast track program is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for reviewing new products that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new products are eligible for fast track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the disease or condition. Fast track designation applies to the combination of the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. The sponsor of a fast track product has opportunities for frequent interactions with the review team during product development and, once an NDA or BLA is submitted, the product may be eligible for priority review. A fast track product may also be eligible for rolling review, where the FDA may consider for review sections of the NDA or BLA on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the application, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the application and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the application.
63
A product intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition may also be eligible for breakthrough therapy designation to expedite its development and review. A product can receive breakthrough therapy designation if preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. The designation includes all of the fast track program features, as well as more intensive FDA interaction and guidance beginning as early as Phase 1 and an organizational commitment to expedite the development and review of the product, including involvement of senior managers.
Any marketing application for a drug or biologic submitted to the FDA for approval, including a product with a fast track designation and/or breakthrough therapy designation, may be eligible for other types of FDA programs intended to expedite the FDA review and approval process, such as priority review and accelerated approval. A product is eligible for priority review if it has the potential to provide a significant improvement in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a serious disease or condition. Priority review designation means the FDA’s goal is to take action on the marketing application within six months of the 60-day filing date.
Additionally, products studied for their safety and effectiveness in treating serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions may receive accelerated approval upon a determination that the product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity, or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of accelerated approval, the FDA will generally require the sponsor to perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials to verify and describe the anticipated effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit. In addition, the FDA currently requires as a condition for accelerated approval pre-approval of promotional materials, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product.
With the passage of FDORA in December 2022, Congress modified certain provisions governing accelerated approval of drug and biologic products. Specifically, the new legislation authorized the FDA to require a sponsor to have its confirmatory clinical trial underway before accelerated approval is awarded; require a sponsor of a product granted accelerated approval to submit progress reports on its post-approval studies to the FDA every six months until the study is completed; and use expedited procedures to withdraw accelerated approval of an NDA or BLA after the confirmatory trial fails to verify the product’s clinical benefit. Further, FDORA requires the agency to publish on its website “the rationale for why a post-approval study is not appropriate or necessary” whenever it decides not to require such a study upon granting accelerated approval.
Fast track designation, breakthrough therapy designation and priority review do not change the standards for approval but may expedite the development or approval process. Even if a product qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened.
Emergency Use Authorization
In emergency situations, such as a pandemic, and with a declaration of a public health emergency by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, the FDA has the authority to allow unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of cleared or approved medical products to be used to diagnose, treat or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions caused by chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare threat agents when there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives.
Under this authority, the FDA may issue an EUA if the following four statutory criteria have been met: (1) a serious or life-threatening condition exists; (2) evidence of effectiveness exists; (3) a risk-benefit analysis shows that the benefits of the product outweigh the risks; and (4) no other alternatives exist for diagnosing, preventing or treating the disease or condition. The “may be effective” standard for EUAs requires a lower level of evidence than the “effectiveness” standard that FDA uses for product clearances or approvals in non-emergency situations. The FDA assesses the potential effectiveness of a possible EUA product on a case-by-case basis using a risk-benefit analysis. In determining whether the known and potential benefits of the product outweigh the known and potential risks, the FDA examines the totality of the scientific evidence to make an overall risk-benefit determination. Such evidence, which could arise from a variety of sources, may include (but is not limited to) results of domestic and foreign clinical trials, in vivo efficacy data from animal models, in vitro data, as well as the quality and quantity of the available evidence.
Once granted, an EUA will remain in effect and generally terminate on the earlier of (1) the determination by the Secretary of HHS that the public health emergency has ceased or (2) a change in the approval status of the product such that the authorized use(s) of the product are no longer unapproved. After the EUA is no longer valid, the product is no longer considered to be legally marketed
64
and one of the FDA’s non-emergency premarket pathways would be necessary to resume or continue distribution of the subject product.
The FDA also may revise or revoke an EUA if the circumstances justifying its issuance no longer exist, the criteria for its issuance are no longer met, or other circumstances make a revision or revocation appropriate to protect public health or safety.
On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of HHS issued a declaration of a public health emergency related to COVID-19. On February 4, 2020, HHS determined that COVID-19 represents a public health emergency that has a significant potential to affect national security or the health and security of U.S. citizens living abroad and, subsequently, declared on March 24, 2020, that circumstances exist to justify the authorization of emergency use of certain medical products, during the COVID-19 pandemic, subject to the terms of any authorization as issued by the FDA. The declaration of the Secretary of HHS has been further updated and the FDA has issued numerous guidance to sponsors seeking to obtain EUAs to diagnose and treat COVID-19. The declaration of a public health emergency related to COVID-19 was most recently renewed on January 11, 2023.
Orphan Drug Designation
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biologic intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more than 200,000 individuals in the United States for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making available in the United States a drug or biologic for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales in the United States for that drug or biologic. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA or BLA. After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the generic identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. The orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review or approval process. Among the benefits of orphan drug designation are tax credits for certain research and a waiver of the NDA or BLA application fee.
If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan drug exclusive approval (or exclusivity), which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications, including a full NDA or BLA, to market the same drug or biologic for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan drug exclusivity or if the FDA finds that the holder of the orphan drug exclusivity has not shown that it can assure the availability of sufficient quantities of the orphan drug to meet the needs of patients with the disease or condition for which the drug was designated. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug or biologic for the same disease or condition, or the same drug or biologic for a different disease or condition.
A designated orphan drug may not receive orphan drug exclusivity if it is approved for a use that is broader than the indication for which it received orphan designation. In addition, exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective. In September 2021, the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held that, for the purpose of determining the scope of market exclusivity, the term “same disease or condition” in the statute means the designated “rare disease or condition” and could not be interpreted by the FDA to mean the “indication or use.” Thus, the court concluded, orphan drug exclusivity applies to the entire designated disease or condition rather than the “indication or use.” Although there have been legislative proposals to overrule this decision, they have not been enacted into law. On January 23, 2023, the FDA announced that, in matters beyond the scope of that court order, the FDA will continue to apply its existing regulations tying orphan-drug exclusivity to the uses or indications for which the orphan drug was approved.
Post-Approval Requirements
Any products manufactured or distributed by us pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, requirements relating to record-keeping, reporting of adverse experiences, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, and advertising and promotion of the product. After approval, most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications or other labeling claims, are subject to prior FDA review and approval. There also are continuing user fee requirements, under which the FDA assesses an annual program fee for each product identified in an approved NDA or BLA. Biopharmaceutical manufacturers and their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMPs, which impose certain procedural and documentation requirements upon us and our third-party manufacturers. Changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated, and, depending on the significance of the change, may require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMPs and impose reporting requirements upon us and any third-party manufacturers that we may decide to use. Accordingly, manufacturers must
65
continue to expend time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMPs and other aspects of regulatory compliance.
The FDA may withdraw approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information; imposition of post-market trials or clinical trials to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:
The FDA closely regulates the marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of biopharmaceutical products. A company can make only those claims relating to safety and efficacy, purity and potency that are approved by the FDA and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label. However, companies may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA approved labeling. Moreover, with passage of the Pre-Approval Information Exchange Act, or PIE Act, in December 2022, sponsors of products that have not been approved may proactively communicate to payors certain information about products in development to help expedite patients access upon product approval. Previously, such communications were permitted under FDA guidance, but the new legislation explicitly provides protection to sponsors who convey certain information about products in development to payors, including unapproved uses of approved products.
The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in, among other things, adverse publicity, warning letters, corrective advertising and potential civil and criminal penalties. Physicians may prescribe legally available products for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and that differ from those tested by us and approved by the FDA. Such off-label uses are common across medical specialties. Physicians may believe that such off-label uses are the best treatment for many patients in varied circumstances. The FDA does not regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments. The FDA does, however, restrict manufacturer’s communications on the subject of off-label use of their products. In September 2021, the FDA published final regulations which describe the types of evidence that the FDA will consider in determining the intended use of a drug or biologic.
Biosimilars and Regulatory Exclusivity
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively the ACA, signed into law in 2010, includes a subtitle called the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCIA, which created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that are biosimilar to or interchangeable with an FDA-licensed reference biological product. The FDA has approved a number of biosimilars and the first interchangeable biosimilar product was approved on July 30, 2021, and a second product previously approved as a biosimilar was designated as interchangeable in October 2021.
Biosimilarity, which requires that there be no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of safety, purity and potency, can be shown through analytical trials, animal trials and a clinical trial or trials. Interchangeability requires that a product is biosimilar to the reference product and the product must demonstrate that it can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product in any given patient and, for products that are administered multiple times to an individual, the biologic and the reference biologic may be alternated or switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference biologic. In
66
December 2022, Congress clarified through FDORA that the FDA may approve multiple first interchangeable biosimilar biological products so long as the products are all approved on the first day on which such a product is approved as interchangeable with the reference product.
Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product may not be submitted to the FDA until four years following the date that the reference product was first licensed by the FDA. In addition, the approval of a biosimilar product may not be made effective by the FDA until 12 years from the date on which the reference product was first licensed. During this 12-year period of exclusivity, another company may still market a competing version of the reference product if the FDA approves a full BLA for the competing product containing that applicant’s own preclinical data and data from adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity and potency of its product. The BPCIA also created certain exclusivity periods for biosimilars approved as interchangeable products. Since passage of the BPCIA, many states have passed laws or amendments to laws that address pharmacy practices involving biosimilar products.
Generic Drugs and Regulatory Exclusivity
Section 505 of the FDCA describes three types of marketing applications that may be submitted to the FDA to request marketing authorization for a new drug. A Section 505(b)(1) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and efficacy. A 505(b)(2) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and efficacy but where at least some of the information required for approval comes from investigations that were not conducted by or for the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference or use from the person by or for whom the investigations were conducted. This regulatory pathway enables the applicant to rely, in part, on the FDA’s prior findings of safety and efficacy for an existing product, or published literature, in support of its application. Section 505(j) establishes an abbreviated approval process for a generic version of approved drug products through the submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA.
An ANDA provides for marketing of a generic drug product that has the same active ingredients, dosage form, strength, route of administration, labeling, performance characteristics and intended use, among other things, to a previously approved product. ANDAs are termed “abbreviated” because they are generally not required to include preclinical (animal) and clinical (human) data to establish safety and efficacy. Instead, generic applicants must scientifically demonstrate that their product is bioequivalent to, or performs in the same manner as, the innovator drug through in vitro, in vivo or other testing. The generic version must deliver the same amount of active ingredient(s) in the same amount of time as the innovator drug and can often be substituted by pharmacists under prescriptions written for the reference listed drug. In seeking approval for a drug through an NDA, applicants are required to list with the FDA each patent with claims that cover the applicant’s drug or a method of using the drug. Upon approval of a drug, each of the patents listed in the application for the drug is then published in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book. Drugs listed in the Orange Book can, in turn, be cited by potential competitors in support of approval of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA.
Upon submission of an ANDA or a 505(b)(2) NDA, an applicant must certify to the FDA that (1) no patent information on the drug product that is the subject of the application has been submitted to the FDA; (2) such patent has expired; (3) the date on which such patent expires; or (4) such patent is invalid or will not be infringed upon by the manufacture, use or sale of the drug product for which the application is submitted. Generally, the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA cannot be approved until all listed patents have expired, except where the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant challenges a listed patent through the last type of certification, also known as a paragraph IV certification. The filing of a patent infringement lawsuit within 45 days after the receipt of a Paragraph IV certification automatically prevents the FDA from approving the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA until the earliest of 30 months after the receipt of the Paragraph IV notice, expiration of the patent and a decision in the infringement case that is favorable to the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant. If the applicant does not challenge the listed patents, or indicates that it is not seeking approval of a patented method of use, the ANDA or 505(b) (2) NDA application will not be approved until all of the listed patents claiming the referenced product have expired.
The FDA also cannot approve an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application until all applicable non-patent exclusivities listed in the Orange Book for the branded reference drug have expired. For example, a pharmaceutical manufacturer may obtain five years of non-patent exclusivity upon NDA approval of a new chemical entity, or NCE, which is a drug containing an active moiety that has not been approved by FDA in any other NDA. This interpretation was confirmed with enactment of the Ensuring Innovation Act in April 2021. An “active moiety” is defined as the molecule responsible for the drug substance’s physiological or pharmacologic action. During that five-year exclusivity period, the FDA cannot accept for filing (and therefore cannot approve) any ANDA seeking approval of a generic version of that drug or any 505(b)(2) NDA that relies on the FDA’s approval of the drug, provided that the FDA may accept an ANDA four years into the NCE exclusivity period if the ANDA applicant also files a paragraph IV certification.
Pediatric Exclusivity
67
Pediatric exclusivity is a type of non‑patent marketing exclusivity in the United States and, if granted, provides for the attachment of an additional six months of exclusivity. For drug products, the six-month exclusivity may be attached to the term of any existing patent or regulatory exclusivity, including the orphan exclusivity and regulatory exclusivities available under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or the Hatch-Waxman Act. For biologic products, the six-month period may be attached to any existing regulatory exclusivities but not to any patent terms. The conditions for pediatric exclusivity include the FDA’s determination that information relating to the use of a new product in the pediatric population may produce health benefits in that population, the FDA making a written request for pediatric clinical trials, and the sponsor agreeing to perform, and reporting on, the requested clinical trials within the statutory timeframe. This six‑month exclusivity may be granted if a sponsor submits pediatric data that fairly responds to a written request from the FDA for such data. The data do not need to show the product to be effective in the pediatric population studied; rather, if the clinical trial is deemed to fairly respond to the FDA’s request, additional protection is granted.
Patent Term Restoration and Extension
In the United States, a patent claiming a new product, its method of use or its method of manufacture may be eligible for a limited patent term extension under the Hatch‑Waxman Act, which permits a patent extension of up to five years for patent term lost during product development and FDA regulatory review. Assuming grant of the patent for which the extension is sought, the restoration period for a patent covering a product is typically one‑half the time between the effective date of the IND involving human beings and the submission date of the NDA or BLA, plus the time between the submission date of the application and the ultimate approval date. Patent term restoration cannot be used to extend the remaining term of a patent past a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date in the United States. Only one patent applicable to an approved product is eligible for the extension, and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent for which extension is sought. A patent that covers multiple products for which approval is sought can only be extended in connection with one of the approvals. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension in consultation with the FDA.
Federal and State Fraud and Abuse, and Transparency Laws and Regulations
In addition to strict FDA regulation of marketing of biopharmaceutical products, federal and state healthcare laws strictly regulate business practices in the biopharmaceutical industry. These laws may impact, among other things, our current and future business operations, including our clinical research activities, and proposed sales, marketing and education programs and constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships with healthcare providers and other parties through which we market, sell and distribute our products for which we obtain marketing approval. These laws include anti-kickback and false claims laws and regulations, and transparency laws and regulations, including, without limitation, those laws described below.
The U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits any person or entity from, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for or recommending the purchase, lease or order of any item or service reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. The term “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value. The U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute has been interpreted to apply to, among others, arrangements between biopharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers and formulary managers on the other. Although there are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common arrangements and other activities from prosecution, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly. Practices that involve remuneration that may be alleged to be intended to induce prescribing, purchases or recommendations may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exception or safe harbor. Courts have interpreted the statute’s intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered business, the statute has been violated.
A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act or the civil monetary penalties laws.
Federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the federal civil False Claims Act, which can be enforced by individuals through civil whistleblower and qui tam actions, and civil monetary penalties laws, prohibit any person or entity from, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government or knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government. A claim includes “any request or demand” for money or property presented to the U.S. government. A number of biopharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under these laws for allegedly providing payments or other items of value to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal programs for their products or services. Other companies have
68
been prosecuted for causing false claims to be submitted because of the companies’ marketing of products for unapproved, and thus non-reimbursable, uses.
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, created additional federal criminal statutes that prohibit, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. Also, many states have similar fraud and abuse statutes or regulations that apply to items and services reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs, or, in several states, apply regardless of the payor.
The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), and teaching hospitals, and applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations to report annually to CMS ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. As of January 2022, applicable manufacturers are also required to report such information regarding its payments and other transfers of value to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, anesthesiologist assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists and certified nurse midwives during the previous year.
We may also be subject to state laws that require biopharmaceutical companies to comply with the biopharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, state laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers, marketing expenditures or drug pricing, and state and local laws that require the registration of biopharmaceutical sales representatives.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of available statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the federal and state laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to significant criminal, civil and administrative penalties including damages, fines, imprisonment, disgorgement, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations. To the extent that any of our products are sold in a foreign country, we may be subject to similar foreign laws and regulations, which may include, for instance, applicable post-marketing requirements, including safety surveillance, anti-fraud and abuse laws, implementation of corporate compliance programs, and reporting of payments or transfers of value to healthcare professionals.
Coverage and Reimbursement
The future commercial success of our product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on the extent to which third-party payors, such as governmental payor programs at the federal and state levels, including Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurers and other third-party payors, provide coverage of and establish adequate reimbursement levels for our product candidates. Third-party payors generally decide which products they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels for those products. In particular, in the United States, no uniform policy for coverage and reimbursement exists. Private health insurers and other third-party payors often provide coverage and reimbursement for products based on the level at which the government, through the Medicare program, provides coverage and reimbursement for such products, but also on their own methods and approval process apart from Medicare determinations. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement can differ significantly from payor to payor.
In the United States, the EU and other potentially significant markets for our product candidates, government authorities and third-party payors are increasingly attempting to limit or regulate the price of products, particularly for new and innovative products, which often has resulted in average selling prices lower than they would otherwise be. Further, the increased emphasis on managed healthcare in the United States and on country and regional pricing and reimbursement controls in the EU will put additional pressure on product pricing, reimbursement and usage. These pressures can arise from rules and practices of managed care groups, judicial decisions and laws and regulations related to Medicare, Medicaid and healthcare reform, biopharmaceutical coverage and reimbursement policies and pricing in general.
Third-party payors are increasingly imposing additional requirements and restrictions on coverage and limiting reimbursement levels for products. For example, federal and state governments reimburse products at varying rates generally below average wholesale price. These restrictions and limitations influence the purchase of products. Third-party payors may limit coverage to
69
specific products on an approved list, or formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved products for a particular indication. Similarly, because certain of our product candidates are physician-administered, separate reimbursement for the product itself may or may not be available. Instead, the administering physician may only be reimbursed for providing the treatment or procedure in which our product is used. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the price and examining the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of products, in addition to their safety and efficacy. We may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic trials in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of our product candidates, in addition to the costs required to obtain the FDA approvals. Our product candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. A payor’s decision to provide coverage for a product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Adequate third-party payor reimbursement may not be available to enable us to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development. Legislative proposals to reform healthcare or reduce costs under government insurance programs may result in lower reimbursement for our product candidates, if approved, or exclusion of our product candidates from coverage and reimbursement. The cost containment measures that third-party payors and providers are instituting and any healthcare reform could significantly reduce our revenue from the sale of any approved product candidates.
Healthcare Reform
The United States and some foreign jurisdictions are considering enacting or have enacted a number of additional legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably, if approved. Among policy makers and payors in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality and expanding access. In the United States, the biopharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts, which include major legislative initiatives to reduce the cost of care through changes in the healthcare system, including limits on the pricing, coverage, and reimbursement of biopharmaceutical products, especially under government-funded healthcare programs, and increased governmental control of drug pricing.
There have been several U.S. government initiatives over the past few years to fund and incentivize certain comparative effectiveness research, including creation of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute under the ACA. It is also possible that comparative effectiveness research demonstrating benefits in a competitor’s product could adversely affect the sales of our product candidates.
The ACA became law in March 2010 and substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by third-party payors, and significantly impacts the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry. Among other measures that may have an impact on our business, the ACA established an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports specified branded prescription drugs and biologic agents; a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program; and a new formula that increased the rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Additionally, the ACA extended manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability, expands eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs, and expanded entities eligible for discounts under the PHSA. At this time, we are unsure of the full impact that the ACA will have on our business.
In March 2010, the United States Congress enacted the ACA, which, among other things, includes changes to the coverage and payment for pharmaceutical products under government healthcare programs. Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. These changes included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect in April 2013 and will remain in effect through 2031. Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, and subsequent legislation, these Medicare sequester reductions were suspended and reduced through the end of June 2022, with the full 2% cut resuming thereafter.
Since enactment of the ACA, there have been, and continue to be, numerous legal challenges and Congressional actions to repeal and replace provisions of the law. For example, with enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or the Tax Act, which was signed by President Trump on December 22, 2017, Congress repealed the “individual mandate.” The repeal of this provision, which requires most Americans to carry a minimal level of health insurance, became effective in 2019. On December 14, 2018, a U.S. District Court judge in the Northern District of Texas ruled that the individual mandate portion of the ACA is an essential and inseverable feature of the ACA, and therefore because the mandate was repealed as part of the Tax Act, the remaining provisions of the ACA are invalid as well. The U.S. Supreme Court heard this case on November 10, 2020 and, on June 17, 2021, dismissed this action after finding that the plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the ACA. Litigation and legislation over the ACA are likely to continue, with unpredictable and uncertain results.
70
Pharmaceutical Prices
The prices of prescription pharmaceuticals have also been the subject of considerable discussion in the United States. There have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries, as well as proposed and enacted state and federal legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to pharmaceutical pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reduce the costs of pharmaceuticals under Medicare and Medicaid. In 2020 President Trump issued several executive orders intended to lower the costs of prescription products and certain provisions in these orders have been incorporated into regulations. These regulations include an interim final rule implementing a most favored nation model for prices that would tie Medicare Part B payments for certain physician-administered pharmaceuticals to the lowest price paid in other economically advanced countries, effective January 1, 2021. That rule, however, has been subject to a nationwide preliminary injunction and, on December 29, 2021, CMS issued a final rule to rescind it. With issuance of this rule, CMS stated that it will explore all options to incorporate value into payments for Medicare Part B pharmaceuticals and improve beneficiaries' access to evidence-based care.
In addition, in October 2020, HHS and the FDA published a final rule allowing states and other entities to develop a Section 804 Importation Program, or SIP, to import certain prescription drugs from Canada into the United States. The final rule is currently the subject of ongoing litigation, but at least six states (Vermont, Colorado, Florida, Maine, New Mexico, and New Hampshire) have passed laws allowing for the importation of drugs from Canada with the intent of developing SIPs for review and approval by the FDA. Further, on November 20, 2020, HHS finalized a regulation removing safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsors under Part D, either directly or through pharmacy benefit managers, unless the price reduction is required by law. The final rule would eliminate the current safe harbor for Medicare drug rebates and create new safe harbors for beneficiary point-of-sale discounts and pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, service fees. It originally was set to go into effect on January 1, 2022, but with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has been delayed by Congress to January 1, 2032.
More recently, on August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or IRA, was signed into law by President Biden. The new legislation has implications for Medicare Part D, which is a program available to individuals who are entitled to Medicare Part A or enrolled in Medicare Part B to give them the option of paying a monthly premium for outpatient prescription drug coverage. Among other things, the IRA requires manufacturers of certain drugs to engage in price negotiations with Medicare (beginning in 2026), with prices that can be negotiated subject to a cap; imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation (first due in 2023); and replaces the Part D coverage gap discount program with a new discounting program (beginning in 2025). The IRA permits the Secretary of HHS to implement many of these provisions through guidance, as opposed to regulation, for the initial years.
Specifically, with respect to price negotiations, Congress authorized Medicare to negotiate lower prices for certain costly single-source drug and biologic products that do not have competing generics or biosimilars and are reimbursed under Medicare Part B and Part D. CMS may negotiate prices for ten high-cost drugs paid for by Medicare Part D starting in 2026, followed by 15 Part D drugs in 2027, 15 Part B or Part D drugs in 2028, and 20 Part B or Part D drugs in 2029 and beyond. This provision applies to drug products that have been approved for at least nine years and biologics that have been licensed for 13 years, but it does not apply to drugs and biologics that have been approved for a single rare disease or condition. Nonetheless, since CMS may establish a maximum price for these products in price negotiations, we would be fully at risk of government action if our products are the subject of Medicare price negotiations. Moreover, given the risk that could be the case, these provisions of the IRA may also further heighten the risk that we would not be able to achieve the expected return on our drug products or full value of our patents protecting our products if prices are set after such products have been on the market for nine years.
Further, the legislation subjects drug manufacturers to civil monetary penalties and a potential excise tax for failing to comply with the legislation by offering a price that is not equal to or less than the negotiated “maximum fair price” under the law or for taking price increases that exceed inflation. The legislation also requires manufacturers to pay rebates for drugs in Medicare Part D whose price increases exceed inflation. The new law also caps Medicare out-of-pocket drug costs at an estimated $4,000 a year in 2024 and, thereafter, beginning in 2025, at $2,000 a year. In addition, the IRA potentially raises legal risks with respect to individuals participating in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan who may experience a gap in coverage if they required coverage above their initial annual coverage limit before they reached the higher threshold, or “catastrophic period” of the plan. Individuals requiring services exceeding the initial annual coverage limit and below the catastrophic period, must pay 100% of the cost of their prescriptions until they reach the catastrophic period. Among other things, the IRA contains many provisions aimed at reducing this financial burden on individuals by reducing the co-insurance and co-payment costs, expanding eligibility for lower income subsidy plans, and price caps on annual out-of-pocket expenses, each of which could have potential pricing and reporting implications.
71
Accordingly, while it is currently unclear how the IRA will be effectuated, we cannot predict with certainty what impact any federal or state health reforms will have on us, but such changes could impose new or more stringent regulatory requirements on our activities or result in reduced reimbursement for our products, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
At the state level, legislatures have increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control biopharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine which drugs and suppliers will be included in their healthcare programs. A number of states, for example, require drug manufacturers and other entities in the drug supply chain, including health carriers, pharmacy benefit managers, and wholesale distributors, to disclose information about pricing of pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, there has been increased interest by third party payors and governmental authorities in reference pricing systems and publication of discounts and list prices. These measures could reduce future demand for our products or put pressure on our pricing.
Foreign Regulation
In order to market any product outside of the United States, we would need to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries regarding safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of our product candidates. For example, in the EU, we must obtain authorization of a clinical trial application in each member state in which we intend to conduct a clinical trial. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a drug, we would need to obtain the necessary approvals by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries before we can commence clinical trials or marketing of the drug in those countries. The approval process varies from country to country and can involve additional product testing and additional administrative review periods. The time required to obtain approval in other countries might differ from and be longer than that required to obtain FDA approval. Regulatory approval in one country does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may negatively impact the regulatory process in others.
Further, some countries outside of the United States, including the EU member states, Switzerland and the U.K., have also adopted data protection laws and regulations, which impose significant compliance obligations. In the EU, the collection and use of personal health data is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. The GDPR, together with the national legislation of the EU member states governing the processing of personal data, impose strict obligations and restrictions on the ability to process personal data, including health data from clinical trials and adverse event reporting. For additional information regarding the GDPR, see the section titled “Business—Government Regulation and Product Approval —Privacy Laws.”
Privacy Laws
We, and our service providers, receive, process, store and use personal information and other data about our clinical trial participants, employees, collaborators and others. We are subject to numerous domestic and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy and data security, the scope of which is changing, subject to differing applications and interpretations, and may be inconsistent among countries, or conflict with other rules.
At the federal level, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, impose specific requirements on certain types of individuals and entities relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. HITECH, among other things, also increased the civil and criminal penalties that may be imposed for non-compliance with the law, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce HIPAA and seek attorney’s fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. Penalties for failure to comply with a requirement of HIPAA and HITECH vary significantly, and include significant civil monetary penalties and, in certain circumstances, criminal penalties and/or imprisonment.
Various states, such as California and Texas, have implemented privacy laws and regulations similar to HIPAA, such as the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, that impose restrictive requirements regulating the use and disclosure of health information. These laws and regulations are not necessarily preempted by HIPAA, particularly if a state affords greater protection to individuals than HIPAA. Where state laws are more protective, we have to comply with the stricter provisions. In addition to fines and penalties imposed upon violators, some of these state laws also afford private rights of action to individuals who believe their personal information has been misused.
72
Additionally, in 2018, California passed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the CCPA, which took effect on January 1, 2020, and imposed many requirements on businesses that process the personal information of California residents. Many of the CCPA’s requirements are similar to those found in the GDPR, including requiring businesses to provide notice to data subjects regarding the information collected about them and how such information is used and shared, and providing data subjects the right to request access to such personal information and, in certain cases, request the erasure of such personal information. The CCPA also affords California residents the right to opt-out of “sales” of their personal information. The CCPA contains significant penalties for companies that violate its requirements. In November 2020, California voters passed a ballot initiative for the California Privacy Rights Act, or the CPRA, which went into effect on January 1, 2023 and significantly expanded the CCPA to incorporate additional GDPR-like provisions including requiring that the use, retention, and sharing of personal information of California residents be reasonably necessary and proportionate to the purposes of collection or processing, granting additional protections for sensitive personal information, and requiring greater disclosures related to notice to residents regarding retention of information. The CPRA also created a new enforcement agency – the California Privacy Protection Agency – whose sole responsibility is to enforce the CPRA, which will further increase compliance risk. The provisions in the CPRA may apply to some of our business activities. In addition, other states, including Virginia, Colorado, Utah, and Connecticut already have passed state privacy laws. Virginia’s privacy law also went into effect on January 1, 2023, and the laws in the other three states will go into effect later in the year. Other states will be considering these laws in the future, and Congress has also been debating passing a federal privacy law. These laws may impact our business activities, including our identification of research subjects, relationships with business partners and ultimately the marketing and distribution of our products.
Regulation of privacy, data protection and data security has also become more stringent in foreign jurisdictions. For example, the EU adopted the GDPR, which imposes onerous and comprehensive privacy, data protection, and data security obligations onto data controllers and processors, including, as applicable, contractual privacy, data protection, and data security commitments, expanded disclosures to data subjects about how their personal information is used, honoring individuals’ data protection rights, limitations on retention of personal information, additional requirements pertaining to sensitive information (such as health data) and pseudonymized (i.e., key-coded) data, data breach notification requirements, and higher standards for obtaining consent from data subjects. Penalties for non-compliance with the GDPR can be significant and include fines in the amount of the greater of €20 million or 4% of global turnover and restrictions or prohibitions on data processing, which could hinder our ability to do business in the EU, reduce demand for our services and adversely impact our business and results of operations. The GDPR also provides that EU member states may implement further laws and regulations limiting the processing of genetic, biometric, or health data, which could limit our ability to collect, use and share European data, or could cause our compliance costs to increase, require us to change our practices, adversely impact our business, and harm our financial condition. Assisting parties with whom we exchange personal data in complying with the GDPR, or complying with the GDPR ourselves, may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to change our business practices.
Furthermore, European privacy, data protection, and data security laws, including the GDPR, generally restrict the transfer of personal information from the U.K., European Economic Area, or EEA, and Switzerland to the United States and most other countries unless the parties to the transfer have implemented specific safeguards to protect the transferred personal information. There is uncertainty as to how to implement such safeguards and how to conduct such transfers in compliance with the GDPR, and certain safeguards may not be available or applicable with respect to some or all the personal information processing activities necessary to research, develop and market our products and services. One of the primary safeguards allowing U.S. companies to import personal information from Europe was certification to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield frameworks. However, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework was invalidated in July 2020 in a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework was declared as inadequate by the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner. The decision by the Court of Justice and the announcement by the Swiss Commissioner both raised questions about whether one of the primary alternatives to the Privacy Shield frameworks, the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses, can lawfully be used for personal information transfers from Europe to the United States or most other countries. Since that time, EU regulators have adopted a new set of Standard Contractual Clauses, which impose additional obligations and requirements with respect to the transfer of EU personal data to other jurisdictions and may increase the legal risks and liabilities under the GDPR and local EU laws associated with cross-border data transfers, and result in material increased compliance and operational costs. If we are unable to implement a valid mechanism for personal information transfers to the United States and other countries, we may face increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines, and injunctions against processing or transferring personal information from Europe, and we may be required to increase our data processing capabilities in Europe at significant expense. Inability to import personal information from Europe to the United States or other countries may limit our ability to conduct clinical trials in Europe and collaborate with other entities subject to European data protection laws. At present, there are few, if any, viable alternatives to the Standard Contractual Clauses. Other countries outside of Europe have enacted or are considering enacting similar cross-border data transfer restrictions and laws requiring local data residency, which could increase the cost and complexity of delivering our services and operating our business.
73
This data transfer issue is also continually evolving. In October 2022, President Biden signed an executive order to implement the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, which would serve as a replacement to the EU-US Privacy Shield. The European Commission initiated the process to adopt an adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework in December 2022. It is unclear if and when the framework will be finalized and whether it will be challenged in court (and whether such a court challenge will further affect the viability of the new Standard Contractual Clauses). The uncertainty around this issue may further impact our business operations in the EU.
There are also relevant data transfer issues in the U.K. that we must address as part of our business operations. The European Commission and U.K. regulators have both adopted adequacy decisions that permit data transfers between the EEA and the U.K. in light of Brexit. However, the U.K. has its own guidance for data transfers to other jurisdictions that are not covered by an “adequacy” decision (which includes the United States) and recently adopted the international data transfer agreement, which can serve as a basis for companies to lawfully transfer outside of the U.K. We must also account for these requirements as part of addressing our compliance obligations.
Compliance with U.S. and foreign privacy, data protection, and data security laws and regulations could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices and compliance procedures in a manner adverse to our business. Moreover, complying with these various laws could require us to take on more onerous obligations in our contracts, restrict our ability to collect, use and disclose data, or in some cases, impact our ability to operate in certain jurisdictions. We may rely on others, such as health care providers, to obtain valid and appropriate consents from data subjects whose data we process. The failure of third parties to obtain consents that are valid under applicable law could res