|
Filed
pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
|
(To
Prospectus dated December 19, 2003)
|
Registration
No. 333-122887
|
650,000
Shares
Common
Stock
Discovery
Laboratories, Inc. is offering up to 650,000 shares of its common stock.
See
“Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-16 of this prospectus supplement for
more information regarding this arrangement.
Our
common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol
“DSCO.”
Investing
in our common stock involves significant risks. See “Risks Related to Our
Business” set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2004, and “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-2 of this prospectus
supplement and page 7 of the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of
some
important risks you should consider before buying our common
stock.
Neither
the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has
approved or disapproved of these securities, or passed upon the accuracy
or
adequacy of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Any
representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
______________________________
|
Per
Share
|
Maximum
Offering
|
Public
offering price
|
$6.88
|
$4,472,000
|
Placement
agent fee
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Proceeds
to Discovery Laboratories, Inc. (before expenses)
|
$6.88
|
$4,472,000
|
We
estimate the total expenses of this offering will be approximately $20,000.
______________________________
October
27, 2005
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Prospectus
Supplement
|
Page
|
Prospectus
|
Page
|
About
this Prospectus Supplement
|
S-1
|
About
This Prospectus
|
1
|
About
Discovery
|
S-1
|
Company
Summary
|
1
|
Risk
Factors
|
S-2
|
Corporate
Information
|
7
|
Forward-Looking
Statements
|
S-14
|
Risk
Factors
|
7
|
Dilution
|
S-15
|
Forward-Looking
Statements
|
21
|
Plan
of Distribution
|
S-16
|
Description
Of Common Stock
|
22
|
Where
You Can Find More Information
|
S-16
|
Use
Of Proceeds
|
24
|
|
|
Dilution
|
24
|
|
|
Plan
of Distribution
|
25
|
|
|
Interests
of Named Experts and Counsel
|
27
|
|
|
Where
You Can Find More Information
|
27
|
|
|
Information
Incorporated By Reference
|
28
|
|
|
Experts
|
28
|
|
|
Legal
Matters
|
28
|
_____________________
You
should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement,
the
accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein
or
therein. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different
from that contained in any of these documents. The information contained
in
these documents is accurate only as of the date of each document, as the
case
may be, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus supplement
and
accompanying prospectus or of any sale of common stock. Our business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects may change after the date
set
forth in each document in which the information is
presented.
We
are making offers to sell and seeking offers to buy shares of common stock
only
in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. You should not consider
this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus to be an offer
to
sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, shares of common stock if the
person
making the offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or if it is unlawful
for you to receive the offer or solicitation.
References
in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents
incorporated by reference herein and therein to “we,”“our,”“us” and the
“company” refer to Discovery Laboratories, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless
the context requires otherwise.
This
prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of a shelf
registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on December 19, 2003, as extended by the
registration statement on Form S-3 MEF that we filed with the SEC on February
17, 2005. This prospectus supplement describes the specific details regarding
this offering, including the price, the amount of common stock being offered
and
the risks of investing in our common stock. The accompanying prospectus
provides
more general information. You should read both this prospectus supplement
and
the accompanying prospectus together with the additional information about
us
described in the section entitled “Where You Can Find More
Information.”
If
information contained in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with
the
accompanying prospectus, you should rely on this prospectus
supplement.
ABOUT
DISCOVERY
Discovery
Laboratories, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing its proprietary
surfactant technology as Surfactant Replacement Therapies (SRT) for respiratory
diseases. Surfactants are produced naturally in the lungs and are essential
for
breathing. Our technology produces a precision-engineered surfactant that
is
designed to closely mimic the essential properties of natural human lung
surfactant. We believe that through our technology, pulmonary surfactants
have
the potential, for the first time, to address respiratory diseases where
there
are few or no approved therapies available.
Our
SRT
pipeline is initially focused on the most significant respiratory conditions
prevalent in the neonatal intensive care unit. Our lead product,
SurfaxinÒ
(lucinactant), for the prevention of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)
in
premature infants, has received an Approvable Letter from the U.S. Food and
Drug
Administration (FDA) and is under review for approval in Europe by the European
Medical Evaluation Agency (EMEA). Surfaxin is also being developed for the
treatment of Chronic Lung Disease (CLD, also known as Bronchopulmonary
Dysplasia) in premature infants. In addition, we are developing Aerosurf™,
aerosolized SRT administered through nasal continuous positive airway pressure
(nCPAP), for neonatal respiratory failures.
Our
SRT
technology is also being developed to address the various respiratory conditions
affecting pediatric, young adult and adult patients in the critical care
and
other hospital settings. We are conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial to address
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in adults, and are also developing
aerosol formulations of SRT to address Acute Lung Injury (ALI), asthma, Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD), and other respiratory
conditions.
With
the
goal of becoming a fully integrated biotechnology company, we are implementing
a
long-term business strategy which includes: (i) investing in manufacturing
capabilities for the production of our precision-engineered surfactant drug
products to meet anticipated clinical and commercial needs, if approved,
in the
United States, Europe and other markets; (ii) building our own specialty
pulmonary United States sales and marketing organization to focus initially
on
opportunities in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); (iii) securing
aerosol
generating technology and engineering capabilities through a corporate
partnership for our aerosol SRT pipeline programs, including Aerosurf; and
(iv)
securing corporate partnerships for the development and potential
commercialization of SRT, including Surfaxin, in Europe and the rest of the
world.
Investing
in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider the
following risk factors, as well as other information contained or incorporated
by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus,
before deciding to purchase any shares of our common stock. The risks and
uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks
and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial
also may become important factors that affect us. If any of these risks occur,
our business could suffer, the market price of our common stock could decline
and you could lose all or part of your investment in our common
stock.
Because
we are a biotechnology company, we may not successfully develop and market
our
products, and even if we do, we may not generate enough revenue or become
profitable.
We
are a
biotechnology company, therefore, you must evaluate us in light of the
uncertainties and complexities present in such companies. We currently have
no
products approved for marketing and sale and are conducting research and
development on our product candidates. As a result, we have not begun to
market
or generate revenues from the commercialization of any of our products. Our
long-term viability will be impaired if we are unable to obtain regulatory
approval for, or successfully market, our product candidates.
To
date,
we have only generated revenues from investments, research grants and
collaborative research and development agreements. We will need to engage
in
significant, time-consuming and costly research, development, pre-clinical
studies, clinical testing and regulatory approval for our products under
development prior to their commercialization. In addition, pre-clinical or
clinical studies may show that our products are not effective or safe for
one or
more of their intended uses. We may fail in the development and
commercialization of our products. As of June 30, 2005, we have an accumulated
deficit of approximately $162.2 million and we expect to continue to incur
significant increasing operating losses over the next several years. If we
succeed in the development of our products, we still may not generate sufficient
or sustainable revenues or we may not be profitable.
Our
technology platform is based solely on our proprietary precision-engineered,
surfactant technology. Our ongoing clinical trials for our lead surfactant
replacement technologies may be delayed, or fail, which will harm our
business.
Our
precision-engineered surfactant platform technology is based on the scientific
rationale of SRT to treat life threatening respiratory disorders and as the
foundation for the development of novel respiratory therapies and products.
Our
business is dependent upon the successful development and approval of our
product candidates based on this platform technology. We have received an
Approvable Letter from the FDA for Surfaxin, our lead product, for the
prevention of RDS in premature infants, and have filed an MAA with the EMEA
for
clearance to market Surfaxin in Europe. Our previously submitted responses
to
the Approvable Letter have been accepted by the FDA as a complete response
as of
October 5, 2005. Certain pre-approval activities are ongoing, including labeling
discussions, process validation and reinspection activities related to our
Surfaxin manufacturing process. The approval of Surfaxin is now anticipated
in
April 2006 with commercial launch to occur in the second quarter of 2006.
Currently, we are conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of
ARDS
in adults and we have initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial using aerosolized
SRT
via nCPAP to potentially treat premature infants in the NICU suffering from
Neonatal Respiratory Failures and a Phase 2 clinical trial using Surfaxin
for
the prevention of CLD.
Companies
in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant
setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after obtaining promising results
in
earlier trials. Data obtained from tests are susceptible to varying
interpretations which may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. In
addition, we may be unable to enroll patients quickly enough to meet our
expectations for completing any or all of these trials. The timing and
completion of current and planned clinical trials of our product candidates
depend on, among other factors, the rate at which patients are enrolled,
which
is a function of many factors, including:
—the
number of clinical sites;
—the
size
of the patient population;
—the
proximity of patients to the clinical sites;
—the
eligibility criteria for the study;
—the
existence of competing clinical trials; and
—the
existence of alternative available products.
Delays
in
patient enrollment in clinical trials may occur, which would likely result
in
increased costs, program delays or both.
If
the parties we depend on for manufacturing our pharmaceutical products do
not
timely supply these products, it may delay or impair our ability to develop
and
market our products.
We
rely
on outside manufacturers for our drug substance and other active ingredients
for
Surfaxin and to produce material that meets appropriate standards for use
in
clinical studies of our products. Presently, Laureate is our sole clinical
manufacturing facility that has been qualified to produce appropriate clinical
grade material of our drug product for use in our ongoing clinical studies.
In
January 2005, the FDA issued an inspection report (FDA Form-483) to Laureate,
citing certain observations concerning Laureate’s compliance with current cGMPs
in connection with the FDA’s review of our NDA for Surfaxin for the prevention
of RDS in premature infants. The general focus of the inspection observations
relates to basic quality controls, process assurances and documentation
requirements to support the commercial production process. Certain quality
systems and documentation control enhancements have been implemented by us
and
Laureate in response to the FDA’s inspection report. In preparation for the
FDA’s reinspection of Laureate’s Totowa facility certain pre-approval
manufacturing activities are ongoing including process validation and
reinspection activities related to our Surfaxin manufacturing process. We
have
received an Approvable Letter from the FDA for Surfaxin for the prevention
of
RDS in premature infants, which contains conditions that we must meet in
order
to obtain approval and they primarily involve finalizing labeling and correcting
previously reported manufacturing issues. Our previously submitted responses
to
the Approvable Letter have been accepted by the FDA as a complete response
as of
October 5, 2005. Certain pre-approval activities are ongoing, including labeling
discussions, process validation and reinspection activities related to our
Surfaxin manufacturing process. Assuming the adequacy of such corrective
actions
and the approval of our NDA for Surfaxin, we anticipate that the commercial
launch of Surfaxin will occur in the second quarter of 2006. We anticipate
that
our manufacturing capabilities through Laureate, upon successful completion
and
implementation of our Action Plan should allow sufficient commercial production
of Surfaxin, if approved, to supply the present worldwide demand for the
prevention of RDS in premature infants and our other Surfactant Replacement
Therapies for our planned clinical trials. If the FDA does not accept the
cGMP
Action Plan, or we or Laureate do not adequately address the initiatives
set
forth therein, the FDA may delay its approval of our NDA for Surfaxin or
reject
our NDA. Any delay in the approval of the NDA, or the rejection thereof,
will
have a material adverse effect on our business.
Laureate
or other outside manufacturers may not be able to (i) produce our drug substance
or drug product to appropriate standards for use in clinical studies, (ii)
comply with remediation activities set forth in the cGMP Action Plan (iii)
perform under any definitive manufacturing agreements with us or (iv) remain
in
the contract manufacturing business for a sufficient time to successfully
produce and market our product candidates. If we do not maintain important
manufacturing relationships, we may fail to find a replacement manufacturer
or
develop our own manufacturing capabilities which could delay or impair our
ability to obtain regulatory approval for our products and substantially
increase our costs or deplete profit margins, if any. If we do find replacement
manufacturers, we may not be able to enter into agreements with them on terms
and conditions favorable to us and, there could be a substantial delay before
a
new facility could be qualified and registered with the FDA and foreign
regulatory authorities.
We
may,
in the future, elect to manufacture some of our products on our own. We
currently own certain specialized manufacturing equipment, employ certain
manufacturing managerial personnel, and we are considering an investment
in
additional manufacturing equipment; however, we do not presently maintain
a
complete manufacturing facility. If we decide to manufacture products on
our own
and do not successfully develop manufacturing capabilities, it will adversely
affect sales of our products.
The
FDA
and foreign regulatory authorities require manufacturers to register
manufacturing facilities. The FDA and corresponding foreign regulators also
inspect these facilities to confirm compliance with cGMPs or similar
requirements that the FDA or corresponding foreign regulators establish.
Contract manufacturers may face manufacturing or quality control problems
causing product production and shipment delays or a situation where the
contractor may not be able to maintain compliance with the FDA’s cGMP
requirements, or those of comparable foreign regulatory authorities, necessary
to continue manufacturing our drug substance. Any failure to comply with
cGMP
requirements or other FDA and comparable foreign regulatory requirements
could
adversely affect our clinical research activities and our ability to market
and
develop our products. See also “Risks Related to Our Business - In order to
conduct our clinical trials we need adequate supplies of our drug substance
and
drug product, which may not be readily available.”
In
order to conduct our clinical trials we need adequate supplies of our drug
substance and drug product, which may not be readily
available.
To
succeed, clinical trials require adequate supplies of drug substance and
drug
product, which may be difficult or uneconomical to procure or manufacture.
We
rely on third party contract manufacturers for our drug substance and other
active ingredients for Surfaxin and to produce material that meets appropriate
standards for use in clinical trials of our products. Laureate, our contract
manufacturer, may not be able to produce Surfaxin to appropriate standards
for
use in clinical studies. Manufacturing or quality control problems have already
and may again occur at Laureate or our other contract manufacturers, causing
production and shipment delays or a situation where the contractor may not
be
able to maintain compliance with the FDA’s cGMP requirements necessary to
continue manufacturing our ingredients or drug product. If any such suppliers
or
manufacturers of our products fail to comply with cGMP requirements or other
FDA
and comparable foreign regulatory requirements, it could adversely affect
our
clinical research activities and our ability to market and develop our products.
See also “Risks Related to Our Business - If the parties we depend on for
manufacturing our pharmaceutical products do not timely supply these products,
it may delay or impair our ability to develop and market our
products.”
We
will need additional capital and our ability to continue all of our existing
planned research and development activities is uncertain. Any additional
financing could result in equity dilution.
We
will
need substantial additional funding to conduct our presently planned research
and product development activities. Based on our current operating plan,
we
believe that our currently available financial resources will be adequate
to
satisfy our capital needs into 2006. Our future capital requirements will
depend
on a number of factors that are uncertain, including the results of our research
and development activities, clinical studies and trials, competitive and
technological advances and the regulatory process, among others. We will
likely
need to raise substantial additional funds through collaborative ventures
with
potential corporate partners and through additional debt or equity financings.
We may also continue to seek additional funding through capital lease
transactions. We may in some cases elect to develop products on our own instead
of entering into collaboration arrangements. This would increase our cash
requirements for research and development.
We
have
not entered into arrangements to obtain any additional financing, except
for the
Committed Equity Financing Facility (CEFF) with Kingsbridge, our revolving
credit facility with PharmaBio and our capital equipment lease financing
arrangement with GECC. Any additional financing could include unattractive
terms
or result in significant dilution of stockholders’ interests and share prices
may decline. If we fail to enter into collaborative ventures or to receive
additional funding, we may have to delay, scale back or discontinue certain
of
our research and development operations, and consider licensing the development
and commercialization of products that we consider valuable and which we
otherwise would have developed ourselves. If we are unable to raise required
capital, we may be forced to limit many, if not all, of our research and
development programs and related operations, curtail commercialization of
our
product candidates and, ultimately, cease operations. See “Risks
Related to Our Business - Our Committed Equity Financing Facility may have
a
dilutive impact on our stockholders.”
Furthermore,
we could cease to qualify for listing of our securities on the NASDAQ National
Market if the market price of our common stock declines as a result of the
dilutive aspects of such potential financings. See “Risks
Related to Our Business - The market price of our stock may be adversely
affected by market volatility.”
Our
Committed Equity Financing Facility may have a dilutive impact on our
stockholders.
We
have a
CEFF with Kingsbridge, pursuant to which Kingsbridge is committed to finance
up
to $75.0 million of capital to support our future growth, which expires in
October 2007. Subject to certain conditions and limitations, from time to
time
under the CEFF, we may require Kingsbridge to purchase newly-issued shares
of
its common stock at a discount between 6% and 10% of the volume weighted
average
price of our common stock and thus raise capital as required, at the time,
price
and in amounts deemed suitable to us. The issuance of shares of our common
stock
under the CEFF and upon exercise of the warrant will have a dilutive impact
on
our other stockholders and the issuance or even potential issuance of such
shares could have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock.
In
addition, if we access the CEFF, we will issue shares of our common stock
to
Kingsbridge at a discount of between 6% and 10% of the daily volume weighted
average price of our common stock during a specified period of trading days
after we access the CEFF. Issuing shares at a discount will further dilute
the
interests of other stockholders.
To
the
extent that Kingsbridge sells shares of our common stock issued under the
CEFF
to third parties, our stock price may decrease due to the additional selling
pressure in the market. The perceived risk of dilution from sales of stock
to or
by Kingsbridge may cause holders of our common stock to sell their shares,
or it
may encourage short sales of our common stock or either similar transactions.
This could contribute to a decline in the stock price of our common
stock.
We
may
not be able to meet the conditions we are required to meet under CEFF and
we may
not be able to access any portion of the remaining capital available under
the
CEFF. In addition, we are dependent upon the financial ability of Kingsbridge
to
fund the CEFF. Any failure by Kingsbridge to perform its obligations under
the
CEFF could have a material adverse effect upon us.
The
clinical trial and regulatory approval process for our products is expensive
and
time consuming, and the outcome is uncertain.
In
order
to sell Surfaxin and our other products that are under development, we must
receive regulatory approvals for each product. The FDA and comparable agencies
in foreign countries extensively and rigorously regulate the testing,
manufacture, distribution, advertising, pricing and marketing of drug products
like our products. This approval process includes preclinical studies and
clinical trials of each pharmaceutical compound to establish the safety and
effectiveness of each product and the confirmation by the FDA and comparable
agencies in foreign countries that the manufacturer of the product maintains
good laboratory and manufacturing practices during testing and manufacturing.
Although we are involved in certain late-stage clinical trials, pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies have suffered significant setbacks in advanced
clinical trials, even after promising results in earlier clinical trials
or in
preliminary findings for such clinical trials. Further, even if favorable
testing data is generated by clinical trials of drug products, the FDA or
EMEA
may not accept or approve an NDA or MAA filed by a pharmaceutical or
biotechnology company for such drug product. On April 13, 2004, we filed
an NDA
for Surfaxin for the prevention of RDS in premature infants. The FDA accepted
the NDA filing and in February 2005 we received an Approvable Letter from
the
FDA with respect to our NDA. The Approvable Letter contains conditions that
we
must meet prior to obtaining final U.S. marketing approval for Surfaxin.
Our
previously submitted responses to the Approvable Letter have been accepted
by
the FDA as a complete response as of October 5, 2005. Certain pre-approval
activities are ongoing, including labeling discussions, process validation
and
reinspection activities related to our Surfaxin manufacturing process. The
conditions that we must meet primarily involve finalizing labeling and
correcting previously reported manufacturing issues, however, the FDA might
still reject the NDA. We have also submitted an MAA with the EMEA for clearance
to market Surfaxin for the prevention and treatment of RDS in premature infants.
The EMEA has validated the MAA indicating that the application is complete
and
that the review process has begun. However, the EMEA may not complete the
review
or may reject the MAA.
The
approval process is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. It is also possible
that
the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could interrupt, delay
or
halt any one or more of our clinical trials for any of our product candidates.
If we, or any regulatory authorities, believe that trial participants face
unacceptable health risks, any one or more of our trials could be suspended
or
terminated. We also may not reach agreement with the FDA and/or comparable
foreign agencies on the design of any one or more of the clinical studies
necessary for approval. Conditions imposed by the FDA and comparable agencies
in
foreign countries on our clinical trials could significantly increase the
time
required for completion of such clinical trials and the costs of conducting
the
clinical trials. Data obtained from clinical trials are susceptible to varying
interpretations which may delay, limit or prevent regulatory
approval.
Delays
and terminations of the clinical trials we conduct could result from
insufficient patient enrollment. Patient enrollment is a function of several
factors, including the size of the patient population, stringent enrollment
criteria, the proximity of the patients to the trial sites, having to compete
with other clinical trials for eligible patients, geographical and geopolitical
considerations and others. Delays in patient enrollment can result in greater
costs and longer trial timeframes. Patients may also suffer adverse medical
events or side effects that are common to this class of drug such as a decrease
in the oxygen level of the blood upon administration.
Clinical
trials generally take two to five years or more to complete, and, accordingly,
our first product is not expected to be commercially available in the United
States until at least the second quarter of 2006, and our other product
candidates will take longer. The FDA has notified us that two of our intended
indications for our precision-engineered surfactant-based therapy, MAS in
full-term infants and ARDS in adults, have been granted designation as
“fast-track” products under provisions of the Food and Drug Administration
Modernization Act of 1997. The FDA has also granted us Orphan Drug Designation
for three of our intended indications for Surfaxin: ARDS in adults; RDS in
infants; and MAS in full-term infants. To support our development of Surfaxin
for the treatment of MAS, the FDA has awarded us an Orphan Products Development
Grant. Fast-Track Status does not accelerate the clinical trials nor does
it
mean that the regulatory requirements are less stringent. The Fast-Track
Status
provisions are designed to expedite the FDA’s review of new drugs intended to
treat serious or life-threatening conditions. The FDA generally will review
the
New Drug Application for a drug granted Fast-Track Status within six months
instead of the typical one to three years.
The
EMEA
has granted Orphan Medicinal Product designation for three of our intended
indications for Surfaxin: RDS in premature infants, MAS in full-term infants
and
ALI in adults.
Our
products may not, however, continue to qualify for expedited review and our
other drug candidates may fail to qualify for fast track development or
expedited review. Even though some of our drug candidates have qualified
for
expedited review, the FDA may not approve them at all or any sooner than
other
drug candidates that do not qualify for expedited review.
The
FDA
and comparable foreign agencies could withdraw any approvals we obtain, if
any.
Further, if there is a later discovery of unknown problems or if we fail
to
comply with other applicable regulatory requirements at any stage in the
regulatory process, the FDA may restrict or delay our marketing of a product
or
force us to make product recalls. In addition, the FDA could impose other
sanctions such as fines, injunctions, civil penalties or criminal prosecutions.
To market our products outside the United States, we also need to comply
with
foreign regulatory requirements governing human clinical trials and marketing
approval for pharmaceutical products. The FDA and foreign regulators have
not
yet approved any of our products under development for marketing in the United
States or elsewhere. If the FDA and other regulators do not approve our
products, we will not be able to market our products.
Our
strategy, in many cases, is to enter into collaboration agreements with third
parties with respect to our products and we may require additional collaboration
agreements. If we fail to enter into these agreements or if we or the third
parties do not perform under such agreements, it could impair our ability
to
commercialize our products.
Our
strategy for the completion of the required development and clinical testing
of
our products and for the manufacturing, marketing and commercialization of
our
products, in many cases, depends upon entering into collaboration arrangements
with pharmaceutical companies to market, commercialize and distribute our
products. We have a revised collaboration arrangement with Esteve for Surfaxin
and certain other of our product candidates that is now focused on key Southern
European markets. Within these countries, Esteve will be responsible for
the
development and marketing of Surfaxin for a broader portfolio of indications,
including the prevention/treatment of RDS in premature infants, MAS in full-term
infants and ALI/ARDS in adults. Esteve will also be responsible for the
sponsorship of certain clinical trial costs related to obtaining EMEA approval
for commercialization of Surfaxin in Europe for several indications. We will
be
responsible for the remainder of the regulatory activities relating to Surfaxin,
including with respect to EMEA filings.
If
we or
Esteve breach or terminate the agreements that make up such collaboration
arrangements or Esteve otherwise fails to conduct their Surfaxin-related
activities in a timely manner or if there is a dispute about their obligations,
we may need to seek other partners or we may have to develop our own internal
sales and marketing capability for the indications of Surfaxin which Esteve.
Accordingly, we may need to enter into additional collaboration agreements
and
our success, particularly outside of the United States, may depend upon
obtaining additional collaboration partners. In addition, we may depend on
our
partners’ expertise and dedication of sufficient resources to develop and
commercialize our proposed products. We may, in the future, grant to
collaboration partners rights to license and commercialize pharmaceutical
products developed under collaboration agreements. Under these arrangements,
our
collaboration partners may control key decisions relating to the development
of
the products. The rights of our collaboration partners would limit our
flexibility in considering alternatives for the commercialization of our
products. If we fail to successfully develop these relationships or if our
collaboration partners fail to successfully develop or commercialize any
of our
products, it may delay or prevent us from developing or commercializing our
products in a competitive and timely manner and would have a material adverse
effect on the commercialization of Surfaxin. See “Risks Related to Our Business
- We currently have a limited sales and marketing team and, therefore, must
develop a sales and marketing team or enter into distribution arrangements
and
marketing alliances, which could require us to give up rights to our product
candidates. Our limited sales and marketing experience may restrict our success
in commercializing our product candidates.”
If
we cannot protect our intellectual property, other companies could use our
technology in competitive products. If we infringe the intellectual property
rights of others, other companies could prevent us from developing or marketing
our products.
We
seek
patent protection for our drug candidates so as to prevent others from
commercializing equivalent products in substantially less time and at
substantially lower expense. The pharmaceutical industry places considerable
importance on obtaining patent and trade secret protection for new technologies,
products and processes. Our success will depend in part on our ability and
that
of parties from whom we license technology to:
—defend
our patents and otherwise prevent others from infringing on our proprietary
rights;
—protect
trade secrets; and
—operate
without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others, both in the United
States and in other countries.
The
patent position of firms relying upon biotechnology is highly uncertain and
involves complex legal and factual questions for which important legal
principles are unresolved. To date, the United States Patent and Trademark
Office has not adopted a consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims
that
the United States Patent and Trademark Office allows in biotechnology patents
or
the degree of protection that these types of patents afford. As a result,
there
are risks that we may not develop or obtain rights to products or processes
that
are or may seem to be patentable.
Even
if we obtain patents to protect our products, those patents may not be
sufficiently broad and others could compete with us.
We,
and
the parties licensing technologies to us, have filed various United States
and
foreign patent applications with respect to the products and technologies
under
our development, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office and foreign
patent offices have issued patents with respect to our products and
technologies. These patent applications include international applications
filed
under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Our pending patent applications, those
we
may file in the future or those we may license from third parties may not
result
in the United States Patent and Trademark Office or foreign patent office
issuing patents. Also, if patent rights covering our products are not
sufficiently broad, they may not provide us with sufficient proprietary
protection or competitive advantages against competitors with similar products
and technologies. Furthermore, if the United States Patent and Trademark
Office
or foreign patent offices issue patents to us or our licensors, others may
challenge the patents or circumvent the patents, or the patent office or
the
courts may invalidate the patents. Thus, any patents we own or license from
or
to third parties may not provide any protection against
competitors.
Furthermore,
the life of our patents is limited. We have licensed a series of patents
from
Johnson & Johnson and its wholly owned subsidiary, Ortho Pharmaceutical
Corporation, which are important, either individually or collectively, to
our
strategy of commercializing our surfactant technology. Such patents, which
include relevant European patents, expire on various dates beginning in 2009
and
ending in 2017 or, in some cases, possibly later. We have filed, and when
possible and appropriate, will file, other patent applications with respect
to
our products and processes in the United States and in foreign countries.
We may
not be able to develop additional products or processes that will be patentable
or additional patents may not be issued to us. See also “Risks Related to Our
Business - If we cannot meet requirements under our license agreements, we
could
lose the rights to our products.”
Intellectual
property rights of third parties could limit our ability to market our
products.
Our
commercial success also significantly depends on our ability to operate without
infringing the patents or violating the proprietary rights of others. The
United
States Patent and Trademark Office keeps United States patent applications
confidential while the applications are pending. As a result, we cannot
determine which inventions third parties claim in pending patent applications
that they have filed. We may need to engage in litigation to defend or enforce
our patent and license rights or to determine the scope and validity of the
proprietary rights of others. It will be expensive and time consuming to
defend
and enforce patent claims. Thus, even in those instances in which the outcome
is
favorable to us, the proceedings can result in the diversion of substantial
resources from our other activities. An adverse determination may subject
us to
significant liabilities or require us to seek licenses that third parties
may
not grant to us or may only grant at rates that diminish or deplete the
profitability of the products to us. An adverse determination could also
require
us to alter our products or processes or cease altogether any related research
and development activities or product sales.
If
we cannot meet requirements under our license agreements, we could lose the
rights to our products.
We
depend
on licensing agreements with third parties to maintain the intellectual property
rights to our products under development. Presently, we have licensed rights
from Johnson & Johnson and Ortho Pharmaceutical. These agreements require us
to make payments and satisfy performance obligations in order to maintain
our
rights under these licensing agreements. All of these agreements last either
throughout the life of the patents, or with respect to other licensed
technology, for a number of years after the first commercial sale of the
relevant product.
In
addition, we are responsible for the cost of filing and prosecuting certain
patent applications and maintaining certain issued patents licensed to us.
If we
do not meet our obligations under our license agreements in a timely manner,
we
could lose the rights to our proprietary technology.
Finally,
we may be required to obtain licenses to patents or other proprietary rights
of
third parties in connection with the development and use of our products
and
technologies. Licenses required under any such patents or proprietary rights
might not be made available on terms acceptable to us, if at all.
We
rely on confidentiality agreements that could be breached and may be difficult
to enforce.
Although
we believe that we take reasonable steps to protect our intellectual property,
including the use of agreements relating to the non-disclosure of confidential
information to third parties, as well as agreements that purport to require
the
disclosure and assignment to us of the rights to the ideas, developments,
discoveries and inventions of our employees and consultants while we employ
them, the agreements can be difficult and costly to enforce. Although we
seek to
obtain these types of agreements from our consultants, advisors and research
collaborators, to the extent that they apply or independently develop
intellectual property in connection with any of our projects, disputes may
arise
as to the proprietary rights to this type of information. If a dispute arises,
a
court may determine that the right belongs to a third party, and enforcement
of
our rights can be costly and unpredictable. In addition, we will rely on
trade
secrets and proprietary know-how that we will seek to protect in part by
confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, advisors or others.
Despite the protective measures we employ, we still face the risk
that:
—they
will breach these agreements;
—any
agreements we obtain will not provide adequate remedies for the applicable
type
of breach or that our trade secrets or proprietary know-how will otherwise
become known or competitors will independently develop similar technology;
and
—our
competitors will independently discover our proprietary information and trade
secrets.
We
currently have a limited sales and marketing team and, therefore, must develop
a
sales and marketing team or enter into distribution arrangements and marketing
alliances, which could require us to give up rights to our product candidates.
Our limited sales and marketing experience may restrict our success in
commercializing our product candidates.
If
we
successfully develop and obtain regulatory approval for Surfaxin and the
other
product candidates that we are currently developing, we may: (1) market and
sell
them through our sales force, (2) license some of them to large pharmaceutical
companies and/or (3) market and sell them through other arrangements, including
co-promotion arrangements.
We
currently have a limited sales and marketing team and we plan to further
develop
our marketing and sales team as we expect to rely primarily on such team
to
market Surfaxin in the United States, if Surfaxin is approved by the FDA.
Recruiting, training and retaining qualified sales personnel is therefore
critical to our success. Competition for skilled personnel is intense, and
we
may be unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of qualified individuals
to successfully launch Surfaxin. Additionally, we may not be able to provide
adequate incentive to our sales force. Accordingly, we may be unable to
establish marketing, sales and distribution capabilities necessary to
commercialize and gain market acceptance for Surfaxin or our other product
candidates.
Developing
a marketing and sales team to market and sell products is a difficult,
significantly expensive and time-consuming process. We have no prior experience
developing a marketing and sales team and may be unsuccessful in our attempt
to
do so. If we are unable to develop an internal sales and marketing operation,
we
may not be able to increase market awareness and sell our products.
Establishing
the expertise necessary to successfully market and sell Surfaxin, or any
other
product, will require a substantial capital investment. We expect to incur
significant expenses in developing our marketing and sales team. Our ability
to
make that investment and also execute our current operating plan is dependent
on
numerous factors, including, the performance of third party collaborators
with
whom we may contract. Accordingly, we may not have sufficient funds to
successfully commercialize Surfaxin or any other potential product in the
United
States or elsewhere.
We
may
also need to enter into additional co-promotion arrangements with third parties
where our own sales force is neither well situated nor large enough to achieve
maximum penetration in the market. We may not be successful in entering into
any
co-promotion arrangements, and the terms of any co-promotion arrangements
may
not be favorable to us. In addition, if we enter into co-promotion arrangements
or market and sell additional products directly, we may need to further expand
our sales force and incur additional costs.
We
may
also rely on third-party distributors to distribute our products or enter
into
marketing alliances to sell our products. We may not be successful in entering
into distribution arrangements and marketing alliances with third parties.
Our
failure to successfully develop a marketing and sales team or to enter into
these arrangements on favorable terms could delay or impair our ability to
commercialize our product candidates and could increase our costs of
commercialization. Dependence on distribution arrangements and marketing
alliances to commercialize our product candidates will subject us to a number
of
risks, including:
—we
may
be required to relinquish important rights to our products or product
candidates;
—we
may
not be able to control the amount and timing of resources that our distributors
or collaborators may devote to the commercialization of our product candidates;
—our
distributors or collaborators may experience financial difficulties;
—our
distributors or collaborators may not devote sufficient time to the marketing
and sales of our products thereby exposing us to potential expenses in
terminating such distribution agreements; and
—business
combinations or significant changes in a collaborator’s business strategy may
also adversely affect a collaborator’s willingness or ability to complete its
obligations under any arrangement.
If
we
fail to establish marketing and sales capabilities or fail to enter into
arrangements with third parties in a timely manner or if they fail to perform,
it could adversely affect sales of our products. We and any of our third-party
collaborators must also market our products in compliance with federal, state
and local laws relating to the providing of incentives and inducements.
Violation of these laws can result in substantial penalties. If we are unable
to
successfully motivate and expand our marketing and sales force and further
develop our sales and marketing capabilities, or if our distributors fail
to
promote our products, we will have difficulty maintaining and increasing
the
sales of our products.
We
may be unable to either establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter
into
corporate collaborations necessary to successfully commercialize Surfaxin
or our
other potential products.
We
have
limited experience in marketing or selling pharmaceutical products and have
limited marketing and sales resources. To achieve commercial success for
Surfaxin, or any other approved product, we must either rely upon our limited
marketing and sales force and related infrastructure, or enter into arrangements
with others to market and sell our products. We intend to promote Surfaxin
in
the United States through our own dedicated marketing and sales team.
Recruiting, training and retaining qualified sales personnel is therefore
critical to our success. Competition for skilled personnel is intense, and
we
may not be able to attract and retain a sufficient number of qualified
individuals to successfully launch Surfaxin. Accordingly, we may be unable
to
establish marketing, sales and distribution capabilities necessary to
commercialize and gain market acceptance for Surfaxin.
In
addition, establishing the expertise necessary to successfully market and
sell
Surfaxin, or any other product, will require a substantial capital investment.
Our ability to make that investment and also execute our current operating
plan
is dependent on numerous factors, including, as described above, partnering
of
clinical programs at opportune times and continued prudent fiscal management.
Accordingly, we may not have the funds to successfully commercialize Surfaxin
or
any other potential product in the United States or elsewhere.
Moreover,
Surfaxin competes, and our product candidates in development are likely to
compete, with products of other companies that currently have extensive and
well-funded marketing and sales operations. Because these companies are capable
of devoting significantly greater resources to their marketing and sales
efforts, our marketing and sales efforts may not compete successfully against
the efforts of these other companies.
We
have
also announced our intention to market and sell Surfaxin outside of the United
States through one or more marketing partners upon receipt of approval abroad.
Although our agreement with Esteve provides for collaborative efforts in
directing a global commercialization effort, we have somewhat limited influence
over the decisions made by Esteve or their sublicensees or the resources
they
devote to the marketing and distribution of Surfaxin products in their licensed
territory, and Esteve or their sublicensees may not meet their obligations
in
this regard. Our marketing and distribution arrangement with Esteve may not
be
successful, and we may not receive any revenues from it. Also, we may not
be
able to enter into marketing and sales agreements on acceptable terms, if
at
all, for Surfaxin in territories not covered by the Esteve agreement, or
for any
of our other product candidates.
We
depend upon key employees and consultants in a competitive market for skilled
personnel. If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel, it could
adversely affect our ability to develop and market our
products.
We
are
highly dependent upon the principal members of our management team, especially
our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Capetola, and our directors, as well as
our
scientific advisory board members, consultants and collaborating scientists.
Many of these people have been involved in our formation or have otherwise
been
involved with us for many years, have played integral roles in our progress
and
we believe that they will continue to provide value to us. A loss of any
of
these personnel may have a material adverse effect on aspects of our business
and clinical development and regulatory programs. Currently, we have employment
agreements with seven officers expiring in December 2005. However, commencing
on
January 1, 2006, and on each January 1st thereafter, the term of these
agreements shall automatically be extended for one additional year, unless
at
least 90 days prior to such January 1st date, either we or the officer shall
have given notice that such party does not wish to extend the agreement.
Although these employment agreements generally provide for severance payments
that are contingent upon the applicable employee’s refraining from competition
with us, the loss of any of these persons’ services would adversely affect our
ability to develop and market our products and obtain necessary regulatory
approvals, and the applicable noncompete provisions can be difficult and
costly
to monitor and enforce. Further, we do not maintain key-man life insurance.
Our
future success also will depend in part on the continued service of our key
scientific and management personnel and our ability to identify, hire and
retain
additional personnel, including marketing and sales staff. We experience
intense
competition for qualified personnel, and the existence of non-competition
agreements between prospective employees and their former employers may prevent
us from hiring those individuals or subject us to suit from their former
employers.
While
we
attempt to provide competitive compensation packages to attract and retain
key
personnel, some of our competitors are likely to have greater resources and
more
experience than we have, making it difficult for us to compete successfully
for
key personnel.
Our
industry is highly competitive and we have less capital and resources than
many
of our competitors, which may give them an advantage in developing and marketing
products similar to ours or make our products obsolete.
Our
industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid technological innovation
and
evolving industry standards. We compete with numerous existing companies
intensely in many ways. We intend to market our products under development
for
the treatment of diseases for which other technologies and treatments are
rapidly developing and, consequently, we expect new companies to enter our
industry and that competition in the industry will increase. Many of these
companies have substantially greater research and development, manufacturing,
marketing, financial, technological, personnel and managerial resources than
we
have. In addition, many of these competitors, either alone or with their
collaborative partners, have significantly greater experience than we do
in:
—developing
products;
—undertaking
preclinical testing and human clinical trials;
—obtaining
FDA and other regulatory approvals or products; and
—manufacturing
and marketing products.
Accordingly,
our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection, receiving FDA
or
comparable foreign approval or commercializing products before us. If we
commence commercial product sales, we will compete against companies with
greater marketing and manufacturing capabilities who may successfully develop
and commercialize products that are more effective or less expensive than
ours.
These are areas in which, as yet, we have limited or no experience. In addition,
developments by our competitors may render our product candidates obsolete
or
noncompetitive.
Presently,
there are no approved drugs that are specifically indicated for the prevention
and treatment of MAS in full-term infants or ALI/ARDS in adults. Current
therapy
consists of general supportive care and mechanical ventilation.
Four
products, three that are animal-derived and one that is a synthetic, are
specifically approved for the prevention of RDS in premature infants.
Exosurf®
is
synthetic and is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline, plc, outside the United States
and
contains only phospholipids (the fats normally present in the lungs) and
synthetic organic detergents and no stabilizing protein or peptides. This
product, however, does not contain any surfactant proteins, is not widely
used
and its active marketing recently has been discontinued by its manufacturer.
Curosurf®
is a
porcine lung extract that is marketed in Europe by Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.,
and in the United States by Dey Laboratories, Inc. Survanta®,
marketed by the Ross division of Abbott Laboratories, Inc., is an extract
of
bovine lung that contains the cow version of surfactant protein C. Forest
Laboratories, Inc., markets its calf lung surfactant, Infasurf®
in the
United States for the prevention of RDS in premature infants. Although none
of
the four approved surfactants for RDS in premature infants is approved for
ALI
or ARDS in adults, which are significantly larger markets, there are a
significant number of other potential therapies in development for these
indications that are not surfactant-related. Any of these various drugs or
devices could significantly impact the commercial opportunity for Surfaxin.
We
believe that engineered precision-engineered surfactants such as Surfaxin
will
be far less expensive to produce than the animal-derived products approved
for
the prevention of RDS in premature infants and will have no capability of
transmitting the brain-wasting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly
called
“mad-cow disease”) or causing adverse immunological responses in young and older
adults.
We
also
face, and will continue to face, competition from colleges, universities,
governmental agencies and other public and private research organizations.
These
competitors are becoming more active in seeking patent protection and licensing
arrangements to collect royalties for use of technology that they have
developed. Some of these technologies may compete directly with the technologies
that we are developing. These institutions will also compete with us in
recruiting highly qualified scientific personnel. We expect that therapeutic
developments in the areas in which we are active may occur at a rapid rate
and
that competition will intensify as advances in this field are made. As a
result,
we need to continue to devote substantial resources and efforts to research
and
development activities.
If
product liability claims are brought against us, it may result in reduced
demand
for our products or damages that exceed our insurance
coverage.
The
clinical testing of, marketing and use of our products exposes us to product
liability claims in the event that the use or misuse of those products causes
injury, disease or results in adverse effects. Use of our products in clinical
trials, as well as commercial sale, could result in product liability claims.
In
addition, sales of our products through third party arrangements could also
subject us to product liability claims. We presently carry product liability
insurance with coverages of up to $10.0 million per occurrence and $10.0
million
in the aggregate, an amount we consider reasonable and customary relating
to our
clinical trials of Surfaxin. However, this insurance coverage includes various
deductibles, limitations and exclusions from coverage, and in any event might
not fully cover any potential claims. We may need to obtain additional product
liability insurance coverage prior to initiating other clinical trials. We
expect to obtain product liability insurance coverage before commercialization
of our proposed products; however, the insurance is expensive and insurance
companies may not issue this type of insurance when we need it. We may not
be
able to obtain adequate insurance in the future at an acceptable cost. Any
product liability claim, even one that was not in excess of our insurance
coverage or one that is meritless and/or unsuccessful, could adversely affect
our cash available for other purposes, such as research and development.
In
addition, the existence of a product liability claim could affect the market
price of our common stock.
We
expect to face uncertainty over reimbursement and healthcare
reform.
In
both
the United States and other countries, sales of our products will depend
in part
upon the availability of reimbursement from third party payors, which include
government health administration authorities, managed care providers and
private
health insurers. Third party payors are increasingly challenging the price
and
examining the cost effectiveness of medical products and services.
Directors,
executive officers, principal stockholders and affiliated entities own a
significant percentage of our capital stock, and they may make decisions
that
you do not consider to be in your best interest.
As
of
June 30, 2005, our directors, executive officers, principal stockholders
and
affiliated entities beneficially owned, in the aggregate, approximately 14%
of
our outstanding voting securities. As a result, if some or all of them acted
together, they would have the ability to exert substantial influence over
the
election of our Board of Directors and the outcome of issues requiring approval
by our stockholders. This concentration of ownership may have the effect
of
delaying or preventing a change in control of our company that may be favored
by
other stockholders. This could prevent transactions in which stockholders
might
otherwise recover a premium for their shares over current market
prices.
The
market price of our stock may be adversely affected by market
volatility.
The
market price of our common stock, like that of many other development stage
pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, has been and is likely to be
volatile. In addition to general economic, political and market conditions,
the
price and trading volume of our stock could fluctuate widely in response
to many
factors, including:
—announcements
of the results of clinical trials by us or our competitors;
—adverse
reactions to products;
—governmental
approvals, delays in expected governmental approvals or withdrawals of any
prior
governmental approvals or public or regulatory agency concerns regarding
the
safety or effectiveness of our products;
—changes
in the United States or foreign regulatory policy during the period of product
development;
—developments
in patent or other proprietary rights, including any third party challenges
of
our intellectual property rights;
—announcements
of technological innovations by us or our competitors;
—announcements
of new products or new contracts by us or our competitors;
—actual
or anticipated variations in our operating results due to the level of
development expenses and other factors;
—changes
in financial estimates by securities analysts and whether our earnings meet
or
exceed the estimates;
—conditions
and trends in the pharmaceutical and other industries;
—new
accounting standards; and
—the
occurrence of any of the risks described in “Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Risks Related
to Our
Business.”
Our
common stock is listed for quotation on the NASDAQ National Market. Year
to date
through October 26, 2005, the price of our common stock has ranged from $9.15
to
$5.05. We expect the price of our common stock to remain volatile. The average
daily trading volume in our common stock varies significantly. Year to date
through October 26, 2005, the average daily trading volume in our common
stock
was approximately 582,000 shares and the average number of transactions per
day
was approximately 1,800. Our relatively low average volume and low average
number of transactions per day may affect the ability of our stockholders
to
sell their shares in the public market at prevailing prices and a more active
market may never develop.
In
addition, we may not be able to continue to adhere to the strict listing
criteria of the National Market. If the common stock were no longer listed
on
the National Market, investors might only be able to trade on the Nasdaq
SmallCap Market, in the over-the-counter market in the Pink Sheets®
(a
quotation medium operated by the National Quotation Bureau, LLC) or on the
OTC
Bulletin Board®
of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. This would impair the liquidity
of our securities not only in the number of shares that could be bought and
sold
at a given price, which might be depressed by the relative illiquidity, but
also
through delays in the timing of transactions and reduction in media
coverage.
In
the
past, following periods of volatility in the market price of the securities
of
companies in our industry, securities class action litigation has often been
instituted against companies in our industry. If we face securities litigation
in the future, even if meritless or unsuccessful, it would result in substantial
costs and a diversion of management attention and resources, which would
negatively impact our business.
A
substantial number of our securities are eligible for future sale and this
could
affect the market price for our stock and our ability to raise
capital.
The
market price of our common stock could drop due to sales of a large number
of
shares of our common stock or the perception that these sales could occur.
As of
August
31, 2005,
we had
53,776,796 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. In addition, as
of
August 31, 2005, up to 10,652,177 shares of our common stock were issuable
upon
exercise of outstanding options and warrants. In October 2005, we filed a
universal shelf registration statement with the SEC for the proposed offering
from time to time of up to $100 million of our debt or equity securities.
We
have not sold, nor do we have any immediate plans to sell any securities
under
the shelf registration. However, we may issue securities from time to time
in
response to market conditions or other circumstances on terms and conditions
that will be determined at such time.
Additionally,
shares of common stock remain reserved for issuance pursuant to the terms
and
conditions of the CEFF with Kingsbridge.
Holders
of our stock options and warrants are likely to exercise them, if ever, at
a
time when we otherwise could obtain a price for the sale of our securities
that
is higher than the exercise price per security of the options or warrants.
This
exercise, or the possibility of this exercise, may impede our efforts to
obtain
additional financing through the sale of additional securities or make this
financing more costly, and may reduce the price of our common
stock.
Provisions
of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Shareholders Rights Agreement
and
Delaware law could defer a change of our management which could discourage
or
delay offers to acquire us.
Provisions
of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (our “Certificate of
Incorporation”), our Shareholders Rights Agreement and Delaware law may make it
more difficult for someone to acquire control of us or for our stockholders
to
remove existing management, and might discourage a third party from offering
to
acquire us, even if a change in control or in management would be beneficial
to
our stockholders. For example, our Certificate of Incorporation allows us
to
issue shares of preferred stock without any vote or further action by our
stockholders. Our Board of Directors has the authority to fix and determine
the
relative rights and preferences of preferred stock. Our Board of Directors
also
has the authority to issue preferred stock without further stockholder approval.
As a result, our Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of a series
of
preferred stock that would grant to holders the preferred right to our assets
upon liquidation, the right to receive dividend payments before dividends
are
distributed to the holders of common stock and the right to the redemption
of
the shares, together with a premium, prior to the redemption of our common
stock. In addition, our Board of Directors, without further stockholder
approval, could issue large blocks of preferred stock. We have adopted a
shareholders rights agreement which under certain circumstances would
significantly impair the ability of third parties to acquire control of us
without prior approval of our Board of Directors thereby discouraging
unsolicited takeover proposals. The rights issued under the shareholders
rights
agreement would cause substantial dilution to a person or group that attempts
to
acquire us on terms not approved in advance by our Board of
Directors.
Risks
Related to This Offering
Our
management will have broad discretion with respect to the use of the proceeds
of
this offering.
We
have
not designated the amount of net proceeds we will receive from this offering
for
any particular purpose. Accordingly, our management will have broad discretion
as to the application of these net proceeds and could use them for purposes
other than those contemplated at the time of this offering. Our stockholders
may
not agree with the manner in which our management chooses to allocate and
spend
the net proceeds.
You
will experience immediate dilution in the book value per share of the common
stock you purchase.
Because
the price per share of our common stock being offered hereby is substantially
higher than the book value per share of our common stock, you will suffer
substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of the common stock you
purchase in this offering. Based on the public offering price of $6.88 per
share
in this offering, if you purchase shares of common stock in this offering,
you
will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of $6.24 per share in the
net
tangible book value of the common stock. See “Dilution” on page S-15 for a more
detailed discussion of the dilution you will incur in this
offering.
The
statements set forth in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus
and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, including
in
“Risk Factors,” which are not historical, including, without limitation,
statements concerning our research and development programs and clinical
trials,
the possibility, timing and outcome of submissions of regulatory filings
for our
products under development, the seeking of collaboration arrangements with
pharmaceutical companies or others to develop, manufacture and market products,
the research and development of particular compounds and technologies and
the
period of time for which our existing resources will enable us to fund our
operations, constitute “Forward Looking Statements” within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. We intend that all forward-looking statements be subject
to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and reflect our
views as of the date they are made with respect to future events and financial
performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks and
uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from
any
future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements.
Examples
of the risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risk that
financial conditions may change; risks relating to the progress of our research
and development (including the results of clinical trials being conducted
by us
and the risk that our lead product candidate, Surfaxin®, or other drug
candidates will not prove to be safe or useful for the treatment of certain
indications); the risk that we will not be able to raise additional capital
or
enter into additional collaboration agreements (including strategic alliances
for our aerosol and Surfactant Replacement Therapies); risk that we will
not be
able to develop a successful sales and marketing organization in a timely
manner, if at all; risk that our internal sales and marketing organization
will
not succeed in developing market awareness of our products; risk that our
internal sales and marketing organization will not be able to attract or
maintain qualified personnel; delays in the FDA’s or other health regulatory
authorities’ approval or potential rejection of any applications we file,
including the New Drug Application (NDA) we filed in April 2004 and the
Marketing Approval Application (MAA) we submitted in October 2004; risks
that
any such regulatory authority will not approve the marketing and sale of
a drug
product even after acceptance of an application we file for any such drug
product; risks relating to the ability of our third party contract manufacturers
to provide us with adequate supplies of drug substance and drug products
for
completion of any of our clinical studies or commercialization; risks relating
to the lack of adequate supplies of drug substance and drug product for
completion of any of our clinical studies, and risks relating to the development
of competing therapies and/or technologies by other companies; and the other
risks and uncertainties detailed under the heading “Risk Factors” and in the
documents incorporated by reference in this report. Companies in the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks
in advanced clinical trials, even after obtaining promising earlier trial
results. Data obtained from tests are susceptible to varying interpretations,
which may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval.
The
forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus supplement, the
accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference herein
or
therein speak only of their respective dates. Except to the extent required
by
applicable laws, rules and regulations, we do not undertake any obligation
or
duty to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements in this
prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated
by reference herein or therein, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
The
net
tangible book value of our common stock on June 30, 2005, was approximately
$30.2 million, or approximately $0.56 per share. Net tangible book value
per
share is equal to the amount of our total tangible assets, less total
liabilities, divided by the aggregate number of shares of common stock
outstanding. Dilution in net tangible book value per share represents the
difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of our
common stock in this offering and the net tangible book value per share of
our
common stock immediately after this offering. After giving effect to the
sale of
650,000 shares of our common stock in this offering at an offering price
equal
to $6.88 per share, and after deducting the estimated offering expenses,
our net
tangible book value at June 30, 2005, would have been approximately $34.6
million, or approximately $0.64 per share. This represents an immediate increase
in the net tangible book value per share equal to $0.08 per share to existing
shareholders and an immediate dilution equal to $6.24 per share to new investors
purchasing shares of common stock in this offering. The following table
illustrates this dilution:
Offering
price per share
|
|
$
|
6.88
|
|
Net
tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2005
|
|
$
|
0.56
|
|
Increase
per
share after the offering
|
|
$
|
0.08
|
|
Net
tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2005, after giving
effect to
this offering
|
|
$
|
0.64
|
|
Dilution
per share to new investors
|
|
$
|
6.24
|
|
Note:
Table does not include activity between June 30, 2005 and the date of this
prospectus supplement.
The
foregoing table does not take into account further dilution to new investors
that could occur upon the exercise of outstanding warrants and options having
a
per share exercise price less than the per share offering price to the public
in
this offering. As of August 31, 2005, 53,776,796 shares of our common stock
were
outstanding, which does not include:
|
· |
8,188,407
shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options outstanding
as of
August 31, 2005, at a weighted average exercise price of $6.26
per share;
and
|
|
· |
2,463,770
shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants outstanding
as
of August 31, 2005, at a weighted average exercise price of
$7.67.
|
PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
We
have
entered into a stock purchase agreement, dated as of October 27, 2005, with
Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve, S.A. (“Esteve”) whereby Esteve will purchase all of
the shares of our common stock offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement,
upon the terms and subject to the conditions of such agreement. We
currently anticipate that closing of the sale of 650,000 shares of common
stock
will take place on or about October 31, 2005. Esteve will be informed of
the
date and manner in which it must transmit the purchase price for their shares.
On
the
scheduled closing date, we
anticipate receipt of funds in the amount of the aggregate purchase
price.
The
transfer agent for our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust
Company.
Our
common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol
“DSCO.”
WHERE
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We
file
annual, quarterly and periodic reports, proxy statements and other information
with the SEC. You may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC
at
the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.
You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room
by
calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Many of our SEC filings are also available
to
the public from the SEC’s Website at “http://www.sec.gov.” We make available
free of charge our annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements
and
other information upon request. To request such materials, please send an
e-mail
to ir@DiscoveryLabs.com or contact John G. Cooper, our Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer, at our address as set forth in the accompanying
prospectus.
We
maintain a Website at “http://www.DiscoveryLabs.com” (this is not a hyperlink,
you must visit this website through an Internet browser). Our Website and
the
information contained therein or connected thereto are not incorporated into
this registration statement.
On
December 19, 2003, we filed a registration statement on Form S-3 with the
SEC.
On February 17, 2005, we filed with the SEC a registration statement on
Form S-3
MEF pursuant to Rule 462(b) promulgated under the Securities Act, to register
an
additional number of shares in connection with the December 2003 shelf
registration statement. The common stock we are offering under this prospectus
supplement are being drawn-down from the remaining shares available under
such
additional shelf registration statement. This prospectus supplement does
not
contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement,
the
exhibits, schedules and the prospectus attached thereto. Please refer to
the
registration statement, the exhibits, schedules and the prospectus attached
thereto for further information with respect to us and the common stock
offered
hereby. Statements contained in this prospectus supplement as to the contents
of
any contract or other document are not necessarily complete and, in each
instance, we refer you to the copy of that contract or document filed as
an
exhibit to the registration statement. You may read and obtain a copy of
the
registration statement and its exhibits and schedules from the SEC, as
described
in the preceding paragraph.