PROSPECTUS
$100,000,000
Discovery
Laboratories, Inc.
Debt
Securities, Preferred Stock and Common Stock
We
may
sell from time to time in one or more offerings up to $100,000,000 in the
aggregate of:
· |
our
secured or unsecured debt securities, in one or more series, which
may be
either senior, senior subordinated or subordinated debt
securities;
|
· |
shares
of our preferred stock in one or more
series;
|
· |
shares
of our common stock; and
|
· |
any
combination of the foregoing.
|
When
we
decide to sell particular securities, we will provide you with the specific
terms and the public offering price of the securities we are then offering
in
one or more prospectus supplements to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement
may add to, change or update information contained in this prospectus. The
prospectus supplement may also contain important information about U.S. Federal
income tax consequences. You should carefully read this prospectus, together
with any prospectus supplements and information incorporated by reference
in
this prospectus and any prospectus supplements, before you decide to
invest.
This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell any securities unless
accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Our
common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq National Market under the trading symbol
“DSCO.”
Any
common stock sold pursuant to this prospectus or any prospectus supplement
will
be listed on that exchange, subject to official notice of issuance. Each
prospectus supplement to this prospectus will contain information, where
applicable, as to any other listing on any national securities exchange or
The
Nasdaq Stock Market of the securities covered by the prospectus
supplement.
Investing
in our securities involves significant risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on
page 6.
Neither
the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission
has
approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus
is
truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
The
date
of this prospectus is October 11, 2005.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
ABOUT
THIS PROSPECTUS
|
1
|
ABOUT
DISCOVERY
|
1
|
RISK
FACTORS
|
6
|
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
|
18
|
USE
OF PROCEEDS
|
20
|
RATIO
OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
|
20
|
DESCRIPTION
OF DEBT SECURITIES
|
21
|
DESCRIPTION
OF PREFERRED STOCK
|
28
|
DESCRIPTION
OF COMMON STOCK
|
29
|
PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
|
32
|
EXPERTS
|
34
|
LEGAL
MATTERS
|
34
|
INTERESTS
OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL
|
34
|
WHERE
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
|
34
|
INFORMATION
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
|
34
|
This
prospectus is part of a registration statement we filed with the Securities
and
Exchange Commission. You should rely only on the information we have provided
or
incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.
We
have not authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different
information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state
where
the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in
this
prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of
the
prospectus.
ABOUT
THIS PROSPECTUS
This
prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) utilizing a “shelf” registration process or
continuous offering process, which allows us to offer and sell any combination
of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings.
Using
this prospectus, we may offer up to a total dollar amount of $100,000,000
of
these securities.
This
prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may
offer. Each time we offer to sell securities pursuant to this registration
statement and the prospectus contained herein, we will provide a prospectus
supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that
offering. That prospectus supplement may include additional risk factors
about
us and the terms of that particular offering. Prospectus supplements may
also
add to, update or change the information contained in this prospectus. To
the
extent that any statement that we make in a prospectus supplement is
inconsistent with statements made in this prospectus, the statements made
in
this prospectus will be deemed modified or superseded by those made in such
prospectus supplement. In addition, as we describe in the section entitled
“Where You Can Find More Information,” we have filed and plan to continue to
file other documents with the SEC that contain information about us and the
business conducted by us and our subsidiaries. Before you decide whether
to
invest in any of these securities, you should read this prospectus, the
prospectus supplement that further describes the offering of these securities
and the information we file with the SEC.
In
this
prospectus and any prospectus supplement, unless otherwise indicated, the
terms
“Discovery”, “the Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer and relate to Discovery
Laboratories, Inc., and its consolidated subsidiaries.
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.
SURFACTANT
TECHNOLOGY
Our
precision-engineered surfactant replacement technology was invented at The
Scripps Research Institute and was exclusively licensed to Johnson & Johnson
which, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ortho Pharmaceutical
Corporation, developed it further. We acquired the exclusive worldwide
sublicense to the technology in October 1996.
Surfactants
are protein and lipid (fat) compositions that are produced naturally in the
lungs and are critical to all air-breathing mammals. They cover the entire
alveolar surface, or air sacs, of the lungs and the terminal conducting airways
which lead to the air sacs. Surfactants facilitate respiration by continually
modifying the surface tension of the fluid normally present within the alveoli,
or air sacs, that line the inside of the lungs. In the absence of sufficient
surfactant or should the surfactant degrade, these air sacs tend to collapse,
and, as a result, the lungs do not absorb sufficient oxygen. In addition
to
lowering aveolar surface-tension, surfactants play other important roles
in
human respiration including, but not limited to, lowering the surface tension
of
the conducting airways and maintaining airflow and airway patency (keeping
the
airways open and expanded). Human surfactants include four known surfactant
proteins, A, B, C and D. It has been established, through numerous studies,
that
surfactant protein B (SP-B) is essential for respiratory function.
Presently,
the FDA has approved surfactants as replacement therapy only for RDS in
premature infants, a condition in which infants born premature have an
insufficient amount of their own natural surfactant. The most commonly used
of
these approved replacement surfactants are derived from either pig or cow
lungs.
Although they are clinically effective, they have drawbacks and cannot readily
be scaled or developed to treat broader populations for RDS in premature
infants
and other respiratory diseases. There is presently only one approved synthetic
surfactant available, but it does not contain surfactant proteins, is not
widely
used and is not actively marketed by its manufacturer.
Animal-derived
surfactant products are prepared using a chemical extraction process from
minced
cow and pig lung. Because of the animal-sourced materials and the chemical
extraction processes, there can potentially be significant variation in
production lots and, consequently, product quality specifications must be
broad.
In addition, the protein levels of these animal-derived surfactants are
inherently lower than the protein levels of native human surfactant. The
production costs of these animal-derived surfactants are high relative to
other
analogous pharmaceutical products, generation of large quantities is severely
limited, and these products cannot readily be reformulated for aerosol delivery
to the lungs.
Our
precision-engineered surfactant product candidates, including Surfaxin, are
engineered versions of natural human lung surfactant and contain a
precision-engineered peptide, sinapultide. Sinapultide is a 21 amino acid
protein-like substance that is designed to closely mimic the essential
attributes of human surfactant protein B (SP-B), the surfactant protein that
is
most important for the proper functioning of the respiratory system. Our
products have the ability to be precisely formulated, either as a liquid
instillate, aerosolized liquid or dry powder, to address various medical
indications.
We
believe that our precision-engineered surfactant can be manufactured in
sufficient quantities, of more exact and consistent pharmaceutical grade
quality, less expensively than the animal-derived surfactants and with no
potential to cause adverse immunological responses in young and older adults,
all important attributes for our products to potentially fulfill significant
unmet medical needs. In addition, we believe that our precision-engineered
surfactants might possess other pharmaceutical benefits not currently found
with
the animal surfactants such as longer shelf-life, reduced number of
administrations to the patient's lungs and elimination of the risk of
animal-borne diseases including the brain-wasting bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (commonly called “mad-cow disease”).
DISCOVERY'S
KEY SRT PROGRAMS
Our
key
SRT programs are focused on: (i) research and development projects for
respiratory failures of patients in the NICU, critical care unit and other
hospital settings, where there are few or no approved therapies, (ii)
manufacturing capabilities for the production of our surfactant drug products,
and (iii) sales and marketing capabilities in the United states to focus
initially on opportunities in the NICU beginning with the execution of the
launch of Surfaxin, if approved. These programs include:
SRT
for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
We
are
conducting several NICU therapeutic programs targeting respiratory conditions
cited as some of the most prevalent respiratory disorders affecting infants
in
the NICU.
Surfaxin®
(Lucinactant) for Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Premature
Infants
RDS
is a
condition in which premature infants are born with an insufficient amount
of
their own natural surfactant. Premature infants born prior to 32 weeks gestation
have not fully developed their own natural lung surfactant and therefore
need
treatment to sustain life. This condition often results in the need for the
infant to undergo surfactant replacement therapy or mechanical ventilation.
RDS
is experienced in approximately half of the babies born between 28 and 32
weeks
gestational age. The incidence of RDS approaches 100% in babies born less
than
26 weeks gestational age. Surfaxin is the first precision-engineered, protein
B-based agent that mimics the surface-active properties of human surfactant.
To
treat premature infants suffering from RDS, surfactants, including Surfaxin,
are
delivered in a liquid form and injected through an endotracheal tube (a tube
inserted into the infant's mouth and down the trachea).
We
have
received an Approvable Letter from the FDA for SurfaxinÒ
(lucinactant), our lead product, for the prevention of RDS in premature infants,
to which we submitted a Response Letter on July 29, 2005. We have received
formal written notification from the FDA, following its review of our previously
submitted response letter, outlining select items that need to be further
addressed in order for the FDA to deem the response complete. We are in the
process of addressing these items and anticipate submitting our response
to the
FDA in October 2005. Certain pre-approval activities are ongoing, including
labeling discussions, process validation and re-inspection activities related
to
our Surfaxin manufacturing process. The approval of Surfaxin is anticipated
in
April 2006 with commercial launch to occur in the second quarter of 2006.
We
have also filed a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) with the EMEA
for
clearance to market Surfaxin in Europe and anticipate potential EMEA approval
to
occur in the second quarter of 2006. See “Manufacturing” below.
Surfaxin®
for
Chronic Lung Disease (CLD, also known as Bronchopulmonary
Dysplasia)
Chronic
Lung Disease is a costly syndrome associated with surfactant and SP-B
deficiency, and the prolonged use of mechanical ventilation and oxygen
supplementation, usually associated with a premature infant being treated
for
RDS. Presently there are no approved drugs for the treatment of CLD. These
babies suffer from abnormal lung development and typically have a need for
respiratory assistance - oftentimes, for many months, as well as comprehensive
care spanning years.
We
are
conducting a Phase 2 double-blind, controlled trial (that will enroll up
to 210
very low birth weight premature infants born at risk for developing CLD)
to
determine the safety and tolerability of administering up to 5 total doses
of
Surfaxin in the first 10 days of life as a therapeutic approach for the
prevention of CLD. This study is designed to determine whether such treatment
can decrease the proportion of infants on mechanical ventilation or oxygen
or
the incidence of death or CLD. The results of this trial are expected to
be
available in the first quarter of 2006.
Aerosurf™
for
Neonatal Respiratory Failures
Serious
respiratory problems are some of the most prevalent medical issues facing
premature infants in the NICU. There are approximately 1.5 million premature
infants born annually worldwide at risk for respiratory problems associated
with
surfactant dysfunction. The majority of these infants are usually at a birth
weight greater than 1250 grams, and neonatologists generally try to avoid
mechanically ventilating these patients because doing so requires intubation
(the invasive process of inserting a breathing tube down the trachea). This
reluctance is due to the risks associated with intubation and the need for
paralytic agents and sedation. As a result, many neonatologists will only
intubate in cases of severe respiratory disease, where the benefits clearly
outweigh the risks. Noted neonatologists have commented on the potential
utility
of a non-invasive method of delivering SRT to treat premature infants suffering
from respiratory disorders including RDS, CLD, bronchiolitis, acute hypoxia,
pneumonia, and transient tachypnea.
Aerosurf
is our precision-engineered aerosolized SRT administered via nCPAP intended
to
treat premature infants at risk for respiratory failures. We recently completed
and announced the results of our first pilot Phase 2 clinical study of Aerosurf,
which was designed as an open label, multicenter study to evaluate the
feasibility, safety and tolerability of Aerosurf delivered via nCPAP for
the
prevention of RDS in premature infants administered within 30 minutes of
birth
over a three hour duration. The study showed that it is feasible to deliver
Aerosurf via nCPAP and the treatment was generally safe and well tolerated.
We
are currently in the process of evaluating a collaborative partnership to
secure
a specific aerosol generation technology and engineering solution which we
believe may enhance the delivery of Aerosurf. If we can successfully secure
such
collaboration, we anticipate conducting multiple Phase 2 clinical studies
of
Aerosurf in 2006.
SRT
for Critical Care and Hospital Indications
SRT
for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
ARDS
is a
life-threatening disorder for which no approved therapies exist anywhere
in the
world. It is characterized by an excess of fluid in the lungs and decreased
oxygen levels in the patient. One prominent characteristic of this disorder
is
the destruction of surfactants naturally present in lung tissue. The conditions
are caused by illnesses including pneumonia and septic shock (a toxic condition
caused by infection) and events such as smoke inhalation, near drowning,
industrial accidents, major surgery and other traumas.
We
are
presently conducting a Phase 2 open-label, controlled, multi-center clinical
trial of our SRT for the treatment of adults with ARDS. In December 2004,
we
announced what we believe to be encouraging preliminary data from this trial
and
that we were modifying the trial protocol to allow for increased enrollment
of
up to 160 patients. Patients will be randomized to either receive our SRT
or the
current standard of care, which is mechanical ventilation and support therapies.
The primary endpoint of this trial is the incidence rate of patients being
alive
and off mechanical ventilation at Day 28. Key secondary endpoints include
mortality at the end of Day 28 and safety and tolerability of our SRT and
the
bronchoscopic lavage procedure. Results of the Phase 2 trial are anticipated
to
be available in the first quarter of 2006.
Our
SRT
is administered to patients in high concentration and large volume via a
proprietary sequential lavage technique, or lung wash, delivered through
a
bronchoscope to each of the 19 segments of the lung. The procedure is intended
to cleanse and remove inflammatory substances and debris from the lungs,
while
leaving sufficient amounts of our precision-engineered surfactant behind
to help
re-establish the lungs' capacity to absorb oxygen. The objective is to restore
functional surfactant levels and to allow critically ill patients to be removed
from mechanical ventilation sooner.
The
FDA
has granted us Fast-Track Status and Orphan Drug Designation for our SRT
for the
treatment of ARDS in adults. The EMEA has granted us Orphan Product designation
for our SRT for the treatment of ALI in adults (which in this circumstance
is a
larger patient population that encompasses ARDS).
Manufacturing
Our
precision-engineered surfactant product candidates, including Surfaxin, must
be
manufactured in a sterile environment and in compliance with current good
manufacturing practice requirements (cGMPs) set by the FDA and other relevant
worldwide regulatory authorities. These product candidates are manufactured
through the combination of sinapultide and certain other active ingredients,
including certain lipids, that are provided by our suppliers. Using these
ingredients, our surfactant drug products, including Surfaxin, are manufactured
at the sterile facilities of our contract manufacturer, Laureate Pharma,
Inc.
(Laureate), with our own specialized equipment under the direction and
supervision of our manufacturing and quality control personnel. The termination,
disruption or expiration of the manufacturing relationships with any of these
parties would have a material adverse effect on our business.
In
January 2005, the FDA issued an inspection report (FDA Form-483) to Laureate
citing certain observations concerning Laureate's compliance with cGMPs in
connection with the FDA's review of our New Drug Application (NDA) for Surfaxin
for the prevention of RDS in premature infants. We are in the process of
addressing these items and anticipate submitting our response to the FDA
in
October 2005. We believe that the quality systems and documentation control
enhancements that we have implemented jointly with Laureate to support our
response to the FDA prepare us for the FDA's reinspection of Laureate's Totowa
facility. Assuming the adequacy of such corrective actions and the approval
of
the NDA, we anticipate that the commercial launch of Surfaxin will occur
in the
second quarter of 2006.
We
are
implementing a long-term manufacturing strategy 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.
We are investing in the further development and scale-up of the current contract
manufacturer of our SRT, Laureate, and conducting evaluations with the purpose
of securing additional manufacturing capabilities in order to meet production
needs as they expand, including alternative contract manufacturers and acquiring
or building our own manufacturing facility.
Sales
& Marketing
We
are
building our own specialty pulmonary United States sales and marketing
organization to execute the launch of Surfaxin, if approved, in the United
States. Our sales and marketing force will be initially focused on opportunities
in the NICU and, as products are developed, on expanding such opportunities
to
critical care and hospital settings. This strategic initiative, led by the
anticipated launch of Surfaxin, is intended to allow us to manage and administer
our own sales and marketing operation, establish a strong presence in the
NICU
and optimize company economics.
Corporate
Information
Surfaxin®
is our
trademark. This prospectus also includes product names, trademarks and trade
names of other companies, which names are the exclusive property of the holders
thereof.
Our
executive offices are located at 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington,
Pennsylvania 18976. Our telephone number is (215) 488-9300 and our facsimile
number is (215) 488-9301. We maintain a website on the Internet at www.discoverylabs.com
.
Information contained in our web site is not a part of this
prospectus.
RISK
FACTORS
An
investment in our securities involves significant risks. You should carefully
consider the risks described below or in any applicable prospectus supplement
and other information, including our financial statements and related notes
previously included in our periodic reports filed with the SEC. If any of
the
factors or conditions summarized in the following risks actually occur, our
business prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be
materially harmed, the value or trading price of our securities could decline
and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties
described below are those that we currently believe may materially affect
us.
Additional risks and uncertainties of which we are unaware or which we currently
deem immaterial also may become important factors that affect
us.
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. The Approvable Letter from the FDA
contains conditions that we must meet in order to obtain approval and they
primarily involve finalizing labeling and correcting previously reported
manufacturing issues. We submitted a Response Letter to the FDA's Approvable
Letter on July 29, 2005. We have received formal written notification from
the
FDA, following its review of our Response Letter, outlining select items
that
need to be further addressed in order for the FDA to deem the response complete.
We are in the process of addressing these items and anticipate submitting
our
response to the FDA in October 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. We submitted a Response Letter
to the
FDA's Approvable Letter on July 29, 2005. We have received formal written
notification from the FDA, following its review of our Response Letter,
outlining select items that need to be further addressed in order for the
FDA to
deem the response complete. We are in the process of addressing these items
and
anticipate submitting our response to the FDA in October 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.
We
submitted a Response Letter to the FDA's Approvable Letter on July 29, 2005.
We
have received formal written notification from the FDA, following its review
of
our Response Letter, outlining select items that need to be further addressed
in
order for the FDA to deem the response complete. We are in the process of
addressing these items and anticipate submitting our response to the FDA
in
October 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 September 23, 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 September 23, 2005, the average daily trading volume in our
common
stock was approximately 593,000 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 10,632,177 shares
of our
common stock were issuable upon exercise of outstanding options and warrants.
In
December 2003, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the
Commission for the proposed offering from time to time of up to 6,500,000
shares
of common stock. In connection with our December 2003 shelf registration
statement, we registered an additional 1,468,592 shares of common stock in
February 2005. Under these shelf registration statements, 708,952 shares
of our
common stock currently remain available for us to sell in registered
transactions. We have no 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.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
The
statements set forth under the captions “Company Summary” and elsewhere in this
prospectus, including in “Risk Factors,” and those incorporated by reference
herein, 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.
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, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
USE
OF PROCEEDS
Except
as
described in any prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment, we will
retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from the sale of
our
securities offered hereby and the net proceeds from the sales of securities
offered by this prospectus will be used to meet working capital requirements
for: (i) the development of 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 commercial organization
to focus initially on opportunities in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU),
including commercialization activities associated with the potential launch
of
Surfaxin in 2006; (iii) the advancement of our SRT product candidates in
clinical trials, including our aerosol formulations to address various
respiratory diseases; (iv) business development and commercialization activities
associated with securing partnerships for the development and potential
commercialization of SRT in Europe and the rest of the world; and (v) general
corporate purposes. We expect, from time to time, to evaluate the acquisition
of
businesses, products and technologies for which a portion of the net proceeds
may be used.
The
amounts and timing of the expenditures may vary significantly depending on
numerous factors, such as the progress of our research and development efforts,
technological advances and the competitive environment for Surfaxin and its
intended uses. Pending the application of the net proceeds, we expect to
invest
the proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing instruments or other
investment-grade securities.
RATIO
OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
Our
earnings were insufficient to cover fixed charges in each of the years in
the
five-year period ended December 31, 2004 and in the three-month period ended
June 30, 2005. Our fixed charges do not include any dividend requirements
with
respect to preferred stock because, as of the date of this prospectus and
for
the five preceding fiscal years, we have had no preferred stock
outstanding.
We
compute the ratio of earnings to fixed charges by dividing (i) earnings (loss),
which consists of net income from continuing operations before income taxes
plus
fixed charges and amortization of capitalized interest less interest capitalized
during the period and adjusted for undistributed earnings in equity investments,
by (ii) fixed charges, which consist of interest expense, capitalized interest
and the interest portion of rental expense under operating leases estimated
to
be representative of the interest factor.
|
|
Fiscal
year Ended December 31,
|
|
Three Months
Ended
June
30,
2005
|
|
|
|
2000
|
|
2001
|
|
2002
|
|
2003
|
|
2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Ratio
of earnings to fixed charges
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coverage
deficiency
|
|
$
|
(10,861
|
)
|
$
|
(11,146
|
)
|
$
|
(17,443
|
)
|
$
|
(24,280
|
)
|
$
|
(46,203
|
)
|
$
|
(19,142
|
)
|
(1)
Adjusted earnings, as described above, were insufficient to cover fixed charges
in each period. We have not included a ratio of earnings to combined fixed
charges and preferred stock dividends because we do not have any preferred
stock
outstanding.
DESCRIPTION
OF DEBT SECURITIES
The
following description, together with the additional information we include
in
any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and
provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus.
While
the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any future debt
securities we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular
terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable
prospectus supplement. The terms of any debt securities we offer under a
prospectus supplement may differ from the terms we describe below. However,
no
prospectus supplement shall fundamentally change the terms that are set forth
in
this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described
in this
prospectus at the time of its effectiveness. As of June 30, 2005, we have
$11.2
million in outstanding indebtedness including accrued interest.
We
will
issue the senior debt securities under the senior indenture that we will
enter
into with the trustee named in the senior indenture. We will issue the
subordinated debt securities under the subordinated indenture that we will
enter
into with the trustee named in the subordinated indenture. We have filed
forms
of these documents as exhibits to the registration statement which includes
this
prospectus. We use the term “indentures” in this prospectus to refer to both the
senior indenture and the subordinated indenture.
The
indentures will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939. We use
the
term “trustee” to refer to either the senior trustee or the subordinated
trustee, as applicable.
The
following summaries of material provisions of the senior debt securities,
the
subordinated debt securities and the indentures are subject to, and qualified
in
their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the indenture applicable
to a particular series of debt securities. Except as we may otherwise indicate,
the terms of the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture are
identical.
General
Debt
securities may be issued in separate series without limitation as to aggregate
principal amount. We may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for
the
debt securities of any series.
We
are
not limited as to the amount of debt securities we may issue under the
indentures. The prospectus supplement will set forth:
· |
whether
the debt securities will be senior or
subordinated;
|
· |
any
limit on the aggregate principal
amount;
|
· |
the
person who shall be entitled to receive interest, if other than
the record
holder on the record date;
|
· |
the
date the principal will be payable;
|
· |
the
interest rate, if any, the date interest will accrue, the interest
payment
dates and the regular record dates;
|
· |
the
place where payments may be made;
|
· |
any
mandatory or optional redemption
provisions;
|
· |
if
applicable, the method for determining how the principal, premium,
if any,
or interest will be calculated by reference to an index or
formula;
|
· |
if
other than U.S. currency, the currency or currency units in which
principal, premium, if any, or interest will be payable and whether
we or
the holder may elect payment to be made in a different
currency;
|
· |
the
portion of the principal amount that will be payable upon acceleration
of
stated maturity, if other than the entire principal
amount;
|
· |
if
the principal amount payable at stated maturity will not be determinable
as of any date prior to stated maturity, the amount which will
be deemed
to be the principal amount;
|
· |
any
defeasance provisions if different from those described below under
“Satisfaction and Discharge;
Defeasance;”
|
· |
any
conversion or exchange provisions;
|
· |
any
obligation to redeem or purchase the debt securities pursuant to
a sinking
fund;
|
· |
whether
the debt securities will be issuable in the form of a global
security;
|
· |
any
subordination provisions, if different from those described below
under
“Subordinated Debt Securities;”
|
· |
any
deletions of, or changes or additions to, the events of default
or
covenants; and
|
· |
any
other specific terms of such debt
securities.
|
Unless
otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement:
· |
the
debt securities will be registered debt securities;
and
|
· |
registered
debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars will be issued in
denominations of $1,000 or an integral multiple of
$1,000.
|
Debt
securities may be sold at a substantial discount below their stated principal
amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which at the time of issuance
is below market rates.
Exchange
and Transfer
Debt
securities may be transferred or exchanged at the office of the security
registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us.
We
will
not impose a service charge for any transfer or exchange, but we may require
holders to pay any tax or other governmental charges associated with any
transfer or exchange.
In
the
event of any potential redemption of debt securities of any series, we will
not
be required to:
· |
issue,
register the transfer of, or exchange, any debt security of that
series
during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before
the
day of mailing of a notice of redemption and ending at the close
of
business on the day of the mailing;
or
|
· |
register
the transfer of or exchange any debt security of that series selected
for
redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion
being
redeemed in part.
|
We
may
initially appoint the trustee as the security registrar. Any transfer agent,
in
addition to the security registrar, initially designated by us will be named
in
the prospectus supplement. We may designate additional transfer agents or
change
transfer agents or change the office of the transfer agent. However, we will
be
required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt
securities of each series.
Global
Securities
The
debt
securities of any series may be represented, in whole or in part, by one
or more
global securities. Each global security will:
· |
be
registered in the name of a depositary that we will identify in
a
prospectus supplement;
|
· |
be
deposited with the depositary or nominee or custodian;
and
|
· |
bear
any required legends.
|
No
global
security may be exchanged in whole or in part for debt securities registered
in
the name of any person other than the depositary or any nominee
unless:
· |
the
depositary has notified us that it is unwilling or unable to continue
as
depositary or has ceased to be qualified to act as
depositary;
|
· |
an
event of default is continuing; or
|
· |
any
other circumstances described in a prospectus
supplement.
|
As
long
as the depositary, or its nominee, is the registered owner of a global security,
the depositary or nominee will be considered the sole owner and holder of
the
debt securities represented by the global security for all purposes under
the
indenture. Except in the above limited circumstances, owners of beneficial
interests in a global security:
· |
will
not be entitled to have the debt securities registered in their
names,
|
· |
will
not be entitled to physical delivery of certificated debt securities,
and
|
· |
will
not be considered to be holders of those debt securities under
the
indentures.
|
Payments
on a global security will be made to the depositary or its nominee as the
holder
of the global security. Some jurisdictions have laws that require that certain
purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive
form. These laws may impair the ability to transfer beneficial interests
in a
global security.
Institutions
that have accounts with the depositary or its nominee are referred to as
“participants.” Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be
limited to participants and to persons that may hold beneficial interests
through participants. The depositary will credit, on its book-entry registration
and transfer system, the respective principal amounts of debt securities
represented by the global security to the accounts of its
participants.
Ownership
of beneficial interests in a global security will be shown on and effected
through records maintained by the depositary, with respect to participants'
interests, or any participant, with respect to interests of persons held
by
participants on their behalf.
Payments,
transfers and exchanges relating to beneficial interests in a global security
will be subject to policies and procedures of the depositary.
The
depositary policies and procedures may change from time to time. Neither
we nor
the trustee will have any responsibility or liability for the depositary's
or
any participant's records with respect to beneficial interests in a global
security.
Payment
and Paying Agent
The
provisions of this paragraph will apply to debt securities unless otherwise
indicated in the prospectus supplement. Payment of interest on a debt security
on any interest payment date will be made to the person in whose name the
debt
security is registered at the close of business on the regular record date.
Payment on debt securities of a particular series will be payable at the
office
of a paying agent or paying agents designated by us. However, at our option,
we
may pay interest by mailing a check to the record holder. The corporate trust
office will be designated as our sole paying agent.
We
may
also name any other paying agents in the prospectus supplement. We may designate
additional paying agents, change paying agents or change the office of any
paying agent. However, we will be required to maintain a paying agent in
each
place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.
All
moneys paid by us to a paying agent for payment on any debt security which
remain unclaimed at the end of two years after such payment was due will
be
repaid to us. Thereafter, the holder may look only to us for such
payment.
Consolidation,
Merger and Sale of Assets
We
may
not consolidate with or merge into any other person, in a transaction in
which
we are not the surviving corporation, or convey, transfer or lease our
properties and assets substantially as an entirety to, any person,
unless:
· |
the
successor, if any, is a U.S. corporation, limited liability company,
partnership, trust or other entity;
|
· |
the
successor assumes our obligations on the debt securities and under
the
indenture;
|
· |
immediately
after giving effect to the transaction, no default or event of
default
shall have occurred and be continuing;
and
|
· |
certain
other conditions are met.
|
If
the
debt securities are convertible for our other securities or securities of
other
entities, the person with whom we consolidate or merge or to whom we sell
all of
our property must make provisions for the conversion of the debt securities
into
securities which the holders of the debt securities would have received if
they
had converted the debt securities before the consolidation, merger or
sale.
Events
of Default
Unless
we
inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement, the indenture will define
an
event of default with respect to any series of debt securities as one or
more of
the following events:
(1)
failure to pay principal of or any premium on any debt security of that series
when due;
(2)
failure to pay any interest on any debt security of that series for 90 days
when
due;
(3)
failure to deposit any sinking fund payment when due;
(4)
failure to perform any other covenant in the indenture continued for 90 days
after being given the notice required in the indenture;
(5)
our
bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization; and
(6)
any
other event of default specified in the prospectus supplement.
An
event
of default of one series of debt securities is not necessarily an event of
default for any other series of debt securities.
If
an
event of default, other than an event of default described in clause (5)
above,
shall occur and be continuing, either the trustee or the holders of at least
25%
in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding securities of that series
may
declare the principal amount of the debt securities of that series to be
due and
payable immediately.
If
an
event of default described in clause (5) above shall occur, the principal
amount
of all the debt securities of that series will automatically become immediately
due and payable. Any payment by us on the subordinated debt securities following
any such acceleration will be subject to the subordination provisions described
below under “Subordinated Debt Securities.”
After
acceleration the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
outstanding securities of that series may, under certain circumstances, rescind
and annul such acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment
of accelerated principal, or other specified amount, have been cured or
waived.
Other
than the duty to act with the required care during an event of default, the
trustee will not be obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers at
the
request of the holders unless the holders shall have offered to the trustee
reasonable indemnity. Generally, the holders of a majority in aggregate
principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have
the
right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for
any
remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred
on
the trustee.
A
holder
will not have any right to institute any proceeding under the indentures,
or for
the appointment of a receiver or a trustee, or for any other remedy under
the
indentures, unless:
(1)
the
holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing
event
of default with respect to the debt securities of that series;
(2)
the
holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding
debt
securities of that series have made a written request and have offered
reasonable indemnity to the trustee to institute the proceeding;
and
(3)
the
trustee has failed to institute the proceeding and has not received direction
inconsistent with the original request from the holders of a majority in
aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series
within 90 days after the original request.
Holders
may, however, sue to enforce the payment of principal, premium or interest
on
any debt security on or after the due date or to enforce the right, if any,
to
convert any debt security without following the procedures listed in (1)
through
(3) above.
We
will
furnish the trustee an annual statement by our officers as to whether or
not we
are in default in the performance of the indenture and, if so, specifying
all
known defaults.
Modification
and Waiver
We
and
the trustee may make modifications and amendments to the indentures with
the
consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
outstanding securities of each series affected by the modification or
amendment.
However,
neither we nor the trustee may make any modification or amendment without
the
consent of the holder of each outstanding security of that series affected
by
the modification or amendment if such modification or amendment
would:
· |
change
the stated maturity of any debt
security;
|
· |
reduce
the principal, premium, if any, or interest on any debt
security;
|
· |
reduce
the principal of an original issue discount security or any other
debt
security payable on acceleration of
maturity;
|
· |
reduce
the rate of interest on any debt
security;
|
· |
change
the currency in which any debt security is
payable;
|
· |
impair
the right to enforce any payment after the stated maturity or redemption
date;
|
· |
waive
any default or event of default in payment of the principal of,
premium or
interest on any debt security;
|
· |
waive
a redemption payment or modify any of the redemption provisions
of any
debt security;
|
· |
adversely
affect the right to convert any debt security in any material respect;
or
|
· |
change
the provisions in the indenture that relate to modifying or amending
the
indenture.
|
Satisfaction
and Discharge; Defeasance
We
may be
discharged from our obligations on the debt securities of any series that
have
matured or will mature or be redeemed within one year if we deposit with
the
trustee enough cash to pay all the principal, interest and any premium due
to
the stated maturity date or redemption date of the debt securities.
Each
indenture will contain a provision that permits us to elect:
· |
to
be discharged from all of our obligations, subject to limited exceptions,
with respect to any series of debt securities then outstanding;
and/or
|
· |
to
be released from our obligations under the following covenants
and from
the consequences of an event of default resulting from a breach
of these
covenants: (1) the subordination provisions under a subordinated
indenture; and (2) covenants as to payment of taxes and maintenance
of
corporate existence.
|
To
make
either of the above elections, we must deposit in trust with the trustee
enough
money to pay in full the principal, interest and premium on the debt securities.
This amount may be made in cash and/or U.S. government obligations. As a
condition to either of the above elections, we must deliver to the trustee
an
opinion of counsel that the holders of the debt securities will not recognize
income, gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes as a result of the
action.
If
any of
the above events occurs, the holders of the debt securities of the series
will
not be entitled to the benefits of the indenture, except for the rights of
holders to receive payments on debt securities or the registration of transfer
and exchange of debt securities and replacement of lost, stolen or mutilated
debt securities.
Notices
Notices
to holders will be given by mail to the addresses of the holders in the security
register.
Governing
Law
The
indentures and the debt securities will be governed by, and construed under,
the
law of the State of New York.
Regarding
the Trustee
The
indentures will limit the right of the trustee, should it become a creditor
of
us, to obtain payment of claims or secure its claims.
The
trustee will be permitted to engage in certain other transactions. However,
if
the trustee, acquires any conflicting interest, and there is a default under
the
debt securities of any series for which they are trustee, the trustee must
eliminate the conflict or resign.
Subordinated
Debt Securities
Payment
on subordinated debt securities will, to the extent provided in the indenture,
be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all of
our
senior indebtedness. Subordinated debt securities also are effectively
subordinated to all debt and other liabilities, including trade payables
and
lease obligations, if any, of our subsidiaries.
Upon
any
distribution of our assets upon any dissolution, winding up, liquidation
or
reorganization, the payment of the principal of and interest on subordinated
debt securities will be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment
in
full in cash or other payment satisfactory to the holders of senior indebtedness
of all senior indebtedness. In the event of any acceleration of the subordinated
debt securities because of an event of default, the holders of any senior
indebtedness would be entitled to payment in full in cash or other payment
satisfactory to such holders of all senior indebtedness obligations before
the
holders of subordinated debt securities are entitled to receive any payment
or
distribution. The indentures will require us or the trustee to promptly notify
holders of designated senior indebtedness if payment of subordinated debt
securities is accelerated because of an event of default.
We
may
not make any payment on subordinated debt securities, including upon redemption
at the option of the holder of any subordinated debt securities or at our
option, if:
· |
a
default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, interest,
rent
or other obligations in respect of designated senior indebtedness
occurs
and is continuing beyond any applicable period of grace, which
is called a
“payment default”; or
|
· |
a
default other than a payment default on any designated senior indebtedness
occurs and is continuing that permits holders of designated senior
indebtedness to accelerate its maturity, and the trustee receives
notice
of such default, which is called a “payment blockage notice from us or any
other person permitted to give such notice under the indenture,
which is
called a “non-payment default”.
|
We
may
resume payments and distributions on subordinated debt securities:
· |
in
the case of a payment default, upon the date on which such default
is
cured or waived or ceases to exist;
and
|
· |
in
the case of a non-payment default, the earlier of the date on which
such
nonpayment default is cured or waived or ceases to exist and 179
days
after the date on which the payment blockage notice is received
by the
trustee, if the maturity of the designated senior indebtedness
has not
been accelerated.
|
No
new
period of payment blockage may be commenced pursuant to a payment blockage
notice unless 365 days have elapsed since the initial effectiveness of the
immediately prior payment blockage notice and all scheduled payments of
principal, premium and interest, including any liquidated damages, on the
notes
that have come due have been paid in full in cash. No non-payment default
that
existed or was continuing on the date of delivery of any payment blockage
notice
shall be the basis for any later payment blockage notice unless the non-payment
default is based upon facts or events arising after the date of delivery
of such
payment blockage notice.
If
the
trustee or any holder of the notes receives any payment or distribution of
our
assets in contravention of the subordination provisions on subordinated debt
securities before all senior indebtedness is paid in full in cash, property
or
securities, including by way of set-off, or other payment satisfactory to
holders of senior indebtedness, then such payment or distribution will be
held
in trust for the benefit of holders of senior indebtedness or their
representatives to the extent necessary to make payment in full in cash or
payment satisfactory to the holders of senior indebtedness of all unpaid
senior
indebtedness.
In
the
event of our bankruptcy, dissolution or reorganization, holders of senior
indebtedness may receive more, ratably, and holders of subordinated debt
securities may receive less, ratably, than our other creditors (including
our
trade creditors). This subordination will not prevent the occurrence of any
event of default under the indenture.
As
of
June 30, 2005, $11.2 million in senior indebtedness was outstanding. Unless
we
inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement, we will not be prohibited
from incurring debt, including senior indebtedness, under any indenture relating
to subordinated debt securities. We may from time to time incur additional
debt,
including senior indebtedness.
We
are
obligated to pay reasonable compensation to the trustee and to indemnify
the
trustee against certain losses, liabilities or expenses incurred by the trustee
in connection with its duties relating to subordinated debt securities. The
trustee's claims for these payments will generally be senior to those of
noteholders in respect of all funds collected or held by the
trustee.
Certain
Definitions
“indebtedness”
means:
(1)
all
indebtedness, obligations and other liabilities for borrowed money, including
overdrafts, foreign exchange contracts, currency exchange agreements, interest
rate protection agreements, and any loans or advances from banks, or evidenced
by bonds, debentures, notes or similar instruments, other than any account
payable or other accrued current liability or obligation incurred in the
ordinary course of business in connection with the obtaining of materials
or
services;
(2)
all
reimbursement obligations and other liabilities with respect to letters of
credit, bank guarantees or bankers' acceptances;
(3)
all
obligations and liabilities in respect of leases required in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles to be accounted for as capitalized
lease obligations on our balance sheet;
(4)
all
obligations and liabilities, contingent or otherwise, as lessee under leases
for
facility equipment (and related assets leased together with such equipment)
and
under any lease or related document (including a purchase agreement, conditional
sale or other title retention or synthetic lease agreement) in connection
with
the lease of real property or improvement thereon (or any personal property
included as part of any such lease) which provides that such Person is
contractually obligated to purchase or cause a third party to purchase the
leased property or pay an agreed upon residual value of the leased property,
including the obligations under such lease or related document to purchase
or
cause a third party to purchase such leased property (whether or not such
lease
transaction is characterized as an operating lease or a capitalized lease
in
accordance with GAAP) or pay an agreed upon residual value of the leased
property to the lessor;
(5)
all
obligations with respect to an interest rate or other swap, cap or collar
agreement or other similar instrument or agreement or foreign currency hedge,
exchange, purchase agreement or other similar instrument or
agreement;
(6)
all
direct or indirect guaranties or similar agreements in respect of, and our
obligations or liabilities to purchase, acquire or otherwise assure a creditor
against loss in respect of, indebtedness, obligations or liabilities of others
of the type described in (1) through (5) above;
(7)
any
indebtedness or other obligations described in (1) through (6) above secured
by
any mortgage, pledge, lien or other encumbrance existing on property which
is
owned or held by us; and
(8)
any
and all refinancings, replacements, deferrals, renewals, extensions and
refundings of, or amendments, modifications or supplements to, any indebtedness,
obligation or liability of the kind described in clauses (1) through (7)
above.
“senior
indebtedness” means the principal, premium, if any, interest, including any
interest accruing after bankruptcy, and rent or termination payment on or
other
amounts due on our current or future indebtedness, whether created, incurred,
assumed, guaranteed or in effect guaranteed by us, including any deferrals,
renewals, extensions, refundings, amendments, modifications or supplements
to
the above. However, senior indebtedness does not include:
· |
indebtedness
that expressly provides that it shall not be senior in right of
payment to
subordinated debt securities or expressly provides that it is on
the same
basis or junior to subordinated debt
securities;
|
· |
our
indebtedness to any of our majority-owned subsidiaries;
and
|
· |
subordinated
debt securities.
|
DESCRIPTION
OF PREFERRED STOCK
We
currently have authorized 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value
$.001
per share. As of June 30, 2005, we do not have any shares of preferred stock
outstanding. Under our Certificate of Incorporation, our Board of Directors
is
authorized to issue shares of our preferred stock from time to time, in one
or
more classes or series, without stockholder approval. Prior to the issuance
of
shares of each series, the Board of Directors is required by the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and our Certificate of Incorporation
to
adopt resolutions and file a Certificate of Designation with the Secretary
of
State of the State of Delaware, fixing for each such series the designations,
powers, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations and restrictions
of the
shares of such series. Any exercise of our Board of Directors of its rights
to
do so may affect the rights and entitlements of the holders of our common
stock
as set forth below.
Our
Board
of Directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with
terms and conditions which could have the effect of discouraging a takeover
or
other transaction which holders of some, or a majority, of such shares might
believe to be in their best interests or in which holders of some, or a
majority, of such shares might receive a premium for their shares over the
then-market price of such shares.
General
Subject
to limitations prescribed by the General Corporation Law of the State of
Delaware, our Certificate of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated By-Laws
(“By-Laws”), our Board of Directors is authorized to fix the number of shares
constituting each series of preferred stock and the designations, powers,
preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations and restrictions of the
shares
of such series, including such provisions as may be desired concerning voting,
redemption, dividends, dissolution or the distribution of assets, conversion
or
exchange, and such other subjects or matters as may be fixed by resolution
of
the Board of Directors. Each series of preferred stock that we offer under
this
prospectus will, when issued, be fully paid and nonassessable and will not
have,
or be subject to, any preemptive or similar rights.
The
applicable prospectus supplement(s) will describe the following terms of
the
series of preferred stock in respect of which this prospectus is being
delivered:
· |
the
title and stated value of the preferred
stock;
|
· |
the
number of shares of the preferred stock offered, the liquidation
preference per share and the purchase price of the preferred
stock;
|
· |
the
dividend rate(s), period(s) and/or payment date(s) or the method(s)
of
calculation for dividends;
|
· |
whether
dividends shall be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative,
the
date from which dividends on the preferred stock shall
accumulate;
|
· |
the
procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any, for the preferred
stock;
|
· |
the
provisions for a sinking fund, if any, for the preferred
stock;
|
· |
the
provisions for redemption, if applicable, of the preferred
stock;
|
· |
any
listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or
market;
|
· |
the
terms and conditions, if applicable, upon which the preferred stock
will
be convertible into common stock or another series of our preferred
stock,
including the conversion price (or its manner of calculation) and
conversion period;
|
· |
the
terms and conditions, if applicable, upon which preferred stock
will be
exchangeable into our debt securities, including the exchange price,
or
its manner of calculation, and exchange
period;
|
· |
voting
rights, if any, of the preferred stock; a discussion of any material
and/or special United States federal income tax considerations
applicable
to the preferred stock;
|
· |
whether
interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary
shares;
|
· |
the
relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend
rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of
our
affairs;
|
· |
any
limitations on issuance of any series of preferred stock ranking
senior to
or on a parity with the preferred stock as to dividend rights and
rights
upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs;
and
|
· |
any
other specific terms, preferences, rights, limitations or restrictions
on
the preferred stock.
|
Unless
otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, the preferred stock will,
with
respect to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding
up of Discovery rank:
· |
senior
to all classes or series of our common stock, and to all equity
securities
issued by us the terms of which specifically provide that such
equity
securities rank junior to the preferred stock with respect to dividend
rights or rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up
of
us;
|
· |
on
a parity with all equity securities issued by us that do not rank
senior
or junior to the preferred stock with respect to dividend rights
or rights
upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of us;
and
|
· |
junior
to all equity securities issued by us the terms of which do not
specifically provide that such equity securities rank on a parity
with or
junior to the preferred stock with respect to dividend rights or
rights
upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of us (including
any
entity with which we may be merged or consolidated or to which
all or
substantially all of our assets may be transferred or which transfers
all
or substantially all of our
assets).
|
As
used
for these purposes, the term “equity securities” does not include convertible
debt securities.
Transfer
Agent and Registrar
The
transfer agent and registrar for any series of preferred stock will be set
forth
in the applicable prospectus supplement.
DESCRIPTION
OF COMMON STOCK
General
This
prospectus summarizes the general terms of our common stock. For a more detailed
description of the common stock, you should read the applicable provisions
of
Delaware law and our Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws.
We
currently have authorized 180,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001
per share. As of September 30, 2005, there were 56,791,243 shares of common
stock outstanding, which does not include:
· |
8,201,573
shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options outstanding,
at a
weighted average exercise price of $6.26 per
share;
|
· |
2,463,770
shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants outstanding,
at
a weighted average exercise price of
$7.67;
|
· |
11,086,203
shares of common stock available for future issuance under our
shelf
registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-118595) dated August
26, 2004,
which was filed in connection with the
CEFF;
|
· |
708,592
shares of common stock available for future issuance under our
shelf
registration statement on Form S-3MEF (No. 333-122887) dated February
17,
2005;
|
· |
1,914,270
shares of common stock available for future grant under our Amended
and
Restated 1998 Employee Stock Option Plan;
and
|
· |
88,231
shares of common stock available for future issuance under our
401(k)
Plan.
|
Common
Stock
This
description of our common stock is a summary. You should keep in mind, however,
that it is our Certificate of Incorporation and our By-Laws, and not this
summary, which defines any rights you may acquire as a stockholder. There
may be
other provisions in such documents which are also important to you. You should
read such documents for a full description of the terms of our capital
stock.
Subject
to any preferential rights of any preferred stock created by our Board of
Directors, as a holder of our common stock you are entitled to such dividends
as
our Board of Directors may declare from time to time out of funds that we
can
legally use to pay dividends. The holders of common stock possess exclusive
voting rights, except to the extent our Board of Directors specifies voting
power for any preferred stock that, in the future, may be issued.
As
a
holder of our common stock, you are entitled to one vote for each share of
common stock and do not have any right to cumulate votes in the election
of
directors. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, you
will
be entitled to receive on a proportionate basis any assets remaining after
provision for payment of creditors and after payment of any liquidation
preferences to holders of preferred stock. Holders of our common stock have
no
preemptive rights and no conversion rights or other subscription rights.
There
are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock.
All
the outstanding shares of common stock are, and the shares offered by this
prospectus, when issued and paid for, will be, validly issued, fully paid
and
nonassessable. Our common stock is quoted on Nasdaq under the symbol
“DSCO”.
Stockholder
Rights Plan
The
summary description of the Rights set out herein does not purport to be
complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the terms and
provision of our Shareholder Rights Agreement, dated as of February 6,
2005.
On
February 6, 2004, our Board of Directors adopted a shareholder rights agreement.
Pursuant to the rights agreement our Board of Directors (i) declared that
each
stockholder of record as of the close of business on February 6, 2004, would
be
issued a dividend of one preferred stock purchase right (a “Right”) for each
share of our common stock held by such stockholder and (ii) determined that
each
share of common stock issued by us after such date through the Final Expiration
Date (as defined below) shall be issued with a tandem Right. Each Right
represents the right to purchase one ten-thousandth of a share of our Series
A
Junior Participating Cumulative Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred”) at an
exercise price equal to $50 per Right (as the same may be adjusted, the
“Exercise Price”). The Rights shall be evidenced by certificates for our common
stock until the earlier to occur of:
· |
10
days following a public announcement that a person or group of
affiliated
or associated persons (with certain exceptions, an “Acquiring Person”)
have acquired beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the outstanding
shares of our common stock; and
|
· |
10
business days (or such later date as may be determined by action
of the
Board of Directors prior to such time as any person or group of
affiliated
persons becomes an Acquiring Person) following the commencement
of, or
announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or exchange
offer the
consummation of which would result in the beneficial ownership
by a person
or group of 15% or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock
(the
earlier of such dates being called the “Distribution
Date”).
|
The
Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date. Until a Right is
exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no rights as a Discovery
stockholder, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive
dividends.
The
Rights will expire upon the close of business on February 6, 2014 (the “Final
Expiration Date”), unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by us, in
each case as described below.
The
shares of Series A Preferred purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will
be
entitled, when, as and if declared, to a minimum preferential quarterly dividend
payment of 10,000 times the per share amount of dividends declared on our
common
stock. If no common stock dividend is declared in a quarter, a preferred
stock
quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share will be required. In the event of
liquidation, holders of Series A Preferred will be entitled to a preferential
distribution payment of at least 10,000 times the payment made per share
of
common stock. Each share of Series A Preferred will entitle the holder to
10,000
votes, voting together with our common stock. In the event of any merger,
consolidation or other transaction in which shares of our common stock are
converted or exchanged, the holders of Series A Preferred will be entitled
to
receive 10,000 times the amount of consideration received per share of our
common stock in respect of such transaction. The Rights are protected by
customary anti-dilution provisions.
Because
of the nature of the Series A Preferred's dividend and liquidation rights,
the
fair market value of the one ten-thousandth of a share of Series A Preferred
purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate the fair market
value
of one share of our common stock. If any person or group of affiliated or
associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person, each holder of a Right, (other
than Rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person, which become void),
will
have the right to receive upon exercise and payment of the then current Exercise
Price, that number of shares of our common stock having a market value of
two
times the Exercise Price.
If,
after
a person or group has become an Acquiring Person, we are acquired in a merger
or
other business combination transaction, or 50% or more of our consolidated
assets or earning power are sold, proper provision will be made so that each
holder of a Right (other than Rights beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person,
which become void) will thereafter have the right to receive, upon exercise
at
the then current Exercise Price, that number of shares of common stock of
the
person with whom we engaged in the foregoing transaction (or its parent),
which
at the time of such transaction will have a market value of two times the
Exercise Price. In lieu of exercise, our Board of Directors may exchange
the
Rights (other than Rights owned by an Acquiring Person, which become void),
in
whole or in part, for such securities or other property or rights as the
Board
may determine, including any class or series of our common stock or preferred
stock.
At
any
time prior to the time an Acquiring Person becomes such, our Board of Directors
may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $.001 per
Right,
subject to adjustment.
We
may
amend the Rights to the extent and on the conditions set out in the Rights
Agreement.
Anti-Takeover
Provisions
As
a
corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, we are subject
to
Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which
restricts our ability to enter into business combinations with an interested
stockholder or a stockholder owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting
stock,
or that stockholder's affiliates or associates, for a period of three years.
These restrictions do not apply if:
--prior
to becoming an interested stockholder, our Board of Directors approves either
the business combination or the transaction in which the stockholder becomes
an
interested stockholder;
--upon
consummation of the transaction in which the stockholder becomes an interested
stockholder, the interested stockholder owns at least 85% of our voting stock
outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, subject to exceptions;
or
--on
or
after the date a stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, the business
combination is both approved by our Board of Directors and authorized at
an
annual or special meeting of our stockholders by the affirmative vote of
at
least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested
stockholder.
Number
of Directors; Removal
Our
By-Laws provide that our Board of Directors shall consist of at least three
directors and may consist of such larger number as may be determined, from
time-to-time, by the Board of Directors. Our By-laws provide that directors
may
be removed with or without cause by the affirmative vote of holders of a
majority of the total voting power of all outstanding securities.
This
provision and the Board of Directors' right to issue shares of our preferred
stock from time to time, in one or more classes or series without stockholder
approval are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability
in
the composition of the policies formulated by our Board of Directors. These
provisions are also intended to discourage some tactics that may be used
in
proxy fights.
Transfer
Agent and Registrar
The
Transfer Agent and Registrar for our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer
& Trust Company.
PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
We
may
sell the securities being offered by us in this prospectus pursuant to
underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or any
combination of such methods. We may sell the securities to or through
underwriters, dealers, agents or directly to one or more purchasers. We and
our
agents reserve the right to accept and to reject in whole or in part any
proposed purchase of securities. A prospectus supplement or post-effective
amendment, which we will file each time we effect an offering of any securities,
will provide the names of any underwriters, dealers or agents, if any, involved
in the sale of such securities, and any applicable fees, commissions, or
discounts to which such persons shall be entitled to in connection with such
offering.
We
and
our agents, dealers and underwriters, as applicable, may sell the securities
being offered by us in this prospectus from time to time in one or more
transactions as follows:
--at
a
fixed price or prices, which may be changed;
--at
market prices prevailing at the time of sale;
--at
prices related to such prevailing market prices; or
--at
negotiated prices.
We
may
determine the price or other terms of the securities offered under this
prospectus by use of an electronic auction. We will describe how any auction
will determine the price or any other terms, how potential investors may
participate in the auction and the nature of the underwriters' obligations
in
the applicable prospectus supplement or amendment.
We
may
solicit directly offers to purchase securities. We may also designate agents
from time to time to solicit offers to purchase securities. Any agent that
we
designate, who may be deemed to be an underwriter as that term is defined
in the
Securities Act, may then resell such securities to the public at varying
prices
to be determined by such agent at the time of resale. We may engage in at
the
market offerings of our common stock. An at the market offering is an offering
of our common stock at other than a fixed price to or through a market maker.
Under Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act, the total value
of at the market offerings made under this prospectus may not exceed 10%
of the
aggregate market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates. We shall
name
any underwriter that we engage for an at the market offering in a post-effective
amendment to the registration statement containing this prospectus. We shall
also describe any additional details of our arrangement with such underwriter,
including commissions or fees paid, or discounts offered, by us and whether
such
underwriter is acting as principal or agent, in the related prospectus
supplement. If we use underwriters to sell securities, we will enter into
an
underwriting agreement with the underwriters at the time of the sale to them,
which agreement shall be filed as an exhibit to the related prospectus
supplement. Underwriters may also receive commissions from purchasers of
the
securities.
Underwriters
may also use dealers to sell securities. In such an event, the dealers may
receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions
from
the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may
act as
agents.
Underwriters,
dealers, agents and other persons may be entitled, under agreements that
may be
entered into with us, to indemnification by us against certain civil
liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or to contribution
with respect to payments which they may be required to make in respect of
such
liabilities. Underwriters and agents may engage in transactions with, or
perform
services for, us in the ordinary course of business. If so indicated in the
applicable prospectus
supplement, we may authorize underwriters, dealers or other persons to solicit
offers by certain institutions to purchase the securities offered by us under
this prospectus pursuant to contracts providing for payment and delivery
on a
future date or dates. The obligations of any purchaser under these contracts
will be subject only to those conditions described in the applicable prospectus
supplement, and the prospectus supplement will set forth the price to be
paid
for securities pursuant to those contracts and the commissions payable for
solicitation of the contracts.
Any
underwriter may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing and syndicate short
covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M of
the
Exchange Act. Over-allotment involves sales in excess of the offering size,
which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase
the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a
specified maximum. Syndicate short covering transactions involve purchases
of
securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in
order
to cover syndicate short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters
to
reclaim selling concessions from dealers when the securities originally sold
by
such dealers are purchased in covering transactions to cover syndicate short
positions. These transactions may cause the price of the securities sold
in an
offering to be higher than it would otherwise be. These transactions, if
commenced, may be discontinued by the underwriters at any time.
Our
common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “DSCO.”
The other securities are not listed on any securities exchange or other stock
market and, unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement,
we do not intend to apply for listing of the other securities on any securities
exchange or other stock market. Any underwriters to whom we sell securities
for
public offering and sale may make a market in the securities that they purchase,
but the underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any
market making at any time without notice. Accordingly, we give you no assurance
as to the development or liquidity of any trading market for the
securities.
The
anticipated date of delivery of the securities offered hereby will be set
forth
in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to each offering.
In
order
to comply with certain state securities laws, if applicable, the securities
may
be sold in such jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers
or
dealers. In certain states, the securities may not be sold unless the securities
have been registered or qualified for sale in such state or an exemption
from
regulation or qualification is available and is complied with. Sales of
securities must also be made by us in compliance with all other applicable
state
securities laws and regulations.
We
shall
pay all expenses of the registration of the securities.
EXPERTS
Our
consolidated financial statements and management's assessment of the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, appearing
in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, have been
audited by Ernst & Young LLP, our independent registered public accounting
firm, as set forth in their report thereon included therein and incorporated
herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated
herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority
of such
firms as experts in accounting and auditing.
LEGAL
MATTERS
If
and
when offered, the validity of the securities being registered hereunder will
be
passed upon for us by Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP.
INTERESTS
OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL
Attorneys
of Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP beneficially own shares of common
stock, the aggregate value of which exceeds $50,000.
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 above.
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.
We
have
filed with the SEC a registration statement (which contains this prospectus)
on
Form S-3 under the Securities Act relating to the securities we are offering
by
this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information
set
forth in the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules to the
registration statement. Please refer to the registration statement and its
exhibits and schedules for further information with respect to us and our
securities. Statements contained in this prospectus 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.
INFORMATION
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The
SEC
allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with them, which
means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you
to
those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered
to be
part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC
will
automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference
the documents filed with SEC listed below:
1.
|
Our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2004,
filed on March 16, 2005;
|
2.
|
Our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March
31,
2005 and June 30, 2005;
|
3.
|
Our
Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 2, February
14,
February 18, February 22, March 17, April 28, August 1, August
3, August
15, August 19, and September 9,
2005;
|
4.
|
The
description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement
on
Form 8-A filed with the SEC on July 13, 1995;
and
|
5.
|
All
documents we have filed with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a),
13(c), 14
or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this initial registration
statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement,
as
well as subsequent to the date of this prospectus and prior to
the
termination of this offering, shall be deemed to be incorporated
by
reference into this prospectus and to be a part of this prospectus
from
the date of the filing of the
documents.
|
You
may
request a copy of these filings, at no cost, by sending an e-mail to
ir@DiscoveryLabs.com and requesting any one or more of such filings or by
contacting John G. Cooper, our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer, at the following address or telephone number: Discovery Laboratories,
Inc., 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976, Attention:
John G. Cooper; (215) 488-9300. Exhibits to the documents will not be sent,
unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in
this
prospectus.
All
reports and other documents subsequently filed by us with the SEC pursuant
to
Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
after
the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering
shall
be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus and to be a
part of
this prospectus from the date of filing of such reports and documents. This
prospectus also incorporates by reference any documents that we file with
the
SEC after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the
effectiveness of the registration statement. Any statement contained in any
document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall
be
deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the
extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or in any other
subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated
by
reference in this prospectus modifies or supersedes such statement. Any
statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified
or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
$100,000,000
Discovery
Laboratories, Inc.
Debt
Securities, Preferred Stock and Common Stock
No
dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to provide you with
information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus.
You must
not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. We are offering
to
sell, and seeking offers to buy, only the securities of Discovery Laboratories,
Inc. covered by this prospectus, and only under circumstances and in
jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in
this
prospectus is current only as of its date, regardless of the time of delivery
of
this prospectus or of any sale of the shares.
October
11, 2005