Item 1. Business
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Item 1. Business
This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future periods, future events or our future operating or financial plans or performance. Often, these statements include the words “believe,” “expect,” “target,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “estimate,” “potential,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” or the negative of these terms, and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include statements as to:
| ● | the discovery, development, formulation, manufacturing and commercialization of our compounds, our drug candidates and JAKAFI®/JAKAVI® (ruxolitinib) and ICLUSIG® (ponatinib); |
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| ● | our plans to further develop our operations outside of the United States; |
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| ● | conducting clinical trials internally, with collaborators, or with clinical research organizations; |
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| ● | our collaboration and strategic relationship strategy, and anticipated benefits and disadvantages of entering into collaboration agreements; |
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| ● | our licensing, investment and commercialization strategies, including our plans to commercialize JAKAFI and ICLUSIG; |
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| ● | the regulatory approval process, including obtaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other international health authorities approval for our products in the United States and abroad; |
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| ● | the safety, effectiveness and potential benefits and indications of our drug candidates and other compounds under development; |
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| ● | the timing and size of our clinical trials; the compounds expected to enter clinical trials; timing of clinical trial results; |
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| ● | our ability to manage expansion of our drug discovery and development operations; |
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| ● | future required expertise relating to clinical trials, manufacturing, sales and marketing; |
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| ● | obtaining and terminating licenses to products, drug candidates or technology, or other intellectual property rights; |
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| ● | the receipt from or payments pursuant to collaboration or license agreements resulting from milestones or royalties; |
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| ● | plans to develop and commercialize products on our own; |
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| ● | plans to use third-party manufacturers; |
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| ● | plans for our manufacturing operations; |
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| ● | expected expenses and expenditure levels; expected uses of cash; expected revenues and sources of revenues, including milestone payments; expectations with respect to inventory; |
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| ● | expectations with respect to reimbursement for our products; |
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| ● | the expected impact of recent accounting pronouncements and changes in tax laws; |
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| ● | expected losses; fluctuation of losses; currency translation impact associated with collaboration royalties; |
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| ● | our profitability; the adequacy of our capital resources to continue operations; |
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| ● | the need to raise additional capital; |
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| ● | the costs associated with resolving matters in litigation; |
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| ● | our expectations regarding competition; |
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| ● | expectations relating to our new European headquarters, including construction activities, and the anticipated completion date for our large molecule production facility; |
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| ● | our investments, including anticipated expenditures, losses and expenses; and |
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| ● | our patent prosecution and maintenance efforts. |
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These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, are based on assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected and include, but are not limited to:
| ● | our ability to successfully commercialize JAKAFI and ICLUSIG; |
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| ● | our ability to maintain at anticipated levels reimbursement for our products from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations; |
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| ● | our ability to establish and maintain effective sales, marketing and distribution capabilities; |
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| ● | the risk of reliance on other parties to manufacture our products, which could result in a short supply of our products, increased costs, and withdrawal of regulatory approval; |
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| ● | our ability to maintain regulatory approvals to market our products; |
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| ● | our ability to achieve a significant market share in order to achieve or maintain profitability; |
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| ● | the risk of civil or criminal penalties if we market our products in a manner that violates health care fraud and abuse and other applicable laws, rules and regulations; |
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| ● | our ability to discover, develop, formulate, manufacture and commercialize our drug candidates; |
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| ● | the risk of unanticipated delays in, or discontinuations of, research and development efforts; |
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| ● | the risk that previous preclinical testing or clinical trial results are not necessarily indicative of future clinical trial results; |
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| ● | risks relating to the conduct of our clinical trials; |
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| ● | changing regulatory requirements; |
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| ● | the risk of adverse safety findings; |
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| ● | the risk that results of our clinical trials do not support submission of a marketing approval application for our drug candidates; |
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| ● | the risk of significant delays or costs in obtaining regulatory approvals; |
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| ● | risks relating to our reliance on third-party manufacturers, collaborators, and clinical research organizations; |
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| ● | risks relating to the development of new products and their use by us and our current and potential collaborators; |
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| ● | risks relating to our inability to control the development of out-licensed compounds or drug candidates; |
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| ● | risks relating to our collaborators’ ability to develop and commercialize JAKAVI, OLUMIANT and the drug candidates licensed from us; |
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| ● | costs associated with prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing patent claims and other intellectual property rights; |
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| ● | our ability to maintain or obtain adequate product liability and other insurance coverage; |
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| ● | the risk that our drug candidates may not obtain or maintain regulatory approval; |
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| ● | the impact of technological advances and competition, including potential generic competition; |
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| ● | our ability to compete against third parties with greater resources than ours; |
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| ● | risks relating to changes in pricing and reimbursement in the markets in which we may compete; |
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| ● | risks relating to governmental healthcare reform efforts, including efforts to control, set or cap pricing for our commercial drugs in the U.S and abroad; |
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| ● | competition to develop and commercialize similar drug products; |
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| ● | our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection and freedom to operate for our discoveries and to continue to be effective in expanding our patent coverage; |
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| ● | the impact of changing laws on our patent portfolio; |
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| ● | developments in and expenses relating to litigation; |
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| ● | our ability to in-license drug candidates or other technology; |
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| ● | unanticipated construction, other delays or changes in plans relating to our new European headquarters and large molecule production facility; |
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| ● | our ability to integrate successfully acquired businesses, development programs or technology; |
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| ● | our ability to obtain additional capital when needed; |
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| ● | fluctuations in net cash provided and used by operating, financing and investing activities; |
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| ● | our ability to analyze the effects of new accounting pronouncements and apply new accounting rules; |
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| ● | our history of operating losses; and |
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| ● | the risks set forth under “Risk Factors.” |
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Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.
In this report all references to “Incyte,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” mean Incyte Corporation and our subsidiaries, except where it is made clear that the term means only the parent company.
Incyte and JAKAFI are our registered trademarks. We also refer to trademarks of other corporations and organizations in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
Incyte is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics. Our global headquarters is located in Wilmington, Delaware. We conduct our European clinical development and commercial operations from our offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and Lausanne, Switzerland; and we conduct our Japanese operations from our office in Tokyo.
Marketed Indications - JAKAFI (ruxolitinib)
JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) is our first product to be approved for sale in the United States. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2011 for the treatment of adults with intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, in December 2014 for the treatment of adults with polycythemia vera who have had an inadequate response to or are intolerant of hydroxyurea and in May 2019 for the treatment of steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older. Myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera are both myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a type of rare blood cancer, and GVHD is an adverse immune response to an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Under our collaboration agreement with Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd., Novartis received exclusive development and commercialization rights to ruxolitinib outside of the United States for all hematologic and oncologic indications and sells ruxolitinib outside of the United States under the name JAKAVI.
In 2003, we initiated a research and development program to explore the inhibition of enzymes called janus associated kinases (JAK). The JAK family is composed of four tyrosine kinases—JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and Tyk2—that are involved in the signaling of a number of cytokines and growth factors. JAKs are central to a number of biologic processes, including the formation and development of blood cells and the regulation of immune functions. Dysregulation of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway has been associated with a number of diseases, including myeloproliferative neoplasms, other hematological malignancies, rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
We have discovered multiple potent, selective and orally bioavailable JAK inhibitors that are selective for JAK1 or JAK1 and JAK2. JAKAFI is the most advanced compound in our JAK program. It is an oral JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor.
JAKAFI is marketed in the United States through our own specialty sales force and commercial team. JAKAFI was the first FDA-approved JAK inhibitor for any indication and was the first FDA-approved product in all three of its current indications. JAKAFI remains the first-line standard of care in MF and remains the only FDA-approved product for PV and steroid-refractory acute GVHD. The FDA has granted JAKAFI orphan drug status for MF, PV, ET, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and GVHD.
To help ensure that all eligible patients have access to JAKAFI, we have established a patient assistance program called IncyteCARES (CARES stands for Connecting to Access, Reimbursement, Education and Support). IncyteCARES helps ensure that any patient with intermediate or high-risk MF, uncontrolled PV or steroid-refractory acute GVHD who meets certain eligibility criteria and is prescribed JAKAFI has access to the product regardless of ability to pay and has access to ongoing support and educational resources during treatment.
JAKAFI is distributed primarily through a network of specialty pharmacy providers and wholesalers that allow for efficient delivery of the medication by mail directly to patients or direct delivery to the patient’s pharmacy. Our
distribution process uses a model that is well-established and familiar to physicians who practice within the oncology field.
To further support appropriate use and future development of JAKAFI, our U.S. Medical Affairs department is responsible for providing appropriate scientific and medical education and information to physicians, preparing scientific presentations and publications, and overseeing the process for supporting investigator sponsored trials.
Myelofibrosis. Myelofibrosis is a rare, life-threatening condition. MF, considered the most serious of the myeloproliferative neoplasms, can occur either as primary MF, or as secondary MF that develops in some patients who previously had polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia. We estimate there are between 16,000 and 18,500 patients with MF in the United States. Based on the modern prognostic scoring systems referred to as International Prognostic Scoring System and Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System, we believe intermediate and high-risk patients represent 80% to 90% of all patients with MF in the United States and encompass patients over the age of 65, or patients who have or have ever had any of the following: anemia, constitutional symptoms, elevated white blood cell or blast counts, or platelet counts less than 100,000 per microliter of blood.
Most MF patients have enlarged spleens and many suffer from debilitating symptoms, including abdominal discomfort, pruritus (itching), night sweats and cachexia (involuntary weight loss). There were no FDA approved therapies for MF until the approval of JAKAFI.
The FDA approval was based on results from two randomized Phase III trials (COMFORT-I and COMFORT-II), which demonstrated that patients treated with JAKAFI experienced significant reductions in splenomegaly (enlarged spleen). COMFORT-I also demonstrated improvements in symptoms. The most common hematologic adverse reactions in both trials were thrombocytopenia and anemia. These events rarely led to discontinuation of JAKAFI treatment. The most common non-hematologic adverse reactions were bruising, dizziness and headache.
In August 2014, the FDA approved supplemental labeling for JAKAFI to include Kaplan-Meier overall survival curves as well as additional safety and dosing information. The overall survival information is based on three-year data from COMFORT-I and II, and shows that at three years the probability of survival for patients treated with JAKAFI in COMFORT-I was 70% and for those patients originally randomized to placebo it was 61%. In COMFORT-II, at three years the probability of survival for patients treated with JAKAFI was 79% and for patients originally randomized to best available therapy it was 59%. In December 2016, we announced an exploratory pooled analysis of data from the five-year follow-up of the COMFORT-I and COMFORT-II trials of patients treated with JAKAFI, which further supported previously published overall survival findings.
In September 2016, we announced that JAKAFI had been included as a recommended treatment in the latest National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for myelofibrosis, underscoring the important and long-term clinical benefits seen in patients treated with JAKAFI.
In October 2017, the FDA approved updated labeling for JAKAFI to include the addition of new patient-reported outcome (PRO) data from the COMFORT-I study, as well as updating the warning related to progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. An exploratory analysis of PRO data of patients with myelofibrosis receiving JAKAFI showed improvement in fatigue-related symptoms at Week 24. Fatigue response (defined as a reduction of 4.5 points or more from baseline in the PROMIS® Fatigue total score) was reported in 35% of patients treated with JAKAFI versus 14% of the patients treated with placebo.
Polycythemia Vera. PV is a myeloproliferative neoplasm typically characterized by elevated hematocrit, the volume percentage of red blood cells in whole blood, which can lead to a thickening of the blood and an increased risk of blood clots, as well as an elevated white blood cell and platelet count. When phlebotomy can no longer control PV, chemotherapy such as hydroxyurea, or interferon, is utilized. Approximately 25,000 patients with PV in the United States are considered uncontrolled because they have an inadequate response to or are intolerant of hydroxyurea, the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of PV.
In December 2014, the FDA approved JAKAFI for the treatment of patients with PV who have had an inadequate response to or are intolerant of hydroxyurea. The approval of JAKAFI for PV was based on data from the pivotal Phase III
RESPONSE trial. In this trial, patients treated with JAKAFI demonstrated superior hematocrit control and reductions in spleen volume compared to best available therapy. In addition, a greater proportion of patients treated with JAKAFI achieved complete hematologic remission—which was defined as achieving hematocrit control, and lowering platelet and white blood cell counts. In the RESPONSE trial, the most common hematologic adverse reactions (incidence > 20%) were thrombocytopenia and anemia. The most common non-hematologic adverse events (incidence >10%) were headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, pruritus, dyspnea and muscle spasms.
In March 2016, the FDA approved supplemental labeling for JAKAFI to include additional safety data as well as efficacy analyses from the RESPONSE trial to assess the durability of response in JAKAFI treated patients after 80 weeks. At this time, 83% patients were still on treatment, and 76% of the responders at 32 weeks maintained their response through 80 weeks.
In June 2016, we announced data from the Phase III RESPONSE-2 study of JAKAFI in patients with inadequately controlled PV that was resistant to or intolerant of hydroxyurea who did not have an enlarged spleen. These data showed that JAKAFI was superior to best available therapy in maintaining hematocrit control (62.2% vs. 18.7%, respectively; P<0.0001) without the need for phlebotomy.
In August 2017, we announced that JAKAFI had been included as a recommended treatment in the latest NCCN Guidelines for patients with polycythemia vera who have had an inadequate response to first-line therapies, such as hydroxyurea.
Graft-versus-host disease. GVHD is a condition that can occur after an allogeneic HSCT (the transfer of genetically dissimilar stem cells or tissue). In GVHD, the donated bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells view the recipient’s body as foreign and attack various tissues. 12-month survival rates in patients with Grade III or IV steroid-refractory acute GVHD are 50% or less, and the incidence of steroid-refractory acute and chronic GVHD is approximately 3,000 per year in the United States.
In June 2016, we announced that the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for ruxolitinib in patients with acute GVHD. In May 2019, the FDA approved JAKAFI for the treatment of steroid-refractory acute GVHD in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older. The approval was based on data from REACH1, an open-label, single-arm, multicenter study of JAKAFI in combination with corticosteroids in patients with steroid-refractory grade II-IV acute GVHD. The overall response rate (ORR) in patients refractory to steroids alone was 57% with a complete response (CR) rate of 31%. The most frequently reported adverse reactions among all study participants were infections (55%) and edema (51%), and the most common laboratory abnormalities were anemia (75%), thrombocytopenia (75%) and neutropenia (58%).
We have retained all development and commercialization rights to JAKAFI in the United States and are eligible to receive development and commercial milestones as well as royalties from product sales outside the United States. We hold patents that cover the composition of matter and use of ruxolitinib which patents, including applicable extensions, expire in late 2027.
Marketed Indications - ICLUSIG (ponatinib)
In June 2016, we acquired the European operations of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARIAD) and obtained an exclusive license to develop and commercialize ICLUSIG (ponatinib) in Europe and other select countries. ICLUSIG is a kinase inhibitor. The primary target for ICLUSIG is BCR-ABL, an abnormal tyrosine kinase that is expressed in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).
In the European Union, ICLUSIG is approved for the treatment of adult patients with chronic phase, accelerated phase or blast phase CML who are resistant to dasatinib or nilotinib; who are intolerant to dasatinib or nilotinib and for whom subsequent treatment with imatinib is not clinically appropriate; or who have the T315I mutation, or the treatment of adult patients with Ph+ ALL who are resistant to dasatinib; who are intolerant to dasatinib and for whom subsequent treatment with imatinib is not clinically appropriate; or who have the T315I mutation.
Clinical Programs in Oncology
We believe that the future of cancer treatment lies in the use of targeted therapies, which aim to block the effects of cancer-causing mutations, and immune therapies, which seek to recruit the patient’s own immune system to tackle cancer. Our most advanced programs are detailed below.
JAK Inhibition
As part of our ongoing LIMBER (Leadership in MPNs BEyond Ruxolitinib) clinical development initiative, which is designed to improve and expand therapeutic options for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms, we are evaluating combinations of ruxolitinib with other therapeutic modalities, as well as developing a once-a-day formulation of ruxolitinib for potential use as monotherapy and combination therapy. Based on positive Phase II data, we are preparing a pivotal trial program of ruxolitinib in combination with parsaclisib (PI3Kδ). Additional Phase II trials combining ruxolitinib with investigational agents from our portfolio such as INCB53914 (PIM), INCB57643 (BET) and INCB00928 (ALK2) in patients with MF are either ongoing or in preparation.
Following positive proof-of-concept data, we initiated the pivotal RESET trial investigating ruxolitinib for the treatment of patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET). In February 2020, it was decided to end recruitment into the RESET trial.
The REACH clinical program evaluates ruxolitinib in patients with steroid-refractory GVHD and includes REACH2, a Novartis-sponsored Phase III trial in steroid-refractory acute GVHD, and REACH3, a Phase III trial in steroid-refractory chronic GVHD that is co-sponsored by Incyte and Novartis.
In October 2019, we and Novartis announced that REACH2 met its primary endpoint of superior ORR at Day 28 with ruxolitinib treatment compared to best available therapy. No new safety signals were observed, and the ruxolitinib safety profile in REACH2 was consistent with that seen in previously reported studies in steroid-refractory acute GVHD. The result of REACH3 is expected to be available in 2020.
A second JAK inhibitor in development is itacitinib, which is a selective JAK1 inhibitor. In January 2020, we announced that in the pivotal Phase III GRAVITAS-301 trial in patients with steroid-naïve acute GVHD, itacitinib plus corticosteroids did not meet the primary endpoint of improving ORR at Day 28 compared to placebo plus corticosteroids. Itacitinib is also being evaluated in GRAVITAS-309, a pivotal Phase III trial of itacitinib in patients with steroid-naïve chronic GVHD. The FDA has granted itacitinib orphan drug status for GVHD.
FGFR1/2/3 Inhibition
Pemigatinib is a potent and selective inhibitor of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) isoforms 1, 2 and 3 with demonstrated activity in preclinical studies. The FGFR family of receptor tyrosine kinases can act as oncogenic drivers in a number of liquid and solid tumor types.
We initiated the FIGHT clinical program to evaluate pemigatinib across a spectrum of cancers that are driven by FGF/FGFR alterations. The program initially included three Phase II trials – FIGHT-201 in patients with bladder cancer, FIGHT-202 in patients with cholangiocarcinoma, and FIGHT-203 in patients with 8p11 myeloproliferative syndrome (8p11 MPN). Based on data generated from these ongoing trials, we have initiated additional trials, including FIGHT-205, which is evaluating pemigatinib plus pembrolizumab versus pemigatinib alone versus standard of care for metastatic or unresectable urothelial carcinoma in cisplatin-ineligible patients whose tumors express FGFR3 mutation or rearrangement, and FIGHT-207 which is a solid tumor-agnostic trial evaluating pemigatinib in patients with driver-alterations of FGF/FGFR.
In September 2019, we announced positive updated data from the FIGHT-202 trial evaluating pemigatinib in patients with advanced/metastatic or surgically unresectable cholangiocarcinoma who failed at least one previous treatment. FIGHT-302, a Phase III trial of pemigatinib for the first-line treatment of patients with cholangiocarcinoma and FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements was initiated in June 2019.
In November 2019, we announced that the FDA had accepted for Priority Review our New Drug Application (NDA) for pemigatinib as a treatment for patients with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date is May 30, 2020. In January 2020, we announced that the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for pemigatinib as a treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with an FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement that is relapsed or refractory after at least one line of systemic therapy had been validated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer that arises from the cells within the bile ducts. It is often diagnosed late (stages III and IV) and the prognosis is poor. The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma with FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements is increasing, and it is currently estimated that there are 2,000-3,000 patients in the U.S., Europe and Japan.
Pemigatinib has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA as a treatment for patients with previously treated, advanced/metastatic or unresectable FGFR2 translocated cholangiocarcinoma and as a treatment for patients with myeloid/lymphoid neoplasms with FGFR1 rearrangement (8p11 MPN) who have relapsed or are refractory to initial chemotherapy.
PD-1 Antagonism
In October 2017, we and MacroGenics, Inc. announced an exclusive global collaboration and license agreement for MacroGenics’ INCMGA0012, an investigational monoclonal antibody that inhibits PD-1. Under this collaboration, we obtained exclusive worldwide rights for the development and commercialization of INCMGA0012 in all indications. The molecule is currently being evaluated both as monotherapy and in combination therapy across various tumor types. Potentially registration-enabling trials in anal cancer, MSI-high endometrial cancer and Merkel cell carcinoma are ongoing, and a Phase III program evaluating INCMGA0012 in first-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is in preparation.
PI3K-delta Inhibition
The PI3K-delta pathway mediates oncogenic signaling in B cell malignancies. Parsaclisib is a PI3K-delta inhibitor that has demonstrated potency and selectivity in preclinical studies and has potential therapeutic utility in the treatment of patients with lymphoma. We initiated the CITADEL clinical program to evaluate parsaclisib in non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and we are currently running Phase II trials in follicular lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma.
| Indication and status | |
| Ruxolitinib (JAK1/JAK2) | Steroid-refractory chronic GVHD: Phase III (REACH3)1 Refractory myelofibrosis: Phase III with parsaclisib (PI3Kδ) in preparation; Phase II with INCB53914 (PIM) ongoing, INCB57643 (BET) in preparation Myelofibrosis: Phase II with INCB00928 (ALK2) in preparation |
| Once-a-day ruxolitinib (JAK1/JAK2) | Myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera: clinical pharmacology studies |
| Itacitinib (JAK1) | Treatment-naïve chronic GVHD: Phase III (GRAVITAS-309) |
| Pemigatinib (FGFR1/2/3) | Cholangiocarcinoma: Phase II (FIGHT-202), Phase III (FIGHT-302) Bladder cancer: Phase II (FIGHT-201, FIGHT-205) 8p11 MPN: Phase II (FIGHT-203) Tumor agnostic: Phase II (FIGHT-207) |
| Parsaclisib (PI3Kδ) | Follicular lymphoma: Phase II (CITADEL-203) Marginal zone lymphoma: Phase II (CITADEL-204) Mantle cell lymphoma: Phase II (CITADEL-205) |
| **INCMGA0012 (PD-1)**2 | MSI-high endometrial cancer: Phase II (POD1UM-101) Merkel cell carcinoma: Phase II (POD1UM-201) Anal cancer: Phase II (POD1UM-202) NSCLC: Phase III (PODIUM-301, PODIUM-304) in preparation |
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Clinical development of ruxolitinib in GVHD conducted in collaboration with Novartis.
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INCMGA0012 licensed from MacroGenics.
Earlier-Stage Programs
We also have a number of other earlier-stage clinical programs, as detailed in the table below. We intend to describe these programs more fully if we obtain clinical proof-of-concept and establish that a program warrants further development in a specific indication or group of indications.
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| Modality | Candidates | |
| Small molecules | INCB01158 (ARG)1, INCB81776 (AXL/MER), INCB62079 (FGFR4), epacadostat (IDO1), INCB59872 (LSD1), INCB86550 (PD-L1) | |
| Monoclonal antibodies2 | INCAGN1876 (GITR), INCAGN2385 (LAG-3), INCAGN1949 (OX40), INCAGN2390 (TIM-3) | |
| Bispecific antibodies | MCLA-145 (PD-L1xCD137)3 | |
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INCB01158 development in collaboration with Calithera Biosciences, Inc.
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Discovery collaboration with Agenus Inc.
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MCLA-145 development in collaboration with Merus N.V.
Clinical Programs outside Oncology
In June 2018, we announced that a Phase II trial of ruxolitinib cream for the topical treatment of atopic dermatitis showed a significant benefit over vehicle control and a global, pivotal Phase III program was initiated in December 2018. In January 2020, we announced that TRuE-AD2, the first of two Phase III trials in the TRuE-AD development program of ruxolitinib cream in patients with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, met its primary endpoint. The overall efficacy and safety profile observed in TRuE-AD2 was consistent with previous data, and no new safety signals were observed. Atopic dermatitis is a skin disorder that causes the skin to become red, scaly, and itchy. Onset can occur at any age, but is more common in infants and children. In the United States, we estimate that there are approximately 10 million diagnosed and treated adolescent and adult patients with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis.
In June 2019, primary endpoint data after 6 months of therapy from the Phase II trial of ruxolitinib cream in patients with vitiligo showed a significant benefit over vehicle control, and a global, pivotal Phase III program was initiated in September 2019. In October 2019, updated data from the Phase II trial showed, after 12 months of therapy, additional improvement in the repigmentation of vitiligo lesions. Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment. It is estimated that vitiligo affects 0.5-2% of the US population and, therefore, there are at least 1.5 million patients in the United States with this disorder. There are no FDA approved treatments for repigmentation of vitiligo lesions.
A Phase II trial of INCB54707, a JAK1 selective inhibitor, is ongoing in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa, an inflammatory skin disease. A Phase II trial of parsaclisib in patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a rare red blood cell disorder, is also ongoing.
A Phase II trial of INCB00928 is in preparation for patients with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a disorder in which muscle tissue and connective tissue are gradually replaced by bone.
The Phase II trial of itacitinib in patients with ulcerative colitis has been discontinued and initial data from the Phase II trial of parsaclisib in patients with Sjögren's syndrome do not warrant continuation of the trial.
| Indication and status | |
| Ruxolitinib cream1**(JAK1/JAK2)** | Atopic dermatitis: Phase III (TRuE-AD1 ongoing, TRuE-AD2 primary endpoint met) Vitiligo: Phase III (TRuE-V1, TRuE-V2) |
| INCB54707 (JAK1) | Hidradenitis suppurativa: Phase II |
| Parsaclisib (PI3Kδ) | Autoimmune hemolytic anemia: Phase II |
| INCB00928 (ALK2) | Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva: Phase II in preparation |
- Novartis’ rights for ruxolitinib outside of the United States under our Collaboration and License Agreement with Novartis do not include topical administration.
Partnered Programs
Baricitinib
We have a second JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, baricitinib, which is subject to our collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company, in which Lilly received exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to the compound for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The Phase III program of baricitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis incorporated all three rheumatoid arthritis populations (methotrexate naïve, biologic naïve, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor inadequate responders); used event rates to fully power the baricitinib program for structural comparison and non-inferiority vs. adalimumab; and evaluated patient-reported outcomes. All four Phase III trials met their respective primary endpoints.
In January 2016, Lilly submitted an NDA to the FDA and an MAA to the EMA for baricitinib as treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. In February 2017, we and Lilly announced that the European Commission approved baricitinib as OLUMIANT for the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients who have responded inadequately to, or who are intolerant to, one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). In July 2017, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) granted marketing approval for OLUMIANT for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (including the prevention of structural injury of joints) in patients with inadequate response to standard-of-care therapies. In June 2018, the FDA approved the 2mg dose of OLUMIANT for the treatment of adults with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor therapies.
Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease characterized by aberrant or abnormal immune mechanisms that lead to joint inflammation and swelling and, in some patients, the progressive destruction of joints. Rheumatoid arthritis can also affect connective tissue in the skin and organs of the body.
Current rheumatoid arthritis treatments include the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, such as methotrexate, and the newer biological response modifiers that target pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor, implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. None of these approaches to treatment is curative; therefore, there remains an unmet need for new safe and effective treatment options for these patients. Rheumatoid arthritis is estimated to affect about 1% of the world’s population.
Atopic Dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis (AtD) is a condition that makes the skin red and itchy and which is common in children but can occur at any age. Atopic dermatitis is long lasting and tends to flare periodically and then subside. Lilly has conducted a Phase IIa trial and a Phase III program to evaluate the safety and efficacy of baricitinib in patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. The JAK-STAT pathway has been shown to play an essential role in the dysregulation of immune responses in atopic dermatitis. Therefore, we believe that inhibiting cytokine pathways dependent
on JAK1 and JAK2 may lead to positive clinical outcomes in atopic dermatitis.
In February 2019, we and Lilly announced that baricitinib met the primary endpoint in BREEZE-AD1 and BREEZE-AD2, two Phase III studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of baricitinib monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe AtD and, in August 2019, we and Lilly announced that baricitinib met the primary endpoint in BREEZE-AD7, a Phase III study evaluating the efficacy and safety of baricitinib in combination with standard-of-care topical corticosteroids in patients with moderate to severe AtD. In January 2020, we and Lilly announced that baricitinib met the primary endpoint in both BREEZE-AD4 and BREEZE-AD5, the results of which complete the placebo-controlled data program intended to support global registrations. In January 2020, Lilly announced that baricitinib had been submitted for regulatory review in Europe as a treatment for patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic disease that causes inflammation. In addition to affecting the skin and joints, it can affect other organs in the body such as the kidneys, the tissue lining the lungs and heart, and the brain. Lilly has conducted a Phase II trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of baricitinib in patients with SLE. Baricitinib’s activity profile suggests that it inhibits cytokines implicated in SLE such as type I interferon (IFN), type II IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-23 as well as other cytokines that may have a role in SLE, including granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-12. The potential impact of baricitinib on the IFN pathway is highly relevant to SLE, as clinical and preclinical studies have established that this pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. Lilly is currently running a Phase III trial of baricitinib in patients with SLE.
Alopecia Areata. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the hair follicles, causing hair loss in patches. Lilly has initiated the Phase III portion of the ongoing Phase II/III trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of baricitinib in patients with severe alopecia areata.
Capmatinib
Capmatinib is a potent and highly selective MET inhibitor. The investigational compound has demonstrated inhibitory activity in cell-based biochemical and functional assays that measure MET signaling and MET dependent cell proliferation, survival and migration. Under our agreement, Novartis received worldwide exclusive development and commercialization rights to capmatinib and certain back-up compounds in all indications. Capmatinib is being evaluated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumors, and may have potential utility as a combination agent.
MET is a clinically validated receptor kinase cancer target. Abnormal MET activation in cancer correlates with poor prognosis. Dysregulation of the MET pathway triggers tumor growth, formation of new blood vessels that supply the tumor with nutrients, and causes cancer to spread to other organs. Dysregulation of the MET pathway is seen in many types of cancers, including lung, kidney, liver, stomach, breast and brain.
In June 2019, we and Novartis announced positive updated results from the GEOMETRY mono-1 Phase II clinical trial of capmatinib in patients with advanced NSCLC harboring MET exon 14 skipping mutations. In December 2019, Novartis submitted the NDA seeking approval of capmatinib, and in February 2020 we and Novartis announced that the NDA had been accepted for Priority Review by the FDA. Capmatinib has also been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA as a treatment for patients with metastatic NSCLC harboring MET exon-14 skipping mutations, both for treatment-naive patients and for patients previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.
NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, impacting more than 2 million people per year. Approximately 3-4 percent of all patients with NSCLC have an identified MET mutation. Though rare, this mutation is an indicator of especially poor prognosis and poor responses to standard therapies, including immunotherapy. There is currently no approved therapy designed to selectively target this mutation.
| Indication and status | |
| **Baricitinib (JAK1/JAK2)**1 | Atopic dermatitis: Phase III (BREEZE-AD) Systemic lupus erythematosus: Phase III Severe alopecia areata: Phase III |
| **Capmatinib (MET)**2 | NSCLC (with MET exon 14 skipping mutations): NDA submitted by Novartis in 2019 |
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Baricitinib licensed to Lilly
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Capmatinib licensed to Novartis
License Agreements and Business Relationships
We establish business relationships, including collaborative arrangements with other companies and medical research institutions to assist in the clinical development and/or commercialization of certain of our drugs and drug candidates and to provide support for our research programs. We also evaluate opportunities for acquiring products or rights to products and technologies that are complementary to our business from other companies and medical research institutions.
Below is a brief description of our significant business relationships and collaborations and related license agreements that expand our pipeline and provide us with certain rights to existing and potential new products and technologies.
Novartis
In November 2009, we entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with Novartis. Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis received exclusive development and commercialization rights outside of the United States to ruxolitinib and certain back-up compounds for hematologic and oncology indications, including all hematological malignancies, solid tumors and myeloproliferative diseases. We retained exclusive development and commercialization rights to JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) in the United States and in certain other indications. Novartis also received worldwide exclusive development and commercialization rights to our MET inhibitor compound capmatinib and certain back-up compounds in all indications. We retained options to co-develop and to co-promote capmatinib in the United States.
Under this agreement, we received an upfront payment and immediate milestone payment totaling $210.0 million and were initially eligible to receive additional payments of up to approximately $1.2 billion if defined development and commercialization milestones are achieved. We are also eligible to receive tiered, double-digit royalties ranging from the upper-teens to the mid-twenties percent on future ruxolitinib net sales outside of the United States, and tiered, worldwide royalties on future capmatinib net sales that range from 12% to 14%. In addition, Novartis has received reimbursement and pricing approval for ruxolitinib in a specified number of countries, and we are now obligated to pay to Novartis tiered royalties in the low single-digits on future ruxolitinib net sales within the United States. Each company is responsible for costs relating to the development and commercialization of ruxolitinib in its respective territories, with costs of collaborative studies shared equally. Novartis is also responsible for all costs relating to the development and commercialization of capmatinib.
In April 2016, we amended this agreement to provide that Novartis has exclusive research, development and commercialization rights outside of the United States to ruxolitinib (excluding topical formulations) in the GVHD field. Under this amendment, we received a $5.0 million payment in exchange for the development and commercialization rights to ruxolitinib in GVHD outside of the United States and became eligible to receive up to $75.0 million of additional potential development and regulatory milestones relating to GVHD. In March 2017, we recognized a $25.0 million milestone for the first patient first visit in a GVHD study and in December 2017, we recognized a $40.0 million milestone for Novartis achieving annual net sales of a JAK licensed product of $600.0 million. In December 2018, we recognized a $60.0 million milestone for Novartis achieving annual net sales of a JAK licensed product of $900.0 million.
The Novartis agreement will continue on a program-by-program basis until Novartis has no royalty payment obligations with respect to such program or, if earlier, the termination of the agreement or any program in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Royalties are payable by Novartis on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis until the latest to occur of (i) the expiration of the last valid claim of the licensed patent rights covering the licensed product in the relevant country, (ii) the expiration of regulatory exclusivity for the licensed product in such country and (iii) a specified period from first commercial sale in such country of the licensed product by Novartis or its affiliates or sublicensees. The agreement may be terminated in its entirety or on a program-by-program basis by Novartis for convenience. The agreement may also be terminated by either party under certain other circumstances, including material breach.
Lilly
In December 2009, we entered into a License, Development and Commercialization Agreement with Lilly. Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly received exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to baricitinib and certain back-up compounds for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. We received an initial payment of $90.0 million, and were initially eligible to receive additional payments of up to $665.0 million based on the achievement of defined development, regulatory and commercialization milestones.
We retained options to co-develop our JAK1/JAK2 inhibitors with Lilly on a compound-by-compound and indication-by-indication basis. Lilly is responsible for all costs relating to the development and commercialization of the compounds unless we elect to co-develop any compounds or indications. If we elect to co-develop any compounds and/or indications, we would be responsible for funding 30% of the associated future global development costs from the initiation of a Phase IIb trial through regulatory approval, including post-launch studies required by a regulatory authority. We would receive an incremental royalty rate increase across all tiers resulting in effective royalty rates ranging up to the high twenties on potential future global net sales for compounds and/or indications that we elect to co-develop. For indications that we elect not to co-develop, we would receive tiered, double-digit royalty payments on future global net sales with rates ranging up to 20% if the product is successfully commercialized. If we have started co-development funding for any indication, we can at any time opt out and stop future co-development cost sharing. If we elect to do this, we would still be eligible for our base royalties plus an incremental pro-rated royalty commensurate with our contribution to the total co-development cost for those indications for which we co-funded. We previously had retained an option to co-promote products in the United States but, in March 2016, we waived our co-promotion option as part of an amendment to the agreement.
In July 2010, we elected to co-develop baricitinib with Lilly in rheumatoid arthritis, and subsequently in several additional indications, and became responsible for funding 30% of the associated global development costs for such indications from the initiation of the Phase IIb trial through regulatory approval, including post-launch studies required by a regulatory authority. In April 2019, we elected to end additional co-funding of the development of baricitinib in all indications, effective as of January 1, 2019. Pursuant to the terms of the Lilly agreement, we will continue to receive base tiered royalties on global net sales of OLUMIANT in all indications, as well as pro-rated incremental royalties, as described above.
In March 2016, we entered into an amendment to the agreement with Lilly that allows us to engage in the development and commercialization of ruxolitinib in the GVHD field. Upon execution of the amendment, we paid Lilly an upfront payment of $35.0 million and Lilly is eligible to receive up to $40.0 million in regulatory milestone payments relating to ruxolitinib in the GVHD field. In May 2019, the approval of JAKAFI in steroid-refractory acute GVHD triggered a $20.0 million milestone payment to Lilly.
In February 2017, the European Commission announced the approval of baricitinib as OLUMIANT, triggering a $65.0 million milestone payment from Lilly. In July 2017, Japan's MHLW granted marketing approval for OLUMIANT, triggering a $15.0 million milestone payment from Lilly. In December 2017, we recognized a $30.0 million milestone payment for the first patient treated in the atopic dermatitis Phase III program for baricitinib. In June 2018, the FDA approved the 2mg dose of OLUMIANT, triggering a $100.0 million milestone payment from Lilly. In September 2018, we recognized a $20.0 million milestone payment for the first patient treated in the systemic lupus erythematosus Phase III program for baricitinib.
The Lilly agreement will continue until Lilly no longer has any royalty payment obligations or, if earlier, the termination of the agreement in accordance with its terms. Royalties are payable by Lilly on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis until the latest to occur of (i) the expiration of the last valid claim of the licensed patent rights covering the licensed product in the relevant country, (ii) the expiration of regulatory exclusivity for the licensed product in such country and (iii) a specified period from first commercial sale in such country of the licensed product by Lilly or its affiliates or sublicensees. The agreement may be terminated by Lilly for convenience, and may also be terminated under certain other circumstances, including material breach.
Agenus
In January 2015, we entered into a License, Development and Commercialization Agreement with Agenus Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, 4-Antibody AG (now known as Agenus Switzerland Inc.), which we collectively refer to as Agenus. Under this agreement, the parties have agreed to collaborate on the discovery of novel immuno-therapeutics using Agenus’ antibody discovery platforms. In February 2017, we and Agenus amended this agreement.
Under the terms of this agreement, as amended, we received exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to four checkpoint modulators directed against GITR, OX40, LAG-3 and TIM-3. In addition to the initial four program targets, we and Agenus have the option to jointly nominate and pursue additional targets within the framework of the collaboration, and in November 2015, three more targets were added. Targets may be designated profit-share programs, where all costs and profits are shared equally by us and Agenus, or royalty-bearing programs, where we are responsible for all costs associated with discovery, preclinical, clinical development and commercialization activities. The programs relating to GITR and OX40 and two of the undisclosed targets were profit-share programs until February 2017, while the other targets currently under collaboration are royalty-bearing programs. The February 2017 amendment converted the programs relating to GITR and OX40 to royalty-bearing programs and removed from the collaboration the profit-share programs relating to the two undisclosed targets, with one reverting to us and one reverting to Agenus. Should any of those removed programs be successfully developed by a party, the other party will be eligible to receive the same milestone payments as the royalty-bearing programs and royalties at a 15% rate on global net sales. There are currently no profit-share programs. For each royalty-bearing product other than GITR and OX40, Agenus will be eligible to receive tiered royalties on global net sales ranging from 6% to 12%. For GITR and OX40, Agenus will be eligible to receive 15% royalties on global net sales. Under the February 2017 amendment, we paid Agenus $20.0 million in accelerated milestones relating to the clinical development of the GITR and OX40 programs. Agenus is eligible to receive up to an additional $510.0 million in future contingent development, regulatory and commercialization milestones across all programs in the collaboration. The agreement may be terminated by us for convenience upon 12 months’ notice and may also be terminated under certain other circumstances, including material breach.
Takeda (ARIAD)
In June 2016, we acquired from ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. all of the outstanding shares of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l., the parent company of ARIAD’s European subsidiaries responsible for the development and commercialization of ICLUSIG in the European Union and other countries. We obtained an exclusive license to develop and commercialize ICLUSIG in Europe and other select countries. ARIAD was subsequently acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in 2017. As such, Takeda will be eligible to receive from us tiered royalties on net sales of ICLUSIG in our territory and up to $135.0 million in potential future oncology development and regulatory approval milestone payments, together with additional milestone payments for non-oncology indications, if approved, in our territory.
Merus
In December 2016, we entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with Merus N.V. Under this agreement, which became effective in January 2017, the parties have agreed to collaborate with respect to the research, discovery and development of bispecific antibodies utilizing Merus’ technology platform. The collaboration encompasses up to eleven independent programs.
The most advanced collaboration program is MCLA-145, a bispecific antibody targeting PD-L1 and CD137, for which we received exclusive development and commercialization rights outside of the United States. Merus retained exclusive development and commercialization rights in the United States to MCLA-145. Each party will share equally the costs of mutually agreed global development activities for MCLA-145, and fund itself any independent development activities in its territory. Merus will be responsible for commercializing MCLA-145 in the United States and we will be responsible for commercializing it outside of the United States.
In addition to receiving rights to MCLA-145 outside of the United States, we received worldwide exclusive development and commercialization rights to up to ten additional programs. Of these ten additional programs, Merus retained the option, subject to certain conditions, to co-fund development of up to two such programs. If Merus exercises its co-funding option for a program, Merus would be responsible for funding 35% of the associated future global development costs and, for certain of such programs, would be responsible for reimbursing us for certain development costs incurred prior to the option exercise. Merus will also have the right to participate in a specified proportion of detailing activities in the United States for one of those co-developed programs. All costs related to the co-funded collaboration programs are subject to joint research and development plans and overseen by a joint development committee, but we will have final determination as to such plans in cases of dispute. We will be responsible for all research, development and commercialization costs relating to all other programs.
In February 2017, we paid Merus an upfront non-refundable payment of $120.0 million. For each program as to which Merus does not have commercialization or development co-funding rights, Merus will be eligible to receive up to $100.0 million in future contingent development and regulatory milestones, and up to $250.0 million in commercialization milestones as well as tiered royalties ranging from 6% to 10% of global net sales. For each program as to which Merus exercises its option to co-fund development, Merus will be eligible to receive a 50% share of profits (or sustain 50% of any losses) in the United States and be eligible to receive tiered royalties ranging from 6% to 10% of net sales of products outside of the United States. If Merus opts to cease co-funding a program as to which it exercised its co-development option, then Merus will no longer receive a share of profits in the United States but will be eligible to receive the same milestones from the co-funding termination date and the same tiered royalties described above with respect to programs where Merus does not have a right to co-fund development and, depending on the stage at which Merus chose to cease co-funding development costs, Merus will be eligible to receive additional royalties ranging up to 4% of net sales in the United States. For MCLA-145, we and Merus will each be eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales in the other party’s territory at rates ranging from 6% to 10%.
The Merus agreement will continue on a program-by-program basis until we have no royalty payment obligations with respect to such program or, if earlier, the termination of the agreement or any program in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The agreement may be terminated in its entirety or on a program-by-program basis by us for convenience. The agreement may also be terminated by either party under certain other circumstances, including material breach, as set forth in the agreement. If the agreement is terminated with respect to one or more programs, all rights in the terminated programs revert to Merus, subject to payment to us of a reverse royalty of up to 4% on sales of future products, if Merus elects to pursue development and commercialization of products arising from the terminated programs.
Calithera
In January 2017, we entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with Calithera Biosciences, Inc. Under this agreement, we received an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and commercialize small molecule arginase inhibitors, including INCB01158 (CB-1158), which is currently in Phase I clinical trials, for hematology and oncology indications. We have agreed to co-fund 70% of the global development costs for the development of the licensed products for hematology and oncology indications. Calithera will have the right to conduct certain clinical development under the collaboration, including combination studies of a licensed product with a proprietary compound of Calithera. We will be entitled to 60% of the profits and losses from net sales of licensed product in the United States, and Calithera will have the right to co-detail licensed products in the United States, and we have agreed to pay Calithera tiered royalties ranging from the low to mid-double digits on net sales of licensed products outside the United States. Calithera may opt out of its co-funding obligation, in which case the U.S. profit sharing will no longer be in effect, and we have agreed to pay Calithera tiered royalties ranging from the low to mid-double digits on net sales of licensed products both in the United States and outside the United States, and additional royalties to reimburse Calithera for previously incurred development costs.
Calithera retains rights to certain arginase inhibitors that are not part of the collaboration for specific orphan indications outside of hematology and oncology, subject to our rights to negotiate a license for any such programs under specified circumstances if Calithera elects to out-license them.
In January 2017, we paid Calithera an upfront license fee of $45.0 million and have agreed to pay potential development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of over $430.0 million if the profit share is in effect, or $750.0 million if the profit share terminates.
The Calithera agreement will continue on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis for so long as we are developing or commercializing products in the United States (if the parties are sharing profits in the United States) and until we have no further royalty payment obligations, unless earlier terminated according to the terms of the agreement. The agreement may be terminated in its entirety or on a product-by-product and/or a country-by-country basis by us for convenience. The agreement may also be terminated by us for Calithera’s uncured material breach, by Calithera for our uncured material breach and by either party for bankruptcy or patent challenge. If the agreement is terminated early with respect to one or more products or countries, all rights in the terminated products and countries revert to Calithera.
MacroGenics
In October 2017, we entered into a Global Collaboration and License Agreement with MacroGenics. Under this agreement, we received exclusive development and commercialization rights worldwide to MacroGenics’ INCMGA0012, an investigational monoclonal antibody that inhibits PD-1. Except as set forth in the succeeding sentence, we will have sole authority over and bear all costs and expenses in connection with the development and commercialization of INCMGA0012 in all indications, whether as a monotherapy or as part of a combination regimen. MacroGenics has retained the right to develop and commercialize, at its cost and expense, its pipeline assets in combination with INCMGA0012. In addition, MacroGenics has the right to manufacture a portion of both companies’ global clinical and commercial supply needs of INCMGA0012. In 2017, we paid MacroGenics an upfront payment of $150.0 million and in 2018, we paid MacroGenics milestones totaling $15.0 million. MacroGenics will be eligible to receive up to an additional $405.0 million in future contingent development and regulatory milestones, and up to $330.0 million in commercial milestones as well as tiered royalties ranging from 15% to 24% of global net sales.
The MacroGenics agreement will continue until we are no longer commercializing, developing or manufacturing INCMGA0012 or, if earlier, the termination of the agreement in accordance with its terms. The agreement may be terminated in its entirety or on a licensed product by licensed product basis by us for convenience. The agreement may also be terminated by either party under certain other circumstances, including material breach, as set forth in the agreement.
Syros
In January 2018, we entered into a target discovery, research collaboration and option agreement with Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Under this agreement, Syros will use its proprietary gene control platform to identify novel therapeutic targets with a focus in myeloproliferative neoplasms and we have received options to obtain exclusive worldwide rights to intellectual property resulting from the collaboration for up to seven validated targets. We will have exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any therapies under the collaboration that modulate those validated targets. We paid Syros $2.5 million in cash for access to proprietary technology and $7.5 million in cash for research and development services. We have agreed to pay Syros up to $54.0 million in target selection and option exercise fees should we decide to exercise all of our options under the agreement. For products resulting from the collaboration against each of the seven selected and validated targets, we have agreed to pay up to $50.0 million in potential development and regulatory milestones and up to $65.0 million in potential commercial milestones. Syros is also eligible to receive low single-digit royalties on net sales of products resulting from the collaboration.
Innovent
In December 2018, we entered into a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Innovent Biologics, Inc. Under the terms of this agreement, Innovent received exclusive development and commercialization rights to our
clinical-stage product candidates pemigatinib, itacitinib and parsaclisib in hematology and oncology in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. In January 2019, we recognized an upfront payment under this agreement of $40.0 million upon our transfer of the intellectual property related to the clinical-stage product candidates to Innovent. In addition, we are eligible to receive $20.0 million in connection with the first related IND filing in China, up to $129.0 million in potential development and regulatory milestones, and up to $202.5 million in potential commercial milestones. We are also eligible to receive tiered royalties from the high-teens to the low-twenties on future sales of products resulting from the collaboration. We retain an option to assist in the promotion of the three product candidates in the Innovent territories. In June 2019, we recognized the $20.0 million milestone for the first related IND filing in China.
Zai Lab
In July 2019, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement with a subsidiary of Zai Lab Limited. Under the terms of this agreement, Zai Lab received development and exclusive commercialization rights to INCMGA0012 in hematology and oncology in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. We recognized an upfront payment under this agreement of $17.5 million in August 2019 upon our transfer of technology related to the licensed product candidate to Zai Lab, and are eligible to receive an additional $60.0 million in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties from the low to mid-twenties. We also retain an option to assist in the promotion of INCMGA0012 in Zai Lab’s licensed territories.
MorphoSys
In January 2020, we entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with MorphoSys AG and MorphoSys US Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MorphoSys AG, covering the worldwide development and commercialization of MOR208 (tafasitamab), an investigational Fc engineered monoclonal antibody directed against the target molecule CD19 that is currently in clinical development by MorphoSys. MorphoSys has exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights to tafasitamab under a June 2010 collaboration and license agreement with Xencor, Inc. In December 2019, MorphoSys submitted a Biologics License Application to the FDA for tafasitamab for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
Under the terms of the agreement, we will receive exclusive commercialization rights outside of the United States, and MorphoSys and we will have co-commercialization rights in the United States, with respect to tafasitamab. MorphoSys will be responsible for leading the commercialization strategy and booking all revenue from sales of tafasitamab in the United States, and we and MorphoSys will both be responsible for commercialization efforts in the United States and will share equally the profits and losses from the co-commercialization efforts. We will lead the commercialization strategy outside of the United States, and will be responsible for commercialization efforts and book all revenue from sales of tafasitamab outside of the United States, subject to our royalty payment obligations set forth below. We and MorphoSys have agreed to co-develop tafasitamab and to share development costs associated with global and U.S.-specific clinical trials, with Incyte responsible for 55% of such costs and MorphoSys responsible for 45% of such costs. Each company will be responsible for funding any independent development activities, and we will be responsible for funding development activities specific to our territory. All development costs related to the collaboration will be subject to a joint development plan.
We have agreed to pay MorphoSys an upfront non-refundable payment of $750.0 million. MorphoSys will be eligible to receive up to $740.0 million in future contingent development and regulatory milestones and up to $315.0 million in commercialization milestones as well as tiered royalties ranging from the mid-teens to mid-twenties of net sales outside of the United States. MorphoSys’ right to receive royalties in any particular country will expire upon the last to occur of (a) the expiration of patent rights in that particular country, (b) a specified period of time after the first post-marketing authorization sale of a licensed product comprising tafasitamab in that country, and (c) the expiration of any regulatory exclusivity for that licensed product in that country.
The effectiveness of the agreement is conditioned on the early termination or expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 as well as clearance by the German and Austrian antitrust authorities.
Incyte’s Approach to Drug Discovery and Development
Our productivity in drug discovery is primarily a result of our core competency in medicinal chemistry which is tightly integrated with, and supported by, an experienced team of biologists and pharmaceutical scientists with expertise in multiple therapeutic areas. This discovery team operates in concert with an equally experienced drug development organization with expertise in clinical sciences, statistics, and regulatory affairs. Our drug development organization manages our clinical programs and utilizes clinical research organizations (CROs), expert scientific advisory boards, and leading consultants and suppliers as appropriate to ensure our clinical trials are conducted efficiently, effectively, and in accordance with regulatory and compliance guidelines.
To succeed in our objective to discover and advance novel therapeutics that address serious unmet medical needs, we have established a broad range of discovery capabilities in-house, including target validation, high-throughput screening, medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, and pharmacological and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) assessment. We augment these capabilities through collaborations with academic and contract laboratory resources with relevant expertise.
In addition to our small molecule expertise, we have added biotherapeutic antibody discovery capabilities. The collaboration with Agenus has provided us with access to their antibody discovery platform and provided us with both clinical antibodies and pre-clinical candidates. Recently, we have expanded our discovery reach to include bispecific antibodies through a collaboration with Merus. We are complementing these collaborations by building in-house antibody discovery, pharmacology, ADME and CMC capabilities and will partner these efforts with our small molecule portfolio.
Driven by a target- and pathway-centric discovery process, our pipeline has grown and is currently focused primarily in the area of oncology. We conduct a limited number of discovery programs in parallel at any one time. This focus allows us to allocate resources to our selected programs at a level that we believe is competitive with larger pharmaceutical companies. We continually modify the resourcing of our discovery efforts with the goals of maximizing information content when and where we need it and ensuring that each program, regardless of stage, is executed in the most efficient and data-rich manner possible. We believe this approach has played a critical role in the development of our product portfolio.
Once our compounds reach clinical development, our objective is to rapidly progress the lead candidate into a proof-of-concept clinical trial to quickly assess the therapeutic potential of the clinical candidate itself as well as its underlying mechanism of action. This information is then used to evaluate the compound’s development opportunities, identify the most appropriate indication or indications to pursue, and develop a clinical and regulatory plan to advance the molecule forward.
Our development teams are responsible for ensuring that our clinical candidates are expeditiously progressed through clinical safety, proof-of-concept, and formal efficacy/pivotal trials. Our development teams include employees with expertise in drug development, including clinical trial design, statistics, regulatory affairs, medical affairs, pharmacovigilance and project management. We have also built internal process chemistry and formulation teams that work closely with external GMP contract manufacturers to support our drug development efforts.
Incyte’s Commercial Strategy
Our strategy is to develop and commercialize our compounds on our own in selected markets where we believe a company of our size can successfully compete, such as in myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, GVHD and other oncology indications. In November 2011, we received regulatory approval of JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) in the United States for the treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis. Since that time, we have focused on increasing utilization of JAKAFI in this patient population. In December 2014, JAKAFI was approved for the treatment of patients with polycythemia vera who have had an inadequate response to or are intolerant of hydroxyurea. In May 2019, JAKAFI was approved for the treatment of steroid‐refractory acute GVHD in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older. We have expanded the marketing, medical, sales and operational infrastructure to support continued commercialization of JAKAFI in its three indications and to prepare for potential future indications of JAKAFI in the United States. We are expanding marketing,
medical and operational infrastructure outside of the United States and within the United States to prepare for potential approval of other products.
For rights to ruxolitinib outside the United States as well as for pipeline compounds that are outside of our core expertise, would require expensive clinical studies, or could be used in combination with other compounds or biologics, we have established or may in the future establish collaborations or strategic relationships to support development and commercialization, such as our collaborations with Novartis and Lilly for our JAK inhibitors. We believe the key benefits to entering into strategic relationships include the potential to receive upfront payments and future milestones and royalties in exchange for certain rights to our compounds, as well as the potential to expedite the development and commercialization of certain of our compounds.
ICLUSIG is approved in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with CML who are resistant to dasatinib or nilotinib; who are intolerant to dasatinib or nilotinib and for whom subsequent treatment with imatinib is not clinically appropriate, or who have the T315I mutation. ICLUSIG is also indicated in adult patients with Philadelphia positive AML who are resistant to dasatinib; who are intolerant to dasatinib and for whom subsequent treatment with imatinib is not clinically appropriate, or who have the T315I mutation. We are focused on increasing the utilization of ICLUSIG in this patient population within our territory as appropriate.
Patents and Other Intellectual Property
We regard the protection of patents and other enforceable intellectual property rights that we own or license as critical to our business and competitive position. Accordingly, we rely on patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright law, as well as nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements, to protect our intellectual property. We have established a patent portfolio of patents and patent applications owned or licensed by us that cover aspects of all our drug products and drug candidates. The patents and patent applications relating to our drug products and drug candidates generally include claims directed to the compounds, methods of using the compounds, formulations of the compounds, pharmaceutical salt forms of the compounds, and methods of manufacturing the compounds. Our policy is to pursue patent applications on inventions and discoveries that we believe are commercially important to the development and growth of our business. The following table sets forth the status of the patents and patent applications in the United States, the European Union, and Japan, covering our drug products and drug candidates in key programs that show at least proof of concept in their respective clinical development programs:
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| Drug/Drug Candidate (Target) | Status of United States Patent Estate (Earliest Anticipated Expirations, Subject to Potential Extensions and Payment of Maintenance Fees) | Status of European Union and Japan Patent Estate (Earliest Anticipated Expirations, Subject to Potential Extensions and Payment of Maintenance Fees) | |||||
| ruxolitinib (JAK) | | Granted and pending (2026) | | Granted and pending (2026) | | ||
| baricitinib (JAK) | | Granted and pending (2029) | | Granted and pending (2029) | | ||
| epacadostat (IDO1) | | Granted and pending (2029) | | Granted and pending (2029) | | ||
| itacitinib (JAK) | | Granted and pending (2031) | | Granted and pending (2031) | | ||
| capmatinib (MET) | | Granted and pending (2027) | | Granted and pending (2027) | | ||
| parsaclisib (PI3Kδ) | | Granted and pending (2032) | | Granted and pending (2032) | | ||
| pemigatinib (FGFR) | | Granted and pending (2033) | | Granted and pending (2033) | | ||
| ponatinib (BCR ABL) | | | | Granted and pending (2026) | | ||
| INCMGA0012 (PD-1) | | Pending (2036) | | Pending (2036) | |
Patents extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection afforded by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends on the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the country. For example, our U.S. patent covering the composition of matter of ruxolitinib has been extended to 2027.
We may seek to license rights relating to technologies, drug candidates or drug products in connection with our drug discovery and development programs and commercialization activities. Under these licenses, such as our licenses
from Agenus, ARIAD/Takeda, Calithera, MacroGenics, MorphoSys, and Merus we may be required to pay up-front fees, license fees, milestone payments and royalties on sales of future products.
Although we believe our rights under patents and patent applications provide a competitive advantage, the patent positions of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. We may not be able to develop patentable products or processes, and may not be able to obtain patents in the United States or elsewhere from pending applications. Even if patent claims are allowed, the claims may not issue, or in the event of issuance, may not be valid or enforceable or may not be sufficient to protect the technology owned by or licensed to us or provide us with a competitive advantage. Any patent or other intellectual property rights that we own or obtain may be circumvented, challenged or invalidated by our competitors. Others may have patents that relate to our business or technology and that may prevent us from marketing our drug candidates unless we are able to obtain a license to those patents. In addition, litigation or other proceedings may be necessary to defend against claims of infringement, to enforce patents, to protect our other intellectual property rights, to determine the scope and validity of the proprietary rights of third parties or to defend ourselves in patent or other intellectual property right suits brought by third parties. We could incur substantial costs in such litigation or other proceedings. An adverse outcome in any such litigation or proceeding could subject us to significant liability.
With respect to proprietary information that is not patentable, and for inventions for which patents are difficult to enforce, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect our interests. While we require all employees, consultants and potential business partners to enter into confidentiality agreements, we may not be able to adequately protect our trade secrets or other proprietary information. Others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets.
Competition
Our drug discovery, development and commercialization activities face, and will continue to face, intense competition from organizations such as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic and research institutions and government agencies. We face significant competition from organizations, particularly fully integrated pharmaceutical companies, that are pursuing pharmaceuticals that are competitive with JAKAFI, ICLUSIG and our drug candidates.
Many companies and institutions, either alone or together with their collaborative partners, have substantially greater financial resources, larger drug discovery, development and commercial staffs and significantly greater experience than we do in:
| ● | drug discovery; |
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| ● | developing products; |
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| ● | undertaking preclinical testing and clinical trials; |
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| ● | obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of products; and |
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| ● | manufacturing, marketing, distributing and selling products. |
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Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection, receiving FDA and other regulatory approval or commercializing products that compete with JAKAFI, ICLUSIG or our drug candidates.
In addition, any drug candidate that we successfully develop may compete with existing therapies that have long histories of safe and effective use. Competition may also arise from:
| ● | other drug development technologies and methods of preventing or reducing the incidence of disease; |
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| ● | new compounds; or |
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| ● | other classes of therapeutic agents. |
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We face and will continue to face intense competition from other companies for collaborative arrangements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, for establishing relationships with academic and research institutions and for licenses to drug candidates or proprietary technology. These competitors, either alone or with their collaborative partners, may succeed in developing products that are more effective or commercially successful than ours.
Our ability to compete successfully will depend, in part, on our ability to:
| ● | develop proprietary products; |
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| ● | develop and maintain products that reach the market first, are technologically superior to and/or are of lower cost than other products in the market; |
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| ● | attract and retain scientific, product development and sales and marketing personnel; |
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| ● | obtain patent or other proprietary protection for our products and technologies; |
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| ● | obtain required regulatory approvals; and |
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| ● | manufacture, market, distribute and sell any products that we develop. |
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In a number of countries, including in particular, developing countries, government officials and other groups have suggested that pharmaceutical companies should make drugs available at a low cost. In some cases, governmental authorities have indicated that where pharmaceutical companies do not do so, their patents might not be enforceable to prevent generic competition. Some major pharmaceutical companies have greatly reduced prices for their drugs in certain developing countries. If certain countries do not permit enforcement of any of our patents, sales of our products in those countries, and in other countries by importation from low-price countries, could be reduced by generic competition or by parallel importation of our product. Alternatively, governments in those countries could require that we grant compulsory licenses to allow competitors to manufacture and sell their own versions of our products in those countries, thereby reducing our product sales, or we could respond to governmental concerns by reducing prices for our products. In all of these situations, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
Government Regulation
Our ongoing research and development activities and any manufacturing and marketing of our approved drug products and our drug candidates are subject to extensive regulation by numerous governmental authorities in the United States and other countries. Before marketing in the United States, any drug developed by us must undergo rigorous preclinical testing, clinical trials, and an extensive regulatory clearance process implemented by the FDA under the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and its implementing regulations and, in the case of biologics, the Public Health Service Act. The FDA regulates, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, record-keeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale and distribution and import and export, of these products.
FDA Review and Approval Process
The regulatory review and approval process is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. The steps generally required before a drug may be marketed in the United States include:
| ● | preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies in compliance with the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice regulations; |
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| ● | submission to the FDA of an Investigational New Drug application (IND) for human clinical testing, which must become effective before human clinical trials may commence; |
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| ● | performance of adequate and well-controlled clinical trials in three phases, as described below, to establish the safety and efficacy of the drug for each indication; |
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| ● | submission of an NDA or Biologics License Application (BLA) to the FDA for review; |
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| ● | random inspections of clinical sites to ensure validity of clinical safety and efficacy data; |
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| ● | satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the drug is produced to assess compliance with current good manufacturing practices; |
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| ● | FDA approval of the NDA or BLA; and |
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| ● | payment of user and establishment fees, if applicable. |
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Similar requirements exist within foreign agencies as well. The time required to satisfy FDA requirements or similar requirements of foreign regulatory agencies may vary substantially based on the type, complexity and novelty of the product or the targeted disease.
Preclinical testing includes laboratory evaluation of product pharmacology, drug metabolism, and toxicity which includes animal studies, to assess potential safety and efficacy as well as product chemistry, stability, formulation, development, and testing. The results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information and analytical data, are submitted to the FDA as part of an IND. An IND will automatically become effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless before that time, the FDA raises safety concerns or questions about the conduct of the clinical trial(s) included in the IND. In the latter case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding FDA concerns or questions before clinical trials can proceed. We cannot be sure that submission of an IND will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to commence.
Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational drug to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators and in accordance with good clinical practices regulations covering the protection of human subjects. These regulations require all research subjects to provide informed consent. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Each protocol must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND and each trial must be reviewed and approved by an institutional review board (IRB) before it can begin.
Clinical trials typically are conducted in three sequential phases, but the phases may overlap or be combined. Phase I usually involves the initial introduction of the investigational drug into healthy volunteers to evaluate its safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion. Phase II usually involves clinical trials in a limited patient population to evaluate dosage tolerance and optimal dosage, identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, and evaluate and gain preliminary evidence of the efficacy of the drug for specific indications. Phase III clinical trials usually further evaluate clinical efficacy and safety by testing the drug in its final form in an expanded patient population, providing statistical evidence of efficacy and safety, and providing an adequate basis for labeling. We cannot guarantee that Phase I, Phase II or Phase III testing will be completed successfully within any specified period of time, if at all. Furthermore, we, the IRB, or the FDA may suspend clinical trials at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk.
As a separate amendment to an IND, a clinical trial sponsor may submit to the FDA a request for a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA). Under the SPA procedure, a sponsor may seek the FDA’s agreement on the design and size of a clinical trial intended to form the primary basis of an effectiveness claim. If the FDA agrees in writing, its agreement may not be changed after the trial begins, except when agreed by FDA or in limited circumstances, such as when a substantial scientific issue essential to determining the safety and effectiveness of a drug candidate is identified after a
Phase III clinical trial is commenced and agreement is obtained with the FDA. If the outcome of the trial is successful, the sponsor will ordinarily be able to rely on it as the primary basis for approval with respect to effectiveness. However, additional trials could also be requested by the FDA to support approval, and the FDA may make an approval decision based on a number of factors, including the degree of clinical benefit as well as safety. The FDA is not obligated to approve an NDA or BLA as a result of an SPA agreement, even if the clinical outcome is positive.
Even after initial FDA approval has been obtained, post-approval trials, or Phase IV studies, may be required to provide additional data, and will be required to obtain approval for the sale of a product as a treatment for a clinical indication other than that for which the product was initially tested and approved. Also, the FDA will require post-approval safety reporting to monitor the side effects of the drug. Results of post-approval programs may limit or expand the indication or indications for which the drug product may be marketed. Further, if there are any requests for modifications to the initial FDA approval for the drug, including changes in indication, manufacturing process, manufacturing facilities, or labeling, a supplemental NDA or BLA may be required to be submitted to the FDA.
The length of time and related costs necessary to complete clinical trials varies significantly and may be difficult to predict. Clinical results are frequently susceptible to varying interpretations that may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approvals. Additional factors that can cause delay or termination of our clinical trials, or cause the costs of these clinical trials to increase, include:
| ● | slow patient enrollment due to the nature of the protocol, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the study, competition with clinical trials for other drug candidates or other factors; |
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| ● | inadequately trained or insufficient personnel at the study site to assist in overseeing and monitoring clinical trials; |
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| ● | delays in approvals from a study site’s IRB; |
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| ● | longer than anticipated treatment time required to demonstrate effectiveness or determine the appropriate product dose; |
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| ● | lack of sufficient supplies of the drug candidate for use in clinical trials; |
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| ● | adverse medical events or side effects in treated patients; and |
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| ● | lack of effectiveness of the drug candidate being tested. |
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Any drug is likely to produce some toxicities or undesirable side effects in animals and in humans when administered at sufficiently high doses and/or for sufficiently long periods of time. Unacceptable toxicities or side effects may occur at any dose level, and at any time in the course of animal studies designed to identify unacceptable effects of a drug candidate, known as toxicological studies, or in clinical trials of our drug candidates. The appearance of any unacceptable toxicity or side effect could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, limit, delay or abort the development of any of our drug candidates, and could ultimately prevent their marketing approval by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications.
The FDA’s fast track, breakthrough therapy, accelerated approval, and priority review designation programs are intended to facilitate the development and expedite the review and approval of drug candidates intended for the treatment of serious or life-threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for these conditions. Under these programs, FDA can, for example, review portions of an NDA or BLA for a drug candidate before the entire application is complete, thus potentially beginning the review process at an earlier time.
We cannot guarantee that the FDA will grant any of our requests for any of these expedited program designations, that any such designations would affect the time of review or that the FDA will approve the NDA or BLA submitted for any of our drug candidates, whether or not these designations are granted. Additionally, FDA approval of a product can
include restrictions on the product’s use or distribution (such as permitting use only for specified medical conditions or limiting distribution to physicians or facilities with special training or experience). Approval of such designated products can be conditioned on additional clinical trials after approval.
Sponsors submit the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials to the FDA as part of an NDA or BLA. NDAs and BLAs must also contain extensive product manufacturing information and proposed labeling. Upon receipt, the FDA initially reviews the NDA or BLA to determine whether it is sufficiently complete to initiate a substantive review. If the FDA identifies deficiencies that would preclude substantive review, the FDA will refuse to accept the NDA or BLA and will inform the sponsor of the deficiencies that must be corrected prior to resubmission. If the FDA accepts the submission for review (then deemed a “filing”), the FDA typically completes the NDA or BLA review within a pre-determined time frame. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the FDA agrees to review NDAs and BLAs under either a standard review or priority review. FDA procedures provide for priority review of NDAs and BLAs submitted for drugs that, compared to currently marketed products, if any, offer a significant improvement in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a disease. The FDA seeks to review NDAs and BLAs that are granted priority status more quickly than NDAs and BLAs given standard review status. The FDA’s stated policy is to act on 90% of priority NDAs and BLAs within eight months of receipt (or six months after filing, which occurs within 60 days after NDA or BLA submission). Although the FDA historically has not met these goals, the agency has made significant improvements in the timeliness of the review process. NDA and BLA review often extends beyond anticipated completion dates due to FDA requests for additional data or clarification, the FDA’s decision to have an advisory committee review, and difficulties in scheduling an advisory committee meeting. The recommendations of an advisory committee are not binding on the FDA.
To obtain FDA approval to market a product, we must demonstrate that the product is safe and effective for the patient population that will be treated. If regulatory approval of a product is granted, the approval will be limited to those disease states and conditions for which the product is safe and effective, as demonstrated through clinical trials. Marketing or promoting a drug for an unapproved indication is prohibited. Furthermore, approval may entail requirements for post-marketing studies or risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, including the need for patient and/or physician education, patient registries, medication or similar guides, or other restrictions on the distribution of the product. If an NDA or BLA does not satisfy applicable regulatory criteria, the FDA may deny approval of an NDA or BLA or may issue a complete response, and require, among other things, additional clinical data or analyses.
The Orphan Drug Act provides incentives to manufacturers to develop and market drugs for rare diseases and conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 persons in the United States at the time of application for orphan drug designation. The first developer to receive FDA marketing approval for an orphan drug is entitled to a seven year exclusive marketing period in the United States for the orphan drug indication. However, a drug that the FDA considers to be clinically superior to, or different from, another approved orphan drug, even though for the same indication, may also obtain approval in the United States during the seven year exclusive marketing period.
Regulation of Manufacturing Process
Even when NDA or BLA approval is obtained, a marketed product, such as JAKAFI, its manufacturer and its manufacturing facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA. The manufacturing process for pharmaceutical products is highly regulated and regulators may shut down manufacturing facilities that they believe do not comply with regulations. Discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, manufacturer or facility may result in restrictions on the product, manufacturer or facility, including costly recalls or withdrawal of the product from the market. Manufacturing facilities are always subject to inspection by the applicable regulatory authorities.
We and our third-party manufacturers are subject to current Good Manufacturing Practices, which are extensive regulations governing manufacturing processes, including but not limited to stability testing, record keeping and quality standards as defined by the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, or ICH, FDA and the European Medicines Agency. Similar regulations are in effect in other countries. Manufacturing facilities are subject to inspection by the applicable regulatory authorities and are subject to manufacturing licenses where applicable. These facilities, whether our own or our contract manufacturers, must be inspected before we can use them in commercial manufacturing of our related products. We or our contract manufacturers may not be able to comply with applicable Good Manufacturing Practices and FDA or other regulatory requirements. If we or our contract
manufacturers fail to comply, we or our contract manufacturers may be subject to legal or regulatory action, such as suspension of manufacturing license, seizure of product, or voluntary recall of product. Furthermore, continued compliance with applicable Good Manufacturing Practices will require continual expenditure of time, money and effort on the part of us or our contract manufacturers in the areas of production and quality control and record keeping and reporting, in order to ensure full compliance.
Post-Approval Regulation
Any products manufactured or distributed by us pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse experiences with the drug and other reporting, advertising and promotion restrictions. The FDA’s rules for advertising and promotion require, among other things, that our promotion be fairly balanced and adequately substantiated by clinical studies, and that we not promote our products for unapproved uses. We must also submit appropriate new and supplemental applications and obtain FDA approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling or manufacturing process. On its own initiative, the FDA may require changes to the labeling of an approved drug if it becomes aware of new safety information that the agency believes should be included in the approved drug’s labeling. The FDA also enforces the requirements of the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or PDMA, which, among other things, imposes various requirements in connection with the distribution of product samples to physicians.
In addition to inspections related to manufacturing, we are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and other regulatory bodies related to the other regulatory requirements that apply to marketed drugs manufactured or distributed by us. The FDA also may conduct periodic inspections regarding our review and reporting of adverse events, or related to compliance with the requirements of the PDMA concerning the handling of drug samples. When the FDA conducts an inspection, the inspectors will identify any deficiencies they believe exist in the form of a notice of inspectional observations. The observations may be more or less significant. If we receive a notice of inspectional observations, we likely will be required to respond in writing, and may be required to undertake corrective and preventive actions in order to address the FDA’s concerns.
There are a variety of state laws and regulations that apply in the states or localities where JAKAFI and our drug candidates are or may be marketed. For example, we must comply with state laws that require the registration of manufacturers and wholesale distributors of pharmaceutical products in that state, including, in certain states, manufacturers and distributors who ship products into the state even if such manufacturers or distributors have no place of business within the state. Some states also impose requirements on manufacturers and distributors to establish the pedigree of product in the chain of distribution, including some states that require manufacturers and others to adopt new technology capable of tracking and tracing product as it moves through the distribution chain. Any applicable state or local regulations may hinder our ability to market, or increase the cost of marketing, our products in those states or localities.
The FDA’s policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted which could impose additional burdens or limitations on our ability to market products after approval. Moreover, increased attention to the containment of health care costs in the United States and in foreign markets could result in new government regulations which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of adverse governmental regulation which might arise from future legislative or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad.
Marketing Exclusivity
The FDA may grant five years of exclusivity in the United States for the approval of NDAs for new chemical entities, and three years of exclusivity for supplemental NDAs, for among other things, new indications, dosages or dosage forms of an existing drug if new clinical investigations that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant are essential to the approval of the supplemental application. Additionally, six months of marketing exclusivity in the United States is available if, in response to a written request from the FDA, a sponsor submits and the agency accepts requested information relating to the use of the approved drug in the pediatric population. The six month pediatric exclusivity is added to any existing patent or non-patent exclusivity period for which the drug is eligible. Orphan drug products are also eligible for
pediatric exclusivity if the FDA requests and the company completes pediatric clinical trials. Under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, the FDA may grant 12 years of data exclusivity for innovative biological products.
Foreign Regulation
Outside the United States, our ability to market a product is contingent upon receiving a marketing authorization from the appropriate regulatory authorities. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, marketing authorization, pricing and reimbursement vary widely from country to country. At present, foreign marketing authorizations are applied for at a national level, although within the European Union (EU) registration procedures are available to companies wishing to market a product in more than one EU member state. If the competent regulatory authority is satisfied that adequate evidence of safety, quality and efficacy has been presented, a marketing authorization may be granted. This foreign regulatory approval process involves all of the risks associated with FDA approval discussed above and may also include additional risks.
Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in non-US countries prior to the commencement of clinical trials or marketing of the product in those countries. Certain countries outside of the United States have a process that requires the submission of a clinical trial application, or CTA, much like an IND prior to the commencement of human clinical trials. In Europe, a CTA must be submitted to the competent national health authority and to independent ethics committees in each country in which a company plans to conduct clinical trials. Once the CTA is approved in accordance with a country’s requirements, clinical trial development may proceed in that country and are conducted in accordance with GCP and other applicable regulatory requirements.
To obtain regulatory approval of an investigational drug under EU regulatory systems, we must submit a marketing authorization application (MAA). This application is similar to the NDA in the United States, with the exception of, among other things, regional and/or country-specific document requirements. Drugs can be authorized in the EU by using (i) the centralized authorization procedure, (ii) the mutual recognition procedure, (iii) the decentralized procedure or (iv) national authorization procedures.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) implemented the centralized procedure for the approval of human drugs to facilitate marketing authorizations that are valid throughout the EU. This procedure results in a single marketing authorization granted by the European Commission that is valid across the EU. Under the centralized procedure, the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of a marketing authorization application by the EMA is 210 days (excluding clock stops, when additional written or oral information is to be provided by the applicant in response to questions asked by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP)). A positive opinion on the MAA by the CHMP then needs to be endorsed by the European Commission. Accelerated assessment might be granted by the CHMP in exceptional cases, in which case the EMA ensures that the evaluation for the opinion of the CHMP is completed within 150 days (excluding clock stops) and the opinion issued thereafter.
The mutual recognition procedure (MRP) for the approval of human drugs is an alternative approach to facilitate individual national marketing authorizations within the EU. The MRP may be applied for all human drugs for which the centralized procedure is not obligatory. The MRP is based on the principle of the mutual recognition by EU member states of their respective national marketing authorizations. Based on a marketing authorization in the reference member state, the applicant may apply for marketing authorizations in other member states. In such case, the reference member state shall update its existing assessment report about the drug. After the assessment is completed, copies of the report are sent to all member states, together with the approved summary of product characteristics, labeling and package leaflet. The concerned member states then recognize the decision of the reference member state and the summary of product characteristics, labeling and package leaflet. National marketing authorizations shall be granted within 30 days after acknowledgement of the agreement.
Should any Member State refuse to recognize the marketing authorization by the reference member state, the member states shall make all efforts to reach a consensus. If this fails, the procedure is submitted to an EMA scientific committee for arbitration. The opinion of this EMA Committee is then forwarded to the Commission, for the start of the decision making process. As in the centralized procedure, this process entails consulting various European Commission
Directorates General and the Standing Committee on Human Medicinal Products or Veterinary Medicinal Products, as appropriate.
Legislation similar to the Orphan Drug Act has been enacted in other countries outside of the United States, including the EU. The orphan legislation in the EU is available for therapies addressing conditions that affect five or fewer out of 10,000 persons, are life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions and for which no satisfactory treatment is authorized. The market exclusivity period is for ten years, although that period can be reduced to six years if, at the end of the fifth year, available evidence establishes that the product does not justify maintenance of market exclusivity.
For other countries outside of the EU, such as non-EU countries in Eastern Europe, Middle-East, Latin America, Japan or other countries in Asia, the requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary. In all cases, again, the clinical trials are conducted in accordance with GCP and the other applicable regulatory requirements.
If we fail to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, we may be subject to, among other things, fines, suspension of clinical trials, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution.
Manufacturing
Our manufacturing strategy is to contract with third parties to manufacture the raw materials, our active pharmaceutical ingredients, or API, and finished dosage form for clinical and commercial uses. We currently do not operate manufacturing facilities for clinical or commercial production of JAKAFI, ICLUSIG, or our drug candidates. In addition, we expect for the foreseeable future to continue to rely on third parties for the manufacture of commercial supplies of the raw materials, API and finished drug product for any drugs that we successfully develop and are approved for commercial sale. In this manner, we continue to build and maintain our supply chain and quality assurance resources.
Manufacturing of our Products
Our supply chain for manufacturing raw materials, API and drug product ready for distribution and commercialization is a multi-step international process. Establishing and managing the supply chain requires a significant financial commitment and the creation and maintenance of numerous third-party contractual relationships.
We contract with third parties to manufacture JAKAFI, ICLUSIG, and our drug candidates for clinical and commercial purposes. Third-party manufacturers supply raw materials, and other third-party manufacturers convert these raw materials into API or convert the API into final dosage form. For most of our drug candidates, once our raw materials are produced, we rely on one third-party to manufacture the API, another to make finished drug product and a third to package and label the finished product. For ruxolitinib phosphate, the API for JAKAFI, we have two qualified third-party contract manufacturers from which we can source drug substance. The manufacturing of Ponatinib, the API for ICLUSIG, is the sole responsibility of Takeda, the intellectual property holder. We procure API from Takeda, which outsources the API manufacturing to a third party.
We also rely on third-party contract manufacturers to tablet or capsulate all of our active pharmaceutical ingredients for clinical and commercial uses. For JAKAFI, we have two qualified third-party manufacturers from which we can source commercial drug product. For ICLUSIG we have two qualified third-party manufacturers from which we can source commercial drug product. Secondary packaging of ICLUSIG is performed by a qualified third-party manufacturer. Primary packaged product for ICLUSIG can be used for clinical and commercial purposes.
We may not be able to obtain sufficient quantities of any of our raw materials, drug candidates, API, or finished goods if our designated manufacturers do not have the capacity or capability to manufacture our products according to our schedule and specifications. If any of these single source suppliers were to become unable or unwilling to supply us with API or finished product that complies with applicable regulatory requirements, we could incur significant delays in our clinical trials or interruption of commercial supply which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We have established a quality assurance program intended to ensure that our third-party manufacturers and service providers produce materials and provide services, as applicable, in accordance with the FDA and EMA’s current Good Manufacturing Practices and other applicable regulations. Our quality assurance program extends to our licensed facilities that oversee the manufacturing and distribution activities.
For our future products, we intend to continue to establish third-party suppliers to manufacture sufficient quantities of our drug candidates to undertake clinical trials and to manufacture sufficient quantities of any product that is approved for commercial sale. If we are unable to contract for large scale manufacturing with third parties on acceptable terms for our future products or develop manufacturing capabilities internally, our ability to conduct large scale clinical trials and meet customer demand for commercial products will be adversely affected.
In July 2018, we purchased land located in Yverdon, Switzerland for construction of a large molecule production facility to manufacture biologic drug substances for our drug candidates. Construction activity commenced in July 2018 and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020.
Third-party Manufacturers
Our third-party manufacturers are independent entities, under contract with us, who are subject to their own unique operational and financial risks which are out of our control. If we or any of our third-party manufacturers fail to perform as required, this could impair our ability to deliver our products on a timely basis or cause delays in our clinical trials and applications for regulatory approval. To the extent these risks materialize and affect their performance obligations to us, our financial results may be adversely affected.
For products manufactured by our third-party manufacturers, we have licensed the necessary aspects of this manufacturing technology that we believe is proprietary to us to enable them to manufacture the products for us. We have agreements with these third-party manufacturers that are intended to restrict these manufacturers from using or revealing our technology, but we cannot be certain that these third-party manufacturers will comply with these restrictions.
While we believe there are multiple third parties capable of providing most of the materials and services we need in order to manufacture API and distribute finished goods, and that supply of materials that cannot be second sourced can be managed with inventory planning, there is always a risk that we may underestimate demand, and that our manufacturing capacity through third-party manufacturers may not be sufficient. In addition, because of the significant lead times involved in our supply chain for ruxolitinib phosphate, we may have less flexibility to adjust our supply in response to changes in demand than if we had shorter lead times. Our strategy is to maintain 24 months of safety stock of API to be able to respond to changes in demand to provide on-time supply of drug product as well as at least 6 months of semi-finished goods inventory.
Access to Supplies and Materials
Our third-party manufacturers need access to certain supplies and products to manufacture JAKAFI, ICLUSIG, and our drug candidates. If delivery of material from their suppliers were interrupted for any reason or if they are unable to purchase sufficient quantities of raw materials used to manufacture JAKAFI, ICLUSIG, and our drug candidates, they may be unable to ship JAKAFI and ICLUSIG for commercial supply or to supply our drug candidates in development for clinical trials. For example, currently raw materials used to manufacture ruxolitinib phosphate, the API in JAKAFI, are supplied by Chinese-based companies. As a result, an international trade dispute between China and the United States or any other actions by the Chinese government that would limit or prevent Chinese companies from supplying these materials would adversely affect our ability to manufacture and supply our products to meet market needs and have a material and adverse effect on our operating results.
Human Resources
As of December 31, 2019, we had 1,456 employees, including 815 in research and development, 122 in medical affairs, 301 in sales and marketing and 218 in operations support, finance and administrative positions. Geographically, 1,156 employees were based in the United States and 300 employees were based in Europe and Japan. None of our
employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and management considers relations with our employees to be good.
Available Information
We were incorporated in Delaware in 1991 and our website is located at www.incyte.com. We make available free of charge on our website our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such materials to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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