HERON THERAPEUTICS INC DE

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31,2023

or

Commission file number:001-33221

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(858)251-4400

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☐ No ☑

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes☐ No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑ No☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.☑

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant's executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes☐ No☑

The aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2023 totaled $119.5 million based on the closing price of $1.16 as reported by The Nasdaq Capital Market. As of February 28, 2024, there were 150,328,585 shares of the Company’s common stock ($0.01 par value) outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement related to its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on or about June 13, 2024 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Such Definitive Proxy Statement will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this report relates. Except as expressly incorporated by reference, the registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement shall not be deemed to be part of this report.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. We make such forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “assume” and other expressions that predict or indicate future events and trends and which do not relate to historical matters. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business and commercialization strategy, products and product candidates, research pipeline, ongoing and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, regulatory submissions and approvals, addressable patient population, research and development expenses, timing and likelihood of success, as well as plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. You should not rely on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. These risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from our anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Factors that might cause these differences include the following:

•

our ability to successfully commercialize, market and achieve market acceptance of ZYNRELEF® (bupivacaine and meloxicam) extended-release solution (“ZYNRELEF”), APONVIE® (aprepitant) injectable emulsion (“APONVIE”), CINVANTI® (aprepitant) injectable emulsion (“CINVANTI”), and SUSTOL® (granisetron) extended-release injection (“SUSTOL”) in the United States (“U.S.”) (collectively, our “Products”), and our positioning relative to products that now or in the future compete with our Products or product candidates;

•

our ability to capture the potential additional market opportunity from the recently approved expanded ZYNRELEF U.S. label;

•

our ability to establish satisfactory pricing and obtain adequate reimbursement from government and third-party payors of our Products and our product candidates that receive regulatory approvals;

•

whether study results of our Products and product candidates are indicative of the results in future studies;

•

the results of the commercial launch of APONVIE in the U.S.;

•

the potential regulatory approval for and commercial launch of our product candidates, if approved;

•

the potential market opportunities for our Products and our product candidates, if approved;

•

our competitors’ activities, including decisions as to the timing of competing product launches, generic entrants, pricing and discounting;

•

whether safety and efficacy results of our clinical studies and other required tests for expansion of the indications for our Products and approval of our product candidates provide data to warrant progression of clinical trials, potential regulatory approval or further development of any of our Products or product candidates;

•

our ability to develop, acquire and advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical studies, and our ability to submit for and obtain regulatory approval for product candidates in our anticipated timing, or at all;

•

our ability to meet the postmarketing study requirements within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (“FDA”) mandated timelines and to obtain favorable results and comply with standard postmarketing requirements, including U.S. federal advertising and promotion laws, federal and state anti-fraud and abuse laws, healthcare information privacy and security laws, safety information, safety surveillance and disclosure of payments or other transfers of value to healthcare professionals and entities for Products or any of our product candidates;

•

our ability to successfully develop and achieve regulatory approval for any product candidates utilizing our proprietary Biochronomer® drug delivery technology (“Biochronomer Technology”);

•

our ability to establish key collaborations and vendor relationships for our Products and our product candidates;

•

our ability to successfully develop and commercialize any technology that we may in-license or products we may acquire;

•

unanticipated delays due to manufacturing difficulties, supply constraints or changes in the regulatory environment, including as a result of geopolitical uncertainty;

•

our ability to successfully operate in non-U.S. jurisdictions in which we may choose to do business, including compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and laws;

•

uncertainties associated with obtaining and enforcing patents and trade secrets to protect our Products, our product candidates, our Biochronomer Technology and our other technology, and our ability to successfully defend ourselves against unforeseen third-party infringement claims;

•

our estimates regarding our capital requirements;

•

the impact of our restructuring activities, including the reduced headcount and external spend;

•

the impact of evolving legal and regulatory requirements, including emerging environmental, social and governance requirements; and

•

our ability to obtain additional financing and raise capital as necessary to fund operations or pursue business opportunities.

Any forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K reflect our current views with respect to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those listed under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should carefully review all of these factors. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements were based on information, plans and estimates as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes. These risk factors may be updated by our future filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should carefully review all information therein.