Disc Medicine Inc

Previous wording

Our net losses were $53.3 million and $38.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $241.9 million as of June 30, 2024. Substantially all of our net losses have resulted from costs incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations. We expect our research and development expenses to increase significantly in connection with the commencement and continuation of clinical trials of our product candidates. In addition, if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, we will incur significant sales, marketing and manufacturing expenses. We also will continue to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company and expect to continue to incur significant and increasing operating losses over the next several years and for the foreseeable future. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing pharmaceutical products, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when we will become profitable, if at all. Even if we do become profitable, we may not be able to sustain or increase our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.

Current wording

Our net losses were $79.9 million and $52.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $268.5 million as of September 30, 2024. Substantially all of our net losses have resulted from costs incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations. We expect our research and development expenses to increase significantly in connection with the commencement and continuation of clinical trials of our product candidates. In addition, if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, we will incur significant sales, marketing and manufacturing expenses. We also will continue to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company and expect to continue to incur significant and increasing operating losses over the next several years and for the foreseeable future. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing pharmaceutical products, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when we will become profitable, if at all. Even if we do become profitable, we may not be able to sustain or increase our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.

Previous wording

The development of pharmaceutical products is capital-intensive. We are currently advancing our hematologic disease programs through preclinical and clinical development. We expect our expenses to significantly increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue the research and development of, initiate and complete clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, our product candidates. In addition, depending on the status of regulatory approval or, if we obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. We may also need to raise additional funds sooner if we choose to pursue additional indications and/or geographies for our current or future product candidates or otherwise expand more rapidly than presently anticipated. Furthermore, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a newly-public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we may be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate certain of our research and development programs or future commercialization efforts.

Current wording

The development of pharmaceutical products is capital-intensive. We are currently advancing our hematologic disease programs through preclinical and clinical development. We expect our expenses to significantly increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue the research and development of, initiate and complete clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, our product candidates. In addition, depending on the status of regulatory approval or, if we obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. We may also need to raise additional funds sooner if we choose to pursue additional indications and/or geographies for our current or future product candidates or otherwise expand more rapidly than presently anticipated. Furthermore, we expect to continue to incur costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we may be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate certain of our research and development programs or future commercialization efforts.

Previous wording

Until such time, if ever, we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of private and public equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. We do not have any committed external source of funds. The terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of those securities may include liquidation or other preferences that may materially adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. Debt financing, if available, would increase our fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, acquiring, selling or licensing intellectual property rights, and making capital expenditures, declaring dividends or other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to meet certain milestones in connection with debt financing and the failure to achieve such milestones by certain dates may force us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects.

Current wording

Until such time, if ever, we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of private and public equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. We do not have any committed external source of funds. The terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of those securities may include liquidation or other preferences that may materially adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. Additional debt financing, if available, would increase our fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, acquiring, selling or licensing intellectual property rights, and making capital expenditures, declaring dividends or other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to meet certain milestones in connection with debt financing and the failure to achieve such milestones by certain dates may force us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects.

Previous wording

We have only successfully completed one Phase 1 clinical trial and may be unable to successfully complete any additional clinical trials for any product candidates we develop. Certain of our programs are still in preclinical development and may never advance to clinical development.

Current wording

We have not yet progressed any product candidates into a Phase 3 clinical trial and may be unable to successfully complete any additional clinical trials for any product candidates we develop. Certain of our programs are still in preclinical development and may never advance to clinical development.

Previous wording

We have completed one Phase 1 clinical trial and have not yet demonstrated our continued ability to successfully complete clinical trials, including large-scale, pivotal clinical trials, obtain regulatory approvals, manufacture a commercial scale product or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful commercialization. Our programs are still in preclinical and early clinical development. Our clinical programs may not advance to the next stage of clinical development, and our preclinical programs may never advance to clinical development or through clinical development, as applicable. We currently only have three product candidates in clinical development. In July 2022, we initiated BEACON, a Phase 2 open-label, parallel-dose clinical trial of bitopertin in EPP and XLP patients that is being conducted at sites in Australia. Separately, in October 2022, we initiated AURORA, a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of bitopertin in EPP patients that is being conducted at sites in the United States. We completed our Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-0974 in healthy volunteers. We initiated a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of DISC-0974 in June 2022 in patients with anemia of MF, and initiated a separate Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in February 2023 in patients with non-dialysis dependent CKD and anemia. We initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 in healthy volunteers in October 2023. We may not initiate any clinical trial of our product candidates until we have submitted an IND to the FDA or comparable submissions with equivalent regulatory authorities and received regulatory clearance. We may not be able to submit INDs or other regulatory filings for bitopertin or any of our other product candidates on the timelines we expect, if at all. For example, we may experience manufacturing delays or other delays with IND-enabling studies. Moreover, we cannot be sure that submission of regulatory filings with the FDA or other regulatory authorities will result in such regulatory authorities allowing clinical trials to begin on a timely basis or at all, or that, once begun, such trials will be completed on schedule, if at all, or that issues will not arise that require us to revise, postpone, suspend or terminate our clinical trials. For example, we filed an IND in April 2022 with the FDA to initiate the AURORA Phase 2 trial of bitopertin in EPP patients, but the FDA initially placed the initiation of this trial on clinical hold; we received clearance to initiate the study in July 2022 after the study design was finalized with the FDA, and we initiated the study in October 2022. Commencing any of our clinical trials is subject to finalizing the trial design based on discussions with the FDA and other regulatory authorities. Any guidance we receive from the FDA or other regulatory authorities is subject to change. These regulatory authorities could change their po…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Current wording

We currently only have three product candidates in clinical development, none of which has yet progressed into a Phase 3 clinical trial. As such, we have not yet demonstrated our ability to successfully complete large-scale, pivotal clinical trials, obtain regulatory approvals, manufacture a commercial scale product or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful commercialization. Our programs are still in preclinical and early to mid-stage clinical development. Our clinical programs may not advance to the next stage of clinical development, and our preclinical programs may never advance to clinical development or through clinical development, as applicable. We may not initiate any clinical trial of our product candidates until we have submitted an IND to the FDA or comparable submissions with equivalent regulatory authorities and received regulatory clearance. We may not be able to submit INDs or other regulatory filings for bitopertin or any of our other product candidates on the timelines we expect, if at all. For example, we may experience manufacturing delays or other delays with IND-enabling studies. Moreover, we cannot be sure that submission of regulatory filings with the FDA or other regulatory authorities will result in such regulatory authorities allowing clinical trials to begin on a timely basis or at all, or that, once begun, such trials will be completed on schedule, if at all, or that issues will not arise that require us to revise, postpone, suspend or terminate our clinical trials. For example, we filed an IND in April 2022 with the FDA to initiate the AURORA Phase 2 trial of bitopertin in EPP patients, but the FDA initially placed the initiation of this trial on clinical hold; we received clearance to initiate the study in July 2022 after the study design was finalized with the FDA, and we initiated the study in October 2022. Commencing any of our clinical trials is subject to finalizing the trial design based on discussions with the FDA and other regulatory authorities. Any guidance we receive from the FDA or other regulatory authorities is subject to change. These regulatory authorities could change their position, including on the acceptability of our trial designs or the clinical endpoints selected, which may require us to complete additional clinical trials or result in the composition of stricter approval conditions than currently expected. For a further example, we relied on the data package generated by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., or collectively, Roche, to support our IND submission for bitopertin to initiate our AURORA Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with EPP, as well as our submission of an application with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA, for our BEACON Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with EPP or XLP, and it is possible that the FDA or TGA, as applicable, may require us to conduct additiona…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Previous wording

From time to time, we may publicly disclose interim, top-line, initial or preliminary data from our clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data. For example, we announced initial data from our Phase 1b/2 DISC-0974 trials in patients with anemia of MF in December 2023 and in June 2024, and in patients with anemia and NDD-CKD in December 2023. We also announced initial data from the SAD portion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 in healthy volunteers in June 2024. We also may make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the interim, top-line, initial or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same trials, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Interim, top-line, initial and preliminary data from clinical trials are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Interim, top-line, initial and preliminary data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the interim, top-line, initial or preliminary data we previously published. As a result, interim, top-line, initial and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between interim, top-line, initial or preliminary data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate or decline.

Current wording

From time to time, we may publicly disclose interim, top-line, initial or preliminary data from our clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data. For example, we announced initial data from our Phase 1b/2 DISC-0974 trials in patients with anemia of MF in December 2023 and in June 2024, and in patients with anemia and NDD-CKD in December 2023 and October 2024. We also announced initial data from the SAD portion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 in healthy volunteers in June 2024. We also may make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the interim, top-line, initial or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same trials, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Interim, top-line, initial and preliminary data from clinical trials are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Interim, top-line, initial and preliminary data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the interim, top-line, initial or preliminary data we previously published. As a result, interim, top-line, initial and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between interim, top-line, initial or preliminary data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate or decline.

Previous wording

Any results from early preclinical studies and clinical trials of bitopertin, DISC-0974, DISC-0998, DISC-3405 or our other product candidates or programs may not necessarily be predictive of the results from later preclinical studies and clinical trials. For example, DISC-0974 has undergone testing in healthy volunteers, a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in patients with anemia of MF was initiated in June 2022 and a separate Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in patients with non-dialysis dependent CKD and anemia was initiated in February 2023. However, there can be no assurance that DISC-0974 will achieve the desired effects in these indications. Additionally, we initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 in healthy adult volunteers in October 2023, which may not be indicative or predictive of future clinical trial results. Similarly, even if we are able to complete our planned preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates according to our current development timeline, the results from such preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates may not be replicated in subsequent preclinical studies or clinical trial results.

Current wording

Any results from early preclinical studies and clinical trials of bitopertin, DISC-0974, DISC-0998, DISC-3405 or our other product candidates or programs may not necessarily be predictive of the results from later preclinical studies and clinical trials. For example, we have announced positive initial data from a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of DISC-0974 in patients with anemia of MF and from a separate Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of DISC-0974 in patients with non-dialysis dependent CKD and anemia. However, there can be no assurance that DISC-0974 will achieve the desired effects in these indications. Additionally, we initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 in healthy adult volunteers in October 2023, which may not be indicative or predictive of future clinical trial results. Similarly, even if we are able to complete our planned preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates according to our current development timeline, the results from such preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates may not be replicated in subsequent preclinical studies or clinical trial results.

Previous wording

We are currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial for bitopertin in Australia and may in the future conduct additional clinical trials of our product candidates outside the United States, and the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data from such trials.

Current wording

We are currently conducting clinical trials for bitopertin in Australia and may in the future conduct additional clinical trials of our product candidates outside the United States, and the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not accept data from such trials.

Previous wording

In July 2022, we initiated BEACON, a Phase 2 open-label, parallel-dose clinical trial of bitopertin in EPP and XLP patients that is being conducted at sites in Australia. We may in the future choose to conduct additional clinical trials of our product candidates outside the United States, including in Europe, Australia, or other foreign jurisdictions. The acceptance of trial data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States by the FDA may be subject to certain conditions. In cases where data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States are intended to serve as the sole basis for regulatory approval in the United States, the FDA will generally not approve the application on the basis of foreign data alone unless (i) the data are applicable to the United States population and United States medical practices, (ii) the trials were performed by clinical investigators of recognized competence and (iii) the data may be considered valid without the need for an on-site inspection by the FDA or, if the FDA considers such an inspection to be necessary, the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means. Additionally, the FDA’s clinical trial requirements, including sufficient size of patient populations and statistical powering, must be met. Many foreign regulatory bodies have similar approval requirements. In addition, such foreign trials will be subject to the applicable local laws of the foreign jurisdictions where the trials are conducted. There can be no assurance that the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority, including the TGA, will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States or the applicable jurisdiction. If the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority does not accept such data, it would result in the need for additional trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay aspects of our business plan, and which may result in our product candidates not receiving regulatory approval or clearance for commercialization in the applicable jurisdiction.

Current wording

In July 2022, we initiated BEACON, a Phase 2 open-label, parallel-dose clinical trial of bitopertin in EPP and XLP patients conducted at sites in Australia. All participants in BEACON are eligible to participate in HELIOS, an ongoing open-label, long-term extension study of bitopertin in EPP and XLP that we are also conducting in Australia. We may in the future choose to conduct additional clinical trials of our product candidates outside the United States, including in Europe, Australia, or other foreign jurisdictions. The acceptance of trial data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States by the FDA may be subject to certain conditions. In cases where data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States are intended to serve as the sole basis for regulatory approval in the United States, the FDA will generally not approve the application on the basis of foreign data alone unless (i) the data are applicable to the United States population and United States medical practices, (ii) the trials were performed by clinical investigators of recognized competence and (iii) the data may be considered valid without the need for an on-site inspection by the FDA or, if the FDA considers such an inspection to be necessary, the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means. Additionally, the FDA’s clinical trial requirements, including sufficient size of patient populations and statistical powering, must be met. Many foreign regulatory bodies have similar approval requirements. In addition, such foreign trials will be subject to the applicable local laws of the foreign jurisdictions where the trials are conducted. There can be no assurance that the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority, including the TGA, will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States or the applicable jurisdiction. If the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority does not accept such data, it would result in the need for additional trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay aspects of our business plan, and which may result in our product candidates not receiving regulatory approval or clearance for commercialization in the applicable jurisdiction.

Previous wording

Our product candidates and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, recordkeeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale, distribution, import and export are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies in the United States and by comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Before we can commercialize any of our product candidates, we must obtain regulatory approval. Currently, all of our product candidates are in discovery, preclinical or clinical development, and we have not received approval to market any of our product candidates from regulatory authorities in any jurisdiction. It is possible that our product candidates, including any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future, will never obtain regulatory approval. We have limited experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain regulatory approvals and rely on third-party CROs and/or regulatory consultants to assist us in this process. Securing regulatory approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to the various regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing regulatory approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authority. Our product candidates may not be effective, may be only moderately effective or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that may preclude us from obtaining regulatory approval or prevent or limit commercial use. In addition, regulatory authorities may find fault with our manufacturing process or facilities or that of third-party contract manufacturers. We may also face greater than expected difficulty in manufacturing our product candidates.

Current wording

Currently, all of our product candidates are in discovery, preclinical or clinical development, and we have not received approval to market any of our product candidates from regulatory authorities in any jurisdiction. It is possible that our product candidates, including any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future, will never obtain regulatory approval. We have limited experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain regulatory approvals and rely on third-party CROs and/or regulatory consultants to assist us in this process. Securing regulatory approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to the various regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing regulatory approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authority. Our product candidates may not be effective, may be only moderately effective or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that may preclude us from obtaining regulatory approval or prevent or limit commercial use. In addition, regulatory authorities may find fault with our manufacturing process or facilities or that of third-party contract manufacturers. We may also face greater than expected difficulty in manufacturing our product candidates.

Previous wording

The development and commercialization of new products in the biopharmaceutical and related industries is highly competitive. We compete in the segments of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other related markets that develop therapies in the field of hematologic diseases. There are other companies focusing on developing therapies in the field of hematologic diseases. We also compete more broadly across the market for cost-effective and reimbursable treatments. Some of these competitive products and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to our approach, and others are based on entirely different approaches. These companies include divisions of large pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies of various sizes. We face competition with respect to our current product candidates, and will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization.

Current wording

The development and commercialization of new products in the biopharmaceutical and related industries is highly competitive. We compete in the segments of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other related markets that develop therapies in the field of hematologic diseases. There are other companies focusing on developing therapies in the field of hematologic diseases. We also compete more broadly across the market for cost-effective and reimbursable treatments. Some of these competitive products and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to our approach, and others are based on entirely different approaches. These companies include divisions of large pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies of various sizes. We face competition with respect to our current product candidates, and will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. See “Business—Competition” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 for examples of the competition that our product candidates face.

Previous wording

The incidence and prevalence for the target patient populations of our programs and product candidates have not been established with precision. Our lead heme biosynthesis modulation product candidate, bitopertin, is an oral, selective inhibitor of GlyT1. We are initially focused on developing bitopertin for the treatment of EPP and XLP, which are both diseases marked by severe photosensitivity and damage to the hepatobiliary system caused by the accumulation of PPIX. In July 2022, we initiated BEACON, a Phase 2 open-label, parallel-dose clinical trial of bitopertin in EPP and XLP patients that is being conducted at sites in Australia. Separately, in October 2022, we initiated AURORA, a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of bitopertin in EPP patients that is being conducted at sites in the United States. We initiated a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of DISC-0974 in June 2022 in the United States in patients with anemia of MF, initiated a separate Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in the February 2023 in patients with non-dialysis dependent CKD and anemia, and initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 in healthy adult volunteers in October 2023. We are initially focused on developing DISC-3405 for the treatment of PV. Our projections of both the number of people who have these diseases, as well as the subset of people with these diseases who have the potential to benefit from treatment with our programs and product candidates, are based on our estimates.

Current wording

The incidence and prevalence for the target patient populations of our programs and product candidates have not been established with precision. Our lead heme biosynthesis modulation product candidate, bitopertin, is an oral, selective inhibitor of GlyT1. We are initially focused on developing bitopertin for the treatment of EPP and XLP, which are both diseases marked by severe photosensitivity and damage to the hepatobiliary system caused by the accumulation of PPIX. We are initially focused on developing DISC-0974 for anemia of MF and anemia of non-dialysis dependent CKD. We are initially focused on developing DISC-3405 for the treatment of PV. Our projections of both the number of people who have these diseases, as well as the subset of people with these diseases who have the potential to benefit from treatment with our programs and product candidates, are based on our estimates.

Previous wording

There is also significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the medicine is approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. In the United States, the principal decisions about reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare and private payors tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree. It is unclear what effect, if any, the American Rescue Plan will have on the number of covered individuals.

Current wording

There is also significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the medicine is approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. In the United States, the principal decisions about reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare and private payors tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree.

Previous wording

We rely on third parties to conduct our Phase 2 clinical trials of bitopertin, Phase 1b/2 clinical trials of DISC-0974 and Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 and expect to rely on third parties to conduct other clinical trials for our product candidates, as well as potential investigator-sponsored clinical trials of our product candidates. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements, or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.

Current wording

We rely on third parties to conduct our Phase 2 clinical trials of bitopertin, Phase 1b/2 clinical trials of DISC-0974 and Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405 and expect to rely on third parties to conduct our planned APOLLO clinical trial of bitopertin and other clinical trials for our product candidates, as well as potential investigator-sponsored clinical trials of our product candidates. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, comply with regulatory requirements, or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.

Previous wording

We do not have the ability to independently conduct clinical trials. We rely and expect to continue to rely on medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract laboratories and other third parties, such as CROs, to conduct or otherwise support clinical trials for our product candidates, including our Phase 2 clinical trials of bitopertin, Phase 1b/2 clinical trials of DISC-0974 in patients with anemia of MF or non-dialysis dependent CKD and anemia, our Phase 1 trial of DISC-3405, as well as any other product candidates that we develop. We may also rely on academic and private non-academic institutions to conduct and sponsor clinical trials relating to our product candidates, such as the ongoing clinical trial of bitopertin in DBA, which is being conducted by NIH under a collaborative research and development agreement. We will not control the design or conduct of any investigator-sponsored trials, and it is possible that the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities will not view these investigator-sponsored trials as providing adequate support for future clinical trials, whether controlled by us or third parties, for any one or more reasons, including elements of the design or execution of the trials or safety concerns or other trial results.

Current wording

We do not have the ability to independently conduct clinical trials. We rely and expect to continue to rely on medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract laboratories and other third parties, such as CROs, to conduct or otherwise support clinical trials for our product candidates, including our Phase 2 clinical trials of bitopertin, our Phase 1b/2 clinical trials of DISC-0974 in patients with anemia of MF or non-dialysis dependent CKD and anemia, our Phase 1 trial of DISC-3405, our planned APOLLO clinical trial of bitopertin in EPP, as well as any other product candidates that we develop. We may also rely on academic and private non-academic institutions to conduct and sponsor clinical trials relating to our product candidates, such as the ongoing clinical trial of bitopertin in DBA, which is being conducted by NIH under a collaborative research and development agreement. We will not control the design or conduct of any investigator-sponsored trials, and it is possible that the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities will not view these investigator-sponsored trials as providing adequate support for future clinical trials, whether controlled by us or third parties, for any one or more reasons, including elements of the design or execution of the trials or safety concerns or other trial results.

Previous wording

Although we designed our ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trials of DISC-0974, ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials of bitopertin, and ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405, and intend to design the future clinical trials for our product candidates, these trials are or will be conducted by CROs and we expect CROs will conduct all of our future clinical trials. As a result, many important aspects of our development programs, including their conduct and timing, are outside of our direct control. Our reliance on third parties to conduct future clinical trials also results in less direct control over the management of data developed through clinical trials than would be the case if we were relying entirely upon our own staff. Communicating with outside parties can also be challenging, potentially leading to mistakes as well as difficulties in coordinating activities. Outside parties may:

Current wording

Although we designed our ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trials of DISC-0974, ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials of bitopertin, and ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of DISC-3405, and intend to design our planned APOLLO clinical trial of bitopertin and other future clinical trials for our product candidates, these trials are or will be conducted by CROs and we expect CROs will conduct all of our future clinical trials. As a result, many important aspects of our development programs, including their conduct and timing, are outside of our direct control. Our reliance on third parties to conduct future clinical trials also results in less direct control over the management of data developed through clinical trials than would be the case if we were relying entirely upon our own staff. Communicating with outside parties can also be challenging, potentially leading to mistakes as well as difficulties in coordinating activities. Outside parties may:

Previous wording

The intellectual property landscape relevant to our product candidates and programs is crowded, and third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business. Our commercial success depends upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our current and future product candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of third parties. There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patents and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, as well as administrative proceedings for challenging patents, including derivation, interference, reexamination, inter partes review and post grant review proceedings before the USPTO or oppositions and other comparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. We or any of our current or future licensors or strategic partners may be party to, exposed to, or threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation by third parties having patent or other intellectual property rights alleging that our current or future product candidates and/or proprietary technologies infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights. We cannot assure you that our current or future product candidates and other technologies that we have developed, are developing or may develop in the future do not or will not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate existing or future patents or other valid intellectual property rights owned by third parties. For example, many of our employees were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s former employer. We may also be subject to claims that patents and applications we have filed to protect inventions of our employees, consultants and advisors, even those related to one or more of our current or future product candidates, are rightfully owned by their former or concurrent employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.

Current wording

There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patents and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, as well as administrative proceedings for challenging patents, including derivation, interference, reexamination, inter partes review and post grant review proceedings before the USPTO or oppositions and other comparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. We or any of our current or future licensors or strategic partners may be party to, exposed to, or threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation by third parties having patent or other intellectual property rights alleging that our current or future product candidates and/or proprietary technologies infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights. We cannot assure you that our current or future product candidates and other technologies that we have developed, are developing or may develop in the future do not or will not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate existing or future patents or other valid intellectual property rights owned by third parties. For example, many of our employees were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s former employer. We may also be subject to claims that patents and applications we have filed to protect inventions of our employees, consultants and advisors, even those related to one or more of our current or future product candidates, are rightfully owned by their former or concurrent employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.

Previous wording

We may seek accelerated approval of our current or future product candidates using the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway. A product may be eligible for accelerated approval if it treats a serious or life-threatening condition and generally provides a meaningful advantage over available therapies. In addition, it must demonstrate an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, or IMM, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on IMM or other clinical benefit. It is possible that at the time of submission of a marketing application, the FDA may determine that our product candidate is not eligible for accelerated approval or that accelerated approval is not warranted. Moreover, FDA may revise how it implements accelerated approval, which could negatively affect the development of our current or future product candidates.

Current wording

We may seek accelerated approval of bitopertin or any of our other current or future product candidates using the FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program. A product may be eligible for accelerated approval if it treats a serious or life-threatening condition and generally provides a meaningful advantage over available therapies. In addition, it must demonstrate an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, or IMM, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on IMM or other clinical benefit. It is possible that at the time of submission of a marketing application, the FDA may determine that our product candidate is not eligible for accelerated approval or that accelerated approval is not warranted. Moreover, FDA may revise how it implements accelerated approval, which could negatively affect the development of our current or future product candidates.

Previous wording

As a condition of approval, the FDA generally requires that a sponsor of a drug or biologic receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials. These confirmatory trials must be completed with due diligence. Under FDORA, the FDA is permitted to require, as appropriate, that a post-approval confirmatory trial or trials be underway prior to approval or within a specified time period after the date accelerated approval is granted. FDORA also requires sponsors to send updates to the FDA every 180 days on the status of such trials, including progress toward enrollment targets, and the FDA must promptly post this information publicly. FDORA also gives the FDA increased authority to withdraw approval of a drug or biologic granted accelerated approval on an expedited basis if the sponsor fails to conduct confirmatory studies in a timely manner, send the necessary updates to the FDA, or if such post-approval trials fail to verify the product’s predicted clinical benefit. Under FDORA, the FDA is empowered to take action, such as issuing fines, against companies that fail to conduct with due diligence any post-approval confirmatory trial or submit timely reports to the agency on their progress. In addition, the FDA currently requires, unless otherwise informed by the agency, pre-approval of promotional materials for products being considered for accelerated approval, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product. Even if we do receive accelerated approval, we may not experience a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and receiving accelerated approval does not provide assurance of ultimate full FDA approval.

Current wording

As a condition of approval, the FDA generally requires that a sponsor of a drug or biologic receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials. These confirmatory trials must be completed with due diligence. Under FDORA, the FDA is permitted to require, as appropriate, that a post-approval confirmatory trial or trials be underway prior to approval or within a specified time period after the date accelerated approval is granted. FDORA also requires sponsors to send updates to the FDA every 180 days on the status of such trials, including progress toward enrollment targets, and the FDA must promptly post this information publicly. FDORA also gives the FDA increased authority to withdraw approval of a drug or biologic granted accelerated approval on an expedited basis if the sponsor fails to conduct confirmatory studies in a timely manner, send the necessary updates to the FDA, or if such post-approval trials fail to verify the product’s predicted clinical benefit. Under FDORA, the FDA is empowered to take action, such as issuing fines, against companies that fail to conduct with due diligence any post-approval confirmatory trial or submit timely reports to the agency on their progress. In addition, the FDA currently requires, unless otherwise informed by the agency, pre-approval of promotional materials for products being considered for accelerated approval, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product.

Previous wording

FDA filing and review) of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA. In addition to the benefits of regulatory exclusivity, an innovator NDA holder may have patents claiming the active ingredient, product formulation or an approved use of the drug, which would be listed with the product in the FDA publication “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” known as the Orange Book. If there are patents listed in the Orange Book for the applicable, approved innovator product, a generic or 505(b)(2) applicant that seeks to market our product before expiration of the patents must include in their applications what is known as a “Paragraph IV” certification, challenging the validity or enforceability, or claiming non-infringement, of the listed patent or patents. Notice of the certification must be given to the patent owner and NDA holder and if, within 45 days of receiving notice, either the patent owner or NDA holder sues for patent infringement, approval of the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA is stayed for up to 30 months.

Current wording

Under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or the Hatch-Waxman Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, a company may file an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, seeking approval of a generic version of an approved innovator product. Under the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, a company may also submit an NDA under section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA that references the FDA’s prior approval of the innovator product or preclinical studies and/or clinical trials that were not conducted by, or for, the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference. A 505(b)(2) NDA product may be for a new or improved version of the original innovator product. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments also provide for certain periods of regulatory exclusivity, which preclude FDA approval (or in some circumstances, FDA filing and review) of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA. In addition to the benefits of regulatory exclusivity, an innovator NDA holder may have patents claiming the active ingredient, product formulation or an approved use of the drug, which would be listed with the product in the FDA publication “Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” known as the Orange Book. If there are patents listed in the Orange Book for the applicable, approved innovator product, a generic or 505(b)(2) applicant that seeks to market our product before expiration of the patents must include in their applications what is known as a “Paragraph IV” certification, challenging the validity or enforceability, or claiming non-infringement, of the listed patent or patents. Notice of the certification must be given to the patent owner and NDA holder and if, within 45 days of receiving notice, either the patent owner or NDA holder sues for patent infringement, approval of the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA is stayed for up to 30 months.

Previous wording

CMS published a final rule that allows Medicare Advantage Plans the option of using step therapy for Part B drugs, effective January 1, 2020.

Current wording

CMS published a final rule that allows Medicare Advantage Plans the option of using step therapy for Part B drugs, which began January 1, 2020.

Previous wording

There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the U.S. with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. In addition, President Biden has issued multiple executive orders that have sought to reduce prescription drug costs. Although a number of these and other proposed measures may require authorization through additional legislation to become effective, and the Biden administration may reverse or otherwise change these measures, both the Biden administration and Congress have indicated that they will continue to seek new legislative measures to control drug costs.

Current wording

There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the U.S. with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs.

Previous wording

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or the IRA, includes several provisions that may impact our business, depending on how various aspects of the IRA are implemented. Provisions that may impact our business include a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for Medicare Part D beneficiaries, the imposition of new manufacturer financial liability on most drugs in Medicare Part D, permitting the U.S. government to negotiate Medicare Part B and Part D pricing for certain high-cost drugs and biologics without generic or biosimilar competition, requiring companies to pay rebates to Medicare for drug prices that increase faster than inflation, and delay until January 1, 2032 the implementation of the HHS rebate rule that would have limited the fees that pharmacy benefit managers can charge. Further, under the IRA, orphan drugs are exempted from the Medicare drug price negotiation program, but only if they have one orphan designation and for which the only approved indication is for that disease or condition. If a product receives multiple orphan designations or has multiple approved indications, it may not qualify for the orphan drug exemption. The implementation of which is currently subject to ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the IRA’s Medicare drug price negotiation program. The effects of the IRA on our business and the healthcare industry in general is not yet known.

Current wording

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or the IRA, includes several provisions that may impact our business, depending on how various aspects of the IRA are implemented. Provisions that may impact our business include a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for Medicare Part D beneficiaries, the imposition of new manufacturer financial liability on most drugs in Medicare Part D, permitting the U.S. government to negotiate Medicare Part B and Part D pricing for certain high-cost drugs and biologics without generic or biosimilar competition, requiring companies to pay rebates to Medicare for drug prices that increase faster than inflation, and delay until January 1, 2032 the implementation of the HHS rebate rule that would have limited the fees that pharmacy benefit managers can charge. Further, under the IRA, orphan drugs are exempted from the Medicare drug price negotiation program, but only if they have one orphan designation and for which the only approved indication is for that disease or condition. If a product receives multiple orphan designations or has multiple approved indications, it may not qualify for the orphan drug exemption. The implementation of the IRA is currently subject to ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the IRA’s Medicare drug price negotiation program. On August 15, 2024, CMS announced the results of the first round of negotiated prices between CMS and participating drug manufacturers for the ten selected drugs under the IRA’s Medicare drug price negotiation program. The negotiated prices go into effect in 2026 unless any ongoing litigation is successful in challenging the constitutionality of the IRA’s Medicare drug price negotiation program and provides a mechanism to block the implementation of the program. The effects of the IRA on our business and the healthcare industry in general is not yet known.

Previous wording

Comprehensive laws similar to the CCPA have been passed in numerous other states outside of California. These laws are substantially similar in scope and contain many of the same requirements and exceptions as the CCPA, including a general exemption for clinical trial data and limited obligations for entities regulated by HIPAA. However, we cannot yet determine the full impact these laws or other such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our current or future business. Any of these laws may broaden their scope in the future, and similar laws have been proposed on both a federal level and in more than half of the states in the U.S. In addition, a number of other states have proposed new privacy laws, some of which are similar to the above discussed recently passed laws. Such proposed legislation, if enacted, may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment of resources in compliance programs, impact strategies and the availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies. Furthermore, in addition to comprehensive privacy laws, certain states have enacted laws to focus on particular more limited privacy laws. For example, the state of Washington has passed a law to protect medical and health information not subject to HIPAA. This law has a private right of action, which further increases the relevant compliance risk. Connecticut and Nevada have also passed similar laws regulating consumer health data. In addition, other states have proposed and/or passed legislation that regulates the privacy and/or security of certain specific types of information. For example, a small number of states have passed laws that regulate biometric information. The existence of comprehensive privacy laws in different states in the country would make our compliance obligations more complex and costly and may increase the likelihood that we may be subject to enforcement actions or otherwise incur liability for noncompliance. These various privacy and security laws may impact our business activities, including our identification of research subjects, relationships with business partners and ultimately the marketing and distribution of our products. State laws are changing rapidly and there is discussion in the U.S. Congress of a new comprehensive federal data privacy law to which we may likely become subject, if enacted.

Current wording

Comprehensive laws similar to the CCPA have been passed in numerous other states outside of California and proposed in others. These laws are substantially similar in scope and contain many of the same requirements and exceptions as the CCPA, including a general exemption for clinical trial data and limited obligations for entities regulated by HIPAA. However, we cannot yet determine the full impact these laws or other such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our current or future business. Any of these laws may broaden their scope in the future, and similar laws have been proposed on both a federal level and in more than half of the states in the U.S. In addition, a number of other states have proposed new privacy laws, some of which are similar to the above discussed recently passed laws. Such proposed legislation, if enacted, may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment of resources in compliance programs, impact strategies and the availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies. Furthermore, in addition to comprehensive privacy laws, certain states have enacted laws to focus on particular more limited privacy laws. For example, the state of Washington has passed a law to protect medical and health information not subject to HIPAA. This law has a private right of action, which further increases the relevant compliance risk. Connecticut and Nevada have also passed similar laws regulating consumer health data. In addition, other states have proposed and/or passed legislation that regulates the privacy and/or security of certain specific types of information. For example, a small number of states have passed laws that regulate biometric information. The existence of comprehensive privacy laws in different states in the country would make our compliance obligations more complex and costly and may increase the likelihood that we may be subject to enforcement actions or otherwise incur liability for noncompliance. These various privacy and security laws may impact our business activities, including our identification of research subjects, relationships with business partners and ultimately the marketing and distribution of our products. State laws are changing rapidly and there have been proposals for a new comprehensive federal data privacy law to which we may likely become subject, if enacted.

Previous wording

The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data to countries outside the EEA and UK not deemed adequate for the transfer of such personal data by competent data protection authorities, or third countries, including the United States in certain circumstances unless a derogation exists or we may need to incorporate a GDPR transfer mechanism (such as the European Commission approved standard contractual clauses, or SCCs or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or IDTA) into our agreements with third parties to govern such transfers of personal data and carry out transfer impact assessments. Further, the European Union and United States have adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, or the Framework, which entered into force on July 11, 2023. This Framework provides that the protection of personal data transferred between the European Union and the United States is comparable to that offered in the European Union. This provides a further avenue to ensuring transfers to the United States are carried out in line with GDPR. There has been an extension to the Framework to cover UK transfers to the United States. The Framework could be challenged like its predecessor frameworks. The international transfer obligations under the EEA and UK data protection regimes will require effort and cost and may result in us needing to make strategic considerations around where EEA/UK personal data is located and which service providers we can utilize for the processing of EEA/UK personal data.

Current wording

The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data to countries outside the EEA and UK not deemed adequate for the transfer of such personal data by competent data protection authorities, or third countries, including the United States in certain circumstances unless a derogation exists or we may need to incorporate a GDPR transfer mechanism (such as the European Commission approved standard contractual clauses, or SCCs or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or IDTA) into our agreements with third parties to govern such transfers of personal data and carry out transfer impact assessments. Further, the European Union and United States have adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, or the Framework, which entered into force on July 11, 2023. This Framework provides that the protection of personal data transferred between the European Union and the United States is comparable to that offered in the European Union. This provides a further avenue to ensuring transfers to the United States are carried out in line with GDPR. There has been an extension to the Framework to cover

Previous wording

We may use and integrate artificial intelligence into our business processes, and this innovation presents risks and challenges that could affect its adoption, and therefore our business. If we enable or offer solutions that draw controversy due to perceived or actual negative societal impact, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm or legal liability. The use of certain artificial intelligence technology can give rise to intellectual property risks, including compromises to proprietary intellectual property and intellectual property infringement. Additionally, we expect to see increasing government and supranational regulation related to artificial intelligence use and ethics, which may also significantly increase the burden and cost of research, development and compliance in this area. For example, the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, or the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law, is anticipated to enter into force in Spring 2024 and, with some exceptions, become effective 24 months thereafter. This legislation imposes significant obligations on providers and deployers of high risk artificial intelligence systems, and encourages providers and deployers of artificial intelligence systems to account for European Union ethical principles in their development and use of these systems. If we develop or use AI systems that are governed by the AI Act, it may necessitate ensuring higher standards of data quality, transparency, and human oversight, as well as adhering to specific and potentially burdensome and costly ethical, accountability, and administrative requirements. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence will require the application of significant resources to design, develop, test and maintain our products and services to help ensure that artificial intelligence is implemented in accordance with applicable law and regulation and in a socially responsible manner and to minimize any real or perceived unintended harmful impacts. Our vendors may in turn incorporate artificial intelligence tools into their offerings, and the providers of these artificial intelligence tools may not meet existing or rapidly evolving regulatory or industry standards, including with respect to privacy and data security. Further, bad actors around the world use increasingly sophisticated methods, including the use of artificial intelligence, to engage in illegal activities involving the theft and misuse of personal information, confidential information and intellectual property. Any of these effects could damage our reputation, result in the loss of valuable property and information, cause us to breach applicable laws and regulations, and adversely impact our business.

Current wording

We may use and integrate artificial intelligence, or AI, into our business processes, and this innovation presents risks and challenges that could affect its adoption, and therefore our business. If we enable or offer solutions that draw controversy due to perceived or actual negative societal impact, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm or legal liability. The use of certain AI technology can give rise to intellectual property risks, including compromises to proprietary intellectual property and intellectual property infringement. To the extent we develop our own AI systems, then the risk of intellectual property infringement could arise from third party data sources being used to train our AI models, and from the output of AI systems reproducing or incorporating third party intellectual property rights, in each case without the right to do so. Further, a risk of our proprietary intellectual property rights being compromised through the use of AI could arise through third party vendors using our data to train their models and/or to generate output for other users of their systems. If our third party vendors use our data (which includes personal data) to train their AI models and/or to generate output for other users of their systems, this could also give rise to regulatory risks. Additionally, we expect to see increasing government and supranational regulation related to AI use and ethics, which may also significantly increase the burden and cost of research, development and compliance in this area. For example, the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, or the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law, entered into force in August 2024 and, with some exceptions, becomes effective in August 2025. This legislation imposes significant obligations on providers and deployers of high risk AI systems, and encourages providers and deployers of AI systems to account for European Union ethical principles in their development and use of these systems. If we develop or use AI systems that are governed by the AI Act, it may necessitate ensuring higher standards of data quality, transparency, and human oversight, as well as adhering to specific and potentially burdensome and costly ethical, accountability, and administrative requirements. The rapid evolution of AI will require the application of significant resources to design, develop, test and maintain our products and services to help ensure that AI is implemented in accordance with applicable law and regulation and in a socially responsible manner and to minimize any real or perceived unintended harmful impacts. Our vendors may in turn incorporate AI tools into their offerings, and the providers of these AI tools may not meet existing or rapidly evolving regulatory or industry standards, including with respect to privacy and data security. Further, bad actors around the world use increasingly sophisticated methods, including the use of AI, to engage in illegal activi…

Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.

Previous wording

If we expand our operations outside of the United States, we must dedicate additional resources to comply with numerous laws and regulations in each jurisdiction in which we plan to operate. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits any

Current wording

If we expand our operations outside of the United States, we must dedicate additional resources to comply with numerous laws and regulations in each jurisdiction in which we plan to operate. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with certain accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations.

Previous wording

As of July 31, 2024, we had 78 full-time employees and no part-time employees. We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly as we function as a public company and in the areas of product development, regulatory affairs and, if any of our product candidates receives regulatory approval, sales, marketing and distribution. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.

Current wording

As of October 31, 2024, we had 82 full-time employees and no part-time employees. We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly as we mature as a public company and in the areas of product development, regulatory affairs and, if any of our product candidates receives regulatory approval, sales, marketing and distribution. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.

Previous wording

Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect the Company, the financial institutions with which the Company has credit agreements or arrangements directly, or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which the Company has financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally.

Current wording

Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect the Company, the financial institutions with which the Company has credit agreements or arrangements directly, such as Hercules Capital, or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which the Company has financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally.

Previous wording

As of December 31, 2023, we had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of $88.1 million and $91.7 million, respectively. Substantially all of the federal NOLs are not subject to expiration and the state NOLs begin to expire in 2037. As of December 31, 2023, we also had federal and state research and development tax credit carryforwards of $5.8 million and $1.8 million, respectively, which begin to expire in 2032. These net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. Under current law, unused U.S. federal and certain state net operating losses generated for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 are not subject to expiration and may be carried forward indefinitely. Such U.S. federal net operating losses generally may not be carried back to prior taxable years, except that, net operating losses generated in 2019, 2020 and 2021 may be carried back to each of the five tax years preceding the tax years of such losses. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, the deductibility of U.S. federal net operating losses generated for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 is limited to 80% of our taxable income in any future taxable year. In addition, in general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change net operating losses or tax credits, or NOLs or credits, to offset future taxable income or taxes. For these purposes, an ownership change generally occurs when one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who each owns at least 5% of a corporation’s stock increase their aggregate stock ownership by more than

Current wording

As of December 31, 2023, we had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of $88.1 million and $91.7 million, respectively. Substantially all of the federal NOLs are not subject to expiration and the state NOLs begin to expire in 2037. As of December 31, 2023, we also had federal and state research and development tax credit carryforwards of $5.8 million and $1.8 million, respectively, which begin to expire in 2032. These net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. Under current law, unused U.S. federal and certain state net operating losses generated for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 are not subject to expiration and may be carried forward indefinitely. Such U.S. federal net operating losses generally may not be carried back to prior taxable years, except that, net operating losses generated in 2019, 2020 and 2021 may be carried back to each of the five tax years preceding the tax years of such losses. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, the deductibility of U.S. federal net operating losses generated for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 is limited to 80% of our taxable income in any future taxable year. In addition, in general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change net operating losses or tax credits, or NOLs or credits, to offset future taxable income or taxes. For these purposes, an ownership change generally occurs when one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who each owns at least 5% of a corporation’s stock increase their aggregate stock ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a specified testing period. Our existing NOLs or credits may be subject to limitations arising from previous ownership changes, and if we undergo an ownership change after the merger, our ability to utilize NOLs or credits could be further limited by Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. In addition, future changes in our stock ownership, many of which are outside of our control, could result in an ownership change under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. Our NOLs or credits may also be impaired under state law. Accordingly, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of our NOLs or credits.

Previous wording

We will incur additional costs and increased demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies.

Current wording

We have incurred and will continue to incur increased costs and increased demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies.

Previous wording

We will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as a public company that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Our management team consists of our executive officers prior to the merger, some of whom have not previously managed and operated a public company. These executive officers and other personnel will need to devote substantial time to gaining expertise related to public company reporting requirements and compliance with applicable laws and regulations to ensure that we comply with all of these requirements. Any changes we make to comply with these obligations may not be sufficient to allow us to satisfy our obligations as a public company on a timely basis, or at all. These reporting requirements, rules and regulations, coupled with the increase in potential litigation exposure associated with being a public company, could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on the board of directors or on board committees or to serve as executive officers, or to obtain certain types of insurance, including directors’ and officers’ insurance, on acceptable terms.

Current wording

We will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as a public company that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Global Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote and will need to continue to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. Any changes we make to comply with these obligations may not be sufficient to allow us to satisfy our obligations as a public company on a timely basis, or at all. These reporting requirements, rules and regulations, coupled with the increase in potential litigation exposure associated with being a public company, could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on the board of directors or on board committees or to serve as executive officers, or to obtain certain types of insurance, including directors’ and officers’ insurance, on acceptable terms.

Previous wording

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that we file with the SEC, annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition as well as other disclosure and corporate governance requirements. However, as an emerging growth company we may take advantage of exemptions from various requirements such as an exemption from the requirement to have our independent auditors attest to our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as well as an exemption from the “say on pay” voting requirements pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. After we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company” which may allow us to take advantage of some of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we expect to still qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” as such term is defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, in at least the near term, which will allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our periodic reports and proxy statements. Once we are no longer an emerging growth company, a smaller reporting company or otherwise qualify for these exemptions, we will be required to comply with these additional legal and regulatory requirements applicable to public companies and will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses to do so. If we are not able to comply with the requirements in a timely manner or at all, our financial condition or the market price of our common stock may be harmed. For example, if we or our independent auditor identifies deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses we could face additional costs to remedy those deficiencies, the market price of our stock could decline or we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

Current wording

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that we file with the SEC, annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition as well as other disclosure and corporate governance requirements. However, as an emerging growth company we may take advantage of exemptions from various requirements such as an exemption from the requirement to have our independent auditors attest to our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as well as an exemption from the “say on pay” voting requirements pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. After we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company” which may allow us to take advantage of some of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. Once we are no longer an emerging growth company, a smaller reporting company or otherwise qualify for these exemptions, we will be required to comply with these additional legal and regulatory requirements applicable to public companies and will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses to do so. If we are not able to comply with the requirements in a timely manner or at all, our financial condition or the market price of our common stock may be harmed. For example, if we or our independent auditor identifies deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses we could face additional costs to remedy those deficiencies, the market price of our stock could decline or we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

Previous wording

Prior to the merger, there had been no public market for shares of our capital stock. An active trading market for shares of our common stock may never develop or be sustained. If an active market for our common stock does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for our stockholders to sell their shares at an attractive price or at all.

Current wording

An active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained. If an active trading market is not sustained, our ability to raise capital in the future may be impaired.

Previous wording

If our existing securityholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market after legal restrictions on resale discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 lapse, the trading price of our common stock could decline. As of June 30, 2024, we had 29,707,997 shares of common stock outstanding. All outstanding shares of common stock, other than shares held by our affiliates will be freely tradable, without restriction, in the public market. In addition, shares of common stock that are subject to outstanding options of ours will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. If these shares are sold, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

Current wording

If our existing securityholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market after legal restrictions on resale discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 lapse, the trading price of our common stock could decline. As of September 30, 2024, we had 29,748,154 shares of common stock outstanding. All outstanding shares of common stock, other than shares held by our affiliates will be freely tradable, without restriction, in the public market. In addition, shares of common stock that are subject to outstanding options of ours will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. If these shares are sold, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

Previous wording

Our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders, in the aggregate, beneficially own approximately 53% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these persons, if they choose to act together, would control or significantly influence the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of voting power could delay or prevent an acquisition of us on terms that other stockholders may desire.

Current wording

As of September 30, 2024, our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders, in the aggregate, beneficially owned approximately 58% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these persons, if they choose to act together, would control or significantly influence the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of voting power could delay or prevent an acquisition of us on terms that other stockholders may desire.