Entrada Therapeutics Inc
For the period ended Jun 30, 2024. Filed Aug 13, 2024.
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A company's report for each of its first three quarters. The financial statements are not audited. It shows how the business has moved since the last annual report, and what management says changed.
Jun 30, 2024 · Filed Aug 13, 2024
What changed in Risk Factors?
Read the current filingPrevious report: 10-Q
Period ended 2024-03-31; filed 2024-05-07.
0001689375-24-000027
Item 1A. Risk FactorsCurrent report: 10-Q
Period ended 2024-06-30; filed 2024-08-13.
0001689375-24-000047
Item 1A. Risk FactorsThe baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.
Compared 475 previous paragraphs and 475 current paragraphs.
444 unchanged; 25 reworded; 4 added; 4 removed; 2 previous and 2 current paragraphs rearranged.
Tables are not compared: 0 previous and 0 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.
A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.
Added paragraphs (4)
Current report
Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly in the future, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. From time to time, we may enter into license or collaboration agreements or strategic partnerships with other companies that include development funding and significant upfront and milestone payments and/or royalties, which may become an important source of our revenue. These upfront and milestone payments may vary significantly from period to period and any such variance could cause a significant fluctuation in our operating results from one period to the next.
Current report
•the FDA, other regulatory authorities, or ethics committees may require us to submit additional data such as long-term toxicology studies or impose other requirements before permitting us to initiate a clinical trial;
Current report
bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. Such claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Current report
Any provision of our Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, our Amended and Restated Bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our capital stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
Removed paragraphs (4)
Previous report
We are exposed to the risk that our employees and independent contractors, including principal investigators, CROs, consultants and vendors may engage in misconduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violate: (i) the laws and regulations of the FDA and other similar regulatory requirements, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities, (ii) manufacturing standards, including CGMP requirements, (iii) federal and state data privacy, security, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations in the United States and abroad or (iv) laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use or misrepresentation of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, the creation of fraudulent data in our preclinical studies or clinical trials or illegal misappropriation of drug product, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. In addition, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and financial results, including, without limitation, the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgements, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws and curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
Previous report
Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees, and various other government fees on patents and applications will be due to be paid to the USPTO and various government patent agencies outside of the United States over the lifetime of our owned or licensed patents and applications. In certain circumstances, we rely on our licensing partners to pay these fees due to U.S. and non-U.S. patent agencies. The USPTO and various non-U.S. government agencies require compliance with several procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. We are also dependent on our licensors to take the necessary action to comply with these requirements with respect to our licensed intellectual property. In some cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. There are situations, however, in which non-compliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in a partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, potential competitors might be able to enter the market with similar or identical products or technology, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Previous report
Additionally, we sometimes collaborate with academic institutions to accelerate our preclinical research or development under written agreements with these institutions. In certain cases, these institutions provide us with an option to negotiate a license to any of the institution’s rights in technology resulting from the collaboration. Even if we hold such an option, we may be unable to negotiate a license from the institution within the specified timeframe or under terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to do so, the institution may offer the intellectual property rights to others, potentially blocking our ability to pursue our program.
Previous report
Since March 2020 when foreign and domestic inspections of facilities were largely placed on hold, the FDA has been working to resume pre-pandemic levels of inspection activities, including routine surveillance, bioresearch monitoring and pre-approval inspections. Should the FDA determine that an inspection is necessary for approval and an inspection cannot be completed during the review cycle due to restrictions on travel, and the FDA does not determine a remote interactive evaluation to be adequate, the agency has stated that it generally intends to issue, depending on the circumstances, a complete response letter or defer action on the application until an inspection can be completed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of companies announced receipt of complete response letters due to the FDA’s inability to complete required inspections for their applications.
Reworded paragraphs (25)
Previous wording
Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. We are a biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history upon which our stockholders can evaluate our business and prospects. Most of our development programs, with the exception of ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, but including ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, are in preclinical development or in the drug discovery stage. We commenced operations in 2016, and to date, we have focused primarily on organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, developing our proprietary, highly versatile and modular Endosomal Escape Vehicle ("EEV") platform ("EEV Platform"), identifying EEV therapeutic candidates, establishing our intellectual property portfolio and conducting research and preclinical studies. Our approach to the discovery and development of therapeutic candidates based on our EEV Platform is unproven, and we do not know whether we will be able to conduct clinical studies on any of our therapeutic candidates beyond ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, develop any therapeutic candidates that succeed in clinical development or produce products of commercial value. As an organization, we have not yet completed any clinical trials, obtained regulatory approvals, manufactured a commercial-scale product, or arranged for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conducted sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Consequently, any predictions made about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a history of successfully developing and commercializing biopharmaceutical products.
Current wording
Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. We are a biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history upon which our stockholders can evaluate our business and prospects. Most of our development programs, with the exception of ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, but including ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, are in preclinical development or in the drug discovery stage. We commenced operations in 2016, and to date, we have focused primarily on organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, developing our proprietary, highly versatile and modular Endosomal Escape Vehicle ("EEV") platform ("EEV Platform"), identifying EEV therapeutic candidates, establishing our intellectual property portfolio and conducting research and preclinical studies. Our approach to the discovery and development of therapeutic candidates based on our EEV Platform is unproven, and we do not know whether we will be able to conduct clinical studies on any of our therapeutic candidates beyond ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, develop any therapeutic candidates that succeed in clinical development or produce products of commercial value. As an organization, the only clinical trial we have completed is our Phase 1 clinical trial of ENTR-601-44 in the UK, and we have not completed the clinical development of any therapeutic candidate nor have we obtained any regulatory approvals, manufactured a commercial-scale product, or arranged for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conducted sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Consequently, any predictions made about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a history of successfully developing and commercializing biopharmaceutical products.
Previous wording
We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any product revenue since our inception. If our therapeutic candidates are not successfully developed and approved, we may never generate any significant revenue from product sales. We have incurred significant net losses since inception. As of March 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of$171.5 million. Substantially all of our losses have resulted from expenses incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations. All of our therapeutic candidates will require substantial additional development time and resources before we would be able to apply for or receive regulatory approvals and begin generating revenue from product sales. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we anticipate these losses will increase substantially as we continue our development of, seek regulatory approval for and potentially commercialize any of our therapeutic candidates.
Current wording
We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any product revenue since our inception. If our therapeutic candidates are not successfully developed and approved, we may never generate any significant revenue from product sales. We have incurred significant net losses since inception. As of June 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of$116.4 million. Substantially all of our losses have resulted from expenses incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations. All of our therapeutic candidates will require substantial additional development time and resources before we would be able to apply for or receive regulatory approvals and begin generating revenue from product sales. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we anticipate these losses will increase substantially as we continue our development of, seek regulatory approval for and potentially commercialize any of our therapeutic candidates.
Previous wording
We believe that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2024, together with ongoing research support from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated ("Vertex") and the $75 million clinical advancement milestone expected to be received in the second quarter of 2024, will be sufficient to extend our cash runway through the second quarter of 2026, supporting the Company's expansion and continued development of EEV therapeutic candidates targeting Duchenne muscular dystrophy ("Duchenne" or "DMD") and advance EEV-therapeutic candidates in indications beyond neuromuscular disease. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our operating plans and other demands on our cash resources may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings or other capital sources, including potentially additional collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. For example, in September 2023, we entered into a sales agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with Cowen and Company, LLC acting as our agent and/or principal (the "Sales Agent"), with respect to an "at the market offering" program under which we may offer and sell, from time to time, at our sole discretion, shares of common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $150.0 million through the Sales Agent. However, there can be no assurance that the Sales Agent will be successful in consummating future sales based on prevailing market conditions or in the quantities or at the prices that we deem appropriate. Attempting to secure additional financing may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop our therapeutic candidates. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
Current wording
In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. For example, in September 2023, we entered into a sales agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with Cowen and Company, LLC acting as our agent and/or principal (the "Sales Agent"), with respect to an "at the market offering" program under which we may offer and sell, from time to time, at our sole discretion, shares of common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $150.0 million through the Sales Agent. However, there can be no assurance that the Sales Agent will be successful in consummating future sales based on prevailing market conditions or in the quantities or at the prices that we deem appropriate. Additionally, in June 2024, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with a limited number of investors relating to a registered direct offering of 3,367,003 shares of common stock, at a purchase price of $14.85 per share and, in lieu of common stock to certain purchasers who so chose, pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase 3,367,003 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $14.8499 per Pre-Funded Warrant. Attempting to secure additional financing may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop our therapeutic candidates. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
Previous wording
We are early in our development efforts and all our development programs, including our lead therapeutic candidate ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, which are in the early clinical stage, and ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, which are in the preclinical or drug discovery stage. We have invested substantially all of our research efforts to date in developing our EEV Platform, identifying potential therapeutic candidates, conducting preclinical studies, and initiating early clinical studies. As an organization, we have never completed any clinical trials or submitted an application for regulatory approval, and we may be unable to do so for our therapeutic candidates. The IND for ENTR-601-44 has not yet been allowed to proceed in the United States, and other than our partnered candidate VX-670, we have not completed IND-enabling studies for our other candidates. We will need to complete these steps to support the progression of ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50 into and/or through clinical studies in the United States. In addition, we have a development portfolio of programs that are in earlier stages of development and have not yet initiated or completed IND-enabling studies. We may never advance any therapeutic candidates other than our partnered candidate VX-670 through IND-enabling studies and receive authorization from the FDA, to proceed under an IND prior to initiating their clinical-stage development. Our ability to generate product revenue, which we do not expect will occur for many years, if ever, will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of our therapeutic candidates, which may never occur. We currently generate no revenue from sales of any product, and we may never be able to develop or commercialize a marketable product.
Current wording
We are early in our development efforts and all our development programs, including our lead therapeutic candidate ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, which are in the early clinical stage, and ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, which are in the preclinical or drug discovery stage. We have invested substantially all of our research efforts to date in developing our EEV Platform, identifying potential therapeutic candidates, conducting preclinical studies, and initiating early clinical studies. As an organization, the only clinical trial we have completed is our Phase 1 clinical trial of ENTR-601-44 in the UK, and we have not completed the clinical development of any therapeutic candidate nor have we submitted an application for regulatory approval, and we may be unable to do so for our therapeutic candidates. The IND for ENTR-601-44 has not yet been allowed to proceed in the United States, and other than our partnered candidate VX-670, we have not completed IND-enabling studies for our other candidates. We will need to complete these steps to support the progression of ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50 into and/or through clinical studies in the United States. In addition, we have a development portfolio of programs that are in earlier stages of development and have not yet initiated or completed IND-enabling studies. We may never advance any therapeutic candidates other than our partnered candidate VX-670 through IND-enabling studies and receive authorization from the FDA, to proceed under an IND prior to initiating their clinical-stage development. Our ability to generate product revenue, which we do not expect will occur for many years, if ever, will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of our therapeutic candidates, which may never occur. We currently generate no revenue from sales of any product, and we may never be able to develop or commercialize a marketable product.
Previous wording
Commencing clinical trials in the United States is subject to acceptance by the FDA of an IND and finalizing the trial design based on discussions with the FDA and other regulatory authorities. For the FDA to accept an IND, we must complete Good Laboratory Practices ("GLP") studies, which may not be successful or may take longer than we expect. The FDA may require us to complete additional preclinical studies or we may be required to satisfy other FDA requests prior to commencing clinical trials, and such requests may not currently be known or anticipated, which may cause the start of our clinical trials to be delayed or prevent us from conducting clinical trials. For example, the FDA has placed ENTR-601-44 on clinical hold and requested that we gather and submit additional information regarding ENTR-601-44. Even after we receive and incorporate guidance from these regulatory authorities, the FDA or other regulatory authorities could disagree that we have satisfied their requirements to commence any clinical trial or change their position on the acceptability of our trial design or the clinical endpoints selected, including with respect to ENTR-601-44, which may require us to complete additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, impose stricter approval conditions than we currently expect or may prevent us from conducting clinical trials. There are equivalent processes and risks applicable to clinical trial applications in other countries, including countries in the European Union ("EU") and the United Kingdom ("UK").
Current wording
Commencing clinical trials in the United States is subject to acceptance by the FDA of an IND and finalizing the trial design based on discussions with the FDA and other regulatory authorities. For the FDA to accept an IND, we must complete Good Laboratory Practices ("GLP") studies, which may not be successful or may take longer than we expect. The FDA may require us to complete additional preclinical studies or we may be required to satisfy other FDA requests prior to commencing clinical trials in the United States, and such requests may not currently be known or anticipated, which may cause the start of our clinical trials to be delayed in the United States or prevent us from conducting clinical trials in the United States. For example, the FDA has placed ENTR-601-44 on clinical hold and requested that we gather and submit additional information regarding ENTR-601-44. Even after we receive and incorporate guidance from these regulatory authorities, the FDA or other regulatory authorities could disagree that we have satisfied their requirements to commence any clinical trial or change their position on the acceptability of our trial design or the clinical endpoints selected, including with respect to ENTR-601-44, which may require us to complete additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, impose stricter approval conditions than we currently expect or may prevent us from conducting clinical trials. There are equivalent processes and risks applicable to clinical trial applications in other countries, including countries in the European Union ("EU") and the United Kingdom ("UK").
Previous wording
•successful enrollment and completion of clinical trials, including under the FDA’s current Good Clinical Practices ("GCPs"), GLPs and any additional regulatory requirements from foreign regulatory authorities;
Current wording
•successful enrollment and completion of clinical trials, including under the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use Guideline for Good Clinical Practice and the FDA’s current Good Clinical Practices ("GCPs"), GLPs and any additional regulatory requirements from foreign regulatory authorities;
Previous wording
In addition, we received authorization from the MHRA to initiate a healthy volunteer trial in the UK in 2023 and have since initiated dosing on the 4th and final cohort of subjects. However, if our efforts in the United States or the UK are not successful, we may not be able to initiate or complete a clinical development program that enables the approval and marketing of ENTR-601-44 as planned, or at all.
Current wording
In addition, we received authorization from the MHRA to initiate a healthy volunteer trial in the UK in 2023 and have since completed our Phase 1 clinical trial of ENTR-601-44. However, if our future efforts in the United States or the UK are not successful, we may not be able to initiate or complete a clinical development program that enables the approval and marketing of ENTR-601-44 as planned, or at all.
Previous wording
Using our platform, we are developing product features for medicines based on EEVs. Over time, our platform work led to commonalities, where a specific combination of EEV technologies, delivery technologies, and manufacturing processes generated a set of product features shared by multiple programs, for example, oligonucleotide-, enzyme-, and antibody-conjugated EEVs. This is what we call a “modality.” We are utilizing early programs in a modality, such as ENTR-601-44 for oligonucleotide-conjugated EEVs, to understand the technology risks within the modality, including manufacturing and pharmaceutical properties. Our lead therapeutic candidate, ENTR-601-44, is being developed to address DMD and we are highly dependent on the success of the current and future clinical trials of ENTR-601-44, the outcomes of which are uncertain, to further develop ENTR-601-45, our lead therapeutic candidate for patients with DMD with exon 45 skipping amenable mutations as well as ENTR-601-50, our therapeutic candidate for patients with DMD who are exon 50 skipping amenable. Because ENTR-601-44 is our first EEV therapeutic candidate, if ENTR-601-44 encounters safety, efficacy, supply or manufacturing problems, developmental delays, regulatory or commercialization issues or other problems, the value of our EEV Platform, including our other therapeutic candidates such as ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, and our partnered candidate VX-670, could be greatly diminished and our development plans and business would be significantly harmed.
Current wording
Using our platform, we are developing product features for medicines based on EEVs. Over time, our platform work led to commonalities, where a specific combination of EEV technologies, delivery technologies, and manufacturing processes generated a set of product features shared by multiple programs, for example, oligonucleotide-, enzyme-, and antibody-conjugated EEVs. This is what we call a “modality.” We are utilizing early programs in a modality, such as ENTR-601-44 for oligonucleotide-conjugated EEVs, to understand the technology risks within the modality, including manufacturing and pharmaceutical properties. Our lead therapeutic candidate, ENTR-601-44, is being developed to address DMD and we are highly dependent on the success of the future clinical trials of ENTR-601-44, the outcomes of which are uncertain, to further develop ENTR-601-45, our lead therapeutic candidate for patients with DMD with exon 45 skipping amenable mutations as well as ENTR-601-50, our therapeutic candidate for patients with DMD who are exon 50 skipping amenable. Because ENTR-601-44 is our first EEV therapeutic candidate, if ENTR-601-44 encounters safety, efficacy, supply or manufacturing problems, developmental delays, regulatory or commercialization issues or other problems, the value of our EEV Platform, including our other therapeutic candidates such as ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, and our partnered candidate VX-670, could be greatly diminished and our development plans and business would be significantly harmed.
Previous wording
Using EEV technology to develop therapeutic candidates is a new therapeutic approach and no products based on EEVs have been approved to date in the United States or the rest of the world. As such, it is difficult to accurately predict the developmental challenges we may face for our EEV therapeutic candidates as they proceed through development. In addition, because we have not yet completed any clinical trials with our EEV therapeutic candidates, we have not yet been able to assess safety in humans and there may be short-term or long-term effects from treatment with any therapeutic candidates that we develop that we cannot predict at this time. Also, animal models may not exist for some of the diseases we choose to pursue in our programs. As a result of these factors, it is more difficult for us to predict the time and cost of therapeutic candidate development and we cannot predict whether our EEV Platform, or any similar or competitive intracellular delivery technologies, will enable the identification, development and regulatory approval of any products. There can be no assurance that any development problems we experience in the future related to our EEV Platform or any of our research programs will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs or that such development problems can be solved. Any of these factors may prevent us from completing our preclinical studies or any clinical trials that we have initiated or may initiate, or commercializing any therapeutic candidates we may develop on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.
Current wording
Using EEV technology to develop therapeutic candidates is a new therapeutic approach and no products based on EEVs have been approved to date in the United States or the rest of the world. As such, it is difficult to accurately predict the developmental challenges we may face for our EEV therapeutic candidates as they proceed through development. In addition, because we have only completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for ENTR-601-44 and have not yet completed any clinical trials with our other EEV therapeutic candidates, we have not yet been able to assess safety in humans and there may be short-term or long-term effects from treatment with any therapeutic candidates that we develop that we cannot predict at this time. Also, animal models may not exist for some of the diseases we choose to pursue in our programs. As a result of these factors, it is more difficult for us to predict the time and cost of therapeutic candidate development and we cannot predict whether our EEV Platform, or any similar or competitive intracellular delivery technologies, will enable the identification, development and regulatory approval of any products. There can be no assurance that any development problems we experience in the future related to our EEV Platform or any of our research programs will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs or that such development problems can be solved. Any of these factors may prevent us from completing our preclinical studies or any clinical trials that we have initiated or may initiate, or commercializing any therapeutic candidates we may develop on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.
Previous wording
The results from preclinical studies or clinical trials of a therapeutic candidate may not predict the results of later clinical trials of the therapeutic candidate, and interim, topline, or preliminary results of a clinical trial are not necessarily indicative of final results. Therapeutic candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy characteristics despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. In particular, while we have conducted certain preclinical studies of ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, our partnered candidate VX-670 and other potential therapeutic candidates, we do not know whether ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, VX-670 or the other potential therapeutic candidates will perform in current or future clinical trials as they have performed in these prior studies. The positive results we have observed for our therapeutic candidates in early, non-GLP preclinical studies and animal models may not be predictive of our current or future clinical trials in humans. Furthermore, for some indications that we are pursuing there are no animal models that adequately mirror the human disease to predict any level of positive results. It is not uncommon to observe results in clinical trials that are unexpected based on preclinical studies and early clinical trials, and many therapeutic candidates fail in clinical trials despite very promising early results. Unexpected observations or toxicities observed in our IND-enabling studies for example, could delay clinical trials for ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50 or our other development programs. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data may be susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in clinical development even after achieving promising results in earlier studies, and companies that have believed their therapeutic candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain FDA approval. Additionally, we may conduct clinical trials that utilize an “open-label” trial design. An “open-label” clinical trial is one where both the patient and investigator know whether the patient is receiving the investigational therapeutic candidate or either an existing approved drug or placebo. Most typically, open-label clinical trials test only the investigational therapeutic candidate and sometimes may do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as patients in open-label clinical trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. Open-label clinical trials may be subject to a “patient bias” where patients perceive their symptoms to have improved merely due to their awareness of receiving an experimental treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may…
Excerpt shortened here; the source contains the full paragraph.
Current wording
ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50 or our other development programs. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data may be susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in clinical development even after achieving promising results in earlier studies, and companies that have believed their therapeutic candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain FDA approval. Additionally, we may conduct clinical trials that utilize an “open-label” trial design. An “open-label” clinical trial is one where both the patient and investigator know whether the patient is receiving the investigational therapeutic candidate or either an existing approved drug or placebo. Most typically, open-label clinical trials test only the investigational therapeutic candidate and sometimes may do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as patients in open-label clinical trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. Open-label clinical trials may be subject to a “patient bias” where patients perceive their symptoms to have improved merely due to their awareness of receiving an experimental treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may be subject to an “investigator bias” where those assessing and reviewing the physiological outcomes of the clinical trials are aware of which patients have received treatment and may interpret the information of the treated group more favorably given this knowledge. The results from an open-label trial may not be predictive of future clinical trial results with any of our therapeutic candidates for which we include an open-label clinical trial when studied in a controlled environment with a placebo or active control.
Previous wording
Substantial delays in the commencement of our planned clinical trials or the enrollment or completion of our current or planned clinical trials, or failure to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities could prevent us from commercializing any therapeutic candidates we determine to develop on a timely basis, if at all.
Current wording
Substantial delays in the commencement, enrollment or completion of our planned clinical trials, or failure to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities could prevent us from commercializing any therapeutic candidates we determine to develop on a timely basis, if at all.
Previous wording
The risk of failure in developing therapeutic candidates is high. It is impossible to predict when or if any therapeutic candidate would prove effective or safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any therapeutic candidate, we must complete preclinical development, submit an IND or foreign equivalent to permit initiation of clinical studies, and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic candidates in humans. As an organization, we submitted an IND for ENTR-601-44 in the fourth quarter of 2022, which was subsequently placed on clinical hold. We are advancing this program in a single ascending dose clinical trial in healthy volunteers in the UK and have initiated the dosing of the fourth and final cohort of our Phase 1 clinical trial. In parallel we are committed to resolving the clinical hold in the United States. We plan to advance ENTR-601-45, our EEV therapeutic candidate targeting exon 45, to CTA/IND submission in the fourth quarter of 2024 and ENTR-601-50 to CTA/IND submission in 2025. We have limited experience as a company in preparing, submitting and prosecuting regulatory filings and have not previously submitted a New Drug Application ("NDA"), Biologics License Application ("BLA") or other comparable foreign regulatory submission for any therapeutic candidate. In addition, we have had limited interactions with the FDA and cannot be certain how many clinical trials of ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, our partnered candidate VX-670 or any other therapeutic candidates will be required or how such trials should be designed. Consequently, we and our partner may be unable to successfully and efficiently execute and complete necessary clinical trials in a way that leads to regulatory submission and approval of any of our therapeutic candidates. Clinical trials may fail to demonstrate that our therapeutic candidates are safe for humans and effective for indicated uses. Even if the clinical trials are successful, changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment or promulgation of additional statutes, regulations or guidance or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application.
Current wording
The risk of failure in developing therapeutic candidates is high. It is impossible to predict when or if any therapeutic candidate would prove effective or safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any therapeutic candidate, we must complete preclinical development, submit an IND or foreign equivalent to permit initiation of clinical studies, and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic candidates in humans. As an organization, we submitted an IND for ENTR-601-44 in the fourth quarter of 2022, which was subsequently placed on clinical hold. We are advancing this program in a single ascending dose clinical trial in healthy volunteers in the UK and have completed our Phase 1 clinical trial. In parallel we are committed to resolving the clinical hold in the United States. We plan to advance ENTR-601-45, our EEV therapeutic candidate targeting exon 45, to CTA/IND submission in the fourth quarter of 2024 and ENTR-601-50 to CTA/IND submission in 2025. We have limited experience as a company in preparing, submitting and prosecuting regulatory filings and have not previously submitted a New Drug Application ("NDA"), Biologics License Application ("BLA") or other comparable foreign regulatory submission for any therapeutic candidate. In addition, we have had limited interactions with the FDA and cannot be certain how many clinical trials of ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, our partnered candidate VX-670 or any other therapeutic candidates will be required or how such trials should be designed. Consequently, we and our partner may be unable to successfully and efficiently execute and complete necessary clinical trials in a way that leads to regulatory submission and approval of any of our therapeutic candidates. Clinical trials may fail to demonstrate that our therapeutic candidates are safe for humans and effective for indicated uses. Even if the clinical trials are successful, changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment or promulgation of additional statutes, regulations or guidance or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application.
Previous wording
Before we can commence clinical trials for a therapeutic candidate, we must complete extensive preclinical testing and studies that support our INDs and other regulatory filings. We cannot be certain of the timely identification of a therapeutic candidate or the completion or outcome of our preclinical testing and studies and cannot predict whether the FDA will accept our proposed clinical programs or whether the outcome of our preclinical testing and studies will ultimately support the further development of any therapeutic candidates. Conducting preclinical testing is a lengthy, time-consuming and expensive process. The length of time may vary substantially according to the type, complexity and novelty of the program, and often can be several years or more per program. As a result, we cannot be sure that we will be able to submit INDs for our preclinical programs on the timelines we expect, if at all, and we cannot be sure that submission of INDs will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to begin. For example, the FDA has placed the IND for ENTR-601-44 for the potential treatment of DMD on clinical hold and requested that we gather and submit additional information regarding ENTR-601-44. We are actively working to resolve the clinical hold in the United States. Should our response to the clinical hold in the United States not be satisfactory to the FDA, the clinical hold may not be lifted on a timely basis, or at all. In addition, given the extraordinary unmet need, we initiated a healthy volunteer trial in the UK and have initiated dosing of the fourth and final cohort of our Phase 1 clinical trial. However, if our efforts in the United States and elsewhere are not successful, we may not be able to complete a clinical development program that enables the approval and marketing of ENTR-601-44 as planned, or at all.
Current wording
Before we can commence clinical trials for a therapeutic candidate, we must complete extensive preclinical testing and studies that support our INDs and other regulatory filings. We cannot be certain of the timely identification of a therapeutic candidate or the completion or outcome of our preclinical testing and studies and cannot predict whether the FDA or other comparable regulatory authority will accept our proposed clinical programs or whether the outcome of our preclinical testing and studies will ultimately support the further development of any therapeutic candidates. Conducting preclinical testing is a lengthy, time-consuming and expensive process. The length of time may vary substantially according to the type, complexity and novelty of the program, and often can be several years or more per program. As a result, we cannot be sure that we will be able to submit CTAs/INDs for our preclinical programs on the timelines we expect, if at all, and we cannot be sure that submission of CTAs/INDs will result in the FDA or other regulatory authority allowing clinical trials to begin. For example, the FDA has placed the IND for ENTR-601-44 for the potential treatment of DMD on clinical hold and requested that we gather and submit additional information regarding ENTR-601-44. We are actively working to resolve the clinical hold in the United States. Should our response to the clinical hold in the United States not be satisfactory to the FDA, the clinical hold may not be lifted on a timely basis, or at all. In addition, given the extraordinary unmet need, we initiated and completed a Phase 1 clinical trial with healthy volunteers in the UK. However, if our efforts in the United States and elsewhere are not successful, we may not be able to complete a clinical development program that enables the approval and marketing of ENTR-601-44 as planned, or at all.
Previous wording
The success of our business depends primarily upon our ability to identify, develop and commercialize products based on our proprietary EEV Platform, which leverages a novel and unproven approach. While we have observed favorable preclinical study results based on our EEV Platform, we have not yet succeeded and may not succeed in demonstrating efficacy and safety for any therapeutic candidates in clinical trials or in obtaining marketing approval thereafter. Our lead therapeutic candidates, with the exception of ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, but including ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, are in preclinical development. Our research methodology and novel approach to intracellular therapeutics may be unsuccessful in identifying additional therapeutic candidates, and any therapeutic candidates based on our EEV Platform may be shown to have harmful side effects or may have other characteristics that may necessitate additional clinical testing, or make the therapeutic candidates unmarketable or unlikely to receive marketing approval. Further, because all of our therapeutic candidates and development programs are based on our EEV Platform, adverse developments with respect to one of our programs may have a significant adverse impact on the actual or perceived likelihood of success and value of our other programs.
Current wording
The success of our business depends primarily upon our ability to identify, develop and commercialize products based on our proprietary EEV Platform, which leverages a novel and unproven approach. While we have observed favorable preclinical study results based on our EEV Platform, we have not yet succeeded and may not succeed in demonstrating sufficient efficacy and safety to enable the approval of any therapeutic candidates as a result of our clinical trials or obtain marketing approval thereto. Our lead therapeutic candidates, with the exception of ENTR-601-44 and our partnered candidate VX-670, but including ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, are in preclinical development. Our research methodology and novel approach to intracellular therapeutics may be unsuccessful in identifying additional therapeutic candidates, and any therapeutic candidates based on our EEV Platform may be shown to have harmful side effects or may have other characteristics that may necessitate additional clinical testing, or make the therapeutic candidates unmarketable or unlikely to receive marketing approval. Further, because all of our therapeutic candidates and development programs are based on our EEV Platform, adverse developments with respect to one of our programs may have a significant adverse impact on the actual or perceived likelihood of success and value of our other programs.
Previous wording
Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and the EU, may also designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a therapeutic candidate as an orphan drug if it is a drug intended to treat a rare condition, which is generally defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, or a patient population greater than 200,000 in the United States where there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the drug will be recovered from sales in the United States. In the EU, the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products ("COMP") evaluates orphan designation in respect of a product if its sponsor can establish that: (1) the product is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition; (2) either (i) such condition affects no more than five (5) in ten thousand (10,000) persons in the EU when the application is made, or (ii) it is unlikely that the product, without the benefits derived from orphan status, would generate sufficient return in the EU to justify the necessary investment in its development; and (3) there is no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of such condition authorized for marketing in the EU, or, if such a method exists, the product would be of significant benefit to those affected by that condition. In the United States, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers, and it may entitle the therapeutic to exclusivity in the United States and the EU. Even if we obtain orphan drug designation for a therapeutic candidate, we may not be able to obtain or maintain orphan drug exclusivity for that therapeutic candidate.
Current wording
Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and the EU, may also designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a therapeutic candidate as an orphan drug if it is a drug intended to treat a rare condition, which is generally defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, or a patient population greater than 200,000 in the United States where there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the drug will be recovered from sales in the United States. In the EU, the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products ("COMP") evaluates orphan designation in respect of a product if its sponsor can establish that: (1) the product is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition; (2) either (i) such condition affects no more than five (5) in ten thousand (10,000) persons in the EU when the application is made, or (ii) it is unlikely that the product, without the benefits derived from orphan status, would generate sufficient return in the EU to justify the necessary investment in its development; and (3) there is no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of such condition authorized for marketing in the EU, or, if such a method exists, the product would be of significant benefit to those affected by that condition. In the United States, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers, and it may entitle the therapeutic to exclusivity in the United States. Even if we obtain orphan drug designation for a therapeutic candidate, we may not be able to obtain or maintain orphan drug exclusivity for that therapeutic candidate.
Previous wording
•refuse to approve a pending BLA or supplements to a BLA submitted by us;
Current wording
•refuse to approve a pending BLA/NDA or supplements to a BLA/NDA submitted by us;
Previous wording
If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs or others terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or other third parties or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional CROs involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO begins work. As a result, delays may occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects. If third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated study plans and protocols, we will not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the preclinical studies and clinical trials required to support future IND submissions and approval of any therapeutic candidates we may develop.
Current wording
If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs or others terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or other third parties or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional CROs involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO begins work. As a result, delays may occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects. If third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated study plans and protocols, we will not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the preclinical studies and clinical trials required to support future IND/CTA submissions and approval of any therapeutic candidates we may develop.
Previous wording
Currently, patients with DMD are treated with corticosteroids to manage the inflammatory component of the disease. EMFLAZA (deflazacort) is an FDA-approved corticosteroid marketed by PTC Therapeutics, Inc. ("PTC"). In addition, there are four FDA-approved exon skipping drugs: EXONDYS 51 (eteplirsen), VYONDYS 53 (golodirsen), and AMONDYS 45 (casimersen), which are phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers ("PMOs") approved for the treatment of patients with DMD who are amenable to exon 51, exon 53 and exon 45 skipping, respectively, and are marketed by Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. ("Sarepta"), and VILTEPSO (vitolarsen), a PMO approved for the treatment of patients with DMD who are amenable to exon 53 skipping, which is marketed by Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd. Companies focused on developing treatments for DMD that target dystrophin mechanisms, as does our DMD program, include Sarepta with SRP -5051, a peptide-linked PMO currently being evaluated following a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients amenable to exon 51 skipping along with additional exons in preclinical development, Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd., which recently completed a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for patients amenable to exon 44 skipping in Japan, PTC with ataluren, a small molecule targeting nonsense mutations in a Phase 3 clinical trial, Avidity Biosciences, Inc. ("Avidity"), which announced the preliminary data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial with antibody oligonucleotide conjugates for exon 44 (AOC-1044), and has similar programs for patients amenable to exon 45, and exon 51 skipping in preclinical development, Wave Life Sciences Ltd., which is clinically evaluating WVE-N531, a splicing clinical candidate that is designed to target exon 53 within the dystrophin gene, Dyne Therapeutics, Inc. ("Dyne"), which is pursuing antibody fragment-oligonucleotide conjugates for exons 44, 45, 51 (clinical candidate DYNE-251), and 53, PepGen, Inc. with PGN-EDO51, a clinical candidate designed to address exon 51, along with discovery programs targeting exons 53, 44, and 45, and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., which is in preclinical development with BMN 351, an antisense oligonucleotide therapy for exon 51. In addition, several companies are developing gene therapies to treat DMD, including Pfizer Inc. (PF-06939926), Sarepta (SRP-9001; delandistrogene moxeparvovec-rokl approved for ambulatory 4-5 year old patients), Solid Biosciences Inc. (SGT-003), and
Current wording
Currently, patients with DMD are treated with corticosteroids to manage the inflammatory component of the disease. EMFLAZA (deflazacort) is an FDA-approved corticosteroid marketed by PTC Therapeutics, Inc. ("PTC"). In addition, there are four FDA-approved exon skipping drugs: EXONDYS 51 (eteplirsen), VYONDYS 53 (golodirsen), and AMONDYS 45 (casimersen), which are phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers ("PMOs") approved for the treatment of patients with DMD who are amenable to exon 51, exon 53 and exon 45 skipping, respectively, and are marketed by Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. ("Sarepta"), and VILTEPSO (vitolarsen), a PMO approved for the treatment of patients with DMD who are amenable to exon 53 skipping, which is marketed by Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd. Companies focused on developing treatments for DMD that target dystrophin mechanisms, as does our DMD program, include Sarepta with SRP -5051, a peptide-linked PMO currently being evaluated following a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients amenable to exon 51 skipping along with additional exons in preclinical development, Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd., which recently completed a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for patients amenable to exon 44 skipping in Japan, PTC with ataluren, a small molecule targeting nonsense mutations in a Phase 3 clinical trial, Avidity Biosciences, Inc. ("Avidity"), which announced the preliminary data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial with antibody oligonucleotide conjugates for exon 44 (AOC-1044), and has similar programs for patients amenable to exon 45, and exon 51 skipping in preclinical development, Wave Life Sciences Ltd., which is clinically evaluating WVE-N531, a splicing clinical candidate that is designed to target exon 53 within the dystrophin gene, Dyne Therapeutics, Inc. ("Dyne"), which is pursuing antibody fragment-oligonucleotide conjugates for exons 44, 45, 51 (clinical candidate DYNE-251 recently announced data from its first MAD cohort), and 53, PepGen, Inc. with PGN-EDO51, a clinical candidate designed to address exon 51, along with discovery programs targeting exons 53, 44, and 45, and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., which is in preclinical development with BMN 351, an antisense oligonucleotide therapy for exon 51. In addition, several companies are developing gene therapies to treat DMD, including Pfizer Inc. (PF-06939926), Sarepta (SRP-9001; delandistrogene moxeparvovec-rokl approved for patients with a confirmed mutation that are at least 4 years of age), Solid Biosciences Inc. (SGT-003), and REGENXBIO (RGX-202). Gene editing treatments that are in preclinical development are also being pursued by Vertex and Sarepta. We are also aware of several companies targeting non-dystrophin mechanisms for the treatment of DMD.
Previous wording
The only currently-approved therapies for Pompe disease are alglucosidase alfa (Lumizyme in the United States, Myozyme in other geographies), avalglucosidase alfa-ngpt (Nexviazyme in the United States) and cipaglucosidase alfa-atga + miglustat, which rely on the delivery of GAA via IV infusions. There is one GYS1 inhibitor in clinical development from Maze Therapeutics Inc. and another from Aro Biotherapeutics. There are four gene therapies in the early stages of clinical development from Astellas Pharma Inc., Bayer AG, Roche Holding AG and Lacerta Therapeutics, Inc. There are gene therapies in preclinical development from AVROBIO, Inc. and Amicus Therapeutics.
Current wording
The only currently-approved therapies for Pompe disease are alglucosidase alfa (Lumizyme in the United States, Myozyme in other geographies), avalglucosidase alfa-ngpt (Nexviazyme in the United States) and cipaglucosidase alfa-atga + miglustat, which rely on the delivery of GAA via IV infusions. There is one GYS1 inhibitor in clinical development from Maze Therapeutics Inc. and another from Aro Biotherapeutics. There are four gene therapies in the early stages of clinical development from Astellas Pharma Inc., Bayer AG, Roche Holding AG and Lacerta Therapeutics, Inc. There are gene therapies in preclinical development from AVROBIO, Inc. and Amicus Therapeutics and antibody based therapies in preclinical development from Sanofi and Dyne Therapeutics.
Previous wording
As of March 31, 2024, we had 160 full-time employees. We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of clinical development, clinical operations, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and, if any of our therapeutic candidates receives marketing 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 and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth and with developing sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure, 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.
Current wording
As of June 30, 2024, we had 168 full-time employees. We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of clinical development, clinical operations, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and, if any of our therapeutic candidates receives marketing 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 and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth and with developing sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure, 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.
Previous wording
Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. The Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year. Subsequent legislation extended the 2% payment reduction which remains in effect through 2031. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 further reduced Medicare payments to several providers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law, which eliminates the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, currently set at 100% of a drug’s average manufacturer price, for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, beginning January 1, 2024. Due to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, estimated budget deficit increases resulting from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and subsequent legislation, Medicare payments to providers will be further reduced starting in 2025 absent further legislation.
Current wording
Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. The Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year. Subsequent legislation extended the 2% payment reduction which remains in effect through 2031. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 further reduced Medicare payments to several providers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law, which eliminates the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, currently set at 100% of a drug’s average manufacturer price, for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, which began on January 1, 2024. Due to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, estimated budget deficit increases resulting from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and subsequent legislation, Medicare payments to providers will be further reduced starting in 2025 absent further legislation.
Previous wording
Our executive officers, directors, holders of 5% or more of our capital stock and their respective affiliates beneficially owned approximately 70.5% of our outstanding voting stock as of March 31, 2024. These stockholders, acting together, may be able to impact matters requiring stockholder approval. For example, they may be able to impact elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents or approval of any merger, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that investors may feel are in their best interest as one of our stockholders. The interests of this group of stockholders may not always coincide with each investor’s interests or the interests of other stockholders and they may act in a manner that advances their best interests and not necessarily those of other stockholders, including seeking a premium value for their common stock, and might affect the prevailing market price for our common stock.
Current wording
Our executive officers, directors, holders of 5% or more of our capital stock and their respective affiliates beneficially owned approximately 63.6% of our outstanding voting stock as of June 30, 2024. These stockholders, acting together, may be able to impact matters requiring stockholder approval. For example, they may be able to impact elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents or approval of any merger, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that investors may feel are in their best interest as one of our stockholders. The interests of this group of stockholders may not always coincide with each investor’s interests or the interests of other stockholders and they may act in a manner that advances their best interests and not necessarily those of other stockholders, including seeking a premium value for their common stock, and might affect the prevailing market price for our common stock.
Previous wording
Our fourth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could depress the market price of our common stock by acting to discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions include, among other things:
Current wording
Our Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and our Amended and Restated Bylaws contain provisions that could depress the market price of our common stock by acting to discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions include, among other things:
Previous wording
The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, statutory, regulatory and policy changes, the FDA’s ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees, and other events that may otherwise affect the FDA’s ability to perform routine functions. Average review times at the agency have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new drugs and biologics or modifications to approved drugs and biologics to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business.
Current wording
Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new drugs and biologics or modifications to approved drugs and biologics to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical employees and stop critical activities.
Previous wording
Regulatory authorities outside the United States may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to a worldwide pandemic, such as COVID-19, and may experience delays in their regulatory activities. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if global health concerns continue to prevent the FDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, including formal and informal interactions with product developers, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA or other regulatory authorities to timely review and process our future regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Current wording
If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if global health concerns continue to prevent the FDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, including formal and informal interactions with product developers, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA or other regulatory authorities to timely review and process our future regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Rearranged current paragraphs (2)
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Based on our current operating plans, we believe that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2024 will be sufficient to fund our operations into 2027. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our operating plans and other demands on our cash resources may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings or other capital sources, including potentially additional collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
The results from preclinical studies or clinical trials of a therapeutic candidate may not predict the results of later clinical trials of the therapeutic candidate, and interim, topline, or preliminary results of a clinical trial are not necessarily indicative of final results. Therapeutic candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy characteristics despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. In particular, while we have conducted certain preclinical studies of ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, our partnered candidate VX-670 and other potential therapeutic candidates, we do not know whether ENTR-601-44, ENTR-601-45, ENTR-601-50, VX-670 or the other potential therapeutic candidates will perform in current or future clinical trials as they have performed in these prior studies. The positive results we have observed for our therapeutic candidates in early, non-GLP preclinical studies and animal models may not be predictive of our current or future clinical trials in humans. Furthermore, for some indications that we are pursuing there are no animal models that adequately mirror the human disease to predict any level of positive results. It is not uncommon to observe results in clinical trials that are unexpected based on preclinical studies and early clinical trials, and many therapeutic candidates fail in clinical trials despite very promising early results. Unexpected observations or toxicities observed in our IND-enabling studies for example, could delay clinical trials for
Rearranged previous paragraphs (2)
Previous report — wording carried elsewhere
Because we currently rely on third parties to manufacture our therapeutic candidates and to perform quality testing, we must, at times, share our proprietary technology and confidential information, including trade secrets, with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements, and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with our collaborators, advisors, employees and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are intentionally or inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets and despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery of our proprietary technology and confidential information or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Previous report — wording carried elsewhere
REGENXBIO (RGX-202). Gene editing treatments that are in preclinical development are also being pursued by Vertex and Sarepta. We are also aware of several companies targeting non-dystrophin mechanisms for the treatment of DMD.