UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(MARK ONE)

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2018

OR

For the transition period from              to             

Commission File Number 001-35238

 

HORIZON PHARMA PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

011 353 1 772 2100

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

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

 

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

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

Number of registrant’s ordinary shares, nominal value $0.0001, outstanding as of July 27, 2018: 166,629,738. 

 

 

 

 

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HORIZON PHARMA PLC

INDEX

 

 

 

 

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

HORIZON PHARMA PLC

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(UNAUDITED)

(In thousands, except share data)

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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HORIZON PHARMA PLC

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(UNAUDITED)

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 

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HORIZON PHARMA PLC

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(UNAUDITED)

(In thousands)  

 

 

 

 

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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HORIZON PHARMA PLC

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 

NOTE 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Basis of Presentation

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements presented herein have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X.  Accordingly, the financial statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements.  In the opinion of management, all adjustments, including normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair statement of the financial statements have been included.  Operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018.  The December 31, 2017 condensed consolidated balance sheet was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP.            

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to the “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Horizon Pharma plc and its consolidated subsidiaries.  The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries.  All intra-company transactions and balances have been eliminated.  

The impairment recorded during the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, of $22.3 million of the asset recognized in connection with the acquisition of certain rights to interferon gamma-1b, as further described in Note 4, was previously included within “selling, general and administrative” expenses.  For prior-period comparisons, the Company now includes this amount in the “impairment of long-lived assets” line item in its condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive loss.

Business Overview

The Company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on researching, developing and commercializing innovative medicines that address unmet treatment needs for rare and rheumatic diseases.  By expanding our pipeline of medicines in development and exploring all potential uses for currently marketed medicines, the Company strives to make a powerful difference for patients, their caregivers and physicians.  The Company has two reportable segments, referred to as the “orphan and rheumatology segment” and the “primary care segment”.  The Company markets eleven medicines in the areas of orphan diseases, rheumatology and primary care.  

The Company’s marketed medicines are:

 

 

 

NOTE 2 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, the Company adopts new accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or other standard-setting bodies.  

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Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU No. 2014-09”).  The new standard aims to achieve a consistent application of revenue recognition within the United States, resulting in a single revenue model to be applied by reporting companies under GAAP. Under the new model, recognition of revenue occurs when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.  In addition, the new standard requires that reporting companies disclose the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers.  The new standard is required to be applied retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or modified retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying it recognized at the date of initial application.  The Company elected to utilize the modified retrospective method.  The performance obligations identified by the Company under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue From Contracts With Customers, are similar to the unit of account and performance obligation determination under ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition.  The implementation of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements as the timing of revenue recognition for its primary revenue stream, product sales, did not significantly change.  Certain of the Company’s contracts for sales outside the United States include variable consideration that the Company was precluded from recognizing because the amounts were contingent.  The Company concluded that the new standard required a cumulative-effect adjustment of certain deferred revenues under these contracts that were originally expected to be recognized in the future.  Upon adoption on January 1, 2018, the Company reclassified $11.3 million of deferred revenue directly to retained earnings.  Following this reclassification, no amounts remained in deferred revenue relating to these contracts.  In addition, as a result of the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, the Company now presents all allowances for medicine returns in accrued expenses on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.  This resulted in a reclassification of $37.9 million of allowances for medicine returns from “accounts receivable, net” to “accrued expenses” in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2017, and a reclassification of $11.9 million between the “accounts receivable” and “accrued expenses and accrued royalties” line items within the changes in operating assets and liabilities section of the condensed consolidated statement of cash flow for the six months ended June 30, 2017.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory (“ASU No. 2016-16”).  ASU No. 2016-16 was issued to improve the accounting for the income tax consequences of intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory.  Previously, GAAP prohibited the recognition of current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity asset transfer until the asset has been sold to an outside party which has resulted in diversity in practice and increased complexity within financial reporting.  ASU No. 2016-16 requires an entity to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs and does not require new disclosures.  Upon adoption, the Company applied the modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings and the Company reclassified $9.3 million of unrecognized deferred charges directly to retained earnings.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting (“ASU No. 2017-09”).  The amendment amends the scope of modification accounting for share-based payment arrangements, provides guidance on the types of changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards to which an entity would be required to apply modification accounting under ASC Topic 718, Compensation- Stock Compensation.  Upon adoption, the Company applied the prospective method and will account for future modifications, if any, under this guidance.  The adoption of ASU No. 2017-09 did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (“ASU No. 2016-18”).  ASU No. 2016-18 addresses diversity in practice related to the classification and presentation of changes in restricted cash on the statement of cash flows.  ASU No. 2016-18 requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents.  Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows.  

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (“ASU No. 2016-15”).  ASU No. 2016-15 provides guidance on the following eight specific cash flow classification issues: (1) debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; (2) settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing; (3) contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; (4) proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; (5) proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, including bank-owned life insurance policies; (6) distributions received from equity method investees; (7) beneficial interests in securitization transactions; and (8) separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle.  

 

 

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The following table summarizes the adjustments made to conform prior period classifications as a result of the adoption of ASU No. 2016-18 and ASU No. 2016-15 (in thousands):

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (“ASU No. 2017-04”), to eliminate the second step of the goodwill impairment test.  ASU No. 2017-04 requires an entity to measure a goodwill impairment loss as the amount by which the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value.  Additionally, an entity should include the income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying value of the reporting unit when measuring a goodwill impairment loss, if applicable.  The Company will apply ASU No. 2017-04 in future goodwill impairment testing.  The adoption of ASU No. 2017-04 did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU No. 2016-02”).  Under ASU No. 2016-02, an entity will be required to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on its balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements.  ASU No. 2016-02 offers specific accounting guidance for a lessee, a lessor and sale and leaseback transactions.  Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable a user of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases.  ASU No. 2016-02 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted.  The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of ASU No. 2016-02 on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

 

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting (“ASU No. 2018-07”).  ASU No. 2018-07 largely aligns the accounting for share-based payment awards issued to employees and non-employees.  The Company is required to apply ASU No. 2018-07 to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted.  The Company expects to adopt ASU No. 2018-07 on January 1, 2019, and it does not expect the adoption of ASU No. 2018-07 to have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

 

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-08, Clarifying the Scope and the Accounting Guidance for Contributions Received and Contributions Made (“ASU No. 2018-08”).  The new guidance applies to all entities that receive or make contributions, including business entities.  The Company is required to apply ASU No. 2018-08 to contributions received during annual periods beginning after June 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods.  The Company is required to apply ASU No. 2018-08 to contributions provided during annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods, with early adoption permitted. The Company will adopt the standard on January 1, 2019, using prospective application to any new agreements entered into after the effective date.  The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU No. 2018-08 to have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Other recent authoritative guidance issued by the FASB (including technical corrections to the ASC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) did not, or are not expected to, have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

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Significant Accounting Policies

As described above, effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09.  The Company modified its critical accounting policies related to revenue recognition following the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, and the Company’s updated policies are described below.

Revenue Recognition

In the United States, the Company sells its medicines primarily to wholesale distributors and specialty pharmacy providers.  In other countries, the Company sells its medicines primarily to wholesale distributors and other third-party distribution partners.  These customers subsequently resell the Company’s medicines to health care providers and patients.  In addition, the Company enters into arrangements with health care providers and payers that provide for government-mandated or privately-negotiated discounts and allowances related to the Company’s medicines.  Revenue is recognized when performance obligations under the terms of a contract with a customer are satisfied.  The majority of the Company's contracts have a single performance obligation to transfer medicines.  Accordingly, revenues from medicine sales are recognized when the customer obtains control of the Company’s medicines, which occurs at a point in time, typically upon delivery to the customer.  Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring medicines and is generally based upon a list or fixed price less allowances for medicine returns, rebates and discounts.  The Company sells its medicines to wholesale pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies under agreements with payment terms typically less than 90 days.  The Company’s process for estimating reserves established for these variable consideration components does not differ materially from the Company’s historical practices.

Medicine Sales Discounts and Allowances

The nature of the Company's contracts gives rise to variable consideration because of allowances for medicine returns, rebates and discounts.  Allowances for medicine returns, rebates and discounts are recorded at the time of sale to wholesale pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies.  The Company applies significant judgments and estimates in determining some of these allowances.  If actual results differ from its estimates, the Company will be required to make adjustments to these allowances in the future.  The Company’s adjustments to gross sales are discussed further below.

Commercial Rebates

The Company participates in certain commercial rebate programs.  Under these rebate programs, the Company pays a rebate to the commercial entity or third-party administrator of the program.  The Company calculates accrued commercial rebate estimates using the expected value method.  The Company accrues estimated rebates based on contract prices, estimated percentages of medicine sold to qualified patients and estimated levels of inventory in the distribution channel and records the rebate as a reduction of revenue.  Accrued commercial rebates are included in “accrued trade discounts and rebates” on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Distribution Service Fees

The Company includes distribution service fees paid to its wholesalers for distribution and inventory management services as a reduction to revenue.  The Company calculates accrued distribution service fee estimates using the most likely amount method.  The Company accrues estimated distribution fees based on contractually determined amounts, typically as a percentage of revenue.  Accrued distribution service fees are included in “accrued trade discounts and rebates” on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.  

Patient Access Programs

The Company offers discount card and other programs such as its HorizonCares program to patients under which the patient receives a discount on his or her prescription.  In certain circumstances when a patient’s prescription is rejected by a managed care vendor, the Company will pay for the full cost of the prescription.  The Company reimburses pharmacies for this discount through third-party vendors.  The Company reduces gross sales by the amount of actual co-pay and other patient assistance in the period based on the invoices received.  The Company also records an accrual to reduce gross sales for estimated co-pay and other patient assistance on units sold to distributors that have not yet been prescribed/dispensed to a patient.  The Company calculates accrued co-pay and other patient assistance fee estimates using the expected value method.  The estimate is based on contract prices, estimated percentages of medicine that will be prescribed to qualified patients, average assistance paid based on reporting from the third-party vendors and estimated levels of inventory in the distribution channel.  Accrued co-pay and other patient assistance fees are included in “accrued trade discounts and rebates” on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.  Patient assistance programs include both co-pay assistance and fully bought down prescriptions.  

 

 

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Sales Returns

Consistent with industry practice, the Company maintains a return policy that allows customers to return medicines within a specified period prior to and subsequent to the medicine expiration date.  Generally, medicines may be returned for a period beginning six months prior to its expiration date and up to one year after its expiration date.  The right of return expires on the earlier of one year after the medicine expiration date or the time that the medicine is dispensed to the patient.  The majority of medicine returns result from medicine dating, which falls within the range set by the Company’s policy, and are settled through the issuance of a credit to the customer.  The Company calculates sales returns using the expected value method.  The estimate of the provision for returns is based upon the Company’s historical experience with actual returns.  This period is known to the Company based on the shelf life of medicines at the time of shipment.  The Company records sales returns in “accrued expenses” and as a reduction of revenue.  

Prompt Pay Discounts

As an incentive for prompt payment, the Company offers a 2% cash discount to customers.  The Company calculates accrued prompt pay discounts using the most likely amount method.  The Company expects that all customers will comply with the contractual terms to earn the discount.  The Company records the discount as an allowance against “accounts receivable, net” and a reduction of revenue.

Government Rebates

The Company participates in certain federal government rebate programs such as Medicare Coverage Gap and Medicaid.  The Company calculates accrued government rebate estimates using the expected value method.  The Company accrues estimated rebates based on percentages of medicine sold to qualified patients, estimated rebate percentages and estimated levels of inventory in the distribution channel that are expected to be sold to qualified patients and records the rebates as a reduction of revenue.  Accrued government rebates are included in “accrued trade discounts and rebates” on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.  

Government Chargebacks

The Company provides discounts to federal government qualified entities with whom the Company has contracted.  These federal entities purchase medicines from the wholesale pharmaceutical distributors at a discounted price, and the wholesale pharmaceutical distributors then charge back to the Company the difference between the current retail price and the contracted price that the federal entities paid for the medicines.  The Company calculates accrued government chargeback estimates using the expected value method.  The Company accrues estimated chargebacks based on contract prices and sell-through sales data obtained from third-party information and records the chargeback as a reduction of revenue.  Accrued government chargebacks are included in “accrued trade discounts and rebates” on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.  

Bad Debt Expense

The Company’s medicines are sold to wholesale pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies.  The Company monitors its accounts receivable balances to determine the impact, if any, of such factors as changes in customer concentration, credit risk and the realizability of its accounts receivable, and records a bad debt reserve when applicable.  

Segment Reporting

Effective as of the second quarter of 2018, management realigned the Company’s reportable segments to reflect changes in the manner in which the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) assesses financial information for decision-making purposes.  See Note 13 for further details.  The Company’s accounting policy for segment reporting is described below.  

The Company determined that it operates in two reportable segments, an orphan and rheumatology segment and a primary care segment.  The Company’s reportable segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the CODM.  The Company’s CODM has been identified as its chief executive officer.  The Company has no transactions between reportable segments.

 

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NOTE 3 – NET LOSS PER SHARE

The following table presents basic and diluted net loss per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except share and per share data):

 

 

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period.  Diluted net loss per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue ordinary shares were exercised, converted into ordinary shares, or resulted in the issuance of ordinary shares that would have shared in the Company’s earnings.

The computation of diluted net loss per share excluded 11.0 million and 11.6 million shares subject to equity awards for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, and 21.5 million and 18.0 million shares subject to equity awards and warrants for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, because their inclusion would have had an anti-dilutive effect on diluted net loss per share.

The potentially dilutive impact of the March 2015 private placement of $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2.50% Exchangeable Senior Notes due 2022 (the “Exchangeable Senior Notes”) by Horizon Pharma Investment Limited (“Horizon Investment”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is determined using a method similar to the treasury stock method.  Under this method, no numerator or denominator adjustments arise from the principal and interest components of the Exchangeable Senior Notes because the Company has the intent and ability to settle the Exchangeable Senior Notes’ principal and interest in cash.  Instead, the Company is required to increase the diluted net (loss) income per share denominator by the variable number of shares that would be issued upon conversion if it settled the conversion spread obligation with shares.  For diluted net (loss) income per share purposes, the conversion spread obligation is calculated based on whether the average market price of the Company’s ordinary shares over the reporting period is in excess of the exchange price of the Exchangeable Senior Notes.  There was no calculated spread added to the denominator for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.

 

NOTE 4 – ACQUISITIONS, DIVESTITURES AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS

 

Acquisitions

 

Acquisition of River Vision

On May 8, 2017, the Company acquired 100% of the equity interests in River Vision Development Corp. (“River Vision”) for upfront cash payments totaling approximately $150.3 million, including cash acquired of $6.3 million, with additional potential future milestone and royalty payments contingent on the satisfaction of certain regulatory milestones and sales thresholds.  Pursuant to ASC 805 (as amended by ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business (“ASU No. 2017-01”)), the Company accounted for the River Vision acquisition as the purchase of an in-process research and development asset and, pursuant to ASC Topic 730, Research and Development, recorded the purchase price as research and development expense during the year ended December 31, 2017.  Further, the Company recognized approximately $13.1 million of federal net operating losses, $2.8 million of state net operating losses and $5.8 million of federal tax credits.  The acquired tax attributes were set up as deferred tax assets for which a comparable amount was recorded as a deferred credit in long-term liabilities.  The deferred tax assets were further netted with the net deferred tax liabilities of the U.S. group.        

 

Under the agreement for the acquisition of River Vision, the Company is required to pay up to $325.0 million upon the attainment of various milestones related to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval and net sales thresholds.  The agreement also includes a royalty payment of three percent of the portion of annual worldwide net sales exceeding $300.0 million (if any).  Under a separate agreement, the Company is also required to pay up to CHF103.0 million ($104.0 million when converted using a CHF-to-Dollar exchange rate at June 30, 2018 of 1.0095) upon the attainment of various milestones related to approval, filing and net sales thresholds.  During the year ended December 31, 2017, CHF2.0 million ($2.0 million when converted using a CHF-to-Dollar exchange rate at the date of payment of 1.0169) was paid in relation to these milestones.  The separate agreement also includes a royalty payment of between nine percent and twelve percent of the portion of annual worldwide net sales.  

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Acquisition and Subsequent Sale of Additional Rights to Interferon Gamma-1b

 

On June 30, 2017, the Company completed its acquisition of certain rights to interferon gamma-1b from Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH (“Boehringer Ingelheim International”) in all territories outside of the United States, Canada and Japan, as the Company previously held marketing rights to interferon gamma-1b in these territories, and in connection therewith, paid Boehringer Ingelheim International €19.5 million ($22.3 million when converted using a Euro-to-Dollar exchange rate at date of payment of 1.1406).  Boehringer Ingelheim International commercialized interferon gamma-1b as IMUKIN in an estimated thirty countries, primarily in Europe and the Middle East.  Upon closing, during the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company accounted for the €19.5 million payment ($22.3 million when converted using a Euro-to-Dollar exchange rate at date of payment of 1.1406) as the acquisition of an asset which was immediately impaired as projections for future net sales of IMUKIN in these territories did not exceed the related costs, and included the payment in the “impairment of long-lived assets” line item in its condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive loss.  On July 24, 2018, the Company sold its rights to interferon gamma-1b in all territories outside the United States, Canada and Japan to Clinigen Group plc for an upfront payment and a potential additional contingent consideration payment.  The Company continues to market interferon gamma-1b as ACTIMMUNE in the United States.

Divestiture of PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR rights in the EMEA Regions

On June 23, 2017, the Company completed the sale of its European subsidiary that owned the marketing rights to PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) regions (the “Chiesi divestiture”) to Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. (“Chiesi”) for an upfront payment of $72.5 million, which reflects $3.1 million of cash divested, with additional potential milestone payments based on sales thresholds.

Pursuant to ASU No. 2017-01, the Company accounted for the Chiesi divestiture as a sale of a business.  The Company determined that the sale of the business and its assets in connection with the Chiesi divestiture did not constitute a strategic shift and that it did not and will not have a major effect on its operations and financial results.  Accordingly, the operations associated with the Chiesi divestiture are not reported as discontinued operations.  

The gain on divestiture recorded during the year ended December 31, 2017, was determined as follows (in thousands):

 

 

The Company recorded a gain on divestiture of $5.9 million in the condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive loss during the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.  Additionally, during the second half of 2017 the Company recorded adjustments for working capital of $0.4 million and the total gain on divestiture recorded amounted to $6.3 million.

 

Under the terms of its agreement with Chiesi, the Company will continue to pay third parties for the royalties on sales of PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR in the EMEA regions, and Chiesi will reimburse the Company for those royalties.  At the date of divestiture, the Company recorded an asset of $27.1 million to “other assets”, which represented the estimated amounts that are expected to be reimbursed from Chiesi for the PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR royalties.  These estimated royalties are accrued in “accrued expenses” and “other long-term liabilities”.  

Transaction and other costs primarily relate to professional and license fees attributable to the divestiture.

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Other Arrangements

Licensing agreement

On December 12, 2017, the Company entered into an agreement to license HZN-003 (formerly MEDI4945), a potential next-generation biologic for uncontrolled gout, from MedImmune LLC (“MedImmune”), the global biologics research and development arm of the AstraZeneca Group.  HZN-003 is a pre-clinical, genetically engineered uricase derivative with optimized uricase and optimized PEGylation technology that has the potential to improve the response rate to the biologic as well as the potential for subcutaneous dosing.  Under the terms of the agreement, the Company agreed to pay MedImmune an upfront cash payment of $12.0 million with additional potential future milestone payments of up to $153.5 million contingent on the satisfaction of certain development and sales thresholds.  The $12.0 million upfront payment was accounted for as the acquisition of an asset and was recorded as “research and development” expenses in the condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive loss during the year ended December 31, 2017 and included in “accrued expenses” as of December 31, 2017.  The upfront payment was subsequently paid in January 2018.

 

NOTE 5 – INVENTORIES

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market value.  Inventories consist of raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods.  The Company has entered into manufacturing and supply agreements for the manufacture of finished goods or the purchase of raw materials and production supplies.  The Company’s inventories include the direct purchase cost of materials and supplies and manufacturing overhead costs.

The components of inventories as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

Finished goods at December 31, 2017 included $17.0 million of stepped-up KRYSTEXXA inventory.  During the six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded the remaining $17.0 million of KRYSTEXXA inventory step-up expense to cost of goods sold.  During the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, the Company recorded $19.3 million and $33.7 million, respectively, of KRYSTEXXA and MIGERGOT inventory step-up expense and $14.5 million and $40.8 million, respectively, of PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR inventory step-up expense to cost of goods sold.

KRYSTEXXA inventory step-up was fully expensed by March 31, 2018.  As a result, the costs of goods sold related to KRYSTEXXA have decreased significantly beginning with the second quarter of 2018 to levels consistent with the historical costs of goods sold before the Company’s acquisition of Crealta Holdings LLC.

Because inventory step-up expense is acquisition-related, will not continue indefinitely and has a significant effect on the Company’s gross profit, gross margin percentage and net (loss) income for all affected periods, the Company discloses balance sheet and income statement amounts related to inventory step-up within the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 

NOTE 6 – PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS

Prepaid expenses and other current assets as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

 

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NOTE 7 – PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

Depreciation expense was $1.6 million and $1.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and was $3.1 million and $3.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

 

 

NOTE 8 – GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill

The gross carrying amount of goodwill as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 was $426.4 million.

As discussed in Note 13, during the second quarter of 2018, management realigned the Company’s reportable segments to reflect changes in the manner in which the CODM assesses financial information for decision-making purposes.  This resulted in a change in the Company’s operating segments and reporting units.  The Company allocated goodwill to its new reporting units using a relative fair value approach.  In addition, the Company completed an assessment of any potential goodwill impairment for all reporting units immediately prior to the allocation and determined that no impairment existed.  The table below presents goodwill for the Company’s reportable segments as of June 30, 2018 (in thousands):

 

 

During the year ended December 31, 2017, in connection with the Chiesi divestiture, the Company recorded a reduction to goodwill of $16.3 million.  See Note 4 for further details.

 

As of June 30, 2018, there were no accumulated goodwill impairment losses.

Intangible Assets

As of June 30, 2018, the Company’s finite-lived intangible assets consisted of developed technology related to ACTIMMUNE, BUPHENYL/AMMONAPS, KRYSTEXXA, LODOTRA, MIGERGOT, PENNSAID 2%, PROCYSBI, RAVICTI, RAYOS and VIMOVO, as well as customer relationships for ACTIMMUNE.

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, in connection with the Chiesi divestiture, the Company recorded a reduction in the net book value of developed technology related to PROCYSBI of $47.3 million.  See Note 4 for further details.  

The Company tests its intangible assets for impairment when events or circumstances may indicate that the carrying value of these assets exceeds their fair value.  During the six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded an impairment of $37.9 million to fully write off the book value of developed technology related to PROCYSBI in Canada and Latin America due primarily to lower anticipated future net sales based on a Patented Medicine Prices Review Board review.  The fair value of developed technology was determined using an income approach.

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Intangible assets as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

Amortization expense for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 was $67.0 million and $69.8 million, respectively, and was $134.3 million and $139.5 million for the six months ended June 2018 and 2017, respectively. As of June 30, 2018, estimated future amortization expense was as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

NOTE 9 - OTHER ASSETS

Included in other assets at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, was $23.9 million and $24.6 million, respectively, which represents the long-term portion of the estimated amounts that are expected to be reimbursed from Chiesi for PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR royalties.  

 

 

NOTE 10 – ACCRUED EXPENSES

Accrued expenses as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

Accrued other as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 included $3.7 million and $2.1 million, respectively, related to a loss on inventory purchase commitments.

 

 

NOTE 11 – ACCRUED TRADE DISCOUNTS AND REBATES

Accrued trade discounts and rebates as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

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The following table summarizes changes in the Company’s customer-related accruals and allowances from December 31, 2017 to June 30, 2018 (in thousands):

 

 

 

 

NOTE 12 – ACCRUED ROYALTIES

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, changes to the liability for royalties for medicines acquired through business combinations consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

 

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NOTE 13 – SEGMENT AND OTHER INFORMATION

 

Effective as of the second quarter of 2018, management realigned the Company’s reportable segments to reflect changes in the manner in which the CODM assesses financial information for decision-making purposes.  All prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the Company’s current reporting structure.

 

The Company has two reportable segments, the orphan and rheumatology segment and the primary care segment, and the Company reports net sales and segment operating income for each segment.

 

The orphan and rheumatology segment includes the marketed medicines ACTIMMUNE, BUPHENYL/AMMONAPS, KRYSTEXXA, PROCYSBI, QUINSAIR, RAVICTI and RAYOS/LODOTRA.  The primary care segment consists of four marketed medicines, including DUEXIS, MIGERGOT, PENNSAID 2% and VIMOVO.

 

Management structured the business into two segments to improve operating and resource allocation decisions to align with the Company’s long-term strategic goal of transforming into a leading rare disease medicine company.

 

The Company’s CODM evaluates the financial performance of the Company’s segments based upon segment operating income.  Segment operating income is defined as loss before expense (benefit) for income taxes adjusted for the items set forth in the reconciliation below.  Items below income from operations are not reported by segment, since they are excluded from the measure of segment profitability reviewed by the Company’s CODM.  Additionally, certain expenses are not allocated to a segment.  The Company does not report balance sheet information by segment as no balance sheet by segment is reviewed by the Company’s CODM.  The accounting policy for the Company’s segments is described in Note 2.

 

The following table reflects net sales by medicine for the Company’s reportable segments for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

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The table below provides reconciliations of the Company’s segment operating income to the Company’s total loss before expense (benefit) for income taxes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

 

The following tables present the amount and percentage of gross sales to customers that represented more than 10% of the Company’s gross sales included in its two reportable segments, and all other customers as a group for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages):

 

 

 

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Geographic revenues are determined based on the country in which the Company’s customers are located.  The following tables present a summary of net sales attributed to geographic sources for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages):

 

 

 

NOTE 14 – FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The following tables and paragraphs set forth the Company’s financial instruments that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis within the fair value hierarchy.  Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.  The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires management to make judgments and consider factors specific to the asset or liability.  The following describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1—Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2—Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; and

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The Company utilizes the market approach to measure fair value for its money market funds.  The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities.

As of June 30, 2018, the Company’s restricted cash included bank time deposits which were measured at fair value using Level 2 inputs and their carrying values were approximately equal to their fair values.  Level 2 inputs, obtained from various third-party data providers, represent quoted prices for similar assets in active markets, or these inputs were derived from observable market data, or if not directly observable, were derived from or corroborated by other observable market data.  

Other current assets and other long-term liabilities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis are composed of investments held in a rabbi trust and the related deferred liability for deferred compensation arrangements.  Quoted prices for this investment, primarily in mutual funds, are available in active markets.  Thus, the Company’s investments related to deferred compensation arrangements and the related long-term liability are classified as Level 1 measurements in the fair value hierarchy.

The Company transfers its financial assets and liabilities between the fair value hierarchies at the end of each reporting period.  There were no transfers between the different levels of the fair value hierarchy during the six months ended June 30, 2018 or 2017.

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Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis

The following tables set forth the Company’s financial assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 (in thousands):

 

 

 

 

NOTE 15 – DEBT AGREEMENTS

The Company’s outstanding debt balances as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

 2017 Term Loan Facilities

On October 23, 2017, Horizon Pharma, Inc. (“HPI”) and Horizon Pharma USA, Inc. (“HPUSA” and, together with HPI, in such capacity, the “Borrowers”), wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company, borrowed approximately $845.8 million aggregate principal amount of loans (the “October 2017 Refinancing Loans”) pursuant to an amendment (the “October 2017 Refinancing Amendment”) to the credit agreement, dated as of May 7, 2015, by and among the Borrowers, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries as guarantors, the lenders party thereto from time to time and Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent and collateral agent, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated as of October 25, 2016, and Amendment No. 2, dated March 29, 2017 (the “March 2017 Credit Agreement”) (the “2017 Term Loan Facility”).  As used herein, all references to the “Credit Agreement” are references to the March 2017 Credit Agreement, as amended by the October 2017 Refinancing Amendment.

 

The October 2017 Refinancing Loans were incurred as a separate new class of term loans under the Credit Agreement with substantially the same terms as the previously outstanding senior secured term loans incurred on March 29, 2017 under the March 2017 Credit Agreement (the “October 2017 Refinanced Loans”) to effectuate a repricing of the October 2017 Refinanced Loans.  The Borrowers used the proceeds of the October 2017 Refinancing Loans to repay the October 2017 Refinanced Loans, which totaled approximately $845.8 million.  The October 2017 Refinancing Loans bear interest, at the Borrowers’ option, at a rate equal

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to either the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (“LIBOR”), plus an applicable margin of 3.25% per year (subject to a LIBOR floor of 1.00%), or the adjusted base rate plus 2.25%.  The adjusted base rate is defined as the greater of (a) LIBOR (using one-month interest period) plus 1.00%, (b) prime rate, (c) fed funds plus 0.5%, and (d) 2.00%.  The Credit Agreement provides for (i) the October 2017 Refinancing Loans, (ii) one or more uncommitted additional incremental loan facilities subject to the satisfaction of certain financial and other conditions, and (iii) one or more uncommitted refinancing loan facilities with respect to loans thereunder.  The Credit Agreement allows for the Company and certain of its subsidiaries to become borrowers under incremental or refinancing facilities.  

The obligations under the Credit Agreement (including obligations in respect of the October 2017 Refinancing Loans) and any swap obligations and cash management obligations owing to a lender (or an affiliate of a lender) thereunder are guaranteed by the Company and each of the Company’s existing and subsequently acquired or formed direct and indirect subsidiaries (other than certain immaterial subsidiaries, subsidiaries whose guarantee would result in material adverse tax consequences and subsidiaries whose guarantee is prohibited by applicable law).  The obligations under the Credit Agreement (including obligations in respect of the October 2017 Refinancing Loans) and any such swap and cash management obligations are secured, subject to customary permitted liens and other agreed upon exceptions, by a perfected security interest in (i) all tangible and intangible assets of the Borrowers and the guarantors, except for certain customary excluded assets, and (ii) all of the capital stock owned by the Borrowers and guarantors thereunder (limited, in the case of the stock of certain non-U.S. subsidiaries of the Borrowers, to 65% of the capital stock of such subsidiaries).  The Borrowers and the guarantors under the Credit Agreement are individually and collectively referred to herein as a “Loan Party” and the “Loan Parties,” as applicable.  

The Company elected to exercise its reinvestment rights under the mandatory prepayment provisions of the March 2017 Credit Agreement with respect to the net proceeds from the Chiesi divestiture.  To the extent the Company had not applied such net proceeds to permitted acquisitions (including the acquisition of rights to products and products lines) and/or the acquisition of capital assets within 365 days of the receipt thereof (or committed to so apply and then applied within 180 days after the end of such 365-day period), the Company was required to make a mandatory prepayment under the March 2017 Credit Agreement in an amount equal to the unapplied net proceeds.  On June 21, 2018, the Company repaid $23.5 million under the mandatory prepayment provisions of the March 2017 Credit Agreement.

Borrowers under the Credit Agreement are permitted to make voluntary prepayments of the loans under the Credit Agreement at any time without payment of a premium.  The Borrowers are required to make mandatory prepayments of loans under the Credit Agreement (without payment of a premium) with (a) net cash proceeds from certain non-ordinary course asset sales (subject to reinvestment rights and other exceptions), (b) casualty proceeds and condemnation awards (subject to reinvestment rights and other exceptions), (c) net cash proceeds from issuances of debt (other than certain permitted debt), and (d) 50% of the Company’s excess cash flow (subject to decrease to 25% or 0% if the Company’s first lien leverage ratio is less than 2.25:1 or 1.75:1, respectively).  The October 2017 Refinancing Loans are amortized in equal quarterly installments that began on December 31, 2017, in an aggregate annual amount equal to 1.00% of the original principal amount of the October 2017 Refinanced Loans (i.e. $850.0 million), with any remaining balance payable on March 29, 2024, the final maturity date of the October 2017 Refinancing Loans.  Following the mandatory prepayment on June 21, 2018, as described above, the Company is not required to pay any further quarterly installments until June 30, 2020.

The Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties and customary affirmative and negative covenants, including, among other things, restrictions on indebtedness, liens, investments, mergers, dispositions, prepayment of other indebtedness and dividends and other distributions.  

Events of default under the Credit Agreement include: (i) the failure by any Borrower to timely make payments due under the Credit Agreement; (ii) material misrepresentations or misstatements in any representation or warranty by any Loan Party when made; (iii) failure by any Loan Party to comply with the covenants under the Credit Agreement and other related agreements; (iv) certain defaults under a specified amount of other indebtedness of the Company or its subsidiaries; (v) insolvency or bankruptcy-related events with respect to the Company or any of its material subsidiaries; (vi) certain undischarged judgments against the Company or any of its restricted subsidiaries; (vii) certain ERISA-related events reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company and its restricted subsidiaries taken as a whole; (viii) certain security interests or liens under the loan documents ceasing to be, or being asserted by the Company or its restricted subsidiaries not to be, in full force and effect; (ix) any loan document or material provision thereof ceasing to be, or any challenge or assertion by any Loan Party that such loan document or material provision is not, in full force and effect; and (x) the occurrence of a change of control.  If one or more events of default occurs and continues beyond any applicable cure period, the administrative agent may, with the consent of the lenders holding a majority of the loans and commitments under the facilities, or will, at the request of such lenders, terminate the commitments of the lenders to make further loans and declare all of the obligations of the Loan Parties under the March 2017 Credit Agreement to be immediately due and payable.

The interest on the Company’s 2017 Term Loan Facility is variable and as of June 30, 2018, the interest rate on the 2017 Term Loan Facility was 5.375% and the effective interest rate was 5.80%.

As of June 30, 2018, the fair value of the amounts outstanding under the 2017 Term Loan Facility was approximately $816.0 million, categorized as a Level 2 instrument, as defined in Note 14.

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2023 Senior Notes

On April 29, 2015, Horizon Pharma Financing Inc. (“Horizon Financing”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, completed a private placement of $475.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.625% Senior Notes due 2023 (the “2023 Senior Notes”) to certain investment banks acting as initial purchasers who subsequently resold the 2023 Senior Notes to qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”),  and in offshore transactions to non-U.S. persons in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act.  The net proceeds from the offering of the 2023 Senior Notes were approximately $462.3 million, after deducting the initial purchasers’ discount and offering expenses payable by Horizon Financing.

In connection with the closing of the acquisition of Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. (“Hyperion”) on May 7, 2015, Horizon Financing merged with and into HPI and, as a result, the 2023 Senior Notes became HPI’s general unsecured senior obligations.  The obligations under the 2023 Senior Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the Company and all of the Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries that are guarantors from time to time under the Credit Agreement.

The 2023 Senior Notes accrue interest at an annual rate of 6.625% payable semiannually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year, beginning on November 1, 2015.  The 2023 Senior Notes will mature on May 1, 2023, unless earlier repurchased or redeemed.

Some or all of the 2023 Senior Notes may be redeemed at any time at specified redemption prices, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.  In addition, the 2023 Senior Notes may be redeemed in whole but not in part at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest and additional amounts, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date, if on the next date on which any amount would be payable in respect of the 2023 Senior Notes, HPI or any guarantor is or would be required to pay additional amounts as a result of certain tax-related events.

If the Company undergoes a change of control, HPI will be required to make an offer to purchase all of the 2023 Senior Notes at a price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the repurchase date.  If the Company or certain of its subsidiaries engages in certain asset sales, HPI will be required under certain circumstances to make an offer to purchase the 2023 Senior Notes at 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the repurchase date.

The indenture governing the 2023 Senior Notes contains covenants that limit the ability of the Company and its restricted subsidiaries to, among other things, pay dividends or distributions, repurchase equity, prepay junior debt and make certain investments, incur additional debt and issue certain preferred stock, incur liens on assets, engage in certain asset sales, merge, consolidate with or merge or sell all or substantially all of their assets, enter into transactions with affiliates, designate subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries, and allow to exist certain restrictions on the ability of restricted subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments to the Company.  Certain of the covenants will be suspended during any period in which the notes receive investment grade ratings.  The indenture governing the 2023 Senior Notes also includes customary events of default.

As of June 30, 2018, the interest rate on the 2023 Senior Notes was 6.625% and the effective interest rate was 6.68%.

As of June 30, 2018, the fair value of the 2023 Senior Notes was approximately $478.6 million, categorized as a Level 2 instrument, as defined in Note 14.

2024 Senior Notes

On October 25, 2016, HPI and HPUSA (together, in such capacity, the “2024 Issuers”), completed a private placement of $300.0 million aggregate principal amount of 8.750% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “2024 Senior Notes”) to certain investment banks acting as initial purchasers who subsequently resold the 2024 Senior Notes to qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act.  The net proceeds from the offering of the 2024 Senior Notes were approximately $291.9 million, after deducting the initial purchasers’ discount and offering expenses payable by the 2024 Issuers.

The obligations under the 2024 Senior Notes are the 2024 Issuers’ general unsecured senior obligations and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the Company and all of the Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries that are guarantors from time to time under the Credit Agreement.

The Company used the net proceeds from the offering of the 2024 Senior Notes as well as $375.0 million principal amount of senior secured term loans under the Company’s term loan facility to fund a portion of the acquisition of Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. (“Raptor”), repay Raptor’s outstanding debt, and pay any prepayment premiums, fees and expenses in connection with the foregoing.

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The 2024 Senior Notes accrue interest at an annual rate of 8.750% payable semiannually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year, beginning on May 1, 2017.  The 2024 Senior Notes will mature on November 1, 2024, unless earlier repurchased or redeemed.

Except as described below, the 2024 Senior Notes may not be redeemed before November 1, 2019.  Thereafter, some or all of the 2024 Senior Notes may be redeemed at any time at specified redemption prices, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.  At any time prior to November 1, 2019, some or all of the 2024 Senior Notes may be redeemed at a price equal to 100% of the aggregate principal amount thereof, plus a make-whole premium and accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.  Also prior to November 1, 2019, up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the 2024 Senior Notes may be redeemed at a redemption price of 108.75% of the aggregate principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, with the net proceeds of certain equity offerings.  In addition, the 2024 Senior Notes may be redeemed in whole but not in part at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest and additional amounts, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date, if on the next date on which any amount would be payable in respect of the 2024 Senior Notes, the 2024 Issuers or any guarantor is or would be required to pay additional amounts as a result of certain tax-related events.

If the Company undergoes a change of control, the 2024 Issuers will be required to make an offer to purchase all of the 2024 Senior Notes at a price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the repurchase date.  If the Company or certain of its subsidiaries engages in certain asset sales, the 2024 Issuers will be required under certain circumstances to make an offer to purchase the 2024 Senior Notes at 100% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the repurchase date.

The indenture governing the 2024 Senior Notes contains covenants that limit the ability of the Company and its restricted subsidiaries to, among other things, pay dividends or distributions, repurchase equity, prepay junior debt and make certain investments, incur additional debt and issue certain preferred stock, incur liens on assets, engage in certain asset sales, merge, consolidate with or merge or sell all or substantially all of their assets, enter into transactions with affiliates, designate subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries, and allow to exist certain restrictions on the ability of restricted subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments to the Company.  Certain of the covenants will be suspended during any period in which the notes receive investment grade ratings.  The indenture also includes customary events of default.

As of June 30, 2018, the interest rate on the 2024 Senior Notes was 8.750% and the effective interest rate was 9.20%.

As of June 30, 2018, the fair value of the 2024 Senior Notes was approximately $321.8 million, categorized as a Level 2 instrument, as defined in Note 14.

Exchangeable Senior Notes

On March 13, 2015, Horizon Investment completed a private placement of $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of Exchangeable Senior Notes to certain investment banks acting as initial purchasers who subsequently resold the Exchangeable Senior Notes to qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act.  The net proceeds from the offering of the Exchangeable Senior Notes were approximately $387.2 million, after deducting the initial purchasers’ discount and offering expenses payable by Horizon Investment.

The Exchangeable Senior Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed, on a senior unsecured basis, by the Company (the “Guarantee”).  The Exchangeable Senior Notes and the Guarantee are Horizon Investment’s and the Company’s senior unsecured obligations.  The Exchangeable Senior Notes accrue interest at an annual rate of 2.50% payable semiannually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning on September 15, 2015.  The Exchangeable Senior Notes will mature on March 15, 2022, unless earlier exchanged, repurchased or redeemed.  The initial exchange rate is 34.8979 ordinary shares of the Company per $1,000 principal amount of the Exchangeable Senior Notes (equivalent to an initial exchange price of approximately $28.66 per ordinary share). The exchange rate will be subject to adjustment in some events but will not be adjusted for any accrued and unpaid interest.  In addition, following certain corporate events that occur prior to the maturity date or upon a tax redemption, Horizon Investment will increase the exchange rate for a holder who elects to exchange its Exchangeable Senior Notes in connection with such a corporate event or a tax redemption in certain circumstances.

Other than as described below, the Exchangeable Senior Notes may not be redeemed by the Company.

Issuer Redemptions:

Optional Redemption for Changes in the Tax Laws of a Relevant Taxing Jurisdiction: Horizon Investment may redeem the Exchangeable Senior Notes at its option, prior to March 15, 2022, in whole but not in part, in connection with certain tax-related events.

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Provisional Redemption on or After March 20, 2019: On or after March 20, 2019, Horizon Investment may redeem for cash all or a portion of the Exchangeable Senior Notes if the last reported sale price of ordinary shares of the Company has been at least 130% of the exchange price then in effect for at least twenty trading days whether or not consecutive) during any thirty consecutive trading day period ending on, and including, the trading day immediately preceding the date on which Horizon Investment provide written notice of redemption.  The redemption price will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Exchangeable Senior Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the redemption date; provided that if the redemption date occurs after a regular record date and on or prior to the corresponding interest payment date, Horizon Investment will pay the full amount of accrued and unpaid interest due on such interest payment date to the record holder of the Exchangeable Senior Notes on the regular record date corresponding to such interest payment date, and the redemption price payable to the holder who presents an Exchangeable Senior Note for redemption will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of such Exchangeable Senior Note.

Holder Exchange Rights:

Holders may exchange all or any portion of their Exchangeable Senior Notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding December 15, 2021 only upon satisfaction of one or more of the following conditions:

As of June 30, 2018, none of the above conditions had been satisfied and no exchange of Exchangeable Senior Notes had been triggered.

On or after December 15, 2021, a holder may exchange all or any portion of its Exchangeable Senior Notes at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date regardless of the foregoing conditions.

Upon exchange, Horizon Investment will settle exchanges of the Exchangeable Senior Notes by paying or causing to be delivered, as the case may be, cash, ordinary shares or a combination of cash and ordinary shares, at its election.

The Company recorded the Exchangeable Senior Notes under the guidance in ASC Topic 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options, and separated them into a liability component and equity component.  The carrying amount of the liability component of $268.9 million was determined by measuring the fair value of a similar liability that does not have an associated equity component.  The carrying amount of the equity component of $119.1 million represented by the embedded conversion option was determined by deducting the fair value of the liability component of $268.9 million from the initial proceeds of $387.2 million ascribed to the convertible debt instrument as a whole.  The initial debt discount of $131.1 million is being charged to interest expense over the life of the Exchangeable Senior Notes using the effective interest rate method.  

As of June 30, 2018, the interest rate on the Exchangeable Senior Notes was 2.50% and the effective interest rate was 8.88%.

As of June 30, 2018, the fair value of the Exchangeable Senior Notes was approximately $381.0 million, categorized as a Level 2 instrument, as defined in Note 14.

 

 

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NOTE 16 – OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES

Included in other long-term liabilities at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, is $25.7 million and $26.4 million, respectively, representing the fair value of the long-term portion of the contingent liability for royalties potentially payable on sales by Chiesi under agreements related to PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR.  

Other long-term liabilities at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, included $6.0 million and $7.8 million, respectively, related to a loss on inventory purchase commitments.

 

 

NOTE 17 – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Purchase Commitments

Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Patheon”) is obligated to manufacture PROCYSBI for the Company through December 31, 2021.  The Company must provide Patheon with rolling, non-binding forecasts of PROCYSBI, with a portion of the forecast being a firm written order.  Cambrex Profarmaco Milano (“Cambrex”) is obligated to manufacture PROCYSBI active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) for the Company through November 30, 2020.  The Company must provide Cambrex with rolling, non-binding forecasts, with a portion of the forecast being the minimum floor of the firm order that must be placed.  At June 30, 2018, the Company had a binding purchase commitment with Patheon for PROCYSBI of $2.3 million, to be delivered through December 2018, and with Cambrex for PROCYSBI API of $3.3 million, to be delivered through December 2020.

Under an agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals GmbH (“Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals”), they are required to manufacture and supply ACTIMMUNE and IMUKIN to the Company.  The Company is required to purchase minimum quantities of finished medicine during the term of the agreement, which term extends to at least June 30, 2024.  As of June 30, 2018, the minimum binding purchase commitment to Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals was $22.9 million (converted using a Dollar-to-Euro exchange rate of 1.1683) through July 2024.  As of June 30, 2018, the Company also committed to incur an additional $2.7 million for the harmonization of the drug substance manufacturing process with Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals.  

Under the Company’s agreement with Bio-Technology General (Israel) Ltd (“BTG Israel”), the Company has agreed to purchase certain minimum annual order quantities and is obligated to purchase at least eighty percent of its annual world-wide bulk product requirements for KRYSTEXXA from BTG Israel.  The term of the agreement runs until December 31, 2030, and will automatically renew for successive three year periods unless earlier terminated by either party upon three years’ prior written notice.  The agreement may be terminated earlier by either party in the event of a force majeure, liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or insolvency of the other party, uncured material breach by the other party or after January 1, 2024, upon three years’ prior written notice.  Under the agreement, if the manufacture of the bulk product is moved out of Israel, the Company may be required to obtain the approval of the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist (“OCS”) because certain KRYSTEXXA intellectual property was initially developed with a grant funded by the OCS.  The Company issues eighteen-month forecasts of the volume of KRYSTEXXA that the Company expects to order.  The first six months of the forecast are considered binding firm orders.  At June 30, 2018, the Company had a binding purchase commitment with BTG Israel for KRYSTEXXA of $48.0 million, to be delivered through December 31, 2026.

Jagotec AG (“Jagotec”) or its affiliates are required to manufacture and supply RAYOS/LODOTRA exclusively to the Company in bulk.  The earliest the agreement can expire is December 31, 2023, and the minimum purchase commitment is in force until December 2023.  At June 30, 2018, the minimum purchase commitment based on tablet pricing in effect under the agreement was $6.1 million through December 2023.  Additionally, purchase orders relating to the manufacture of RAYOS/LODOTRA of $0.5 million were outstanding at June 30, 2018.

 

Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (formerly known as Nuvo Research Inc.) (“Nuvo”) is obligated to manufacture and supply PENNSAID 2% to the Company.  The term of the supply agreement is through December 31, 2029, but the agreement may be terminated earlier by either party for any uncured material breach by the other party of its obligations under the supply agreement or upon the bankruptcy or similar proceeding of the other party.  At least ninety days prior to the first day of each calendar month during the term of the supply agreement, the Company submits a binding written purchase order to Nuvo for PENNSAID 2% in minimum batch quantities.  At June 30, 2018, the Company had a binding purchase commitment with Nuvo for PENNSAID 2% of $3.4 million, to be delivered through September 2018.

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Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC (“Sanofi-Aventis U.S.”) is obligated to manufacture and supply DUEXIS to the Company in final, packaged form, and the Company is obligated to purchase DUEXIS exclusively from Sanofi-Aventis U.S. for the commercial requirements of DUEXIS in North America, South America and certain countries and territories in Europe, including the European Union (“EU”) member states and Scandinavia.  The agreement term extends until May 2021, and automatically renews for successive two-year terms unless terminated by either party upon two years’ prior written notice.  At June 30, 2018, the Company had a binding purchase commitment to Sanofi-Aventis U.S. for DUEXIS of $6.8 million, to be delivered through November 2018.

Excluding the above, additional purchase orders and other commitments relating to the manufacture of RAVICTI, BUPHENYL, QUINSAIR, VIMOVO and MIGERGOT of $10.9 million were outstanding at June 30, 2018.  Additionally, at June 30, 2018, the Company had a binding commitment related to process validation activities for teprotumumab of $2.0 million, binding batch purchase commitments for teprotumumab of $5.6 million and a binding reserve payment related to the manufacture of teprotumumab of $2.1 million.

See Note 4 for details of other agreements entered into by the Company.

Contingencies

The Company is subject to claims and assessments from time to time in the ordinary course of business.  The Company’s management does not believe that any such matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.  In addition, the Company from time to time has billing disputes with vendors in which amounts invoiced are not in accordance with the terms of their contracts.

In November 2015, the Company received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York requesting documents and information related to its patient access programs and other aspects of its marketing and commercialization activities.  The Company is unable to predict how long this investigation will continue or its outcome, but it anticipates that it may continue to incur significant costs in connection with the investigation, regardless of the outcome.  The Company may also become subject to similar investigations by other governmental agencies.  The investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and any additional investigations of the Company’s patient access programs and sales and marketing activities may result in damages, fines, penalties or other administrative sanctions against the Company.

 

Indemnification

In the normal course of business, the Company enters into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties and provide for general indemnifications.  The Company’s exposure under these agreements is unknown because it involves claims that may be made against the Company in the future, but have not yet been made.  In connection with the federal securities class action litigation (described in Note 18 below), the Company received notice from the Underwriter Defendants (as defined below) of their intention to seek indemnification and received and paid several invoices from the Underwriter Defendants.  On November 14, 2016, all defendants moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ amended complaint.  Plaintiffs filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss on December 21, 2016.  On January 18, 2018, the District Court dismissed all Plaintiffs’ claims against all Defendants, and denied the Plaintiffs any further opportunity to amend their complaint.  On February 16, 2018, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal of the District Court’s ruling to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  On June 8, 2018, Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the appeal with Defendants’ consent.  The Company may record charges in the future as a result of these indemnification obligations.

In accordance with its memorandum and articles of association, the Company has indemnification obligations to its officers and directors for certain events or occurrences, subject to certain limits, while they are serving at the Company’s request in such capacity.  Additionally, the Company has entered into, and intends to continue to enter into, separate indemnification agreements with its directors and executive officers.  These agreements, among other things, require the Company to indemnify its directors and executive officers for certain expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by a director or executive officer in any action or proceeding arising out of their services as one of the Company’s directors or executive officers, or any of the Company’s subsidiaries or any other company or enterprise to which the person provides services at the Company’s request.  In connection with the federal securities class action litigation (described in Note 18 below), the Company has paid legal fees and costs on behalf of itself and the current and former officers and directors of the Company who are named as defendants in that litigation.  The Company also has a director and officer insurance policy that enables it to recover a portion of any amounts paid for current and future potential claims.  All of the Company’s officers and directors have also entered into separate indemnification agreements with HPI.  

 

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NOTE 18 - LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

RAVICTI

On March 17, 2014, Hyperion received notice from Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. (“Par Pharmaceutical”) that it had filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (an “ANDA”) with the FDA seeking approval for a generic version of the Company’s medicine RAVICTI.  The ANDA contained a Paragraph IV Patent Certification alleging that two of the patents covering RAVICTI are invalid and/or will not be infringed by Par Pharmaceutical’s manufacture, use or sale of the medicine for which the ANDA was submitted.  Hyperion filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, against Par Pharmaceutical on April 23, 2014 (the “Par Texas action”), seeking an injunction to prevent the approval of Par Pharmaceutical’s ANDA and/or to prevent Par Pharmaceutical from selling a generic version of RAVICTI.  The Company has taken over and is responsible for this patent litigation.  

Additional patents covering RAVICTI have been issued since April 2014, and after receiving Paragraph IV Certification notices from Par Pharmaceutical with respect to those patents,  the Company filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Par Pharmaceutical on June 30, 2016 (the “Par New Jersey action”), seeking an injunction to prevent the approval of Par Pharmaceutical’s ANDA and/or to prevent Par Pharmaceutical from selling a generic version of RAVICTI.  The lawsuit alleges that Par Pharmaceutical has infringed the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI by filing an ANDA seeking approval from the FDA to market generic versions of RAVICTI prior to the expiration of the patents.  The subject patents are listed in the FDA’s Orange Book (the “Orange Book”).  The Par New Jersey action has been stayed pending the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (the “PTAB”) issuing a final written decision on the inter parte review (the “IPR”) relating to one of the patents that is the subject of the lawsuit.

On April 29, 2015, Par Pharmaceutical filed Petitions for IPR of two of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI.  In September 2016 and November 2016, the PTAB issued two final written decisions, finding all of the claims in one of the patents to be unpatentable and all of the claims in the other patent to be patentable.  The Company did not appeal the PTAB’s final written decision with respect to the patent found to be unpatentable.  On December 29, 2016, Par Pharmaceutical filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Circuit to appeal the final written decision of the PTAB concerning the patent held to be patentable.  

On July 13, 2017, Par Pharmaceutical filed Petitions for IPR of three of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI.  The IPR requests were granted on January 30, 2018.

 

On September 4, 2015, the Company received notice from Lupin Limited of Lupin Limited’s Paragraph IV Patent Certification against two of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI, advising that Lupin Limited had filed an ANDA with the FDA for a generic version of RAVICTI.  On November 6, 2015, the Company also received notice of Lupin Limited’s Paragraph IV Patent Certification against another of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI.  On October 19, 2015, the Company filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Lupin Limited and Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (collectively, “Lupin”), seeking an injunction to prevent the approval of the ANDA.  The lawsuit alleges that Lupin has infringed three of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI by filing an ANDA seeking approval from the FDA to market generic versions of RAVICTI prior to the expiration of the patents.  The subject patents are listed in the Orange Book.  The commencement of the patent infringement lawsuit stays, or bars, FDA approval of Lupin’s ANDA for 30 months or until an earlier District Court decision that the subject patents are not infringed or are invalid.  After receiving additional Paragraph IV Certification notices from Lupin, the Company filed an additional suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Lupin on July 21, 2016, seeking an injunction to prevent the approval of Lupin’s ANDA and/or to prevent Lupin from selling a generic version of RAVICTI.  The lawsuit alleges that Lupin has infringed two of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI by filing an ANDA seeking approval from the FDA to market generic versions of RAVICTI prior to the expiration of the patents.  The subject patents are listed in the Orange Book.  The Lupin New Jersey actions have been stayed pending the resolution of the PTAB’s IPR relating to one of the patents that is the subject of one of the actions.

On April 1, 2016, Lupin filed a Petition for IPR of one of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI.  On September 26, 2017, the PTAB issued its final written decision, finding that the challenged claims of the patent are unpatentable.  The Company filed a Notice of Appeal on November 22, 2017.  On March 27, 2017, Lupin filed two Petitions to request an IPR of an additional two of the Company’s patents covering RAVICTI.  On September 28, 2017, the PTAB issued its orders granting Lupin’s petitions to institute an IPR of the patents.  

On August 8, 2017, the Company filed suit against Lupin and Par Pharmaceutical, alleging infringement of one of the Company’s newly issued patents covering RAVICTI, in the United States District Court for New Jersey.  On January 12, 2018, Lupin filed a Petition for IPR of the newly issued patent.  The Company’s Preliminary Patent Owner Response is due by May 23, 2018.

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On June 27, 2018, the Company and Lupin entered into a Settlement and License Agreement (“Settlement Agreement”) under which they agreed to file stipulations of dismissal with the District Court regarding the district court litigation and a joint request for termination in the IPRs. Lupin further agreed to withdraw from the appeal pending before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.  The Settlement Agreement also provides for a full settlement and release by each party of all claims that relate to Lupin’s generic version of RAVICTI or the litigation, the IPRs or the appeal. Under the Settlement Agreement, the license entry date is July 1, 2026; however, Lupin may be able to enter the market earlier in certain circumstances.

PENNSAID 2%

On November 13, 2014, the Company received a Paragraph IV Patent Certification from Watson Laboratories, Inc., now known as Actavis Laboratories UT, Inc. (“Actavis UT”), advising that Actavis UT had filed an ANDA with the FDA for a generic version of PENNSAID 2%.  On December 23, 2014, June 30, 2015, August 11, 2015 and September 17, 2015, the Company filed four separate suits against Actavis UT and Actavis plc (collectively “Actavis”), in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, with each of the suits seeking an injunction to prevent approval of the ANDA.  The lawsuits alleged that Actavis has infringed nine of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2% by filing an ANDA seeking approval from the FDA to market a generic version of PENNSAID 2% prior to the expiration of certain of the Company’s patents listed in the Orange Book.  These four suits were consolidated into a single suit.  On October 27, 2015 and on February 5, 2016, the Company filed two additional suits against Actavis, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, for patent infringement of three additional Company patents covering PENNSAID 2%.

On August 17, 2016, the District Court issued a Markman opinion holding certain of the asserted claims of seven of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2% invalid as indefinite.  On March 16, 2017, the Court granted Actavis’ motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of the asserted claims of three of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2%.  In view of the Markman and summary judgment decisions, a bench trial was held on March 21-30, 2017, regarding a claim of one of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2%.  On May 14, 2017, the Court issued its opinion upholding the validity of claim of the patent, which Actavis had previously admitted its proposed generic diclofenac sodium topical solution product would infringe.  Actavis filed its Notice of Appeal on June 16, 2017.  The Company also filed its Notice of Appeal of the District Court’s rulings on certain claims of eleven of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2%.  The Company’s opening brief was filed on August 14, 2017.  Actavis’s opening brief, challenging the District Court’s judgment on U.S. Patent 9,066,913, was filed on October 10, 2017, and the Company’s brief defending the judgment was filed on November 20, 2017.  The parties are awaiting the decision of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

On August 18, 2016, the Company filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Actavis for patent infringement of four of the Company’s newly issued patents covering PENNSAID 2%.  All four of such patents are listed in the Orange Book.  This litigation is currently stayed by agreement of the parties.

The Company received from Actavis a Paragraph IV Patent Certification notice, dated September 27, 2016, against an additional newly issued patent covering PENNSAID 2%, advising that Actavis had filed an ANDA with the FDA for a generic version of PENNSAID 2%.  The subject patent is listed in the Orange Book.

On March 18, 2015, the Company received a Paragraph IV Patent Certification against seven of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2% from Lupin, advising that Lupin had filed an ANDA with the FDA for a generic version of PENNSAID 2%.  On April 30, 2015, the Company filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Lupin, seeking an injunction to prevent the approval of the ANDA.  The lawsuit alleges that Lupin has infringed six of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2% by filing an ANDA seeking approval from the FDA to market generic versions of PENNSAID 2% prior to the expiration of certain of the Company’s patents listed in the Orange Book.  

On June 30, 2015, the Company filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Lupin for patent infringement of a newly issued patent covering PENNSAID 2%.  On August 11, 2015, the Company filed an amended complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Lupin that added another newly issued patent covering PENNSAID 2% to the litigation.  On September 17, 2015, the Company again filed an additional suit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Lupin for infringement of another newly issued patent covering PENNSAID 2%.  

On October 27, 2015, February 5, 2016 and August 18, 2016, the Company filed three separate suits in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Lupin for patent infringement of seven of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2%.  All seven patents are listed in the Orange Book.  On May 30, 2018, the Company finalized settlement of the cases against Lupin and the cases are now dismissed.  Under the Settlement Agreement with Lupin, the license entry date is October 17, 2027; however, Lupin may be able to enter the market earlier in certain circumstances.

Between April 2016 and April 2017, the Company received from Apotex Inc. four notices of Paragraph IV Patent Certification against eighteen of the Company’s patents covering PENNSAID 2%.  All of the subject patents are listed in the Orange Book.

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DUEXIS

On May 29, 2018, the Company received notice from Alkem Laboratories, Inc. (“Alkem”) that it had filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval for a generic version of DUEXIS.  The ANDA contained a Paragraph IV Patent Certification alleging that the patents covering DUEXIS are invalid and/or will not be infringed by Alkem’s manufacture, use or sale of the medicine for which the ANDA was submitted.  The Company filed suit in the United States District Court of Delaware against Alkem on July 9, 2018, seeking an injunction to prevent the approval of Alkem’s ANDA and/or to prevent Alkem from selling a generic version of DUEXIS.

VIMOVO

Currently, patent litigation is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit against three generic companies intending to market VIMOVO prior to the expiration of certain of the Company’s patents listed in the Orange Book.  They are collectively known as the VIMOVO cases, and involve the following sets of defendants: (i) Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc. and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. (collectively, “Dr. Reddy’s”); (ii) Lupin; and (iii) Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mylan Laboratories Limited, and Mylan Inc. (collectively, “Mylan”).  Patent litigation in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against a fourth generic company, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited (formerly known as Actavis Laboratories FL, Inc., which itself was formerly known as Watson Laboratories, Inc. – Florida) and Actavis Pharma, Inc. (collectively, “Actavis Pharma”), was dismissed on January 10, 2017 after the court granted Actavis’ motion to compel enforcement of a settlement agreement.  On February 3, 2017, the Company appealed this dismissal decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  The Company understands that Dr. Reddy’s has entered into a settlement with AstraZeneca with respect to patent rights directed to Nexium^® (esomeprazole) for the commercialization of VIMOVO.  The settlement agreement, however, has no effect on the Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Aralez”) VIMOVO patents, which are still the subject of patent litigations.  As part of the Company’s acquisition of the U.S. rights to VIMOVO, the Company has taken over and is responsible for the patent litigation that includes the Aralez patents licensed to the Company under the amended and restated collaboration and license agreement for the United States with Aralez.

The VIMOVO cases were filed on April 21, 2011, July 25, 2011, October 28, 2011, January 4, 2013, May 10, 2013, June 28, 2013, October 23, 2013, May 13, 2015 and November 24, 2015 and collectively include allegations of infringement of certain of the Company’s patents covering VIMOVO.  On January 25, 2016, the Company filed a new case against Actavis Pharma including allegations of infringement of additional Company patents covering VIMOVO.  This case was subsequently consolidated with the Actavis Pharma case involving others of the Company’s patents covering VIMOVO.

The District Court consolidated all of the cases pending against Dr. Reddy’s, Lupin, Mylan and Actavis Pharma into two separate cases for purposes of discovery.  The District Court entered final judgment for one of the consolidated cases on July 21, 2017, and both sides have appealed the District Court’s judgment to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  A trial date for the other consolidated cases has not yet been set.  

On August 24, 2017, Mylan filed a Petition for IPR of one of the Company’s patents covering VIMOVO.  The Company filed its Preliminary Patent Owner Response on December 12, 2017.  On March 8, 2018, the PTAB instituted Mylan’s Petition for IPR. On March 22, 2018, the Company filed a Request for Rehearing of the decision to institute IPR, which was denied by the PTAB on May 25, 2018.  On April 6, 2018, Dr. Reddy’s filed a Petition for IPR of the same patent challenged by Mylan and a motion for joinder with Mylan’s IPR.  The Company filed an opposition to Dr. Reddy’s motion for joinder on May 9, 2018.  The parties are awaiting the PTAB’s decision regarding Dr. Reddy’s Petition.

On December 4, 2017, Mylan filed a Petition for IPR of another of the Company’s patents covering VIMOVO.  The PTAB instituted an IPR proceeding on Mylan’s Petition on June 14, 2018.

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Other

Beginning on March 8, 2016, two federal securities class action lawsuits (captioned Schaffer v. Horizon Pharma plc, et al., Case No. 16-cv-01763-JMF and Banie v. Horizon Pharma plc, et al., Case No. 16-cv-01789-JMF) were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Company and certain of the Company’s current and former officers (the “Officer Defendants”).  On March 24, 2016, the court consolidated the two actions under Schaffer v. Horizon Pharma plc, et al.  On June 3, 2016, the court appointed Locals 302 and 612 of the International Union of Operating Engineers-Employers Construction Industry Retirement Trust and the Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California as lead plaintiffs and Labaton Sucharow LLP as lead counsel.  On July 25, 2016, lead plaintiffs and additional named plaintiff Automotive Industries Pension Trust Fund filed their consolidated complaint, which they subsequently amended on October 7, 2016, including additional current and former officers, the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Director Defendants”), and underwriters involved with the Company’s April 2015 public offering (the “Underwriter Defendants”) as defendants.  The plaintiffs alleged that certain of the Company and the Officer Defendants violated sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, by making false and/or misleading statements about, among other things: (a) the Company’s financial performance, (b) the Company’s business prospects and drug-pricing practices, (c) the Company’s sales and promotional practices, and (d) the Company’s design, implementation, performance, and risks associated with the Company’s Prescriptions-Made-Easy program.  The plaintiffs alleged that certain of the Company, the Director Defendants and the Underwriter Defendants violated sections 11, 12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act in connection with the Company’s April 2015 public offering.  The plaintiffs sought, among other things, an award of damages allegedly sustained by plaintiffs and the putative class, including a reasonable allowance for costs and attorneys’ fees.  On November 14, 2016, all defendants moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ amended complaint.  Plaintiffs’ filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss on December 21, 2016.  On January 18, 2018, the District Court dismissed all plaintiffs’ claims against all defendants, and denied the plaintiffs any further opportunity to amend their complaint.  On February 16, 2018, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal of the District Court’s ruling to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  On June 8, 2018, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their appeal, ending the lawsuit.

 

NOTE 19 – SHARE-BASED AND LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLANS

The Company’s equity incentive plans at June 30, 2018, include its 2005 Stock Plan, 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“2014 ESPP”), 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (“2014 EIP”) and 2014 Non-Employee Equity Plan.  As of June 30, 2018, an aggregate of 2,490,908 ordinary shares were authorized and available for future issuance under the 2014 ESPP, an aggregate of 6,784,635 ordinary shares were authorized and available for future grants under the 2014 EIP and an aggregate of 116,163 ordinary shares were authorized and available for future grants under the 2014 Non-Employee Equity Plan.  On February 21, 2018, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors approved, subject to shareholder approval, an amendment to the 2014 EIP, increasing the number of ordinary shares that may be issued under the 2014 EIP by 10,800,000 ordinary shares.  On May 3, 2018, the shareholders of the Company approved such amendment to the 2014 EIP.

 

Stock Options

The following table summarizes stock option activity during the six months ended June 30, 2018:

 

 

 

Stock options typically have a contractual term of ten years from grant date.

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The fair value of each stock option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.  The determination of the fair value of each stock option is affected by the Company’s share price on the date of grant, as well as assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables.  These variables include, but are not limited to, the Company’s expected share price volatility over the expected life of the awards and actual and projected stock option exercise behavior.  The weighted average fair value per share of stock option awards granted during the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, and assumptions used to value stock options, were as follows:

 

 

Dividend yields

The Company has never paid dividends and does not anticipate paying any dividends in the near future.  Additionally, the Credit Agreement (described in Note 15 above), as well as the indentures governing the 2024 Senior Notes and the 2023 Senior Notes (each as described in Note 15 above), contain covenants that restrict the Company from issuing dividends.

Risk-Free Interest Rate

The Company determined the risk-free interest rate by using a weighted average assumption equivalent to the expected term based on the U.S. Treasury constant maturity rate as of the date of grant.

Volatility

The Company used an average historical share price volatility of comparable companies to be representative of future share price volatility, as the Company did not have sufficient trading history for its ordinary shares.

Expected Term

Given the Company’s limited historical exercise behavior, the expected term of options granted was determined using the “simplified” method since the Company does not have sufficient historical exercise data to provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate the expected term.  Under this approach, the expected term is presumed to be the average of the vesting term and the contractual life of the option.

Forfeitures

As share-based compensation expense recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it has been reduced for estimated forfeitures based on actual forfeiture experience, analysis of employee turnover and other factors.  The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, on January 1, 2017 and elected to retain a forfeiture rate after adoption.

Restricted Stock Units

The following table summarizes restricted stock unit activity for the six months ended June 30, 2018:

 

 

The grant-date fair value of restricted stock units is the closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares on the date of grant.

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Performance Stock Unit Awards

The following table summarizes performance stock unit awards (“PSUs”) activity for the six months ended June 30, 2018:

 

 

 

On January 5, 2018, the Company awarded PSUs to key executive participants (“2018 PSUs”).  Vesting of the 2018 PSUs was contingent upon receiving shareholder approval of amendments to our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, which were approved on May 3, 2018.  The 2018 PSUs utilize two performance metrics, a short-term component tied to business performance and a long-term component tied to relative compounded annual TSR, as follows:

 

 

All PSUs outstanding at June 30, 2018, may vest in a range of between 0% and 200%, based on the performance metrics described above.  The Company accounts for the 2018 PSUs as equity-settled awards in accordance with ASC 718.  Because the value of the Relative TSR PSUs are dependent upon the attainment of a level of TSR, it requires the impact of the market condition to be considered when estimating the fair value of the Relative TSR PSUs.  As a result, the Monte Carlo model is applied and the most significant valuation assumptions used during the six months ended June 30, 2018, include:

 

 

The value of the Net Sales PSUs is calculated at the end of each quarter based on the expected payout percentage based on estimated full period performance against targets, and the Company adjusts the expense quarterly.

 

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Share-Based Compensation Expense

The following table summarizes share-based compensation expense included in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

 

During the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company recognized $0.8 million of tax benefit and $0.2 million of tax detriment, respectively, related to share-based compensation resulting from the current share prices in effect at the time of the exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock units.  In addition, during the six months ended June 30, 2018, $20.4 million of deferred tax assets related to previously recognized share-based compensation expense related to PSUs was charged to income tax expense.  As of June 30, 2018, the Company estimates that pre-tax unrecognized compensation expense of $156.0 million for all unvested share-based awards, including stock options, restricted stock units and PSUs, will be recognized through the first quarter of 2022.  The Company expects to satisfy the exercise of stock options and future distribution of shares for restricted stock units and PSUs by issuing new ordinary shares which have been reserved under the 2014 EIP.

Cash Incentive Program

On January 5, 2018, the Committee approved a performance cash incentive program for the Company’s executive leadership team, including its executive officers (the “Cash Incentive Program”).  Participants receiving awards under the Cash Incentive Program will be eligible to earn a cash bonus based upon target award levels set forth below and based upon achievement of specified Company goals.  The maximum payout under the Cash Incentive Program is approximately $15.0 million.  Of the total cash bonus award that may be earned under the Cash Incentive Program, 70% will be determined by reference to achieving an aggressive percentage increase in KRYSTEXXA vial sales during 2018 as compared to KRYSTEXXA vial sales during 2017 and 30% will be determined by reference to the achievement of patient enrollment levels in the teprotumumab phase 3 clinical trial by December 31, 2018.  

If and to the extent earned based upon application of the performance criteria, such determined portion of the cash bonus award will vest and become payable in three equal annual installments on each anniversary of January 5, 2018, subject to the participant’s continued services with the Company through the applicable vesting dates, the date of any earlier change in control, or a termination due to death or disability.

The Company accounted for the Cash Incentive Program as a deferred compensation plan under ASC 710 and will recognize the anticipated payout expense using straight-line recognition through the end of the 36-month vesting period.  During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded an expense of $1.3 million and $2.5 million, respectively, to the condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive loss related to the Cash Incentive Program.

 

 

NOTE 20 – INCOME TAXES

The Company accounts for income taxes based upon an asset and liability approach.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities represent the future tax consequences of the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities versus the tax basis of assets and liabilities.  Under this method, deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible temporary differences, and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards.  Deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences.  Deferred tax assets are reduced by valuation allowances when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded at the currently enacted rates which will be in effect at the time when the temporary differences are expected to reverse in the country where the underlying assets and liabilities are located.  The impact of tax rate changes on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in the period in which the change is enacted.

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The following table presents the expense (benefit) for income taxes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

 

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded an expense for income taxes of $4.0 million and $3.6 million, respectively. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, the Company recorded a benefit for income taxes of $1.8 million and $49.3 million, respectively.  The expense for income taxes during the three months ended June 30, 2018 resulted primarily from a write-off of deferred tax assets related to previously recognized share-based compensation expense for PSUs that expired unvested during June 2018 and a revaluation of the Company’s U.S. net deferred tax liability as a result of state legislation changes passed during the three months ended June 30, 2018.

On December 22, 2017, the SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Act.  SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the date of enactment for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740, Income Taxes.  In accordance with SAB 118, the Company reflected the income tax effects of those aspects of the Tax Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 was complete.  To the extent that the Company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, the Company recorded a provisional estimate in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2017.  The Company recognized a net income tax benefit of $74.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, associated with the items it could reasonably estimate.  This benefit reflected the revaluation of its U.S. net deferred tax liability based on the U.S. federal tax rate of 21 percent, partially offset by the write-off of the deferred tax asset related to its U.S. interest expense carryforwards.  On April 2, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2018-28 (“the notice”) which provides guidance for computing the business interest expense limitation under the Tax Act and clarifies the treatment of interest disallowed and carried forward under Section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended (“Section 163(j)”), prior to enactment of the Tax Act.  In accordance with the measurement period provisions under SAB 118 and the guidance in the notice the Company reinstated the deferred tax asset related to its U.S. interest expense carryforwards under Section 163(j) based on the new U.S. federal tax rate of 21 percent.  The impact of the deferred tax asset reinstatement in accordance with SAB 118 was a $35.9 million increase to the Company’s benefit for income taxes and a corresponding decrease to the U.S. group net deferred tax liability position.  The impact of this reinstatement has been recognized as a discrete tax adjustment during the six months ended June 30, 2018 and resulted in a 19.2% increase in the Company’s effective tax rate during the period.  The Company is still analyzing the Tax Act and refining its calculations and the results of this analysis could potentially impact the provisional amounts recorded during the three months ended December 31, 2017 and during the six months ended June 30, 2018, and would be reflected in the 2018 income tax provision.

 

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ITEM 2.  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this report.  This discussion contains forward-looking statements reflecting our current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties which are subject to safe harbors under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.  These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning our strategy and other aspects of our future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, expectations regarding demand and acceptance for our medicines, growth opportunities and trends in the market in which we operate, prospects and plans and objectives of management.  The words “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “expects”, “intends”, “may”, “plans”, “projects”, “will”, “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.  We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the risks set forth in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this report and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.  We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

 

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Horizon Pharma plc and its consolidated subsidiaries.

OUR BUSINESS

We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on researching, developing and commercializing innovative medicines that address unmet treatment needs for rare and rheumatic diseases.  By expanding our pipeline of medicines in development and exploring all potential uses for currently marketed medicines, we strive to make a powerful difference for patients, their caregivers and physicians.

 

Effective as of the second quarter of 2018, management realigned our reportable segments to reflect changes in the manner in which our chief operating decision maker, or CODM, assesses financial information for decision-making purposes. All prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to our current reporting structure.

 

We have two reportable segments, (i) the orphan and rheumatology segment, our strategic growth business, and (ii) the primary care segment, and we report net sales and segment operating income for each segment.

Our marketed medicines are:

 

Acquisitions and Divestitures

Since January 1, 2017, we completed the following acquisitions and divestitures:

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Strategy

Our strategy is to continue the transformation of Horizon Pharma plc into a balanced, diversified, sustainable-growth biopharmaceutical company predominantly focused on rare disease medicines.  We are executing on our strategy by accelerating the growth of our rare disease medicine portfolio through differentiated commercial strategies, business development efforts and the expansion of our pipeline with post-marketing and development-stage programs.  We are strongly committed to helping ensure patient access to their medicines and support services, and by investing in the further development of medicines for patients with rare or underserved diseases.  

Orphan and Rheumatology  

Our rare disease medicines, RAVICTI, PROCYSBI, ACTIMMUNE, BUPHENYL and QUINSAIR, are our marketed orphan medicines.  Our strategy for RAVICTI is to drive growth through increased awareness and diagnosis of urea cycle disorders, and to drive conversion from older-generation nitrogen scavengers, such as generic forms of sodium phenylbutyrate, to RAVICTI, based on the medicine’s differentiated benefits.  With respect to PROCYSBI, our strategy is to drive conversion of patients from older-generation immediate-release capsules of cysteamine bitartrate to PROCYSBI, increase the uptake of diagnosed but untreated patients and identify previously undiagnosed patients who are suitable for treatment.  Our strategy with respect to ACTIMMUNE includes driving growth by increasing awareness and diagnosis of chronic granulomatous disease and increasing the length and persistence of treatment.

With our May 2017 acquisition of River Vision, we added the late-stage rare disease biologic medicine candidate teprotumumab to our pipeline.  Teprotumumab, which successfully completed a Phase 2 clinical trial and is currently enrolling patients in a Phase 3 confirmatory trial, targets the treatment of moderate-to-severe thyroid eye disease, a debilitating autoimmune condition that presents in patients with Graves’ disease.  Our strategy for teprotumumab is to support its continued clinical development and pursue regulatory approval.  The River Vision acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to rare disease medicines and expands and diversifies our rare disease medicine pipeline to support sustainable longer-term growth.  Our Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating teprotumumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe active thyroid eye disease was initiated during the fourth quarter of 2017 and we anticipate that data from the trial will be available during the second quarter of 2019.  

The rare disease medicine KRYSTEXXA is our primary marketed rheumatology medicine.  We are focused on optimizing and maximizing the peak sales potential of KRYSTEXXA by expanding our commercialization efforts, as well as investing in education, patient and physician outreach, and investigation programs that demonstrate KRYSTEXXA as an effective treatment of chronic refractory gout, or uncontrolled gout, which is refractory (unresponsive) to conventional therapies.  We believe that KRYSTEXXA represents a significant opportunity and potential growth driver within our orphan and rheumatology segment.  We also market the rheumatology medicine RAYOS/LODOTRA.

Primary Care

Our strategy with respect to our primary care medicines, which include PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS, VIMOVO and MIGERGOT, is to educate physicians about these clinically differentiated medicines and the benefits they offer.  Patients are able to fill prescriptions for these medicines through pharmacies participating in our HorizonCares patient access program, as well as other pharmacies.  In addition, we have evolved our commercial strategy to enter into business arrangements with pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, and other payers to secure formulary status and reimbursement of our primary care medicines.  The business arrangements with the PBMs generally require us to pay administrative fees and rebates to the PBMs and other payers for qualifying prescriptions.  

We market all of our medicines in the United States through our field sales force, which numbered approximately 425 representatives as of June 30, 2018.  

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Comparison of Three Months Ended June 30, 2018 and 2017

Consolidated Results

The table below should be referenced in connection with a review of the following discussion of our results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2017.  

 

 

Net sales.  Net sales increased $13.3 million, or 4.6%, to $302.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $289.5 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  

 

The following table reflects net sales by medicine for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages):

 

The increase in net sales during the three months ended June 30, 2018, was primarily due to higher net sales in our orphan and rheumatology segment, partially offset by lower net sales in our primary care segment.

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Orphan and Rheumatology

KRYSTEXXA.  Net sales increased $20.3 million, or 53%, to $58.6 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $38.3 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales increased by approximately $22.4 million resulting from volume growth, partially offset by a decrease of approximately $2.1 million due to lower net pricing.

RAVICTI.  Net sales increased $9.7 million, or 21%, to $56.9 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $47.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales in the United States increased by approximately $8.6 million, which was composed of an increase of $7.9 million due to higher net pricing and approximately $0.7 million resulting from volume growth.  Net sales outside the United States increased by approximately $1.1 million primarily due to higher sales volume.  

PROCYSBI.  Net sales increased $1.7 million, or 5%, to $38.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $36.7 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales in the United States increased by approximately $4.8 million, which was composed of an increase of $4.7 million due to higher net pricing and approximately $0.1 million resulting from volume growth.  Net sales outside the United States decreased by approximately $3.1 million primarily as a result of the Chiesi divestiture in June 2017.

ACTIMMUNE.  Net sales decreased $1.4 million, or 5%, to $27.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $28.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $2.8 million resulting from lower volume, partially offset by an increase of approximately $1.4 million due to higher net pricing.  

RAYOS.  Net sales increased $1.8 million, or 16%, to $13.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $11.6 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales increased by approximately $3.6 million resulting from volume growth, partially offset by a decrease of approximately $1.8 million due to lower net pricing.

BUPHENYL.  Net sales decreased $1.0 million, or 16%, to $5.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $6.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $2.1 million resulting from lower volume, partially offset by an increase of $1.1 million due to higher net pricing.  

LODOTRA.  Net sales decreased $0.3 million, or 15%, to $1.5 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $1.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease was the result of decreased medicine shipments to our European distribution partner, Mundipharma International Corporation Limited, or Mundipharma.  LODOTRA shipments to Mundipharma are not linear or directly tied to Mundipharma’s in-market sales and can therefore fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.

QUINSAIR.  Net sales decreased $1.3 million, or 93%, to $0.1 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $1.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017, primarily as a result of lower volume following the Chiesi divestiture in June 2017.

Primary Care

PENNSAID 2%.  Net sales decreased $3.6 million, or 7%, to $47.6 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $51.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $5.3 million resulting from lower volume, partially offset by an increase of approximately $1.7 million due to higher net pricing.  

DUEXIS.  Net sales decreased $12.9 million, or 30%, to $30.7 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $43.6 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $12.4 million due to lower net pricing and approximately $0.5 million resulting from lower volume.  

VIMOVO.  Net sales increased $0.7 million, or 3%, to $21.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $21.1 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales increased by approximately $5.5 million due to higher net pricing, partially offset by a decrease of approximately $4.8 million resulting from lower volume.

MIGERGOT.  Net sales decreased $0.5 million, or 35%, to $0.9 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $1.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $0.3 million resulting from lower volume and approximately $0.2 million due to lower net pricing.  

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The table below reconciles our gross to net sales for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in millions, except percentages):

Cost of Goods Sold.  Cost of goods sold decreased $30.1 million to $100.1 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $130.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  As a percentage of net sales, cost of goods sold was 33.1% during the three months ended June 30, 2018, compared to 45.0% during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease in cost of goods sold was primarily attributable to a $33.8 million decrease in inventory step-up expense.  

Because inventory step-up expense is acquisition-related, will not continue indefinitely and has a significant effect on our gross profit, gross margin percentage and net income (loss) for all affected periods, we disclose balance sheet and income statement amounts related to inventory step-up within the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.  The decrease in inventory step-up expense of $33.8 million recorded to cost of goods sold during the three months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the prior year period was due to KRYSTEXXA, MIGERGOT and PROCYSBI inventory step-up being fully expensed by March 31, 2018, resulting in no material inventory step-up expense being recorded during the three months ended June 30, 2018, compared to KRYSTEXXA and MIGERGOT inventory step-up expense of $19.3 million and PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR inventory step-up expense of $14.5 million recorded during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  

Research and Development Expenses.  Research and development expenses decreased $138.8 million to $24.3 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $163.1 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease was primarily attributable to $147.7 million related to the acquisition of River Vision during the three months ended June 30, 2017. Pursuant to ASC 805 (as amended by ASU No. 2017-01), we accounted for the River Vision acquisition as the purchase of an in-process research and development, or IPR&D, asset and, pursuant to ASC 730, recorded the purchase as a research and development expense during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  Excluding the costs attributable to the acquisition of River Vision, research and development expenses increased by $8.9 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2017, primarily due to the costs associated with the development of teprotumumab.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $17.0 million to $176.7 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $159.7 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  The increase was primarily attributable to an $11.4 million increase in employee costs, primarily as a result of the expansion of our KRYSTEXXA sales force during the second half of 2017 and $4.3 million recorded during the three months ended June 30, 2018 related to litigation settlements.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. Impairment of long-lived assets of $22.3 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017, represents the impairment of a non-current asset recorded following payment to Boehringer Ingelheim International for the acquisition of certain rights to interferon gamma-1b. This was previously included within “selling, general and administrative” expenses.  On July 24, 2018, we sold the rights to interferon gamma-1b in all territories outside the United States, Canada and Japan to Clinigen for an upfront payment and a potential additional contingent consideration payment.

Gain on divestiture. During the three months ended June 30, 2017, we completed the Chiesi divestiture for an upfront payment of $72.2 million, including $3.1 million of cash divested, with additional potential milestone payments based on sales thresholds and we recorded a gain of $5.9 million on the divestiture.

Expense (benefit) for Income Taxes.  During the three months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded an expense for income taxes of $4.0 million compared to a benefit for income taxes of $1.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  The increased expense for income taxes during the three months ended June 30, 2018, resulted primarily from a write-off of deferred tax assets related to previously recognized share-based compensation expense for performance stock units, or PSUs, that expired unvested during June 2018 and a revaluation of our U.S. net deferred tax liability as a result of state legislation changes passed during the three months ended June 30, 2018.

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In relation to our outstanding PSUs at December 31, 2017, as our share price was lower than $33.86 for the twenty trading days ending June 22, 2018, approximately $10.2 million of deferred tax assets at December 31, 2017, related to previously recognized share-based compensation expense was charged to income tax expense during the three months ended June 30, 2018.

Information by Segment

Orphan and Rheumatology

The following table reflects our orphan and rheumatology net sales and segment operating income for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages).

 

The increase in orphan and rheumatology net sales during the three months ended June 30, 2018 is described in the Consolidated Results section above.

Segment operating income. Orphan and rheumatology segment operating income increased $5.9 million to $70.6 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $64.7 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in net sales of $29.6 million as described above, partially offset by an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses of $13.8 million primarily as a result of the expansion of our KRYSTEXXA sales force during the second half of 2017, and an increase in research and development expenses of $7.5 million primarily due to the costs associated with the development of teprotumumab.

Primary Care

The following table reflects our primary care net sales and segment operating income for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages).

 

The decrease in primary care net sales during the three months ended June 30, 2018 is described in the Consolidated Results section above.

Segment operating income. Primary care segment operating income decreased $16.5 million to $45.9 million during the three months ended June 30, 2018, from $62.4 million during the three months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in net sales of $16.3 million as described above.

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The table below provides reconciliations of our segment operating income to our total loss before expense (benefit) for income taxes for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

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Comparison of Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 and 2017

Consolidated Results

The table below should be referenced in connection with a review of the following discussion of our results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2017.  

 

 

 

Net sales.  Net sales increased $16.3 million, or 3.2%, to $526.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $510.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  

 

         The following table reflects net sales by medicine for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages):

 

The increase in net sales during the six months ended June 30, 2018, was primarily due to higher net sales in our orphan and rheumatology segment, partially offset by lower net sales in our primary care segment.

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Orphan and Rheumatology

RAVICTI.  Net sales increased $14.9 million, or 16%, to $106.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $91.1 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales in the United States increased by approximately $13.4 million, which was composed of an increase of $13.7 million due to higher net pricing, partially offset by a decrease of approximately $0.3 million resulting from lower volume.  Net sales outside the United States increased by approximately $1.5 million primarily due to higher sales volume.  

KRYSTEXXA.  Net sales increased $35.4 million, or 51%, to $105.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $69.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales increased by approximately $36.2 million resulting from volume growth, partially offset by a decrease of approximately $0.8 million due to lower net pricing.

PROCYSBI.  Net sales increased $2.4 million, or 3%, to $73.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $71.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales in the United States increased by approximately $8.5 million, which was composed of an increase of $7.6 million due to higher net pricing and approximately $0.9 million resulting from volume growth.  Net sales outside the United States decreased by approximately $6.1 million primarily as a result of the Chiesi divestiture in June 2017.

ACTIMMUNE.  Net sales decreased $2.8 million, or 5%, to $52.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $55.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $5.8 million resulting from lower volume, partially offset by an increase of approximately $3.0 million due to higher net pricing.  

RAYOS.  Net sales increased $2.2 million, or 10%, to $24.1 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $21.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales increased by approximately $5.6 million resulting from volume growth, partially offset by a decrease of approximately $3.4 million due to lower net pricing.

BUPHENYL.  Net sales decreased $1.6 million, or 12%, to $11.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $12.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $2.1 million resulting from lower volume, partially offset by an increase of $0.5 million due to higher net pricing.  

LODOTRA.  Net sales decreased $1.0 million, or 38%, to $1.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $2.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease was the result of decreased medicine shipments to our European distribution partner, Mundipharma.  LODOTRA shipments to Mundipharma are not linear or directly tied to Mundipharma’s in-market sales and can therefore fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.

QUINSAIR.  Net sales decreased $3.0 million, or 93%, to $0.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $3.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $3.0 million resulting from lower volume following the Chiesi divestiture in June 2017.

Primary Care

PENNSAID 2%.  Net sales decreased $18.4 million, or 20%, to $74.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $92.8 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $14.3 million due to lower net pricing and approximately $4.1 million resulting from lower volume.  

DUEXIS.  Net sales decreased $14.9 million, or 24%, to $46.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $61.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $12.5 million due to lower net pricing and approximately $2.4 million resulting from lower volume.  

VIMOVO.  Net sales increased $4.2 million, or 16%, to $30.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $26.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales increased by approximately $10.2 million due to higher net pricing, partially offset by a decrease of approximately $6.0 million resulting from lower volume.

MIGERGOT.  Net sales decreased $1.2 million, or 41%, to $1.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $2.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net sales decreased by approximately $0.9 million resulting from lower volume and approximately $0.3 million due to lower net pricing.  

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The table below reconciles our gross to net sales for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in millions, except percentages):

Cost of Goods Sold.  Cost of goods sold decreased $53.1 million to $216.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $269.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  As a percentage of net sales, cost of goods sold was 41.0% during the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to 52.8% during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease in cost of goods sold was primarily attributable to a $57.4 million decrease in inventory step-up expense.  

Because inventory step-up expense is acquisition-related, will not continue indefinitely and has a significant effect on our gross profit, gross margin percentage and net income (loss) for all affected periods, we disclose balance sheet and income statement amounts related to inventory step-up within the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.  The decrease in inventory step-up expense of $57.4 million recorded to cost of goods sold during the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the prior year period was due to KRYSTEXXA inventory step-up expense of $17.0 million recorded during the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to KRYSTEXXA and MIGERGOT inventory step-up expense of $33.7 million and PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR inventory step-up expense of $40.7 million recorded during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  KRYSTEXXA inventory step-up was fully expensed by March 31, 2018.

Research and Development Expenses.  Research and development expenses decreased $134.3 million to $41.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $176.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease was primarily attributable to $147.7 million related to the acquisition of River Vision during the six months ended June 30, 2017. Pursuant to ASC 805 (as amended by ASU No. 2017-01), we accounted for the River Vision acquisition as the purchase of an IPR&D asset and, pursuant to ASC 730, recorded the purchase as a research and development expense during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Excluding the costs attributable to the acquisition of River Vision, research and development expenses increased by $13.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2017, primarily due to the costs associated with the development of teprotumumab.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $22.6 million to $356.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $333.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The increase was primarily attributable to a $19.3 million increase in employee costs, primarily as a result of the expansion of our KRYSTEXXA sales force during the second half of 2017.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded an impairment of $37.9 million to fully write off the book value of developed technology related to PROCYSBI in Canada and Latin America due primarily to lower anticipated future net sales based on a Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, or PMPRB, review. Impairment of long-lived assets of $22.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017, represents the impairment of a non-current asset recorded following payment to Boehringer Ingelheim International for the acquisition of certain rights to interferon gamma-1b. This was previously included within “selling, general and administrative” expenses.  On July 24, 2018, we sold the rights to interferon gamma-1b in all territories outside the United States, Canada and Japan to Clinigen for an upfront payment and a potential additional contingent consideration payment.

Interest Expense, Net.  Interest expense, net, decreased $2.1 million to $61.5 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $63.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease in net expense was primarily due to an increase in interest income of $3.6 million.

Gain on Divestiture. During the six months ended June 30, 2017, we completed the Chiesi divestiture for an upfront payment of $72.2 million, including $3.1 million of cash divested, with additional potential milestone payments based on sales thresholds and we recorded a gain of $5.9 million on the divestiture.

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Loss on Debt Extinguishment.  During the six months ended June 30, 2017, we entered into a refinancing amendment for our term loans.  We accounted for a portion of the repayment as a debt extinguishment and recorded a loss on debt extinguishment of $0.5 million in the condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, which reflected the write-off of the unamortized portion of debt discount and deferred financing costs previously incurred and a one percent prepayment penalty fee.

Expense (Benefit) for Income Taxes.  During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded an expense for income taxes of $3.6 million compared to a benefit for income taxes of $49.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The increased expense for income taxes during the six months ended June 30, 2018, resulted primarily from an intra-company transfer of assets, a write-off of deferred tax assets related to previously recognized share-based compensation expense for performance stock units, or PSUs, that expired unvested during March and June 2018 and a revaluation of our U.S. net deferred tax liability as a result of state legislation changes passed during the three months ended June 30, 2018.  The expense is partially offset by the reinstatement of the deferred tax asset related to our U.S. interest expense carryforwards under U.S. H.R. 1, “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018”, informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and a change in jurisdictional mix during the quarter.

In relation to our outstanding PSUs at December 31, 2017, as our share price was lower than $32.70 for the twenty trading days ended March 22, 2018, and lower than $33.86 for the twenty trading days ended June 22, 2018, approximately $10.3 million and $10.2 million, respectively, of deferred tax assets at December 31, 2017, related to previously recognized share-based compensation expense was charged to income tax expense during the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Information by Segment

Orphan and Rheumatology

The following table reflects our orphan and rheumatology net sales and segment operating income for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages).

 

The increase in orphan and rheumatology net sales during the six months ended June 30, 2018 is described in the Consolidated Results section above.

Segment operating income. Orphan and rheumatology segment operating income decreased $0.7 million to $113.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $114.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease was primarily attributable to an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses of $29.6 million primarily as a result of the expansion of our KRYSTEXXA sales force during the second half of 2017 and an increase in research and development expenses of $11.8 million primarily due to the costs associated with the development of teprotumumab, partially offset by an increase in net sales of $46.6 million as described above.

Primary Care

The following table reflects our primary care net sales and segment operating income for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands, except percentages).

The decrease in primary care net sales during the six months ended June 30, 2018, is described in the Consolidated Results section above.

Segment operating income. Primary care segment operating income decreased $28.7 million to $36.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, from $65.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in net sales of $30.3 million as described above.

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The table below provides reconciliations of the our segment operating income to our total loss before expense (benefit) for income taxes for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

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NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per share are used and provided by us as non-GAAP financial measures.  These non-GAAP financial measures are intended to provide additional information on our performance, operations and profitability.  Adjustments to our GAAP figures as well as EBITDA exclude acquisition/divestiture-related costs, upfront and milestone payments related to license agreements, drug substance harmonization costs, fees related to term loan refinancing, restructuring and realignment costs, litigation settlements and charges related to discontinuation of the Friedreich’s ataxia program, as well as non-cash items such as share-based compensation, inventory step-up expense, depreciation and amortization, remeasurement of royalties for medicines acquired through business combinations, royalty accretion, non-cash interest expense, long-lived assets impairment charges and other non-cash adjustments.  Certain other special items or substantive events may also be included in the non-GAAP adjustments periodically when their magnitude is significant within the periods incurred.  We maintain an established non-GAAP cost policy that guides the determination of what costs will be excluded in non-GAAP measures.  We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when considered together with the GAAP figures, can enhance an overall understanding of our financial and operating performance.  The non-GAAP financial measures are included with the intent of providing investors with a more complete understanding of our historical financial results and trends and to facilitate comparisons between periods.  In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures are among the indicators our management uses for planning and forecasting purposes and measuring our performance.  For example, adjusted EBITDA is used by us as one measure of management performance under certain incentive compensation arrangements.  These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.  The non-GAAP financial measures used by us may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable to, non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.  

Reconciliations of reported GAAP net loss to EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income, and the related per share amounts, were as follows (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):

 

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LIQUIDITY, FINANCIAL POSITION AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

We have incurred losses since our inception in June 2005 and, as of June 30, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $1,440.9 million.  We expect that our sales and marketing expenses will continue to increase as a result of the commercialization of our medicines but we believe these cost increases will be more than offset by higher net sales and gross profits.  Additionally, we expect that our research and development costs will increase as we acquire more development-stage medicine candidates and advance our candidates through the clinical development and regulatory approval processes.

We have financed our operations to date through equity financings, debt financings and the issuance of convertible notes, along with cash flows from operations during the last several years.  As of June 30, 2018, we had $710.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and total debt with a book value of $1,885.1 million and face value of $1,993.0 million.  We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents and our expected cash flows from our operations will be sufficient to fund our business needs for at least the next twelve months from the issuance of these financial statements.  Part of our strategy is to expand and leverage our commercial capabilities and to develop a pipeline of rare disease medicine candidates by researching, developing and commercializing innovative medicines that address unmet treatment needs for rare and rheumatic diseases.  To the extent we enter into transactions to acquire medicines or businesses in the future, we will most likely need to finance a significant portion of those acquisitions through additional debt, equity or convertible debt financings, or through the use of cash on hand.

For a description of our debt agreements, see Note 15, Debt Agreements, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

We have a significant amount of debt outstanding on a consolidated basis.  This substantial level of debt could have important consequences to our business, including, but not limited to: making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations; requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, therefore reducing our ability to use our cash flows to fund acquisitions, capital expenditures, and future business opportunities; limiting our ability to obtain additional financing, including borrowing additional funds; increasing our vulnerability to, and reducing our flexibility to respond to, general adverse economic and industry conditions; limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate; and placing us at a disadvantage as compared to our competitors, to the extent that they are not as highly leveraged.  We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness.

In addition, the indentures governing our $300.0 million aggregate principal amount of 8.750% Senior Notes due 2024 and $475.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.625% Senior Notes due 2023 and the Credit Agreement impose various covenants that limit our ability and/or our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things, pay dividends or distributions, repurchase equity, prepay junior debt and make certain investments, incur additional debt and issue certain preferred stock, incur liens on assets, engage in certain asset sales or merger transactions, enter into transactions with affiliates, designate subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries; and allow to exist certain restrictions on the ability of restricted subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments to us.

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we issued an aggregate of 2.2 million of our ordinary shares in connection with stock option exercises, the vesting of restricted stock units and employee stock program purchases. During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we made net payments of $0.8 million in connection with stock option exercises, the vesting of restricted stock units and employee stock program purchases.  

 

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Sources and Uses of Cash

The following table provides a summary of our cash position and cash flows as of and for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):

 

Operating Cash Flows

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, net cash provided by operating activities was $1.0 million.  Cash provided by operating activities was negatively impacted during the six months ended June 30, 2018, by cash payments of $55.5 million for interest on outstanding debt and cash payments of $27.3 million for income taxes. Our net cash inflow of $1.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018, reflects the high payments made related to patient assistance costs and commercial rebates for our primary care medicines during the first quarter of 2018.

During the six months ended June 30, 2017, net cash provided by operating activities was $72.7 million and included a significant one-time working capital benefit resulting from new rebate agreements entered into by us that became effective on January 1, 2017.  In addition, cash provided by operating activities was negatively impacted by cash payments of $58.4 million for interest on outstanding debt and $32.5 million paid in relation to a litigation settlement with Express Scripts, Inc.

Investing Cash Flows

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, net cash used in investing activities was $12.8 million compared to $101.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  The net cash used in investing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2018, was primarily associated with the $12.0 million upfront amount paid to MedImmune LLC to license HZN-003 (formerly MEDI4945).

Net cash used in investing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2017, was primarily associated with $145.6 million of payments for the acquisition of River Vision, net of cash acquired, and $22.3 million relating to the payment for certain rights for interferon gamma-1b.  This was partially offset by $69.1 million in proceeds received from the Chiesi divestiture, net of cash divested.

 

Financing Cash Flows

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, net cash used in financing activities was $28.5 million compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $71.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2017.  Net cash used in financing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2018, was primarily attributable to the repayment of term loans of $27.7 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2017, was primarily attributable to the net proceeds of $847.8 million from term loans, offset in part by repayment of term loans of $774.9 million.

Financial Condition as of June 30, 2018 compared to December 31, 2017

Inventories, net.  Inventories, net, decreased $11.6 million, from $61.7 million as of December 31, 2017 to $50.1 million as of June 30, 2018.  The decrease was primarily due to $17.0 million of inventory step-up expense recorded during the six months ended June 30, 2018, related to KRYSTEXXA.  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets.  Prepaid expenses and other current assets increased $20.8 million, from $43.4 million as of December 31, 2017 to $64.2 million as of June 30, 2018.  The increase was primarily due to an increase in deferred charges on intra-company profit of $9.8 million and an increase in prepaid income taxes of $9.8 million.  

Developed technology, net.  Developed technology, net, decreased $171.8 million, from $2,443.9 million as of December 31, 2017 to $2,272.1 million as of June 30, 2018.  The decrease was due to the amortization of developed technology of $134.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, and the recording of an impairment of $37.8 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018, to fully write off the book value of developed technology related to PROCYSBI in Canada and Latin America due primarily to lower anticipated future net sales based on a PMPRB review.

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Long-term debt - current portion.  Long-term debt - current portion, decreased $10.6 million from $10.6 million as of December 31, 2017 to zero as of June 30, 2018. Following the mandatory prepayment of $23.5 million under our 2017 Term Loan Facility on June 21, 2018, we are not required to pay any further quarterly installments under our 2017 Term Loan Facility until June 30, 2020.

Accrued trade discounts and rebates.  Accrued trade discounts and rebates decreased $52.1 million, from $501.8 million as of December 31, 2017 to $449.7 million as of June 30, 2018.  This was primarily due to a $51.3 million decrease in accrued co-pay and other patient assistance costs and a $22.8 million decrease in accrued wholesaler fees and commercial rebates, partially offset by a $22.0 million increase in accrued government rebates and chargebacks.

Long-term debt, net of current.  Long-term debt, net of current, decreased $14.6 million, from $1,576.6 million as of December 31, 2017 to $1,562.0 million as of June 30, 2018.  The decrease was primarily related to the mandatory prepayment of $23.5 million on June 21, 2018, under our 2017 Term Loan Facility, of which $17.1 million had been included in long-term debt, net of current, at December 31, 2017.

Deferred revenues, net of current.  Deferred revenues, net of current, decreased $9.7 million, from $9.7 million as of December 31, 2017 to zero as of June 30, 2018.  Upon adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or ASU No. 2014-09, on January 1, 2018, we reclassified $9.7 million of deferred revenues, net of current, directly to retained earnings.

Contractual Obligations

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, there were no material changes outside of the ordinary course of business to our contractual obligations as previously disclosed in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP principles requires the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses.  Certain of these policies are considered critical as these most significantly impact a company’s financial condition and results of operations and require the most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.  Actual results may vary from these estimates.  A summary of our significant accounting policies is included in Note 2 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.  

Effective January 1, 2018, we adopted ASU No. 2014-09.  See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for details of the impact of this adoption.  We modified our critical accounting policies related to revenue recognition following the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09, and our updated policies are described in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Additionally, effective as of the second quarter of 2018, management realigned our reportable segments to reflect changes in the manner in which our CODM assesses financial information for decision-making purposes and our critical accounting policy related to segment reporting is described in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, other than the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 and the resulting changes to our revenue recognition critical accounting policy and the addition of our accounting policy related to segment reporting, there have been no significant changes in our application of our critical accounting policies.   

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

Since our inception, we have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements, including the use of structured finance, special purpose entities or variable interest entities, other than the indemnification agreements discussed in Note 17, Commitments and Contingencies, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

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ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

We are exposed to various market risks, which include potential losses arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices, such as interest rates and foreign exchange fluctuations.  We do not enter into derivatives or other financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

Interest Rate Risk.  We are subject to interest rate fluctuation exposure through our borrowings under the Credit Agreement and our investment in money market accounts which bear a variable interest rate.  Loans under the Credit Agreement bear interest, at our option, at a rate equal to either the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate, or LIBOR, rate, plus an applicable margin of 3.25% per annum (subject to a 1.00% LIBOR floor), or the adjusted base rate plus 2.25%.  The adjusted base rate is defined as the greater of (a) LIBOR (using one-month interest period) plus 1%, (b) prime rate, (c) fed funds plus 0.5% and (d) 2%.  Our approximately $818.0 million of loans under our 2017 Term Loan Facility are based on LIBOR.  The current LIBOR rate is 2.125%, and as a result, the interest rate on our borrowings is currently 5.375% per annum.

An increase in the LIBOR of 100 basis points above the current LIBOR rate would increase our interest expense related to the Credit Agreement by $8.2 million per year.

The goals of our investment policy are associated with the preservation of capital, fulfillment of liquidity needs and fiduciary control of cash.  To achieve our goal of maximizing income without assuming significant market risk, we maintain our excess cash and cash equivalents in money market funds.  Because of the short-term maturities of our cash equivalents, we do not believe that a decrease in interest rates would have any material negative impact on the fair value of our cash equivalents.

Foreign Currency Risk. Our purchase cost of ACTIMMUNE and our sales contracts relating to LODOTRA are principally denominated in Euros and are subject to foreign currency risk.  We have contracts relating to RAVICTI, QUINSAIR and PROCYSBI for sales in Canada which sales are denominated in Canadian dollars and are subject to foreign currency risk.  We also incur certain operating expenses in currencies other than the U.S. dollar in relation to our Irish operations and foreign subsidiaries.  Therefore, we are subject to volatility in cash flows due to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly changes in the Euro and the Canadian dollar.  

Inflation Risk.  We do not believe that inflation has had a material impact on our business or results of operations during the periods for which the condensed consolidated financial statements are presented in this report.

Credit Risk.  Historically, our accounts receivable balances have been highly concentrated with a select number of customers consisting primarily of large wholesale pharmaceutical distributors who, in turn, sell the medicines to pharmacies, hospitals and other customers.  As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, our top three customers accounted for approximately 64% and 71%, respectively, of our total outstanding accounts receivable balances, after the reclassification adjustments as described in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

ITEM 4.  CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.  As required by paragraph (b) of Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 promulgated under the Exchange Act, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation as of the end of the period covered by this report of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e).  Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2018, the end of the period covered by this report.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.  During the quarter ended June 30, 2018, there have been no material changes to our internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f), that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

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PART II.  OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

ITEM 1.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

For a description of our legal proceedings, see Note 18, Legal Proceedings, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

 

ITEM 1A: RISK FACTORS

You should consider carefully the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this report, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, before deciding whether to invest in or continue to hold our ordinary shares.  The risks described below are all material risks currently known, expected or reasonably foreseeable by us.  If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow could be seriously harmed.  This could cause the trading price of our ordinary shares to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment.

The risk factors set forth below with an asterisk (*) next to the title are new risk factors or risk factors containing changes, including any material changes, from the risk factors previously disclosed in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as filed with the SEC.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our ability to generate revenues from our medicines is subject to attaining significant market acceptance among physicians, patients and healthcare payers.*

Our current medicines, and other medicines or medicine candidates that we may develop or acquire, may not attain market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payers or the medical community.  We have a limited history of commercializing medicines and most of our medicines have not been on the market for an extensive period of time, which subjects us to numerous risks as we attempt to increase our market share.  We believe that the degree of market acceptance and our ability to generate revenues from our medicines will depend on a number of factors, including:

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With respect to RAVICTI, which is approved to treat a very limited patient population, our ability to grow sales will depend in large part on our ability to transition urea cycle disorder, or UCD, patients from BUPHENYL or generic equivalents, which are comparatively much less expensive, to RAVICTI and to encourage patients and physicians to continue RAVICTI therapy once initiated.  With respect to PROCYSBI, which is also approved to treat a very limited patient population, our ability to grow sales will depend in large part on our ability to transition patients from the first-generation immediate-release cysteamine therapy to PROCYSBI, to identify additional patients with nephropathic cystinosis and to encourage patients and physicians to continue therapy once initiated.  With respect to ACTIMMUNE, while it is the only FDA-approved treatment for chronic granulomatous disease, or CGD, and severe, malignant osteopetrosis, or SMO, they are very rare conditions and, as a result, our ability to grow ACTIMMUNE sales will depend on our ability to access a wider patient population and encourage patients and physicians to continue treatment once initiated.  Unless QUINSAIR is approved for marketing in additional countries, our ability to drive growth of this medicine will largely depend on expanding its use in Canada.  With respect to KRYSTEXXA, our ability to grow sales will be affected by the success of our sales, marketing and clinical strategies, which could expand the patient population and usage of KRYSTEXXA. This includes our marketing efforts in nephrology and life cycle management, studies designed to improve the response rate to KRYSTEXXA, our proposed label update submission to the FDA relating to additional safety data based on post-marketing studies.  With respect to each of BUPHENYL, RAYOS/LODOTRA, PENNSAID 2% w/w, or PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS and VIMOVO, their higher cost compared to the generic or branded forms of their active ingredients alone may limit adoption by physicians, patients and healthcare payers.  With respect to DUEXIS and VIMOVO, studies indicate that physicians do not commonly co-prescribe gastrointestinal, or GI, protective agents to high-risk patients taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.  We believe this is due in part to a lack of awareness among physicians prescribing NSAIDs regarding the risk of NSAID-induced upper GI ulcers, in addition to the inconvenience of prescribing two separate medications and patient compliance issues associated with multiple prescriptions.  If physicians remain unaware of, or do not otherwise believe in, the benefits of combining GI protective agents with NSAIDs, our market opportunity for DUEXIS and VIMOVO will be limited.  Some physicians may also be reluctant to prescribe DUEXIS or VIMOVO due to the inability to vary the dose of ibuprofen and naproxen, respectively, or if they believe treatment with NSAIDs or GI protective agents other than those contained in DUEXIS and VIMOVO, including those of its competitors, would be more effective for their patients.  If our current medicines or any other medicine that we may seek approval for, or acquire, fail to attain market acceptance, we may not be able to generate significant revenue to achieve or sustain profitability, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects (including, possibly, the value of our ordinary shares).

Our future prospects are highly dependent on our ability to successfully formulate and execute commercialization strategies for each of our medicines.  Failure to do so would adversely impact our financial condition and prospects.*

A substantial majority of our resources are focused on the commercialization of our current medicines.  Our ability to generate significant medicine revenues and to achieve commercial success in the near-term will initially depend almost entirely on our ability to successfully commercialize these medicines in the United States.  

With respect to our rare disease medicines, RAVICTI, PROCYSBI, ACTIMMUNE, BUPHENYL, QUINSAIR and KRYSTEXXA, our commercialization strategy includes efforts to increase awareness of the rare conditions that each medicine is designed to treat, enhancing efforts to identify target patients and in certain cases pursue opportunities for label expansion and more effective use through clinical trials.  With respect to RAVICTI and PROCYSBI, our strategy includes accelerating the transition of patients from first-generation therapies, and increasing the diagnosis of the associated rare conditions through patient and physician outreach.  Our strategy with respect to KRYSTEXXA includes the continued enhancement of the marketing campaign with improved immunogenicity data, continued volume growth and pricing optimization.

With respect to our primary care medicines, PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS, and VIMOVO, our strategy has included entering into rebate agreements with pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, for certain of our primary care medicines where we believe the rebates and costs justify expanded formulary access for patients and ensuring patient access to these drugs when prescribed through our HorizonCares program.  However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to secure additional rebate agreements on commercially reasonable terms, that expected volume growth will sufficiently offset the rebates and fees paid to PBMs or that our existing agreements with PBMs will have the intended impact on formulary access.  For each of our primary care medicines, we expect that our commercial success will depend on our sales and marketing efforts in the United States, reimbursement decisions by commercial payers, the expense we incur through our patient assistance program for fully bought down contracts and the rebates we pay to PBMs, as well as the impact of numerous efforts at federal, state and local levels to further reduce reimbursement and net pricing of primary care medicines.

Our strategy for RAYOS in the United States is to focus on the rheumatology indications approved for RAYOS, including our collaboration with the Alliance for Lupus Research, or ALR, to study the effect of RAYOS on the fatigue experienced by systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, patients.

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Our overall commercialization strategy also includes plans to expand sales in countries outside the United States directly or through distributors for certain of our orphan and rheumatology medicines and medicine candidates.  In November 2015, we received approval of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, for RAVICTI for use as an adjunctive therapy for chronic management of adult and pediatric UCD patients greater than two months of age.  RAVICTI became available in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2017 through an exclusive distribution agreement with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, or SOBI, however we cannot guarantee we will be able to successfully implement our commercial plans for RAVICTI in Europe.  Although LODOTRA is approved for marketing in countries outside the United States, to date it has only been marketed in a limited number of countries.  

If any of our commercial strategies are unsuccessful or we fail to successfully modify our strategies over time due to changing market conditions, our ability to increase market share for our medicines, grow revenues and to achieve and sustain profitability will be harmed.

In order to increase adoption and sales of our medicines, we will need to continue developing our commercial organization as well as recruit and retain qualified sales representatives.*

Part of our strategy is to continue to build a biopharmaceutical company to successfully execute the commercialization of our medicines in the U.S. market, and in selected markets outside the United States where we have commercial rights.  We may not be able to successfully commercialize our medicines in the United States or in any other territories where we have commercial rights.  In order to commercialize any approved medicines, we must continue to build our sales, marketing, distribution, managerial and other non-technical capabilities.  As of June 30, 2018, we had approximately 425 sales representatives in the field, consisting of approximately 25 orphan disease sales representatives, 140 rheumatology sales specialists and 260 primary care sales representatives.  During the second quarter of 2017, we effected a workforce reduction in the primary care business unit.  We cannot be certain that we will be able to adequately market our primary care medicines following the reduction in our sales force or that we will be able to continue retaining the current members of our primary care sales force.  We currently have limited resources compared to some of our competitors, and the continued development of our own commercial organization to market our medicines and any additional medicines we may acquire will be expensive and time-consuming.  We also cannot be certain that we will be able to continue to successfully develop this capability.  

As a result of the evolving role of various constituents in the prescription decision making process, we focus on hiring sales representatives for our primary care medicines and RAYOS with successful business to business experience.  For example, we have faced challenges due to pharmacists increasingly switching a patient’s intended prescription from DUEXIS and VIMOVO to a generic or over-the-counter brand of their active ingredients, despite such substitution being off-label in the case of DUEXIS and VIMOVO.  We have faced similar challenges for BUPHENYL, RAYOS and PENNSAID 2% with respect to generic brands.  While we believe the profile of our representatives is better suited for this evolving environment, we cannot be certain that our representatives will be able to successfully protect our market for BUPHENYL, RAYOS, PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS and VIMOVO or that we will be able to continue attracting and retaining sales representatives with our desired profile and skills.  We will also have to compete with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to recruit, hire, train and retain commercial personnel.  To the extent we rely on additional third parties to commercialize any approved medicines, we may receive less revenue than if we commercialized these medicines ourselves.  In addition, we may have little or no control over the sales efforts of any third parties involved in our commercialization efforts.  In the event we are unable to successfully develop and maintain our own commercial organization or collaborate with a third-party sales and marketing organization, we may not be able to commercialize our medicines and medicine candidates and execute on our business plan.

If we are unable to effectively train and equip our sales force, our ability to successfully commercialize our medicines will be harmed.

As we continue to acquire additional medicines through acquisition transactions, the members of our sales force may have limited experience promoting certain of our medicines.  To the extent we employ an acquired entity’s original sales forces to promote acquired medicines, we may not be successful in continuing to retain these employees and we otherwise will have limited experience marketing these medicines under our commercial organization.  As a result, we are required to expend significant time and resources to train our sales force to be credible and persuasive in convincing physicians to prescribe and pharmacists to dispense our medicines.  In addition, we must train our sales force to ensure that a consistent and appropriate message about our medicines is being delivered to our potential customers.  Our sales representatives may also experience challenges promoting multiple medicines when we call on physicians and their office staff.  We have experienced, and may continue to experience, turnover of the sales representatives that we hired or will hire, requiring us to train new sales representatives.  If we are unable to effectively train our sales force and equip them with effective materials, including medical and sales literature to help them inform and educate physicians about the benefits of our medicines and their proper administration and label indication, as well as our patient access programs, our efforts to successfully commercialize our medicines could be put in jeopardy, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, share price and operations.

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If we cannot successfully implement our patient access programs or increase formulary access and reimbursement for our medicines in the face of increasing pressure to reduce the price of medications, the adoption of our medicines by physicians, patients and payers may decline.*

There continues to be immense pressure from healthcare payers, PBMs and others to use less expensive generics or over-the-counter brands instead of branded medicines.  For example, some of the largest PBMs previously placed DUEXIS and VIMOVO on their formulary exclusion lists.  Additional healthcare plans, including those that contract with these PBMs but use different formularies, may also choose to exclude our medicines from their formularies or restrict coverage to situations where a generic or over-the-counter medicine has been tried first.  Many payers and PBMs also require patients to make co-payments for branded medicines, including many of our medicines, in order to incentivize the use of generic or other lower-priced alternatives instead.  Legislation enacted in most states in the United States allows, or in some instances mandates, that a pharmacist dispenses an available generic equivalent when filling a prescription for a branded medicine, in the absence of specific instructions from the prescribing physician.  Because our medicines (other than BUPHENYL) do not currently have FDA-approved generic equivalents in the United States, we do not believe our medicines should be subject to mandatory generic substitution laws.  However, we understand that some pharmacies may attempt to obtain physician authorization to switch prescriptions for DUEXIS or VIMOVO to prescriptions for multiple generic medicines with similar active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, to ensure payment for the medicine if the physician’s prescription for the branded medicine is not immediately covered by the payer, despite such substitution being off-label in the case of DUEXIS and VIMOVO.  If these limitations in coverage and other incentives result in patients refusing to fill prescriptions or being dissatisfied with the out-of-pocket costs of their medications, or if pharmacies otherwise seek and receive physician authorization to switch prescriptions, not only would we lose sales on prescriptions that are ultimately not filled, but physicians may be dissuaded from writing prescriptions for our medicines in the first place in order to avoid potential patient non-compliance or dissatisfaction over medication costs, or to avoid spending the time and effort of responding to pharmacy requests to switch prescriptions.

Part of our commercial strategy to increase adoption and access to our medicines in the face of these incentives to use generic alternatives is to offer physicians the opportunity to have patients fill prescriptions through independent pharmacies participating in our HorizonCares patient access program, including shipment of prescriptions to patients.  We also have contracted with a third party prescription clearinghouse that offers physicians a single point of contact for processing prescriptions through these independent pharmacies, reducing physician administrative costs, increasing the fill rates for prescriptions and enabling physicians to monitor refill activity.  Through HorizonCares, financial assistance may be available to reduce eligible patients’ out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions filled.  Because of this assistance, eligible patients’ out-of-pocket cost for our medicines when dispensed through HorizonCares may be significantly lower than such costs when our medicines are dispensed outside of the HorizonCares program.  However, to the extent physicians do not direct prescriptions currently filled through traditional pharmacies, including those associated with or controlled by PBMs, to pharmacies participating in our HorizonCares program, we may experience a significant decline in PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS and VIMOVO prescriptions.  Our ability to increase utilization of our patient access programs will depend on physician and patient awareness and comfort with the programs, and we have limited ability to influence whether physicians use our patient access programs to prescribe our medicines or whether patients will agree to receive our medicines through our HorizonCares program.  In addition, the HorizonCares program is not available to federal health care program (such as Medicare and Medicaid) beneficiaries.  We have also contracted with certain PBMs and other payers to secure formulary status and reimbursement for certain of our primary care medicines, which generally require us to pay administrative fees and rebates to the PBMs and other payers for qualifying prescriptions.  While we have business relationships with two of the largest PBMs, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, that have resulted in DUEXIS and VIMOVO being removed from the Express Scripts and CVS Caremark exclusion lists starting in 2017, as well as a rebate agreement with another PBM, Prime Therapeutics LLC, and we believe these agreements will secure formulary status for certain of our medicines, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to agree to terms with other PBMs and other payers, or that such terms will be commercially reasonable to us.  Despite our agreements with PBMs, the extent of formulary status and reimbursement will ultimately depend to a large extent upon individual healthcare plan formulary decisions.  If healthcare plans that contract with PBMs with which we have agreements do not adopt formulary changes recommended by the PBMs with respect to our medicines, we may not realize the expected access and reimbursement benefits from these agreements.  In addition, we generally pay higher rebates for prescriptions covered under plans that adopt a PBM-chosen formulary than for plans that adopt custom formularies.  Consequently, the success of our PBM contracting strategy will depend not only on our ability to expand formulary adoption among healthcare plans, but also upon the relative mix of healthcare plans that have PBM-chosen formularies versus custom formularies.  If we are unable to realize the expected benefits of our contractual arrangements with the PBMs we may continue to experience reductions in net sales from our primary care medicines and/or reductions in net pricing for our primary care medicines due to increasing patient assistance costs.  If we are unable to increase adoption of HorizonCares for filling prescriptions of our medicines and to secure formulary status and reimbursement through arrangements with PBMs and other payers, particularly with healthcare plans that use custom formularies, our ability to achieve net sales growth for our primary care medicines would be impaired.

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There has been negative publicity and inquiries from Congress and enforcement authorities regarding the use of specialty pharmacies and drug pricing.  Our patient access programs are not involved in the prescribing of medicines and are solely to assist in ensuring that when a physician determines one of our medicines offers a potential clinical benefit to their patients and they prescribe one for an eligible patient, financial assistance may be available to reduce the patient’s out-of-pocket costs.  In addition, all pharmacies that fill prescriptions for our medicines are fully independent, including those that participate in HorizonCares.  We do not own or possess any option to purchase an ownership stake in any pharmacy that distributes our medicines, and our relationship with each pharmacy is non-exclusive and arm’s length.  All of our sales are processed through pharmacies independent of us.  Despite this, the negative publicity and interest from Congress and enforcement authorities regarding specialty pharmacies may result in physicians being less willing to participate in our patient access programs and thereby limit our ability to increase patient access and adoption of our medicines.

We may also encounter difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships with pharmacies that participate in our patient access programs.  We currently depend on a limited number of pharmacies participating in HorizonCares to fulfill patient prescriptions under the HorizonCares program.  If these HorizonCares participating pharmacies are unable to process and fulfill the volume of patient prescriptions directed to them under the HorizonCares program, our ability to maintain or increase prescriptions for our medicines will be impaired.  The commercialization of our medicines and our operating results could be affected should any of the HorizonCares participating pharmacies choose not to continue participation in our HorizonCares program or by any adverse events at any of those HorizonCares participating pharmacies.  For example, pharmacies that dispense our medicines could lose contracts that they currently maintain with managed care organizations, or MCOs, including PBMs.  Pharmacies often enter into agreements with MCOs.  They may be required to abide by certain terms and conditions to maintain access to MCO networks, including terms and conditions that could limit their ability to participate in patient access programs like ours.  Failure to comply with the terms of their agreements with MCOs could result in a variety of penalties, including termination of their agreement, which could negatively impact the ability of those pharmacies to dispense our medicines and collect reimbursement from MCOs for such medicines.

The HorizonCares program may implicate certain federal and state laws related to, among other things, unlawful schemes to defraud, excessive fees for services, tortious interference with patient contracts and statutory or common law fraud.  We have a comprehensive compliance program in place to address adherence with various laws and regulations relating to the selling, marketing and manufacturing of our medicines, as well as certain third-party relationships, including pharmacies.  Specifically with respect to pharmacies, the compliance program utilizes a variety of methods and tools to monitor and audit pharmacies, including those that participate in the HorizonCares program, to confirm their activities, adjudication and practices are consistent with our compliance policies and guidance.  Despite our compliance efforts, to the extent the HorizonCares program is found to be inconsistent with applicable laws or the pharmacies that participate in our patient access programs do not comply with applicable laws, we may be required to restructure or discontinue such programs, terminate our relationship with certain pharmacies, or be subject to other significant penalties.  In November 2015, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York requesting documents and information related to our patient access programs and other aspects of our marketing and commercialization activities.  We are unable to predict how long this investigation will continue or its outcome, but we have incurred and anticipate that we may continue to incur significant costs in connection with the investigation, regardless of the outcome.  We may also become subject to similar investigations by other governmental agencies or Congress.  The investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and any additional investigations of our patient access programs and sales and marketing activities may result in damages, fines, penalties, exclusion, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight or other administrative sanctions against us.

If the cost of maintaining our patient access programs increases relative to our sales revenues, we could be forced to reduce the amount of patient financial assistance that we offer or otherwise scale back or eliminate such programs, which could in turn have a negative impact on physicians’ willingness to prescribe and patients’ willingness to fill prescriptions of our medicines.  While we believe that our arrangements with PBMs will result in broader inclusion of certain of our primary care medicines on healthcare plan formularies, and therefore increase payer reimbursement and lower our cost of providing patient access programs, these arrangements generally require us to pay administrative and rebate payments to the PBMs and/or other payers and their effectiveness will ultimately depend to a large extent upon individual healthcare plan formulary decisions that are beyond the control of the PBMs.  If our arrangements with PBMs and other payers do not result in increased prescriptions and reductions in our costs to provide our patient access programs that are sufficient to offset the administrative fees and rebate payments to the PBMs and/or other payers, our financial results may continue to be harmed.

If we are unable to successfully implement our commercial plans and facilitate adoption by patients and physicians of any approved medicines through our sales, marketing and commercialization efforts, then we will not be able to generate sustainable revenues from medicine sales which will have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.

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Coverage and reimbursement may not be available, or reimbursement may be available at only limited levels, for our medicines, which could make it difficult for us to sell our medicines profitably or to successfully execute planned medicine price increases.*

Market acceptance and sales of our medicines will depend in large part on global coverage and reimbursement policies and may be affected by future healthcare reform measures, both in the United States and other key international markets.  Successful commercialization of our medicines will depend in part on the availability of governmental and third-party payer reimbursement for the cost of our medicines.  Government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations generally provide reimbursement for healthcare.  In particular, in the United States, private health insurers and other third-party payers often provide reimbursement for medicines and services based on the level at which the government (through the Medicare or Medicaid programs) provides reimbursement for such treatments.  In the United States, the European Union, or EU, and other significant or potentially significant markets for our medicines and medicine candidates, government authorities and third-party payers are increasingly attempting to limit or regulate the price of medicines and services, particularly for new and innovative medicines and therapies, which has resulted in lower average selling prices.  Further, the increased scrutiny of prescription drug pricing practices and emphasis on managed healthcare in the United States and on country and regional pricing and reimbursement controls in the EU will put additional pressure on medicine pricing, reimbursement and usage, which may adversely affect our medicine sales and results of operations.  These pressures can arise from rules and practices of managed care groups, judicial decisions and governmental laws and regulations related to Medicare, Medicaid and healthcare reform, pharmaceutical reimbursement policies and pricing in general.  These pressures may create negative reactions to any medicine price increases, or limit the amount by which we may be able to increase our medicine prices, which may adversely affect our medicine sales and results of operations.

Patients are unlikely to use our medicines unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our medicines.  Third-party payers may limit coverage to specific medicines on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved medicines for a particular indication.  Moreover, a third-party payer’s decision to provide coverage for a medicine does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved.  Additionally, one third-party payer’s decision to cover a particular medicine does not ensure that other payers will also provide coverage for the medicine, or will provide coverage at an adequate reimbursement rate.  Even though we have contracts with some PBMs in the United States, that does not guarantee that they will perform in accordance with the contracts, nor does that preclude them from taking adverse actions against us, which could materially adversely affect our operating results.  In addition, the existence of such PBM contracts does not guarantee coverage by such PBM’s contracted health plans or adequate reimbursement to their respective providers for our medicines.  For example, two significant PBMs placed DUEXIS and VIMOVO on their exclusion lists beginning in 2015, which has resulted in a loss of coverage for patients whose healthcare plans have adopted these PBM lists.  While DUEXIS and VIMOVO were removed from the Express Scripts and CVS Caremark exclusion lists starting in 2017, we cannot guarantee that Express Scripts or CVS Caremark will not later add these medicines back to their exclusion lists or that we will be able to otherwise expand formulary access for DUEXIS and VIMOVO under health plans that contract with Express Scripts and/or CVS Caremark.  Additional healthcare plan formularies may also exclude our medicines from coverage due to the actions of certain PBMs, future price increases we may implement, our use of the HorizonCares program or any other co-pay programs, or other reasons.  If our strategies to mitigate formulary exclusions are not effective, these events may reduce the likelihood that physicians prescribe our medicines and increase the likelihood that prescriptions for our medicines are not filled.

Outside of the United States, the success of our medicines, including RAVICTI, PROCYSBI, QUINSAIR and LODOTRA, and medicine candidates will depend largely on obtaining and maintaining government coverage, because in many countries patients are unlikely to use prescription drugs that are not covered by their government healthcare programs.  We launched RAVICTI in Canada in November 2016 and RAVICTI became available in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2017 through our partnership with SOBI.  PROCYSBI was launched in Canada in October 2017 and QUINSAIR was launched in Canada in December 2016.  Further, we cannot be certain that existing reimbursement in such countries will be maintained or that we will be able to secure reimbursement in additional countries.  The majority of LODOTRA sales are in Germany and Italy where reimbursement has been approved.  Negotiating coverage and reimbursement with governmental authorities can delay commercialization by twelve months or more.  Coverage and reimbursement policies may adversely affect our ability to sell our medicines on a profitable basis.  In many international markets, governments control the prices of prescription pharmaceuticals, including through the implementation of reference pricing, price cuts, rebates, revenue-related taxes and profit control, and we expect prices of prescription pharmaceuticals to decline over the life of the medicine or as volumes increase.  Many countries in the EU have increased the amount of discounts required on medicines, and we expect these discounts to continue as countries attempt to manage healthcare expenditures, especially in light of current economic conditions.  As a result of these pricing practices, it may become difficult to achieve or sustain profitability or expected rates of growth in revenue or results of operations.  Any shortfalls in revenue could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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In light of such policies and the uncertainty surrounding proposed regulations and changes in the coverage and reimbursement policies of governments and third-party payers, we cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any of our medicines in any additional markets or for any other medicine candidates that we may develop.  Also, we cannot be sure that reimbursement amounts will not reduce the demand for, or the price of, our medicines.  If coverage and reimbursement are not available or are available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our medicines.

We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of our medicines due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative proposals relating to outcomes and quality.  For example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively the ACA, increased the mandated Medicaid rebate from 15.1% to 23.1%, expanded the rebate to Medicaid managed care utilization and increased the types of entities eligible for the federal 340B drug discount program.  On January 30, 2017, the White House Office of Management and Budget withdrew the draft August 2015 Omnibus Guidance document that was issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, or HRSA, that addressed a broad range of topics including, among other items, the definition of a patient’s eligibility for 340B drug pricing.  However, as concerns continue to grow over the need for tighter oversight, there remains the possibility that HRSA or another agency under the HHS will propose a similar regulation or that Congress will explore changes to the 340B program through legislation.  For example, a bill was recently introduced that would require hospitals to report their low-income utilization of the program.  Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule that would revise the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system for calendar year 2018, including a new reimbursement methodology for drugs purchased under the 340B program for Medicare patients.  In addition, HHS has currently set July 1, 2019, for implementation of the final rule setting forth the calculation of the ceiling price and application of civil monetary penalties under the 340B program.  A material portion of KRYSEXXA prescriptions are written by healthcare providers that are eligible for 340B drug pricing and therefore any reduction in 340B pricing, whether in the form of the final rule or otherwise, or an expansion of healthcare providers eligible for 340B drug pricing, would likely have a negative impact on our net sales from KRYSTEXXA.

There may be additional pressure by payers, healthcare providers, state governments, federal regulators and Congress, to use generic drugs that contain the active ingredients found in our medicines or any other medicine candidates that we may develop or acquire.  If we fail to successfully secure and maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our medicines or are significantly delayed in doing so, we will have difficulty achieving market acceptance of our medicines and expected revenue and profitability which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.  

We may also experience pressure from payers as well as state and federal government authorities concerning certain promotional approaches that we may implement such as our HorizonCares program or any other co-pay or free medicine programs whereby we assist qualified patients with certain out-of-pocket expenditures for our medicine.  Certain state and federal enforcement authorities and members of Congress have initiated inquiries about co-pay assistance programs.  Some state legislatures have been considering proposals that would restrict or ban co-pay coupons.  For example, legislation was recently signed into law in California that would limit the use of co-pay coupons in cases where a lower cost generic drug is available and if individual ingredients in combination therapies are available over the counter at a lower cost.  It is possible that similar legislation could be proposed and enacted in additional states.  If we are unsuccessful with our HorizonCares program or any other co-pay initiatives or free medicine programs, or we alternatively are unable to secure expanded formulary access through additional arrangements with PBMs or other payers, we would be at a competitive disadvantage in terms of pricing versus preferred branded and generic competitors.  We may also experience financial pressure in the future which would make it difficult to support investment levels in areas such as managed care contract rebates, HorizonCares and other access tools.

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We are solely dependent on third parties to commercialize certain of our medicines outside the United States.  Failure of these third parties or any other third parties to successfully commercialize our medicines and medicine candidates in the applicable jurisdictions could have a material adverse effect on our business.

SOBI is our exclusive distributor for RAVICTI in Europe.  Innomar Strategies Inc., or Innomar, is our exclusive distributor for RAVICTI, PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR in Canada.  We rely on other third-party distributors for commercialization of BUPHENYL (known as AMMONAPS in certain European countries) in certain territories outside the United States for which we currently have rights.  Mundipharma International Corporation Limited, or Mundipharma, is our exclusive distributor for LODOTRA in Europe, Asia and Latin America.  We have limited contractual rights to force these third parties to invest significantly in commercialization of these medicines in our markets.  In the event that SOBI, Innomar, our current ex-U.S. distributors for BUPHENYL, Mundipharma or any other third party with any future commercialization rights to any of our medicines or medicine candidates fail to adequately commercialize those medicines or medicine candidates because they lack adequate financial or other resources, decide to focus on other initiatives or otherwise, our ability to successfully commercialize our medicines or medicine candidates in the applicable jurisdictions would be limited, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.  We have had disagreements with Mundipharma under our European agreements and may continue to have disagreements, which could harm commercialization of LODOTRA in Europe or result in the termination of our agreements with Mundipharma.  In addition, our agreements with SOBI, Innomar, our current ex-U.S. distributors for BUPHENYL and Mundipharma, may be terminated by either party in the event of a bankruptcy of the other party or upon an uncured material breach by the other party.  If these third parties terminated their agreements, we may not be able to secure an alternative distributor in the applicable territory on a timely basis or at all, in which case our ability to generate revenues from the sale of RAVICTI, PROCYSBI, BUPHENYL, QUINSAIR or LODOTRA, outside the United States would be materially harmed.  

Our medicines are subject to extensive regulation, and we may not obtain additional regulatory approvals for our medicines.

The clinical development, manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, advertising, promotion, export, marketing and distribution and other possible activities relating to our medicines and our medicine candidates are, and will be, subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies.  Failure to comply with FDA and other applicable regulatory requirements may, either before or after medicine approval, subject us to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions.

To market any drugs or biologics outside of the United States, we and current or future collaborators must comply with numerous and varying regulatory and compliance related requirements of other countries.  Approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional medicine testing and additional administrative review periods, including obtaining reimbursement and pricing approval in select markets.  The time required to obtain approval in other countries might differ from that required to obtain FDA approval.  The regulatory approval process in other countries may include all of the risks associated with FDA approval as well as additional, presently unanticipated, risks.  Regulatory approval in one country does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may negatively impact the regulatory process in others.

Applications for regulatory approval, including a marketing authorization application, or MAA, for marketing new drugs in Europe, must be supported by extensive clinical and pre-clinical data, as well as extensive information regarding chemistry, manufacturing and controls, or CMC, to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the applicable medicine candidate.  The number and types of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials that will be required for regulatory approval varies depending on the medicine candidate, the disease or the condition that the medicine candidate is designed to target and the regulations applicable to any particular medicine candidate.  Despite the time and expense associated with pre-clinical and clinical studies, failure can occur at any stage, and we could encounter problems that cause us to repeat or perform additional pre-clinical studies, CMC studies or clinical trials.  Regulatory authorities could delay, limit or deny approval of a medicine candidate for many reasons, including because they:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Even if we believe that data collected from our pre-clinical studies, CMC studies and clinical trials of our medicine candidates are promising and that our information and procedures regarding CMC are sufficient, our data may not be sufficient to support marketing approval by regulatory authorities, or regulatory interpretation of these data and procedures may be unfavorable.  Even if approved, medicine candidates may not be approved for all indications requested and such approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the medicine may be marketed, restricted distribution methods or other limitations.  Our business and reputation may be harmed by any failure or significant delay in obtaining regulatory approval for the sale of any of our medicine candidates.  We cannot predict when or whether regulatory approval will be obtained for any medicine candidate we develop.

 

With respect to QUINSAIR, the FDA indicated in previous written and verbal communications with Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., or Raptor, and with the drug’s previous sponsor, that it believed the data submitted in connection with EMA’s subsequent approval of QUINSAIR for the management of chronic pulmonary infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in adults with cystic fibrosis, or CF, did not provide substantial evidence of efficacy and safety to support FDA approval of QUINSAIR for treatment of patients with CF.  In October 2016, the FDA expressed its recommendation that an additional clinical trial should be conducted, and noted that if Raptor submitted a new drug application, or NDA, without conducting an additional clinical trial, the FDA would review the submission to determine whether it is acceptable for filing.  

Prior to our acquisition of Raptor, Raptor planned to pursue the development of QUINSAIR for use in the indication of bronchiectasis, or BE, not associated with CF.  Raptor submitted a protocol to the FDA in August 2016 for a Phase 2, placebo-controlled study of QUINSAIR in adults with BE.  Feedback from the FDA was received in October 2016 requesting additional information and changes to the proposed study protocol.  Raptor was also exploring further clinical development of QUINSAIR for the treatment of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteria, or NTM infection, based on third-party data generated pertaining to the susceptibility of certain pathogens to treatment with levofloxacin and other fluoroquinolone molecules.  No clinical data has been generated with QUINSAIR in patients with BE or with NTM infections, either by Raptor, subsequently by us or by other parties.  This creates uncertainty regarding the potential efficacy of QUINSAIR in these indications.

We will evaluate all development opportunities, including all obligations to use commercial reasonable efforts to further develop QUINSAIR.  However, we may determine not to pursue such further development.

The ultimate approval and commercial marketing of any of our medicines in additional indications or geographies is subject to substantial uncertainty.  Failure to gain additional regulatory approvals would limit the potential revenues and value of our medicines and could cause our share price to decline.

The amount of our medicine sales in the Member States of the European Economic Area, or EEA, is dependent in part upon the pricing and reimbursement decisions adopted in each of the EEA countries, which may not be at acceptable levels to us.

One or more EEA countries may not support pricing within our target pricing and reimbursement range for our medicines due to budgetary decisions made by regional, national and local health authorities and third-party payers in the EEA, which would negatively affect our revenues.  The pricing and reimbursement process in EEA countries can be lengthy, involved and difficult to predict.  Failure to timely complete the pricing and reimbursement process in the EEA countries will delay our ability to market our medicines in the EEA and to derive revenues from those countries.

We may be subject to penalties and litigation and large incremental expenses if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience problems with our medicines.

Even after we achieve regulatory approvals, we are subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review with respect to many operational aspects including our manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, storage, adverse event monitoring and reporting, dispensation, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping.  These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, ongoing maintenance of medicine registration and continued compliance with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMPs, good clinical practices, or GCPs, good pharmacovigilance practice, good distribution practices and good laboratory practices, or GLPs.  If we, our medicines or medicine candidates, or the third-party manufacturing facilities for our medicines or medicine candidates fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Moreover, existing regulatory approvals and any future regulatory approvals that we obtain will be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses and patient populations for which our medicines may be marketed, the conditions of approval, requirements for potentially costly, post-market testing and requirements for surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the medicines.  In the EEA, the advertising and promotion of pharmaceuticals is strictly regulated.  The direct-to-consumer promotion of prescription pharmaceuticals is not permitted, and some countries in the EEA require the notification and/or prior authorization of promotional or advertising materials directed at healthcare professionals.  The FDA, EMA and other authorities in the EEA countries strictly regulate the promotional claims that may be made about prescription medicines, and our medicine labeling, advertising and promotion are subject to continuing regulatory review.  Physicians nevertheless may prescribe our medicines to their patients in a manner that is inconsistent with the approved label or that is off-label.  Positive clinical trial results in any of our medicine development programs increase the risk that approved pharmaceutical forms of the same APIs may be used off-label in those indications.  If we are found to have improperly promoted off-label uses of approved medicines, we may be subject to significant sanctions, civil and criminal fines and injunctions prohibiting us from engaging in specified promotional conduct.

In addition, engaging in improper promotion of our medicines for off-label uses in the United States can subject us to false claims litigation under federal and state statutes.  These false claims statutes in the United States include the federal False Claims Act, which allows any individual to bring a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company on behalf of the federal government alleging submission of false or fraudulent claims or causing to present such false or fraudulent claims for payment by a federal program such as Medicare or Medicaid.  Growth in false claims litigation has increased the risk that a pharmaceutical company will have to defend a false claim action, pay civil money penalties, settlement fines or restitution, agree to comply with burdensome reporting and compliance obligations and be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs.

The regulations, policies or guidance of regulatory agencies may change and new or additional statutes or government regulations may be enacted that could prevent or delay regulatory approval of our medicine candidates or further restrict or regulate post-approval activities.  For example, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act requires the FDA to issue new guidance describing its policy regarding internet and social media promotion of regulated medical products, and the FDA may soon specify new restrictions on this type of promotion.  In January 2014, the FDA released draft guidance on how drug companies can fulfill their regulatory requirements for post-marketing submission of interactive promotional media, and though the guidance provided insight into how the FDA views a company’s responsibility for certain types of social media promotion, there remains a substantial amount of uncertainty.  We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of adverse government regulation that may arise from pending or future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad.  If we are unable to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance, we will not be permitted to market our drugs, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our limited history of commercial operations makes evaluating our business and future prospects difficult and may increase the risk of any investment in our ordinary shares.

We face considerable risks and difficulties as a company with limited commercial operating history, particularly as a global consolidated entity with operating subsidiaries that also have limited operating histories.  If we do not successfully address these risks, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition will be materially and adversely harmed.  Our limited commercial operating history, including our limited history commercializing our current medicines, makes it particularly difficult for us to predict our future operating results and appropriately budget for our expenses.  In the event that actual results differ from our estimates or we adjust our estimates in future periods, our operating results and financial position could be materially affected.  For example, we may underestimate the resources we will require to successfully integrate recent or future medicine or company acquisitions, or to commercialize our medicines, or not realize the benefits we expect to derive from our recent or future acquisitions.  In addition, we have a limited history implementing our commercialization strategy focused on patient access, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully implement this strategy or that it will represent a viable strategy over the long term.

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We have rights to medicines in certain jurisdictions but have no control over third parties that have rights to commercialize those medicines in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our commercialization of these medicines.*

 

Following our sale of the rights to interferon gamma 1b, known as IMUKIN, outside of the United States, Canada and Japan to Clinigen Group plc, or Clinigen, in July 2018, Clinigen has marketing and distribution rights to IMUKIN in those regions.  Following our sale of the rights to PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR in the Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, regions to Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A, or Chiesi, in June 2017, or the Chiesi divestiture, Chiesi has marketing and distribution rights to PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR in the EMEA regions.  Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (formerly known as Nuvo Research Inc.), or Nuvo, has retained its rights to PENNSAID 2% in territories outside of the United States.  In March 2017, Nuvo announced that it had entered into an exclusive license agreement with Sayre Therapeutics PVT Ltd. to distribute, market and sell PENNSAID 2% in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and in December 2017 Nuvo announced that it had entered into a license and distribution agreement with Gebro Pharma AG for the exclusive right to register, distribute, market and sell PENNSAID 2% in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.  Nuvo also announced that it expects to complete additional PENNSAID 2% out-licensing agreements for other territories throughout 2018.  Similarly, AstraZeneca AB, or AstraZeneca, has retained its existing rights to VIMOVO in territories outside of the United States, including the right to use the VIMOVO name and related trademark.  We have little or no control over Clinigen’s activities with respect to IMUKIN outside the United States, Canada and Japan, over Chiesi’s activities with respect to PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR in the EMEA, over Nuvo’s or its existing and future commercial partners’ activities with respect to PENNSAID 2% outside of the United States, or over AstraZeneca’s activities with respect to VIMOVO outside the United States even though those activities could impact our ability to successfully commercialize these medicines.  For example, Clinigen or its assignees, Chiesi or its assignees, Nuvo or its assignees or AstraZeneca or its assignees can make statements or use promotional materials with respect to IMUKIN, PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR, PENNSAID 2% or VIMOVO, respectively, outside of the United States that are inconsistent with our positioning of the medicines in the United States, and could sell IMUKIN, PROCYSBI and QUINSAIR, PENNSAID 2% or VIMOVO, respectively, in foreign countries at prices that are dramatically lower than the prices we charge in the United States.  These activities and decisions, while occurring outside of the United States, could harm our commercialization strategy in the United States, in particular because AstraZeneca is continuing to market VIMOVO outside the United States under the same VIMOVO brand name that we are using in the United States.  In addition, medicine recalls or safety issues with these medicines outside the United States, even if not related to the commercial medicine we sell in the United States, could result in serious damage to the brand in the United States and impair our ability to successfully market them.  We also rely on Clinigen, Chiesi, Nuvo and AstraZeneca or their assignees to provide us with timely and accurate safety information regarding the use of these medicines outside of the United States, as we have or will have limited access to this information ourselves.

We rely on third parties to manufacture commercial supplies of all of our medicines, and we currently intend to rely on third parties to manufacture commercial supplies of any other approved medicines.  The commercialization of any of our medicines could be stopped, delayed or made less profitable if those third parties fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of medicine or fail to do so at acceptable quality levels or prices or fail to maintain or achieve satisfactory regulatory compliance.*

The facilities used by our third-party manufacturers to manufacture our medicines and medicine candidates must be approved by the applicable regulatory authorities.  We do not control the manufacturing processes of third-party manufacturers and are currently completely dependent on our third-party manufacturing partners.  In addition, we are required to obtain AstraZeneca’s consent prior to engaging any third-party manufacturers for esomeprazole, one of the APIs in VIMOVO, other than the third-party manufacturer(s) used by AstraZeneca or its affiliates or licensees.  To the extent such manufacturers are unwilling or unable to manufacture esomeprazole for us on commercially acceptable terms, we cannot guarantee that AstraZeneca would consent to our use of alternate sources of supply.

We rely on an exclusive supply agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, or Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals, for manufacturing and supply of ACTIMMUNE.  ACTIMMUNE is manufactured by starting with cells from working cell bank samples which are derived from a master cell bank.  We and Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals separately store multiple vials of the master cell bank.  In the event of catastrophic loss at our or Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals’ storage facility, it is possible that we could lose multiple cell banks and have the manufacturing capacity of ACTIMMUNE severely impacted by the need to substitute or replace the cell banks.  We rely on NOF Corporation, or NOF, as our exclusive supplier of the PEGylation agent that is a critical raw material in the manufacture of KRYSTEXXA.  If NOF failed to supply such PEGylation agent, it may lead to KRYSTEXXA supply constraints.  In addition, a key excipient used in PENNSAID 2% as a penetration enhancer is dimethyl sulfoxide, or DMSO.  We and Nuvo, our exclusive supplier of PENNSAID 2%, rely on a sole proprietary form of DMSO for which we maintain a substantial safety stock.  However, should this supply become inadequate, damaged, destroyed or unusable, we and Nuvo may not be able to qualify a second source.  

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If any of our third-party manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the applicable regulatory authorities’ strict regulatory requirements, or pass regulatory inspection, they will not be able to secure or maintain regulatory approval for the manufacturing facilities.  For example, Pharmaceutics International, Inc., or PII, our manufacturer of BUPHENYL, was previously found to be non-compliant for cGMPs by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which could have restricted PII from supplying BUPHENYL in the EU.  In addition, we have no control over the ability of third-party manufacturers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel.  If the FDA or any other applicable regulatory authorities do not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our medicines or if they withdraw any such approval in the future, or if our suppliers or third-party manufacturers decide they no longer want to supply our primary active ingredients or manufacture our medicines, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our medicines.  To the extent any third-party manufacturers that we engage with respect to our medicines are different from those currently being used for commercial supply in the United States, the FDA will need to approve the facilities of those third-party manufacturers used in the manufacture of our medicines prior to our sale of any medicine using these facilities.

Although we have entered into supply agreements for the manufacture and packaging of our medicines, our manufacturers may not perform as agreed or may terminate their agreements with us.  We currently rely on single source suppliers for certain of our medicines.  If our manufacturers terminate their agreements with us, we may have to qualify new back-up manufacturers.  We rely on safety stock to mitigate the risk of our current suppliers electing to cease producing bulk drug medicine or ceasing to do so at acceptable prices and quality.  However, we can provide no assurance that such safety stocks would be sufficient to avoid supply shortfalls in the event we have to identify and qualify new contract manufacturers.

The manufacture of medicines requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls.  Manufacturers of medicines often encounter difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up and validating initial production.  These problems include difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the medicine, quality assurance testing, shortages of qualified personnel, as well as compliance with strictly enforced federal, state and foreign regulations.  Furthermore, if microbial, viral or other contaminations are discovered in the medicines or in the manufacturing facilities in which our medicines are made, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination.  We cannot assure that issues relating to the manufacture of any of our medicines will not occur in the future.  Additionally, our manufacturers may experience manufacturing difficulties due to resource constraints or as a result of labor disputes or unstable political environments.  If our manufacturers were to encounter any of these difficulties, or otherwise fail to comply with their contractual obligations, our ability to commercialize our medicines or provide any medicine candidates to patients in clinical trials would be jeopardized.

Any delay or interruption in our ability to meet commercial demand for our medicines will result in the loss of potential revenues and could adversely affect our ability to gain market acceptance for these medicines.  In addition, any delay or interruption in the supply of clinical trial supplies could delay the completion of clinical trials, increase the costs associated with maintaining clinical trial programs and, depending upon the period of delay, require us to commence new clinical trials at additional expense or terminate clinical trials completely.

Failures or difficulties faced at any level of our supply chain could materially adversely affect our business and delay or impede the development and commercialization of any of our medicines or medicine candidates and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We have experienced growth and expanded the size of our organization substantially in connection with our acquisition transactions, and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth as well as potential additional growth in connection with future medicine, development program or company acquisitions.*

As of December 31, 2013, we employed approximately 300 full-time employees as a consolidated entity.  As of June 30, 2018, we employed approximately 980 full-time employees, including approximately 425 sales representatives, representing a substantial change to the size of our organization.  We have also experienced, and may continue to experience, turnover of the sales representatives that we hired or will hire in connection with the commercialization of our medicines, requiring us to hire and train new sales representatives.  Our management, personnel, systems and facilities currently in place may not be adequate to support this recent and anticipated growth, and we may not be able to retain or recruit qualified personnel in the future due to competition for personnel among pharmaceutical businesses.

As our commercialization plans and strategies continue to develop, we will need to continue to recruit and train sales and marketing personnel.  Our ability to manage any future growth effectively may require us to, among other things:

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Our acquisitions have resulted in many changes, including significant changes in the corporate business and legal entity structure, the integration of other companies and their personnel with us, and changes in systems.  We are currently undertaking numerous complex transition activities associated with our acquisitions, and we may encounter unexpected difficulties or incur unexpected costs, including:

If any of these factors impair our ability to continue to integrate our operations with those of any companies or businesses we acquire, we may not be able to realize the business opportunities, growth prospects and anticipated tax synergies from combining the businesses.  In addition, we may be required to spend additional time or money on integration that otherwise would be spent on the development and expansion of our business.

We may not be successful in growing our commercial operations outside the United States, and could encounter other challenges in growing our commercial presence, including due to risks associated with political and economic instability, operating under different legal requirements and tax complexities.  If we are unable to manage our commercial growth outside of the United States, our opportunities to expand sales in other countries will be limited or we may experience greater costs with respect to our ex-U.S. commercial operations.

We are also broadening our acquisition strategy to include development-stage assets or programs, which entails additional risk to us.  For example, if we are unable to identify programs that ultimately result in approved medicines, we may spend material amounts of our capital and other resources evaluating, acquiring and developing medicines that ultimately do not provide a return on our investment.  We have less experience evaluating development-stage assets and may be at a disadvantage compared to other entities pursuing similar opportunities.  Regardless, development-stage programs generally have a high rate of failure and we cannot guarantee that any such programs will ultimately be successful.  We will also need to enhance our clinical development and regulatory functions to properly evaluate and develop earlier-stage opportunities, which may include recruiting personnel that are knowledgeable in therapeutic areas we have not yet pursued.  If we are unable to acquire promising development-stage assets or eventually obtain marketing approval for them, we may not be able to create a meaningful pipeline of new medicines and eventually realize a return on our investments.

Our management may also have to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from day-to-day activities and toward managing these growth and integration activities.  Our future financial performance and our ability to execute on our business plan will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth and our failure to effectively manage growth could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including those marketing generic medicines and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.*

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive.  We have competitors both in the United States and international markets, including major multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and universities and other research institutions.  Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staff, experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations and well-established sales forces.  Additional consolidations in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors and we will have to find new ways to compete and may have to potentially merge with or acquire other businesses to stay competitive.  Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries.  Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or in-licensing on an exclusive basis, medicines that are more effective and/or less costly than our medicines.

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RAVICTI and BUPHENYL face competition from generic NaPBA tablets and powder in treating UCD.  Lucane Pharma, or Lucane, is seeking approval via an Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, in the United States for taste-masked NaPBA.  If this ANDA is approved, this formulation may also compete with RAVICTI and BUPHENYL in treating UCD in the United States.  PROCYSBI faces competition from Cystagon (immediate-release cysteamine bitartrate capsules) for the treatment of cystinosis and Cystaran (cysteamine ophthalmic solution) for treatment of corneal crystal accumulation in patients with cystinosis.  QUINSAIR faces competition from Tobramycin solution, which is available as a generic medicine for treatment of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections in patients with CF, TOBI Podhaler, Cayston and colistimethate.  While KRYSTEXXA faces limited direct competition, a number of competitors have drugs in Phase 1 or Phase 2 trials, including Selecta Biosciences Inc. who has indicated that it plans to commence a Phase 3 program in 2018.  On December 22, 2015, AstraZeneca secured approval from the FDA for ZURAMPIC (lesinurad) 200mg tablets in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, or XOI, for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout in patients who have not achieved target serum uric acid levels with an XOI alone.  In April 2016, the U.S. rights to ZURAMPIC were licensed to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. Although ZURAMPIC is not a direct competitor because it has not been approved for refractory gout, this therapy could be used prior to use of KRYSTEXXA and if effective, could reduce the target patient population for KRYSTEXXA.  PENNSAID 2% faces competition from generic versions of diclofenac sodium topical solutions that are priced significantly less than the price we charge for PENNSAID 2%.  The generic version of Voltaren Gel is the market leader in the topical NSAID category.  Legislation enacted in most states in the United States allows, or in some instances mandates, that a pharmacist dispense an available generic equivalent when filling a prescription for a branded medicine, in the absence of specific instructions from the prescribing physician.  DUEXIS and VIMOVO face competition from other NSAIDs, including Celebrex^®, marketed by Pfizer Inc., and celecoxib, a generic form of the medicine marketed by other pharmaceutical companies.  DUEXIS and VIMOVO also face significant competition from the separate use of NSAIDs for pain relief and GI protective medications to reduce the risk of NSAID-induced upper GI ulcers.  Both NSAIDs and GI protective medications are available in generic form and may be less expensive to use separately than DUEXIS or VIMOVO, despite such substitution being off-label in the case of DUEXIS and VIMOVO.  Because pharmacists often have economic and other incentives to prescribe lower-cost generics, if physicians prescribe PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS, or VIMOVO, those prescriptions may not result in sales.  If physicians do not complete prescriptions through our HorizonCares program or otherwise provide prescribing instructions prohibiting generic diclofenac sodium topical solutions as a substitute for PENNSAID 2%, the substitution of generic ibuprofen and famotidine separately as a substitution for DUEXIS or generic naproxen and branded Nexium^® (esomeprazole) as a substitute for VIMOVO, sales of PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS and VIMOVO may suffer despite any success we may have in promoting PENNSAID 2%, DUEXIS or VIMOVO to physicians.  In addition, other medicine candidates that contain ibuprofen and famotidine in combination or naproxen and esomeprazole in combination, while not currently known or FDA approved, may be developed and compete with DUEXIS or VIMOVO, respectively, in the future.  

We have also entered into settlement and license agreements that may allow certain of our competitors to sell generic versions of certain of our medicines in the United States, subject to the terms of such agreements.  We granted (i) a non-exclusive license (that is only royalty-bearing in some circumstances) to manufacture and commercialize a generic version of DUEXIS in the United States after January 1, 2023, (ii) non-exclusive licenses to manufacture and commercialize generic versions of PENNSAID 2% in the United States after January 10, 2029, and (iii) a non-exclusive license to manufacture and commercialize a generic version of RAYOS tablets in the United States after December 23, 2022, or each earlier under certain circumstances.

Patent litigation is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., or Par Pharmaceutical, who is intending to market generic versions of RAVICTI prior to the expiration of certain of our patents listed in the FDA’s Orange Book, or the Orange Book.  These cases arise from Paragraph IV Patent Certification notice letters from Par Pharmaceutical advising it had filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval to market a generic version of RAVICTI before the expiration of the patents-in-suit.

Patent litigation is currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Actavis Laboratories UT, Inc., formerly known as Watson Laboratories, Inc., Actavis, Inc. and Actavis plc, or collectively Actavis, who intend to market a generic version of PENNSAID 2% prior to the expiration of certain of our patents listed in the Orange Book.  These cases arise from Paragraph IV Patent Certification notice letters from Actavis advising it had filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval to market a generic version of PENNSAID 2% before the expiration of the patents-in-suit.  

Patent litigation is currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit against several companies intending to market a generic version of VIMOVO before the expiration of certain of our patents listed in the Orange Book.  These cases are collectively known as the VIMOVO cases, and involve the following sets of defendants: (i) Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc. and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd., or collectively Dr. Reddy’s; (ii) Lupin; and (iii) Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mylan Laboratories Limited, and Mylan Inc., or collectively Mylan.  Patent litigation is currently pending before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit against a fourth generic company, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Limited (formerly known as Actavis Laboratories FL, Inc., which itself was formerly known as Watson Laboratories, Inc. – Florida), and Actavis Pharma, Inc., or collectively Actavis Pharma.  The cases arise from Paragraph IV Patent Certification notice letters from each of Dr. Reddy’s, Lupin, Mylan and Actavis Pharma advising each had filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval to market generic versions of VIMOVO before the expiration of the patents-in-suit.  

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If we are unsuccessful in any of the VIMOVO cases or PENNSAID 2% cases, we will likely face generic competition with respect to VIMOVO and/or PENNSAID 2% and sales of VIMOVO and/or PENNSAID 2% will be substantially harmed.  If we are unsuccessful in any of the RAVICTI cases, RAVICTI would likely face generic competition in the United States when its orphan exclusivity expires (currently scheduled to occur in February 2020), and its sales would likely materially decline.

ACTIMMUNE is the only medicine currently approved by the FDA specifically for the treatment of CGD and SMO.  While there are additional or alternative approaches used to treat patients with CGD and SMO, there are currently no medicines on the market that compete directly with ACTIMMUNE.  A widely accepted protocol to treat CGD in the United States is the use of concomitant “triple prophylactic therapy” comprising ACTIMMUNE, an oral antibiotic agent and an oral antifungal agent.  However, the FDA-approved labeling for ACTIMMUNE does not discuss this “triple prophylactic therapy,” and physicians may choose to prescribe one or both of the other modalities in the absence of ACTIMMUNE.  Because of the immediate and life-threatening nature of SMO, the preferred treatment option for SMO is often to have the patient undergo a bone marrow transplant which, if successful, will likely obviate the need for further use of ACTIMMUNE in that patient.  Likewise, the use of bone marrow transplants in the treatment of patients with CGD is becoming more prevalent, which could have a material adverse effect on sales of ACTIMMUNE and its profitability.  We are aware of a number of research programs investigating the potential of gene therapy as a possible cure for CGD.  Additionally, other companies may be pursuing the development of medicines and treatments that target the same diseases and conditions which ACTIMMUNE is currently approved to treat.  As a result, it is possible that our competitors may develop new medicines that manage CGD or SMO more effectively, cost less or possibly even cure CGD or SMO.  In addition, U.S. healthcare legislation passed in March 2010 authorized the FDA to approve biological products, known as biosimilars, that are similar to or interchangeable with previously approved biological products, like ACTIMMUNE, based upon potentially abbreviated data packages.  Biosimilars are likely to be sold at substantially lower prices than branded medicines because the biosimilar manufacturer would not have to recoup the research and development and marketing costs associated with the branded medicine.  Though we are not currently aware of any biosimilar under development, the development and commercialization of any competing medicines or the discovery of any new alternative treatment for CGD or SMO could have a material adverse effect on sales of ACTIMMUNE and its profitability.

BUPHENYL’s composition of matter patent protection and orphan drug exclusivity have expired.  Because BUPHENYL has no regulatory exclusivity or listed patents, there is nothing to prevent a competitor from submitting an ANDA for a generic version of BUPHENYL and receiving FDA approval.  Generic versions of BUPHENYL to date have been priced at a discount relative to BUPHENYL or RAVICTI, and physicians, patients, or payers may decide that this less expensive alternative is preferable to BUPHENYL and RAVICTI.  If this occurs, sales of BUPHENYL and/or RAVICTI could be materially reduced, but we would nevertheless be required to make royalty payments to Ucyclyd Pharma, Inc., or Ucyclyd, and another external party, at the same royalty rates.  While Ucyclyd and its affiliates are generally contractually prohibited from developing or commercializing new medicines, anywhere in the world, for the treatment of UCD or hepatic encephalopathy, or HE, which are chemically similar to RAVICTI, they may still develop and commercialize medicines that compete with RAVICTI.  For example, medicines approved for indications other than UCD and HE may still compete with RAVICTI if physicians prescribe such medicines off-label for UCD or HE.  We are also aware that Orphan Europe SARL, or Orphan Europe, is conducting a clinical trial of carglumic acid to treat some of the UCD enzyme deficiencies for which RAVICTI was approved.  Promethera Biosciences SA has successfully completed Phase 1/2 trials of its cell-based therapy for the treatment of UCD and a long term follow-up study is expected to be completed in October 2018.  Carglumic acid is approved for maintenance therapy for chronic hyperammonemia and to treat hyperammonenic crises in Nacetylglutamate synthase deficiency, a rare UCD subtype, and is sold under the name Carbaglu.  If the results of this trial are successful and Orphan Europe is able to complete development and obtain approval of Carbaglu to treat additional UCD enzyme deficiencies, RAVICTI would face additional competition from this compound.

The availability and price of our competitors’ medicines could limit the demand, and the price we are able to charge, for our medicines.  We will not successfully execute on our business objectives if the market acceptance of our medicines is inhibited by price competition, if physicians are reluctant to switch from existing medicines to our medicines, or if physicians switch to other new medicines or choose to reserve our medicines for use in limited patient populations.

In addition, established pharmaceutical companies may invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to acquire novel compounds that could make our medicines obsolete.  Our ability to compete successfully with these companies and other potential competitors will depend largely on our ability to leverage our experience in clinical, regulatory and commercial development to:

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If we are unable to maintain or realize the benefits of orphan drug exclusivity, we may face increased competition with respect to certain of our medicines.

Under the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, the FDA may designate a medicine as an orphan drug if it is a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States.  A company that first obtains FDA approval for a designated orphan drug for the specified rare disease or condition receives orphan drug marketing exclusivity for that drug for a period of seven years from the date of its approval.  RAVICTI and PROCYSBI have been granted orphan drug exclusivity by the FDA, which we expect will provide orphan drug marketing exclusivity in the United States until February 2020 and December 2020, respectively, with exclusivity for PROCYSBI extending to 2022 for patients ages one to six years.  In addition, teprotumumab has been granted orphan drug designation and, if approved by the FDA, would be eligible for seven years of marketing exclusivity in the United States following such approval.  However, despite orphan drug exclusivity, the FDA can still approve another drug containing the same active ingredient and used for the same orphan indication if it determines that a subsequent drug is safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care, and orphan exclusivity can be lost if the orphan drug manufacturer is unable to ensure that a sufficient quantity of the orphan drug is available to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.  Orphan drug exclusivity may also be lost if the FDA later determines that the initial request for designation was materially defective.  In addition, orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving competing drugs for the same or similar indication containing a different active ingredient.  If orphan drug exclusivity is lost and we were unable to successfully enforce any remaining patents covering RAVICTI or PROCYSBI, we could be subject to generic competition and revenues from RAVICTI or PROCYSBI could decrease materially.  In addition, if a subsequent drug is approved for marketing for the same or a similar indication as RAVICTI or PROCYSBI despite orphan drug exclusivity, we may face increased competition and lose market share with respect to these medicines.  RAVICTI will benefit from a period of 10 years of orphan market exclusivity in the EU, concurrently applied to each of the approved six sub-types of the UCDs.  This will run concurrently with its marketing exclusivity status.  

Our business operations may subject us to numerous commercial disputes, claims and/or lawsuits and such litigation may be costly and time-consuming and could materially and adversely impact our financial position and results of operations.

Operating in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly the commercialization of medicines, involves numerous commercial relationships, complex contractual arrangements, uncertain intellectual property rights, potential product liability and other aspects that create heightened risks of disputes, claims and lawsuits.  In particular, we may face claims related to the safety of our medicines, intellectual property matters, employment matters, tax matters, commercial disputes, competition, sales and marketing practices, environmental matters, personal injury, insurance coverage and acquisition or divestiture-related matters.  For example, the active ingredient in QUINSAIR, levofloxacin, is currently subject to product liability claims.  Any commercial dispute, claim or lawsuit may divert management’s attention away from our business, we may incur significant expenses in addressing or defending any commercial dispute, claim or lawsuit, and we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements or become subject to equitable remedies that could adversely affect our operations and financial results.

We are currently in litigation with multiple generic drug manufacturers regarding intellectual property infringement.  For example, we are currently involved in Hatch Waxman litigation with generic drug manufacturers related to RAVICTI, PENNSAID 2% and VIMOVO.

Similarly, from time to time we are involved in disputes with distributors, PBMs and licensing partners regarding our rights and performance of obligations under contractual arrangements.  For example, we were previously in litigation with Express Scripts related to alleged breach of contract claims.

Litigation related to these disputes may be costly and time-consuming and could materially and adversely impact our financial position and results of operations if resolved against us.

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A variety of risks associated with operating our business and marketing our medicines internationally could materially adversely affect our business.*

In addition to our U.S. operations, we have operations in Ireland, Bermuda, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, or Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, the Grand Cayman Islands and in Israel (through Andromeda Biotech Ltd).  RAVICTI received marketing authorization from Health Canada, or HC, in March 2016 and marketing approval in the EU in November 2015.  We launched RAVICTI in Canada in November 2016 and RAVICTI became available in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2017 through our partnership with SOBI.  PROCYSBI received marketing authorization from HC in June 2017 and we launched PROCYSBI in Canada in October 2017.  BUPHENYL is currently marketed in various territories outside the United States by third-party distributors.  QUINSAIR received marketing authorization from HC in June 2015 and we launched QUINSAIR in Canada in December 2016.  We face risks associated with our international operations, including possible unfavorable regulatory, pricing and reimbursement, political, tax and labor conditions, which could harm our business.  We are subject to numerous risks associated with international business activities, including:

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Our business activities outside of the United States are subject to the FCPA and similar anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws, regulations or rules of other countries in which we operate, including the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act 2010, or the U.K. Bribery Act.  The FCPA and similar anti-corruption laws generally prohibit offering, promising, giving, or authorizing others to give anything of value, either directly or indirectly, to non-U.S. government officials in order to improperly influence any act or decision, secure any other improper advantage, or obtain or retain business.  The FCPA also requires public companies to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the transactions of the company and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls.  The U.K. Bribery Act prohibits giving, offering, or promising bribes to any person, including non-United Kingdom, or U.K., government officials and private persons, as well as requesting, agreeing to receive, or accepting bribes from any person.  In addition, under the U.K. Bribery Act, companies which carry on a business or part of a business in the U.K. may be held liable for bribes given, offered or promised to any person, including non-U.K. government officials and private persons, by employees and persons associated with the company in order to obtain or retain business or a business advantage for the company.  Liability is strict, with no element of a corrupt state of mind, but a defense of having in place adequate procedures designed to prevent bribery is available.  Furthermore, under the U.K. Bribery Act there is no exception for facilitation payments.  As described above, our business is heavily regulated and therefore involves significant interaction with public officials, including officials of non-U.S. governments.  Additionally, in many other countries, the health care providers who prescribe pharmaceuticals are employed by their government, and the purchasers of pharmaceuticals are government entities; therefore, any dealings with these prescribers and purchasers may be subject to regulation under the FCPA.  Recently the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice have increased their FCPA enforcement activities with respect to pharmaceutical companies.  In addition, under the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, private individuals who report to the SEC original information that leads to successful enforcement actions may be eligible for a monetary award.  We are engaged in ongoing efforts that are designed to ensure our compliance with these laws, including due diligence, training, policies, procedures and internal controls.  However, there is no certainty that all employees and third-party business partners (including our distributors, wholesalers, agents, contractors, and other partners) will comply with anti-bribery laws.  In particular, we do not control the actions of manufacturers and other third-party agents, although we may be liable for their actions.  Violation of these laws may result in civil or criminal sanctions, which could include monetary fines, criminal penalties, and disgorgement of past profits, which could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition.

These and other risks associated with our international operations may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to develop or acquire other medicine candidates or medicines, our business and prospects would be limited.

A key element of our strategy is to develop or acquire and commercialize a portfolio of other medicines or medicine candidates in addition to our current medicines, through business or medicine acquisitions.  Because we do not engage in proprietary drug discovery, the success of this strategy depends in large part upon the combination of our regulatory, development and commercial capabilities and expertise and our ability to identify, select and acquire approved or clinically enabled medicine candidates for therapeutic indications that complement or augment our current medicines, or that otherwise fit into our development or strategic plans on terms that are acceptable to us.  Identifying, selecting and acquiring promising medicines or medicine candidates requires substantial technical, financial and human resources expertise.  Efforts to do so may not result in the actual acquisition or license of a particular medicine or medicine candidate, potentially resulting in a diversion of our management’s time and the expenditure of our resources with no resulting benefit.  If we are unable to identify, select and acquire suitable medicines or medicine candidates from third parties or acquire businesses at valuations and on other terms acceptable to us, or if we are unable to raise capital required to acquire businesses or new medicines, our business and prospects will be limited.

Moreover, any medicine candidate we acquire may require additional, time-consuming development or regulatory efforts prior to commercial sale or prior to expansion into other indications, including pre-clinical studies if applicable, and extensive clinical testing and approval by the FDA and applicable foreign regulatory authorities.  All medicine candidates are prone to the risk of failure that is inherent in pharmaceutical medicine development, including the possibility that the medicine candidate will not be shown to be sufficiently safe and/or effective for approval by regulatory authorities.  In addition, we cannot assure that any such medicines that are approved will be manufactured or produced economically, successfully commercialized or widely accepted in the marketplace or be more effective or desired than other commercially available alternatives.

In addition, if we fail to successfully commercialize and further develop our medicines, there is a greater likelihood that we will fail to successfully develop a pipeline of other medicine candidates to follow our existing medicines or be able to acquire other medicines to expand our existing portfolio, and our business and prospects would be harmed.

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Our prior medicine and company acquisitions and any other strategic transactions that we may pursue in the future could have a variety of negative consequences, and we may not realize the benefits of such transactions or attempts to engage in such transactions.*

We have completed multiple medicine and company acquisitions and our strategy is to engage in additional strategic transactions with third parties, such as acquisitions of companies or divisions of companies and asset purchases of medicines, medicine candidates or technologies that we believe will complement or augment our existing business.  We may also consider a variety of other business arrangements, including spin-offs, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, divestitures, business combinations and other investments.  Any such transaction may require us to incur non-recurring and other charges, increase our near and long-term expenditures, pose significant integration challenges, create additional tax, legal, accounting and operational complexities in our business, require additional expertise, result in dilution to our existing shareholders and disrupt our management and business, which could harm our operations and financial results.  For example, we assumed responsibility for the existing patent infringement litigation with respect to RAVICTI upon the closing of our acquisition of Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc., or Hyperion, and we have assumed responsibility for completing post-marketing clinical trials of RAVICTI that are required by the FDA, one of which is ongoing.  We expect that the RAVICTI litigation will result in substantial on-going expenses and potential distractions to our management team.  

In connection with our acquisition of Raptor, we assumed contractual obligations under agreements with Tripex Pharmaceuticals, LLC, or Tripex, and PARI Pharma GmbH, or PARI, related to QUINSAIR.  Under the agreement with Tripex, as amended, if we do not spend a specified amount on the development of QUINSAIR for non-CF indications between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2021 and regulatory approval by the FDA for QUINSAIR for the CF indication is obtained prior to December 31, 2021, we may be obligated to pre-pay a milestone payment related to commercial sales of QUINSAIR for non-CF indications.  This obligation is subject to certain exceptions due to, for example, manufacturing delays not under our control, or clinical trial suspension or delay ordered by the FDA.  In October 2017, we triggered a milestone payment under this agreement and we paid Tripex $20.0 million in November 2017.  Under the license agreement with PARI, we are required to comply with diligence milestones related to development and commercialization of QUINSAIR in the United States and to spend a specified minimum amount per year on development activities in the United States until submission of the NDA for QUINSAIR in the United States.  If we do not comply with these obligations, our licenses to certain intellectual property related to QUINSAIR may become non-exclusive in the United States or could be terminated.  We are also subject to contractual obligations under an amended and restated license agreement with the Regents of the University of California, San Diego, or UCSD, with respect to PROCYSBI.  To the extent that we fail to perform our obligations under the agreement, UCSD may, with respect to such indication, terminate the license or otherwise cause the license to become non-exclusive.  If one or more of these licenses was terminated, we would have no further right to use or exploit the related intellectual property, which would limit our ability to develop PROCYSBI or QUINSAIR in other indications, and could impact our ability to continue commercializing PROCYSBI or QUINSAIR in their approved indications.  In connection with our acquisition of the U.S. rights to VIMOVO, we assumed primary responsibility for the existing patent infringement litigation with respect to VIMOVO, and have also agreed to reimburse certain legal expenses of Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. with respect to its continued involvement in such litigation.  

We face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic transaction opportunities and the negotiation process for any strategic transaction can be time-consuming and complex.  In addition, we may not be successful in our efforts to engage in certain strategic transactions because our financial resources may be insufficient and/or third parties may not view our commercial and development capabilities as being adequate.  We may not be able to expand our business or realize our strategic goals if we do not have sufficient funding or cannot borrow or raise additional capital.  There is no assurance that following any of our recent acquisition transactions or any other strategic transaction, we will achieve the anticipated revenues, net income or other benefits that we believe justify such transactions.  In addition, any failures or delays in entering into strategic transactions anticipated by analysts or the investment community could seriously harm our consolidated business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow.

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We may not be able to successfully maintain our current advantageous tax status and resulting tax rates, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.*

Our parent company is incorporated in Ireland and has subsidiaries maintained in multiple jurisdictions, including Ireland, the United States, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, Canada, the Grand Cayman Islands and Bermuda.  Prior to our merger transaction in September 2014 with Vidara Therapeutics International Public Limited Company, or Vidara, and such transaction, the Vidara Merger, Vidara was able to achieve a favorable tax rate through the performance of certain functions and ownership of certain assets in tax-efficient jurisdictions, including Ireland and Bermuda, together with intra-company service and transfer pricing agreements, each on an arm’s length basis.  We are continuing a substantially similar structure and arrangements.  Nevertheless, our effective tax rate may be different than experienced in the past due to numerous factors, including passage of the Tax Act (as defined below), changes to the tax laws of jurisdictions that we operate in other than the United States made in response to the Tax Act, changes in the mix of our profitability from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, future changes to U.S. tax law (including for example, the enactment of new U.S. tax treaties or changes to existing tax treaties), and our inability to secure or sustain acceptable agreements with tax authorities (if applicable).  Any of these factors could cause us to experience an effective tax rate significantly different from previous periods or our current expectations.  Taxing authorities, such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, actively audit and otherwise challenge these types of arrangements, and have done so in the pharmaceutical industry.  We expect that these challenges will continue as a result of the recent increase in scrutiny and political attention on corporate tax structures.  The IRS may challenge our structure and transfer pricing arrangements through an audit or lawsuit.  Responding to or defending such a challenge could be expensive and consume time and other resources, and divert management’s time and focus from operating our business.  We cannot predict whether taxing authorities will conduct an audit or file a lawsuit challenging this structure, the cost involved in responding to any such audit or lawsuit, or the outcome.  If we are unsuccessful in defending such a challenge, we may be required to pay taxes for prior periods, interest, fines or penalties, and may be obligated to pay increased taxes in the future, any of which could require us to reduce our operating expenses, decrease efforts in support of our medicines or seek to raise additional funds, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

The IRS may not agree with our conclusion that our parent company should be treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes following the combination of the businesses of Horizon Pharma, Inc., or HPI, and Vidara.

Although our parent company is incorporated in Ireland, the IRS may assert that it should be treated as a U.S. corporation (and, therefore, a U.S. tax resident) for U.S. federal income tax purposes pursuant to Section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code.  A corporation is generally considered a tax resident in the jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.  Because our parent company is an Irish incorporated entity, it would generally be classified as a foreign corporation (and, therefore, a non-U.S. tax resident) under these general rules.  Section 7874 of the Code provides an exception pursuant to which a foreign incorporated entity may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Under Section 7874 of the Code, a foreign corporation will be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes if, due to an acquisition of a U.S. corporation, at least 80 percent of its stock (by vote or value) is held by former stockholders of the acquired U.S. corporation.  We believe that we should be treated as a foreign corporation because the former stockholders of HPI owned (within the meaning of Section 7874 of the Code) less than 80 percent (by both vote and value) of the combined entity’s stock immediately after the Vidara Merger.  However, there can be no assurance that there will not exist in the future a subsequent change in the facts or in law which might cause our parent company to be treated as a domestic corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including with retroactive effect.

Further, there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with the position that the ownership test was satisfied.  If our parent company were unable to be treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, one of our significant strategic reasons for completing the Vidara Merger would be nullified and we may not be able to recoup the significant investment in completing the transaction.

Recent and future changes to U.S. and non-U.S. tax laws could materially adversely affect our company.*

Under current law, we expect our parent company to be treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.  However, changes to the rules in Section 7874 of the Code or regulations promulgated thereunder or other guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, or the U.S. Treasury, or the IRS could adversely affect our parent company’s status as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or the taxation of transactions between members of our group, and any such changes could have prospective or retroactive application.  If our parent company is treated as a domestic corporation, more of our income will be taxed by the United States which may substantially increase our effective tax rate.

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On April 4, 2016, the U.S. Treasury and the IRS issued temporary regulations and in January 2017 issued final regulations that expand the scope of transactions subject to the rules designed to eliminate the U.S. tax benefits of so-called inversion transactions.  Under the temporary regulations, the former stockholders of U.S. corporations acquired by a foreign corporation within thirty-six months of the signing date of the last such acquisition are aggregated for the purpose of determining whether the foreign corporation will be treated as a domestic corporation for U.S. federal tax purposes because at least 80 percent of the stock of the foreign corporation is held by former stockholders of a U.S. corporation.  The requirement to aggregate the stockholders in such acquisitions for the purpose of determining whether the 80 percent threshold is met may limit our ability to use our stock to acquire U.S. corporations or their assets in the future.  In April 2017, the President of the United States issued an executive order (Executive Order 13789) requesting that the Secretary of the United States Treasury review every significant regulation issued over the year and a half period beginning on January 1, 2016, including certain inversion regulations.  While the Secretary of the United States Treasury completed that review in 2017 and made certain recommendations with respect to certain regulations that were deemed to impose an undue financial burden, add undue complexity, or exceed statutory authority, at present, it remains unclear what actions may be taken as a result of the U.S. Treasury’s recommendations or what impact any such actions may have on us.  

The U.S. Treasury and the IRS also issued proposed regulations on April 4, 2016 as well as final and temporary regulations in October 2016 that address whether an interest in a related corporation is debt or equity for United States federal income tax purposes.  These regulations could result in recharacterization of intra-company debt to equity for certain of our intra-company debt and such a recharacterization could result in more of our future income being taxed by the United States and thereby increase our effective tax rate.  We are continuing to evaluate the impact that these regulations may have and will reflect such impact on our financial statements as required.

In addition, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development released its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project final report on October 5, 2015.  This report provides the basis for international standards for corporate taxation that are designed to prevent, among other things, the artificial shifting of income to tax havens and low-tax jurisdictions, the erosion of the tax base through interest deductions on intra-company debt and the artificial avoidance of permanent establishments (i.e., tax nexus with a jurisdiction).  Legislation to adopt these standards has been enacted or is currently under consideration in a number of jurisdictions.  On June 7, 2017, several countries, including many countries that we operate and have subsidiaries in, participated in the signing ceremony adopting the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, commonly referred to as the MLI.  The MLI came into effect on July 1, 2018 and, depending on whether jurisdictions have ratified the MLI, could already, or may soon modify affected tax treaties making it more difficult for us to obtain advantageous tax-treaty benefits. The number of affected tax treaties could eventually be in the thousands. As a result, our income may be taxed in jurisdictions where it is not currently taxed and at higher rates of tax than it is currently taxed, which may substantially increase our effective tax rate.

On July 12, 2016, the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, or ATAD, was formally adopted by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the EU.  The stated objective of the ATAD is to provide for the effective and swift coordinated implementation of anti-base erosion and profit shifting measures at EU level.  Like all Directives, the ATAD is binding as to the results it aims to achieve though EU Member States are free to choose the form and method of achieving those results.  In addition, the ATAD contains a number of optional provisions that present an element of choice as to how it will be implemented into law.  Elements of the ATAD must be transposed into Irish law by January 1, 2019, and although it is difficult at this stage to determine with precision the impact that the ATAD will have in light of its optional provisions, its implementation could materially increase our effective tax rate.

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On December 22, 2017, new legislation was signed into law (H.R. 1, “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018”, informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act) that significantly revises the Code in the United States.  The Tax Act, among other things, contains significant changes to corporate taxation, including reduction of the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, limitation of the tax deduction for interest expense to 30% of adjusted earnings (except for certain small businesses), implementation of a “base erosion anti-abuse tax” which requires U.S. corporations to make an alternative determination of taxable income without regard to tax deductions for certain payments to affiliates, taxation of certain non-U.S. corporations’ earnings considered to be “global intangible low taxed income”, or GILTI, repeal of the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, for corporations and changes to a taxpayer’s ability to either utilize or refund the AMT credits previously generated, changes to the limitation on deductions for certain executive compensation particularly with respect to the removal of the previously allowed performance based compensation exception, changes in the attribution rules relating to shareholders of certain “controlled foreign corporations”, limitation of the deduction for net operating losses to 80% of current year taxable income and elimination of net operating loss carrybacks, one-time taxation of offshore earnings at reduced rates regardless of whether they are repatriated, elimination of U.S. tax on foreign earnings (subject to certain important exceptions), immediate deductions for certain new investments instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time, and modifying or repealing many business deductions and credits.  Notwithstanding the reduction in the U.S. corporate income tax rate, the overall impact of the Tax Act is uncertain and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected.  The impact of the Tax Act on holders of our ordinary shares is also uncertain and could be adverse.  For example, recent changes in federal income tax law resulting in additional taxes owed by U.S. shareholders under the new GILTI tax rules or related to “controlled foreign corporations” may discourage U.S. investors from owning or acquiring 10% or greater of our outstanding ordinary shares, which other shareholders may have viewed as beneficial or may otherwise negatively impact the trading price of our ordinary shares.  We are unable to predict what federal tax law may be proposed or enacted in the future or what effect such changes would have on our business, but such changes, to the extent they are brought into tax legislation, regulations, policies or practices, could affect our effective tax rates in the future in countries where we have operations and have an adverse effect on our overall tax rate in the future, along with increasing the complexity, burden and cost of tax compliance.  We urge our shareholders to consult with their legal and tax advisors with respect to this legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in or holding our ordinary shares.

If a United States person is treated as owning at least 10% of our ordinary shares, such holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.*

If a United States person is treated as owning (directly, indirectly, or constructively) at least 10% of the value or voting power of our ordinary shares, such person may be treated as a “United States shareholder” with respect to each “controlled foreign corporation” in our group (if any).  Because our group includes one or more U.S. subsidiaries, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries could be treated as controlled foreign corporations (regardless of whether or not we are treated as a controlled foreign corporation).  A United States shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation may be required to report annually and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income,” and investments in U.S. property by controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we make any distributions.  An individual that is a United States shareholder with respect to a controlled foreign corporation generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a United States shareholder that is a U.S. corporation.  Failure to comply with these reporting and tax paying obligations may subject a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting.  We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist investors in determining whether any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is treated as a controlled foreign corporation or whether any investor is treated as a United States shareholder with respect to any such controlled foreign corporation or furnish to any United States shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with the aforementioned reporting and tax paying obligations.  A United States investor should consult its advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to an investment in our ordinary shares.

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If we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.*

Our ability to compete in the highly competitive biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific and medical personnel.  We are highly dependent on our management, sales and marketing and scientific and medical personnel, including our executive officers composed of our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Timothy P. Walbert; our Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer, Robert F. Carey; our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Paul W. Hoelscher; our Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Barry J. Moze; our Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer, Shao-Lee Lin, M.D., Ph.D; our Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer, Vikram Karnani; our Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Irina P. Konstantinovsky; our Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Brian K. Beeler; our Executive Vice President, Technical Operations, Michael A. DesJardin and our Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer, Geoffrey M. Curtis.  In order to retain valuable employees at our company, in addition to salary and annual cash incentives, we provide a mix of performance stock units, or PSUs, that vest subject to attainment of specified corporate performance goals and continued services, stock options and restricted stock units, or RSUs, that vest over time subject to continued services.  The value to employees of PSUs, stock options and RSUs will be significantly affected by movements in our share price that are beyond our control, and may at any time be insufficient to counteract more lucrative offers from other companies.

Despite our efforts to retain valuable employees, members of our management, sales and marketing, regulatory affairs, clinical development, medical affairs and development teams may terminate their employment with us on short notice.  Although we have written employment arrangements with all of our employees, these employment arrangements generally provide for at-will employment, which means that our employees can leave our employment at any time, with or without notice.  The loss of the services of any of our executive officers or other key employees and our inability to find suitable replacements could potentially harm our business, financial condition and prospects.  We do not maintain “key man” insurance policies on the lives of these individuals or the lives of any of our other employees.  Our success also depends on our ability to continue to attract, retain and motivate highly skilled junior, mid-level, and senior managers as well as junior, mid-level, and senior sales and marketing and scientific and medical personnel.

Many of the other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with whom we compete for qualified personnel have greater financial and other resources, different risk profiles and longer histories in the industry than we do.  They also may provide more diverse opportunities and better chances for career advancement.  Some of these characteristics may be more appealing to high quality candidates than that which we have to offer.  If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, the rate and success at which we can develop and commercialize medicines and medicine candidates will be limited.

We are, with respect to our current medicines, and will be, with respect to any other medicine or medicine candidate for which we obtain FDA or EMA approval or which we acquire, subject to ongoing FDA or EMA obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense.  Additionally, any other medicine candidate, if approved by the FDA or the EMA, could be subject to labeling and other restrictions and market withdrawal, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our medicines.*

Any regulatory approvals that we obtain for our medicine candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the medicine may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the medicine candidate.  In addition, with respect to our current FDA-approved medicines (and with respect to our medicine candidates, if approved), the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for the medicine are subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMPs, GCPs, international council for harmonization, or ICH, guidelines and GLPs, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA for all of our medicines in clinical development, for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval.  With respect to RAVICTI, the FDA imposed several post-marketing requirements and a post-marketing commitment, which included remaining obligations to conduct studies in UCD patients during the first two months of life, including a study of the pharmacokinetics in that age group and a randomized study to determine the safety and efficacy in UCD patients who are treatment naïve to phenylbutyrate treatment.  Although we are committed to carrying out these commitments, there are challenges in conducting studies in pediatric patients including availability of study sites, patients, and obtaining parental informed consent.  In May 2017, the FDA approved our supplemental new drug application, or sNDA, for RAVICTI to expand the age range for chronic management of UCDs from two years of age and older to two months of age and older.  We are in the process of seeking approval for a label expansion for RAVICTI, with assessments in progress studying the use of RAVICTI in patients from birth to two months.  

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In addition, the FDA closely regulates the marketing and promotion of drugs and biologics.  The FDA does not regulate the behaviour of physicians in their choice of treatments.  The FDA does, however, restrict manufacturers’ promotional communications.  A significant number of pharmaceutical companies have been the target of inquiries and investigations by various U.S. federal and state regulatory, investigative, prosecutorial and administrative entities in connection with the promotion of medicines for off-label uses and other sales practices.  These investigations have alleged violations of various U.S. federal and state laws and regulations, including claims asserting antitrust violations, violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, false claims laws, the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, anti-kickback laws, and other alleged violations in connection with the promotion of medicines for unapproved uses, pricing and Medicare and/or Medicaid reimbursement.  While Congress has recently considered legislation that would modify or eliminate restrictions for off-label promotion, we do not have sufficient information to anticipate if the current regulatory environment will change.  

Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a medicine, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in, among other things:

If we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We are subject to federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations and implementation or changes to such healthcare laws and regulations could adversely affect our business and results of operations.*

The United States and some foreign jurisdictions are considering or have enacted a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to regulate and to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our medicines profitably.  In the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs (including a number of proposals pertaining to prescription drugs, specifically), improving quality and/or expanding access.  In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives.

If we are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other federal or state regulations, we may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight from federal health care programs and the restructuring of our operations.  Any of these could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.  Since many of these laws have not been fully interpreted by the courts, there is an increased risk that we may be found in violation of one or more of their provisions.  Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we ultimately are successful in our defense, will cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention away from the operation of our business.

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In January 2017, the United States House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation, the concurrent budget resolution for fiscal year 2017, which initiates actions that would repeal certain aspects of the ACA.  Further, on January 20, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the ACA, to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision of the ACA that would impose a fiscal or regulatory burden on states, individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices.  In May 2017, following the passage of the budget resolution for fiscal year 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation known as the American Health Care Act, which, if enacted, would have amended and repealed significant portions of the ACA.  The U.S. Senate considered but did not adopt other legislation to amend and/or replace elements of the ACA and authority to act under the fiscal year 2017 budget resolution expired on September 30, 2017.  However, on October 12, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump signed another Executive Order directing certain federal agencies to propose regulations or guidelines to permit small businesses to form association health plans, expand the availability of short-term, limited duration insurance, and expand the use of health reimbursement arrangements, which may circumvent some of the requirements for health insurance mandated by the ACA.  In addition, citing legal guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and the HHS, the Trump administration has concluded that cost-sharing reduction, or CSR, payments to insurance companies required under the ACA have not received necessary appropriations from Congress and announced that it will discontinue these payments immediately until such appropriations are made.  The loss of the CSR payments is expected to increase premiums on certain policies issued by qualified health plans under the ACA.  Finally, while Congress has not passed comprehensive ACA repeal or replace legislation, the federal income tax legislation signed into law on December 22, 2017 includes a provision repealing, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate”.  We continue to evaluate the effect that the ACA and additional actions by Congress to possibly repeal and replace it has on our business.

In addition, drug pricing by pharmaceutical companies has come under increased scrutiny.  Specifically, there have been several recent state and U.S. Congressional inquiries, proposed federal and state legislation and state laws enacted designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing by requiring drug companies to notify insurers and government regulators of price increases and provide an explanation of the reasons for the increase, reduce the out-of-pocket cost of prescription drugs, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, reduce the cost of drugs under Medicare, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies.  For example, legislation was recently signed into law in California that requires drug manufactures to provide advance notice and explanation to state regulators, health plans and insurers and PBMs for price increases of more than 16% over two years.  Moreover, in May 2018, the Trump administration released its “Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs”, or Blueprint. The Blueprint contains several potential regulatory actions and legislative recommendations aimed at lowering prescription drug prices including measures to promote innovation and competition for biologics, changes to Medicare Part D to give plan sponsors more leverage when negotiating prices with manufacturers and updating the Medicare drug-pricing dashboard to make price increases and generic competition more transparent.  In addition, HHS released a Request for Information, or RFI, soliciting public input on ways to lower drug pricing.  Together, the recommendations in the Blueprint and RFI, if enacted by Congress and HHS, could lead to changes to Medicare Parts B and D.  Further, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, among other things, amends the ACA, effective January 1, 2019, to close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the “donut hole”.  The majority of our medicines are purchased by private payers, and much of the focus of pending legislation is on government program reimbursement.  However, we cannot know what form any such action may take, the likelihood it would be executed, enacted, effectuated or implemented or the market’s perception of how such legislation would affect us.  Any reduction in reimbursement from government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payers.  The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our current medicines and/or those for which we may receive regulatory approval in the future.

We are subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse, transparency laws and false claims laws, privacy and security laws and regulations.  Prosecutions under such laws have increased in recent years and we may become subject to such litigation.  If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.*

In the United States, we are subject directly, or indirectly or through our customers, to various state and federal fraud and abuse and transparency laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act, civil monetary penalty statutes prohibiting beneficiary inducements, and similar state and local laws, federal and state privacy and security laws, sunshine laws, government price reporting laws, and other fraud laws.  Some states, such as Massachusetts, make certain reported information public.  In addition, there are state and local laws that require pharmaceutical representatives to be licensed and comply with codes of conduct, transparency reporting, and other obligations.  Collectively, these laws may affect, among other things, our current and proposed sales, marketing and educational programs, as well as other possible relationships with customers, pharmacies, physicians, payers, and patients.  We are subject to similar laws in the EU/EEA, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679), under which fines of up to €20.0 million or up to 4% of the annual global turnover of the infringer, whichever is greater, could be imposed for significant non-compliance.

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Compliance with these laws, including the development of a comprehensive compliance program, is difficult, costly and time consuming.  Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of available statutory and regulatory exemptions, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws.  Moreover, state governmental agencies may propose or enact laws and regulations that extend or contradict federal requirements.  These risks may be increased where there are evolving interpretations of applicable regulatory requirements, such as those applicable to manufacturer co-pay initiatives.  Pharmaceutical manufacturer co-pay initiatives and free medicine programs are the subject of ongoing litigation (involving other manufacturers and to which we are not a party) and evolving interpretations of applicable regulatory requirements and certain state laws, and any change in the regulatory or enforcement environment regarding such programs could impact our ability to offer such programs.  If we are unsuccessful with our HorizonCares programs, any other co-pay initiatives or free medicine programs, we would be at a competitive disadvantage in terms of pricing versus preferred branded and generic competitors, or be subject to significant penalties.  We are engaged in various business arrangements with current and potential customers, and we can give no assurance that such arrangements would not be subject to scrutiny under such laws, despite our efforts to properly structure such arrangements.  Even if we structure our programs with the intent of compliance with such laws, there can be no certainty that we would not need to defend our business activities against enforcement or litigation.  Further, we cannot give any assurances that prior business activities or arrangements of other companies that we acquire will not be scrutinized or subject to enforcement or litigation.

There has also been a trend of increased federal and state regulation of payments made to physicians and other healthcare providers.  The ACA, among other things, imposed reporting requirements on drug manufacturers for payments made by them to physicians and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members.  Failure to submit required information may result in significant civil monetary penalties.

We are unable to predict whether we could be subject to actions under any of these or other healthcare laws, or the impact of such actions.  If we are found to be in violation of, or to encourage or assist the violation by third parties of any of the laws described above or other applicable state and federal fraud and abuse laws, we may be subject to penalties, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, withdrawal of regulatory approval, imprisonment, exclusion from government healthcare reimbursement programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, injunctions and other associated remedies, or private “qui tam” actions brought by individual whistleblowers in the name of the government, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.  Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business.

Our medicines or any other medicine candidate that we develop may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent regulatory approval or commercialization, result in medicine re-labeling or withdrawal from the market or have a significant impact on customer demand.

Undesirable side effects caused by any medicine candidate that we develop could result in the denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications, or cause us to evaluate the future of our development programs.  With respect to RAVICTI, the most common side effects are diarrhea, nausea, decreased appetite, gas, vomiting, high blood levels of ammonia, headache, tiredness and dizziness.  With respect to PROCYSBI, the most common side effects include vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, breath odor, diarrhea, skin odor, fatigue, rash and headache.  The most common side effects observed in pivotal trials for ACTIMMUNE were “flu-like” or constitutional symptoms such as fever, headache, chills, myalgia and fatigue.  With respect to BUPHENYL, the most common side effects are change in the frequency of breathing, lack of or irregular menstruation, lower back, side, or stomach pain, mood or mental changes, muscle pain or twitching, nausea or vomiting, nervousness or restlessness, swelling of the feet or lower legs, unpleasant taste and unusual tiredness or weakness.  With respect to QUINSAIR, the most common side effects include itching, wheezing, hives, rash, swelling, pale skin color, fast heartbeat and faintness.  With respect to KRYSTEXXA, the most commonly reported serious adverse reactions in the pivotal trial were gout flares, infusion reactions, nausea, contusion or ecchymosis, nasopharyngitis, constipation, chest pain, anaphylaxis, exacerbation of pre-existing congestive heart failure and vomiting.  The most commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse events in the Phase 3 clinical trials with RAYOS/LODOTRA included flare in rheumatoid arthritis related symptoms, abdominal pain, nasopharyngitis, headache, flushing, upper respiratory tract infection, back pain and weight gain.  The most common adverse events reported in a Phase 2 clinical trial of PENNSAID 2% were application site reactions, such as dryness, exfoliation, erythema, pruritus, pain, induration, rash and scabbing.  In our two Phase 3 clinical trials with DUEXIS, the most commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse events were nausea, dyspepsia, diarrhea, constipation and upper respiratory tract infection.  In Phase 3 endoscopic registration clinical trials with VIMOVO, the most commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse events were erosive gastritis, dyspepsia, gastritis, diarrhea, gastric ulcer, upper abdominal pain, nausea and upper respiratory tract infection.  With respect to MIGERGOT, the most commonly reported adverse reactions are ischemia, cyanosis, absence of pulse, cold extremities, gangrene, precordial distress and pain, electrocardiogram change, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, rectal or anal ulcer, parathesias, numbness weakness, vertigo, localized edemas and itching.  

The FDA or other regulatory authorities may also require, or we may undertake, additional clinical trials to support the safety profile of our medicines or medicine candidates.

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In addition, if we or others identify undesirable side effects caused by our medicines or any other medicine candidate that we may develop that receives marketing approval, or if there is a perception that the medicine is associated with undesirable side effects:

If any of these events occurred with respect to our medicines, our ability to generate significant revenues from the sale of these medicines would be significantly harmed.

We rely on third parties to conduct our pre-clinical and clinical trials.  If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines or if they experience regulatory compliance issues, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our medicine candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.*

We have agreements with third-party contract research organizations, or CROs, to conduct our clinical programs, including those required for post-marketing commitments, and we expect to continue to rely on CROs for the completion of on-going and planned clinical trials.  We may also have the need to enter into other such agreements in the future if we were to develop other medicine candidates or conduct clinical trials in additional indications for our existing medicines.  We have an agreement in place with Syneos Health, Inc. in connection with our Phase 3 confirmatory trial to evaluate teprotumumab for the treatment of thyroid eye disease.  In connection with our ongoing study to evaluate RAYOS/LODOTRA on the fatigue experienced by SLE patients, we are collaborating with the ALR.  We also rely heavily on these parties for the execution of our clinical studies and control only certain aspects of their activities.  Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol.  We, our CROs and our academic research organizations are required to comply with current GCP or ICH regulations.  The FDA enforces these GCP or ICH regulations through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites.  If we or our CROs or collaborators fail to comply with applicable GCP or ICH regulations, the data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and our submission of marketing applications may be delayed or the FDA may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications.  We cannot assure that, upon inspection, the FDA will determine that any of our clinical trials comply or complied with GCP or ICH regulations.  In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with medicine produced under cGMP regulations, and may require a large number of test subjects.  Our failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.  Moreover, our business may be implicated if any of our CROs or collaborators violates federal or state fraud and abuse or false claims laws and regulations or healthcare privacy and security laws.  We must also obtain certain third-party institutional review board, or IRB, and ethics committee approvals in order to conduct our clinical trials.  Delays by IRBs and ethics committees in providing such approvals may delay our clinical trials.

If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs or collaborators terminate, we may not be able to enter into similar arrangements on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.  If CROs or collaborators do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our medicines and medicine candidates.  As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our medicines and medicine candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed.

Switching or adding additional CROs or collaborators can involve substantial cost and require extensive management time and focus.  In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO or collaborator commences 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 and collaborators, 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 or prospects.

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Clinical development of drugs and biologics involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome, and results of earlier studies and trials may not be predictive of future trial results.*

Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is uncertain.  Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process.  The results of pre-clinical studies and early clinical trials of potential medicine candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials.  Medicine candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through pre-clinical studies and initial clinical testing.  For example, in December 2016, we announced that the Phase 3 trial, Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of ACTIMMUNE Dose Escalation in Friedreich’s ataxia, evaluating ACTIMMUNE for the treatment of Friedreich’s ataxia did not meet its primary endpoint.  Additionally, we recently made a decision to discontinue our ACTIMMUNE investigator-initiated trials in oncology to focus on our strategic pipeline where we see more promise and long-term intellectual property.

With respect to investigator-initiated studies for several of our products, and with respect to the Phase 3 pivotal clinical trial of teprotumumab in thyroid eye disease that we commenced in the fourth quarter of 2017, and to the extent that we are required to conduct additional clinical development of any of our existing or later acquired medicines or we conduct clinical development of earlier stage medicine candidates, we may experience delays in these clinical trials or investigator-initiated studies.  We do not know whether any additional clinical trials will be initiated in the future, begin on time, need to be redesigned, enroll patients on time or be completed on schedule, if at all.  Clinical trials can be delayed for a variety of reasons, including delays related to:

Patient enrollment, a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, is affected by many factors including the size and nature of the patient population, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the trial, the design of the clinical trial, competing clinical trials and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the medicine candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs or biologics that may be approved for the indications we are investigating.  Furthermore, we rely and expect to rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our future clinical trials and while we have and intend to have agreements governing their committed activities, we will have limited influence over their actual performance.

We could encounter delays if prescribing physicians encounter unresolved ethical issues associated with enrolling patients in clinical trials of our medicine candidates in lieu of prescribing existing treatments that have established safety and efficacy profiles.  Further, a clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, our collaborators, the FDA or other regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a medicine candidate, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.  If we experience delays in the completion of, or if we terminate, any clinical trial of our medicine candidates, the commercial prospects of our medicine candidates will be harmed, and our ability to generate medicine revenues from any of these medicine candidates will be delayed.  In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs, slow down our medicine development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence medicine sales and generate revenues.

Moreover, principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive compensation in connection with such services.  Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to the FDA.  The FDA may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected interpretation of the study.  The FDA may therefore question the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized.  This could result in a delay in approval, or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of one or more of our medicine candidates.

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Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects significantly.  In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our medicine candidates.

Business interruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.

Our operations could be subject to earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications failures, water shortages, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics and other natural or man-made disasters or business interruptions.  While we carry insurance for certain of these events and have implemented disaster management plans and contingencies, the occurrence of any of these business interruptions could seriously harm our business and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.  We conduct significant management operations at both our global headquarters located in Dublin, Ireland and our U.S. office located in Lake Forest, Illinois.  If our Dublin or Lake Forest offices were affected by a natural or man-made disaster or other business interruption, our ability to manage our domestic and foreign operations could be impaired, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.  We currently rely, and intend to rely in the future, on third-party manufacturers and suppliers to produce our medicines and third-party logistics partners to ship our medicines.  Our ability to obtain commercial supplies of our medicines could be disrupted and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected if the operations of these third-party suppliers or logistics partners were affected by a man-made or natural disaster or other business interruption.  The ultimate impact of such events on us, our significant suppliers and our general infrastructure is unknown.

 

We are dependent on information technology systems, infrastructure and data, which exposes us to data security risks.

We are dependent upon our own or third-party information technology systems, infrastructure and data, including mobile technologies, to operate our business.  The multitude and complexity of our computer systems may make them vulnerable to service interruption or destruction, malicious intrusion, or random attack.  Likewise, data privacy or security breaches by employees or others may pose a risk that sensitive data, including our intellectual property, trade secrets or personal information of our employees, patients, customers or other business partners may be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public.  Cyber-attacks are increasing in their frequency, sophistication and intensity.  Cyber-attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, denial-of-service, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten data confidentiality, integrity and availability.  Our business partners face similar risks and any security breach of their systems could adversely affect our security posture.  A security breach or privacy violation that leads to disclosure or modification of or prevents access to patient information, including personally identifiable information or protected health information, could harm our reputation, compel us to comply with federal and/or state breach notification laws and foreign law equivalents, subject us to mandatory corrective action, require us to verify the correctness of database contents and otherwise subject us to litigation or other liability under laws and regulations that protect personal data, any of which could disrupt our business and/or result in increased costs or loss of revenue.  Moreover, the prevalent use of mobile devices that access confidential information increases the risk of data security breaches, which could lead to the loss of confidential information, trade secrets or other intellectual property.  While we have invested, and continue to invest, in the protection of our data and information technology infrastructure, there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent service interruptions, or identify breaches in our systems, that could adversely affect our business and operations and/or result in the loss of critical or sensitive information, which could result in financial, legal, business or reputational harm to us.  In addition, our liability insurance may not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to security breaches, cyber-attacks and other related breaches.  

We are subject to extensive laws and regulations related to data privacy, and our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our business.*

We are subject to laws and regulations governing data privacy and the protection of personal information. These laws and regulations govern our processing of personal data, including the collection, access, use, analysis, modification, storage, transfer, security breach notification, destruction and disposal of personal data. There are foreign and state law versions of these laws and regulations to which we are currently and/or may in the future, be subject. For example, the collection and use of personal health data in the European Union is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR. The GDPR, which is wide-ranging in scope, imposes several requirements relating to the consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, the information provided to the individuals, the security and confidentiality of the personal data, data breach notification and the use of third party processors in connection with the processing of personal data. The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the European Union to the United States, provides an enforcement authority and imposes large monetary penalties for noncompliance. The GDPR requirements apply not only to third-party transactions, but also to transfers of information within our company, including employee information. The GDPR and similar data privacy laws of other jurisdictions place significant responsibilities on us and create potential liability in relation to personal data that we or our third party service providers process, including in clinical trials conducted in the United States and European Union. In addition, we expect that there will continue to be new proposed laws, regulations and industry standards relating to privacy and data protection in the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and we cannot determine the impact such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business.

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If product liability lawsuits are brought against us, we may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our medicines.

We face an inherent risk of product liability claims as a result of the commercial sales of our medicines and the clinical testing of our medicine candidates.  For example, we may be sued if any of our medicines or medicine candidates allegedly causes injury or is found to be otherwise unsuitable during clinical testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale.  Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the medicine, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties.  Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts.  If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our medicines and medicine candidates.  Even a successful defense would require significant financial and management resources.  Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

Our inability to obtain and retain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of medicines we develop.  We currently carry product liability insurance covering our clinical studies and commercial medicine sales in the amount of $125.0 million in the aggregate.  Although we maintain such insurance, any claim that may be brought against us could result in a court judgment or settlement in an amount that is not covered, in whole or in part, by our insurance or that is in excess of the limits of our insurance coverage.  If we determine that it is prudent to increase our product liability coverage due to the on-going commercialization of our current medicines in the United States, and/or the potential commercial launches of any of our medicines in additional markets or for additional indications, we may be unable to obtain such increased coverage on acceptable terms or at all.  Our insurance policies also have various exclusions, and we may be subject to a product liability claim for which we have no coverage.  We will have to pay any amounts awarded by a court or negotiated in a settlement that exceed our coverage limitations or that are not covered by our insurance, and we may not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient capital to pay such amounts.

Our business involves the use of hazardous materials, and we and our third-party manufacturers must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which can be expensive and restrict how we do business.

Our third-party manufacturers’ activities involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials owned by us, including the components of our medicine candidates and other hazardous compounds.  We and our manufacturers are subject to federal, state and local as well as foreign laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials.  Although we believe that the safety procedures utilized by our third-party manufacturers for handling and disposing of these materials comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials.  In the event of an accident, state, federal or foreign authorities may curtail the use of these materials and interrupt our business operations.  We do not currently maintain hazardous materials insurance coverage.  If we are subject to any liability as a result of our third-party manufacturers’ activities involving hazardous materials, our business and financial condition may be adversely affected.  In the future we may seek to establish longer-term third-party manufacturing arrangements, pursuant to which we would seek to obtain contractual indemnification protection from such third-party manufacturers potentially limiting this liability exposure.  

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Our employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants, vendors, distributors and CROs may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements.

We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants, vendors, distributors and CROs may engage in fraudulent or other illegal activity.  Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or unauthorized activities that violate FDA regulations, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to the FDA, manufacturing standards, federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations, and laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data.  In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices.  These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements.  Misconduct by our employees and other third parties may also include the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation.  We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, but it is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by our 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.  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, including the imposition of significant civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, the exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs and imprisonment.

 

Risks Related to our Financial Position and Capital Requirements

In the past we have incurred significant operating losses.*

We have a limited operating history and even less history operating as a combined organization following the acquisitions of Vidara, Hyperion, Crealta Holdings LLC, or Crealta, Raptor and River Vision Development Corp., or River Vision. We have financed our operations primarily through equity and debt financings and have incurred significant operating losses in the past.  We recorded an operating loss of $125.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018, an operating loss of $392.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an operating loss of $147.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 and operating income of $55.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.  We recorded a net loss of $190.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018, a net loss of $410.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, a net loss of $166.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 and net income of $39.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.  As of June 30, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $1,440.9 million.  Our prior losses have resulted principally from costs incurred in our development activities for our medicines and medicine candidates, commercialization activities related to our medicines, costs associated with our acquisition transactions and costs associated with derivative liability accounting.  Our prior losses, combined with possible future losses, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our shareholders’ equity and working capital.  While we anticipate that we will generate operating profits in the future, whether we can sustain this will depend on the revenues we generate from the sale of our medicines being sufficient to cover our operating expenses.

We have limited sources of revenues and significant expenses.  We cannot be certain that we will achieve or sustain profitability, which would depress the market price of our ordinary shares and could cause our investors to lose all or a part of their investment.*

Our ability to achieve and sustain profitability depends upon our ability to generate sales of our medicines.  We have a limited history of commercializing our medicines as a company, and commercialization has been primarily in the United States.  We may never be able to successfully commercialize our medicines or develop or commercialize other medicines in the United States or in the EU, which we believe represents our most significant commercial opportunity.  Our ability to generate future revenues depends heavily on our success in:

 

 

 

Even if we do generate additional medicine sales, we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.  Our failure to become and remain profitable would depress the market price of our ordinary shares and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our medicine offerings or continue our operations.

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We may need to obtain additional financing to fund additional acquisitions.

Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception.  We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts to:

 

 

 

While we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our operations based on our current expectations of continued revenue growth, we may need to raise additional funds if we choose to expand our commercialization or development efforts more rapidly than presently anticipated, if we develop or acquire additional medicines or acquire companies, or if our revenue does not meet expectations.

We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all.  If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of one or more of our medicines or medicine candidates or one or more of our other research and development initiatives, or delay, cut back or abandon our plans to grow the business through acquisitions.  We also could be required to:

 

In addition, if we are unable to secure financing to support future acquisitions, our ability to execute on a key aspect of our overall growth strategy would be impaired.

Any of the above events could significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects.

We have incurred a substantial amount of debt, which could adversely affect our business, including by restricting our ability to engage in additional transactions or incur additional indebtedness, and prevent us from meeting our debt obligations.*

As of June 30, 2018, we had $1,885.1 million book value, or $1,993.0 million aggregate principal amount, of indebtedness, including $818.0 million in secured indebtedness.  In October 2017, we borrowed approximately $845.8 million aggregate principal amount of loans pursuant to an amendment to our credit agreement to refinance the then outstanding senior secured term loans incurred in March 2017 under our credit agreement.  In connection with the acquisition of Hyperion, we issued $475.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.625% Senior Notes due 2023, or the 2023 Senior Notes, in April 2015.  In connection with the acquisition of Raptor, we issued $300.0 million aggregate principal amount of 8.750% Senior Notes due 2024, or the 2024 Senior Notes, in October 2016.  In March 2015, we issued $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2.50% Exchangeable Senior Notes due 2022, or the Exchangeable Senior Notes.  Accordingly, we have a significant amount of debt outstanding on a consolidated basis.

This substantial level of debt could have important consequences to our business, including, but not limited to:

 

 

 

 

 

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The credit agreement and the indentures governing the 2024 Senior Notes and the 2023 Senior Notes impose, and the terms of any future indebtedness may impose, various covenants that limit our ability and/or the ability of our restricted subsidiaries’ (as designated under such agreements) to, among other things, pay dividends or distributions, repurchase equity, prepay junior debt and make certain investments, incur additional debt and issue certain preferred stock, incur liens on assets, engage in certain asset sales, consolidate with or merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets, enter into transactions with affiliates, designate subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries, and allow to exist certain restrictions on the ability of restricted subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments to us.

Our ability to obtain future financing and engage in other transactions may be restricted by these covenants.  In addition, any credit ratings will impact the cost and availability of future borrowings and our cost of capital.  Our ratings at any time will reflect each rating organization’s then opinion of our financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet our debt obligations.  There can be no assurance that we will achieve a particular rating or maintain a particular rating in the future.  A reduction in our credit ratings may limit our ability to borrow at acceptable interest rates.  If our credit ratings were downgraded or put on watch for a potential downgrade, we may not be able to sell additional debt securities or borrow money in the amounts, at the times or interest rates or upon the more favorable terms and conditions that might otherwise be available.  Any impairment of our ability to obtain future financing on favorable terms could have an adverse effect on our ability to refinance any of our then-existing debt and may severely restrict our ability to execute on our business strategy, which includes the continued acquisition of additional medicines or businesses.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments under or to refinance our debt obligations depends on our financial condition and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic, industry and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control.  Our ability to generate cash flow to meet our payment obligations under our debt may also depend on the successful implementation of our operating and growth strategies.  Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations.  We cannot assure that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or business operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness.  We cannot ensure that we would be able to take any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of existing or future debt agreements, including the indentures that govern the 2024 Senior Notes and the 2023 Senior Notes and the credit agreement.  In addition, any failure to make payments of interest and principal on our outstanding indebtedness on a timely basis would likely result in a reduction of our credit rating, which could harm our ability to incur additional indebtedness.

If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result:

 

 

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We generally have broad discretion in the use of our cash and may not use it effectively.

Our management has broad discretion in the application of our cash, and investors will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the use of our cash.  Our management may not apply our cash in ways that ultimately increase the value of any investment in our securities.  We expect to use our existing cash to fund commercialization activities for our medicines, to potentially fund additional medicine or business acquisitions, to potentially fund additional regulatory approvals of certain of our medicines, to potentially fund development, life cycle management or manufacturing activities of our medicines for other indications, to potentially fund share repurchases, and for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes.  We may also invest our cash in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities.  These investments may not yield a favorable return to our shareholders.  If we do not invest or apply our cash in ways that enhance shareholder value, we may fail to achieve expected financial results, which could cause the price of our ordinary shares to decline.

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset U.S. income taxes may be limited.

Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50 percent change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes to offset post-change income may be limited.  We continue to carry forward our annual limitation resulting from an ownership change date of August 2, 2012.  The limitation on pre-change net operating losses incurred prior to the August 2, 2012 change date is approximately $7.7 million for 2018 through 2028.  We continue to carry forward the annual limitation related to Hyperion of $50.0 million resulting from the last ownership change date in 2014 and the annual limitation related to Raptor of $0.2 million resulting from the last ownership change date in 2009.  In addition, in the second quarter of 2017, we recognized $37.4 million of federal net operating losses, $43.2 million of state net operating losses and $5.8 million of federal tax credits following our acquisition of River Vision.  These acquired federal net operating losses and tax credits are subject to an annual limitation of $12.5 million from 2018 through 2021.  The net operating loss carryforward limitation is cumulative such that any use of the carryforwards below the limitations in one year will result in a corresponding increase in the limitations for the subsequent tax year.  Under the Tax Act, U.S. federal net operating losses incurred in 2018 and in future years may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal net operating losses is limited.  It is uncertain if and to what extent various U.S. states will conform to the Tax Act.  

Following certain acquisitions of a U.S. corporation by a foreign corporation, Section 7874 of the Code limits the ability of the acquired U.S. corporation and its U.S. affiliates to utilize U.S. tax attributes such as net operating losses to offset U.S. taxable income resulting from certain transactions.  Based on the limited guidance available, we expect this limitation is applicable following the Vidara Merger.  As a result, it is not currently expected that we or our other U.S. affiliates will be able to utilize their U.S. tax attributes to offset their U.S. taxable income, if any, resulting from certain taxable transactions following the Vidara Merger.  Notwithstanding this limitation, we expect that we will be able to fully use our U.S. net operating losses and tax credits prior to their expiration.  As a result of this limitation, however, it may take HPI longer to use its net operating losses and tax credits.  Moreover, contrary to these expectations, it is possible that the limitation under Section 7874 of the Code on the utilization of U.S. tax attributes could prevent us from fully utilizing our U.S. tax attributes prior to their expiration if we do not generate sufficient taxable income.

Any limitation on our ability to use our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards, including the carryforwards of companies that we acquire, will likely increase the taxes we would otherwise pay in future years if we were not subject to such limitations.

Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and share price.*

From time to time, global credit and financial markets have experienced extreme disruptions, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates, and uncertainty about economic stability.  Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment and continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions.  If the equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult to complete, more costly, and more dilutive.  Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our growth strategy, financial performance and share price and could require us to delay or abandon commercialization or development plans.  There is a risk that one or more of our current service providers, manufacturers and other partners may not survive an economic down-turn, which could directly affect our ability to attain our operating goals on schedule and on budget.

The U.K.’s referendum to leave the EU or “Brexit,” has caused and may continue to cause disruptions to capital and currency markets worldwide.  The full impact of the Brexit decision, however, remains uncertain.  A process of negotiation will determine the future terms of the U.K.’s relationship with the EU.  During this period of negotiation, our results of operations and access to capital may be negatively affected by interest rate, exchange rate and other market and economic volatility, as well as regulatory and political uncertainty.  The tax consequences of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU are uncertain as well.  Brexit may also have a detrimental effect on our customers, distributors and suppliers, which would, in turn, adversely affect our revenues and financial condition.

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At June 30, 2018, we had $710.2 million of cash and cash equivalents consisting of cash and money market funds.  While we are not aware of any downgrades, material losses, or other significant deterioration in the fair value of our cash equivalents since June 30, 2018, no assurance can be given that deterioration in conditions of the global credit and financial markets would not negatively impact our current portfolio of cash equivalents or our ability to meet our financing objectives.  Dislocations in the credit market may adversely impact the value and/or liquidity of marketable securities owned by us.

Changes in accounting rules or policies may affect our financial position and results of operations.*

Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, and related implementation guidelines and interpretations can be highly complex and involve subjective judgments.  Changes in these rules or their interpretation, the adoption of new guidance or the application of existing guidance to changes in our business could significantly affect our financial position and results of operations.  In addition, our operation as an Irish company with multiple subsidiaries in different jurisdictions adds additional complexity to the application of GAAP and this complexity will be exacerbated further if we complete additional strategic transactions.  Changes in the application of existing rules or guidance applicable to us or our wholly owned subsidiaries could significantly affect our condensed consolidated financial position and results of operations.

Covenants under the indentures governing our 2024 Senior Notes and 2023 Senior Notes and our credit agreement may restrict our business and operations in many ways, and if we do not effectively manage our covenants, our financial conditions and results of operations could be adversely affected.

The indentures governing the 2024 Senior Notes and the 2023 Senior Notes and the credit agreement impose various covenants that limit our ability and/or our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These covenants may:

 

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If we are unable to successfully manage the limitations and decreased flexibility on our business due to our significant debt obligations, we may not be able to capitalize on strategic opportunities or grow our business to the extent we would be able to without these limitations.

Our failure to comply with any of the covenants could result in a default under the credit agreement or the indentures governing the 2024 Senior Notes or the 2023 Senior Notes, which could permit the administrative agent or the trustee, as applicable, or permit the lenders or the holders of the 2024 Senior Notes or the 2023 Senior Notes to cause the administrative agent or the trustee, as applicable, to declare all or part of any outstanding senior secured term loans, the 2023 Senior Notes or the 2024 Senior Notes to be immediately due and payable or to exercise any remedies provided to the administrative agent or the trustee, including, in the case of the credit agreement proceeding against the collateral granted to secure our obligations under the credit agreement.  An event of default under the credit agreement or the indentures governing the 2024 Senior Notes or the 2023 Senior Notes could also lead to an event of default under the terms of the other agreements and the indenture governing our Exchangeable Senior Notes.  Any such event of default or any exercise of rights and remedies by our creditors could seriously harm our business.

If intangible assets that we have recorded in connection with our acquisition transactions become impaired, we could have to take significant charges against earnings.*

In connection with the accounting for our various acquisition transactions, we have recorded significant amounts of intangible assets.  Under GAAP, we must assess, at least annually and potentially more frequently, whether the value of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets has been impaired.  Amortizing intangible assets will be assessed for impairment in the event of an impairment indicator.  For example, during the six months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded an impairment of $37.9 million to fully write off the book value of developed technology related to PROCYSBI in Canada and Latin America.  Such impairment and any reduction or other impairment of the value of goodwill or other intangible assets will result in a charge against earnings, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and shareholders’ equity in future periods.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to our medicines and medicine candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.*

We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our medicines and medicine candidates.  The strength of patents in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical field involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain.  The patent applications that we own may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our medicines in the United States or in other foreign countries.  If this were to occur, early generic competition could be expected against our current medicines and other medicine candidates in development.  There is no assurance that all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found, which prior art can invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing based on a pending patent application. In particular, because the APIs in RAYOS/LODOTRA, DUEXIS and VIMOVO have been on the market as separate medicines for many years, it is possible that these medicines have previously been used off-label in such a manner that such prior usage would affect the validity of our patents or our ability to obtain patents based on our patent applications.  In addition, claims directed to dosing and dose adjustment may be substantially less likely to issue in light of the Supreme Court decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., where the court held that claims directed to methods of determining whether to adjust drug dosing levels based on drug metabolite levels in the red blood cells were not patent eligible because they were directed to a law of nature.  This decision may have wide-ranging implications on the validity and scope of pharmaceutical method claims.

Even if patents do successfully issue, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed or invalidated.

Patent litigation is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Par Pharmaceutical, who is intending to market generic versions of RAVICTI prior to the expiration of certain of our patents listed in the FDA’s Orange Book.  These cases are collectively known as the RAVICTI cases and arise from Paragraph IV Patent Certification notice letters from Par Pharmaceutical advising they had filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval to market a generic version of RAVICTI before the expiration of the patents-in-suit. For a more detailed description of the RAVICTI litigation, see Note 18, Legal Proceedings, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.  

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Patent litigation is currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Actavis, who intend to market a generic version of PENNSAID 2% prior to the expiration of certain of our patents listed in the Orange Book.  These cases arise from Paragraph IV Patent Certification notice letters from Actavis advising they had filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval to market a generic version of PENNSAID 2% before the expiration of the patents-in-suit. For a more detailed description of the PENNSAID 2% litigation, see Note 18, Legal Proceedings, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Patent litigation is currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit against several companies intending to market a generic version of VIMOVO before the expiration of certain of our patents listed in the Orange Book.  These cases are collectively known as the VIMOVO cases, and involve the following sets of defendants: (i) Dr. Reddy’s; (ii) Lupin; and (iii) Mylan.  Patent litigation against a fourth generic company, Actavis Pharma, is currently pending in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  The cases arise from Paragraph IV Patent Certification notice letters from each of Dr. Reddy’s, Lupin, Mylan and Actavis Pharma, advising each had filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval to market generic versions of VIMOVO before the expiration of the patents-in-suit.  For a more detailed description of the VIMOVO litigation, see Note 18, Legal Proceedings, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

We intend to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights relating to our medicines, but we cannot predict the outcome of the RAVICTI cases, the PENNSAID 2% cases and the VIMOVO cases.  Any adverse outcome in these matters or any new generic challenges that may arise could result in one or more generic versions of our medicines being launched before the expiration of the listed patents, which could adversely affect our ability to successfully execute our business strategy to increase sales of our medicines, and would negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations, including causing a significant decrease in our revenues and cash flows.

Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent others from designing around our claims.  If the patent applications we hold with respect to our medicines fail to issue or if their breadth or strength of protection is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop them and threaten our ability to commercialize our medicines.  We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue or whether any issued patents will be found not invalid and not unenforceable or will go unthreatened by third parties.  Since patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing, and some remain so until issued, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file any patent application related to our medicines or any other medicine candidates.  Furthermore, if third parties have filed such patent applications, an interference proceeding in the United States can be provoked by a third-party or instituted by us to determine which party was the first to invent any of the subject matter covered by the patent claims of our applications.

With respect to RAVICTI, our U.S. composition of matter patent expired on July 28, 2018 and orphan drug exclusivity is set to expire in 2022.  We cannot guarantee that pending patent applications related to RAVICTI will result in additional patents or that other existing and future patents related to RAVICTI will be held valid and enforceable or will be sufficient to deter generic competition in the United States.  Therefore, it is possible that upon expiration of the RAVICTI composition of matter patent, we would need to rely on forms of regulatory exclusivity, to the extent available, to protect against generic competition.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our drug discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents.  Although we expect all of our employees to assign their inventions to us, and all of our employees, consultants, advisors and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot provide any assurances that all such agreements have been duly executed or that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques.

Further, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States.  As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad.  For example, if the issuance, in a given country, of a patent to us, covering an invention, is not followed by the issuance, in other countries, of patents covering the same invention, or if any judicial interpretation of the validity, enforceability, or scope of the claims in, or the written description or enablement in, a patent issued in one country is not similar to the interpretation given to the corresponding patent issued in another country, our ability to protect our intellectual property in those countries may be limited.  Changes in either patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may materially diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection.  If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the non-patented intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, and there is no guarantee that we will have any such enforceable trade secret protection, we may not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.

Our commercial success depends in part on us avoiding infringement of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties.  There is a substantial amount of litigation, both within and outside the United States, involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions and inter party reexamination proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or the U.S. PTO.  Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which our collaborators are developing medicine candidates.  As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our medicine candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties.

Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization.  There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our medicines and/or any other medicine candidates.  Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications, which may later result in issued patents that our medicine candidates may infringe.  In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents.  If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover the manufacturing process of any of our medicine candidates, any molecules formed during the manufacturing process or any final medicine itself, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such medicine candidate unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire.  Similarly, if any third-party patent were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our formulations, processes for manufacture or methods of use, including combination therapy, the holders of any such patent may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the applicable medicine candidate unless we obtained a license or until such patent expires.  In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize one or more of our medicine candidates.  Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business.  In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties, pay royalties or redesign our infringing medicines, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.  We cannot predict whether any such license would be available at all or whether it would be available on commercially reasonable terms.  Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our medicine candidates, and we have done so from time to time.  We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all.  In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize one or more of our medicine candidates, which could harm our business significantly.  We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist which might be enforced against our medicines, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or, with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties.

If we fail to comply with our obligations in the agreements under which we license rights to technology from third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.*

We are party to a number of technology licenses that are important to our business and expect to enter into additional licenses in the future.  For example, we rely on a license from Ucyclyd with respect to technology developed by Ucyclyd in connection with the manufacturing of RAVICTI.  The purchase agreement under which Hyperion purchased the worldwide rights to RAVICTI contains obligations to pay Ucyclyd regulatory and sales milestone payments relating to RAVICTI, as well as royalties on the net sales of RAVICTI.  On May 31, 2013, when Hyperion acquired BUPHENYL under a restated collaboration agreement with Ucyclyd, Hyperion received a license to use some of the manufacturing technology developed by Ucyclyd in connection with the manufacturing of BUPHENYL.  The restated collaboration agreement also contains obligations to pay Ucyclyd regulatory and sales milestone payments, as well as royalties on net sales of BUPHENYL.  If we fail to make a required payment to Ucyclyd and do not cure the failure within the required time period, Ucyclyd may be able to terminate the license to use its manufacturing technology for RAVICTI and BUPHENYL.  If we lose access to the Ucyclyd manufacturing technology, we cannot guarantee that an acceptable alternative method of manufacture could be developed or acquired.  Even if alternative technology could be developed or acquired, the loss of the Ucyclyd technology could still result in substantial costs and potential periods where we would not be able to market and sell RAVICTI and/or BUPHENYL.  We also license intellectual property necessary for commercialization of RAVICTI from an external party.  This party may be entitled to terminate the license if we breach the agreement, including failure to pay required royalties on net sales of RAVICTI, or we do not meet specified diligence obligations in our development and commercialization of RAVICTI, and we do not cure the failure within the required time period.  If the license is terminated, it may be difficult or impossible for us to continue to commercialize RAVICTI, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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We also license rights to patents, know-how and trademarks for ACTIMMUNE from Genentech Inc., or Genentech, under an agreement that remains in effect for so long as we continue to commercialize and sell ACTIMMUNE.  However, Genentech may terminate the agreement upon our material default, if not cured within a specified period of time.  Genentech may also terminate the agreement in the event of our bankruptcy or insolvency.  Upon such a termination of the agreement, all intellectual property rights conveyed to us under the agreement, including the rights to the ACTIMMUNE trademark, revert to Genentech.  If we fail to comply with our obligations under this agreement, we could lose the ability to market and distribute ACTIMMUNE, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, we are subject to contractual obligations under our agreements with Tripex and PARI related to QUINSAIR.  Under the agreement with Tripex, as amended, if we do not spend a specified amount on the development of QUINSAIR for non-CF indications between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2021 and regulatory approval by the FDA for QUINSAIR for the CF indication is obtained prior to December 31, 2021, we may be obligated to pre-pay a milestone payment related to commercial sales of QUINSAIR for non-CF indications.  This obligation is subject to certain exceptions due to, for example, manufacturing delays not under our control, or clinical trial suspension or delay ordered by the FDA.  In October 2017, we triggered a milestone payment under this agreement and we paid Tripex $20.0 million in November 2017.  Under the license agreement with PARI, we are required to comply with diligence milestones related to development and commercialization of QUINSAIR in the United States and to spend a specified minimum amount per year on development activities in the United States until submission of the NDA for QUINSAIR in the United States.  If we do not comply with these obligations, our licenses to certain intellectual property related to QUINSAIR may become non-exclusive in the United States or could be terminated.  We are also subject to contractual obligations under our amended and restated license agreement with UCSD with respect to PROCYSBI.  If one or more of these licenses was terminated, we would have no further right to use or exploit the related intellectual property, which would limit our ability to develop PROCYSBI or QUINSAIR in other indications, and could impact our ability to continue commercializing PROCYSBI or QUINSAIR in their approved indications.

We also hold an exclusive license to patents and technology from Duke University, or Duke, and Mountain View Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or MVP, covering KRYSTEXXA.  Duke and MVP may terminate the license if we commit fraud or for our willful misconduct or illegal conduct.  Duke and MVP may also terminate the license upon our material breach of the agreement, if not cured within a specified period of time, or upon written notice if we have committed two or more material breaches under the agreement.  Duke and MVP may also terminate the license in the event of our bankruptcy or insolvency.  If the license is terminated, it may be impossible for us to continue to commercialize KRYSTEXXA, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We hold an exclusive license to Vectura Group plc’s, or Vectura, proprietary technology and know-how covering the delayed-release of corticosteroids relating to RAYOS/LODOTRA.  If we fail to comply with our obligations under our agreement with Vectura or our other license agreements, or if we are subject to a bankruptcy, the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to market medicines covered by the license, including RAYOS/ LODOTRA.

We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensors.  To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming.  In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that one of our patents, or a patent of one of our licensors, is not valid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question.  An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing.

There are numerous post grant review proceedings available at the U.S. PTO (including inter partes review, post-grant review and ex-parte reexamination) and similar proceedings in other countries of the world that could be initiated by a third-party that could potentially negatively impact our issued patents.

Interference proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications or those of our collaborators or licensors.  An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party.  Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms.  Our defense of litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees.  We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensors, misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States.

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Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.  There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments.  If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our ordinary shares.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the U.S. PTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent.  The U.S. PTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process.  While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction.  Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents.  If we or licensors that control the prosecution and maintenance of our licensed patents fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our medicine candidates, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

We employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies.  We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of our employees’ former employers or other third parties.  We may also be subject to claims that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents.  Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.  There is no guarantee of success in defending these claims, and even if we are successful, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and other employees.

 

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Ordinary Shares

The market price of our ordinary shares historically has been volatile and is likely to continue to be volatile, and you could lose all or part of any investment in our ordinary shares.

The trading price of our ordinary shares has been volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control.  In addition to the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this report, these factors include:

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In addition, the stock market in general, and The Nasdaq Global Select Market and the stock of biotechnology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies.  Broad market and industry factors may adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares, regardless of our actual operating performance.

We have never declared or paid dividends on our share capital and we do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares.  We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future, including due to limitations that are currently imposed by our credit agreement and the indentures governing the 2024 Senior Notes and the 2023 Senior Notes.  Any return to shareholders will therefore be limited to the increase, if any, of our ordinary share price.

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We have incurred and will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company and our management will be required to devote substantial time to compliance initiatives.

As a public company, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company.  In particular, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2000, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., or Nasdaq, impose significant requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and changes in corporate governance practices.  These rules and regulations have substantially increased our legal and financial compliance costs and have made some activities more time-consuming and costly.  These effects are exacerbated by our transition to an Irish company and the integration of numerous acquired businesses and operations into our historical business and operating structure.  If these requirements divert the attention of our management and personnel from other business concerns, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.  The increased costs will continue to decrease our net income or increase our net loss, and may require us to reduce costs in other areas of our business or increase the prices of our medicines or services.  For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain and maintain director and officer liability insurance.  We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs that we may incur to respond to these requirements.  The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers.  If we fail to comply with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq, our ordinary shares could be delisted from The Nasdaq Global Select Market, which would adversely affect the liquidity of our ordinary shares and our ability to obtain future financing.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures.  In particular, we are required to perform annual system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404.  Our independent registered public accounting firm is also required to deliver a report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.  Our testing, or the testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses.  Our compliance with Section 404 requires that we incur substantial expense and expend significant management efforts, particularly because of our Irish parent company structure and international operations.  If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identify deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our ordinary shares could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

New laws and regulations as well as changes to existing laws and regulations affecting public companies, including the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and rules adopted by the SEC and by Nasdaq, would likely result in increased costs as we respond to their requirements.

Sales of a substantial number of our ordinary shares in the public market could cause our share price to decline.

If our existing shareholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our ordinary shares in the public market, the trading price of such ordinary shares could decline.  In addition, our ordinary shares that are either subject to outstanding options or reserved for future issuance under our employee benefit plans are or may become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting schedules and Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.  If these additional ordinary shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline.

In addition, any conversion or exchange of our Exchangeable Senior Notes, whether pursuant to their terms or pursuant to privately negotiated transactions between the issuer and/or us and a holder of such securities, could depress the market price for our ordinary shares.  

Future sales and issuances of our ordinary shares, securities convertible into our ordinary shares or rights to purchase ordinary shares or convertible securities could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our shareholders and could cause our share price to decline.

Additional capital may be needed in the future to continue our planned operations.  To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable for ordinary shares, our shareholders may experience substantial dilution.  We may sell ordinary shares, and we may sell convertible or exchangeable securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time.  If we sell such ordinary shares, convertible or exchangeable securities or other equity securities in subsequent transactions, existing shareholders may be materially diluted.  New investors in such subsequent transactions could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of ordinary shares.  We also maintain equity incentive plans, including our Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, 2014 Non-Employee Equity Plan and 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and intend to grant additional ordinary share awards under these and future plans, which will result in additional dilution to our existing shareholders.

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Irish law differs from the laws in effect in the United States and may afford less protection to holders of our securities.

It may not be possible to enforce court judgments obtained in the United States against us in Ireland based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws.  In addition, there is some uncertainty as to whether the courts of Ireland would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers based on the civil liabilities provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws or hear actions against us or those persons based on those laws.  We have been advised that the United States currently does not have a treaty with Ireland providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.  Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any U.S. federal or state court based on civil liability, whether or not based solely on U.S. federal or state securities laws, would not automatically be enforceable in Ireland.

As an Irish company, we are governed by the Irish Companies Acts, which differ in some material respects from laws generally applicable to U.S. corporations and shareholders, including, among others, differences relating to interested director and officer transactions and shareholder lawsuits.  Likewise, the duties of directors and officers of an Irish company generally are owed to the company only.  Shareholders of Irish companies generally do not have a personal right of action against directors or officers of the company and may exercise such rights of action on behalf of the company only in limited circumstances.  Accordingly, holders of our securities may have more difficulty protecting their interests than would holders of securities of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction of the United States.

Provisions of our articles of association could delay or prevent a takeover of us by a third-party.

Our articles of association could delay, defer or prevent a third-party from acquiring us, despite the possible benefit to our shareholders, or otherwise adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares.  For example, our articles of association:

In addition, several mandatory provisions of Irish law could prevent or delay an acquisition of us.  For example, Irish law does not permit shareholders of an Irish public limited company to take action by written consent with less than unanimous consent.  We are also subject to various provisions of Irish law relating to mandatory bids, voluntary bids, requirements to make a cash offer and minimum price requirements, as well as substantial acquisition rules and rules requiring the disclosure of interests in our ordinary shares in certain circumstances.

These provisions may discourage potential takeover attempts, discourage bids for our ordinary shares at a premium over the market price or adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of, our ordinary shares.  These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and our other shareholders to elect directors other than the candidates nominated by our board of directors, and could depress the market price of our ordinary shares.

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A transfer of our ordinary shares may be subject to Irish stamp duty.

In certain circumstances, the transfer of shares in an Irish incorporated company will be subject to Irish stamp duty, which is a legal obligation of the buyer.  This duty is currently charged at the rate of 1.0 percent of the price paid or the market value of the shares acquired, if higher.  Because our ordinary shares are traded on a recognized stock exchange in the United States, an exemption from this stamp duty is available to transfers by shareholders who hold ordinary shares beneficially through brokers, which in turn hold those shares through the Depositary Trust Company, or DTC, to holders who also hold through DTC.  However, a transfer by or to a record holder who holds ordinary shares directly in his, her or its own name could be subject to this stamp duty.  We, in our absolute discretion and insofar as the Companies Acts or any other applicable law permit, may, or may provide that one of our subsidiaries will pay Irish stamp duty arising on a transfer of our ordinary shares on behalf of the transferee of such ordinary shares.  If stamp duty resulting from the transfer of ordinary shares which would otherwise be payable by the transferee is paid by us or any of our subsidiaries on behalf of the transferee, then in those circumstances, we will, on our behalf or on behalf of such subsidiary (as the case may be), be entitled to (i) seek reimbursement of the stamp duty from the transferee, (ii) set-off the stamp duty against any dividends payable to the transferee of those ordinary shares and (iii) claim a first and permanent lien on the ordinary shares on which stamp duty has been paid by us or such subsidiary for the amount of stamp duty paid.  Our lien shall extend to all dividends paid on those ordinary shares.

Dividends paid by us may be subject to Irish dividend withholding tax.

In certain circumstances, as an Irish tax resident company, we will be required to deduct Irish dividend withholding tax (currently at the rate of 20%) from dividends paid to our shareholders.  Shareholders that are resident in the United States, EU countries (other than Ireland) or other countries with which Ireland has signed a tax treaty (whether the treaty has been ratified or not) generally should not be subject to Irish withholding tax so long as the shareholder has provided its broker, for onward transmission to our qualifying intermediary or other designated agent (in the case of shares held beneficially), or our or its transfer agent (in the case of shares held directly), with all the necessary documentation by the appropriate due date prior to payment of the dividend.  However, some shareholders may be subject to withholding tax, which could adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ordinary shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business.  If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our rating or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price could decline.  If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on our company regularly, demand for our ordinary shares could decrease, which might cause our share price and trading volume to decline.

Securities class action litigation could divert our management’s attention and harm our business and could subject us to significant liabilities.*

The stock markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices for the equity securities of pharmaceutical companies.  These broad market fluctuations may cause the market price of our ordinary shares to decline.  In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities.  This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years.  For example, following declines in our stock price, two federal securities class action lawsuits were filed in March 2016 against us and certain of our current and former officers alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Subsequently, the two actions were consolidated (captioned Schaffer v. Horizon Pharma plc, et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-01763), and plaintiffs added claims under the Securities Act and named additional defendants. On January 18, 2018, the District Court dismissed all plaintiffs’ claims against all defendants, and denied the plaintiffs any further opportunity to amend their complaint.  On February 16, 2018, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal of the District Court’s ruling to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  On June 8, 2018, plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the appeal with defendants’ consent.  Even if we are successful in defending any similar claims that may be brought in the future, such litigation could result in substantial costs and may be a distraction to our management, and may lead to an unfavorable outcome that could adversely impact our financial condition and prospects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ITEM 6.  EXHIBITS

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

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