Risks related to product development, regulatory approval and commercialization
We operate adequate standard operating procedures to secure the integrity and protection of our research and development activities and results, and the optimum allocation of our R&D budgets. The progress of the most important research and development programs is continuously monitored by our executive committee; they are discussed with the board of directors at least once per quarter, and board members with expertise in clinical and scientific matters occasionally attend meetings with our scientific staff to discuss and assess such programs. Nevertheless, due to our limited resources and access to capital, we must and have in the past decided to prioritize development of certain product candidates; these decisions may prove to have been wrong and may adversely affect our business.
We are heavily dependent on the success of our product candidate filgotinib. We are also dependent on the success of our other product candidates, such as our CF candidates (GLPG1837, GLPG2451, GLPG3067, GLPG2222, GLPG2851, GLPG2737, and GLPG3221 and combinations of these), GLPG1690, GLPG1972 and MOR106. We cannot give any assurance that any product candidate will successfully complete clinical trials or receive regulatory approval, which is necessary before it can be commercialized.
Our business and future success is substantially dependent on our ability to develop successfully, obtain regulatory approval for, and then successfully commercialize our product candidate filgotinib and our other product candidates. We are not permitted to market or promote any of our product candidates before we receive regulatory approval from the FDA, the EMA or any other comparable regulatory authority, and we may never receive such regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. We cannot give any assurances that our clinical trials for filgotinib or our other product candidates will be completed in a timely manner, or at all. We have never completed a Phase 3 trial or submitted an NDA. If filgotinib or any other product candidate is not approved and commercialized, we will not be able to generate any product revenues for that product candidate.
The regulatory approval processes of the FDA, the EMA and other comparable regulatory authorities are lengthy, time consuming and inherently unpredictable, and if we are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business will be substantially harmed.
Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Results of earlier studies and trials as well as data from any interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials may not be predictive of future trial results and failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. If we experience delays in the completion of, or termination of, any clinical trial of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of our product candidates will be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenues from any of these product candidates will be delayed. If filgotinib or any other product candidate is found to be unsafe or lack efficacy, we will not be able to obtain regulatory approval for it and our business would be materially harmed.
The rates at which we complete our scientific studies and clinical trials depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, patient enrolment.
Patient enrolment is a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials and is affected by many factors including competing clinical trials, clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the drug being studied in relation to other available therapies and the relatively limited number of patients. Any of these occurrences may harm our clinical trials and by extension, our business, financial condition and prospects.
Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval, if any.
Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, the EMA or other comparable regulatory authorities. The drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
Based on pre-clinical findings, we expect that filgotinib, if approved, may have a labeling statement warning female patients of child-bearing age to take precautionary measures of birth control to protect against pregnancy, similar to warnings included with other frequently used medications in RA, such as methotrexate.
In addition, there may be dose limitations imposed for male patients that are prescribed filgotinib, if approved. In connection with the DARWIN clinical program, we agreed with the FDA to exclude the 200 mg filgotinib daily dose for male subjects in the United States; males received a maximum daily dose of 100 mg in the U.S. sites in these trials. This limitation was not imposed by any other regulatory agency in any other jurisdiction in which the DARWIN clinical program is being conducted. We agreed to this limitation because in both rat and dog toxicology studies, filgotinib induced adverse effects on the male reproductive system and the FDA determined there was not a sufficient safety margin between the filgotinib exposure at the no-observed-adverse-effect-level, or NOAEL, observed in these studies and the anticipated human exposure at the 200 mg daily filgotinib dose. Accordingly, in connection with the DARWIN 3 clinical trial, in the United States, male subjects are dosed at a daily dose of 100 mg only. Male participants in this study and their partners are required to use highly effective contraceptive measures for the duration of the study and during a washout period thereafter. As an additional safety measure, we monitor clinical laboratory changes in hormone levels for subjects in the DARWIN 3 clinical trial.
More recently generated non-clinical data showed filgotinib did not induce any macroscopic or microscopic findings in the male reproductive system in animals with higher filgotinib exposure versus previous studies.
The Phase 3 FINCH program, led by our collaboration partner Gilead, is evaluating 100 mg and 200 mg filgotinib in both males and females in major RA patient populations world-wide. Men and women in both the Phase 2b/3 SELECTION and Phase 3 DIVERSITY trials in UC and CD, respectively, will be randomized to receive placebo, 100 mg or 200 mg filgotinib. In these SELECTION and DIVERSITY trials in the United States, males may receive 200 mg only if they failed conventional therapy, anti-TNF and vedolizumab. The filgotinib Phase 3 program also contains a dedicated male patient testicular safety study in UC patients.
Even if filgotinib does receive regulatory approval or marketing authorization, the FDA or other regulatory authorities may impose dosing restrictions that differ from the approved dosing regimen in other jurisdictions.
Box warnings, labeling restrictions, dose limitations and similar restrictions on use could have a material adverse effect on our ability to commercialize filgotinib in those jurisdictions where such restrictions apply.
Combination therapies involve unique adverse events that could be exacerbated compared to adverse events from monotherapies or could lead to unfavorable drug-drug interactions.
If we are not able to maintain orphan product exclusivity for GLPG1690, or obtain such status for other or for future product candidates for which we seek this status, or if our competitors are able to obtain orphan product exclusivity before we do, we may not be able to obtain approval for our competing products for a significant period of time.
Our commercial success depends upon attaining significant market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved, among physicians, healthcare payers, patients and the medical community.
Coverage and reimbursement decisions by third-party payers may have an adverse effect on pricing and market acceptance. Legislative and regulatory activity may exert downward pressure on potential pricing and reimbursement for any of our product candidates, if approved, that could materially affect the opportunity to commercialize.
As a result of the 2016 election in the United States, there is great political uncertainty concerning the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or, collectively, the ACA, which became law in the United States in 2010, and other healthcare laws. The United States Congress is expected to draft legislation to repeal parts of the ACA, but it is uncertain when such legislation would be passed and whether Congress would replace the law and what any replacement law would encompass. We cannot predict any initiatives that may be adopted in the future.