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As confidentially submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2018, as Amendment No. 4 to the draft registration statement.
This draft registration statement has not been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and all information herein remains confidential.

Registration No. 333-            


UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549



Form S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Liquidia Technologies, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  2836
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
  20-1926605
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)

419 Davis Drive, Suite 100
Morrisville, North Carolina 27560
Telephone: (919) 328-4400

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant's principal executive offices)

Neal F. Fowler
Chief Executive Officer
Liquidia Technologies, Inc.
419 Davis Drive, Suite 100
Morrisville, North Carolina 27560
Telephone: (919) 328-4400

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)



Copies to:

Andrew P. Gilbert
David C. Schwartz
DLA Piper LLP (US)
51 John F. Kennedy Parkway, Suite 120
Short Hills, New Jersey 07078
(973) 520-2550

 

Brent B. Siler
Brian Leaf
Divakar Gupta
Cooley LLP
1299 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 842-7800



Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.



If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box.    o

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    o

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    o

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    o

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

Large accelerated filer o   Accelerated filer o   Non-accelerated filer ý
(Do not check if a
smaller reporting company)
  Smaller reporting company o

Emerging growth company ý

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 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.    ý

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

       
 
Title of Each Class of Securities
to be Registered

  Proposed Maximum
Aggregate Offering
Price(1)(2)

  Amount of
Registration Fee(3)

 

Common stock, par value $0.001 per share

  $                  $               

 

(1)
Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933.

(2)
Includes shares subject to the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares.

(3)
Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o) based on an estimate of the proposed maximum aggregate offering price.

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

   


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The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MAY 10, 2018

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

          Shares

LOGO

Liquidia Technologies, Inc.

Common Stock



We are offering                              shares of our common stock. This is our initial public offering and no public market currently exists for our common stock. We expect the initial public offering price to be between $               and $                per share. We have applied to list our common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "LQDA".

We are an "emerging growth company" as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. See "Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company".

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Please read "Risk Factors" beginning on page 13 of this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.


 
  PER SHARE   TOTAL  

Public Offering Price

  $     $    

Underwriting Discounts and Commissions(1)

             

Proceeds to Liquidia Technologies, Inc. before expenses

             

(1)
See "Underwriting" on page 174 for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

Delivery of the shares of common stock is expected to be made on or about                             , 2018. We have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase an additional                                 shares of our common stock. If the underwriters exercise the option in full, the total discounts and commissions payable by us will be $                , and the total proceeds to us, before expenses, will be $                .

Joint Book-Running Managers

Jefferies   Cowen

Co-Managers

Needham & Company   Wedbush PacGrow

   

Prospectus dated                             , 2018.



TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
  Page  

Trademarks

    ii  

Market and Industry Data

    ii  

Prospectus Summary

    1  

Risk Factors

    13  

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    55  

Use of Proceeds

    56  

Dividend Policy

    57  

Capitalization

    58  

Dilution

    60  

Selected Financial Data

    63  

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

    66  

Business

    87  

Management

    127  

Executive Compensation

    137  

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

    154  

Principal Stockholders

    158  

Description of Capital Stock

    161  

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

    167  

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations to Non-U.S. Holders

    170  

Underwriting

    174  

Legal Matters

    182  

Experts

    182  

Where You Can Find More Information

    182  

Index to Financial Statements

    F-1  

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide you with information other than that contained in this prospectus or any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We and the underwriters are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover page of this prospectus, or other earlier date stated in this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common stock.

Through and including                        , 2018 (25 days after the commencement of this offering), all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery requirement is in addition to a dealer's obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

For investors outside the United States: We have not and the underwriters have not done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of common stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States. See "Underwriting."

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TRADEMARKS

This prospectus includes our trademarks, trade names and service marks, such as Liquidia, the Liquidia logo and PRINT, which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of Liquidia Technologies, Inc. This prospectus also contains trademarks, trade names and service marks of other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ®, ™ or SM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks, trade names and service marks. We do not intend our use or display of other parties' trademarks, trade names or service marks to imply, and such use or display should not be construed to imply, a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other parties.


MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA

Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this prospectus concerning our industry and the markets in which we operate is based on reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by market research firms and other third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data and similar sources as well as our own internal estimates and research. Decision Resources Group is the primary source for the market data included in this prospectus and we compensated them for use of market data. Although we believe the data from these third-party sources is reliable, we have not independently verified any third-party information. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of the future performance of the industry in which we operate and our future performance are necessarily subject to uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in "Risk Factors." These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before deciding to invest in our common stock. You should read the entire prospectus carefully, including the "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before making an investment decision. Except where the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated, the terms "Liquidia," "we," "us," "our," "our company" and "our business" refer to Liquidia Technologies, Inc.

Overview

We are a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of human therapeutics using our proprietary PRINT® technology to transform the lives of patients. PRINT is a particle engineering platform that enables precise production of uniform drug particles designed to improve the safety, efficacy and performance of a wide range of therapies. We are currently focused on the development of two product candidates for which we hold worldwide commercial rights: LIQ861 for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, and LIQ865 for the treatment of local post-operative pain. Our lead product candidate, LIQ861, is being evaluated in a Phase 3 trial. LIQ861 is a dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed to improve the therapeutic profile of treprostinil by enhancing deep-lung delivery and achieving higher dose levels than current inhaled therapies. We have applied our PRINT technology to enable us to deliver LIQ861 through a convenient, disposable dry powder inhaler, or DPI. We have also applied our PRINT technology to our second product candidate, LIQ865, for which we have recently completed a Phase 1b clinical trial. LIQ865 is designed to deliver sustained-release particles of bupivacaine, a non-opioid anesthetic, to treat local post-operative pain for three to five days through a single administration. In addition to developing our two product candidates, we collaborate, and intend to collaborate, with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop their own product candidates across a wide range of therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration, leveraging our PRINT technology.

Our lead product candidate, LIQ861, is being evaluated for the treatment of PAH, a chronic, progressive disease caused by the hardening and narrowing of pulmonary arteries that can lead to right heart failure and eventually death. Prostacyclin is a vasoactive mediator essential to normal lung function that is deficient in patients with PAH. With PAH, the elevated pressure in the pulmonary arteries strains the right side of the heart as it pumps blood to the lungs. The extra stress causes the heart to enlarge and become less flexible, compromising its ability to push blood out of the heart through the lungs and into the rest of the body. PAH initially presents as exertional dyspnea, lethargy and fatigue and may be confused with other disease states with similar symptoms. PAH often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed until symptoms become severe, with the mean time from onset of symptoms to correct diagnosis being more than two years in the United States. As PAH progresses and right ventricular failure develops, exertional chest pain, or angina, exertional syncope and peripheral edema may develop. Following confirmation of diagnosis based on hemodynamic parameters, treatment is recommended to lower pulmonary pressures and treat the symptoms of PAH. Due to delayed diagnosis, many patients already have advanced disease requiring aggressive treatment combining multiple classes of therapy. PAH is a rare disease, with an estimated prevalence in the United States expected to be between 25,000 and 30,000 patients by 2020. PAH is most commonly diagnosed in the developed world, including the United States, Europe and Japan. Today, the mean age of diagnosis is 50 years according to both French and U.S. registries, with more women being diagnosed than men. Patients may have idiopathic PAH in which no underlying cause can be determined or a heritable form of the disease. A large number of PAH patients also have associated comorbidities such as congenital heart disease, HIV, connective tissue diseases like scleroderma, liver diseases, systemic hypertension, obesity, clinical depression, non-PAH related obstructive airways disease, sleep apnea and diabetes.


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Decision Resources Group, an independent industry research firm, estimated that in 2016 more than 50% of patients with PAH in the United States were prescribed treprostinil across its three routes of administration (oral, inhaled and parenteral infusion), generating revenue that represented about one-third of the approximately $3.7 billion U.S. market for PAH drug therapies. The inhaled route of administration, in which medication is inhaled directly into the lungs, helps minimize the off-tissue adverse side effects of systemic delivery by delivering the drug directly where it is needed. Tyvaso® (treprostinil, inhaled solution), marketed by United Therapeutics Corporation in the United States, is the standard of care among the inhaled therapies, with more than 80% of inhaled prostacyclin sales in the United States. Current inhaled therapies, including Tyvaso, are delivered by a nebulizer, a device that converts a liquid formulation into mist, and require between four and nine doses per day. Nebulizers require regular care and maintenance, including daily cleaning and access to additional parts and supplies, such as distilled water and a power source, all of which compromise the portability of the device and the quality of life of patients.

We believe LIQ861, if approved, will be the first-to-market inhaled dry powder treprostinil that can be delivered using a convenient, palm-sized, disposable DPI. We believe LIQ861 can overcome the limitations of current inhaled therapies and has the potential to maximize the therapeutic benefits of treprostinil in treating PAH by safely delivering higher doses into the lungs. Based on our in vitro studies we believe that the precise size, trefoil-like shape and uniformity of each LIQ861 particle may provide deep-lung delivery of treprostinil and may reduce deposition in the upper airway where irritation and pain have been observed with nebulized treprostinil. If approved, we believe LIQ861 will have the potential to increase the number of patients using the inhaled route of treatment for PAH by providing the benefits of inhaled prostacyclin therapy earlier in a patient's disease progression as well as delaying the burden of starting continuously infused products. As of May      , 2018,                patients have enrolled in our single, open-label Phase 3 trial, known as INSPIRE, or Investigation of the Safety and Pharmacology of Dry Powder Inhalation of Treprostinil, at               trial sites and we have contracted a total of               trial sites to enroll patients. The study is designed to evaluate patients who have either been under stable treatment with nebulizer-delivered trepostinil for at least three months and are transitioned to LIQ861 under the protocol or who have been under stable treatment with no more than two non-prostacyclin oral PAH therapies for at least three months and have their treatment regimen supplemented with LIQ861 under the protocol. Of the total enrolled patient population, as of May      , 2018,               subjects have received at least two weeks of LIQ861 at a stable dose,               of whom have been titrated up from the initial starting dose under the protocol. Two weeks is the first scheduled patient assessment.

Our second product candidate, LIQ865, is an injectable, sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine for the management of local post-operative pain for three to five days after a procedure. We believe LIQ865, if approved, has the potential to provide significantly longer local post-operative pain relief compared to currently marketed formulations of bupivacaine. We estimate that there were over 40 million surgeries in our target market, which consists of orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries, performed in the United States in 2016. According to IMS Health, an independent market research firm, the global market for local anesthetics was approximately $776 million in 2016. Post-operative pain management is becoming more important as surgeries increase in volume and complexity and hospitals seek treatments that support faster recovery and time to discharge. Concurrently, the risk of opioid abuse and diversion has led physicians, payors and the U.S. federal government to prioritize pain management strategies that minimize reliance on opioids. Local anesthetics, such as bupivacaine, provide a well-established, non-opioid option for post-operative pain management, but their duration of efficacy has been limited to eight hours or less. The United States Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, has approved one long-acting local anesthetic, liposomal bupivacaine, but pain relief typically lasts only 24 to 36 hours, according to physicians, and its use in combination with other local anesthetics can result in an unsafe release of drug. In LIQ865, we have engineered the size and composition of the PRINT particles to release bupivacaine over three to five days through a single administration.

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Both LIQ861 and LIQ865 are being developed using our proprietary PRINT particle engineering technology, which allows us to engineer and manufacture highly uniform drug particles with independent control over their size, three-dimensional geometric shape and chemical composition. By controlling these physical and chemical parameters of particles, PRINT enables us to engineer desirable pharmacological benefits into product candidates, including prolonged duration of drug release, increased drug loading, more convenient routes of administration, the ability to create novel combination product, enhanced storage and stability and the potential to reduce adverse side effects. Controlling three-dimensional geometric shape and chemical composition of drug particles enables us to research, identify and pursue the improvement of existing therapies and creation of new therapies from existing drugs or new chemical entities, including small molecules and biologics. Our ability to design and control these features of drug particles has the potential to provide significant benefits across the breadth of pharmaceutical applications. Product characteristics and features can be tuned depending on the need of a particular application, drug substance, delivery route and other such considerations. Based on our research to date, we anticipate the ability to: (i) enhance inhaled delivery through the highly uniform geometric shape of each drug particle; (ii) design desired drug release profiles ranging from minutes post-delivery to days, weeks or months depending on need of a target therapy, by controlling the chemical composition of the drug particles and the surface area-to-volume ratio of the particles; (iii) enable combination products where one or more of the chemical constituents can destabilize or interact by encapsulating the desired constituent in a particle to shield it from another constituent during packaging and storage; and (iv) enhance the deposition and retention of topically delivered products by designing particles with a desired charge and/or Young's modulus. Our molding approach, which we branded as "PRINT", or Particle Replication In Non-wetting Templates, combines the precision of the semi-conductor industry with the high throughput of roll-to-roll manufacturing to make highly uniform micro- and nano-particles at a commercially viable scale. Our manufacturing equipment and materials used in the production of our drug particles are proprietary and protected by our patent portfolio and trade secret know-how. Our PRINT equipment is also modular, scalable and cost-effective. We protect our PRINT technology and the resulting engineered particles through a combination of patents, trade secrets, proprietary know-how and licensing arrangements. We have an active patent strategy that covers major geographic markets, including the United States, Europe and Japan.

Initially, our internal pipeline is focused on the development of improved and differentiated drug products containing FDA-approved active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, with established efficacy and safety profiles, which we believe are eligible for the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway to seek marketing approval in the United States. The 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway can be capital efficient and potentially enable a shorter time to approval. We intend to seek marketing approval in the United States for LIQ861 and LIQ865 under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which would allow us to rely in part on existing knowledge of the safety and efficacy of the reference listed drugs. LIQ861 and the DPI together will be regulated as a combination product by the FDA. In addition to building our own internal pipeline, we collaborate with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop their own product candidates across a wide range of therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration. Through our collaboration arrangement with GlaxoSmithKline plc and its subsidiaries, collectively, GSK, we apply PRINT technology to novel molecules. GSK applies our PRINT technology broadly across inhaled delivery of their small molecule and biologic chemical entities. If our product candidates receive marketing approval, we plan to commercialize them in the United States by establishing our own sales force and commercial infrastructure. Outside of the United States, we intend to pursue the regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates with leading pharmaceutical companies with regional expertise. We intend to manufacture PRINT particles using in-house capabilities. Where appropriate, we will rely on contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, to produce, package and distribute our approved drug products on a commercial scale.

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Product Pipeline

The following table summarizes key information about clinical-stage product candidates being developed using PRINT technology:

GRAPHIC

Our Strategy

Our goal is to develop and commercialize medicines with improved and differentiated product profiles based on our PRINT particle engineering technology. To achieve this goal, we intend to execute the following key elements of our business strategy:

    §
    Complete the pivotal, safety and pharmacology Phase 3 trial for our lead product candidate, LIQ861, in PAH.  We initiated INSPIRE, a single, open-label Phase 3 trial, in 100 patients with PAH. We believe, based on feedback from the FDA, that this clinical trial will support the new drug application, or NDA, filing for our novel inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil to treat PAH. We expect to release interim safety data from INSPIRE in the first half of 2019.

    §
    Advance our local post-operative pain product candidate, LIQ865, through Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies.  We completed a Phase 1a clinical trial of LIQ865, our novel long-acting formulation of bupivacaine, in Denmark in March 2017, and a Phase 1b clinical trial in the United States in April 2018. We expect to initiate Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies in the second half of 2018.

    §
    Secure regulatory approval and commercialize our internal product candidates independently in the United States and with leading pharmaceutical companies globally.  We hold worldwide commercialization rights to LIQ861 and LIQ865. Subject to receiving marketing approval, which we intend to pursue in the United States via the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we intend to independently pursue the commercialization of LIQ861 in the United States by establishing targeted sales and marketing teams. After reviewing the results of our Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies for LIQ865, and subject to the availability of sufficient funding, we will develop and commercialize LIQ865 independently, if it is ultimately approved, or seek to license this product candidate to one or more third parties. Outside of the United States, we intend to pursue the regulatory approval and commercialization of LIQ861 and LIQ865 with leading pharmaceutical companies with regional expertise.

    §
    Expand our internal pipeline leveraging our PRINT technology.  We intend to continue targeting diseases where we believe our PRINT technology can improve the efficacy, safety and patient experience of current treatments that have been impaired by suboptimal drug product formulation and delivery. We plan to focus initially on the development of improved and differentiated drug products containing FDA-approved APIs with proven efficacy and safety profiles eligible to use the

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      505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. In addition, we may expand our clinical development of LIQ861 and LIQ865, where appropriate, into broader indications or new applications.

    §
    Pursue strategic collaborations to maximize the value of products enabled by PRINT technology.  In addition to advancing our own internal product candidates, we intend to continue collaborating with leading pharmaceutical companies to expand the applications for our PRINT technology. Our collaborations help advance new PRINT capabilities, while adding to our intellectual property portfolio.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that we have several key strengths that have contributed to the development of our business and that will help us to realize our goal of becoming a biopharmaceutical company across research, development and commercialization activities. Our competitive strengths include:

    §
    Our PRINT technology gives us the capability to overcome the constraints of conventional formulation and production methods and can be applied broadly across therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration.  Our PRINT technology allows us to precisely engineer drug particles in a wide variety of compositions, sizes and shapes and achieve a high level of control over the physical and chemical characteristics of drug particles, as compared to conventional formulation and production methods. PRINT particles can be designed to address specific pharmacological or therapeutic objectives, such as enhancing the route of administration, improving solubility, enhancing stability or extending therapeutic effects. Using our PRINT technology, we are able to engineer, among others, small molecule and biologic particles, single agent drug and combination drug particles and vaccine particles to improve efficacy, safety and convenience for patients. Our internal pipeline strategy is currently focused on developing proprietary innovations to currently approved drug products in order to minimize development risks and increase speed to market.

    In particular, we have designed LIQ861 to maximize the therapeutic benefits of treprostinil in treating PAH by safely delivering higher doses into the lungs using a convenient, palm-sized, disposable DPI. We believe that this may lead to a more attractive product profile with a more convenient method of administering the drug, as compared to existing inhaled therapies. We have also designed LIQ865 with the intention of providing patients with local post-operative analgesia for three to five days. We believe this would provide a longer period of pain relief than existing local-acting pain drugs, which could be a positive feature in light of interest in reducing reliance on opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, for local post-operative pain management.

    Our PRINT technology is broadly applicable — across therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration — providing us with opportunities for future drug product development.

    §
    We have scaled operations with rapid and cost-effective transition to clinical development and commercial production.  We believe our research and development operations and PRINT technology allow us to transition rapidly and cost-effectively from laboratory to clinical development and commercial-scale manufacture of drug particles. Utilizing well-established techniques from other roll-to-roll manufacturing processes, we have scaled PRINT technology to support the quality and quantity needs for clinical and, we believe, commercial production of our product candidates. We believe our production facilities comply with the FDA's current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, requirements. The physical equipment for the PRINT technology requires a relatively small footprint, low capital investment and minimal operating costs. We believe that our PRINT technology provides us and our CMOs with the ability to expand production capacity cost-effectively.

    §
    We have a strong proprietary position through a combination of patents, trade secrets, proprietary know-how and licensing arrangements.  We protect our PRINT technology and the resulting engineered particles through a combination of patents, trade secrets, proprietary know-how and licensing arrangements. We have an active patent strategy that covers major geographic markets, including the United States, Europe and Japan. As of April 30, 2018, our patent portfolio, which

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      includes patents and patent applications we own or co-own, as well as patents and patent applications we have licensed from third parties, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, or UNC, comprises 86 issued patents and 36 pending patent applications worldwide. As we develop new product candidates, either independently or with collaborators, we will seek additional patent protection.

    §
    We have strong capabilities in pharmaceutical research and clinical development.  Our research and development team includes 26 employees, led by our senior management, and has extensive experience in clinical development and pharmaceutical research and development activities in our specific areas of research interest.

    §
    We have a seasoned management team.  Our team includes industry veterans with significant experience in drug discovery, development and commercialization. Members of our leadership team have worked across different segments of the pharmaceutical industry, including branded and generic pharmaceuticals, medical devices and manufacturing services. Prior to joining us, our Chief Executive Officer and director, Neal Fowler, served as president of Centocor, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that is focused on the development and commercialization of biomedicines used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases. Additionally, our President and Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Gordon, previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc. (now named IQVIA Holdings Inc.), a global biopharmaceutical services provider, and our Chief Operations Officer, Robert Lippe, previously served as executive vice president of operations and chief operations officer at Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Furthermore, our Senior Vice President, Product Development, Dr. Robert Roscigno, previously served as the executive vice president of GeNO, LLC, where he led the clinical development team working on a novel nitric oxide delivery system, and before that he served as the president and chief operating officer of Lung Rx, Inc., where he was part of the team responsible for bringing Tyvaso through Phase 3 development, and he previously served in multiple leadership positions at United Therapeutics Corporation and its subsidiaries, contributing to the successful development and worldwide commercialization of Remodulin™, which is treprostinil administered through subcutaneous intravenous infusion, for the treatment of PAH. We believe that their experience enables us to evaluate opportunities and build collaboration arrangements that match the breadth of the potential applications of our PRINT technology.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our ability to successfully implement our business strategy is subject to numerous risks, as more fully described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" immediately following this prospectus summary. These risks include, among others:

    §
    We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no approved products and no historical product revenue, which may make it difficult for you to evaluate our business, financial condition and prospects.

    §
    We are primarily dependent on the success of our lead product candidate, LIQ861, and to a lesser degree, LIQ865, which are still in clinical development, and these product candidates may fail to receive marketing approval or may not be commercialized successfully.

    §
    Our preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be successful and delays to such preclinical studies or clinical trials may cause our costs to increase and significantly impair our ability to commercialize our product candidates. Results of previous clinical trials or interim results of ongoing clinical trials may not be predictive of future or final results.

    §
    We are planning to pursue the FDA 505(b)(2) pathway to apply for marketing approval of our product candidates in the United States. If we are unable to rely on the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we will be required to seek approval of these product candidates through the 505(b)(1) NDA pathway, which would require full clinical trials to establish safety and effectiveness, and the process of obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates would likely be significantly longer and more costly.

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    §
    If we are unable to establish licensing and collaboration arrangements with other pharmaceutical companies on acceptable terms, or at all, we may not be able to develop and commercialize additional product candidates using our PRINT technology.

    §
    We may not be able to build our marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our drug products.

    §
    We depend on GSK for a significant portion of our near-term revenue.

    §
    We depend on third parties for clinical and commercial supplies, including a single supplier for the active ingredient of LIQ861.

    §
    Even if this offering is successful, we expect that we will need further financing for our existing business and future growth, which may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. Failure to obtain funding on acceptable terms and on a timely basis may require us to curtail, delay or discontinue our product development efforts or other operations. The failure to obtain further financing may also prevent us from capitalizing on other potential product candidates or indications which may be more profitable than LIQ861 and LIQ865 or for which there may be a greater likelihood of success.

    §
    We may be unable to continually develop a pipeline of product candidates, which could affect our business and prospects.

    §
    We may encounter difficulties in enrolling patients in our clinical trials.

    §
    The marketing approval processes of the FDA and comparable regulatory authorities in other countries are unpredictable and our product candidates may be subject to multiple rounds of review or may not receive marketing approval.

    §
    The commercial success of our drug products depends on the availability and sufficiency of third-party payor coverage and reimbursement.

    §
    Our commercial success depends largely on our ability to protect our intellectual property.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

We qualify as an "emerging growth company" as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced disclosure and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. As an emerging growth company:

    §
    we may present only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" disclosure;

    §
    we may provide reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;

    §
    we are not required to have advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and

    §
    we have an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting.

We may take advantage of these exemptions for up to five years or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company on the date that is the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more; (ii) the last day of 2023; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC. We have chosen to opt out of the extended transition periods available to emerging growth companies under the JOBS Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of the extended transition periods for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these other exemptions available to emerging growth companies. We have

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taken advantage of reduced reporting requirements in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different from the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold stock.

Corporate Information

Liquidia Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on June 8, 2004. Our principal executive offices are located at 419 Davis Drive, Suite 100, Morrisville, North Carolina 27560 and our telephone number is (919) 328-4400. Our website is located at www.liquidia.com. The information on or that can be accessed through our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider any such information as part of this prospectus or in deciding whether to purchase our common stock.

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THE OFFERING

Issuer

  Liquidia Technologies, Inc.

Common stock offered by us

 

               shares (or               shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full).

Common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering

 

               shares (or               shares, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full).

Option to purchase additional shares

 

We have granted to the underwriters the option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to                additional shares of common stock.

Use of proceeds

 

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, will be approximately $               million (or approximately $               million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of common stock), based on an assumed initial public offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. We currently estimate that we will use the net proceeds from this offering to complete our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of LIQ861, advance LIQ865 through our planned Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies, fund operations supporting the development of LIQ861 and LIQ865 and repay approximately $2.3 million of outstanding indebtedness. We will use the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes.

 

See "Use of Proceeds" for more information.

Risk factors

 

You should read the "Risk Factors" section beginning on page 13 of this prospectus for a discussion of the factors you should carefully consider before deciding to purchase any shares of our common stock.

Proposed Nasdaq Capital Market symbol

 

"LQDA"

The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 10,122,219 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2018, and gives effect to the conversion of all of our outstanding preferred stock and Class B non-voting common stock into                             shares of our common stock, which will occur automatically upon the closing of this offering, and excludes:

    §
    23,783,999 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $0.45 per share;

    §
                   shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options granted after March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $               per share;

    §
    2,146,767 shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units granted on March 7, 2018 to Kevin Gordon, our President and Chief Financial Officer;

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    §
    4,394,914 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $0.0008 per share;

    §
    an aggregate of          shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options to be granted to certain of our officers and directors on the date of execution of the underwriting agreement under the 2018 Plan, assuming we sell          shares in this offering, at an exercise price equal to the initial public offering price per share;

    §
                   shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units to be granted to Mr. Gordon on the date of execution of the underwriting agreement pursuant to his employment agreement, assuming we sell          shares in this offering;

    §
    an additional 5,915,157 shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the Liquidia Technologies, Inc. 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2016 Plan, as of March 31, 2018, which shares will no longer be reserved following this offering; and

    §
    an additional               shares of common stock that will be made available for future issuance under the Liquidia Technologies, Inc. 2018 Long-Term Incentive Plan, or the 2018 Plan, upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus reflects or assumes the following:

    §
    the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the effectiveness of our amended and restated by-laws upon the closing of this offering;

    §
    the conversion of all of our outstanding shares of preferred stock into an aggregate of                shares of common stock upon the closing of this offering;

    §
    no exercise of outstanding options after March 31, 2018;

    §
    a       -for-               reverse split of our common stock to be effected prior to the completion of this offering; and

    §
    no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to                additional shares of common stock in this offering.

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SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

The following tables set forth, for the periods and at the dates indicated, our summary financial data. The statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 are derived from our audited financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The summary statement of operations data for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018 and our balance sheet data as of March 31, 2018 are derived from our unaudited interim financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Other than for the impacts of adoption of accounting standards, the unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal recurring nature that are necessary for the fair statement of our financial position as of March 31, 2018 and our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in any future period and the results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2018, or any other period. You should read the following information together with the more detailed information contained in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The summary financial data in this section are not intended to replace the financial statements and are qualified in their entirety by the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.


 
  Year Ended
December 31,
  Three Months
Ended March 31,
 
 
  2016   2017   2017   2018  

Statement of Operations Data:

                         

Revenues

 
$

13,216,989
 
$

7,258,123
 
$

1,639,176
 
$

925,970
 

Costs and expenses:

   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 

Cost of sales

    918,778     319,759     79,940     27,049  

Research and development

    23,319,886     24,753,876     6,175,557     7,626,701  

General and administrative

    4,841,128     10,212,774     2,151,078     2,149,725  

Total costs and expenses

    29,079,792     35,286,409     8,406,575     9,803,475  

Loss from operations

   
(15,862,803

)
 
(28,028,286

)
 
(6,767,399

)
 
(8,877,505

)

Other income (expense):

                         

Interest income

    14,906     268     151      

Interest expense

    (85,865 )   (13,010,475 )   (2,246,447 )   (17,876,795 )

Derivative and warrant fair value adjustment

        11,884,253     (823,051 )   (753,887 )

Total other income (expense), net           

    (70,959 )   (1,125,954 )   (3,069,347 )   (18,630,682 )

Net loss

    (15,933,762 )   (29,154,240 )   (9,836,746 )   (27,508,187 )

Other comprehensive loss

                 

Comprehensive loss

  $ (15,933,762 ) $ (29,154,240 ) $ (9,836,746 ) $ (27,508,187 )

Net loss per share, basic and diluted

  $ (2.16 ) $ (3.08 ) $ (1.05 ) $ (2.63 )

Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted

    7,361,596     9,475,083     9,329,157     10,441,880  

Pro forma net loss per share, basic and diluted (unaudited)

        $           $    

Pro forma weighted average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted (unaudited)

        $           $    

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  As of March 31, 2018  
 
  Actual   Pro forma(1)   Pro forma as
adjusted(2)
 

Balance Sheet Data:

                   

Cash

  $ 17,593,796   $     $    

Working capital(3)

    4,226,959              

Total assets

    29,228,260              

Total debt

    12,358,368              

Capital stock and additional paid-in capital

    134,199,601              

Accumulated deficit

    (141,426,223 )            

Total stockholders' (deficit) equity

    (7,226,622 )            

(1)
The pro forma balance sheet data give effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of preferred stock into an aggregate of                      shares of our common stock, which will occur automatically upon the closing of this offering.

(2)
The pro forma as adjusted balance sheet data give further effect to (i) our sale of                    shares of our common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and (ii) our use of approximately $2.3 million of the proceeds therefrom to repay debt as described in "Use of Proceeds".

(3)
We define working capital as current assets less current liabilities.

The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will depend on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $                per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, would increase or decrease each of pro forma as adjusted cash, working capital, total assets and total stockholders' equity by $                million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions. We may also increase or decrease the number of shares we are offering. Each increase or decrease of 1.0 million in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease each of pro forma as adjusted cash, working capital, total assets and total stockholders' equity by $                million, assuming that the assumed initial public offering price remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, as well as the other information in this prospectus, including our financial statements and the related notes and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," before deciding whether to invest in our common stock. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. In such an event, the market price of our common stock could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations.

Risks Related to Our Company and our Financial Condition

We have a history of losses, have not commenced commercial operations to date and our future profitability is uncertain.

We have incurred net losses of $15.9 million and $29.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and $27.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. We also had negative operating cash flows in 2016 and 2017 and negative working capital at December 31, 2016 and 2017. As of December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $113.4 million and $141.4 million, respectively.

Since our incorporation, we have invested heavily in the development of our product candidates and technologies, as well as in recruiting management and scientific personnel. To date, we have not commenced the commercialization of our product candidates and all of our revenue has been derived from up-front fees and milestone payments made to us in connection with licensing and collaboration arrangements we have entered into. These up-front fees and milestone payments have been, and may continue to be, insufficient to match our operating expenses. We expect to continue to devote substantial financial and other resources to the clinical development of our product candidates and, as a result, must generate significant revenue to achieve and maintain profitability. We may continue to incur losses and negative cash flow and may never transition to profitability or positive cash flow.

We are primarily dependent on the success of our lead product candidate, LIQ861, and to a lesser degree, LIQ865, which are still in clinical development, and these product candidates may fail to receive marketing approval or may not be commercialized successfully.

We have no products approved for marketing in any jurisdiction and we have never generated any revenue from product sales. Our ability to generate revenue from product sales and achieve profitability depends on our ability, alone or with strategic collaboration partners, to successfully complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory and marketing approvals necessary to commercialize one or more of our product candidates. We expect that a substantial portion of our efforts and expenditure over the next few years will be devoted to our product candidates, LIQ861, a proprietary inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil, which is intended as an inhaled therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, and LIQ865, a sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine for the management of local post-operative pain. We do not anticipate generating revenue from product sales for at least the next few years, if ever.

We have completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for LIQ861 and an early Phase 1a clinical trial in Denmark for LIQ865 and a Phase 1b clinical trial for LIQ865 in the United States. We commenced a Phase 3 clinical trial for LIQ861 in the first quarter of 2018, and we expect to initiate Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies for LIQ865 in the second half of 2018. We cannot assure you that our clinical trials, if commenced, will be successful or meet their endpoints.

If we successfully complete the clinical development of LIQ861 and LIQ865, we cannot assure you that they will receive marketing approval. The FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may

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delay, limit or deny approval of our product candidates for various reasons. For example, such authorities may disagree with the design, scope or implementation of our clinical trials, or with our interpretation of data from our preclinical studies or clinical trials. Status as a combination product, as is the case for LIQ861, may complicate or delay the FDA review process. Product candidates that the FDA deems to be combination products, such as LIQ861, or that otherwise rely on innovative drug delivery systems, may face additional challenges, risks and delays in the product development and regulatory approval process. Moreover, the applicable requirements for approval may differ from country to country.

If we successfully obtain marketing approval for LIQ861 and LIQ865, we cannot assure you that they will be commercialized in a timely manner or successfully, or at all. For example, LIQ861 and LIQ865 may not achieve a sufficient level of market acceptance, or we may not be able to effectively build our marketing and sales capabilities or scale our manufacturing operations to meet commercial demand. The successful commercialization of LIQ861 and LIQ865 will also, in part, depend on factors that are beyond our control. Therefore, we may not generate significant revenue from the sale of such products, even if approved. Any delay or setback we face in the commercialization of LIQ861 or LIQ865 may have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects, which will adversely affect your investment in our company.

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no approved products and no historical product revenue, which may make it difficult for you to evaluate our business, financial condition and prospects.

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no history of commercial operations upon which you can evaluate our prospects. Drug product development involves a substantial degree of uncertainty. Our operations to date have been limited to developing our PRINT technology, undertaking preclinical studies and clinical trials for our product candidates and collaborating with leading pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline plc and/or its subsidiaries, collectively, GSK, to expand the applications for our PRINT technology through licensing as well as joint product development arrangements. We have not obtained marketing approval for any of our product candidates and, accordingly, have not demonstrated an ability to generate revenue from pharmaceutical products or successfully overcome the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies undertaking drug product development. Consequently, your ability to assess our business, financial condition and prospects may be significantly limited. Further, the net losses that we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, such that a period-to-period comparison of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance. Other unanticipated costs may also arise.

Our net losses and significant cash used in operating activities have raised substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2017 include a statement that our recurring losses and cash outflows from operations, our accumulated deficit and our debt maturing within twelve months raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to obtain sufficient funding, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected, and we may be unable to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets and may receive less than the value at which those assets are carried on our audited financial statements, and it is likely that investors will lose all or a part of their investment. Our ability to continue as a going concern could also materially limit our ability to raise additional funds through the issuance of new debt or equity securities or generate revenues from licensing and collaboration arrangements. After this offering, future financial statements may also include statements expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we seek additional financing to fund our business activities in the future and there remains substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, investors or other financing sources may be unwilling to provide additional funding to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

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Even if this offering is successful, we expect that we will need further financing for our existing business and future growth, which may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. Failure to obtain funding on acceptable terms and on a timely basis may require us to curtail, delay or discontinue our product development efforts or other operations. The failure to obtain further financing may also prevent us from capitalizing on other potential product candidates or indications which may be more profitable than LIQ861 and LIQ865 or for which there may be a greater likelihood of success.

We anticipate that we will need to raise additional funds to meet our future funding requirements.

In the event that funds generated from our operations are insufficient to fund our future growth, we may raise additional funds through an issuance of equity or debt securities or by borrowing from banks or other financial institutions. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such additional financing on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. Global and local economic conditions could negatively affect our ability to raise funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of such securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a stockholder. Such financing, even if obtained, may be accompanied by restrictive covenants that may, among others, limit our ability to pay dividends or require us to seek consent for payment of dividends, or restrict our freedom to operate our business by requiring consent for certain actions.

If we fail to obtain additional financing on terms that are acceptable to us, we will not be able to implement our growth plans, and we may be required to significantly curtail, delay or discontinue one or more of our research, development or manufacturing programs or the commercialization of any approved product. Furthermore, if we fail to obtain additional financing on terms that are acceptable to us, we may forgo or delay the pursuit of opportunities presented by other potential product candidates or indications that may later prove to have greater commercial potential than the product candidates and indications that we have chosen to pursue.

We depend on GSK for a significant portion of our near-term revenue.

We are party to a licensing agreement with GSK pursuant to which GSK has exercised an option to exclusively license our PRINT technology for applications in certain inhaled therapies, or the GSK ICO Agreement. We previously entered into a separate licensing agreement with GSK relating to the field of vaccines, or the GSK VCO Agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, our revenue attributable to our collaboration and licensing arrangements with GSK, which included a combination of billings for particle formulations, manufacturing, milestone payments and amortization of deferred revenue from up-front fees, accounted for 90% and 84%, respectively, of our total revenue. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018, our revenue attributable to our collaboration and licensing arrangements with GSK accounted for 92% and 47%, respectively, of our total revenue.

Any changes in GSK's plans with respect to the GSK ICO Agreement may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and prospects. For example, in December 2017, GSK informed us of its modified plans under the GSK ICO Agreement that reduced its requirements and budget for our research and development support in 2018. Revenues from research and development services under the GSK ICO Agreement were $3.1 million and $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 and the three months ended March 31, 2018, respectively. We expect that such revenues will be less than $250,000 during 2018 as a result of GSK's modified plans. In response, in January 2018 we reduced our research and development workforce accordingly, and we anticipate that we will incur approximately $400,000 in expense relating to the modification. As we have not commenced commercialization of our product candidates, we expect that in the near future, we will continue to derive a significant portion of our revenue from our collaboration and licensing arrangements with GSK. If GSK exercises its right to terminate the GSK ICO Agreement in its entirety or in respect of a particular product, and if we are not able to generate

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comparable revenue from our other existing or future collaboration and licensing arrangements, our results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Our credit facility with Pacific Western Bank, or PWB, contains operating and financial covenants that restrict our business and financing activities, and is subject to acceleration in specified circumstances, which may result in PWB taking possession and disposing of any collateral.

Our credit facility contains restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business. Under the terms of the loan and security agreement, or LSA, with PWB, pursuant to which PWB extended a $10.0 million term loan facility to us, we may not, among other things, without the prior written consent of PWB, (a) pay any dividends or make any other distribution or payment on account of or in redemption, retirement or purchase of any capital stock except in certain prescribed circumstances, (b) create, incur, assume, guarantee or be or remain liable with respect to any indebtedness except certain permitted indebtedness or prepay any indebtedness, (c) replace or suffer the departure of our Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer without delivering written notification to PWB within 10 days of such change or (d) suffer a change on our board of directors, or the Board, which results in the failure of at least one partner of either New Enterprise Associates or Canaan Partners or their respective affiliates to serve as a voting member. Our facility with PWB is secured by all of our assets excluding our intellectual property, on which we have granted a negative pledge.

We have, in the past, breached multiple covenants in our LSA related to cash levels, reporting requirements and required periodic deliverables to PWB, but have obtained waivers from PWB in relation to all such breaches. If we breach certain of our debt covenants and are unable to cure such breach within the prescribed period or are not granted waivers in relation to such breach, it may constitute an event of default under our facility agreements, giving lenders the right to require us to repay the then outstanding debt immediately, and the lenders could, among other things, foreclose on the collateral granted to them to collateralize such indebtedness, which excludes our intellectual property, if we are unable to pay the outstanding debt immediately. A breach of covenants and the acceleration of our repayment obligations by PWB could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We face significant competition from large pharmaceutical companies, among others, and our operating results will suffer if we are unable to compete effectively.

We face significant competition from industry players worldwide, including large multi-national pharmaceutical companies, other emerging or smaller pharmaceutical companies, as well as universities and other research institutions.

Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as a larger research and development staff, and more experience in manufacturing and marketing, than we do. As a result, these companies may obtain marketing approval for their product candidates more quickly than we are able to and be more successful in commercializing their products than us. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaboration arrangements that they enter into with large, established companies. We may also face competition as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of new technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in such technologies. Our competitors may also invest heavily in the discovery and development of novel drug products that could make our product candidates less competitive or may file FDA citizen petitions which may delay the approval process for our product candidates.

Furthermore, our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing, on an exclusive basis, pharmaceutical products that are easier to develop, more effective or less costly than any product candidates that we are currently developing or that we may develop. Our competitors may also succeed in developing blocking patents to which we do not have a license.

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Any new drug product that competes with a prior approved drug product must demonstrate advantages in safety, efficacy, tolerability or convenience in order to overcome price competition and to be commercially successful. Our approved products are expected to face competition from drug products that are already on the market, as well as those in our competitors' development pipelines. In particular, we expect that LIQ861 will face competition from Tyvaso®, and Ventavis®, which are existing drug products indicated for the treatment of PAH, potential new entrants such as Insmed Inc.'s INS-1009, as well as generic equivalents of Tyvaso following the expiry of Tyvaso's patent in 2018. We are aware that MannKind Corporation has recently filed an Investigational New Drug application, or IND, and initiated a Phase 1 trial evaluating an inhaled dry powder treprostinil product for the treatment of PAH. We expect LIQ865 to face competition from EXPAREL®, an existing injectable version of bupivacaine. The early success of EXPAREL may make it difficult for us to convince physicians, patients and other members of the medical community to accept and use LIQ865 over EXPAREL. In addition, while EXPAREL is currently the only direct competitor to LIQ865 on the market, Durect Corporation, Innocoll Holdings plc and Heron Therapeutics, Inc. each have products in the pipeline that are potential competitors to LIQ865, which are estimated to enter the market in 2018 or 2019, and generic equivalents of EXPAREL may enter the market following the expiry of EXPAREL's patent in 2018. If we are unable to maintain our competitive position, our business and prospects will be materially and adversely affected. See "Business — Competition" for further details.

The pharmaceutical industry is subject to rapid technological change, which could affect the commercial viability of our products.

The pharmaceutical industry is subject to rapid and significant technological change. Research, discoveries or inventions by others may result in medical insights or breakthroughs which render our products less competitive or even obsolete. Furthermore, there may be breakthroughs of new pharmaceutical technologies which may become superior to our PRINT technology that may result in the loss of our commercial advantage. Our future success will, in part, depend on our ability to, among others:

    §
    develop or license new technologies that address the changing needs of the medical community; and

    §
    respond to technological advances and changing industry standards and practices in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Developing technology entails significant technical and business risks and substantial costs. We cannot assure you that we will be able to utilize new technologies effectively or that we will be able to adapt our existing technologies to changing industry standards in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all. If we are unable to keep up with advancements in technology, our competitive position may suffer and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Related to our Business Operations

If we are unable to establish licensing and collaboration arrangements with other pharmaceutical companies on acceptable terms, or at all, we may not be able to develop and commercialize additional product candidates using our PRINT technology.

We have collaborated, and will continue to collaborate, with, among others, pharmaceutical companies such as GSK to expand the applications for our PRINT technology through licensing as well as joint product development arrangements. In addition, if we are able to obtain marketing approval for our product candidates from non-U.S. regulatory authorities, we intend to enter into strategic relationships with international collaborators for the commercialization of such products outside of the United States.

Collaboration and licensing arrangements are complex and time-consuming to negotiate, document, implement and maintain. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish collaboration or other alternative arrangements should we so choose to enter into such arrangements. In addition, the terms of any collaboration or other arrangements that we may enter into may not be favorable to us or may restrict our

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ability to enter into further collaboration or other arrangements with others. For example, collaboration agreements may contain exclusivity arrangements which limit our ability to work with other pharmaceutical companies to expand the applications for our PRINT technology, as in the case of our exclusivity arrangements with GSK.

If we are unable to establish licensing and collaboration arrangements or the terms of such agreements we enter into are unfavorable to us or restrict our ability to work with other pharmaceutical companies, we may not be able to expand the applications for our PRINT technology or commercialize our approved products, and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Our collaboration and licensing arrangements may not be successful.

Our collaboration and licensing arrangements, as well as any future collaboration and licensing arrangements that we may enter into, may not be successful. The success of our collaboration and licensing arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and activities of our collaborators, which are not within our control. We may, in the course of our collaboration and licensing arrangements, be subject to numerous risks, including, but not limited to, the following:

    §
    our collaborators, including GSK, may have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will contribute;

    §
    our collaborators, including GSK, may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial, abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;

    §
    our collaborators may independently, or in conjunction with others, develop products that compete directly or indirectly with our product candidates;

    §
    we may grant exclusive rights to our collaborators that would restrict us from collaborating with others;

    §
    our collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our intellectual property or proprietary information in a way that gives rise to actual or threatened litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential liability;

    §
    disputes may arise between us and our collaborators, which may cause a delay in or the termination of our research, development or commercialization activities;

    §
    our collaboration and licensing arrangements may be terminated (for example, our development and licensing agreement with G&W Laboratories, Inc., which we mutually terminated in April 2018), and if terminated, may result in our need for additional capital to pursue further drug product development or commercialization;

    §
    our collaborators may own or co-own certain intellectual property arising from our collaboration and licensing arrangements with them, which may restrict our ability to develop or commercialize such intellectual property; and

    §
    our collaborators may alter the strategic direction of their business or may undergo a change of control or management, which may affect the success of our collaboration arrangements with them.

We depend on third parties for clinical and commercial supplies, including a single supplier for the active ingredient of LIQ861.

We depend on third-party suppliers for clinical and commercial supplies, including the active pharmaceutical ingredients which are used in our product candidates. These supplies may not always be available to us at the standards we require or on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and we may not be able to locate alternative suppliers in a timely manner, or at all. If we are unable to obtain necessary clinical or commercial supplies, our manufacturing operations and clinical trials and the clinical trials of our

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collaborators may be delayed or disrupted and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected as a result.

For example, we currently rely on a sole supplier, LGM Pharma, LLC, or LGM Pharma, for treprostinil, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of LIQ861. If LGM Pharma is unable to supply treprostinil to us in the quantities we require, or at all, or otherwise defaults on its supply obligations to us, or if it ceases its relationship with us, we may not be able to obtain alternative supplies of treprostinil from other suppliers on acceptable terms, in a timely manner, or at all. Furthermore, LIQ861 is administered using RS00 Model 8 DPI, a DPI manufactured by Plastiape S.p.A. We purchase treprostinil and our DPI supply pursuant to purchase orders and do not have long-term contracts with either supplier. In the event of any prolonged disruption to our supply of treprostinil or the manufacture and supply of RS00 Model 8 DPI, our ability to develop and commercialize, and the timeline for commercialization of, LIQ861 may be adversely affected.

Our operations are concentrated in Morrisville, North Carolina and interruptions due to natural disasters or other unforeseen events could materially and adversely affect our operations.

All of our current operations are concentrated in Morrisville, North Carolina. A fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake or other disaster or unforeseen event resulting in significant damage to our facilities could significantly disrupt or curtail or require us to cease our operations.

It would be difficult, costly and time-consuming to transfer resources from one facility to another or to repair or replace our facility in the event that it is significantly damaged. In addition, our insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our losses and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

In addition, if one of our suppliers experiences a similar disaster or unforeseen event, we could face significant delays in obtaining our supplies or be required to source for supplies from an alternative supplier and may incur substantial costs as a result. Any significant uninsured loss, prolonged or repeated disruption to operations or inability to operate, experienced by us or by our suppliers could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. From time to time and in the future, our operations may involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials, and may also produce hazardous waste products. Even if we contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and waste products, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from the use or disposal of our hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties for failure to comply with such laws and regulations.

We maintain workers' compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials, but this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. However, we do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us.

In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Current or future environmental laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. In addition, failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.

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We may be exposed to claims and may not be able to obtain or maintain adequate product liability insurance.

Our business is exposed to the risk of product liability and other liability risks that are inherent in the development, manufacture, clinical testing and marketing of pharmaceutical products. These risks exist even if a product is approved for commercial sale by the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries and manufactured in licensed facilities. Our current product candidates, LIQ861 and LIQ865, are designed to affect important bodily functions and processes. Any side effects, manufacturing defects, misuse or abuse associated with our products could result in injury to a patient or even death.

Claims that are successfully brought against us could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Further, even if we are successful in defending claims brought against us, our reputation could suffer. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may also result in, among others:

    §
    a decreased demand for our products;

    §
    a withdrawal or recall of our products from the market;

    §
    a withdrawal of participants from our ongoing clinical trials;

    §
    the distraction of our management's attention from our core business activities to defend such claims;

    §
    additional costs to us; and

    §
    a loss of revenue.

Our insurance may not provide adequate coverage against our potential liabilities. Furthermore, we, our collaborators or our licensees may not be able to obtain or maintain insurance on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, our collaborators or licensees may not be willing to indemnify us against these types of liabilities and may not themselves be sufficiently insured or have sufficient assets to satisfy any product liability claims. To the extent that they are uninsured or uninsurable, claims or losses that may be suffered by us, our collaborators or our licensees may have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on skilled labor, and our business and prospects may be adversely affected if we lose the services of our skilled personnel, including those in senior management, or are unable to attract new skilled personnel.

Our ability to continue our operations and manage our potential future growth depends on our ability to hire and retain suitably skilled and qualified employees, including those in senior management, in the long term. Due to the specialized nature of our work, there is a limited supply of suitable candidates. We compete with other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, educational and research institutions and government entities, among others, for research, technical and clinical personnel. In addition, in order to manage our potential future growth effectively, we will need to improve our financial controls and systems and, as necessary, recruit sales, marketing, managerial and finance personnel. If we are unable to attract and retain skilled personnel, including those in senior management, including Neal Fowler, our Chief Executive Officer, and Kevin Gordon, our President and Chief Financial Officer, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Our employees and our independent contractors, principal investigators, contract research organizations, or CROs, consultants or commercial collaborators, as well as their respective sub-contractors, if any, may engage in misconduct or fail to comply with certain regulatory standards and requirements, which could expose us to liability and adversely affect our reputation.

Our employees and our independent contractors, principal investigators, CROs, consultants or commercial collaborators, as well as their respective sub-contractors, if any, may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity, which may include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct that violates, among others,

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(a) FDA laws and regulations, or those of comparable regulatory authorities in other countries, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to the FDA, (b) manufacturing standards, (c) healthcare fraud and abuse laws or (d) laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. For example, such persons may improperly use or misrepresent information obtained in the course of our clinical trials, create fraudulent data in our preclinical studies or clinical trials or misappropriate our drug products, which could result in regulatory sanctions being imposed on us and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible for us to identify or deter misconduct by our employees and third parties, and any precautions we may take to detect or prevent such misconduct may not be effective. Any misconduct or failure by our employees and our independent contractors, principal investigators, CROs, consultants or commercial collaborators, as well as their respective sub-contractors, if any, to comply with the applicable laws or regulations may expose us to governmental investigations, other regulatory action or lawsuits. If any action is instituted against us as a result of the alleged misconduct of our employees or other third parties, regardless of the final outcome, our reputation may be adversely affected and our business may suffer as a result. If we are unsuccessful in defending against any such action, we may also be liable to significant fines or other sanctions, which could have a material and adverse effect on us.

We may acquire businesses, products or product candidates, or form strategic alliances or create joint ventures, in the future, and we may not realize the benefits of such transactions.

We may acquire additional businesses, products or product candidates, form strategic alliances or create joint ventures with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our existing business, although we have no current agreements, commitments or understandings to do so. If we acquire businesses with promising markets or technologies, we may not be able to realize the benefit of acquiring such businesses if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. We may encounter numerous difficulties in developing, manufacturing and marketing any new products or product candidates resulting from a strategic alliance or acquisition that delay or prevent us from realizing their expected benefits or enhancing our business. We cannot assure you that, following any such acquisition, strategic alliance or joint venture, we will achieve the expected synergies to justify the transaction.

System failures may disrupt our business operations and delay our product development programs and commercialization activities.

Our systems, including computer systems, and those of our collaborators, contractors and consultants are vulnerable to, among others, unauthorized access, equipment failure and damage from computer viruses as well as cyber hackers. In the event of a material system failure or security breach of, or significant damage to, our systems, our business operations may be disrupted, and our product development programs and commercialization activities may be delayed. For example, failure of or damage to equipment leading to a loss of our clinical trial data could result in delays to the process of obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates, as well as significant and unexpected expenditure to recover or reproduce the lost data. To the extent that any disruption or damage to or security breach of the systems of our collaborators, contractors or consultants results in a loss of our data or applications, or the disclosure of our confidential information, our business may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of our Product Candidates

The marketing approval processes of the FDA and comparable regulatory authorities in other countries are unpredictable and our product candidates may be subject to multiple rounds of review or may not receive marketing approval.

We have not previously submitted an NDA to the FDA or similar drug approval filings to comparable regulatory authorities in other countries for any product candidate, and we cannot assure you that any of our product candidates will receive marketing approval.

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Filing an application and obtaining marketing approval for a pharmaceutical product candidate is an extensive, lengthy, expensive and inherently uncertain process, and regulatory authorities may delay, limit or deny approval of our product candidates for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:

    §
    the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may refuse to file an NDA or similar drug approval filing if they deem the application to be incomplete;

    §
    the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may disagree with the design, scope or implementation of our clinical trials;

    §
    we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries that our product candidate is safe and effective for its proposed indication, or that its clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;

    §
    the results of our clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries;

    §
    the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may disagree with the number, design, size, conduct or statistical analysis of one or more of our clinical trials;

    §
    the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may disagree with our interpretation of data from our preclinical studies or clinical trials;

    §
    the data collected from our clinical trials may not be sufficient to support the submission of an NDA or similar drug approval filing to the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries;

    §
    the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may not approve of our manufacturing processes or facilities or those of our third-party manufacturers, which would be required to be corrected prior to marketing approval;

    §
    the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may require development of a costly and extensive risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, as a condition of approval;

    §
    the success or further approval of competing products approved in indications similar to those of our product candidates may change the standards for approval of our product candidates in their proposed indications; and

    §
    the approval policies of the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may change in a manner that renders our clinical data insufficient for approval.

In addition, the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may, in their sole discretion, change their views in respect of regulatory pathways they had previously affirmed or clinical trial protocols they were previously not opposed to. While we have consulted with the FDA on the appropriate regulatory pathway and clinical trial protocols for our product candidates, LIQ861 and LIQ865, we cannot assure you that the FDA will not revise their position significantly at a later date. In the event that this occurs, the clinical development and commercialization of our product candidates may be delayed or even derailed.

Even if we obtain marketing approval, the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may approve our product candidates for fewer or more limited indications than what we requested approval for, or may include safety warnings or other restrictions that may negatively impact the commercial viability of our product candidates. Likewise, regulatory authorities may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials or the conduct of an expensive REMS, which could significantly reduce the potential for commercial success or viability of our product candidates. We also may not be able to find acceptable collaborators to manufacture our approved drug products in commercial quantities and at acceptable prices, or at all.

We may be unable to continually develop a pipeline of product candidates, which could affect our business and prospects.

A key element of our long-term strategy is to continually develop a pipeline of product candidates by developing proprietary innovations to FDA-approved drug products using our PRINT technology. If we are unable to identify off-patent drug products that we can develop proprietary innovations using our PRINT

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technology or otherwise expand our product candidate pipeline, whether through licensed or co-development opportunities, and obtain marketing approval for such product candidates within the timeframes that we anticipate, or at all, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Our preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be successful and delays to such preclinical studies or clinical trials may cause our costs to increase and significantly impair our ability to commercialize our product candidates. Results of previous clinical trials or interim results of ongoing clinical trials may not be predictive of future results.

Before we are able to commercialize our drug products, we are required to undertake extensive preclinical studies and clinical trials to demonstrate that our drug products are safe and effective for their intended uses. However, we cannot assure you that our drug products will, in preclinical studies and clinical trials, demonstrate the safety and efficacy traits necessary to obtain marketing approval. Due to the nature of drug product development, many product candidates, especially those in early stages of development, may be terminated during development. We have not successfully completed the clinical development of any of our product candidates and, accordingly, do not have a track record of successfully bringing product candidates to market. Furthermore, LIQ861 and LIQ865 have, to date, been tested only in relatively small study populations and, accordingly, the results from our earlier clinical trials may be less reliable than results achieved in larger clinical trials. Additionally, the outcome of preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and preliminary and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results.

Preclinical studies and clinical trials may fail due to factors such as flaws in trial design, dose selection and patient enrollment criteria. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not be indicative of the results of subsequent clinical trials. Product candidates may, in later stages of clinical testing, fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through preclinical studies and earlier clinical trials. Moreover, there may be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different trials of the same product candidate due to factors including, but not limited to, changes in trial protocols, differences in the composition of the patient population, adherence to the dosing regimen and other trial protocols and the rate of drop-out among patients in a clinical trial. If our preclinical studies or clinical trials are not successful and we are unable to bring our product candidates to market as a result, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Furthermore, conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials is a costly and time-consuming process. The length of time required to conduct the required studies and trials may vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of the product candidate. A single clinical trial may take up to several years to complete. Moreover, our preclinical studies and clinical trials may be delayed or halted due to various factors, including, among others:

    §
    delays in raising the funding necessary to initiate or continue a clinical trial;

    §
    delays in manufacturing sufficient quantities of product candidates for clinical trials;

    §
    delays in reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective contract research organizations and clinical trial sites;

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    delays in obtaining institutional review board approval at clinical trial sites;

    §
    delays in recruiting suitable patients to participate in a clinical trial;

    §
    delays in patients' completion of clinical trials or their post-treatment follow up;

    §
    regulatory authorities' interpretation of our preclinical and clinical data; and

    §
    unforeseen safety issues, including a high and unacceptable severity, or prevalence, of undesirable side effects or adverse events caused by our product candidates or similar drug products or product candidates.

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If our preclinical studies or clinical trials are delayed, the commercialization of our product candidates will be delayed and as a result, we may incur substantial additional costs or not be able to recoup our investment in the development of our product candidates, which would have a material and adverse effect on our business.

We are planning to pursue the FDA 505(b)(2) pathway for all of our current product candidates. If we are unable to rely on the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway to apply for marketing approval of our product candidates in the United States, seeking approval of these product candidates through the 505(b)(1) new drug application, or NDA, pathway would require full reports of investigations of safety and effectiveness, and the process of obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates would likely be significantly longer and more costly.

Our business model is to develop our own drug products in addition to collaborating with, among others, pharmaceutical companies such as GSK to develop drug products. We are currently focused on developing drug products that can be approved under abbreviated regulatory pathways in the United States, such as the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which permits the filing of an NDA where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies that were not conducted by or for the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference. Section 505(b)(2), if applicable to us, would allow an NDA we submit to the FDA to rely in part on data in the public domain or the FDA's prior conclusions regarding the safety and effectiveness of approved compounds, which could expedite the development program for a product candidate by potentially decreasing the amount of clinical data that we would need to generate in order to obtain FDA approval. We plan to pursue this pathway for our current product candidates. Even if the FDA allows us to rely on the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we cannot assure you that such marketing approval will be obtained in a timely manner, or at all.

The FDA may require us to perform additional clinical trials to support any change from the reference listed drug, which could be time-consuming and substantially delay our receipt of marketing approval. Also, as has been the experience of others in our industry, our competitors may file citizens' petitions with the FDA to contest approval of our NDA, which may delay or even prevent the FDA from approving any NDA that we submit under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. If an FDA decision or action relative to our product candidate, or the FDA's interpretation of Section 505(b)(2) more generally, is successfully challenged, it could result in delays or even prevent the FDA from approving a 505(b)(2) application for our product candidates. Even if we are able to utilize the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, a drug approved via this pathway may be subject to the same post-approval limitations, conditions and requirements as any other drug.

In addition, we may face patent infringement lawsuits in relation to our NDAs submitted under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which may further delay or prevent the review or approval of our product candidates. The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, and 505(b)(2) NDAs are subject to special requirements designed to protect the patent rights of sponsors of previously approved drugs that are referenced in a 505(b)(2) NDA. A claim by the applicant that a patent is invalid or will not be infringed is subject to challenge by the patent holder, requirements may give rise to patent litigation and mandatory 30-month delays in approval of a 505(b)(2) application. It is not uncommon for a manufacturer of an approved product to file a citizen petition with the FDA seeking to delay approval of, or impose additional approval requirements for, pending competing products. If successful, such petitions can significantly delay, or even prevent, the approval of the new product. However, even if the FDA ultimately denies such a petition, the FDA may substantially delay approval while it considers and responds to the petition.

If the FDA determines that our product candidates do not qualify for the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we would need to reconsider our plans and might not be able to commercialize our product candidates in a cost-efficient manner, or at all. If we were to pursue approval under the 505(b)(1) NDA pathway, we would be subject to more extensive requirements and risks such as conducting additional clinical trials, providing additional data and information or meeting additional standards for marketing approval. As a result, the

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time and financial resources required to obtain marketing approval for our product candidates would likely increase substantially and further complications and risks associated with our product candidates may arise. Also, new competing products may reach the market faster than ours, which may materially and adversely affect our competitive position, business and prospects.

Product candidates that the FDA deems to be combination products, such as LIQ861, or that otherwise rely on innovative drug delivery systems, may face additional challenges, risks and delays in the product development and regulatory approval process.

The FDA has indicated that it considers LIQ861, which is delivered by a DPI, to be a drug-device combination product and, accordingly, the DPI will be evaluated as part of our NDA filing. When evaluating products that utilize a specific drug delivery system or device, the FDA will evaluate the characteristics of that delivery system and its functionality, as well as the potential for undesirable interactions between the drug and the delivery system, including the potential to negatively impact the safety or effectiveness of the drug. The FDA review process can be more complicated for combination products, and may result in delays, particularly if novel delivery systems are involved. We rely on third parties for the design and manufacture of the delivery systems for our products, including the DPI for LIQ861, and in some cases for the right to refer to their data on file with the FDA or other regulators. Quality or design concerns with the delivery system, or commercial disputes with these third parties, could delay or prevent regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates.

Our product candidates are based on our proprietary, novel technology, PRINT, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of development and of subsequently obtaining regulatory approval.

Our future success depends on the successful development of our PRINT technology and products based on it, including LIQ861 and, to a lesser degree, LIQ865. To our knowledge, no regulatory authority has granted approval to any person or entity, including us, to market and commercialize drugs using our novel delivery system. We may never receive approval to market and commercialize any product candidate that uses PRINT.

We may encounter difficulties in enrolling patients in our clinical trials.

We may not be able to commence or complete clinical trials for our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials.

Patient enrollment may be affected by, among others:

    §
    the severity of the disease under investigation;

    §
    the design of the clinical trial protocol;

    §
    the size and nature of the patient population;

    §
    eligibility criteria for the clinical trial in question;

    §
    the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under clinical testing, including a high and unacceptable severity, or prevalence, of undesirable side effects or adverse events caused by our product candidates or similar products or product candidates;

    §
    the existing body of safety and efficacy data in respect of the product candidate under clinical testing;

    §
    the proximity of patients to clinical trial sites; and

    §
    the number and nature of competing therapies and clinical trials.

Any negative results we may report in clinical trials of our product candidates may also make it difficult or impossible to recruit and retain patients in other clinical trials of that same product candidate.

In particular, we will be required to identify and enroll a sufficient number of patients with PAH for the Phase 3 clinical trial of LIQ861. PAH is a rare disease with a relatively small patient population, and our

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enrollment of clinical trial participants may be slow as a result. Furthermore, we are aware of a number of therapies for PAH that are being developed or that are already available on the market, and we expect to face competition from these investigational drugs or approval drugs for potential subjects in our clinical trials, which may delay enrollment in our planned clinical trials.

Delays or failures in planned patient enrollment or retention may result in increased costs, program delays, or both. We may, as a result of such delays or failures, be unable to carry out our clinical trials as planned or within the timeframe that we expect or at all, and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected as a result.

If a competitor obtains orphan drug designation from the FDA for the same drug and same indication as we are seeking for a product candidate, and then obtains approval of that drug for that condition before we do, the resulting FDA exclusivity would significantly delay our ability to commercialize that product candidate.

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan drug designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition—generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States or that affects more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that costs of research and development of the drug for the indication can be recovered by sales of the drug in the United States. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA.

After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the generic identity of the drug and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process. The first applicant to receive FDA approval for a particular active ingredient to treat a particular disease or condition with orphan drug designation is entitled to a seven-year exclusive marketing period in the United States for that product in that indication. Among the other benefits of orphan drug designation are tax credits for certain research and a waiver of the NDA application user fee.

During the exclusivity period, the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug for the same disease or condition, except in limited circumstances, such as if the second applicant demonstrates the clinical superiority of its product to the product with orphan drug exclusivity through a demonstration of superior safety, superior efficacy or a major contribution to patient care, or if the manufacturer of the product with orphan exclusivity is not able to assure sufficient quantities of the product. "Same drug" means a drug that contains the same identity of the active moiety if it is a drug composed of small molecules, or of the principal molecular structural features if it is composed of macromolecules and is intended for the same use as a previously approved drug, except that if the subsequent drug can be shown to be clinically superior to the first drug, it will not be considered to be the same drug. Drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug for the same disease or condition, or the same drug for a different disease or condition.

We have conducted, and may in the future conduct, clinical trials for our product candidates outside the United States and the FDA may not accept data from such trials.

Although the FDA may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States in support of safety and efficacy claims for our product candidates, if not conducted under an IND, this is subject to certain conditions set out in 21 C.F.R. § 312.120. For example, in order for the FDA to accept data from such a foreign clinical trial, the study must have been conducted in accordance with Good Clinical Practice, or GCP, including review and approval by an independent ethics committee and obtaining the informed consent from subjects of the clinical trials. The FDA must also be able to validate the data from the study through an onsite inspection if the agency deems it necessary. In addition, foreign clinical data submitted to support FDA applications should be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice. Other

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factors that may affect the acceptance of foreign clinical data include differences in clinical conditions, study populations or regulatory requirements between the United States and the foreign country.

We conducted the early Phase 1a clinical trial of LIQ865 in Denmark, and not under an IND, and may, in the future, conduct the clinical trials of our product candidates outside the United States. The FDA may not accept such foreign clinical data, and in such event, we may be required to re-conduct the relevant clinical trials within the United States, which would be costly and time-consuming, and which could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to carry out our business plans.

We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials.

We currently rely on, and plan to continue to rely on, third-party CROs to monitor and manage data for our preclinical studies and clinical trials. However, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable regulatory standards and our reliance on CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities.

The CROs on which we rely are required to comply with FDA regulations (and the regulations of comparable regulatory authorities in other countries) regarding GCP. Regulatory authorities enforce GCP standards through periodic inspections. If any of the CROs on which we rely fail to comply with the applicable GCP standards, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable. While we have contractual agreements with these CROs, we have limited influence over their actual performance and cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our preclinical studies and clinical trials. A failure to comply with the applicable regulations in the conduct of the preclinical studies and clinical trials for our product candidates may require us to repeat such studies or trials, which would delay the process of obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates and have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects.

Some of our CROs have the ability to terminate their respective agreements with us if, among others, it can be reasonably demonstrated that the safety of the patients participating in our clinical trials warrants such termination. If any of our agreements with our CROs is terminated, and if we are not able to enter into agreements with alternative CROs on acceptable terms or in a timely manner, or at all, the clinical development of our product candidates may be delayed and our development expenses could be increased.

Our facilities are subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements and failure to comply with these regulations may result in significant liability.

Our company and our facilities are subject to payment of fees, ongoing review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with quality system regulations, including the FDA's current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, requirements. These regulations cover all aspects of the manufacturing, testing, quality control and record-keeping of our drug products. Furthermore, the facilities where our product candidates are manufactured may be subject to inspection by the FDA before we can obtain marketing approval and remain subject to periodic inspection even after our product candidates have received marketing approval. Suppliers of components and materials such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, used to manufacture our drug products are also required to comply with the applicable regulatory standards.

The manufacture of pharmaceutical products is complex and requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls. We and any contract manufacturers that we may engage in the future must comply with cGMP requirements. Manufacturers of pharmaceutical products often encounter difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up and validating initial production and contamination controls. These problems include difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the product, quality assurance testing, operator error, 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 our

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product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities in which our product candidates are made, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination.

Compliance with these regulatory standards often requires significant expense and effort. If we or our suppliers are unable to comply with the applicable regulatory standards or take satisfactory corrective steps in response to adverse results of an inspection, this could result in enforcement action, including, among others, the issue of a public warning letter, a shutdown of or restrictions on our or our suppliers' manufacturing operations, delays in approving our drug products and refusal to permit the import or export of our drug products. Any adverse regulatory action taken against us could subject us to significant liability and harm our business and prospects.

Our current pipeline product candidates, LIQ861 and LIQ865, require extensive clinical data analysis, regulatory review and additional testing. Clinical trials and data analysis can be very expensive, time-consuming and difficult to design and implement. If we are unsuccessful in obtaining regulatory approval for LIQ861 or LIQ865, or any of our product candidates do not provide positive results, we may be required to delay or abandon development of such product, which would have a material adverse impact on our business.

Continuing product development requires additional and extensive clinical testing. Human clinical trials are very expensive and difficult to design and implement, in part because they are subject to rigorous regulatory requirements. The clinical trial process is also time-consuming. We cannot provide any assurance or certainty regarding when we might receive regulatory approval for LIQ861 or LIQ865. Furthermore, failure can occur at any stage of the process, and we could encounter problems that cause us to abandon an NDA filed with the FDA or repeat clinical trials. The commencement and completion of clinical trials for any current or future development product candidate may be delayed by several factors, including:

    §
    unforeseen safety issues;

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    determination of dosing issues;

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    lack of effectiveness during clinical trials;

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    slower than expected rates of patient recruitment;

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    inability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment; and

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    inability or unwillingness of medical investigators to follow our clinical protocols.

In addition, the FDA or an independent institutional review board, or IRB, may suspend our clinical trials at any time if it appears that we are exposing participants to unacceptable health risks or if the FDA finds deficiencies in our IND submissions or the conduct of these trials. Therefore, we cannot provide any assurance or predict with certainty the schedule for future clinical trials. In the event we do not ultimately receive regulatory approval for LIQ861 and LIQ865, we may be required to terminate development of our only product candidates.

Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences following any potential marketing approval.

If our product candidates are associated with undesirable side effects or have characteristics that are unexpected, we may need to abandon our development or limit development to certain uses or subpopulations in which the undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Any serious adverse or undesirable side effects identified during the development of our product candidates, could interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in the denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications, and in turn prevent us from commercializing our product candidates and generating revenues from their sale. In addition, if any of our product candidates receive regulatory approval and we or

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others later identify undesirable adverse effects caused by the product, we could face one or more of the following consequences:

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    regulatory authorities may require the addition of labeling statements, such as a boxed warning or a contraindication, or other safety labeling changes;

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    regulatory authorities may require a REMS;

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    regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval of the product;

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    regulatory authorities may seize the product;

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    we may be required to change the way that the product is administered, or conduct additional clinical trials or we may need to recall the product;

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    we may be subject to litigation or product liability claims fines, injunctions or criminal penalties; and

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    our reputation may suffer.

Even if we obtain marketing approval for our product candidates in the United States, we or our collaborators may not obtain marketing approval for the same product candidates elsewhere.

We may enter into strategic collaboration arrangements with third parties to commercialize our product candidates outside of the United States. In order to market any product candidate outside of the United States, we or our collaborators will be required to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries regarding safety and efficacy. Clinical trials conducted in one country may not be recognized or accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries, and obtaining marketing approval in one country does not mean that marketing approval will be obtained in any other country. Approval processes vary among countries and additional product testing and validation, or additional administrative review periods, may be required from one country to the next.

Seeking marketing approval in countries other than the United States could be costly and time-consuming, especially if additional preclinical studies or clinical trials are required to be conducted. We currently do not have any product candidates approved for sale in any jurisdiction, including non-U.S. markets, and we do not have the experience in obtaining marketing approval in non-U.S. markets. We currently also have not identified any collaborators to market our products outside of the United States and cannot assure you that such collaborators, even if identified, will be able to successfully obtain marketing approval for our product candidates outside of the United States. If we or our collaborators fail to obtain marketing approval in non-U.S. markets, or if such approval is delayed, our target market may be reduced, and our ability to realize the full market potential of our products will be adversely affected.

The terms of approvals, ongoing regulations and post-marketing restrictions for our products may limit how we manufacture and market our products, which could materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

Once marketing approval has been granted, an approved product and its manufacturer and marketer are subject to ongoing review and extensive regulation. The FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs to ensure drugs are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling and regulatory requirements. The FDA imposes stringent restrictions on manufacturers' communications regarding off-label use, and if we do not restrict the marketing of our products only to their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing. We and any potential collaborators we may have in the future, must therefore comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for any of our products for which we or our collaborators obtain marketing approval. Thus, if either of our current product candidates receive marketing approval, the accompanying label may limit the approved use of our product, which could limit sales of the product.

In addition, manufacturers of approved products and those manufacturers' facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA requirements, such as ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to cGMP applicable to drug manufacturers, which include requirements relating to quality control

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and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation and reporting requirements. We, any contract manufacturers we may engage in the future, our future collaborators, licensees and their contract manufacturers will also be subject to other regulatory requirements, including submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration and listing requirements, requirements regarding the distribution of samples to clinicians, recordkeeping and costly post-marketing studies or clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product such as the requirement to implement a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy.

Our products may not achieve market acceptance.

Our business model is to develop our own drug products in addition to collaborating with, among others, pharmaceutical companies such as GSK to develop drug products. We are currently focused on developing drug products that can be approved under abbreviated regulatory pathways in the United States, such as the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which allows us to rely on existing knowledge of the safety and efficacy of the relevant reference listed drugs to support our applications for approval in the United States. While we believe that it will be less difficult for us to convince physicians, patients and other members of the medical community to accept and use our drug products as compared to entirely new drugs, our drug products may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, other healthcare providers and third-party payors. If any of our drug products fail to achieve sufficient market acceptance, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of our drug products, if and when they are approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

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    the timing of our receipt of marketing approvals, the terms of such approvals and the countries in which such approvals are obtained;

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    the safety, efficacy, reliability and ease of administration of our drug products;

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    the prevalence and severity of undesirable side effects and adverse events;

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    the extent of the limitations or warnings required by the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries to be contained in the labeling of our drug products;

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    the clinical indications for which our drug products are approved;

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    the availability and perceived advantages of alternative therapies;

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    any publicity related to our drug products or those of our competitors;

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    the quality and price of competing drug products;

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    our ability to obtain third-party payor coverage and sufficient reimbursement;

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    the willingness of patients to pay out of pocket in the absence of third-party payor coverage; and

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    the selling efforts and commitment of our commercialization collaborators.

If our approved drug products fail to receive a sufficient level of market acceptance, our ability to generate revenue from sales of our drug products will be limited, and our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

The commercial success of our drug products depends on the availability and sufficiency of third-party payor coverage and reimbursement.

Patients in the United States and elsewhere generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse part or all of the costs associated with their prescription drugs. Accordingly, market acceptance of our drug products is dependent on the extent to which third-party coverage and reimbursement is available from government health administration authorities (including in connection with government healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid in the United States), private healthcare insurers and other healthcare funding organizations.

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Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any drug products for which we may obtain regulatory approval. Coverage decisions may not favor new drug products when more established or lower-cost therapeutic alternatives are already available. Even if we obtain coverage for a given drug product, the associated reimbursement rate may not be adequate to cover our costs, including research, development, intellectual property, manufacture, sale and distribution expenses, or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Patients are unlikely to use our products unless reimbursement is adequate to cover all or a significant portion of the cost of our drug products.

Coverage and reimbursement policies for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor as there is no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for drug products among third-party payors in the United States. There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement as the process of determining coverage and reimbursement is often time-consuming and costly which will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage or adequate reimbursement will be obtained. It is difficult to predict at this time what government authorities and third-party payors will decide with respect to coverage and reimbursement for our drug products.

The market for our product candidates will depend significantly on access to third-party payors' drug formularies, or lists of medications for which third-party payors provide coverage and reimbursement. Competition to be included in such formularies often leads to downward pricing pressures. In particular, third-party payors may refuse to include a particular reference listed drug in their formularies or otherwise restrict patient access to a reference listed drug when a less costly generic equivalent or other alternative is available. In particular, given that several therapeutically similar drug products to LIQ861, including oral and parenteral prostacyclins, are available on the market, managed care organizations may minimize the utilization of a new to market product and accordingly, we expect that LIQ861, if and when it is approved, will operate in a highly cost-constrained environment. Similarly, as there are a number of generic and branded therapeutic alternatives to LIQ865 in the post-operative pain market, there is a significant risk that we may not be placed on the formularies of key institutions and/or receive favorable reimbursement for LIQ865, if and when it is approved.

The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governmental entities have shown significant interest in implementing cost containment programs to limit the growth of government-paid healthcare costs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and coverage and requirements for substitution of generic products for branded prescription drugs. Adoption of government controls and measures, and tightening of restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could exclude or limit our drugs products from coverage and limit payments for pharmaceuticals.

In addition, we expect that the increased emphasis on managed care and cost containment measures in the United States by third-party payors and government authorities to continue and will place pressure on pharmaceutical pricing and coverage. Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more drug products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.

If we are unable to obtain and maintain sufficient third-party coverage and adequate reimbursement for our drug products, the commercial success of our drug products may be greatly hindered and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our products may be subject to reduced prices negotiated by certain group purchasing organizations that could adversely impact our product revenue.

Our customers may organize with each other or with third parties, such as distributors, manufacturers or hospitals, to negotiate prices that are lower than we may have been able to obtain from each of them

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individually. In such event, our ability to generate any product revenue, and consequently, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to build our marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our drug products.

In order to market and sell any of our approved drug products, we will be required to build our marketing and sales capabilities. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in doing so or be able to do so in a cost-effective manner. In addition, we may enter into collaboration arrangements with third parties to market our drug products outside of the United States. We may face significant competition for collaborators. In addition, collaboration arrangements may be time-consuming to negotiate and document. We cannot assure you that we will be able to negotiate collaborations for the marketing and sales of our drug products outside of the United States on acceptable terms, or at all. Even if we do enter into such collaborations, we cannot assure you that our collaborators will be successful in commercializing our products. If we or our collaborators are unable to successfully commercialize our drug products whether in the United States or elsewhere, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

The off-label use or misuse of our products may harm our image in the marketplace, result in injuries that lead to costly product liability suits, or result in costly investigations and regulatory agency sanctions under certain circumstances if we are deemed to have engaged in the promotion of these uses, any of which could be costly to our business.

We are developing LIQ861 for the treatment of PAH and LIQ865 for the treatment of local post-operative pain. If our product candidates are cleared by the FDA for these specific indications, we may only promote or market our product candidates for their specifically cleared or approved indications. We will train our marketing and sales force against promoting our product candidates for uses outside of the cleared or approved indications for use, known as "off-label uses." We cannot, however, prevent a physician from using our products off-label, when in the physician's independent professional medical judgment he or she deems it appropriate. There may be increased risk of injury to patients if physicians attempt to use our products for these uses for which they are not approved. Furthermore, the use of our products for indications other than those approved by the FDA may not effectively treat such conditions, which could harm our reputation in the marketplace among physicians and patients.

If the FDA determines that our promotional materials or training constitute promotion of an off-label or other improper use, it could request that we modify our training or promotional materials, or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions, including the issuance of an untitled letter, a warning letter, injunction, seizure, civil fine or criminal penalties. It is also possible that other federal, state or foreign enforcement authorities might take action if they consider our business activities to constitute promotion of an off-label use, which could result in significant penalties, including, but not limited to, criminal, civil or administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs and the curtailment of our operations.

These regulations or codes may limit our ability to effectively market our products, or we could run afoul of the requirements imposed by these regulations, causing reputational harm and impose potentially substantial costs on us.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for a product candidate, our products and business will remain subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and review.

If our product candidates are approved, they will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, sampling, record-keeping, conduct of post-marketing studies and submission of safety, efficacy and other post-market information, including both federal and state requirements in the United States and comparable requirements outside of the United States. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control.

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Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product 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 product candidate. The FDA may also require a REMS as a condition of approval of our product candidates, which could include requirements for a medication guide, physician communication plans or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. We will also be required to report certain adverse reactions and production problems, if any, to the FDA or other regulatory agencies and to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product's approved label. As such, we may not promote our products for indications or uses for which they do not have FDA or other regulatory agency approval. The holder of an approved NDA must also submit new or supplemental applications and obtain FDA approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling, or manufacturing process. We could also be asked to conduct post-marketing clinical studies to verify the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in general or in specific patient subsets. An unsuccessful post-marketing study or failure to complete such a clinical study could result in the withdrawal of marketing approval. Furthermore, any new legislation addressing drug safety issues could result in delays in product development or commercialization or increased costs to assure compliance. Foreign regulatory authorities impose similar requirements. If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of a product, such regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency or enforcement authority may, among other things:

    §
    issue warning letters asserting that we are in violation of the law;

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    seek an injunction or impose civil or criminal penalties or monetary fines;

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    suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;

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    suspend any of our ongoing clinical trials;

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    refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications submitted by us or our strategic partners;

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    restrict the marketing or manufacturing of our products;

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    seize or detain products, or require a product recall;

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    refuse to permit the import or export of our product candidates; or

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    refuse to allow us to enter into government contracts.

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to commercialize and generate revenue from our product candidates. If regulatory sanctions are applied or if regulatory approval is withdrawn, the value of our company and our operating results will be adversely affected.

We also cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative or executive action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or 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 adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

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If our product candidates are approved for commercialization outside of the United States, we may be exposed to a number of risks associated with international business operations.

If our product candidates are approved for commercialization outside of the United States, we may market our approved drug products ourselves, or we may enter into agreements with third parties to market the aforesaid drug products outside of the United States. In such event, we may be subject to risks related to international business operations, including, but not limited to:

    §
    varying levels of protection for intellectual property rights;

    §
    changes in tariffs and the imposition of trade barriers;

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    economic weakness, including inflation or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets;

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    compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws in respect of employees living or traveling abroad;

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    foreign tax laws;

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    currency fluctuations; and

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    business interruptions resulting from geopolitical actions, such as wars and terrorist attacks, among others, or natural disasters, such as fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, among others.

If the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries approve generic versions of our product candidates, or do not grant our product candidates a sufficient period of market exclusivity before approving their generic versions, our ability to generate revenue may be adversely affected.

Once an NDA is approved, the drug product covered will be listed as a reference listed drug in the FDA's Orange Book. In the United States, manufacturers of drug products may seek approval of generic versions of reference listed drugs through the submission of abbreviated new drug applications, or ANDAs. In support of an ANDA, a generic manufacturer is generally required to show that its product has the same active pharmaceutical ingredient(s), dosage form, strength, route of administration and conditions of use or labelling as the reference listed drug and that the generic version is bioequivalent to the reference listed drug. Generic drug products may be significantly less expensive to bring to market than the reference listed drug, and companies that produce generic drug products are generally able to offer them at lower prices. Thus, following the introduction of a generic drug product, a significant percentage of the sales of any reference listed drug may be lost to the generic drug product.

The FDA will not approve an ANDA for a generic drug product until the applicable period of market exclusivity for the reference listed drug has expired. The applicable period of market exclusivity varies depending on the type of exclusivity granted. A grant of market exclusivity is separate from the existence of patent protection and manufacturers may seek to launch generic versions of our drug products following the expiry of their respective marketing exclusivity periods, even if our drug products are still under patent protection at the relevant time.

Any competition that our product candidates may face, if and when such product candidates are approved for marketing and commercialized, from generic versions could substantially limit our ability to realize a return on our investment in the development of our product candidates and have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects.

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Our drug products may be subject to recalls, withdrawals, seizures or other enforcement actions by the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or previously unknown problems with our drug products are discovered after they reach the market.

The FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other countries may withdraw approval of our drug products if we fail to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements or if problems occur after our drug products reach the market. The discovery of previously unknown problems with a drug product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, problems with manufacturing processes or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, including the requirement to promote a drug product only for its approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of its approved label, may result in, among others:

    §
    restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product recalls;

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    warning letters or holds on post-approval clinical trials;

    §
    refusal of the FDA to approve pending NDAs or supplements to approved NDAs, or suspension or revocation of product license approvals;

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    product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of the product; or

    §
    injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

In the event that our drug products are subject to recalls, withdrawals, seizures or other enforcement actions by the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities, our reputation and demand for our drug products could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, we may incur significant and unexpected expenditure and management attention may be diverted in connection with any such recall, withdrawal, seizure or other enforcement action or any corrective action required to be taken, which could have a material and adverse impact on our business and financial condition.

We may not be able to respond effectively to changing consumer preferences and demand.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate and respond to changing consumer trends and preferences in the pharmaceutical industry. We may not be able to respond to these changes in a timely or commercially effective manner or at all. Our failure to accurately predict these trends could negatively impact our inventory levels, sales and reputation. The commercial success of our drug products will depend upon a number of factors, including our ability to, among others:

    §
    anticipate consumers' therapeutic needs;

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    innovate, develop and commercialize new drug products in a timely manner;

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    competitively price our drug products;

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    procure and maintain our drug products in sufficient volumes and in a timely manner; and

    §
    differentiate our drug products from those of our competitors.

If we are unable to introduce new drug products, develop improvements to our existing drug products or maintain the appropriate inventory levels to meet our customers' demand in a timely manner or at all, our business and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to engage third-party contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, to manufacture our approved drug products on a commercial scale to meet commercial demand for our drug products.

We may, in the future, rely on third-party CMOs or enter into manufacturing joint ventures with third parties to manufacture our approved drug products on a commercial scale. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to contract with such third parties on acceptable terms, if at all, or that such third parties will satisfy our quality standards or meet our supply requirements in a timely manner, if at all. In addition, only a limited number of manufacturers are capable of supplying pharmaceutical products. The manufacturing process for our drug products will be highly regulated, and we will need to contract with manufacturers that can meet the relevant regulatory requirements on an ongoing basis. If the third-party manufacturers with

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whom we contract fail to perform their obligations, we may not be able to meet commercial demand for our drug products, which would have a material and adverse impact on our business.

Risks Related to our Intellectual Property

Our commercial success depends largely on our ability to protect our intellectual property.

Our commercial success depends, in large part, on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection and trade secret protection in the United States and elsewhere in respect of our product candidates and PRINT technology. If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, our competitors may be able to erode, negate or preempt any competitive advantage we may have. To protect our competitive position, we have filed and will continue to file for patents in the United States and elsewhere in respect of our product candidates and PRINT technology. The process of identifying patentable subject matter and filing a patent application is expensive and time-consuming. We cannot assure you that we will be able to file the necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost, in a timely manner, or at all. Further, since certain patent applications are confidential until patents are issued, third parties may have filed patent applications for subject matters covered by our pending patent applications without us being aware of such applications, and our patent applications may not have priority over patent applications of others. In addition, we cannot assure you that our pending patent applications will result in patents being obtained. The standards that patent offices in different jurisdictions use to grant patents are not always applied predictably or uniformly and may be changed.

Even if we have been or are able to obtain patent protection for our product candidates or PRINT technology, if the scope of such patent protection is not sufficiently broad, we may not be able to rely on such patent protection to prevent third parties from developing or commercializing our product candidates or technology. The enforceability of patents in the pharmaceutical industry involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that third parties will not successfully challenge the validity, enforceability or scope of our patents. A successful challenge to our patents may lead to generic versions of our drug products being launched before the expiry of our patents or otherwise limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical products and technology, or the duration of the patent protection of our drug products and technology. If any of our patents are narrowed or invalidated, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to detect unauthorized use or take appropriate, adequate and timely actions to enforce our intellectual property rights. If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, our business, competitive position and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Even if our patents or patent applications are unchallenged, they may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent third parties from designing around our claims. If the patent applications we file or may file do not lead to patents being granted or if the scope of any of our patent applications is challenged, we may face difficulties in developing our product candidates, companies may be dissuaded from collaborating with us, and our ability to commercialize our product candidates may be materially and adversely affected. We are unable to predict which of our patent applications will lead to patents or assure you that any of our patents will not be found invalid or unenforceable or challenged by third parties. The patents of others may prevent the commercialization of product candidates incorporating our technology. In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, clinical testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, the patent protecting our product candidates may expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized, if at all.

Moreover, the issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to the inventorship of the patented subject matter, or its scope, validity or enforceability. We cannot assure you that all of the potentially relevant prior art, that is, any evidence that an invention is already known, relating to our patents and patent applications, has

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been found. If such prior art exists, it may be used to invalidate a patent or may prevent a patent from being issued.

In addition, we, our collaborators or our licensees may fail to identify patentable aspects of inventions made in the course of development and commercialization activities before it is too late to obtain patent protection on them. As a result, we may miss potential opportunities to strengthen our patent position.

If we are unable to protect our trade secrets, the value of our PRINT technology and product candidates may be negatively impacted, which would have a material and adverse effect on our competitive position and prospects.

In addition to patent protection, we rely on trade secret protection to protect certain aspects of our intellectual property. While we require parties who have access to any portion of our trade secrets, such as our employees, consultants, advisers, CROs, CMOs, collaborators and other third parties, to enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with us, we cannot assure you that these parties will not disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, in breach of their contractual obligations. Enforcing a claim that a party has illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, costly and time-consuming, and we may not be successful in doing so. If the steps we have taken to protect our trade secrets are deemed by the adjudicating court to be inadequate, we may not be able to obtain adequate recourse against a party for misappropriating our trade secrets.

Trade secrets can be difficult to protect as they may, over time, be independently discovered by our competitors or otherwise become known despite our trade secret protection. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by our competitors, we would have no right to prevent such competitors, or those to whom they communicate such technology or information, from using that technology or information to compete with us. Such competitors could attempt to replicate some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe our intellectual property rights, design around our protected technology or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights.

If our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by our competitors, our competitors may be able to exploit our PRINT technology to develop competing product candidates, and the value of our PRINT technology and our product candidates may be negatively impacted. This would have a material and adverse effect on our competitive position and prospects.

We rely on licenses to intellectual property that are owned by third parties.

We have entered and may, in the future, enter into license agreements with third parties to license the rights to use their technologies in our research, development and commercialization activities. License agreements generally impose various diligence, milestone payments, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us, and if we fail to comply with these obligations, our licensors may have the right to terminate these license agreements. Termination of these license agreements or the reduction or elimination of our licensed rights or the exclusivity of our licensed rights may have an adverse impact on, among others, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. We cannot assure you that we will be able to negotiate new or reinstated licenses on commercially acceptable terms, or at all.

In addition, we license certain patent rights for our PRINT technology from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, or UNC, under the UNC Amended and Restated License Agreement, dated as of December 15, 2008, as amended, or the UNC license. Under the UNC License, UNC has the right to terminate our license if we materially breach the agreement and fail to cure such breach within the stipulated time. In the event that UNC terminates our license and we have a product that relies on that license, it may bring a claim against us, and if they are successful, we may be required to compensate UNC for the unauthorized use of their patent rights through the payment of royalties.

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Also, the agreements under which we license patent rights may not give us control over patent prosecution or maintenance, so that we may not be able to control which claims or arguments are presented and may not be able to secure, maintain or successfully enforce necessary or desirable patent protection from those patent rights. We do not have primary control over patent prosecution and maintenance for certain of the patents we license, and therefore cannot assure you that these patents and applications will be prosecuted or maintained in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. We also cannot assure you that patent prosecution and maintenance activities by our licensors, if any, will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in valid and enforceable patents.

Pursuant to the terms of some of our license agreements with third parties, some of our third-party licensors have the right, but not the obligation, in certain circumstances, to control the enforcement of our licensed patents or defense of any claims asserting the invalidity of these patents. Even if we are permitted to pursue such enforcement or defense, we will require the cooperation of our licensors, and we cannot assure you that we will receive such cooperation on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. We also cannot assure you that our licensors will allocate sufficient resources or prioritize their or our enforcement of these patents or defense of these claims to protect our interests in the licensed patents. If we cannot obtain patent protection, or enforce existing or future patents against third parties, our competitive position, business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Further, licenses to intellectual property may not always be available to us on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. In the event that the licenses we rely on are not available to us on commercially acceptable terms, or at all, our ability to commercialize our PRINT technology or product candidates, and our business and prospects, may be materially and adversely affected.

We may become involved in litigation to protect our intellectual property or enforce our intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time-consuming and may not be successful.

Competitors may infringe our patents or misappropriate or otherwise violate our intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may engage in litigation to, among others, enforce or defend our intellectual property rights, determine the validity or scope of our intellectual property rights and those of third parties, and protect our trade secrets. Such actions may be time-consuming and costly and may divert our management's attention from our core business and reduce the resources available for our clinical development, manufacturing and marketing activities, and consequently have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects, regardless of the outcome.

In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent owned by, or licensed to, us is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology in question on the ground that our patents do not cover such technology. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that our confidential information may be compromised by disclosure.

We may be subject to claims that our employees or consultants have wrongfully used or disclosed to us alleged trade secrets of their former employers or other clients.

As is common in our industry, a number of our employees, including our Chief Executive Officer and a number of our executive officers, were formerly employed by other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors, among others, and may have entered into proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements or similar agreements, in connection with such previous employment. Moreover, we engage the services of scientific advisers and consultants to assist us in the development of our products, many of whom were previously employed at or may have previously been or are currently providing consulting or advisory services to, other biotechnology or pharmaceutical

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companies, and who may have also entered into proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition (or similar) agreements with such other companies.

While we require that our employees, scientific advisers and consultants do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we cannot assure you that we will not be subject to claims that we or these employees, scientific advisers or consultants have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed the trade secrets or proprietary information of their former employers or former or present clients in their work for us, especially where such former employers or former or present clients are our competitors or potential competitors. Claims brought against us could cause us to incur unexpected and substantial costs, as well as divert our management's attention from our core business and reduce the resources available for our clinical development, manufacturing and marketing activities. Consequently, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

We may be subject to claims from third parties that our products infringe their intellectual property rights.

The pharmaceutical industry has experienced rapid technological change and obsolescence in the past, and our competitors have strong incentives to stop or delay any introduction of new drug products or related technologies by, among others, establishing intellectual property rights over their drug products or technologies and aggressively enforcing these rights against potential new entrants into the market. We expect that we and other industry participants will be increasingly subject to infringement claims as the number of competitors and drug products grows.

Our commercial success depends in large part upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our drug products or product candidates without infringing on the patents or other proprietary rights of third parties. It is not always clear to industry participants, including us, what the scope of a patent covers. Due to the large number of patents in issue and patent applications filed in our industry, there is a risk that third parties will claim that our products or technologies infringe their intellectual property rights.

Claims for infringement of intellectual property which are brought against us, whether with or without merit, and which are generally uninsurable, could result in time-consuming and costly litigation, diverting our management's attention from our core business and reducing the resources available for our drug product development, manufacturing and marketing activities, and consequently have a material and adverse effect on our business and prospects, regardless of the outcome. Moreover, such proceedings could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not being issued. We also may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of litigation or other proceedings could also have a material and adverse effect on our ability to compete in the market. Third parties making claims against us could obtain injunctive or other equitable relief against us, which could prevent us from further developing or commercializing our product candidates.

In particular, we may be required to include a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement, or a paragraph IV certification, in an NDA submitted under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, to certify that a patent over a reference listed drug is invalid, unenforceable or will not be infringed by the manufacture, use or sale of our product candidate. The holder of such patent may file a patent infringement lawsuit against us after receiving notice of the paragraph IV certification. Any such patent infringement lawsuit, if filed, will trigger a one-time, automatic, 30-month stay of the FDA's ability to approve our application, unless the patent litigation is resolved in our favor or the patent expires before that time. Accordingly, we may invest a significant amount of time and expense in the development of a product candidate only to be subject to significant delay and incur substantial costs in litigation before such product candidate may be commercialized, if at all. Companies that produce reference listed drugs routinely bring claims for patent infringement against applicants under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway that are seeking regulatory approval to manufacture and market generic or reformulated forms of their reference listed drugs.

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In the event of a successful infringement claim against us, including an infringement claim filed in response to a paragraph IV certification, we may be required to pay damages, cease the development or commercialization of our drug products or product candidates, re-engineer or redevelop our drug products or product candidates or enter into royalty or licensing agreements, any of which could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any effort to re-engineer or redevelop our products would require additional monies and time to be expended and may not ultimately be successful.

Infringement claims may be brought against us in the future, and we cannot assure you that we will prevail in any ensuing litigation given the complex technical issues and inherent uncertainties involved in intellectual property litigation. Our competitors may have substantially greater resources than we do and may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation more effectively than we can.

Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our product candidates for an adequate amount of time.

Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after it is filed. While various extensions may be available, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized.

We intend to seek extensions of patent terms in the United States and, if available, in other countries where we prosecute patents. In the United States, the U.S. Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, as amended, or the Hatch-Waxman Act, permits patent owners to request a patent term extension, based on regulatory review period for a product, of up to five years beyond the normal expiration of the patent, which is limited to one patent claiming the approved drug product or use in an indication (or any additional indications approved during the period of extension). However, the applicable authorities, including the FDA and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, in the United States, and comparable regulatory authorities in other countries, may not agree with our assessment of whether such extensions are available, and may refuse to grant extensions to our patents, or grant more limited extensions than we had requested. In such event, our competitors may be able to take advantage of our investment in development and clinical trials by referencing our preclinical and clinical data in their marketing approval applications with the FDA to launch their drug product earlier than might otherwise be the case.

If we fail to comply with various procedural, document submission, fee payment or other requirements imposed by the USPTO or comparable patent agencies in other countries, our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated.

We are required, over the lifetime of an issued patent, to pay periodic maintenance fees to the USPTO and comparable patent agencies in other countries. We are also required by such patent agencies to comply with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other conditions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can, in many cases, be cured by payment of a late fee or other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which non-compliance can result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application, resulting in the partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Such situations include, but are not limited to:

    §
    a failure to respond to official actions within the prescribed time limits;

    §
    the non-payment of fees; and

    §
    a failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents.

If we or our licensors, which control the prosecution and maintenance of patents which we license, fail to maintain the patents or patent applications covering our product candidates or technology, such rights

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would be reduced or eliminated and, consequently, our competitive position, business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Changes in patent laws or interpretations of patent laws in the United States or elsewhere may diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of protection of our patents.

In September 2011, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, was signed into law, and many of the substantive changes became effective in March 2013. The Leahy-Smith Act includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law, including changing the United States patent system from a "first to invent" system to a "first inventor to file" system, expanding the definition of prior art and developing a post-grant review system.

The provisions under the Leahy-Smith Act may affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. It may also weaken our ability to obtain patent protection in the United States for those applications filed after March 16, 2013.

Further, the post-grant review and inter partes review proceedings established under the Leahy-Smith Act have been used by certain parties to cause a cancellation of selected or all claims in relation to the issued patents of their competitors. For a patent with an effective filing date of March 16, 2013 or later, a petition for post-grant review can be filed by a third party in a nine-month window from issuance of the patent. A petition for inter partes review can be filed after the nine-month period for filing a post-grant review petition has expired for a patent with an effective filing date of March 16, 2013 or later. Post-grant review proceedings can be brought on any ground of invalidity, whereas inter partes review proceedings can only raise an invalidity challenge based on published prior art and patents. These adversarial actions at the USPTO review patent claims without the presumption of validity afforded to U.S. patents in lawsuits in U.S. federal courts, and use a lower burden of proof than that used in civil actions in the U.S. federal courts. Therefore, it is generally considered easier for a competitor or third party to have a U.S. patent invalidated in a USPTO post-grant review or inter partes review proceeding than invalidated in a litigation in a U.S. federal court. We cannot assure you that we, our licensors or our collaborators will be successful in defending any challenge by a third party in a USPTO proceeding.

In addition, recent court rulings in the United States have narrowed the scope of patent protection available and weakened the rights of patent owners, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States, or the Supreme Court, issued a decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. invalidating patent claims directed to a process of measuring a metabolic product in a patient to optimize a drug dosage for the patient. In 2013, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. invalidating patent claims directed to the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. In 2017, the Supreme Court issued its decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Food Group Brands, holding that patentees can only sue alleged infringers in their state of incorporation. These rulings deviated from precedents and, accordingly, have created uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future as well as the value of such patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by Congress, the U.S. courts, the USPTO and the relevant law-making bodies in other countries, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would affect our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future.

We may not be able to enforce our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting, enforcing and defending patents on our PRINT technology and our product candidates throughout the world may be prohibitively expensive and may not be financially or commercially feasible. In countries where we have not obtained patent protection, our competitors may be able to use our proprietary technologies to develop competing product candidates.

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Also, the legal systems of non-U.S. jurisdictions may not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States, and we may face significant difficulty in enforcing our intellectual property rights in these jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain developing countries may not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property rights. We may therefore face difficulty in stopping the infringement or misappropriation of our patents or other intellectual property rights in those countries.

We need to protect our trademark, trade name and service mark rights to prevent competitors from taking advantage of our goodwill.

We believe that the protection of our trademark, trade name and service mark rights, such as Liquidia, the Liquidia logo and PRINT, is an important factor in product recognition, protecting our brand, maintaining goodwill and maintaining or increasing market share. We may expend substantial cost and effort in an attempt to register new trademarks, trade names and service marks and maintain and enforce our trademark, trade name and service mark rights. If we do not adequately protect our rights in our trademarks, trade names and service marks from infringement, any goodwill that we have developed in those trademarks could be lost or impaired.

Third parties may claim that the sale or promotion of our products, when and if approved, may infringe on the trademark, trade name and service mark rights of others. Trademark, trade name and service mark infringement problems occur frequently in connection with the sale and marketing of pharmaceutical products. If we become involved in any dispute regarding our trademark, trade name and service mark rights, regardless of whether we prevail, we could be required to engage in costly, distracting and time-consuming litigation that could harm our business. If the trademarks, trade names and service marks we use are found to infringe upon the trademarks, trade names or service marks of another company, we could be liable for damages and be forced to stop using those trademarks, trade names or service marks, and as result, we could lose all the goodwill that has been developed in those trademarks, trade names or service marks.

Risks Related to Healthcare Regulation

We are subject to various laws and regulations, such as healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claim laws and health information privacy and security laws, among others, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations may have an adverse effect on our business.

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors often play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any drug products for which we may obtain marketing approval. Our current and future arrangements with healthcare providers, physicians, third-party payors and customers, and our sales, marketing and educational activities, may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations (at the federal and state level) that may constrain our business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell and distribute our drug products for which we obtain marketing approval.

In addition, we may be subject to transparency laws and patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to, the following:

    §
    the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, persons and entities including pharmaceutical manufacturers from, among other things, knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward, or in return for, either the referral of an individual for or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of an item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under federal healthcare programs such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This statute has been interpreted broadly to apply to, among other things, arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers and formulary managers on the other

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      hand. The term "remuneration" expressly includes kickbacks, bribes or rebates and also has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value, including, for example, gifts, discounts, waivers of payment, ownership interest and providing anything at less than its fair market value. There are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting certain common activities from prosecution or other regulatory sanctions, however, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly, and practices that do not fit squarely within an exception or safe harbor may be subject to scrutiny. The failure to meet all of the requirements of a particular applicable statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor does not make the conduct per se illegal under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Instead, the legality of the arrangement will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on a cumulative review of all of its facts and circumstances. Our practices may not meet all of the criteria for safe harbor protection from federal Anti-Kickback Statute liability in all cases. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act. The U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended, or the ACA, amended the False Claims Act to provide that a claim that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim;

    §
    the federal civil and criminal false claims laws and civil monetary penalty laws, including the False Claims Act, which prohibits individuals or entities from, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment to, or approval by, the federal government that are false, fictitious or fraudulent or knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. As a result of a modification made by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, a claim includes "any request or demand" for money or property presented to the federal government. Although we do not submit claims directly to payors, manufacturers can be held liable under these laws if they are deemed to "cause" the submission of false or fraudulent claims by, for example, providing inaccurate billing or coding information to customers, promoting a product off-label, marketing products of sub-standard quality, or, as noted above, paying a kickback that results in a claim for items or services. In addition, our activities relating to the reporting of wholesaler or estimated retail prices for our products, the reporting of prices used to calculate Medicaid rebate information and other information affecting federal, state and third-party reimbursement for our products, and the sale and marketing of our products, are subject to scrutiny under this law. For example, several pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have faced enforcement actions under these laws for allegedly inflating drug prices they report to pricing services, which in turn were used by the government to set Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates, and for allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal programs for the product. The False Claims Act also permits a private individual acting as a "whistleblower" to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the False Claims Act and to share in any monetary recovery. In addition, federal Anti-Kickback Statute violations and certain marketing practices, including off-label promotion, may also implicate the False Claims Act. Although the False Claims Act is a civil statute, conduct that results in a False Claims Act violation may also implicate various federal criminal statutes;

    §
    the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which imposes criminal and civil liability for knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud or to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, any money or property owned by, or under the control or custody of, any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by trick, scheme or device, a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services.

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      Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation;

    §
    HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, including the Final Omnibus Rule published on January 25, 2013, impose, among other things, obligations, including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information held by certain healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses, known as covered entities, and business associates. Among other things, HITECH made certain aspects of HIPAA's rules (notably the Security Rule) directly applicable to business associates — independent contractors or agents of covered entities that receive or obtain individually identifiable health information in connection with providing a service on behalf of a covered entity. HITECH also created four new tiers of civil monetary penalties, amended HIPAA to make civil and criminal penalties directly applicable to business associates, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal court to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorney's fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, or the OCR, has increased its focus on compliance and continues to train state attorneys general for enforcement purposes. The OCR has recently increased both its efforts to audit HIPAA compliance and its level of enforcement, with one recent penalty exceeding $5 million;

    §
    the federal physician payment transparency requirements, sometimes referred to as the "Physician Payments Sunshine Act," created under the ACA which requires applicable manufacturers of covered drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to annually report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, information related to certain payments or other transfers of value made or distributed to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members;

    §
    according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or the FTC, failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers' personal information secure constitutes unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, or the FTCA. The FTC expects a company's data security measures to be reasonable and appropriate in light of the sensitivity and volume of consumer information it holds, the size and complexity of its business, and the cost of available tools to improve security and reduce vulnerabilities. Medical data is considered sensitive data that merits stronger safeguards. The FTC's guidance for appropriately securing consumers' personal information is similar to what is required by the HIPAA Security Rule;

    §
    analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers, some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry's voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government in addition to requiring drug manufacturers to report pricing and marketing information, including, among other things, information related to payments to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures, state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives, and state laws governing the privacy and security of health information and the use of prescriber-identifiable data in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts; and

    §
    price reporting laws that require us to calculate and report complex pricing metrics to government programs, where such reported prices may be used in the calculation of reimbursements or discounts on our drug products. Participation in such programs and compliance with their requirements may subject us to increased infrastructure costs and potentially limit our ability to price our drug products.

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Further, we are subject to a number of environmental and health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory processes and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and waste.

Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors available under such laws, it is possible that certain business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. The scope and enforcement of each of these laws is uncertain and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform, especially in light of the lack of applicable precedent and regulations. Federal and state enforcement bodies have recently increased their scrutiny of interactions between healthcare companies and healthcare providers, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and settlements in the healthcare industry. Ensuring that business arrangements with third parties comply with applicable healthcare laws, as well as responding to possible investigations by government authorities, can be time- and resource-consuming and can divert management's attention from the business.

If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws or regulations described above or any other laws or government regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including, but not limited to, criminal, civil and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid or other government healthcare programs, injunctions, private qui tam actions brought by individual whistleblowers in the name of the government and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations as well as additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

Legislative or regulatory reform of the healthcare system in our target markets may affect our operations and profitability.

In recent years, there have been numerous initiatives on the federal and state levels in the United States for comprehensive reforms affecting the payment for, the availability of and reimbursement for healthcare services. There have been a number of federal and state proposals during the last few years regarding the pricing of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products, limiting coverage and reimbursement for drugs and other medical products, government control and other changes to the healthcare system in the United States. For example, the ACA and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which amends the ACA, collectively, the U.S. Health Reform Laws, were signed into law in the United States in March 2010.

Among the provisions of the ACA of importance to the pharmaceutical industry are the following:

    §
    the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to enter into and have in effect a national rebate agreement with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services as a condition of Medicare Part B and Medicaid coverage of the manufacturer's outpatient drugs furnished to Medicaid patients. Effective in 2010, the ACA made several changes to the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, including increasing pharmaceutical manufacturers' rebate liability by raising the minimum basic Medicaid rebate on most branded prescription drugs from 15.1% of average manufacturer price, or AMP, to 23.1% of AMP, establishing new methodologies by which AMP is calculated and rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are collected for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected, adding a new rebate calculation for "line extensions" (i.e., new formulations, such as extended release formulations) of solid oral dosage forms of branded products, expanding the universe of Medicaid utilization subject to drug rebates to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, and expanding the population potentially eligible for Medicaid drug benefits;

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    §
    the expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals beginning in April 2010 and by adding new mandatory eligibility categories for certain individuals with income at or below 133.0% of the federal poverty level beginning in 2014, thereby potentially increasing both the volume of sales and manufacturers' Medicaid rebate liability;

    §
    in order for a pharmaceutical product to receive federal reimbursement under the Medicare Part B and Medicaid programs or to be sold directly to U.S. government agencies, the manufacturer must extend discounts to entities eligible to participate in the 340B drug pricing program. The required 340B discount on a given product is calculated based on the AMP and Medicaid rebate amounts reported by the manufacturer. Effective in 2010, the ACA expanded the types of entities eligible to receive discounted 340B pricing, although, under the current state of the law, with the exception of children's hospitals, these newly eligible entities will not be eligible to receive discounted 340B pricing on orphan drugs when used for the orphan indication. In addition, as 340B drug pricing is determined based on AMP and Medicaid rebate data, the revisions to the Medicaid rebate formula and AMP definition described above could cause the required 340B discount to increase. Recent proposed guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, if adopted in its current form, may affect manufacturers' rights and liabilities in conducting audits and resolving disputes under the 340B program;

    §
    the ACA imposed a requirement on manufacturers of branded drugs to provide a 50% (and 70% commencing on January 1, 2019) discount off the negotiated price of branded drugs dispensed to Medicare Part D patients in the coverage gap (i.e., the donut hole);

    §
    the ACA imposed an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drugs, apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs, although this fee would not apply to sales of certain products approved exclusively for orphan indications;

    §
    the ACA implemented the Physician Payments Sunshine Act;

    §
    the ACA requires annual reporting of drug samples that manufacturers and distributors provide to physicians;

    §
    the ACA expanded healthcare fraud and abuse laws in the United States, including the False Claims Act and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, new government investigative powers and enhanced penalties for non-compliance;

    §
    the ACA established a licensing framework for follow-on biologics;

    §
    a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with the funding for such research. The research conducted by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute may affect the market for certain pharmaceutical products by influencing decisions relating to coverage and reimbursement rates; and

    §
    the ACA established the Center for Medicare Innovation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Center to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending. Funding has been allocated to support the mission of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation from 2011 to 2019.

Some of the provisions of the ACA have yet to be implemented, and there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, as well as recent efforts by the Trump administration to repeal or replace certain aspects of the ACA. Since January 2017, President Trump has signed two Executive Orders and other directives designed to delay the implementation of certain provisions of the ACA or otherwise circumvent some of the requirements for health insurance mandated by the ACA. Concurrently, Congress has considered legislation that would repeal or repeal and replace all or part of the ACA. While Congress has not passed comprehensive repeal legislation, two bills affecting the implementation of certain taxes under the ACA have been signed into law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or the TCJA, includes a provision repealing, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared

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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". Additionally, on January 22, 2018, President Trump signed a continuing resolution on appropriations for fiscal year 2018 that delayed the implementation of certain ACA-mandated fees, including the so-called "Cadillac" tax on certain high cost employer-sponsored insurance plans, the annual fee imposed on certain health insurance providers based on market share, and the medical device excise tax on non-exempt medical devices. Further, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, or the BBA, 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".

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation's automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2.0% per fiscal year, which went into effect in 2013, and due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, including the BBA, will remain in effect through 2027 unless additional Congressional action is taken. In January 2013, then-President Barack Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, or the ATRA, which, among others, delayed for another two months the budget cuts mandated by these sequestration provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The ATRA also reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. These new laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, which could have a material and adverse effect on our customers and accordingly, our financial operations.

Further, there has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. At the state level, legislatures have increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

We are unable to predict the future course of federal or state healthcare legislation in the United States directed at broadening the availability of healthcare and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. The U.S. Health Reform Laws and any further changes in the law or regulatory framework that reduce our revenue or increase our costs could also have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Healthcare laws and regulations may affect the pricing of our drug products and may affect our profitability.

In certain countries, the government may provide healthcare at a subsidized cost to consumers and regulate prices, patient eligibility or third-party payor reimbursement policies to control the cost of drug products. Such a system may lead to inconsistent pricing of our drug products from one country to another. The availability of our drug products at lower prices in certain countries may undermine our sales in other countries where our drug products are more expensive. In addition, certain countries may set prices by reference to the prices of our drug products in other countries. Our inability to secure adequate prices in a particular country may adversely affect our ability to obtain an acceptable price for our drug products in

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existing and potential markets. If we are unable to obtain a price for our drug products that provides an appropriate return on our investment, our profitability may be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Related to this Offering and Our Common Stock

No active trading market for our common stock exists or may develop, and you may not be able to resell your common stock at or above the initial public offering price.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock and, although we have applied to have our common stock listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, an active trading market for our shares may never develop or be sustained following this offering. The initial price to public for our common stock will be determined through negotiations with the underwriters, and the negotiated price may not be indicative of the market price of the common stock after the offering. The lack of an active market may impair your ability to sell your shares at the time you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider reasonable, may reduce the market value of your shares and may impair your ability to raise capital. If you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above the initial public offering price.

Future sales of our common stock or securities convertible into our common stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.

Our stock price could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock or securities convertible into our common stock after this offering or the perception that these sales could occur. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

Upon completion of this offering,                    shares of our common stock will be outstanding (                    shares of common stock will be outstanding assuming exercise in full of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares). All shares of common stock expected to be sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, unless held by our "affiliates," as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, or Rule 144. The resale of the remaining                    shares, or          % of our outstanding shares after the completion of this offering, is currently prohibited or otherwise restricted as a result of securities law provisions, market standoff agreements entered into by our stockholders with us or lock-up agreements entered into by our stockholders with the underwriters; however, subject to applicable securities law restrictions these shares will be able to be sold in the public market beginning 180 days after the date of this prospectus. Shares issued upon the exercise of stock options outstanding under our equity incentive plans or pursuant to future awards granted under those plans will become available for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of applicable vesting schedules, any applicable market stand-off and lock-up agreements, and Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act, or Rule 701. For more information see the section of this prospectus captioned "Shares Eligible for Future Sale."

Upon completion of this offering, the holders of approximately               shares, or          %, of our common stock, will have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering the sale of their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. We also intend to register the offer and sale of all shares of common stock that we may issue under our equity compensation plans. Once we register the offer and sale of shares for the holders of registration rights and shares to be issued under our equity incentive plans, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance or resale (as applicable), subject to the lock-up agreements described in the section of this prospectus captioned "Underwriting."

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In the future, we may issue additional shares of common stock or other equity or debt securities convertible into common stock in connection with a financing, acquisition, litigation settlement, employee arrangements or otherwise. Any such issuance could result in substantial dilution to our existing stockholders and could cause our stock price to decline.

The incurrence of indebtedness could result in increased fixed payment obligations, and we may be required to agree to certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights, limitations on declaring dividends and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to seek funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, and we could be required to do so at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable. In connection with any such collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to our intellectual property, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates, grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves, or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects.

Our management has broad discretion in using the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.

We expect to use the net proceeds of this offering to complete our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of LIQ861, advance LIQ865 through our planned Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies, fund operations supporting the development of LIQ861 and LIQ865 and repay approximately $2.3 million of outstanding indebtedness. Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the balance of the net proceeds and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our equity. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, diminish available cash flows available to service our debt, cause the value of our equity to decline and delay the development of our product candidates. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities, which may not yield favorable returns.

We expect that the market price of our common stock may be volatile, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

The trading prices of the securities of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been highly volatile. The trading price of our common stock following this offering may be highly 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 prospectus, these factors include:

    §
    the results of our or our competitors' clinical trials;

    §
    adverse results or delays in the planned clinical trials of our product candidates or any future clinical trials we may conduct, or changes in the development status of our product candidates;

    §
    any delay in our regulatory filings for our product candidates and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority's review of such filings, including without limitation the FDA's issuance of a "refusal to file" letter or a request for additional information;

    §
    regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries, especially changes in laws or regulations applicable to our products and product candidates, including clinical trial requirements for approvals;

    §
    our inability to obtain or delays in obtaining adequate product supply for any approved product or inability to do so at acceptable prices;

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    §
    failure to commercialize our product candidates or if the size and growth of the markets we intend to target fail to meet expectations;

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    additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;

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    unanticipated serious safety concerns related to the use of our product candidates;

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    introductions or announcements of new products offered by us or significant acquisitions, strategic collaborations, joint ventures or capital commitments by us, our collaborators or our competitors and the timing of such introductions or announcements;

    §
    the introduction by our competitors of new products or technologies, or the success of our competitors' products or technologies;

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    our ability or inability to effectively manage our growth;

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    changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;

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    our failure to meet the estimates and projections of the investment community or that we may otherwise provide to the public;

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    publication of research reports about us or our industry, or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;

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    market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors or the economy generally;

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    our ability or inability to raise additional capital through the issuance of equity or debt or collaboration arrangements and the terms on which we raise it;

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    trading volume of our common stock;

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    disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;

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    period-to-period fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations or those of our competitors;

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    discrepancies between our actual operating results and the estimates or projections of investors or securities analysts;

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    fluctuations in the share price and trading volumes of other publicly traded companies engaged in similar business activities as us;

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    market conditions in the pharmaceutical industry and in general;

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    research and reports published by securities and industry analysts on our company or other companies engaged in similar business activities as us;

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    safety concerns in relation to the use of any of our product candidates or approved products; and/or

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    our involvement in significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation.

The stock market in general, and market prices for the securities of pharmaceutical companies like ours in particular, have from time to time experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of the underlying companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. Stock prices of many pharmaceutical companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In several recent situations when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our stockholders were to bring a lawsuit against us, the defense and disposition of the lawsuit could be costly and divert the time and attention of our management and harm our operating results.

As a new investor, you will immediately experience substantial dilution as a result of this offering. Furthermore, future sales and issuances of equity securities, convertible securities or other securities could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of holders of our common stock.

The purchasers of shares of our common stock in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution of $               per share, based on the assumed initial public offering price of $               per share.

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This dilution represents the amount by which the per share purchase price of our common stock offered in this offering exceeds the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately following this offering. In addition, you may also experience additional dilution upon future equity issuances, including any other convertible debt or equity securities we may issue in the future, the exercise of stock options to purchase common stock granted to our employees, consultants and directors, including options to purchase common stock granted under our stock option and equity incentive plans, or the issuance of common stock in settlement of previously issued awards under our stock option and equity incentive plans that may vest in the future. See "Dilution."

We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. To raise capital, we may sell equity securities, convertible securities or other securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell equity securities, convertible securities or other securities in more than one transaction, investors in this offering may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. Such sales would also likely result in material dilution to our existing equity holders, and new investors could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our existing equity securities.

Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exercise significant influence over matters subject to stockholder approval.

Our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders, together with their respective affiliates, beneficially owned 61.2% of our capital stock as of April 30, 2018 and, upon completion of this offering, that same group will beneficially own          % of our capital stock, of which          % will be beneficially owned by our executive officers (assuming no exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares). Accordingly, after this offering, our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders will be able to determine the composition of the Board, retain the voting power to approve all matters requiring stockholder approval, including mergers and other business combinations, and continue to have significant influence over our operations. This concentration of ownership could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in our control or otherwise discouraging a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us that you may believe are in your best interests as one of our stockholders. This in turn could have a material adverse effect on our stock price and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove the Board or management.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research reports about our business, or if they issue an adverse opinion about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock may be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. We do not currently have, and may never obtain research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If no or few analysts commence research coverage of us, or one or more of the analysts who cover us issues an adverse opinion about our company, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases research coverage of us or fails to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, stockholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose

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confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, any future testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or the subsequent 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 or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement.

We will be required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as early as the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018. However, for as long as we are an "emerging growth company" under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls could detect problems that our management's assessment might not. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.

We will incur increased costs by being a public company.

As a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also anticipate that we will incur costs associated with relatively recently adopted corporate governance requirements, including requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. We also expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our Board or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.

When we cease to be an "emerging growth company" and when our independent registered public accounting firm is required to undertake an assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, the cost of our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will correspondingly increase. Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 applicable to us in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the JOBS Act, and as a result of the reduced disclosure and governance requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, our common stock may be less attractive to investors.

We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the JOBS Act, and we take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not "emerging growth companies" including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common

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stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile. We will take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an "emerging growth company." We will remain an "emerging growth company" until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more, (ii) the last day of 2023, (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management and adversely affect our stock price.

Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws to be effective upon consummation of this offering may delay or discourage transactions involving an actual or potential change in our control or change in our management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares, or transactions that our stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. Therefore, these provisions could adversely affect the price of our stock. Among other things, the certificate of incorporation and bylaws will:

    §
    permit the Board to issue up to                     shares of preferred stock, with any rights, preferences and privileges as they may designate;

    §
    provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of our Board;

    §
    provide that all vacancies, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law, be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum;

    §
    require that any action to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not be taken by written consent;

    §
    creating a staggered board of directors such that all members of our Board are not elected at one time;

    §
    allowing the authorized number of our directors to be changed only by resolution of our Board;

    §
    allowing for the issuance of authorized but unissued shares of our capital stock without any further vote or action by our stockholders; and

    §
    establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the Board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholders' meetings.

In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any stockholder owning in excess of 15% of our outstanding stock for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder obtained such 15% equity interest in us. See the section of this prospectus captioned "Description of Capital Stock — Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and Delaware Law" for additional information.

The terms of our authorized preferred stock selected by our Board at any point could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of our common stock or adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of holders of our common stock without any further vote or action by the stockholders. As a result, the rights of holders of our common stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued by us in the future, which could have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock.

Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or Delaware corporate law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit opportunities for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of common stock, and could also affect the price that investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gain.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our equity securities. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. In addition, the terms of existing or any future debt agreements may preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our equity securities will likely be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

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Our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, if a corporation undergoes an "ownership change", generally defined as a greater than 50.0% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three year period, the corporation's ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income may be limited. With this offering as well as other past transactions and any ownership changes that we may experience in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in ownership of our shares of common stock, we may trigger an "ownership change" limitation. Should this occur, and if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us.

The recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the TCJA, could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the TCJA which significantly reforms the Code. The TCJA, 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), limitation of the deduction for net operating losses generated after December 31, 2017 to 80% of current year taxable income and elimination of net operating loss carrybacks, immediate deductions for certain new investments instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time and modifying or repealing many business deductions and credits. Federal net operating losses arising in taxable years ending after December 31, 2017 will be carried forward indefinitely pursuant to the TCJA. We continue to examine the impact this tax reform legislation may have on our business. Notwithstanding the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the overall impact of the TCJA is uncertain and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected. The impact of this tax reform on holders of our common stock is also uncertain and could be adverse. We urge our stockholders, including purchasers of common stock in this offering, to consult with their legal and tax advisors with respect to such legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in our common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors or officers to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; or (d) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock is deemed to have received notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds more favorable for disputes with us or our directors or officers, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors or officers. Alternatively, if a court were to find this choice of forum provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, prospects or results of operations.

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus may be forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled "Prospectus Summary," "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Business," but are also contained elsewhere in this prospectus. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "would," "intends," "targets," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

    §
    our plans to develop and commercialize our product candidates;

    §
    our planned clinical trials for our product candidates;

    §
    the timing of the availability of data from our clinical trials;

    §
    the timing of our planned regulatory filings;

    §
    the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our product candidates;

    §
    the clinical utility of our product candidates and their potential advantages compared to other treatments;

    §
    our commercialization, marketing and distribution capabilities and strategy;

    §
    our ability to establish and maintain arrangements for the manufacture of our product candidates and the sufficiency of our current manufacturing facilities to produce commercial quantities of our product candidates;

    §
    our ability to establish and maintain collaborations;

    §
    our estimates regarding the market opportunities for our product candidates;

    §
    our intellectual property position and the duration of our patent rights;

    §
    our estimates regarding future expenses, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; and

    §
    our expected use of proceeds from this offering and the period over which such proceeds, together with cash, will be sufficient to meet our operating needs.

You should refer to the "Risk Factors" section of this prospectus for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus are only predictions, and we may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations included in our forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus after we distribute this prospectus, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from our issuance and sale of shares of our common stock in this offering will be $                million, assuming an initial public offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares, we estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be $                million.

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $               per share would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us from this offering by $                million (or $                million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares), assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions. We may also increase or decrease the number of shares we are offering. Each increase or decrease of 1.0 million in the number of shares of common stock offered by us at the assumed initial public offering price of $               per share would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us from this offering by $                million, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

We currently estimate that we will use the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, as follows:

    §
    approximately $               to $                million to complete our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of LIQ861;

    §
    approximately $               to $                million to advance LIQ865 through our planned Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies;

    §
    approximately $               to $                million to fund operations supporting the development of LIQ861 and LIQ865;

    §
    approximately $2.3 million to repay in full the outstanding promissory note issued to UNC, which has a maturity date of June 30, 2018 and bears interest at a rate equal to one-year LIBOR plus 3%, compounded annually; and

    §
    the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes.

This expected use of the net proceeds from this offering and our existing cash represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures may vary significantly depending on numerous factors, including the progress of our development and commercialization efforts, the status of and results from clinical trials and actual results of operations, as well as any unforeseen cash needs. As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of the net proceeds from this offering.

We may also use a portion of the remaining net proceeds to in-license, acquire or invest in complementary businesses, technologies, products or assets, although we have no current agreements, commitments or understandings to do so.

As of March 31, 2018, we had cash of $17.6 million. Based on our planned use of the net proceeds from this offering and our existing cash and current revenue forecasts, we estimate that such funds will be sufficient to enable us to support research and development needs and to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements until at least                             . We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. We do not expect that the net proceeds from this offering and our existing cash will be sufficient to enable us to fund the completion of development and commercialization of any of our product candidates.

Pending our use of the net proceeds from this offering, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, investment-grade securities.

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We currently expect to retain all future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and expansion of our business. We have never declared nor paid any dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, our loan agreement with our commercial lender prohibits our ability to pay dividends without the lender's prior written consent, with certain exceptions. See "Risk Factors — Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gain."

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and our capitalization as of March 31, 2018:

    §
    on an actual basis;

    §
    on a pro forma basis to give effect to:

    §
    the conversion of all of our outstanding shares of preferred stock and Class B non-voting common stock into an aggregate of                             shares of our common stock, which will occur automatically upon the closing of this offering; and

    §
    the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation upon the closing of this offering; and

    §
    on a pro forma as adjusted basis to give further effect to our issuance and sale of                         shares of our common stock in this offering at an assumed initial offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and our use of approximately $2.3 million of the proceeds therefrom to repay debt as described in "Use of Proceeds."

You should read the information in this "Capitalization" section in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes appearing at the end of this prospectus and the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Use of Proceeds' sections and other financial information contained in this prospectus.


 
  As of March 31, 2018  
 
  Actual   Pro forma   Pro forma
as adjusted
 
 
  (in thousands, except share and
per share data)

 

Cash

  $ 17,594   $     $    

Long-term debt, including current portion

  $ 12,358   $     $    

Capital leases, including current portion

    926              

Stockholders' deficit:

                   

Convertible preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 184,209,616 shares authorized, 134,112,438 shares issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued or outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

    134              

Common stock, $0.001 par value; 265,330,664 shares authorized, 10,452,883 shares issued and outstanding, actual;               shares authorized,               shares issued and outstanding, pro forma;               shares authorized,               shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted

    10              

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; no shares authorized, issued or outstanding, actual;                    shares authorized, no shares issued or outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

                 

Additional paid-in capital

    134,055              

Accumulated deficit

    (141,426 )            

Total stockholders' (deficit) equity

    (7,227 )            

Total capitalization

  $ 6,057   $     $    

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Our cash and our capitalization following the completion of this offering will depend on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders' equity and total capitalization by $                million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each increase or decrease of 1.0 million in the number of shares we are offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $               per share would increase or decrease the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders' equity and total capitalization by $                million.

The table above does not include:

    §
    23,783,999 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $0.45 per share;

    §
                   shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options granted after March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $               per share;

    §
    2,146,767 shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units granted on March 7, 2018 to Kevin Gordon, our President and Chief Financial Officer;

    §
    4,394,914 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $0.0008 per share;

    §
    an aggregate of          shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options to be granted to certain of our officers and directors on the date of execution of the underwriting agreement under the 2018 Plan, assuming we sell          shares in this offering, at an exercise price equal to the initial public offering price per share;

    §
                   shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units to be granted to Mr. Gordon on the date of execution of the underwriting agreement pursuant to his employment agreement, assuming we sell          shares in this offering;

    §
    an additional 5,915,157 shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the Liquidia Technologies, Inc. 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2016 Plan, as of March 31, 2018, which shares will no longer be reserved following this offering; and

    §
    an additional                shares of common stock that will be made available for future issuance under the 2018 Plan upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

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DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. Net tangible book value per share represents our total tangible assets less our total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of common stock then issued and outstanding.

Our net tangible book value as of March 31, 2018 was $(7.2) million, or $(0.69) per share of common stock.

On a pro forma basis, after giving effect to the conversion of all of our preferred stock outstanding as of March 31, 2018 into an aggregate of               shares of common stock upon the closing of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value as of March 31, 2018 would have been $                million, or $               per share of common stock.

After giving effect to the issuance and sale by us of                                             shares of common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and our use of approximately $2.3 million of the proceeds therefrom to repay debt as described in "Use of Proceeds," our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2018 would have been $                million, or $               per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value of $               per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value of $               per share to new investors purchasing common stock in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price. We determine dilution by subtracting the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock after this offering from the amount of cash that a new investor paid for a share of common stock.

The following table illustrates this dilution to new investors on a per share basis:


Assumed initial public offering price per share

        $    

Historical net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2018

  $ (0.69 )      

Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to the pro forma adjustments described above

             

Pro forma net tangible book value per share before giving effect to this offering

             

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to this offering

             

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering

             

Dilution per share to new investors in this offering

        $    

The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will depend on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value after this offering by $                million, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share by $               , and dilution per share to new investors purchasing shares in this offering by $               , assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. We may

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also increase or decrease the number of shares we are offering. An increase of 1.0 million in the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering by $               and decrease the dilution per share to new investors participating in this offering by $               , assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions. A decrease of 1.0 million in the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would decrease the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering by $               and increase the dilution per share to new investors participating in this offering by $               , assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

If the underwriters exercise their option in full to purchase additional shares of common stock in this offering, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after the offering would be $               , the increase in the pro forma net tangible book value per share to existing stockholders would be $               and the dilution per share to new investors purchasing shares in this offering would be $               .

If any shares are issued upon exercise of outstanding options, or if additional options or other equity awards are granted and exercised or become vested, or if other issuances of common stock are made, you will experience further dilution.

The following table summarizes as of March 31, 2018, on the pro forma as adjusted basis described above, the number of our shares of common stock purchased from us and the total consideration and the average price per share paid to us by existing stockholders and by new investors purchasing our common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $                per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.


 
  Shares
Purchased
  Total
Consideration
   
 
 
  Average Price
Per Share
 
 
  Number   Percent   Amount   Percent  

Existing stockholders

            % $         % $    

New investors

                               

Total

          100.0 % $       100.0 %      

A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $               per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the total consideration paid by new investors in this offering by $                million and, in the case of an increase, would increase the percentage of total consideration paid by new investors by                percentage points and, in the case of a decrease, would decrease the percentage of total consideration paid by new investors by                 percentage points, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. An increase or decrease of 1.0 million in the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the total consideration paid by new investors by $                million and, in the case of an increase, would increase the percentage of total consideration paid by new investors by                percentage points and, in the case of a decrease, would decrease the percentage of total consideration paid by new investors by                percentage points, assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price per share.

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The table above assumes no exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares in this offering. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of common stock in full, the number of shares of common stock held by existing stockholders would decrease to          % of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding after this offering, and the number of shares held by new investors would increase to          % of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding after this offering.

The number of shares purchased from us by existing stockholders is based on                        shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2018, after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares into                        shares of common stock upon the closing of this offering, and excludes:

    §
    23,783,999 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $0.45 per share;

    §
                   shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options granted after March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $               per share;

    §
    2,146,767 shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units granted on March 7, 2018 to Kevin Gordon, our President and Chief Financial Officer;

    §
    4,394,914 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of March 31, 2018, with a weighted average exercise price of $0.0008 per share;

    §
    an aggregate of          shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options to be granted to certain of our officers and directors on the date of execution of the underwriting agreement under the 2018 Plan, assuming we sell          shares in this offering, at an exercise price equal to the initial public offering price per share;

    §
                   shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units to be granted to Mr. Gordon on the date of execution of the underwriting agreement pursuant to his employment agreement, assuming we sell          shares in this offering;

    §
    an additional 5,915,157 shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the Liquidia Technologies, Inc. 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2016 Plan, as of March 31, 2018, which shares will no longer be reserved following this offering; and

    §
    an additional                shares of common stock that will be made available for future issuance under the 2018 Plan upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

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SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 and the balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016 and 2017 are derived from our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected statement of operations data for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018 and the balance sheet data as of March 31, 2018 have been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Other than for the impacts of adoption of accounting standards, the unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal recurring nature that are necessarily for the fair statement of our financial position as of March 31, 2018 and our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in any future period, and the results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2018, or any other period.

The following selected financial data should be read with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected financial data in this section are not intended to replace the financial statements and are qualified in their entirety by the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

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  Year Ended
December 31,
  Three Months Ended March 31,  
 
  2016   2017   2017   2018  

Statement of operations data:

                         

Revenues

 
$

13,216,989
 
$

7,258,123
 
$

1,639,176
 
$

925,970
 

Costs and expenses:

   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 

Cost of sales

    918,778     319,759     79,940     27,049  

Research and development

    23,319,886     24,753,876     6,175,557     7,626,701  

General and administrative

    4,841,128     10,212,774     2,151,078     2,149,725  

Total costs and expenses

    29,079,792     35,286,409     8,406,575     9,803,475  

Loss from operations

   
(15,862,803

)
 
(28,028,286

)
 
(6,767,399

)
 
(8,877,505

)

Other income (expense):

                         

Interest income

    14,906     268     151      

Interest expense

    (85,865 )   (13,010,475 )   (2,246,447 )   (17,876,795 )

Derivative and warrant fair value adjustment

        11,884,253     (823,051 )   (753,887 )

Total other income (expense), net

    (70,959 )   (1,125,954 )   (3,069,347 )   (18,630,682 )

Net loss

    (15,933,762 )   (29,154,240 )   (9,836,746 )   (27,508,187 )

Other comprehensive loss

                 

Comprehensive loss

  $ (15,933,762 ) $ (29,154,240 ) $ (9,836,746 ) $ (27,508,187 )

Net loss per share, basic and diluted

  $ (2.16 ) $ (3.08 ) $ (1.05 ) $ (2.63 )

Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted

    7,361,596     9,475,083     9,329,157     10,441,880  

Pro forma net loss per share, basic and diluted (unaudited)

        $           $    

Pro forma weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted (unaudited)

        $           $    

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  As of December 31,    
 
 
  As of March 31,
2018
 
 
  2016   2017  

Balance Sheet Data:

                   

Cash

  $ 1,438,712   $ 3,418,979   $ 17,593,796  

Total assets

    8,486,533     14,843,602     29,228,260  

Total debt

    8,113,660     21,165,131     12,358,368  

Capital stock and additional paid-in capital

    66,068,868     79,721,075     134,199,601  

Accumulated deficit

    (84,259,071 )   (113,413,311 )   (141,426,223 )

Total stockholders' deficit

    (18,245,203 )   (33,692,236 )   (7,226,622 )

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MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and related notes appearing in this prospectus. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this prospectus, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of this prospectus, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements."

Overview

We are a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of human therapeutics using our proprietary PRINT technology to transform the lives of patients. PRINT is a particle engineering platform that enables precise production of uniform drug particles designed to improve the safety, efficacy and performance of a wide range of therapies. We are currently focused on the development of two product candidates for which we hold worldwide commercial rights: LIQ861 for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, and LIQ865 for the treatment of local post-operative pain. Our lead product candidate, LIQ861, is being evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial as a potential treatment for PAH. LIQ861 is an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil that is administered using a convenient, disposable dry powder inhaler, or DPI. Treprostinil is a synthetic analog of prostacyclin, a vasoactive mediator essential to normal lung function, is deficient in patients with PAH. We believe that LIQ861 has the potential to improve the therapeutic profile of existing formulations of treprostinil by enhancing deep-lung delivery and achieving higher dose levels than current inhaled therapies. We have completed both Phase 1a and Phase 1b clinical trials of our second product candidate, LIQ865, for the treatment for local post-operative pain. LIQ865 is our proprietary injectable, sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine, a non-opioid pain medicine. We have designed LIQ865 to be administered as a single treatment for the management of local post-operative pain for three to five days after a procedure, which we believe, if approved, has the potential to provide significantly longer post-operative pain relief compared to currently marketed formulations of bupivacaine. We expect to initiate Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies for LIQ865 in the second half of 2018.

In addition to developing our two current product candidates, we license our PRINT technology to leading pharmaceutical companies seeking to develop their own potential drug and biologic therapies. We believe that our PRINT technology can be applied to a wide range of therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration. We are currently focused on developing product candidates that we believe are eligible to be approved under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which can be capital efficient and potentially enable a shorter time to approval, as it allows us to rely in part on existing knowledge of the safety and efficacy of the relevant reference listed drugs to support our applications for approval in the United States. If any of our product candidates are approved, we intend to manufacture them using in-house capabilities. Where appropriate, we will rely on third-party CMOs to produce, package and distribute our approved drug products on a commercial scale.

We have not generated any revenue to date from the sale of pharmaceutical products, and we have historically financed our operations in large part with an aggregate of $116.9 million of gross proceeds from sales of our convertible preferred stock, convertible promissory notes, $10.0 million in term loans from a bank and a $2.1 million loan from UNC. We do not expect to generate significant product revenue unless and until we obtain marketing approval for and commercialize LIQ861, LIQ865 or one of our other future product candidates.

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Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net loss was $15.9 million and $29.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and $27.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. As of March 31, 2018, we had an accumulated deficit of $141.4 million. We expect to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we advance our product candidates through clinical trials, and seek regulatory approval and pursue commercialization of any approved product candidate. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution. In addition, we may incur expenses in connection with the in-license or acquisition of additional product candidates. Furthermore, upon the closing of this offering, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company, including significant legal, accounting, investor relations and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company.

As a result, we will need substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through the sale of equity, debt financings or other capital sources, including potential collaborations with other companies or other strategic transactions. We may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements or arrangements when needed on favorable terms, or at all. If we fail to raise capital or enter into such agreements as, and when, needed, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more of our product candidates or delay our pursuit of potential in-licenses or acquisitions.

As of March 31, 2018, we had cash of $17.6 million. In February 2018, we received proceeds of $25.6 million from the sale of our Series D preferred stock and related rights offering. We believe that the anticipated net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements until at least                                             . We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we expect. See " — Liquidity and Capital Resources."

Our Collaborations

Our only revenue, which has been derived from collaborating and licensing our proprietary PRINT technology to pharmaceutical companies, amounted to $13.2 million and $7.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and $1.6 million and $0.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively, or 92% and 47%, respectively, of our total revenue during those periods. GSK accounted for $11.8 million and $6.1 million, for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, or 90% and 84%, respectively, of our total revenue. Our collaborators make up-front fees or technology access payments, pay us to achieve clinical milestones, pay us fees to develop their drug products through research and development services like particle formulation and manufacturing and will pay us royalties upon ultimate commercial sales of the related products.

GSK

We have actively collaborated with GSK on the use of our PRINT technology in respiratory disease since 2012.

In June 2012, we entered into a Vaccines Collaboration and Option Agreement with GSK, or the GSK VCO Agreement, to collaborate on research regarding the application of our PRINT technology to specified inhaled therapies. In March 2015, GSK made a one-time payment of $5.0 million to extend the agreement for 13 months through April 30, 2016, and such payment was amortized into revenue over that extension period. We and GSK mutually agreed to terminate this agreement in April 2016, and we will not recognize any further revenues under this agreement. Revenues from research and development services under the GSK VCO Agreement amounted to $1.3 million and $0 for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively.

In June 2012, we also entered into an Inhaled Collaboration and Option Agreement with GSK, or the GSK ICO Agreement, under which we granted GSK exclusive options and licenses to further develop and

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commercialize inhaled therapies using our PRINT technology. In September 2015, GSK exercised its option to obtain an exclusive, worldwide license to certain of our know-how and patents relating to our PRINT technology, for the purpose of, among others, conducting preclinical studies of inhaled therapeutics developed, manufactured or otherwise produced using our PRINT technology. In consideration for GSK's exercise of this option, we received a non-refundable up-front payment of $15.0 million, which amount is being amortized into revenue over a period of time based on the estimated remaining development period and on a similar basis as research and development services are expected to be performed, a period of 54 months as of March 31, 2018. Under the terms of the GSK ICO Agreement, we are also entitled to certain milestone payments aggregating up to $158 million upon the achievement of specified milestone events, and tiered royalties on the worldwide sales of the licensed products at percentages in the mid-single digits. In February 2016, we received a $3.0 million payment from GSK upon the achievement of a clinical development milestone. We recognized the full amount of this payment as revenue in the year ended December 31, 2016. Revenues from research and development services under the GSK ICO Agreement amounted to $2.9 million and $3.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and $0.8 million and $0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively.

In December 2017, GSK informed us of its modified plans under the GSK ICO Agreement that reduced its requirements and budget for our research and development support in 2018. As a result, we expect revenues from research and development services under the GSK ICO Agreement to be less than $250,000 during 2018. In response, in January 2018, we reduced our research and development workforce accordingly, and we anticipate that we will incur approximately $400,000 in expense relating to the workforce reduction.

We also entered into other engagements with GSK under the GSK ICO Agreement, primarily for platform research services. As of April 30, 2018, GSK is conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial of an inhaled COPD product candidate that is formulated as an inhaled dry powder using the PRINT technology.

G&W Laboratories

In June 2016, we entered into a development and license agreement, or the G&W Labs Agreement, with G&W Laboratories, Inc., or G&W Labs, to develop multiple products for topical delivery in dermatology using our PRINT technology. We received the first non-refundable up-front fee of $1.0 million under this agreement in June 2016, which amount is being amortized into revenue over a period of time based upon the estimated remaining development period and on a similar basis as research and development services are expected to be performed, a period of 63 months as of March 31, 2018. We began performing research and development services under this agreement in July 2016. In April 2018, we and G&W Labs mutually agreed to terminate the G&W Labs Agreement.

Gates Foundation

In 2011, we entered into a collaboration agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, primarily for research services related to developing vaccines targeted at developing markets. We received an up-front fee of $1.0 million under this agreement, which we recognized as revenue through December 2017. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not performing any services under this collaboration agreement and do not expect to recognize any further revenue under the agreement.

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Components of Statements of Operations

Revenue

Our revenue is primarily derived from collaborating and licensing our proprietary PRINT technology to pharmaceutical companies. In the future, we also expect to derive our revenue from our own pharmaceutical products. We report financial information in the following two business segments:

      Pharmaceutical Products.    We utilize our proprietary PRINT technology to develop novel product candidates, such as LIQ861 and LIQ865. We have not commenced the commercialization of any pharmaceutical products and have not recognized any product revenues to date for this business segment. We intend to commercialize LIQ861 independently in the United States and to evaluate our commercialization and development plans for LIQ865. Outside of the United States, we intend to pursue the regulatory approval and commercialization of LIQ861 and LIQ865 with leading pharmaceutical companies with regional expertise. Revenues from these licensing arrangements would be recognized in this segment. In addition, if LIQ861 or LIQ865 is approved for marketing, we expect to recognize any revenues from sales of that product in this segment.

      Partnering and Licensing.    We also utilize our proprietary PRINT technology to enable the development of product candidates by other pharmaceutical companies. We perform research and development services for third parties in the areas of particle formulation and manufacturing and charge market billing rates. We typically receive up-front fees or technology access payments, as well as milestone payments for each phase of clinical achievement. If any of these drug products achieve commercialization, we also expect to be eligible to receive royalties from sales of those drug products. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 and the three months ended March 31, 2018, all of our revenue from our license and collaboration agreements described above was part of our Partnering and Licensing segment.

For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the majority of our revenue from collaborating and licensing our proprietary PRINT technology to pharmaceutical companies was derived under two separate agreements with GSK, which we refer to as the GSK VCO Agreement and the GSK ICO Agreement. These two arrangements with GSK accounted for $11.8 million and $6.1 million in revenue for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, representing 90% and 84% of our total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018, a substantial amount of our revenue from collaborating and licensing our proprietary PRINT technology to pharmaceutical companies was derived from the GSK ICO Agreement. This arrangement with GSK accounted for $1.5 million and $0.4 million in revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively, representing 92% and 47% of our total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively. This revenue comprised billings for research and development services, milestone payments and amortization of deferred revenue from up-front payments.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales consists of the amortization of license fees owed to UNC upon our receipt of licensing revenues. See "Business — Our Collaboration and Licensing Agreements — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill" for further details. The amortization period is the same as the period over and in the same manner in which the related revenue is recognized.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expense consists of expenses incurred in connection with the development of our product candidates. We expense research and development costs as incurred. These expenses include:

    §
    expenses incurred under agreements with CROs, as well as investigative sites and consultants that conduct our clinical trials and preclinical studies;

    §
    manufacturing scale-up expenses and the cost of acquiring and manufacturing preclinical and clinical trial materials and commercial materials, including manufacturing validation batches;

    §
    outsourced professional scientific development services;

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    §
    employee-related expenses, which include salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation for personnel in research and development functions;

    §
    expenses relating to regulatory activities, including filing fees paid to regulatory agencies;

    §
    laboratory materials and supplies used to support our research activities; and

    §
    allocated expenses for utilities and other facility-related costs.

Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect our research and development expenses to increase significantly over the next several years as we increase personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, conduct our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of LIQ861, continue the development of LIQ865 and conduct other clinical trials and prepare regulatory filings for our product candidates.

The successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the remainder of the development of, or when, if ever, material net cash inflows may commence from any of our product candidates. This uncertainty is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the duration and cost of clinical trials, which vary significantly over the life of a project as a result of many factors, including:

    §
    the number of clinical sites included in the trials;

    §
    the length of time required to enroll suitable patients;

    §
    the number of patients that ultimately participate in the trials;

    §
    the number of doses patients receive;

    §
    the duration of patient follow-up; and

    §
    the results of our clinical trials.

Our expenditures are subject to additional uncertainties, including the terms and timing of regulatory approvals, and the expense of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims or other intellectual property rights. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. We may obtain unexpected results from our clinical trials. We may elect to discontinue, delay or modify clinical trials of some product candidates or focus on others. A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of a product candidate could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of that product candidate. For example, if the FDA or other regulatory authorities were to require us to conduct clinical trials beyond those that we currently anticipate, or if we experience significant delays in enrollment in any of our clinical trials, we could be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development. Drug commercialization will take several years and millions of dollars in development costs.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses consist principally of salaries and related costs for personnel in executive, administrative, finance and legal functions, including stock-based compensation, travel expenses and recruiting expenses. Other general and administrative expenses include facility related costs, patent filing and prosecution costs and professional fees for marketing, legal, auditing and tax services and insurance costs.

We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase as a result of increased personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, expanded infrastructure and higher consulting, legal and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with stock exchange listing and SEC requirements, accounting and investor relations costs, and director and officer insurance premiums associated with being a public company. We anticipate the additional costs for these services will increase our general and administrative expenses by approximately $1.5 million to $2.0 million on an annual basis. Additionally, if and when we believe a regulatory approval of a product candidate appears likely, we

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anticipate an increase in payroll and expense as a result of our preparation for commercial operations, especially as it relates to the sales and marketing of our product candidate.

Other Income (Expense)

Other income (expense) is comprised primarily of interest expense and derivative and warrant fair value adjustments. Interest expense consists of interest charges on capital leases and long-term debt. These charges include monthly recurring interest on such obligations in addition to non-cash charges. Non-cash charges include the accrual of interest expense at the end of each reporting period in addition to the expensing of discounts on long-term debt to interest expense. Derivative and warrant fair value adjustments consist of the unrealized gains and losses as a result of marking these financial instruments to fair market value at the end of each reporting period.

Results of Operations

Three Months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018

The following table summarizes our results of operations:


 
  Three Months Ended March 31,  
 
  2017   2018  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Revenues

  $ 1,639   $ 926  

Costs and expenses:

             

Cost of sales

    80     27  

Research and development

    6,176     7,626  

General and administrative

    2,151     2,150  

Total costs and expenses

    8,407     9,803  

Loss from operations

    (6,768 )   (8,877 )

Other income (expense):

             

Interest income

         

Interest expense

    (2,246 )   (17,877 )

Derivative and warrant fair value adjustments

    (823 )   (754 )

Total other income (expense)

    (3,069 )   (18,631 )

Net loss

  $ (9,837 ) $ (27,508 )

Revenues

Revenues were $0.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The decrease of $0.7 million, or 43.8%, was due to a change in estimates extending the amortization period for deferred revenue, lower research and development services performed and the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or ASC 606. Our revenues attributable to the GSK ICO Agreement were $0.4 million and our revenues attributable to other customers was $0.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2018. Under the GSK ICO Agreement, we received an up-front payment of $15.0 million in 2015. We are amortizing this payment into revenue over a period of approximately seven years, resulting in revenues of $0.2 million during the three months ended March 31, 2018. Effective January 1, 2018, we adopted ASC 606. In addition, management revised the estimated performance periods under our collaboration agreements to reflect the current circumstances such that the weighted average time period that management was amortizing up-front and milestone payments was increased from approximately 29 months to approximately 48 months. The combined effect of adoption of ASC 606 and the change in estimates was

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a decrease in revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2018 by $0.5 million as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2017. In addition, we performed research and development services under these agreements and recognized revenues of $0.7 million for such services during the three months ended March 31, 2018 as compared to $0.8 million during the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Cost of Sales

Our cost of sales was $27,049 for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to $79,940 for the three months ended March 31, 2017. Cost of sales represents sub-licensing fees paid to UNC resulting from our recognition of licensing revenue from intellectual property that we in-licensed from UNC. This amount, like the corresponding revenue, was attributable to our Partnering and Licensing segment.

Research and Development Expenses

Our research and development expenses were $7.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to $6.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The increase of $1.4 million, or 22.6%, was due to the commencement of the Phase 3 clinical trial of LIQ861 in late December 2017. Research and development expenses consisted of $5.0 million from the Pharmaceutical Products segment, of which $4.7 million and $0.3 million were attributable to our ongoing development of LIQ861 and LIQ865, respectively, $0.4 million from the Partnering and Licensing segment, and $2.2 million from general research and development that was not directly related to a particular segment.

General and Administrative Expenses

Our general and administrative expenses were $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. General and administrative expenses are mainly the result of personnel expenses, including stock-based compensation, as well as legal and consulting fees and tax expense.

Loss from Operations

We recorded a loss from operations of $8.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to $6.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The increase of $2.1 million, or 30.9%, was primarily due to a decrease in revenues and an increase in research and development expenses during the three months ended March 31, 2018 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Other Income (Expense)

Interest income was less than $1,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2018.

Interest expense was $17.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. During the three months ended March 31, 2018, we had higher levels of debt, including convertible notes of $27.4 million, bank borrowings of $8.8 million, and amounts owed to CSC and UNC of $1.6 million and $2.3 million, respectively. The increase in interest expense of $15.7 million was primarily due to amortization of discounts on convertible notes of $17.6 million. The unamortized discounts on convertible notes of $17.6 million as of December 31, 2017 was being amortized through the maturity date of the notes, which was December 31, 2018. The amortization of the discounts was accelerated by the early conversion of the notes into Series D preferred stock in February 2018.

Derivative and warrant fair value adjustments were consistent for the three months ended March 31, 2018, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2017.

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Years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017

The following table summarizes our results of operations:


 
  Year ended
December 31,
 
 
  2016   2017  
 
  (in thousands)
 

Revenues

  $ 13,217   $ 7,258  

Costs and expenses:

             

Cost of sales

    919     320  

Research and development

    23,320     24,754  

General and administrative

    4,841     10,212  

Total costs and expenses

    29,080     35,286  

Loss from operations

    (15,863 )   (28,028 )

Other income (expense):

             

Interest income

    15      

Interest expense

    (86 )   (13,010 )

Derivative and warrant fair value adjustments

        11,884  

Total other income (expense)

    (71 )   (1,126 )

Net loss

  $ (15,934 ) $ (29,154 )

Revenues

Revenues were $7.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $13.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The decrease of $6.0 million, or 45%, was due to a decrease of $3.0 million in non-refundable milestone payments recognized as revenue in 2016 from the GSK ICO Agreement and a decrease of $2.9 million related to revenue recognized in 2016 from the GSK VCO Agreement which was terminated in April 2016. Our revenues of $7.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2017 consisted primarily of $6.1 million attributable to the GSK ICO Agreement. Under the GSK ICO Agreement, we received an up-front payment of $15.0 million in 2015. We are amortizing this payment into revenue over a five-year period, resulting in revenues of $3.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. In addition, we performed research and development services under this agreement and recognized revenues of $3.1 million for such services during the year ended December 31, 2017. In addition to GSK, in June 2016, we entered into the G&W Labs Agreement under which we received an up-front payment of $1.0 million. We are amortizing this payment into revenue over a five-year period, resulting in revenue of $0.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. In addition, we performed research and development services under this agreement and recognized revenues of $0.2 million and $0 for such services during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. In addition, in February 2011, we entered into a collaboration agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, primarily for research services related to developing vaccines targeted at developing markets under which we received an up-front payment of $1.0 million. We are amortizing this payment into revenue over a 6.75 year period, resulting in revenue of $0.2 million and $0.2 million during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. In addition, we performed research and development services under various collaboration agreements with other companies and recognized revenue of $0.9 million and $0.8 million for such services during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Cost of Sales

Our cost of sales was $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The decrease of $0.6 million, or 65%, was due to a $0.3 million

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license fee paid to UNC in 2016 related to the $3.0 million non-refundable milestone payment from the GSK ICO Agreement, and a $0.3 million license fee amortization in 2016 related to the GSK VCO Agreement, neither of which recurred in 2017. Cost of sales represents sub-licensing fees paid to UNC resulting from our recognition of licensing revenue from intellectual property that we in-licensed from UNC. This amount was attributable to our Partnering and Licensing segment.

Research and Development Expenses

Our research and development expenses were $24.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $23.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase of $1.5 million, or 6%, was due to the completion of a Phase 1 study and preparation of a Phase 3 study of LIQ861, in addition to the completion of one Phase 1 study and ongoing work on a second Phase 1 study for LIQ865. Research and development expenses consisted of $5.0 million from the Partnering and Licensing segment, $13.6 million from the Pharmaceutical Products segment, of which $8.4 million and $5.2 million were attributable to our ongoing development of LIQ861 and LIQ865, respectively, and $6.2 million from general research and development that was not directly related to a particular segment.

General and Administrative Expenses

Our general and administrative expenses were $10.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $4.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase of $5.4 million, or 111%, was due to transaction costs related to our deferred potential initial public offering on a foreign exchange contemplated during 2017, and increases in staff and consultants. General and administrative expense are mainly the result of personnel expenses, including stock-based compensation, as well as legal and consulting fees and tax expense.

Loss from Operations

We recorded a loss from operations of $28.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $15.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase of $12.1 million, or 77%, was primarily due to a decrease in revenues and an increase in general and administrative expenses during the year ended December 31, 2017.

Other Income (Expense)

Interest income was less than $1,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to $14,900 for the year ended December 31, 2016. The decrease of $14,600 was due to lower average balances in interest-bearing accounts during the year ended December 31, 2017.

Interest expense was $13.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. During 2017, we had higher levels of debt including convertible notes of $27.4 million, bank borrowings of $9.1 million, an amount owed to UNC of $2.3 million, and existing capital lease obligations of $0.9 million. The increase in interest expense of $12.9 million was primarily due to amortization of discount on convertible notes of $9.8 million, the expensing of debt issuance costs to interest expense of $1.4 million and the recognition of accrued interest on the convertible notes, bank borrowings and capital lease obligations of $1.8 million.

Derivative and warrant fair value adjustments were $11.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2016. This increase was due to decreases in the fair value of derivatives and warrants of $9.9 million and $2.0 million, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2017. Derivatives and warrants were issued in conjunction with convertible note financings during the year ended December 31, 2017. The decreases in the fair value of derivatives and warrants were primarily due to the impact of the Series D financing that closed in February 2018, the terms of which were known at December 31, 2017, which implied lower fair values for the derivatives and warrants than previously estimated.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

We have financed our growth and operations through a combination of funds generated from our licensing revenues, the issuance of convertible preferred stock and common stock, capital leases, bank borrowings and the issuance of convertible notes. Our principal uses of cash have been for working capital requirements and capital expenditures. We monitor our net operating cash flow and maintain a level of cash deemed adequate by our management for working capital purposes.

As of March 31, 2018, we had a stockholders' deficit of $7.2 million and working capital (defined as current assets less current liabilities) of $4.2 million. Our cash balance was $17.6 million as of March 31, 2018.

Sources of Liquidity

We have financed a portion of our working capital through debt instruments. We maintain a $10.0 million term loan facility with PWB for working capital purposes. As of March 31, 2018, we had fully utilized our facility with PWB. The facility is secured by all of our assets other than intellectual property. We may not encumber our intellectual property without the consent of PWB. The outstanding principal amount under the loan facility bears interest at 5.0% per annum. Of the current amount outstanding, the loan matures with respect to $3.0 million in January 2020, with the remainder being due and payable in October 2020. Our credit facility with PWB contains restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business. We may not, among other things, without the prior written consent of PWB, (a) pay any dividends or make any other distribution or payment on account of or in redemption, retirement or purchase of any capital stock except in certain prescribed circumstances, (b) create, incur, assume, guarantee or be or remain liable with respect to any indebtedness except certain permitted indebtedness or prepay any indebtedness, (c) replace or suffer the departure of our Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer without delivering written notification to PWB within 10 days of such change or (d) suffer a change on our Board which results in the failure of at least one partner of either NEA or Canaan or their respective affiliates to serve as a voting member. We have, in the past, breached multiple covenants in our loan and security agreement related to cash levels, reporting requirements and required periodic deliverables to PWB. PWB has provided waivers in relation to all such prior breaches. Furthermore, pursuant to our credit facility with PWB, we are required at all times to maintain a balance of cash at PWB of at least $8.0 million. The credit facility also contains a covenant related to the observation of materially adverse data in our Phase 3 clinical trial of LIQ861 on or before December 31, 2018.

During the year ended December 31, 2017 and the three months ended March 31, 2018, we had outstanding a promissory note to UNC. As of December 31, 2016 and 2017, the outstanding balance of this note payable was $2.2 million and $2.3 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2018, the outstanding balance of this note payable was $2.3 million. The note is unsecured and bears interest at a rate equal to one-year LIBOR plus 3%, compounded annually. The UNC Note is due and payable in full on June 30, 2018.

In a series of closings from January 9, 2017 to November 29, 2017, we issued and sold an aggregate of $27.4 million underlying a total of 27 unsecured subordinated convertible promissory notes, each accruing simple interest at a rate of 8.0% per annum.

In February 2018, we issued and sold an aggregate of 91,147,482 shares of Series D preferred stock at a price per share equal to $0.59808. Of the 31 investors that participated in this offering, 10 investors purchased an aggregate of 42,863,825 shares of Series D preferred stock for an aggregate purchase price of $25.6 million and 26 holders of outstanding convertible notes in the aggregate amount of $28.9 million converted their notes into an aggregate of 48,283,657 shares of Series D preferred stock.

The total amount of outstanding principal and accrued interest on our unsecured subordinated convertible promissory notes was $28.6 million as of December 31, 2017 and $0 as of March 31, 2018. On February 2, 2018, the outstanding principal and accrued interest underlying each of the notes converted

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into shares of Series D preferred stock. Upon the closing of this offering, the shares of outstanding preferred stock will convert automatically into shares of common stock.

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash for the periods indicated:


 
  Year Ended
December 31,
  Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
 
  2016   2017   2017   2018  
 
  (in thousands)
  (in thousands)
 

Net cash provided by (used in):

                         

Operating activities

  $ (13,947 ) $ (24,290 ) $ (9,042 ) $ (10,000 )

Investing activities

    (2,885 )   (2,544 )   (51 )   (257 )

Financing activities

    6,110     28,814     15,704     24,432  

Net (decrease) increase in cash

  $ (10,722 ) $ 1,980   $ 6,611   $ 14,175  

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities increased $1.0 million, from $9.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 to $10.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The increase was mainly due to the increase in net loss. The primary drivers of operating cash requirements were our research and development and general and administrative activities in each period. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, net cash used in operating activities was $10.0 million, which comprised mainly operating cash outflows before working capital changes of $8.4 million, and net working capital outflows of $1.6 million.

Net cash used in operating activities increased $10.3 million, from $13.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 to $24.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase was mainly due to the increase in net loss. The primary drivers of operating cash requirements were our research and development and general and administrative activities in each period. For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash used in operating activities was $24.3 million, which comprised mainly operating cash outflows before working capital changes of $24.7 million, and net working capital inflows of $0.4 million.

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities increased $0.2 million, from $51 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2017 to $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The increase was due to increased purchases of property, plant and equipment.

Net cash used in investing activities decreased $0.4 million, from $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 to $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The decrease was due to decreased purchases of property, plant and equipment.

Financing activities

Net cash provided by financing activities increased $8.7 million, from $15.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 to $24.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, net cash provided by financing activities of $24.4 million was primarily due to net proceeds from the sale of Series D preferred stock of $25.6 million and proceeds from the exercise of stock options of $0.2 million, partially offset by principal payments on debt of $1.1 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities increased $22.7 million, from $6.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 to $28.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash provided by financing activities of $28.8 million was primarily due to proceeds from long-term debt of $31.4 million comprised of $4.0 million related to debt with PWB and

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convertible notes of $27.4 million, which was offset by $1.4 million in debt issuance costs. In addition, we received proceeds from the exercise of stock options and warrants of $0.1 million. The aggregate proceeds from financing activities were partially offset by principal payments on debt of $1.3 million.

Funding Requirements

We plan to focus in the near term on the development, regulatory approval and potential commercialization of LIQ861 and LIQ865. We anticipate we will incur net losses for the next several years as we complete clinical development of these product candidates and continue research and development of additional product candidates. In addition, we plan to continue to invest in discovery efforts to explore additional product candidates, potentially build commercial capabilities and expand our corporate infrastructure. We may not be able to complete the development and initiate commercialization of these programs if, among other things, our clinical trials are not successful or if the FDA does not approve our product candidates arising out of our current clinical trials when we expect, or at all.

Our primary uses of capital are, and we expect will continue to be, compensation and related expenses, clinical costs, external research and development services, laboratory and related supplies, legal and other regulatory expenses and administrative and overhead costs. Our future funding requirements will be heavily determined by the resources needed to support development of our product candidates.

Following this offering, we will be a publicly traded company and will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we were not required to incur as a private company. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules adopted by the SEC and Nasdaq, requires public companies to implement specified corporate governance practices that are currently inapplicable to us as a private company. We expect these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly.

We believe that the anticipated net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements until at least                                              , including the completion of our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial for LIQ861 and the initiation of our Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies in 2018 for LIQ865. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we expect. We expect that we will require additional capital to commercialize our product candidates, if we receive regulatory approval, and to pursue in-licenses or acquisitions of other product candidates. If we receive regulatory approval for LIQ861 or LIQ865, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution, depending on where we choose to commercialize. Additional funds may not be available on a timely basis, on favorable terms, or at all, and such funds, if raised, may not be sufficient to enable us to continue to implement our long-term business strategy. If we are unable to raise sufficient additional capital, we may need to substantially curtail our planned operations and the pursuit of our growth strategy.

We may raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities. In such an event, your ownership will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a holder of our common stock.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical drugs, we are unable to estimate the exact amount of our working capital requirements. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including:

    §
    the number and characteristics of the product candidates we pursue;

    §
    the scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing our product candidates, and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials;

    §
    the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining regulatory approvals for our product candidates;

    §
    the cost of manufacturing our product candidates and any product we successfully commercialize;

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    §
    our ability to establish and maintain strategic collaborations, licensing or other arrangements and the financial terms of such agreements;

    §
    the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing patent claims, including litigation costs and the outcome of such litigation; and

    §
    the timing, receipt and amount of sales of, or milestone payments related to or royalties on, our current or future product candidates, if any.

See "Risk Factors" for additional risks associated with our substantial capital requirements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

This management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to long-lived assets, derivatives, stock-based compensation and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in the notes to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, we believe the following accounting policies to be the most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.

Going Concern

Our operations have consisted primarily of developing our technology, developing products, prosecuting our intellectual property and securing financing. We have incurred recurring losses and cash flows from operations, have an accumulated deficit and have debt maturing within twelve months. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a basis which assumes that we will continue as a going concern. We have incurred losses and cash outflows from operations since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses in the foreseeable future and will require additional financial resources to continue to advance our products and intellectual property, in addition to repaying our maturing debt obligations. These circumstances raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans with regard to this matter include continuing attempts to obtain additional financing from our current investors and new investors to sustain our operations or to pursue other financing alternatives. However, there is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining sufficient financing on terms acceptable to us and our failure to obtain sufficient funds on acceptable terms, when needed, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If sufficient financings do not occur, this may necessitate other actions by us. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Revenue Recognition

Our revenues are generated through license, collaboration and other similar research and development agreements. These agreements include up-front fees, payments for achievement of specified development, regulatory and sales milestones and provision for billing for research and development services like particle formulations and manufacturing, all of which comprise our revenues. In addition, such agreements provide for royalties on product sales after commercial launch of the related products. We record any amounts received in advance of services performed as deferred revenue and recognize them as revenue over the estimated period of our substantive performance obligations.

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or the FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or Topic 606. The FASB issued

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Topic 606 to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue and to develop a common revenue standard for GAAP. The standard outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes the most current revenue recognition guidance. Topic 606 also includes Subtopic 340-40, Other Assets and Deferred Costs—Contracts with Customers, which requires the deferral of incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer and certain contract fulfillment costs. We adopted this standard and all the related amendments, or the new revenue standard, on January 1, 2018, applying the modified retrospective transition method. The modified retrospective transition method is applied on a prospective basis from the adoption date and does not recast historical financial statement periods. Any contracts with customers that were not complete as of the adoption date are reviewed and we recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying the new revenue standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit as of January 1, 2018. Financial information in comparative periods have not been restated and continue to be reported under the accounting methods in effect for that period.

This adoption primarily affected the recognition of non-refundable up-front fees and milestone payments. We previously recognized non-refundable up-front fees as deferred revenue which was recognized into revenue on a straight-line basis over the estimated period of our substantive performance obligations, as a component of a multiple element arrangement. Milestone payments were previously accounted for under ASC 605-28-50-2(e), which had required recognition of a milestone payment when the applicable event was considered to be both substantive and achieved. The adoption of the new revenue standard generally requires licenses that are not considered distinct performance obligations from other goods or services within a contract to be bundled with those goods or services as a combined performance obligation. Revenue associated with the combined performance obligation is recognized over time as those goods or services are delivered.

The adoption of the new revenue standard also impacted the deferral of sublicense payments related to the milestone payments, which were previously expensed when the milestone payments were recognized, and the timing of recognition of deferred sublicense payments related to upfront license payments. Under the new revenue standard, the incremental sublicense payments related to milestone payments will be deferred as contract fulfillment costs and amortized over time, consistent with the method of recognition for the related revenues.

The cumulative effect of the changes made to the January 1, 2018 balance of accumulated deficit on our balance sheet for the adoption of Topic 606 was an increase to the accumulated deficit of $0.5 million.

Stock-Based Compensation

We account for stock-based compensation under ASC Topic 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation, or ASC 718. Determining the amount of stock-based compensation to be recorded requires us to determine estimates of fair values of stock options as of the grant date.

We account for stock-based compensation by measuring and recognizing compensation expense for all stock-based payments made to employees and directors based on estimated grant date fair values. We use the straight-line method to allocate compensation cost to reporting periods over each optionee's requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period. We estimate the fair value of our stock-based awards to employees and directors using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, or the Black-Scholes Model. The Black-Scholes Model requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility, the calculation of expected term and the fair value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant, among other inputs. The risk-free interest rate was determined with the implied yield currently available for zero-coupon U.S. government issues with a remaining term approximating the expected life of the options.

All stock-based awards granted to non-employees are accounted for at their fair value in accordance with ASC 505, Accounting for Equity Instruments that are Issued to Other Than Employees for Acquiring, or in

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Conjunction with Selling, Goods or Services, or ASC 505, under which compensation expense is generally recognized over the vesting period of the award.

As there has been no public market for our common stock to date, the estimated fair value of our common stock has been determined by our board of directors, or our Board, as of the date of each option grant, with input from management, considering our most recently available third-party valuations of common stock and our Board's assessment of additional objective and subjective factors that it believed were relevant and which may have changed from the date of the most recent valuation through the date of the grant. These third-party valuations were performed in accordance with the guidance outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Accounting and Valuation Guide, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. Our common stock valuations were prepared using the hybrid method, which used market approaches and, in the November 8, 2016 and February 2, 2018 valuations, initial public offering pre-money valuation estimates provided by management, to estimate our enterprise value. The hybrid method is a probability-weighed expected return method, or PWERM, where the equity value in one or more of the scenarios is calculated using an option-pricing method, or OPM. The OPM treats common stock and preferred stock as call options on the total equity value of a company, with exercise prices based on the value thresholds at which the allocation among the various holders of a company's securities changes. Under this method, the common stock has value only if the funds available for distribution to stockholders exceeded the value of the preferred stock liquidation preferences at the time of the liquidity event, such as a strategic sale or a merger. The PWERM is a scenario-based methodology that estimates the fair value of common stock based upon an analysis of future values for the company, assuming various outcomes. The common stock value is based on the probability-weighted present value of expected future investment returns considering each of the possible outcomes available as well as the rights of each class of stock. The future value of the common stock under each outcome is discounted back to the valuation date at an appropriate risk-adjusted discount rate, a discount for lack of marketability is applied to each indication, and probability weighted to arrive at an indication of value for the common stock. Third-party valuations were performed at various dates by CapVal-American Business Appraisers, LLC, which resulted in valuations of our common stock of $0.35 per share as of November 8, 2015, $1.21 as of November 8, 2016, and $0.553 per share as of February 2, 2018. In addition to considering the results of these third-party valuations, our board of directors considered various objective and subjective factors to determine the fair value of our common stock as of each grant date, which may be a date later than the most recent third-party valuation date, including:

    §
    the prices at which we sold shares of preferred stock and the superior rights and preferences of the preferred stock relative to our common stock at the time of each grant;

    §
    the progress of our research and development programs, including the status of preclinical studies and planned clinical trials for our product candidates;

    §
    our stage of development and commercialization and our business strategy;

    §
    external market conditions affecting the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and trends within the biotechnology industry;

    §
    our financial position, including cash on hand, and our historical and forecasted performance and operating results;

    §
    the lack of an active public market for our common stock and our preferred stock;

    §
    the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering or a sale of our company in light of prevailing market conditions; and

    §
    the analysis of initial public offerings and the market performance of similar companies in the biopharmaceutical industry.

The assumptions underlying these valuations represent management's best estimates, which involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. As a result, if factors or expected outcomes change and we use significantly different assumptions or estimates, our stock-based compensation expense could be materially different.

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Options Granted

The following table sets forth by grant date the number of shares subject to options granted between January 1, 2016 and the date of this prospectus, the per share exercise price of the options and the fair value of common stock per share on each grant date:


Grant Date
  Number of
Shares Subject
to Options
Granted
  Per Share
Exercise
Price of
Options
  Fair Value of
Common Stock
Per Share
on Grant Date
 

February 10, 2016

    645,139   $ 0.35   $ 0.35  

August 10, 2016

    465,617   $ 0.35   $ 0.35  

August 30, 2016

    235,000   $ 0.35   $ 0.35  

December 7, 2016

    150,000   $ 1.21   $ 1.21  

March 15, 2017

    219,000   $ 1.21   $ 1.21  

May 31, 2017

    18,000   $ 1.21   $ 1.21  

March 7, 2018(1)

    13,645,767   $ 0.55   $ 0.55  

March 27, 2018

    25,000   $ 0.55   $ 0.55  

(1)
We also issued 2,146,767 restricted stock units on March 7, 2018 to Kevin Gordon, our new President and Chief Financial Officer.

For stock awards after the completion of this offering, our Board intends to determine the fair value of each share of underlying common stock based on the closing price of our common stock as reported on the date of grant.

The intrinsic value of all outstanding options as of the date of this prospectus was $           million based on the estimated fair value of our common stock of $          per share, which is the assumed initial public offering price per share of our common stock based on the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus.

If factors change and we employ different assumptions, stock-based compensation expense may differ significantly from what we have recorded in the past. If there are any modifications or cancellations of the underlying unvested securities, we may be required to accelerate, increase or cancel any remaining unearned stock-based compensation expense. To the extent that our assumptions are incorrect, the amount of stock-based compensation recorded will change.

Convertible Instruments

We have utilized various types of financing to fund our business needs, including convertible debt and convertible preferred stock, in some cases with corresponding warrants. We considered guidance within FASB ASC 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options, or ASC 470-20, ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, or ASC 480, and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, or ASC 815, when accounting for the issuance of convertible securities. Additionally, we review the instruments to determine whether they are freestanding or contain an embedded derivative and, if so, whether they should be classified in permanent equity, mezzanine equity or as a liability at each reporting period until the amount is settled and reclassified into equity.

When multiple instruments are issued in a single transaction, we allocate total proceeds from the transaction among the individual freestanding instruments identified. The allocation is made after identifying all the freestanding instruments and the subsequent measurement basis for those instruments.

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The subsequent measurement basis determines how the proceeds are allocated. Generally, proceeds are allocated based on one of the following methods:

    §
    Fair value method—The instrument being analyzed is allocated a portion of the proceeds equal to its fair value, with the remaining proceeds allocated to the other instruments as appropriate.

    §
    Relative fair value method—The instrument being analyzed is allocated a portion of the proceeds based on the proportion of its fair value to the sum of the fair values of all the instruments covered in the allocation.

    §
    Residual value method—The instrument being analyzed is allocated the remaining proceeds after an allocation is made to all other instruments covered in the allocation.

Generally, when there are multiple instruments issued in a single transaction that have different subsequent measurement bases, the proceeds from the transaction are first allocated to the instrument that is subsequently measured at fair value (i.e., instruments accounted for as a derivative liabilities) at its issuance date fair value, with the residual proceeds allocated to the instrument not subsequently measured at fair value. In the event both instruments in the transaction are not subsequently measured at fair value (i.e., equity-classified instruments), the proceeds from the transaction are allocated to the freestanding instruments based on their respective fair values, using the relative fair value method.

After the proceeds are allocated to the freestanding instruments, resulting in an initial discount on the host contract, those instruments are further evaluated for embedded features (i.e., conversion options) that require bifurcation and separate accounting as a derivative financial instrument pursuant to ASC 815. Embedded derivatives are initially and subsequently measured at fair value. Under ASC 815, a portion of the proceeds received upon the issuance of the hybrid contract is allocated to the fair value of the derivative.

We account for convertible instruments in which it is determined that the embedded conversion options should not be bifurcated from their host instruments in accordance with ASC 470-20. Under ASC 470-20, we record, when necessary, discounts to convertible notes or convertible preferred stock for the intrinsic value of conversion options embedded in the convertible instruments based upon the differences between the fair value of the underlying common stock at the commitment date of the transaction and the effective conversion price embedded in the convertible instrument, unless limited by the proceeds allocated to such instrument.

Warrant Liabilities

We have classified warrants to purchase shares of Series C-1 preferred stock as liabilities on our balance sheets as these warrants were free-standing financial instruments that will require us to issue convertible securities upon exercise. The warrants were initially recorded at fair value on date of grant, and they will be subsequently remeasured to fair value at each reporting period. Changes in fair value of the warrants are recognized as a component of other income (expense) in our statements of operations and comprehensive loss. We will continue to adjust the liabilities for changes in fair value at each reporting period until the warrant liabilities are settled. Following the completion of this offering and the conversion of preferred stock into common stock, we will no longer include the warrant liabilities on the balance sheet or recognize changes in their fair value in the statements of operations and comprehensive loss since they will then be exercisable into shares of common stock.

We used the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which incorporates assumptions and estimates, to value the preferred stock warrants. We assessed these assumptions and estimates on a quarterly basis as additional information impacting the assumptions was obtained. Estimates and assumptions impacting the fair value measurement included the fair value per share of the underlying Series C-1 preferred stock, the remaining contractual term of the warrant, the risk-free interest rate, the expected dividend yield and the expected volatility of the price of the underlying preferred stock. We determined the fair value per share of the underlying preferred stock by taking into consideration the most recent sales of our convertible preferred stock, results obtained from third-party valuations and additional factors that were deemed relevant. We estimated our expected stock volatility based on the historical volatility of publicly traded peer companies

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for a term equal to the remaining contractual term of the warrant. The risk-free interest rate was determined by reference to the U.S. Treasury yield curve for time periods approximately equal to the remaining contractual term of the warrant. Expected dividend yield was based on the fact that we have never paid cash dividends and do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Embedded Derivatives

Embedded derivatives that are required to be bifurcated from the underlying instrument are accounted for and valued as a separate financial instrument. In conjunction with our convertible instruments, embedded derivatives exist associated with the future consummation of a qualified financing event, as defined, and a subsequent discounted conversion of the instrument to capital stock. The embedded derivatives are bifurcated and classified as derivative liabilities on the balance sheets and separately adjusted to their fair values at the end of each reporting period. Changes in fair values of the derivative liabilities are recognized as a component of other income (expense) in the statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Issuance Costs Related to Equity and Debt

We allocate issuance costs between the individual freestanding instruments identified on the same basis as proceeds were allocated. Issuance costs associated with the issuance of stock or equity contracts (i.e., equity-classified warrants and convertible preferred stock) are recorded as a charge against the gross proceeds of the offering. Any issuance costs associated with the issuance of liability-classified warrants are expensed as incurred. Issuance costs associated with the issuance of debt (i.e., convertible debt) are recorded as a direct reduction of the carrying amount of the debt liability, but limited to the notional value of the debt. We account for debt as liabilities measured at amortized cost and amortizes the resulting debt discount to interest expense using the straight-line method over the expected term of the notes pursuant to ASC 835, Interest (ASC 835). To the extent that the reduction from issuance costs of the carrying amount of the debt liability would reduce the carrying amount below zero, such excess is recorded as interest expense.

Income Taxes

We file U.S. Federal income tax returns and North Carolina State tax returns. Our deferred tax assets primarily consist of Federal and State tax net operating losses and tax credit carryforwards and are recorded using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect in the years in which these temporary differences are expected to be utilized. As of March 31, 2018, we had Federal net operating loss carryforwards of $96.9 million that begin to expire in 2027 for Federal purposes and $97.9 million that begin to expire in 2022 for State purposes. The utilization of the credit carryforwards to reduce future income taxes will depend on our ability to generate sufficient taxable income prior to the expiration of the carryforwards. We may be subject to the net operating loss utilization provisions of Section 382 of the Code. The effect of an ownership change would be the imposition of an annual limitation on the use of net operating loss carryforwards attributable to periods before the change. The amount of the annual limitation depends upon our value immediately before the ownership change, changes to our capital during a specified period prior to the change and the Federal published interest rate. Our management estimates and records a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets when realization of the tax benefit is uncertain. A valuation allowance is recorded, if necessary, to reduce net deferred taxes to their realizable values if our management does not believe it is more likely than not that the net deferred tax assets will be realized.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the TCJA, was enacted into law. This new law includes significant changes to the U.S. corporate income tax system, including a permanent reduction in the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, limitations on the deductibility of interest expense and executive compensation and the transition of U.S. international taxation from a worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system. The TCJA also limits interest expense deductions to 30% of taxable income before interest, depreciation and amortization from 2018 to 2021 and then taxable income before interest thereafter. The TCJA permits disallowed interest expense to be carried forward for five years. We have calculated our best estimate of the impact of the TCJA in our year-end income tax provision in accordance with our understanding of the TCJA and guidance available at the time. The overall impact of the TCJA resulted in a decrease to the deferred tax assets and a corresponding decrease to the valuation allowance of

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$14.1 million. Using the guidance issued by the SEC staff in Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, we expect to complete the accounting for the TCJA when our 2017 U.S. federal income tax return is filed in 2018.

Research and Development Expenses

When preparing our financial statements, we are required to estimate our research and development expenses. This process involves reviewing open contracts and communicating with our personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. Payments under some of the contracts we have with parties depend on factors, such as successful enrollment of certain numbers of patients, site initiation and the completion of clinical trial milestones. When accruing clinical expenses, we estimate the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort to be expended in each period. If possible, we obtain information regarding unbilled services directly from our service providers. However, we may be required to estimate the cost of these services based only on information available to us. If we underestimate or overestimate the cost associated with a trial or service at a given point in time, adjustments to research and development expenses may be necessary in future periods. Historically, our estimated research and development expenses have approximated actual expenses incurred.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying values of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and related party receivables at March 31, 2018 approximated their fair value due to the short maturity of these instruments.

Our valuation of financial instruments is based on a three-tiered approach, which requires that fair value measurements be classified and disclosed in one of three tiers. The fair value hierarchy defines a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements as follows:

    §
    Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

    §
    Level 2 — Other than quoted prices included in Level 1 inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly; and

    §
    Level 3 — Unobservable inputs for the asset and liability used to measure fair value, to the extent that observable inputs are not available.

The categorization of a financial instrument within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

JOBS Act

As an "emerging growth company" under the JOBS Act, we can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected to "opt out" of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards when they are required to be adopted by public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

Subject to certain conditions, as an emerging growth company, we intend to rely on certain of these exemptions, including without limitation:

    §
    only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" disclosure;

    §
    reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;

    §
    no advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and

    §
    exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting.

We may take advantage of these exemptions for up to five years or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company on the date that is the

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earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more; (ii) the last day of 2023; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these exemptions. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting requirements in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different from the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold stock.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2017.


 
  Payments Due by Period  
 
  (in thousands)
 
 
  Less than
1 Year
  1-3 Years   3-5 Years   More Than
5 Years
  Total  

Long-term debt obligations(1)

  $ 33,180   $ 5,577   $   $   $ 38,757  

Operating lease obligations(2)

    968     2,019     2,128     4,159     9,274  

Capital lease obligations(3)

    489     530             1,019  

Purchase obligations(4)

    8,093     1,745             9,838  

Total

  $ 42,730   $ 9,871   $ 2,128   $ 4,159   $ 58,888  


(1)
Consists of our (i) $9.1 million balance under our loan facility with PWB, (ii) $2.3 million promissory note issued to UNC, and (iii) $27.4 million of convertible notes, which were converted into Series D preferred stock in February 2018.

(2)
Consists of obligations under (i) two multi-year, non-cancelable building leases for our facilities in Morrisville, North Carolina, which expire on October 31, 2026, (ii) our agreement with Chasm Technologies, Inc. for services related to our manufacturing facilities, and (iii) copier equipment under a lease which expires in 2019.

(3)
Consists of (i) leases for specialized lab equipment and (ii) an agreement with a commercial manufacturer to build a PRINT particle fabrication line.

(4)
Consists of other contracts entered into in the normal course of business with CROs, clinical trial sites and manufacturing organizations and with vendors for preclinical studies, research suppliers and other services and products for operating purposes. These contracts generally provide for termination by either party after a notice period.

We have two leases for our facilities in Morrisville, North Carolina. In January 2017, the leases were amended to extend the term through October 31, 2026. Our contractual commitments under the leases as of December 31, 2017 total $9.3 million.

We have drawn down an aggregate of $10.0 million from our loan agreement with PWB as of December 31, 2017. Our contractual commitments under the LSA as of December 31, 2017 consist of an aggregate of $9.1 million in repayment obligations, inclusive of related interest amounts. See "—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Sources of Liquidity" for additional information regarding the LSA.

This table does not include any potential milestone or royalty payments we may be required to make under the UNC License because the amount and timing of when those payments will actually be made is uncertain and the payments are contingent upon the initiation and completion of future activities.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We are exposed to market risks related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates.

We contract with suppliers in foreign countries. As such, we have exposure to adverse changes in exchange rates of foreign currencies, principally the Euro, associated with our foreign transactions. We believe this

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exposure to be immaterial. We currently do not hedge against this exposure to fluctuations in exchange rates.

Our exposure to market risk also relates to interest rate sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of U.S. interest rates. As of December 31, 2017, excluding capital leases and excluding convertible notes that were converted into Series D preferred stock in February 2018, our aggregate outstanding indebtedness was $11.3 million, which bears interest at rates varying from 3.75% to 5.0% or LIBOR plus 3.0%. Due to the short-term duration of our indebtedness, an immediate one percentage point change in interest rates would not have a material effect on our financial position or results of operations.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

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BUSINESS

Overview

We are a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of human therapeutics using our proprietary PRINT® technology to transform the lives of patients. PRINT is a particle engineering platform that enables precise production of uniform drug particles designed to improve the safety, efficacy and performance of a wide range of therapies. We are currently focused on the development of two product candidates for which we hold worldwide commercial rights: LIQ861 for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, and LIQ865 for the treatment of local post-operative pain. Our lead product candidate, LIQ861, is being evaluated in a Phase 3 trial. LIQ861 is an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed to improve the therapeutic profile of treprostinil by enhancing deep-lung delivery and achieving higher dose levels than current inhaled therapies. We have applied our PRINT technology to enable us to deliver LIQ861 through a convenient, disposable dry powder inhaler, or DPI. Our second product candidate, LIQ865, for which we have recently completed a Phase 1b clinical trial, is designed to deliver sustained-release particles of bupivacaine, a non-opioid anesthetic, to treat local post-operative pain for three to five days through a single administration. In addition to developing our two product candidates, we collaborate, and intend to collaborate, with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop their own product candidates across a wide range of therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration, leveraging our PRINT technology.

Our lead product candidate, LIQ861, is an inhaled, dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed for enhancing deep-lung delivery using a convenient DPI for the treatment of PAH, a chronic, progressive disease caused by the hardening and narrowing of the pulmonary arteries that can lead to right heart failure and eventually death. Treprostinil is a synthetic analog of prostacyclin, a vasoactive mediator essential to normal lung function that is deficient in patients with PAH. PAH is a rare disease, with an estimated prevalence in the United States expected to be between 25,000 and 30,000 patients by 2020. Decision Resources Group, an independent industry research firm, estimated that in 2016 more than 50% of patients with PAH in the United States were prescribed treprostinil across its three routes of administration (oral, inhaled and parenteral infusion), generating revenue that represented about one-third of the approximately $3.7 billion U.S. market for PAH drug therapies. The inhaled route of administration, in which medication is inhaled directly into the lungs, helps minimize the off-tissue adverse side effects of systemic delivery by delivering the drug directly where it is needed. Tyvaso® (treprostinil, inhaled solution), marketed by United Therapeutics Corporation in the United States, is the standard of care among the inhaled therapies, with more than 80% of inhaled prostacyclin sales in the United States. Current inhaled therapies, including Tyvaso, are delivered by a nebulizer, a device that converts a liquid formulation into mist, and require between four and nine doses per day. Nebulizers require regular care and maintenance, including daily cleaning and access to additional parts and supplies, such as distilled water and a power source, all of which compromise the portability of the device and the quality of life of patients.

We believe LIQ861, if approved, will be the first-to-market inhaled dry powder treprostinil that can be delivered using a convenient, palm-sized, disposable DPI. We believe LIQ861 can overcome the limitations of current inhaled therapies and has the potential to maximize the therapeutic benefits of treprostinil in treating PAH by safely delivering higher doses into the lungs. Based on our in vitro studies we believe that the precise size, trefoil-like shape and uniformity of each LIQ861 particle may provide deep-lung delivery of treprostinil and may reduce deposition in the upper airway where irritation and pain have been observed with nebulized treprostinil. In March 2017, we completed a Phase 1 trial of LIQ861 in 57 healthy volunteers in which LIQ861 was well-tolerated at all doses tested up to 150 mcg, which we estimate is equivalent to approximately twice the maximum recommended dosage of Tyvaso, and showed a proportional dose-response in pharmacokinetics. We estimate that the 75 mcg dose of LIQ861, delivered in one to two breaths, is approximately equivalent to the maximum recommended dosage of Tyvaso (54 mcg, delivered in nine breaths). After consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, we advanced

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from this Phase 1 trial into our current single, pivotal Phase 3 trial, known as INSPIRE, or Investigation of the Safety and Pharmacology of Dry Powder Inhalation of Treprostinil. We will seek approval of LIQ861 under the 505(b)(2) pathway, which would allow us to rely in part on the FDA's previous findings of efficacy and safety of Tyvaso and the active ingredient treprostinil, which has been approved in four different products administered through the continuous infusion (parenteral), inhaled and oral routes. In January 2018, we announced the initiation of INSPIRE evaluating LIQ861 for the treatment of PAH in the United States. If approved, we believe LIQ861 will have the potential to increase the number of patients using the inhaled route of treatment for PAH by providing the benefits of inhaled prostacyclin therapy earlier in a patient's disease progression as well as delaying the burden of starting continuously infused products. As of May      , 2018,           patients have enrolled in the INSPIRE trial at           trial sites and we have contracted a total of           trial sites to enroll patients. The study is designed to evaluate patients who have either been under stable treatment with nebulizer-delivered trepostinil for at least three months and are transitioned to LIQ861 under the protocol or who have been under stable treatment with no more than two non-prostacyclin oral PAH therapies for at least three months and have their treatment regimen supplemented with LIQ861 under the protocol. Of the total enrolled patient population, as of May      , 2018,           subjects have received at least two weeks of LIQ861 at a stable dose,            of whom have been titrated up from the initial starting dose under the protocol. Two weeks is the first scheduled patient assessment.

Our second product candidate, LIQ865, is an injectable, sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine for the management of local post-operative pain for three to five days after a procedure. We believe LIQ865, if approved, has the potential to provide significantly longer local post-operative pain relief compared to currently marketed formulations of bupivacaine. We estimate that there were over 40 million surgeries in our target market, which consists of orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries, performed in the United States in 2016. According to IMS Health, an independent market research firm, the global market for local anesthetics was approximately $776 million in 2016. Despite current pain-management protocols, post-operative pain is still undermanaged, with studies showing that approximately 50% of patients self-report inadequate pain relief. Post-operative pain management is becoming more important as surgeries increase in volume and complexity and hospitals seek treatments that support faster recovery and time to discharge. Concurrently, the risk of opioid abuse and diversion has led physicians, payors and the U.S. federal government to prioritize pain management strategies that minimize reliance on opioids. Local anesthetics, such as bupivacaine, provide a well-established, non-opioid option for post-operative pain management, but their duration of efficacy has been limited to eight hours or less. The FDA has approved one long-acting local anesthetic, liposomal bupivacaine, but pain relief typically lasts only 24 to 36 hours, according to physicians, and its use in combination with other local anesthetics can result in an unsafe release of drug. In LIQ865, we have engineered the size and composition of the LIQ865 PRINT particles to release bupivacaine over three to five days through a single administration. We completed a Phase 1a clinical trial of LIQ865 in Denmark and a Phase 1b clinical trial in the United States. We expect to initiate Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies for LIQ865 in the second half of 2018.

Both LIQ861 and LIQ865 are being developed using our proprietary PRINT particle engineering technology, which allows us to engineer and manufacture highly uniform drug particles with independent control over their size, three-dimensional geometric shape and chemical composition. By controlling these physical and chemical parameters of particles, PRINT enables us to target and design desirable pharmacological benefits into product candidates, including prolonged duration of drug release, increased drug loading, a more convenient method of administration, novel combination products, enhanced storage and stability and the potential to reduce adverse side effects. We have scaled PRINT manufacturing to meet the demands of clinical development and, we believe, commercial production. Our approach enables us to design and produce custom micro- and nano-particles containing existing or new small molecule drugs or biologics. For example, we have engineered LIQ861 so that each particle has an ideal aerodynamic size and shape for deep-lung delivery. Our PRINT particle engineering technology also allows us to design the chemical

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composition of particles to control drug release ranging from minutes, days, weeks or months as needed to meet a target profile, such as LIQ865's three to five day release of bupivacaine.

Initially, our internal pipeline is focused on the development of improved and differentiated drug products containing FDA-approved active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, with established efficacy and safety profiles, which we believe are eligible for the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway to seek marketing approval in the United States. The 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway can be capital efficient and potentially enable a shorter time to approval. We intend to seek marketing approval in the United States for LIQ861 and LIQ865 under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which would allow us to rely in part on existing knowledge of the safety and efficacy of the reference listed drugs. The FDA has indicated that it considers LIQ861, which is delivered by a DPI, to be a drug-device combination product and, accordingly, the DPI will be evaluated as part of our new drug application, or NDA, filing.

In addition to building our own internal pipeline, we collaborate with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop their own product candidates, leveraging our PRINT technology across a wide range of therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration. Through our collaboration arrangement with GlaxoSmithKline plc and its subsidiaries, collectively, GSK, we apply PRINT technology to novel molecules. If our product candidates receive marketing approval, we plan to commercialize them in the United States by establishing our own sales force and commercial infrastructure. Outside of the United States, we intend to pursue the regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates with leading pharmaceutical companies with regional expertise. We intend to manufacture our product candidates using in-house capabilities. Where appropriate, we will rely on contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, to produce, package and distribute our approved drug products on a commercial scale.

Product Pipeline

The following table summarizes key information about clinical-stage product candidates being developed using PRINT technology.

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Our Strategy

Our goal is to develop and commercialize medicines with improved and differentiated product profiles based on our PRINT particle engineering technology. To achieve this goal, we intend to execute the following key elements of our business strategy:

    §
    Complete the pivotal, safety and pharmacology Phase 3 trial for our lead product candidate, LIQ861, in PAH.  We initiated INSPIRE, a single, open-label Phase 3 trial, in 100 patients with PAH. We believe, based on feedback from the FDA, that this will support the NDA filing for our novel inhaled dry powder inhaled formulation of treprostinil to treat PAH. We expect to release interim safety data from INSPIRE in the first half of 2019.

    §
    Advance our local post-operative pain product candidate, LIQ865, through Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies.  We completed a Phase 1a clinical trial of LIQ865, our novel long-acting formulation of bupivacaine, in Denmark in March 2017, and a Phase 1b clinical trial in the United States in April 2018. We expect to initiate Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies in the second half of 2018.

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    Secure regulatory approval and commercialize our internal product candidates independently in the United States and with leading pharmaceutical companies globally.  We hold worldwide commercialization rights to LIQ861 and LIQ865. Subject to receiving marketing approval which we intend to pursue in the United States via the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, we intend to independently pursue the commercialization of LIQ861 in the United States by establishing targeted sales and marketing teams. After reviewing the results of our Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies for LIQ865, and subject to the availability of sufficient funding, we will develop and commercialize LIQ865 independently, if it is ultimately approved, or seek to license this product candidate to one or more third parties. Outside of the United States, we intend to pursue the regulatory approval and commercialization of LIQ861 and LIQ865 with leading pharmaceutical companies with regional expertise.

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    Expand our internal pipeline leveraging our PRINT technology.  We intend to continue targeting diseases where we believe our PRINT technology can improve the efficacy, safety and patient experience of current treatments that have been impaired by suboptimal drug product formulation and delivery. We plan to focus initially on the development of improved and differentiated drug products containing FDA-approved APIs with proven efficacy and safety profiles eligible to use the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. In addition, we may expand our clinical development of LIQ861 and LIQ865, where appropriate, into broader indications or new applications.

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    Pursue strategic collaborations to maximize the value of products enabled by PRINT technology.  In addition to advancing our own internal product candidates, we intend to continue collaborating with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop their own product candidates across a wide range of therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration, leveraging our PRINT technology. Our collaborations help advance new PRINT capabilities, while adding to our intellectual property portfolio.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that we have several key strengths that have contributed to the development of our business and that will help us to realize our goal of becoming a biopharmaceutical company across research, development and commercialization activities. Our competitive strengths include:

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    Our PRINT technology gives us the capability to overcome the constraints of conventional formulation and production methods and can be applied broadly across therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration.  Our PRINT technology allows us to precisely engineer drug particles in a wide variety of compositions, sizes and shapes and achieve a high level of control over the physical and chemical characteristics of drug particles, as compared to conventional formulation and production methods. PRINT particles can be designed to address specific pharmacological or therapeutic objectives, such as enhancing the route of administration, improving solubility, enhancing

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      stability or extending therapeutic effects. Using our PRINT technology, we are able to engineer, among others, small molecule and biologic particles, single agent drug and combination drug particles and vaccine particles to improve efficacy, safety and convenience for patients. Our internal pipeline strategy is currently focused on developing proprietary innovations to currently approved drug products in order to minimize development risks and increase speed to market.

    In particular, we have designed LIQ861 to maximize the therapeutic benefits of treprostinil in treating PAH by safely delivering higher doses into the lungs using a convenient, palm-sized, disposable DPI. We believe that this may lead to a more attractive product profile with a more convenient method of administering the drug, as compared to the existing inhaled therapies that are currently available. We have also designed LIQ865 with the intention of providing patients with local post-operative analgesia for three to five days. We believe this would provide a longer period of pain relief than the existing local-acting pain drugs that are available, which could be a positive feature in light of interest in reducing the patient's reliance on opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, for local post-operative pain management.

    Our PRINT technology is broadly applicable — across therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration — providing us with opportunities for future drug product development.

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    We have scaled operations with rapid and cost-effective transition to clinical development and commercial production.  We believe our research and development operations and PRINT technology allow us to transition rapidly and cost-effectively from laboratory to clinical development and ultimately commercial-scale manufacture of drug particles. Utilizing well-established techniques from other roll-to-roll manufacturing processes, we have scaled PRINT technology to support the quality and quantity needs for clinical and, we believe, commercial production of our product candidates. The physical equipment for the PRINT technology requires a relatively small footprint, low capital investment and minimal operating costs. We believe our manufacturing facilities comply with the FDA's current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, requirements.

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    We have a strong proprietary position through a combination of patents, trade secrets, proprietary know-how and licensing arrangements.  We protect our PRINT technology and the resulting engineered particles through a combination of patents, trade secrets, proprietary know-how and licensing arrangements. We have an active patent strategy that covers major geographic markets, including the United States, Europe and Japan. As of April 30, 2018, our patent portfolio, which includes patents and patent applications we own or co-own, as well as patents and patent applications we have licensed from third parties, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, or UNC, comprises 86 issued patents and 36 pending patent applications worldwide. As we develop new product candidates, either independently or with collaborators, we will seek additional patent protection.

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    We have strong capabilities in pharmaceutical research and clinical development.  Our research and development team includes 26 employees, led by our senior management, and has extensive experience in clinical development and pharmaceutical research and development activities in our specific areas of research interest.

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    We have a seasoned management team.  Our team includes industry veterans with significant experience in drug discovery, development and commercialization. Members of our leadership team have worked across different segments of the pharmaceutical industry, including branded and generic pharmaceuticals, medical devices and manufacturing services. Prior to joining us, our Chief Executive Officer and director, Neal Fowler, served as president of Centocor, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that is focused on the development and commercialization of biomedicines used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases. Additionally, our President and Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Gordon, previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc. (now named IQVIA Holdings Inc.), a global biopharmaceutical services provider, and our Chief Operations Officer, Robert Lippe, previously served as executive vice president of operations and chief operations officer at Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Furthermore, our

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      Senior Vice President, Product Development, Dr. Robert Roscigno, previously served as the executive vice president of GeNO, LLC, where he led the clinical development team working on a novel nitric oxide delivery system, and before that he served as the president and chief operating officer of Lung Rx, Inc., where he was part of the team responsible for bringing Tyvaso through Phase 3 development, and he previously served in multiple leadership positions at United Therapeutics Corporation and its subsidiaries, contributing to the successful development and worldwide commercialization of Remodulin™, which is treprostinil administered through subcutaneous or intravenous infusion, for the treatment of PAH. We believe that their experience enables us to evaluate opportunities and build collaboration arrangements that match the breadth of the potential applications for our PRINT technology.

Our Product Candidates

LIQ861

Our lead product candidate, LIQ861, is an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil designed using our PRINT technology to enhance deep-lung delivery using a convenient DPI for the treatment of PAH. We believe LIQ861 can overcome the limitations of current inhaled therapies and has the potential to maximize the therapeutic benefits of treprostinil in treating PAH by safely delivering higher doses into the lungs. If approved, we believe LIQ861 will have the potential to increase the number of patients using the inhaled route of treatment for PAH by providing the benefits of inhaled prostacyclin therapy earlier in a patient's disease progression as well as delaying the burden of starting continuously infused products.

Background on PAH

PAH is a chronic, progressive disease caused by the hardening and narrowing of pulmonary arteries that can lead to right heart failure and eventually death. Prostacyclin is a vasoactive mediator essential to normal lung function that is deficient in patients with PAH. With PAH, the elevated pressure in the pulmonary arteries strains the right side of the heart as it pumps blood to the lungs. The extra stress causes the heart to enlarge and become less flexible, compromising its ability to push blood out of the heart through the lungs and into the rest of the body. PAH initially presents as exertional dyspnea, lethargy and fatigue and may be confused with other disease states with similar symptoms. PAH often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed until symptoms become severe, with the mean time from onset of symptoms to correct diagnosis being more than two years in the United States. As PAH progresses and right ventricular failure develops, exertional chest pain, or angina, exertional syncope and peripheral edema may develop. Following confirmation of diagnosis based on hemodynamic parameters, treatment is recommended to lower pulmonary pressures and treat the symptoms of PAH.

PAH is part of a larger classification of pulmonary hypertension, or PH, which is divided into five groups based on the criteria of the World Health Organization, or WHO, as defined at the 5th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension in Nice, France. WHO Group I is comprised of individuals with PAH.

PAH is a rare disease, with an estimated prevalence in the United States expected to be between 25,000 and 30,000 patients by 2020. Today, the mean age of diagnosis is 50 years according to both French and U.S. registries, with more women being diagnosed with PAH than men. Patients may have idiopathic PAH, in which no underlying cause can be determined, or a heritable form of the disease. A large number of PAH patients also have associated comorbidities such as congenital heart disease, HIV, connective tissue diseases like scleroderma, liver diseases, systemic hypertension, obesity, clinical depression, non-PAH related obstructive airways, sleep apnea and diabetes.

Due to delayed diagnosis, many patients already have an advanced form of PAH, requiring aggressive treatment combining multiple classes of therapy. The severity of PAH may be classified according to the heart failure guidelines of the New York Heart Association, or NYHA, based on how much patients are limited during physical activity and described by the American Heart Association as follows:

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    NYHA Class I — No limitation of physical activity. Ordinary physical activity does not cause undue fatigue, palpitation or dyspnea, which is shortness of breath.

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    §
    NYHA Class II — Slight limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest. Ordinary physical activity results in fatigue, palpitation or dyspnea.

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    NYHA Class III — Marked limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest. Less than ordinary activity causes fatigue, palpitation or dyspnea.

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    NYHA Class IV — Unable to carry on any physical activity without discomfort. Symptoms of heart failure at rest. If any physical activity is undertaken, discomfort increases.

As reported by Decision Resources Group, net revenue in the U.S. market for PAH drug therapies in 2016 was estimated to be $3.7 billion. Of such amount, $2.0 billion was generated from patients in NYHA Class III, $1.2 billion was generated from patients in NYHA Class II and an aggregate of $0.5 billion was generated from patients in NYHA Classes I and IV.

As the disease progresses, these symptoms cause significant negative impact on the quality of life of patients, limiting their ability to do common daily activities, including work, travel and previous hobbies. Patients also describe the emotional toll of PAH, including fear, frustration, embarrassment and stigma. The burden of care associated with currently available treatments can add further logistical and emotional burden to the patients.

Current Therapies and Their Limitations

There is currently no cure for PAH. The goals of existing treatments are to alleviate symptoms, maintain or improve NYHA functional class, delay disease progression and improve quality of life. Inhaled therapies are generally prescribed for, but not limited to, patients in NYHA Class II and Class III. Approved drugs target three distinct molecular pathways that have been implicated in the disease process: the prostacyclin pathway, the nitric oxide pathway and the endothelin pathway. Drugs targeting each of these pathways are used alone or in combination with each other to treat patients with PAH. Prostacyclin deficiency in the lung is a central dysfunction in PAH, but can be supplemented with prostacyclin analogs. Prostacyclin deficiency can also be managed with a recently approved selective IP prostacyclin receptor agonist, selexipag. Nitric oxide deficiency can be treated with phosphodiesterase-5, or PDE5, inhibitors, which target a specific enzyme, increasing vasodilation. Endothelin overexpression in PAH patients causes vasoconstriction of pulmonary vasculature, but can be treated with endothelin receptor antagonists, or ERAs. Many physicians start their PAH patients on oral PDE5 inhibitors, oral ERAs or both. Drugs targeted to the prostacyclin pathway are usually added to these oral therapies, but can be used alone.

Drugs targeting the prostacyclin pathway are central to PAH therapy. Prostacyclin is essential to normal lung function. In healthy people, prostacyclin, which is a vasoactive mediator, is continually released by lungs into arterial circulation to bind different receptors for different effects to regulate vessel tone, including direct vasodilation of pulmonary arteries, inhibition of the proliferation of smooth muscle cells within arteries and inhibition of platelet aggregation. To supplement the deficiency of prostacyclin in patients with PAH, several prostacyclin analogs have been developed including epoprostenol, which is administered intravenously; treprostinil, which can be administered intravenously, subcutaneously or in nebulized or oral formulations; and iloprost, which can be administered intravenously or in nebulized form. A new class of drugs called selective IP prostacyclin receptor agonists help stimulate some of the mechanisms that would otherwise be promoted by prostacyclin or an analog. Selexipag is an oral drug and the only approved molecule in this new class.

The goal of treatment targeting the prostacyclin pathway is to maximize a patient's exposure to the highest tolerable level of drug. Prostacyclin analogs, like treprostinil, have been developed for continuous infusion, either intravenously or subcutaneously, inhalation using a nebulizer and oral administration in the form of tablets. The maximal efficacy benefit of any one drug in the prostacyclin pathway is partially limited by its specific safety profile. Drugs treating the prostacyclin pathway, including oral treprostinil and IP prostacyclin receptor agonists such as selexipag, are limited by side effects from binding of the drug to receptors in non-targeted tissues, such as the gut and nerves, which can cause diarrhea, nausea and jaw pain. Nebulized solutions can have side effects including cough and upper airway irritation and pain caused by

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their topical irritant properties, which limits the amount of drug that can be given to the patient. As the disease progresses, patients will require continuous prostacyclin infusion to maximize drug exposure. Infusion pumps present unique risks related to infusion site pain and the risk of blood stream infections, and increase significant limitations on the quality of life of patients.

Delivering prostacyclin analogs locally to the lungs by inhalation has been effective and generates fewer systemic side effects. Inhalation of prostacyclin analogs supplements the endogenous production of prostacyclin where it is normally synthesized, near the targeted pulmonary arteries. As a result, inhalation of prostacyclin analogs helps avoid adverse events related to off-target tissues and takes advantage of binding key prostacyclin receptors that are preferentially expressed in the lung. The only inhaled prostacyclin analogs approved by the FDA are Tyvaso and Ventavis, which both require nebulizers.

Decision Resources Group reported that more than 80% of PAH patients on inhaled therapy in the United States used Tyvaso in 2016. In 2016, Tyvaso and Ventavis generated $405 million and $73 million, respectively, in total sales in the United States. Tyvaso is approved in the United States and Israel but is not approved in Europe and Japan. Tyvaso is indicated for the treatment of PAH to improve exercise ability. The maximum recommended dose of Tyvaso is 54 mcg, delivered four times daily from a proprietary nebulizer, requiring nine breaths for each dose. In a long-term open-label extension study of Tyvaso, patients continued treatment for a mean duration of 2.3 years, with 89% of patients achieving the target dose of 54 mcg, delivered in nine breaths, and 42% achieving a dose of 72 mcg, delivered in 12 breaths.

Ventavis is approved in the United States, Europe and Japan. Ventavis is nebulized six to nine times a day during waking hours, no more than once every two hours, and takes six to ten minutes to administer per use. Ventavis is a synthetic analog of prostacyclin indicated for the treatment of PAH to improve a composite endpoint consisting of exercise tolerance, symptoms and lack of deterioration.

Tyvaso and Ventavis require the use of proprietary nebulizers. Patients must follow specific instructions to set up and operate the device, clean the device daily, locate a power source or use a battery to operate the device, and carry the device and its associated accessories around in a large carrying case, along with distilled water, to administer the treatment throughout the day. As a result, the use of these approved inhaled prostacyclin therapies is typically limited to patients who have not responded to oral medications that target the three pathways. The current medical practice is to administer both an inhaled drug product and the patient's existing oral ERA and/or PDE5 drug product concurrently, instead of withdrawing the administration of the oral drug product upon initiation of the inhaled drug product.

Potential Benefits of Our Approach

We believe LIQ861 can overcome the limitations of current nebulized therapies and has the potential to maximize the therapeutic benefits of treprostinil in treating PAH by safely delivering higher doses into the lungs using a convenient, palm-sized, disposable DPI. In our Phase 1 trial, LIQ861 was well-tolerated at doses twice as high as the maximum recommended dosage of Tyvaso. These higher doses of inhaled dry powder treprostinil can also be administered in fewer breaths. Each dose of LIQ861 can be administered in one to four breaths, compared to nine breaths for the maximum recommended dosage of Tyvaso. Additionally, we believe LIQ861 may have the potential to improve overall patient adherence and quality of life by offering the convenience of a discrete, palm-sized, disposable DPI. In our market research, patients expressed a preference for a DPI product, noting that it can fit easily into a purse, minimize hassle while traveling and reduce the breaths and time associated with their current nebulized treatments.

The advantages of the LIQ861 product profile are enabled by the PRINT technology. Each LIQ861 particle is designed to enhance delivery and deep-lung penetration. LIQ861 particles are a precise size and highly uniform since particles are formed from mold cavities that exactly match each other. Competing technologies, such as spray-drying, create particles that have a broader variation in shape and size. As a result, particles farther from the mean target size would be too large or too small to reach the intended location in the deep lung.

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Inspired by a naturally occurring pollen, LIQ861 PRINT particles have a one micrometer trefoil-shape measured by an inscribed one micrometer circle as shown in the figure below. In vitro studies suggest that the uniformity of size and shape allow our inhaled particles to target delivery into the lungs while depositing less in the upper airways. Our independent control of the parameters of drug particles has enabled us to create the first clinically tested formulation that stabilizes treprostinil in an inhaled dry powder formulation.

The figures below depict LIQ861, with the figure on the left showing size and shape consistency among particles and the figure on the right showing their trefoil shape:


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LIQ861 is administered using RS00 Model 8 DPI, a DPI manufactured by Plastiape, which has been approved in the United States and Europe. This device and its variants have been used in at least eight marketed products globally since 2001, including Novartis's Foradil Aerolizer®, for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

The picture below shows the DPI used to administer LIQ861:

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Clinical Development

In March 2017, we completed a Phase 1 trial of LIQ861 in 57 healthy volunteers. In January 2018, we announced the initiation of INSPIRE, our single, pivotal open-label Phase 3 clinical trial, evaluating LIQ861 for the treatment of PAH in the United States. We expect to announce interim safety data from INSPIRE in the first half of 2019. In the United States, we plan to seek approval of our NDA under the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which would allow us to rely, in part, on the FDA's prior conclusions of efficacy and safety for Tyvaso and the active ingredient treprostinil, which has been approved in four different products administered through the continuous infusion, inhaled and oral routes.

Results of Phase 1 Trial

We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, Phase 1 trial in 57 healthy volunteer subjects to assess safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics following a single administration of LIQ861 at doses between 25 mcg and 150 mcg. The subjects were enrolled into six dose cohorts. Within each dose cohort, subjects were randomized to receive LIQ861 or a placebo.

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    Dose Selection

For the first-in-human study, the initial dose for LIQ861 was chosen based on the indicated dosing for the reference listed drug, Tyvaso. Independent investigations of particle emission using the RS00 Model 8 DPI and simulated inspiration of the bulk powder from a nebulizer led to a projection that a 25 mcg treprostinil capsule for dry powder inhalation would result in approximately similar treprostinil administration as three breaths of Tyvaso, or 18 mcg of treprostinil, the lowest approved dose through nebulization. The following table shows LIQ861's doses tested along with our estimate of the equivalent Tyvaso dose.

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(1)
LIQ861 doses between 25 mcg and 100 mcg are single capsules. LIQ861 doses 125 mcg and 150 mcg are two capsules but if approved, they could be developed as single capsules and therefore only require one to two breaths.

(2)
Tyvaso (treprostinil) full prescribing information: initial dosage: 3 breaths (18 mcg); maximum recommended dosage: 9 breaths (54mcg)

Our conclusion from this study is that the 75 mcg dose of LIQ861 is approximately equivalent to the maximum recommended dose of 54 mcg, or nine breaths, of Tyvaso, and the 150 mcg dose of LIQ861 is approximately double the maximum recommended dose of Tyvaso.

    Safety and Tolerability

In the clinical trial, we escalated the dosage of LIQ861 progressively from 25 mcg to 150 mcg. There were no dose-limiting toxicities at the highest dose evaluated. We noted no serious adverse events or deaths and all reported treatment-emergent adverse events were mild. The most frequent adverse event reported by subjects on LIQ861 was mild cough and throat irritation.

We did not observe a proportional increase of treatment-emergent adverse events as the doses were escalated from 25 mcg to 100 mcg. No treatment-emergent adverse events were observed in subjects who received the placebo PRINT particles that contained only excipients.

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    Pharmacokinetics

In the trial, the LIQ861 plasma levels increased proportionally as the dosage of LIQ861 increased, as shown in the graph below. At higher doses, 50% of subjects receiving LIQ861 had measurable treprostinil after four hours, which could indicate the potential to minimize symptoms between dosing cycles.


LIQ861 Mean Concentration Over Time

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The pharmacokinetic parameters in the table below were estimated from plasma samples. Nominal elapsed time from dosing was used to estimate all individual pharmacokinetic parameters, including:

§

  Cmax   Maximum observed plasma concentration;

§

  Tmax   Time of maximum concentration;

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  T1/2   Terminal-phase half-life; and

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  AUCInf   Area under the plasma concentration-time curve.


LIQ861 Pharmacokinetic Results

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The LIQ861 blood levels, as determined by the area under the curve, which is a pharmacokinetic measurement of drug exposure in blood plasma over time, and the maximum concentration were similar to the data used in connection with the approval of Tyvaso, as reported in the FDA Summary Basis of Approval for Tyvaso. LIQ861 also had half-life in the blood similar to such data. These results suggest that our formulation has not changed the pharmacokinetic profile of inhaled treprostinil.

Results of Non-Clinical Studies

The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicology of treprostinil are well understood, having previously been characterized to support approval of Remodulin, which is treprostinil administered through subcutaneous or intravenous infusion, Orenitram®, which is treprostinil administered through extended release tablets, and Tyvaso, which is treprostinil inhaled through a proprietary nebulizer. We plan to rely in part on the data used in support of FDA approval of these treatments, in addition to our own toxicity studies, to support the development and approval of LIQ861.

In October 2016, we completed a 14-day, repeat dose, inhalation toxicity study in rats to support the Phase 1 trial. In August 2017, we completed a 26-week toxicology study in rats. In rats, pharmacokinetic profiles at the end of 14 days of LIQ861 treatment were generally similar to inhaled nebulized treprostinil delivered at similar treprostinil dose levels. Following 26 weeks of daily dosing, treprostinil exposure was slightly higher in LIQ861-treated rats. The results from this study support chronic outpatient dosing of LIQ861 in patients with PAH in our Phase 3 trial.

Phase 3 Trial

In January 2018, we announced the initiation of INSPIRE, our single, pivotal Phase 3 trial evaluating LIQ861 at doses between 25 mcg and 150 mcg for the treatment of PAH in the United States. INSPIRE is an open-label trial enrolling at least 100 patients with PAH across multiple sites in the United States. Primary endpoints are long-term safety and tolerability of LIQ861. Patients enrolled will have been on stable doses of Tyvaso for at least three months or will have been taking no more than two approved non-prostacyclin oral PAH therapies. A subset of patients will be enrolled in a one-directional crossover to compare bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of treprostinil as they transition from Tyvaso to LIQ861. We expect to announce interim safety data from INSPIRE in the first half of 2019.

Additional Clinical Trials

We also intend to initiate a clinical trial in the second half of 2018 that explores the hemodynamic effects of LIQ861 in PAH patients. Although the FDA has not requested that we undertake this clinical trial, the data may help assess the effects of LIQ861 on acute and chronic hemodynamic measurements and right heart function. Data from this clinical trial would also add to our understanding of safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of LIQ861.

Commercial Opportunity

Decision Resources Group estimated that sales for all major PAH drugs in 2016 were more than $6.0 billion in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. In the United States, products approved to treat PAH through the prostacyclin deficient pathway generated approximately $1.7 billion in sales in 2016, of which the prostacyclin analog treprostinil generated the majority from products formulated for continuous infusion, inhalation using a nebulizer and oral delivery. The U.S. market for inhaled treatments through the prostacyclin deficient pathway was more than $450 million in 2016, of which Tyvaso accounted for more than 80%.

If approved, we believe LIQ861 would be the first inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil delivered using a convenient, palm-sized, disposable DPI. The dosing regimens and patient experience for the two approved inhaled therapies compared to the expected product profile of LIQ861 are shown in the following table.

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  Ventavis (iloprost)
inhalation solution
  Tyvaso (treprostinil)
inhalation solution
  LIQ861 (treprostinil)
dry powder for inhalation
(expected)
Regulatory status   FDA approved, 2004   FDA approved, 2009   Enrolling Phase 3 study
Method of administration   Proprietary nebulizer   Proprietary nebulizer   Dry powder inhaler
Frequency   6 to 9 times daily   4 times daily   4 times daily
Dose range   2.5 to 5 mcg   18 to 72 mcg; (max recommended is 54 mcg)   25 to 150 mcg
Time or breaths per dose   4 to 10 minutes depending on breathing pattern   9 breaths (54 mcg)   1-2 breaths per capsule, with 1 or 2 capsules per dose
Supplies required  

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Ventavis Inhalation System

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Power supply

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Distilled water

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2 medication chamber assemblies

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Washing basket

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Battery charger

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I-neb pouch

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Carry bag

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Power cord for charger

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2 Spare discs

 

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Tyvaso Inhalation System

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Rechargeable battery

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12V DC adapter

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AC wall plug

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16 Medicine cups

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Filter membranes

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Plugs

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Filter shell

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Dome assembly with baffle plate

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Inhalation piece

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Mouthpiece

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Water level cup

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Carrying case

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Distilled water carrier

 

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Dry powder inhaler

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Carrying pouch

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Daily blister pack

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Small cleaning brush


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GRAPHIC

  

 

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Preferred choice within inhaled options.    As reported in our market research, physicians and patients expressed a clear preference for the expected product profile of LIQ861 over current nebulized therapies, primarily due to the ease and convenience of administration of LIQ861. Nebulized therapies require more time and breaths than LIQ861, as well as daily and weekly assembly, disassembly and cleaning.

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Attractive switch from orals.    The ease and range of dosing LIQ861 may be attractive to patients who are in earlier stages of the disease, but poorly managed on oral prostacyclin products. Local delivery of treprostinil to the lung offers fewer systemic side effects. However, we believe some of these patients are hesitant to switch to more burdensome nebulized options.

Delay transition to continuous infusion.    We are investigating a wide range of LIQ861 doses in order to maximize patient exposure to treprostinil, a key factor in the efficacy of prostacyclin analogs. In our Phase 1 trial, LIQ861 was well-tolerated at levels that we estimate are twice the maximum recommended dose of Tyvaso. We believe the dose range enabled by LIQ861 would allow patients to titrate to higher levels of treprostinil and potentially extend the time on inhaled therapy, delaying the eventual transition to continuous infusion.

Expand inhaled options outside the United States.    We intend to develop and seek regulatory approval for LIQ861 for markets outside of the United States in order to provide an attractive choice that leverages the benefits of local delivery to the lung. Tyvaso is approved in the United States and Israel but is not approved in Europe and Japan. Ventavis is approved in the United States, Europe and Japan, but its use has been limited due to its delivery regimen. Decision Resources Group estimated that fewer than 10% of PAH patients in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, which we collectively refer to herein as the 5EU, use Ventavis. In Japan, Ventavis was approved in May 2016 as the first inhaled PAH treatment. The combined population of PAH patients in the 5EU and Japan was estimated to be more than 25,000 patients in 2016.

Expand beyond WHO Group I patients (PAH).    Prostacyclin based therapies have only been approved for WHO Group I patients. However, prostacyclin analogs may have utility in the treatment of PH in other categories, as suggested by current off-label use in WHO Group III, which includes individuals with pulmonary hypertension secondary to lung diseases or hypoxemia, and WHO Group IV, which includes individuals with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Although we have no current plans to study LIQ861 in PH patients outside of WHO Group I, we will continue to monitor the investigations conducted by other companies and independent investigators of prostacyclin analogs, especially Tyvaso. If Tyvaso is approved for additional indications, the path for seeking approval of LIQ861 in the same indications should be made clear and could quickly follow. For example, United Therapeutics Corporation is actively studying Tyvaso in a Phase 3 trial of a subpopulation of WHO Group III subjects with pre-capillary PH with interstitial lung disease, including combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema, with an estimated prevalence of 27,500 patients globally in this subpopulation. By 2025, the diagnosed prevalence of all WHO Group III sub-types is expected to grow to over 250,000 patients in the United States, 5EU and Japan. WHO Group IV includes patients diagnosed with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, or CTEPH. While considered underdiagnosed and undertreated, the current estimates for diagnosed prevalence of CTEPH in 2015 are between 2,000 and 6,500 patients in the United States and more than 10,000 patients in the 5EU and Japan.

Competition in PAH

If approved, LIQ861 would be one of several prostacyclin based products that can be used to manage a patient's disease. Initially, it would be positioned between the use of oral options and the continuous infusion of prostacyclin analogs.

In the inhaled category, the primary competitor for LIQ861 would be Tyvaso, the nebulized inhaled treprostinil. Tyvaso is administered by a proprietary nebulizer device four times per day. In addition to Tyvaso, LIQ861 would compete with inhaled iloprost, which is marketed as Ventavis in the United States by Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and in Europe by Bayer Schering Pharma AG. Ventavis is administered by a proprietary nebulizer device six to nine times per day.

There would be additional competition from oral products in the prostacyclin pathway, including oral treprostinil, marketed as Orenitram by United Therapeutics Corporation, selexipag, marketed as Uptravi by Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd., and ralinepag, being studied in a Phase 3 clinical trial by Arena

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Pharmaceuticals, Inc. These oral options may be used by a patient earlier in the disease cycle than LIQ861. However, we believe that LIQ861 could offer an attractive option for patients who are in earlier stages of the disease, but poorly managed on oral prostacyclin products.

Continuously infused prostacyclins include epoprostenol, marketed by multiple companies as generic and branded products, and treprostinil, marketed as Remodulin by United Therapeutics Corporation. These options are considered to offer the greatest efficacy and are usually prescribed to patients later in the disease. Infusion pumps present unique risks related to infusion site pain and the risk of blood stream infections, creating major limitations on the quality of life of patients.

We expect our other competitors could include potential new entrants such as MannKind Corporation, who has recently filed an IND and initiated a Phase 1 trial for a treprostinil product that applies a proprietary technology to form microparticles in an inhaled dry powder. We also expect generic equivalents of Tyvaso may eventually enter the market following the expiry or invalidity of Tyvaso's patents, which are currently being challenged by a generics company.

LIQ865

Our second product candidate, LIQ865, which is designed using PRINT technology, is an injectable, sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine for the management of local post-operative pain for three to five days after a procedure, which we believe, if approved, would have the potential to provide significantly longer post-operative pain relief compared to currently marketed formulations of bupivacaine.

Background on Post-Operative Pain

The treatment of post-operative pain typically involves multi-modal therapy including the administration of local anesthetics after surgery. Although local anesthetics provide a well-established, safe and efficacious option for post-operative pain management, the duration of efficacy for conventional local anesthetics, including bupivacaine and lidocaine, is limited, with the pain relief typically lasting for eight hours or less. Because post-operative pain may continue to be severe for several days following the surgery, additional therapies are required. These therapies include morphine and other opioids administered through intravenous systems or orally, as well as various non-opioids, including acetaminophen and NSAIDs, like ibuprofen and ketorolac.

Current Therapies and Their Limitations

Opioids are the mainstay of post-operative pain management, but they are associated with a variety of unwanted and potentially serious or life-threatening side effects such as sedation, nausea, constipation, cognitive impairment, respiratory depression and death. In addition, opioids may be administered through patient-controlled analgesia systems, which may interfere with or delay patient ambulation and require significant hospital resources to implement and monitor. Furthermore, exposure to opioids for as little as four days can lead to increased risk of chronic opioid use. The risk of opioid abuse and diversion has led physicians, payors and the U.S. federal government to prioritize pain management strategies that minimize the use of opioids.

NSAIDs and other non-opioids for pain relief in the post-operative period are also associated with various undesirable side effects. Bleeding and gastrointestinal and renal complications may result from NSAID use. Acetaminophen can cause liver injury or failure with excessive dosing. As a result, we believe there is demand from healthcare providers and patients for post-operative pain relief therapies that can help prevent these issues.

Local anesthetics such as bupivacaine hydrochloride, or Marcaine, and lidocaine have been safely used for post-operative pain for decades, but have a duration of effect limited to less than eight hours. Approved in 2011, EXPAREL is a long-acting local anesthetic that involves an injection of bupivacaine in a multivesicular liposome carrier at the surgical site and is marketed in the United States by Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Physicians report that EXPAREL typically provides postsurgical analgesia for only 24 to 36 hours in practice, and market research we conducted suggests that physicians desire longer duration of effect to better manage local post-operative pain. In addition, because the interactions between the liposomal formulation of EXPAREL and co-administered local anesthetics can result in rapid release of bupivacaine, co-administration of other local anesthetics is inadvisable.

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Potential Benefits of Our Approach

Using our PRINT technology, we have developed a particle formulation of bupivacaine that, if approved for marketing, will be used to manage local post-operative pain. We engineered the size and composition of LIQ865 particles to slowly release bupivacaine with the goal of providing patients with local pain relief for three to five days through a single administration, which we believe would provide significantly longer post-operative pain relief compared to currently marketed formulations of bupivacaine. The figure below depicts LIQ865, showing size consistency among particles.

GRAPHIC

LIQ865 is administered as a suspension and is easily injected at the surgical site. Because the molded drug particles are highly stable, we believe the potential for dose dumping, the unintended rapid drug release of bupivacaine from the carrier, would be minimized with LIQ865. In a non-clinical study, co-administration of LIQ865 with lidocaine did not cause early release of bupivacaine or otherwise negatively affect the pharmacokinetic profile of LIQ865. LIQ865 was engineered to be rapidly reconstituted and administered by injection. Unlike other sustained-release formulations, we do not expect LIQ865 will be constrained by a specific ratio of drug to diluting agent so its reconstitution volume can be adjusted based on the volume needs of a particular procedure. Furthermore, because particle-to-particle uniformity in size and composition is key to determining drug release rates, the particle-to-particle and batch-to-batch uniformity of our LIQ865 particles creates consistent release rates.

Results of Non-Clinical Studies

We commissioned an animal efficacy study of two formulations of LIQ865 in a rat perineural sciatic model, which was completed in January 2016. LIQ865 showed an extended pharmacokinetic profile and duration of nerve sensory block and the potential for extended post-operative pain management. Additionally, we evaluated the safety and tolerability of LIQ865 in a rat toxicology study in 2016. The results of this study supported advancing LIQ865 to human clinical trials.

Clinical Development

In March 2017, we completed our Phase 1a trial in Denmark to evaluate the safety and tolerability profile of two different PRINT formulations of bupivacaine: LIQ865A, consisting of particles combining bupivacaine and polylactic-glycolic acid, a polymer widely used in sustained-release drug products and surgical sutures; and LIQ865B, consisting of particles of bupivacaine alone, in a proprietary diluting agent. We observed a dose-response relationship in this trial, and all doses were well-tolerated. The results from the Phase 1a trial helped inform our selection of LIQ865A for further investigation in the United States. We filed an IND application in the United States in June 2017 and initiated a Phase 1b trial in the United States in September 2017 using an experimental pain model in healthy adults with quantitative sensory testing. We completed the U.S. Phase 1b trial in April 2018. We expect to initiate Phase 2-enabling toxicology studies in the second half of 2018. In the United States, we plan to rely in part on the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway for our NDA submission to the FDA for LIQ865, which would allow us to rely on the FDA's prior determinations of safety and efficacy for other products containing bupivacaine, such as Marcaine and EXPAREL.

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Results of Phase 1 Trials

Our Phase 1a trial was a randomized, double-blind, controlled, single ascending dose, safety, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic trial of LIQ865A and LIQ865B in 28 healthy male volunteers at a single site in Copenhagen, Denmark. The study design included dosing multiple cohorts, or groups, each receiving increasing bupivacaine doses as either LIQ865A or LIQ865B: 150 mg, 225 mg, 300 mg, 450 mg or 600 mg. The LIQ865 formulation was injected into the upper calf in one leg, and the other leg received the diluting agent without LIQ865 particles. The primary objective of this Phase 1 clinical trial was to evaluate the safety and tolerability profile of the two formulations of LIQ865. We also assessed bupivacaine pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic responses.

Based on the results of the Phase 1a trial, we selected the LIQ865A formulation for further development, and all of our references to LIQ865 are to this formulation. Results for 15 volunteers who received LIQ865A in this Phase 1 trial are shown below. The graph shows the mean plasma concentration of bupivacaine over 120 hours comparing the 150 mg, 225 mg, 300 mg and 450 mg dose cohorts of LIQ865A formulation, expressed on a logarithmic, or log, scale.


LIQ865A Log Linear Mean Concentration Over Time

GRAPHIC

A dose-response relationship was observed, with the plasma levels increasing as the dosage level of LIQ865 increased. Doses of LIQ865 up to 600 mg of bupivacaine were well-tolerated in the trial. All adverse events were mild to moderate in severity, and most adverse events were limited locally at the site of injection, with most related to sensory block of underlying sensory branches of the saphenous nerve in the leg.

At the 450 mg dose of LIQ865, all subjects had maximum concentration values below 800 ng/ml, which is well below the reported thresholds for neurotoxicity and cardiac toxicity of 2000 and 4000 ng/mL, respectively. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile for this dose suggested a sustained duration of effect, with nearly all subjects receiving this dose reporting at least three days of sensory blunting in response to quantitative sensory testing. LIQ865 also showed rapid onset of action at the one-hour time point in all subjects, even at the lowest dose of 150 mg. Additionally, we observed a sensory block of distal sensory branches of the saphenous nerve below the knee in eight of nine subjects who received 450 mg doses of LIQ865. This sensory block lasted at least three days, which we believe further supports the duration profile of LIQ865.

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In March 2017, we met with the FDA at a pre-IND meeting and verified that the current Chemical Manufacturing and Control, or CMC, and preclinical package were "phase-appropriate" and sufficient to support our initial U.S. Phase 1 trial.

Following our submission of the IND for LIQ865, we initiated our U.S. Phase 1b clinical trial in September 2017, which was completed in April 2018. This trial used an experimental pain model in healthy male and female subjects with quantitative sensory testing after an injection of LIQ865 at doses of 150 mg, 300 mg and 450 mg. The experimental pain model was designed to simulate post-operative pain for up to five days through a combination of localized ultraviolet B burn and mini-incision. Additionally, the trial included a cross-over design to compare LIQ865 to EXPAREL. We observed that LIQ865 was well-tolerated across the dose ranges. All adverse events were mild to moderate, and no dose limiting toxicities were noted. The pharmacokinetic profiles were similar to what was seen in the Phase 1a trial. Pharmacodynamic effects were highly variable and inconclusive, which we associated with the experimental design of the pain model used in the Phase 1b trial.

Plans for Phase 2 Development

At our pre-IND meeting in March 2017, the FDA requested two additional toxicology studies prior to the initiation of Phase 2 trials. Accordingly, in the second half of 2018, we plan to conduct a bone fracture healing study in rats and a hernia repair study in mini-pigs. If the FDA finds these studies sufficient to support proceeding with our clinical development plan, upon successful completion, we plan to initiate Phase 2 trials subject to the availability of sufficient funding, or a partner in the event we elect to license LIQ865 to a third party. The Phase 2 trials are currently planned as ascending dose, active comparator studies in bone and soft tissue models designed to identify the minimum and optimal effective dose of LIQ865 to achieve three or more days of pain relief. We expect that this dose would be carried forward into Phase 3 development.

Competition

The primary competitor for LIQ865, if approved, would be liposomal bupivacaine, marketed as EXPAREL by Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. We are aware of other long-acting local anesthetic products in clinical development from DURECT Corporation, Innocoll Holdings plc and Heron Therapeutics, Inc. as well as generic equivalents of EXPAREL, which may enter the market following the expiry of EXPAREL's patent in 2018. In addition to long-acting local anesthetics, there are a number of indirect competitors in development, including clinical-stage opioids and development-stage molecules that pursue the treatment of pain through alternative pathways.

Our PRINT Technology

Both LIQ861 and LIQ865 are being developed using our proprietary PRINT particle engineering technology, which allows us to engineer and manufacture highly uniform drug particles with independent control over the size, three-dimensional geometric shape and chemical composition of the particles. By controlling these physical and chemical parameters of particles, PRINT enables us to engineer desirable pharmacological benefits into product candidates, including prolonged duration of drug release, increased drug loading, more convenient routes of administration, the ability to create novel combination products, enhanced storage and stability and the potential to reduce adverse side effects. Controlling three-dimensional geometric shape and chemical composition of drug particles enables us to research, identify and pursue the improvement of existing therapies and creation of new therapies from existing drugs or new chemical entities, including small molecules and biologics.

Our ability to design and control these features of drug particles has the potential to provide significant benefits across the breadth of pharmaceutical applications. Product characteristics and features can be tuned depending on the need of a particular application, drug substance, delivery route and other such considerations. Based on our research to date, we anticipate the ability to: (i) enhance inhaled delivery through the highly uniform geometric shape of each drug particle; (ii) design desired drug release profiles

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ranging from minutes post-delivery to days, weeks or months depending on need of a target therapy, by controlling the chemical composition of the drug particles and the surface area-to-volume ratio of the particles; (iii) enable combination products where one or more of the chemical constituents can destabilize or interact by encapsulating the desired constituent in a particle to shield it from another constituent during packaging and storage; and (iv) enhance the deposition and retention of topically delivered products by designing particles with a desired charge and/or Young's modulus.

Besides using our PRINT technology to develop our two product candidates, LIQ861 and LIQ865, we have exclusively licensed our PRINT technology to (i) GSK, a market leader in respiratory therapies, for applications broadly across inhaled delivery of their small molecule and biologic chemical entities, although we retained the ability to develop LIQ861; and (ii) Aerie Pharmaecuticals, Inc., which acquired most of the assets of Envisia Therapeutics, Inc. in 2017, for broad usage in the design and commercialization of small molecule and biologic ophthalmic therapies.

Our molding approach, which we branded as "PRINT" or Particle Replication In Non-wetting Templates, combines the precision of the semi-conductor industry with the high throughput of roll-to-roll manufacturing to make highly uniform micro- and nano-particles at a commercially viable scale. Our manufacturing equipment and materials used in the production of our drug particles are proprietary and protected by our patent portfolio and trade secret know-how. Our PRINT equipment is also modular, scalable and cost-effective.

Our PRINT Process

We begin our particle design by procuring a custom designed master template etched with three-dimensional structures, or posts, that will become the eventual shape and size of our drug particles. These three-dimensional structures are then replicated in negative form, through our proprietary processing into flexible rolls of polymeric PRINT molds. Our PRINT molds consist of thousands of linear feet of thin flexible molds up to twenty-four inches wide. We then design and formulate our desired drug particle composition and apply that to our PRINT molds in our high-throughput roll-to-roll processing equipment, with each particle mimicking the shape of the mold cavity from which it was molded, thus taking the shape of the original master template structures.

The general components and steps of our PRINT molding are as follows:

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    Etch a master template with the three-dimensional geometric structures of the desired particle size and shape (step A in the diagram below);

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    Apply our proprietary polymeric mold material over the master template (step B) and cure the polymeric material to form our PRINT molds with discrete molding cavities that replicate the structures of the master template (step C);

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    Design the chemical composition of the drug particle of interest (step D);

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    Apply the drug particle composition to the cavities in the mold to fill the cavities (step E);

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    Form the drug particles in the cavities of the mold that mimic the size and shape of the mold cavities (step F);

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    Remove the drug particles from the mold cavities on a harvesting film (step G); and

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    Remove the particles from the harvesting film for further functionalization, purification or packaging to be included in the final drug particle product (step H).

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The diagram below shows the general steps involved in producing drug particles using our PRINT technology:

GRAPHIC

We have translated the PRINT process into a continuous, roll-to-roll manufacturing process that we believe is compliant with cGMP and scaled to support clinical and commercial production, when required. One of our current manufacturing lines is shown below:

GRAPHIC

Manufacturing and Supply

Our facilities occupy approximately 41,000 square feet and are located in Morrisville, North Carolina. Within these premises, there are office space, research and development laboratories and equipment, analytical development and quality control laboratories, research, development and mold production facilities, research and development particle fabrication equipment, including two operational PRINT particle fabrication lines, both of which we believe are cGMP-compliant, as well as appropriate staging, storage and stability facilities. These two operational PRINT particle fabrication lines are located within class ISO7 clean rooms that operate under applicable ISO and cGMP air quality and environmental requirements.

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We currently produce in this facility the product candidates for our and our collaborators' preclinical studies and clinical trials. Our current operational PRINT particle fabrication lines are scaled and capable of producing the necessary materials to support our ongoing operations and planned studies and clinical trials and, we believe, ultimately commercial scale manufacturing. The production capacity for each PRINT particle fabrication line within our production facility varies depending on the drug particle that is being produced.

We have expanded our production facility by installing an additional PRINT particle fabrication line, which was completed in March 2018 and is intended to further increase our production capacity and capability in anticipation of the commercial production of LIQ861 and LIQ865, if and when we receive marketing approval for them. The capital expenditures for leasehold improvements in our facility related to this additional fabrication line will be financed through reimbursement allowances provided by the landlord.

If and when we receive marketing approval for our product candidates, we may, from time to time, rely on third-party CMOs to produce, package and distribute some or all of our approved drug products on a commercial scale.

We also depend on third-party suppliers for clinical supplies, including active pharmaceutical ingredients which are used in our product candidates. For example, we currently rely on a sole supplier, LGM Pharma, for treprostinil, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of LIQ861, and we currently rely on a sole supplier, Plastiape, for RS00 Model 8 DPI, the DPI used to administer LIQ861.

Our Collaboration and Licensing Agreements

In addition to advancing our own product candidates, we have collaborated with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop their own product candidates across a wide range of therapeutic areas, molecule types and routes of administration, leveraging our PRINT technology. These collaborations are intended to help advance new PRINT capabilities and build upon our competitive advantage in the pharmaceutical industry, while adding to our intellectual property portfolio.

GlaxoSmithKline

We have actively collaborated with GSK on the use of our PRINT technology in respiratory disease. In June 2012, we entered into an Inhaled Collaboration and Option Agreement, or the GSK ICO Agreement, with GSK to collaborate on research regarding the application of our PRINT technology to specified inhaled therapies. Pursuant to the GSK ICO Agreement, we granted GSK exclusive options and licenses to further develop and commercialize such inhaled therapies using our PRINT technology. In partial consideration of the rights granted to GSK under the GSK ICO Agreement, we received a one-time up-front payment of $4.0 million. We also entered into a stock purchase agreement with GSK pursuant to which GSK purchased 4,765,248 shares of our Series C-1 convertible preferred stock for an aggregate of $3.8 million. In September 2015, GSK exercised its option to obtain an exclusive, worldwide license to certain of our know-how and patents relating to our PRINT technology, for the purpose of, among others, preclinical studies of inhaled therapeutics developed, manufactured or otherwise produced using our PRINT technology. In connection with the grant of this license, we received a one-time option exercise fee of $15.0 million. Under the terms of the GSK ICO Agreement, we are also entitled to continued research and development funding, certain milestone payments aggregating up to $158 million upon the achievement of specified milestone events, as well as tiered royalties on the worldwide sales of the licensed products at percentages in the mid-single digits. In February 2016, we received a $3.0 million payment from GSK upon the achievement of a clinical development milestone.

GSK has the right to terminate the GSK ICO Agreement in its entirety or on a product-by-product basis upon a specified period of prior written notice. Upon termination of the GSK ICO Agreement, each party will continue to have the right to practice and/or license its interest in any know-how developed during the collaboration without seeking the consent of, or accounting to, the other party.

As of April 30, 2018, GSK is conducting a Phase 1 trial of an inhaled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, candidate that is formulated as an inhaled, dry powder using the PRINT technology. Through this collaboration, we have worked, and anticipate continuing to work, together with GSK to advance inhaled therapeutic products into clinical studies.

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In December 2008, we entered into the Amended and Restated License Agreement with UNC for the use of certain patent rights and technology relating to initial innovations of our PRINT technology, or the UNC License. Under the terms of the UNC License, we have an exclusive license to such patent rights and technology for our drug products. The UNC License grants us the right to grant sublicenses to the technology as well as control the litigation of any infringement claim instituted by or against us in respect of the licensed patent rights. We are also responsible for the costs of all expenses associated with the prosecution and maintenance of the patents and patent applications. Such filings and prosecution will be carried out by UNC and in UNC's name but under our control.

Under the UNC License, we are required to pay UNC royalties equal to a low single digit percentage of all net sales of our drug products whose manufacture, use or sale includes any use of the technology or patent rights covered by the UNC License, as well as tiered royalty percentages ranging in the low single digits of sales by our sublicensees for any product covered by rights under a sublicense agreement granted pursuant to the UNC License. Under the UNC License, we are also required to pay UNC 20% of all fees other than royalties that we collect and are attributable to UNC sublicensed intellectual property. As consideration for the UNC License, we paid UNC a license issue fee in the form of 196,469 shares of our Class B non-voting common stock in 2004. During the term of the UNC License, we have also paid approximately $2.9 million in the aggregate to UNC pursuant to a Supported Research Agreement, or the SRA. In connection therewith, we may exclusively license resulting inventions under the SRA for a $5,000 up-front license fee per invention. We have also paid aggregate consideration of $5.7 million in sublicense fees to UNC pursuant to the UNC License, for our sublicenses of our PRINT technology to GSK and G&W Labs, as described above. We also reimburse UNC for its costs of procuring and maintaining the patents we license from UNC. Such reimbursements amounted to $180,943 for the year ended December 31, 2016. Effective November 2017, we have satisfied all substantive milestones associated with our UNC License other than semi-annual and annual reporting-based milestones that continue through the term of the UNC License. The UNC License expires (i) on the expiration of the last to expire patent included in the patent rights or (ii) if no patents mature from such patent rights, in December 2028.

We have the right to terminate the UNC License upon a specified period of prior written notice. UNC may terminate the UNC License in certain circumstances, including if we fail to pay royalty or other payments on time or if we fail to sublicense in accordance with the terms of the UNC License. Upon termination of the UNC License, we must pay any royalty obligations due upon termination.

Intellectual Property

The proprietary nature and protection of our product candidates, their methods of use and our platform technology that enables our product candidates are an important part of our business strategy of rapidly developing and commercializing new medicines that address areas of significant unmet medical needs.

Our policy is to seek patent protection of our proprietary product candidates and technology by filing U.S., international and certain foreign patent applications covering certain of our proprietary technology, inventions, improvements and product candidates that are important to the growth and protection of our business. We also rely on trade secrets to protect aspects of our business that are not amenable to patent protection or where we do not consider patent protection to be adequate or applicable.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other protection for our product candidates, enabling technology, inventions and know-how and our ability to defend and enforce these patents, preserve the proprietary nature of our trade secrets and operate our business without infringing valid and enforceable patent and other proprietary rights of third parties. We pursue both composition-of-matter patents and method-of-use patents for our product candidates. We are also pursuing patents covering our proprietary PRINT micro- and nano-particle fabrication technology.

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The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term for patents in the countries in which they are granted. In most countries, including the United States, the patent term is generally 20 years from the earliest filing date of a non-provisional patent application to which the patent claims priority in the applicable country. In the United States, a patent's term may, in certain cases, be lengthened by patent term adjustment, or PTA, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, in examining and granting a patent, or may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over a commonly owned patent or a patent naming a common inventor and having an earlier expiration date. The Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, as amended, or the Hatch-Waxman Act, permits a patent term extension, or PTE, of up to five years beyond the expiration date of a U.S. patent as partial compensation for the length of time the drug is under regulatory review while the patent is in force. A PTE cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, and only one patent applicable to each regulatory review period may be extended. Further, only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended and the extension only applies to the approved drug, method for using it or method for manufacturing it for which the extension was obtained. Similar provisions are available in Europe and certain other foreign jurisdictions to extend the term of a patent that covers an approved drug.

We are the owner or exclusive licensee of patents and applications relating to our proprietary technology platform and our product candidates, and are pursuing additional patent protection for these and for our other product candidates and technology developments.

We have a total of 122 patents and pending patent applications in our patent portfolio. As of April 30, 2018, we were the sole owner of 14 patents in the United States and 21 patents in foreign jurisdictions, as well as approximately 17 additional pending patent applications, including provisional patent applications, in the United States, Europe, Japan and other jurisdictions. In addition to the patents and patent applications owned solely by us, our patent portfolio also includes 51 patents and 19 patent applications licensed from third parties. As of April 30, 2018, we had an exclusive, worldwide license from UNC to 17 U.S. patents and 33 foreign patents, as well as 15 additional patent applications in the United States or selected foreign jurisdictions. Eight of the patents and two of the patent applications in the portfolio licensed from UNC are jointly owned by us.

With regard to our LIQ861 product candidate, as of April 30, 2018 our owned or in-licensed patents and patent applications that are directed to aspects of the PRINT technology utilized in LIQ861 include:

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,263,129, which includes claims directed to methods of forming substantially uniform particles and is expected to expire on January 14, 2029, including 1486 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,420,124, which includes claims directed to a plurality of monodisperse particles and is expected to expire on August 19, 2028, including 1338 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 9,877,920, which includes claims directed to a plurality of particles and is expected to expire on December 20, 2024, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,439,666, which includes claims directed to laminate molds and is expected to expire on December 4, 2026, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,662,878, which includes claims directed to molds and mold systems and is expected to expire on December 4, 2026, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent Nos. 8,945,441 and 9,662,809, which include claims directed to methods of making laminate molds and are each expected to expire on December 4, 2026, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 7,976,759, which includes claims directed to methods of forming nanoparticles and is expected to expire on October 13, 2028, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    §
    U.S. Patent No. 9,545,737, which includes claims directed to methods of forming pharmaceutical particles and is expected to expire on April 22, 2029, including 191 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,444,907, which includes claims directed to methods for fabricating a substantially seamless pattern and is expected to expire on June 28, 2031, including 572 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees; and

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    U.S. Patent No. 9,744,715, which includes claims directed to methods for fabricating a substantially seamless pattern and is expected to expire on December 3, 2029, assuming payment of all maintenance fees.

As of April 30, 2018, we were sole owner of one pending international patent application, PCT/US17/31301, specifically directed to our LIQ861 product candidate. PCT/US17/31301 includes claims directed to dry powder inhalation compositions, methods of using such compositions treating a patient with PAH and methods of making such compositions. Any patents that may issue from PCT/US17/31301 are expected to expire on May 5, 2037, absent any terminal disclaimers, patent term adjustments or extensions and assuming payment of all maintenance fees.

With regard to our LIQ865 product candidate, as of April 30, 2018, our owned or in-licensed patents and patent applications that cover aspects of the PRINT technology utilized in LIQ865 include:

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,263,129, which includes claims directed to methods of forming substantially uniform particles and is expected to expire on January 14, 2029, including 1,486 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,420,124, which includes claims directed to a plurality of monodisperse particles and is expected to expire on August 19, 2028, including 1,338 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 9,877,920, which includes claims directed to a plurality of particles and is expected to expire on December 20, 2024, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,662,878, which includes claims directed to molds and mold systems and is expected to expire on December 4, 2026, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent Nos. 8,945,441 and 9,662,809, which include claims directed to methods of making laminate molds and are each expected to expire on December 4, 2026, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 7,976,759, which includes claims directed to methods of forming nanoparticles and is expected to expire on October 13, 2028, assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 9,545,737, which includes claims directed to methods of forming pharmaceutical particles and is expected to expire on April 22, 2029, including 191 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees;

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    U.S. Patent No. 8,444,907, which includes claims directed to methods for fabricating a substantially seamless pattern and is expected to expire on June 28, 2031, including 572 days of PTA and assuming payment of all maintenance fees; and

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    U.S. Patent No. 9,744,715, which includes claims directed to methods for fabricating a substantially seamless pattern and is expected to expire on December 3, 2029, assuming payment of all maintenance fees.

As of April 30, 2018, we were sole owner of one pending international patent application, PCT/US17/31397, specifically directed to our LIQ865 product candidate. PCT/US17/31397 includes claims directed to particulate compositions comprising an amino amide anesthetic and Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) polymer, formulations comprising such compositions, methods of using such compositions for inducing extended analgesia and methods of forming such compositions. Any patents that may issue PCT/US17/31397 are expected to expire on May 5, 2037, absent any patent term adjustments or extensions and assuming payment of all maintenance fees.

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Sales and Marketing

We have retained worldwide commercial rights for our internal product candidates. If our product candidates receive marketing approval, we plan to commercialize them in the United States by building and utilizing our own commercial infrastructure. Outside of the United States, we intend to pursue the regulatory approval of our product candidates in collaboration with others, while leveraging the regional expertise of a commercialization collaborator. Considering our stage of development, we have not yet established a commercial organization or distribution capabilities.

With regard to our lead product candidate, LIQ861, we intend to focus our commercial efforts initially on the U.S. market, which we believe represents the largest market opportunity. In addition, we plan to establish collaborations with established pharmaceutical companies to commercialize our products in foreign markets. Within the United States, we believe that we can effectively commercialize LIQ861, if approved, with an initial specialty sales force of up to 75 representatives. We intend to initially pursue a highly concentrated target market of PAH centers of excellence and frequent prescribers of PAH therapies. Our physician call points within these sites of care will include cardiologists, pulmonologists and their supporting staff. We expect to supplement our sales force with representatives in the medical science, nursing and reimbursement fields to support the proper training and utilization of LIQ861. As part of our commercialization strategy, we plan to educate physician specialists, healthcare practitioners, patients and caregivers of the benefits of LIQ861 and its proper use. We plan to work with national associations, such as the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, and patient advocacy groups to update treatment guidelines to include a new, convenient product with a wide range of dosing.

Competition

The pharmaceutical industry is intensely competitive, subject to rapid and significant technological change and places emphasis on the value of proprietary products. While we believe that our technologies and experience provide us with a competitive advantage, our competitors include organizations such as major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, biopharmaceutical companies and generic drug companies. Many of our competitors have greater financial and other resources than we have, such as more commercial resources, larger research and development staffs and more extensive marketing and manufacturing organizations. As a result, these companies may obtain marketing approval more rapidly than we are able and may be more effective in selling and marketing their products. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaboration arrangements with large, established companies.

Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing, on an exclusive basis, technologies and drug products that are more effective or less costly than products that we are currently selling through collaborators or developing or that we may develop, which could render our products obsolete and non-competitive. We expect any products that we develop and commercialize to compete on the basis of, among other things, efficacy, safety, convenience of administration and delivery, price and the availability of reimbursement from government and other third-party payors. We also expect to face competition in our efforts in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel and establishing clinical trial sites, patient enrollment in clinical trials and in identifying appropriate collaborators to help commercialize any approved products in our target commercial markets.

Government Regulation

Government Regulation and Product Approval

Government authorities in the United States at the federal, state and local level and in other countries, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, (including manufacturing changes), quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, marketing, export and import of products such as those we are developing. The

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processes for obtaining regulatory approvals in the United States and in foreign countries, along with subsequent compliance with applicable statutes and regulations, require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.

U.S. Drug Development Process

In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, and the FDA's implementing regulations.

Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions. These sanctions could include the FDA's refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, untitled or warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil or criminal penalties. The process required by the FDA before a drug may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:

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    completion of preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies according to Good Laboratory Practices regulations;

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    submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical studies may begin;

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    approval by an independent institutional review board, or IRB, at each clinical site before each trial may be initiated;

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    performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical studies according to Good Clinical Practice, or GCP, regulations, to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug for its intended use;

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    preparation and submission to the FDA of an NDA, containing the results of product development, preclinical studies and clinical trials, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests conducted on the drug product, proposed labeling and other relevant information, to request approval to market the drug product;

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    satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the drug product, or components thereof, are produced to assess compliance with cGMP to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the drug's identity, strength, quality and purity;

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    satisfactory completion of FDA audits of clinical trial sites to assure compliance with GCPs and the integrity of clinical data;

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    FDA review and approval of the NDA;

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    payment of fees, including annual program fees for each drug product on the market; and

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    ongoing compliance with any post-approval requirements, including risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, and post-approval studies required by the FDA.

The testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and we cannot be certain that any approvals for our product candidates will be granted on a timely basis, if at all.

Once a pharmaceutical product candidate is identified for development, it enters the preclinical testing stage. Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity, formulation and stability, as well as animal studies. When a sponsor wants to proceed to test the product candidate in humans, it must submit an IND in order to conduct clinical trials.

An IND sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data and any available clinical data or literature, to the FDA as part of the IND. The sponsor must also include a protocol detailing, among other things, the objectives of the initial clinical study, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated if the initial clinical study lends itself to an efficacy evaluation. Some preclinical testing may continue even after the

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IND is submitted. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA raises concerns or questions related to a proposed clinical study and places the study on a clinical hold within that 30-day time period. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical study can begin. Clinical holds also may be imposed by the FDA at any time before or during clinical studies due to safety concerns or non-compliance, and may be imposed on all product candidates within a certain pharmaceutical class. The FDA also can impose partial clinical holds, for example, prohibiting the initiation of clinical studies of a certain duration or for a certain dose.

All clinical studies must be conducted under the supervision of one or more qualified investigators in accordance with GCP regulations. These regulations include the requirement that all research subjects provide informed consent in writing before their participation in any clinical study. Further, an IRB must review and approve the plan for any clinical study before it commences at any institution, and the IRB must conduct continuing review and reapprove the study at least annually. An IRB considers, among other things, whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical study are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves the information regarding the clinical study and the consent form that must be provided to each clinical study subject or his or her legal representative and must monitor the clinical study until completed.

Each new clinical protocol and any amendments to the protocol must be submitted for FDA review, and to the IRBs for approval. Protocols detail, among other things, the objectives of the clinical study, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety.

Information about certain clinical trials must be submitted within specific timeframes to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, for public dissemination on their ClinicalTrials.gov website.

Human clinical studies are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:

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    Phase 1.  The product is initially introduced into a small number of healthy human subjects or patients and tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion and, if possible, to gain early evidence on effectiveness. In the case of some products for severe or life-threatening diseases, especially when the product is suspected or known to be unavoidably toxic, the initial human testing may be conducted in patients.

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    Phase 2.  Involves clinical studies in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance and optimal dosage and schedule.

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    Phase 3.  Clinical studies are undertaken to further evaluate dosage, clinical efficacy and safety in an expanded patient population at geographically dispersed clinical study sites. These clinical studies are intended to establish the overall risk/benefit relationship of the product and provide an adequate basis for product labeling.

Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical studies must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and the investigators for serious and unexpected suspected adverse events. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 testing may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. The FDA or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical study at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical study at its institution if the clinical study is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB's requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.

Concurrent with clinical studies, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the product and finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product

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candidate and, among other things, the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.

U.S. Review and Approval Processes

Assuming successful completion of the required clinical testing, the results of product development, preclinical studies and clinical studies, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests conducted on the drug, proposed labeling and other relevant information, are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA for a new drug, requesting approval to market the product.