COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Research Collaboration and Licensing Agreements

As part of the Company's research and development efforts, the Company enters into research collaboration and licensing agreements with unrelated companies, scientific collaborators, universities, and consultants. These agreements contain varying terms and provisions which include fees and milestones to be paid by the Company, services to be provided, and ownership rights to certain proprietary technology developed under the agreements. Some of these agreements contain provisions which require the Company to pay royalties, in the event the Company sells or licenses any proprietary products developed under the respective agreements.

Legal Proceedings

In August 2017, Martin Shkreli, the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, was convicted on securities fraud charges. Mr. Shkreli's conviction was subsequently affirmed upon appeal. In connection with the trial and appeal proceedings, the Company advanced a portion of Mr. Shkreli’s legal fees, of which $3.8 million was reimbursed by its directors’ and officers’ insurance carriers. Pending the outcome of Mr. Shkreli's appeal, the insurance carriers reserved their rights to assert that certain of the advanced funds pertain to claims excluded from coverage under the relevant insurance policy and are therefore recoverable by the carriers, and therefore the final amount of the reimbursement from the insurance carriers is not currently estimable.

In October 2018, Spring Pharmaceuticals, LLC (Spring) filed a lawsuit against the Company, Martin Shkreli, Mission Pharmacal Company and Alamo Pharma Services, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging that the Company violated various federal and state antitrust and unfair competition laws by allegedly refusing to sell samples of the Thiola® brand drug so that Spring can conduct the bioequivalence testing needed to submit an ANDA to the FDA for approval to market a generic version of the product. The lawsuit sought injunctive relief and damages. In December 2019, the Court granted the Company's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but granted Spring permission to amend its complaint. On February 10, 2020, Spring filed an amended complaint. Spring's amended complaint sought injunctive relief and damages. On April 1, 2020, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On April 22, 2020, Spring filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, without prejudice. No amounts have been accrued related to this matter and the outcome cannot be determined.

The Company is not aware of any other proceedings or claims that could have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on its results of operations or financial condition.