Legal Proceedings

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Loss Contingency Information About Litigation Matters [Abstract]

Legal Proceedings

14. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may be involved in legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business. Periodically, we evaluate the status of each legal matter and assess our potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any legal proceeding is considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated, we accrue a liability for the estimated loss. Significant judgment is required to determine the probability of a loss and whether the amount of the loss is reasonably estimable. The outcome of any proceeding is not determinable in advance. As a result, the assessment of a potential liability and the amount of accruals recorded are based only on the information available to us at the time. As additional information becomes available, we reassess the potential liability related to the legal proceeding and may revise our estimates.

On November 11, 2019, a purported Company stockholder filed the Delaware Action in the Delaware Court of Chancery captioned City of Cambridge Retirement System v. Crooke, et al., C.A. No. 2019-0905. The plaintiff in the Delaware Action asserted claims against (i) current and former members of our board of directors; and (ii) Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as, the Defendants). The plaintiff purported to assert these claims derivatively on behalf of Akcea, which was a nominal defendant in the Delaware Action, as well as directly against the Defendants on behalf of a purported class of our stockholders. The plaintiff in the Delaware Action asserted that the Defendants breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the licensing transaction that we and Ionis entered into regarding TEGSEDI and AKCEA-TTR-L_Rx. The plaintiff also asserted an unjust enrichment claim against Ionis in connection with the transaction. We and the Defendants moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint and, on January 31, 2020, filed briefs in support of their respective motions to dismiss. On April 7, 2020, the plaintiff in the Delaware Action voluntarily dismissed its claims. That dismissal was with prejudice only as to the individual stockholder that filed the Delaware Action. It is therefore possible that a similar action could be filed at a later date prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations.