Legal Proceedings

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Legal Proceedings [Abstract]

Legal Proceedings

8. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are 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 we consider the potential loss from any legal proceeding to be probable and we can reasonably estimate the amount, we accrue a liability for the estimated loss. The outcome of any proceeding is not determinable in advance. Therefore, we are required to use significant judgment to determine the probability of a loss and whether the amount of the loss is reasonably estimable. Our assessment of a potential liability and the amount of accruals we 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 August 5, 2021, four purported former stockholders of Akcea filed an action in the Delaware Court of Chancery captioned John Makris, et al. v. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2021-0681, or the Delaware Action. The plaintiffs in the Delaware Action asserted claims against (i) former members of Akcea’s board of directors; and (ii) Ionis, or collectively, the Defendants. The plaintiffs asserted putatively direct claims on behalf of a purported class of former Akcea stockholders. The plaintiffs in the Delaware Action asserted that the Defendants breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the October 2020 take-private transaction that Ionis and Akcea entered into, in which Akcea became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ionis. We believe this lawsuit is without merit. However, the outcome of this lawsuit or any other lawsuit that may be filed challenging the October 2020 take-private transaction is uncertain. Accordingly, on June 3, 2022, the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle the Delaware Action for $12.5 million. A Stipulation and Agreement of Compromise, Settlement and Release, or the Stipulation and Settlement Agreement reflecting the terms of the proposed settlement was executed and filed with the Delaware Court of Chancery on July 5, 2022. On October 11, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery entered an Order and Final Judgment, or the Order, approving the Stipulation and Settlement Agreement in full after determining that the Stipulation and Settlement Agreement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Order provides for the full settlement, satisfaction, compromise and release of all claims that were asserted in the Delaware Action. The Order contains no admission of wrongdoing on the part of any of the Defendants. We recorded a legal reserve of $12.5 million and the corresponding litigation settlement expense within other expense in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations in the second quarter of 2022 for the proposed litigation settlement. In the third quarter of 2022, we received insurance contributions toward the settlement in the amount of $4.8 million from our insurance carriers. We recorded the insurance contributions as a reduction to the litigation settlement expense in the third quarter of 2022.

On January 19, 2022, a purported stockholder of Ionis filed a stockholder derivative complaint in the Delaware Court of Chancery captioned Leo Shumacher, et al. v. Joseph Loscalzo, et al., C.A. No. 2022-0059, or the Shumacher Action. The complaint names Ionis' board of directors, or the Board, as defendants and names Ionis as a nominal defendant. The Shumacher Action Plaintiff asserts a breach of fiduciary duty claim against the Board for awarding and receiving allegedly excessive compensation. The Shumacher Action Plaintiff also asserts an unjust enrichment claim against the non-executive directors as a result of the compensation they received. The complaint seeks, among other things, damages, restitution, attorneys’ fees and costs, and such other relief as deemed just and proper by the court. On March 18, 2022, we and the Board moved to dismiss the complaint. On May 24, 2022, the parties entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Compromise, Settlement and Release.

On May 25, 2022, another purported stockholder of Ionis filed a stockholder derivative complaint also in the Delaware Court of Chancery captioned Robert S. Cohen, et al. v. Joseph Loscalzo, et al., C.A. No. 2022-0453, or the Cohen Action. The complaint names the Board as defendants and names Ionis as a nominal defendant. The Cohen Action Plaintiff asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, and waste against the Board for awarding and receiving allegedly excessive non-executive director compensation for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. On June 2, 2022, the Cohen Action Plaintiff filed a motion to consolidate the related Cohen Action and Shumacher Action. On July 5, 2022, the Court denied the motion to consolidate in favor of the settlement pending in the Shumacher Action.

On July 18, 2022, we filed a Form 8-K disclosing the pending settlement and attaching the Notice of Pendency of Settlement of Action. On September 21, 2022, the Court held a hearing to consider whether the terms of the settlement should be approved, at which hearing the Cohen Action plaintiff objected to the settlement. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court declined to approve the settlement and directed the parties to meet and confer on the issue of the scope of the release. We and our Board have denied, and continue to deny, any and all allegations of wrongdoing or liability asserted in the Shumacher and Cohen Actions.