PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT | Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) |
(to Prospectus dated July 7, 2004) | Registration No. 333-116600 |
12,791,611 Shares
Targeted Genetics Corporation
Common Stock
We are offering up to 12,791,611 shares of our common stock. Our common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol TGEN. On March 8, 2006, the last reported sales price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $0.54 per share.
Our business and an investment in our common stock involve significant risks. These risks are described under the caption Risk Factors beginning on page S-7 of this prospectus supplement and on page 5 of the accompanying prospectus.
Per Share | Maximum Offering | |||||||
Public Offering Price
|
$ | 0.39 | $ | 4,988,728 | ||||
Proceeds, Before Expenses, to Targeted Genetics
|
$ | 0.39 | $ | 4,988,728 |
Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to closing in this offering, the actual public offering amount, and proceeds to us, if any, are not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the total maximum offering amounts set forth above.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities regulators have not approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. It is illegal for any person to tell you otherwise.
The date of this prospectus supplement is March 9, 2006.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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You should rely only on the information provided or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than its respective date, regardless of the time of delivery of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or any sale of common stock.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is an offer to sell and a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus only in jurisdictions where the offer or sale is permitted.
In this prospectus, Targeted Genetics, we, us and our refer to Targeted Genetics Corporation and its subsidiaries.
S-2
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using the SECs shelf registration process. Under the shelf registration statement and in accordance with the shelf registration process, we may sell up to 16,300,000 shares of our common stock from time to time after the effectiveness of the shelf registration statement of which this prospectus supplement is a part. The shelf registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on July 7, 2004. This prospectus supplement describes the specific details regarding this offering, including the price, the amount of common stock being offered and the risks of investing in our common stock. The accompanying prospectus provides general information about us, some of which, such as the section entitled Plan of Distribution, may not apply to this offering. If information in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with the accompanying prospectus or the information incorporated by reference, you should rely on this prospectus supplement. You should read both this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus together with the additional information about Targeted Genetics described in this prospectus supplement in the section below entitled Where You Can Find More Information.
TARGETED GENETICS CORPORATION
This summary does not contain all the information about Targeted Genetics Corporation that may be important to you. You should read the more detailed information and consolidated financial statements and related notes that are incorporated by reference and are considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement.
We develop gene therapy products and technologies for treating both acquired and inherited diseases. Our gene therapy product candidates are designed to treat disease by appropriately modifying cellular function at a genetic level. This involves introducing genetic material into target cells and expressing it in a manner that provides the desired effect. We have assembled a broad base of proprietary intellectual property that we believe gives us the potential to address the significant diseases that are the primary focus of our business. Our proprietary intellectual property includes gene therapy uses of certain genes, methods of transferring genetic material into cells, processes to manufacture our AAV-based product candidates and other proprietary technologies and processes. In addition, we have established expertise and development capabilities focused in the areas of preclinical research and development, manufacturing and manufacturing process scale-up, quality control, quality assurance, regulatory affairs and clinical trial design and implementation.
We have two product candidates in clinical trials. The first, tgAAC94, is an AAV-based product candidate being developed for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis. The second is an AAV-based prophylactic vaccine candidate for high-risk populations in developing nations to protect against HIV-AIDS. We are developing this program in collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, or IAVI, a non-profit organization, and the Columbus Childrens Research Institute at Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, or CCRI and The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, or CHOP.
In December 2004, we formed a collaboration with Celladon Corporation to evaluate AAV-based delivery of the SERCA2a gene and phospholamban gene variants that may have a therapeutic benefit in the treatment of congestive heart failure. We are also partnered with Sirna Therapeutics, Inc., in a collaboration formed in January 2005, to develop short interfering RNA, or siRNA, AAV-based therapies for the treatment of Huntingtons disease. In addition, we have two partnered preclinical programs and have been awarded a subcontract to develop another AAV-based HIV vaccine candidate. In November 2005, we and our scientific collaborators at CHOP and CCRI announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) has awarded a $21.75 million contract to expand AAV-based HIV vaccine. We have entered into a subcontract with CHOP to complete work related to the NIAID contract, under which we receive up to $18 million over the five year period of the contract. The purpose of the NIAID contract is to develop AAV-based vaccines against HIV strains most prevalent in North America and Europe.
The development of pharmaceutical products, including our potential inflammatory arthritis, prophylactic AIDS vaccine, congestive heart failure, and Huntingtons disease product candidates discussed above, involves extensive preclinical development followed by human clinical trials that take several years or more to
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We were incorporated in the state of Washington in 1989. Our executive offices are located at 1100 Olive Way, Suite 100, Seattle, Washington 98101, and our telephone number is (206) 623-7612.
For more information about Targeted Genetics, you should read this prospectus supplement together with the accompanying prospectus and the information described in the section of this prospectus supplement entitled Where You Can Find More Information, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes.
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THE OFFERING
Common stock offered by Targeted Genetics in this Offering | 12,791,611 shares | |
Common stock to be outstanding after this Offering | 98,485,855 shares | |
Use of proceeds from this Offering | Clinical development, research and development, working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions | |
Nasdaq Capital Market symbol | TGEN |
The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 85,694,244 shares outstanding on December 31, 2005 and does not include:
| 7,040,870 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options outstanding as of December 31, 2005, of which 4,320,432 shares are exercisable, under our 1992 Restated Stock Option Plan, our Stock Option Plan for Nonemployee Directors, our 1999 Stock Option Plan and our 2000 Genovo, Inc. Roll-over Stock Option Plan at a weighted average exercise price of $2.70 per share; and | |
| 2,993,541 shares available for grant as of December 31, 2005 under our stock option plans. |
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DILUTION
If you invest in our common stock, your interest will be diluted by an amount equal to the difference between the public offering price and the net tangible book value per share of common stock after this offering. We calculate net tangible book value per share by dividing the net tangible book value (total assets less intangible assets and total liabilities) by the number of outstanding shares of common stock.
Our net tangible book value at September 30, 2005 was $2.5 million, or $0.03 per share of common stock. Assuming we sell all 12,791,611 shares of common stock in this offering at $0.39 per share, and our receipt of the net proceeds from the sale of the shares, our adjusted net tangible book value at September 30, 2005 would be $7.5 million, or $0.08 per share. This represents an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value of $0.05 per share to existing shareholders and an immediate and substantial dilution of $0.31 per share to new investors. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:
Approximate fixed price per share
|
$ | 0.39 | |||||||
Net tangible book value per share at
September 30, 2005
|
$ | 0.03 | |||||||
Increase in net tangible book value per share
attributable to existing shareholders
|
$ | 0.05 | |||||||
Net tangible book value per share after this
offering
|
$ | 0.08 | |||||||
Dilution per share to new investors
|
$ | 0.31 | |||||||
These calculations exclude:
| 7,275,283 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options outstanding as of September 30, 2005, of which 4,165,795 shares are exercisable under our 1992 Restated Stock Option Plan, our Stock Option Plan for Nonemployee Directors, our 1999 Stock Option Plan and our 2000 Genovo, Inc. Roll-over Stock Option Plan at a weighted average exercise price of $2.77 per share; and | |
| 2,825,128 shares available for grant as of September 30, 2005 under our stock option plans. |
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RISK FACTORS
This offering involves a high degree of risk. Before you invest in our common stock, you should carefully read and consider the following risk factors. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, operating results or financial condition could be harmed. This could cause the trading price of our stock to decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related To Our Business
If we are unable to raise additional capital when needed, we will be unable to conduct our operations and develop our potential products and may not continue as a going concern.
Because internally generated cash flow will not fund development and commercialization of our product candidates, we will require substantial additional financial resources. We expect that our cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2005, plus the funding from our partners will be sufficient to fund our operations until approximately the fourth quarter of 2006. This estimate is based on our ability to perform planned research and development activities and the receipt of planned funding from our collaborators. Because we require additional capital to fund operations through 2006, the audit opinion for our fiscal 2005 financial statements may include a going concern qualification. If we are unable to raise such additional capital, we may not be able to continue as a going concern. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
| the rate and extent of scientific progress in our research and development programs; | |
| the timing, costs and scope of, and our success in, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and pursuing patent prosecutions; | |
| competing technological and market developments; | |
| the ability to re-negotiate any lease obligations; and | |
| the timing and costs of, and our success in any product commercialization activities and facility expansions, if and as required; and | |
| the expense and outcome of any litigation or administrative proceedings involving our intellectual property, or access to third party intellectual property through licensing agreements. |
In addition, we owe approximately $8.2 million in aggregate principal amount under two notes payable to Biogen Idec. The notes terms require us to make scheduled principal payments of $3.2 million in August 2007 and $2.5 million in each of August 2008 and 2009. We will need to raise additional capital to make the scheduled payments and to repay these notes. Additional sources of financing could involve one or more of the following:
| entering into additional product development and funding collaborations or other strategic transactions, or extending or expanding our current collaborations; | |
| issuing equity in the public or private markets; or | |
| issuing debt. |
Additional funding may not be available to us on reasonable terms, if at all. Our ability to issue equity, and our ability to issue it at the current market price, may be adversely affected by the fact that upon the filing of our Annual Report 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, we will become ineligible under SEC rules to utilize Form S-3 for primary offerings of our securities because the aggregate market value our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $75 million.
The funding that we expect to receive from our collaborations depends on continued scientific progress under the collaboration and our collaborators ability and willingness to continue or extend the collaboration. If we are unable to successfully access additional capital, we may need to scale back, delay or terminate one or more of our development programs, curtail capital expenditures or reduce other operating activities. We may
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We expect to continue to operate at a loss and may never become profitable.
Substantially all of our revenue has been derived under collaborative research and development agreements relating to the development of our potential product candidates. We have incurred, and will continue to incur for the foreseeable future, significant expense to develop our research and development programs, conduct preclinical studies and clinical trials, seek regulatory approval for our product candidates and provide general and administrative support for these activities. As a result, we have incurred significant net losses since inception, and we expect to continue to incur substantial additional losses in the future. As of September 30, 2005, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $246.5 million. We may never generate profits and, if we do become profitable, we may be unable to sustain or increase profitability.
All of our product candidates are in early-stage clinical trials or preclinical development, and if we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates we will be unable to generate sufficient capital to maintain our business.
In November 2005, IAVI initiated a Phase II trial for our HIV/AIDS vaccine product candidate in South Africa. In October 2005, we initiated a second Phase I trial for our inflammatory arthritis product candidate in the United States and Canada. We will not generate any product revenue for at least several years and then only if we can successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates. Commercializing our potential products depends on successful completion of additional research and development and testing, in both preclinical development and clinical trials. Clinical trials may take several years or more to complete. The commencement, cost and rate of completion of our clinical trials may vary or be delayed for many reasons, including the risks discussed elsewhere in this section. If we are unable to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development of some or all of our product candidates in a timely manner, we may be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
Even if our potential products succeed in clinical trials and are approved for marketing, these products may never achieve market acceptance. If we are unsuccessful in commercializing our product candidates for any reason, including greater effectiveness or economic feasibility of competing products or treatments, the failure of the medical community or the public to accept or use any products based on gene delivery, inadequate marketing and distribution capabilities or other reasons discussed elsewhere in this section, we will be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
Failure to recruit subjects could delay or prevent clinical trials of our potential products, which could delay or prevent the development of potential products.
Identifying and qualifying subjects to participate in clinical trials of our potential products is critically important to our success. The timing of our clinical trials depends on the speed at which we can recruit subjects to participate in testing our product candidates. We have experienced delays in some of our clinical trials, and we may experience similar delays in the future. If subjects are unwilling to participate in our gene therapy trials because of negative publicity from adverse events in the biotechnology or gene therapy industries or for other reasons, including competitive clinical trials for similar patient populations, the timeline for recruiting subjects, conducting trials and obtaining regulatory approval of potential products will be delayed. These delays could result in increased costs, delays in advancing our product development, delays in testing the effectiveness of our technology or termination of the clinical trials altogether.
The regulatory approval process for our product candidates is costly, time-consuming and subject to unpredictable changes and delays, and our product candidates may never receive regulatory approval.
No gene therapy products have received regulatory approval for marketing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. Because our product candidates involve new and unproven technologies, we believe
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The regulatory process for our product candidates is costly, time-consuming and subject to unpredictable delays. The clinical trial requirements of the FDA, NIH and other agencies and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of the potential products. In addition, regulatory requirements governing gene therapy products have changed frequently and may change in the future. Accordingly, we cannot predict how long it will take or how much it will cost to obtain regulatory approvals for clinical trials or for manufacturing or marketing our potential products. Some or all of our product candidates may never receive regulatory approval. A product candidate that appears promising at an early stage of research or development may not result in a commercially successful product. Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a product candidate or a product candidate may generate unacceptable side affects or other problems during or after clinical trials. Should this occur, we may have to delay or discontinue development of the product candidate, and the partner, if any, that supports development of that product candidate may terminate its support. Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
If we are unable to obtain or maintain licenses for necessary third-party technology on acceptable terms or to develop alternative technology, we may be unable to develop and commercialize our product candidates.
We have entered into exclusive and nonexclusive license agreements that give us and our partners rights to use technologies owned or licensed by commercial and academic organizations in the research, development and commercialization of our potential products. For example, we have a gene therapy technology license agreement with Amgen Inc., or Amgen, as the successor to Immunex Corporation, or Immunex, under which we have license rights to certain Immunex proprietary technology specifically applicable to gene therapy applications. In a February 2004 letter, Amgen took the position that we are not licensed, either exclusively or nonexclusively, to use Immunex intellectual property covering TNFR:Fc or therapeutic uses for TNFR:Fc. We have responded with a letter confirming our confidence that the gene therapy technology license agreement provides us with an exclusive worldwide license to use the gene construct coding for TNFR:Fc for gene therapy applications. We have had and continue to have further communications with Amgen regarding our differences. Notwithstanding our confidence, it is possible that a resolution of those differences, through litigation or otherwise, could cause delay or discontinuation of our development of tgAAC94 or our inability to commercialize any resulting product.
We believe that we will need to obtain additional licenses to use patents and unpatented technology owned or licensed by others for use, compositions, methods, processes to manufacture compositions, processes to manufacture and purify gene delivery product candidates and other technologies and processes for our present and potential product candidates. If we are unable to maintain our current licenses for third-party technology or obtain additional licenses on acceptable terms, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to develop or license replacement technology. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected product candidates. In addition, the license agreements for technology for which we hold exclusive licenses typically contain provisions that require us to meet minimum development milestones in order to maintain the license on an exclusive basis for some or all fields of the license. We also have license agreements for some of our technologies, which may require us to sublicense
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In many cases, patent prosecution of our licensed technology is controlled solely by the licensor. If our licensors fail to obtain and maintain patent or other protection for the proprietary intellectual property we license from them, we could lose our rights to the intellectual property or our exclusivity with respect to those rights, and our competitors could market competing products using the intellectual property. Licensing of intellectual property is of critical importance to our business and involves complex legal, business and scientific issues and is complicated by the rapid pace of scientific discovery in our industry. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including:
| the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues; | |
| the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement; | |
| the sublicensing of patent and other rights under our collaborative development relationships; | |
| the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our partners; and | |
| the priority of invention of patented technology. |
If disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.
Litigation involving intellectual property, product liability or other claims and product recalls could strain our resources, subject us to significant liability, damage our reputation or result in the invalidation of our proprietary rights.
As our product development efforts progress, most particularly in potentially significant markets such as HIV/AIDS, congestive heart failure or inflammatory arthritis therapies, the risk increases that others may claim that our processes and product candidates infringe on their intellectual property rights. In addition, administrative proceedings, litigation or both may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights or determine the rights of others. Defending or pursuing these claims, regardless of their merit, would be costly and would likely divert managements attention and resources away from our operations. If there were to be an adverse outcome in litigation or an interference proceeding, we could face potential liability for significant damages or be required to obtain a license to the patented process or technology at issue, or both. If we are unable to obtain a license on acceptable terms, or to develop or obtain alternative technology or processes, we may be unable to manufacture or market any product or potential product that uses the affected process or technology.
Clinical trials and the marketing of any potential products may expose us to liability claims resulting from the testing or use of our products. Gene therapy treatments are new and unproven, and potential known and unknown side effects of gene therapy may be serious and potentially life-threatening. Product liability claims may be made by clinical trial participants, consumers, healthcare providers or other sellers or users of our products. Although we currently maintain liability insurance, the costs of product liability and other claims against us may exceed our insurance coverage. In addition, we may require increased liability coverage as additional product candidates are used in clinical trials or commercialized. Liability insurance is expensive and may not continue to be available on acceptable terms. A product liability or other claim or product recall not covered by or exceeding our insurance coverage could significantly harm our financial condition. In addition, adverse publicity resulting from a product recall or a liability claim against us, one of our partners or another gene therapy company could significantly harm our reputation and make it more difficult to obtain the funding and collaborative partnerships necessary to maintain our business.
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If we lose our collaborative partners, we may be unable to develop our potential products.
A portion of our operating expenses are funded through our collaborative agreements with third parties. We currently have strategic partnerships with two biotechnology companies, Sirna Therapeutics and Celladon, one public health organization, IAVI, and through a contract funded by the NIAID, that provide for funding, collaborative development, intellectual property rights or expertise to develop certain of our product candidates. With limited exceptions, each collaborator has the right to terminate its obligation to provide research funding at any time for scientific or business reasons. In addition, to the extent that funding is provided by a collaborator for non-program-specific uses, the loss of significant amounts of collaborative funding could result in the delay, reduction or termination of additional research and development programs, a reduction in capital expenditures or business development and other operating activities, or any combination of these measures. For example, we have a collaborative development agreement with IAVI, which expires in December 2006, that we expect to provide us with funding to reimburse research and development and manufacturing expenses we incur in connection with the collaboration. As a result, a significant portion of our operating expenses are funded through our collaborative agreements with IAVI. Additionally, IAVI directly funds the Phase II clinical trial for our HIV/AIDS vaccine product candidate.
If we do not attract and retain qualified personnel, we may be unable to develop and commercialize some of our potential products.
Our future success depends in large part on our ability to attract and retain key technical and management personnel. All of our employees, including our executive officers, can terminate their employment with us at any time. We have programs in place designed to retain personnel, including competitive compensation packages and programs to create a positive work environment. Other companies, research and academic institutions and other organizations in our field compete intensely for employees, however, and we may be unable to retain our existing personnel or attract additional qualified employees and consultants. If we experience significant turnover or difficulty in recruiting new personnel, our research and development of product candidates could be delayed and we could experience difficulty in generating sufficient revenue to maintain our business.
The reduction in workforce associated with our recent restructuring of operations may impair our ability to develop our product candidates and harm our operations.
January 24, 2006 we restructured our operations to concentrate our resources on generating data from the clinical trials of our inflammatory arthritis product candidate, maintaining our manufacturing capabilities and advancing our funded product development efforts. As part of this restructuring we eliminated 26 positions, which reduced our workforce by approximately 27%, including scientific, operations and administrative functions that were not required to support our programs. This restructuring primarily affected earlier stage product discovery and preclinical product development efforts, small-scale vector manufacturing employees, management positions and operations and general and administrative support. Many of the terminated employees possess specific knowledge or expertise that may later prove to be important to our operations. As a result of these factors, our ability to develop our product candidates and respond to challenges in the future may be impaired and we may not be able to take advantage of new business opportunities.
If our partners or scientific consultants terminate, reduce or delay our relationships with them, we may be unable to develop our potential products.
Our partners provide funding, manage regulatory filings, aid and augment our internal research and development efforts and provide access to important intellectual property and know-how. Their activities include, for example, support in processing the regulatory filings of our product candidates and funding clinical trials. Our outside scientific consultants and contractors perform research, develop technology and processes to advance and augment our internal efforts and provide access to important intellectual property and know-how. Their activities include, for example, clinical evaluation of our product candidates, product development activities performed under our research collaborations, research under sponsored research agreements and contract manufacturing services. Collaborations with established pharmaceutical and biotechnology compa-
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The success of our clinical trials and preclinical studies may not be indicative of results in a large number of subjects of either safety or efficacy.
The successful results of our technology in preclinical studies using animal models may not be predictive of the results that we will see in our clinical trials. In addition, results in early-stage clinical trials are based on limited numbers of subjects and generally test for drug safety rather than efficacy. Our reported progress and results from our early phases of clinical testing of our product candidates may not be indicative of progress or results that will be achieved from larger populations, which could be less favorable. Moreover, we do not know if the favorable results we have achieved in clinical trials will have a lasting or repeatable effect. If a larger group of subjects does not experience positive results, or if any favorable results do not demonstrate a beneficial effect, our product candidates that we advance to clinical trials, may not receive approval from the FDA for further clinical trials or commercialization. For example, in March 2005, we discontinued the development of tgAAVCF following the analysis of Phase II clinical trial data in which tgAAVCF failed to achieve the efficacy endpoints of the trial.
We may be unable to adequately protect our proprietary rights domestically or overseas, which may limit our ability to successfully market any product candidates.
Our success depends substantially on our ability to protect our proprietary rights and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We own or license patents and patent applications, and will need to license additional patents, for genes, processes, practices and techniques critical to our present and potential product candidates. If we fail to obtain and maintain patent or other intellectual property protection for this technology, our competitors could market competing products using those genes, processes, practices and techniques. The patent process takes several years and involves considerable expense. In addition, patent applications and patent positions in the field of biotechnology are highly uncertain and involve complex legal, scientific and factual questions. Our patent applications may not result in issued patents and the scope of any patent may be reduced both before and after the patent is issued. Even if we secure a patent, the patent may not provide significant protection and may be circumvented or invalidated.
We also rely on unpatented proprietary technology and technology that we have licensed on a nonexclusive basis. While we take precautions to protect our proprietary unpatented technology, we may be unable to meaningfully protect this technology from unauthorized use or misappropriation by a third party. Our competitors could also obtain rights to our nonexclusively licensed proprietary technology. In any event, other companies may independently develop equivalent proprietary information and techniques. If our competitors develop and market competing products using our unpatented or nonexclusively licensed proprietary technology or substantially similar technology, our products, if successfully developed, could suffer a reduction in sales or be forced out of the market.
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If we do not develop adequate development, manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, either alone or with our business partners, we will be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
Our potential products require significant development of new processes and design for the advancement of the product candidate through manufacture, preclinical and clinical testing. We may be unable to continue development or meet critical milestones with our partners due to technical or scientific issues related to manufacturing or development. We currently do not have the physical capacity to manufacture large-scale quantities of our potential products. This could limit our ability to conduct large clinical trials of a product candidate and to commercially launch a successful product candidate. In order to manufacture product at such scale, we will need to expand or improve our current facilities and staff or supplement them through the use of contract providers. If we are unable to obtain and maintain the necessary manufacturing capabilities, either alone or through third parties, we will be unable to manufacture our potential products in quantities sufficient to sustain our business. Moreover, we are unlikely to become profitable if we, or our contract providers, are unable to manufacture our potential products in a cost-effective manner.
In addition, we have no experience in sales, marketing and distribution. To successfully commercialize any products that may result from our development programs, we will need to develop these capabilities, either on our own or with others. We intend to enter into collaborations with other entities to utilize their mature marketing and distribution capabilities, but we may be unable to enter into marketing and distribution agreements on favorable terms, if at all. If our current or future collaborative partners do not commit sufficient resources to timely marketing and distributing our future products, if any, and we are unable to develop the necessary marketing and distribution capabilities on our own, we will be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to sustain our business.
Post-approval manufacturing or product problems or failure to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements could prevent or limit our ability to market our products.
Commercialization of any products will require continued compliance with FDA and other federal, state and local regulations. For example, our current manufacturing facility, which is designed for manufacturing our AAV vectors for clinical and development purposes, is subject to the Good Manufacturing Practices requirements and other regulations of the FDA, as well as to other federal, state and local regulations such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Environmental Protection Act. Any future manufacturing facilities that we may construct for large-scale commercial production will also be subject to regulation. We may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for or maintain in operation this or any other manufacturing facility. In addition, we may be unable to attain or maintain compliance with current or future regulations relating to manufacture, safety, handling, storage, record keeping or marketing of potential products. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements or discover previously unknown manufacturing, contamination, product side effects or other problems after we receive regulatory approval for a potential product, we may suffer restrictions on our ability to market the product or be required to withdraw the product from the market.
Risks Related to Our Industry
Adverse events in the field of gene therapy could damage public perception of our potential products and negatively affect governmental approval and regulation.
Public perception of our product candidates could be harmed by negative events in the field of gene transfer. For example, in 2003, fourteen subjects in a French academic clinical trial being treated for x-linked severe combined immunodeficiency in a gene therapy trial using a retroviral vector showed correction of the disease, although three of the subjects subsequently developed leukemia. Serious adverse events, including patient deaths have occurred in clinical trials. Adverse events in our clinical trials and the resulting publicity, as well as any other adverse events in the field of gene therapy that may occur in the future, could result in a decrease in demand for any products that we may develop. The commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of gene therapy for preventing or treating human diseases.
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Future adverse events in gene therapy or the biotechnology industry could also result in greater governmental regulation, unfavorable public perception, stricter labeling requirements and potential regulatory delays in the testing or approval of our potential products. Any increased scrutiny could delay or increase the costs of our product development efforts or clinical trials.
Our use of hazardous materials exposes us to liability risks and regulatory limitations on their use, either of which could reduce our ability to generate product revenue.
Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, including chemicals, biological materials and radioactive compounds. Our safety procedures for handling, storing and disposing of these materials must comply with federal, state and local laws and regulations, including, among others, those relating to solid and hazardous waste management, biohazard material handling, radiation and air pollution control. We may be required to incur significant costs in the future to comply with environmental or other applicable laws and regulations. In addition, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from hazardous materials. If a hazardous material accident were to occur, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and this liability could exceed our insurance and financial resources. Accidents unrelated to our operations could cause federal, state or local regulatory agencies to restrict our access to hazardous materials needed in our research and development efforts, which could result in delays in our research and development programs. Paying damages or experiencing delays caused by restricted access could reduce our ability to generate revenue and make it more difficult to fund our operations.
The intense competition and rapid technological change in our market may result in failure of our potential products to achieve market acceptance.
We face increasingly intense competition from a number of commercial entities and institutions that are developing gene therapy technologies. Our competitors include early-stage and more established gene delivery companies, other biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical companies, universities, research institutions and government agencies developing gene therapy products or other biotechnology-based therapies designed to treat the diseases on which we focus. We also face competition from companies using more traditional approaches to treating human diseases, such as surgery, medical devices and pharmaceutical products. As our product candidates become commercial gene therapy products that may affect commercial markets of the analogous protein or traditional pharmaceutical therapy, disputes including lawsuits, demands, threats or patent challenges may arise in an effort to slow our development. In addition, we compete with other companies to acquire products or technology from research institutions or universities. Many of our competitors have substantially more resources, including research and development personnel, capital and infrastructure, than we do. Many of our competitors also have greater experience and capabilities than we do in:
| research and development; | |
| clinical trials; | |
| obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals; | |
| manufacturing; and | |
| marketing and distribution. |
In addition, the competitive positions of other companies, institutions and organizations, including smaller competitors, may be strengthened through collaborative relationships. Consequently, our competitors may be able to develop, obtain patent protection for, obtain regulatory approval for, or commercialize new products more rapidly than we do, or manufacture and market competitive products more successfully than we
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Gene therapy is a rapidly evolving field and is expected to continue to undergo significant and rapid technological change and competition. Rapid technological development by our competitors, including development of technologies, products or processes that are more effective or more economically feasible than those we have developed, could result in our actual and proposed technologies, products or processes losing market share or becoming obsolete.
Healthcare reform measures and the unwillingness of third-party payors to provide adequate reimbursement for the cost of our products could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our potential products and become profitable.
Sales of medical products and treatments depends substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the availability of reimbursement to the consumer from third-party payors. Our potential products may not be considered cost-effective by third-party payors, who may not provide coverage at the price set for our products, if at all. If purchasers or users of our products are unable to obtain adequate reimbursement, they may forego or reduce their use of our products. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our investment.
Increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payors, such as Medicare, private insurance plans and managed care organizations, to cap or reduce healthcare costs will affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates and become profitable. We believe that third-party payors will attempt to reduce healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and level of reimbursement for new products approved by the FDA. There have been and will continue to be a number of federal and state proposals to implement government controls on pricing, the adoption of which could affect our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates. Even if the government does not adopt any such proposals or reforms, their announcement could impair our ability to raise capital.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
If we are unable to comply with the minimum requirements for quotation on the NASDAQ Capital Market and we may be delisted from the NASDAQ Capital Market, the liquidity and market price of our common stock would decline.
Our stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market. In order to continue to be listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market, we must meet specific quantitative standards, including maintaining a minimum bid price of $1.00 for our common stock. On May 31, 2005, we received a notice from the NASDAQ Stock Market informing us that for 30 consecutive business days the bid price of our common stock had closed below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for continued inclusion under Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(4). The letter stated that under Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(8)(d), we were provided with 180 calendar days, or until November 28, 2005, to regain compliance with Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(4). To regain compliance, the bid price of our common stock must close at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. On November 28, 2005, we had not regained compliance with Market place Rule 4310(c). However, since we met all of the NASDAQ Stock Markets criteria set forth in Marketplace Rule 4310(c), except for the bid price requirement, the NASDAQ provided us with an additional 180 calendar day compliance period, or until May 26, 2006, to demonstrate full compliance and maintain our listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. To date, we have not achieved the required minimum bid price. If we have not regained compliance at that time, the NASDAQ Staff will provide written notification that our securities will be delisted.
Upon delisting from the NASDAQ Capital Market, trading, if any, in our shares may continue to be conducted on the OTC Bulletin Board or in a non-NASDAQ over-the-counter market, such as the pink sheets. Delisting of our shares would result in limited release of the market price of those shares and limited analyst coverage and could reduce investors interest in our securities. Also, a delisting could have a material
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If we sell additional shares, our stock price may decline as a result of the dilution which will occur to existing stockholders.
Until we are profitable, we will need significant additional funds to develop our business and sustain our operations. Any additional sales of shares of our common stock are likely to have a dilutive effect on our then existing stockholders. Subsequent sales of these shares in the open market could also have the effect of lowering our stock price, thereby increasing the number of shares we may need to issue in the future to raise the same dollar amount and consequently further diluting our outstanding shares. These future sales could also have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares and could result in additional dilution to the holders of our shares.
The perceived risk associated with the possible sale of a large number of shares could cause some of our stockholders to sell their stock, thus causing the price of our stock to decline. In addition, actual or anticipated downward pressure on our stock price due to actual or anticipated sales of stock could cause some institutions or individuals to engage in short sales of our common stock, which may itself cause the price of our stock to decline.
If our stock price declines, we may be unable to raise additional capital. A sustained inability to raise capital could force us to go out of business. Significant declines in the price of our common stock could also impair our ability to attract and retain qualified employees, reduce the liquidity of our common stock and result in the delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Concentration of ownership of our common stock may give certain shareholders significant influence over our business.
A small number of investors own a significant number of shares of our common stock. As of December 31, 2005, Elan held approximately 11.6 million and Biogen Idec held approximately 11.5 million shares of our common stock. Together these holdings represent approximately 27.0% of our common shares outstanding as of December 31, 2005. This concentration of stock ownership may allow these shareholders to exercise significant control over our strategic decisions and block, delay or substantially influence all matters requiring shareholder approval, such as:
| election of directors; | |
| amendment of our charter documents; or | |
| approval of significant corporate transactions, such as a change of control of Targeted Genetics. |
The interests of these shareholders may conflict with the interests of other holders of our common stock with regard to such matters. Furthermore, this concentration of ownership of our common stock could allow these shareholders to delay, deter or prevent a third party from acquiring control of Targeted Genetics at a premium over the then-current market price of our common stock, which could result in a decrease in our stock price.
Both Biogen Idec and Elan have sold shares of our common stock and may continue to do so. In accordance with the termination agreement that we entered into with Elan with in March 2004, Elan is only
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Market fluctuations or volatility could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and limit our ability to raise capital.
The stock market in general and the market for biotechnology-related companies in particular have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, often unrelated to the operating performance of the affected companies. The market price of the securities of biotechnology companies, particularly companies such as ours without earnings and product revenue, has been highly volatile and is likely to remain so in the future. Any report of clinical trial results that are below the expectations of financial analysts or investors could result in a decline in our stock price. We believe that in the past, similar levels of volatility have contributed to the decline in the market price of our common stock, and may do so again in the future. Trading volumes of our common stock can increase dramatically, resulting in a volatile market price for our common stock. The trading price of our common stock could decline significantly as a result of sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or the perception that significant sales could occur. In addition, the sale of significant quantities of stock by Elan, Biogen Idec or other holders of significant amounts of shares of our stock, could adversely impact the price of our common stock.
Risks Related to This Offering
Our use of the offering proceeds may not yield a favorable return on your investment.
We intend to use the net proceeds to us from this offering for clinical development, research and development, working capital and other general corporate purposes. In addition, we may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire or invest in complementary businesses or technologies. Our management will retain broad discretion in the allocation and use of the net proceeds and could spend the proceeds in ways with which you may not agree. Pending the use of the proceeds in this offering, we will invest them. However, the proceeds may not be invested in a manner that yields a favorable or any return.
As a new investor, you will incur substantial dilution as a result of this offering and future equity issuances, and as a result, our stock price could decline.
The offering price will be substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our outstanding common stock. As a result, based on our capitalization as of September 30, 2005, investors purchasing common stock in this offering will incur immediate dilution of $0.31 per share, based on the offering price of $0.39 per share. We will need to raise additional capital in the next twelve months. To meet all or a portion of our funding requirements, we may sell securities in the public or private equity markets. Furthermore, we may enter into financing transactions at prices that represent a substantial discount to market price. In addition, any additional shares issued in connection with acquisitions, could also result in dilution to investors. A negative reaction by investors and securities analysts to any discounted sale of our equity securities or to an acquisition could result in a decline in the trading price of our common stock. In addition, the market price of our common stock could fall as a result of resales of any of these shares of common stock due to an increased number of shares available for sale in the market.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Our disclosure and analysis in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements, which provide information regarding our current expectations, plans, objectives and forecasts of future events. Words such as may, will, believe, estimate, anticipate, plan, expect, may affect and intend, or statements concerning potential or opportunity and similar expressions or the negative thereof, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but the
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| statements about our product development and commercialization goals and expectations; | |
| potential market opportunities; | |
| our plans for and anticipated results of our clinical development activities; | |
| the potential advantage of our product candidates; | |
| statements about our future capital requirements, the sufficiency of our capital resources to meet those requirements and the expected composition of our capital resources; | |
| statements about our continued listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market; and | |
| other statements that are not historical facts. |
Forward-looking statements are based on the judgment of management at the time the statements are made. Inaccurate assumptions and known and unknown risks and uncertainties can affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated in or implied by forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including the risks described in the sections of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus entitled Risk Factors, in our other public filings, press releases and statements by our management. Other factors besides those described in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and in our other public filings, press releases and statements by our management could also affect actual results.
You should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, events or circumstances, whether anticipated or unanticipated, or to conform the statement to actual results or changes in our expectations. You should, however, review the factors, risks and other information we provide in the reports we file from time to time with the SEC.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Assuming all of the shares offered hereby are sold, the proceeds before expenses to us from this offering will be approximately $4,988,728 million in the aggregate. We intend to use the net proceeds to us from this offering for clinical development, research and development, working capital and other general corporate purposes. We will retain broad discretion in the allocation and use of the net proceeds.
In addition, we may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire or invest in complementary businesses or technologies. Although from time to time we evaluate potential acquisitions of complementary businesses or products, we currently have no present understandings, commitments or agreements with respect to any such transactions.
Pending any of these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds of this offering in short-term marketable securities. Within the parameters set by our investment policy, we will retain broad discretion in allocating the net proceeds of this offering.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We are proposing to sell directly to a limited number of institutional accredited investors a total of up to 12,791,611 shares of our common stock under this prospectus supplement at a price of $0.39 per share. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to closing this offering, the actual number of shares to be sold in this offering is not presently determinable and may be substantially less than 12,791,611 shares. All expenses related to this offering, other than the fees and expenses of counsel to the purchasers, will be borne by us, and are estimated, as of the date hereof at $200,000.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the common stock offered under this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus will be passed on for us by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Seattle, Washington.
EXPERTS
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, have audited our consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our consolidated financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLPs report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to the common stock being offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. As permitted by the SEC rules, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus omit some information included in the registration statement, including exhibits and schedules attached to the registration statement and information incorporated by reference therein. For a more complete understanding of the common stock and this offering, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits.
In addition, we file annual, quarterly and current reports, as well as registration and proxy statements and other information with the SEC. SEC rules allow us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus the information we file with the SEC, which means we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information included in the following documents is incorporated by reference and is considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus:
1. Our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2005, filed with the SEC on April 29, 2005; June 30, 2005, filed with the SEC on July 28, 2005; and September 30, 2005, filed with the SEC on November 3, 2005; | |
2. Our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, filed with the SEC on March 4, 2005; | |
3. Our current reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2005; February 23, 2005; March 17, 2005; June 1, 2005; July 26, 2005; August 16, 2005; August 23, 2005, as amended on Form 8-K/ A on January 19, 2006; September 1, 2005; September 13, 2005; October 12, 2005; November 2, 2005; November 16, 2005; November 30, 2005; January 25, 2006; March 8, 2006 and March 9, 2006. | |
4. Our definitive proxy statement dated April 14, 2005, relating to our May 26, 2005 annual meeting of shareholders; and | |
5. The description of our common stock contained in our registration statements on Form 8-A filed on April 26, 1994 and October 22, 1996 under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating that description. |
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We also incorporate by reference all documents we file under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, (a) after the filing date of the initial registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and before the effectiveness of the registration statement and (b) after the effectiveness of the registration statement and before all of the shares registered under the registration statement are sold. The most recent information that we file with the SEC automatically updates and supersedes older information. The information contained in any such filing will be deemed to be part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus as of the date on which the document is filed, and any older information that has been modified or superseded will not be deemed to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Unless specifically stated to the contrary, none of the information that we disclose on any Current Report on Form 8-K that we may from time to time furnish to the SEC under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K, will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise included in, this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
Upon request, we will provide without charge to each person who receives this prospectus supplement, including any beneficial owner, a copy of the information that has been incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Please direct your request, either in writing or by telephone, to the Secretary, Targeted Genetics Corporation, 1100 Olive Way, Suite 100, Seattle, Washington 98101, (206) 623-7612.
You may also inspect and copy the registration statement and other documents that we have filed with the SEC, at prescribed rates, at the public reference facility maintained by the SEC at Room 1024, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information regarding the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the registration statement and other documents we have filed with the SEC are publicly available through the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov or through our website at www.targetedgenetics.com.
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PROSPECTUS
Targeted Genetics Corporation
16,300,000 Shares of Common Stock
We may sell from time to time up to 16,300,000 shares of the common stock offered by this prospectus at prices and on terms to be determined at or prior to the time of an offering. We will describe the specific terms and amounts of the common stock offered in a prospectus supplement that will accompany this prospectus.
You should read both the prospectus supplement and this prospectus carefully before you invest in our common stock. This prospectus may not be used to sell securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Our common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ SmallCap Market under the symbol TGEN. The last reported sales price of our common stock on June 16, 2004 was $1.52 per share.
Investing in our common stock involves risks. See Risk Factors beginning on page 5.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is July 7, 2004
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You should rely only on the information provided or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than its date, regardless of the time of delivery of the prospectus or prospectus supplement or any sale of common stock.
This prospectus and any prospectus supplement is an offer to sell and a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities offered by this prospectus and any prospectus supplement only in jurisdictions where the offer or sale is permitted.
In this prospectus, Targeted Genetics, we, us and our refer to Targeted Genetics Corporation and its subsidiaries.
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using the SECs shelf registration process. Each time we sell our common stock under this prospectus we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering, including the price, the amount of common stock being offered and the plan of distribution. The prospectus supplement for a particular offering may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. In addition, we may update or supplement any prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering. You should read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement together with the additional information about Targeted Genetics to which we refer you in the section of this prospectus entitled Where You Can Find More Information.
TARGETED GENETICS CORPORATION
This summary does not contain all the information about Targeted Genetics Corporation that may be important to you. You should read the more detailed information and consolidated financial statements and related notes that are incorporated by reference and are considered to be a part of this prospectus.
Targeted Genetics develops gene therapy products and technologies for treating both acquired and inherited diseases. Our gene therapy product candidates are designed to treat disease by regulating cellular function at a genetic level. This involves introducing genetic material into target cells and activating it in a manner that provides the desired effect. We have developed and licensed a broad base of proprietary intellectual property that we believe gives us the potential to address the significant diseases that are the primary focus of our business. Our proprietary intellectual property includes genes, methods of transferring genes into cells, processes to manufacture our gene delivery product candidates and other proprietary technologies and processes. In addition, we have established expertise and development capabilities focused in the areas of preclinical research and biology, manufacturing and manufacturing process scale-up, quality control, quality assurance, regulatory affairs and clinical trial design and implementation. We believe that our focus and expertise will enable us to develop products based on our proprietary intellectual property.
Gene therapy products involve the use of delivery vehicles, called vectors, to place genetic material into target cells. Our proprietary vector technologies include both viral and synthetic vectors. Our viral vector development activities, which use modified viruses to deliver genes into cells, focus primarily on adeno-associated virus, or AAV, a common human virus that has not been associated with any human disease or illness. We believe that AAV provides a number of safety and gene delivery advantages over other viruses for several of our potential gene therapy products. Our synthetic vectors deliver genes into cells using lipids, which are fatty, water-insoluble organic substances that can promote gene uptake through cell membranes. We believe that synthetic vectors may provide a number of gene delivery advantages for repeated, efficient delivery of therapeutic genes into rapidly dividing cells, such as certain types of tumor cells. Although our current product development candidates utilize AAV as the delivery vector, we believe that possessing capabilities in both viral and synthetic approaches provides advantages in our corporate partnering efforts and increases the range of our potential products that may reach the market.
We have an AAV-based product candidate under development for treating cystic fibrosis that is being evaluated in a second Phase II clinical trial initiated in July 2003. We designed this trial to enroll up to 100 patients and are conducting it in collaboration with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, or CF Foundation. We expect to complete patient accrual and dosing by the end of 2004. We recently dosed the 50th patient in this study. After collecting 30-day data points from the first 50 patients, an independent data safety monitoring committee will conduct an interim analysis to determine whether the trial will continue or be terminated. If it is apparent, statistically, that significant differences between placebo and treated groups upon full patient enrollment cannot be reached then the trial will be terminated. The data remain blinded as long as the trial continues and we will continue to accrue patients during the interim analysis period. This second Phase II trial follows an initial repeat dosing trial for which we announced final data in June 2003 that indicated that our cystic fibrosis product candidate met safety and tolerability targets. In addition, final data from the initial
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We are developing an AAV-based vaccine product candidate for high-risk populations in developing nations to protect against the progression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, infection to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, or IAVI, a non-profit organization, and The Columbus Childrens Research Institute at Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. In December 2003, we initiated a Phase I initial dose escalation safety trial in humans for our AIDS vaccine product candidate in Europe. This dose-escalation safety trial is designed to enroll up to 50 volunteers who are uninfected with HIV and in good health. Each participant in this trial will receive a single injection of the vaccine candidate and will be monitored for safety and immune response. We expect to complete the dose-escalation phase of this trial by the end of 2004.
We are also developing an AAV-based product candidate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In March 2004, we initiated a Phase I clinical trial for this product candidate for treating rheumatoid arthritis. This dose-escalation safety trial is designed to enroll up to 32 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and will be conducted in multiple sites in the United States and Canada. Patients will be monitored for safety and secondarily for improvements in arthritis signs and symptoms. We expect to complete patient accrual and dosing in this trial by the first quarter of 2005. We also have additional product candidates focused on treating cancer and hemophilia; however, we have suspended further development of these programs until we can find other sources of funding for the programs.
We believe that our successes in developing and licensing a broad platform of proprietary intellectual property for developing and manufacturing potential products support our potential to develop and manufacture gene therapy product candidates to treat a range of diseases. We have developed processes to manufacture our potential products using methods and at a scale amenable to clinical development and expandable to large-scale production for advancing our potential products to clinical evaluation and commercialization. These methods are similar to the methods used to manufacture other biologics. As a result, we evaluated and continue to evaluate opportunities to utilize excess capacity to manufacture biologics for other companies. In March 2003, we entered into a manufacturing services agreement with GenVec, Inc., or GenVec, to conduct initial feasibility studies to evaluate our ability to manufacture clinical supply of GenVecs cancer product candidate, TNFeradeTM, an adeno-viral-based gene therapy product. In October 2003, we successfully completed this feasibility study and began manufacturing TNFeradeTM for clinical use. In January 2004, we completed our manufacturing work for GenVec.
We believe that a wide range of diseases may potentially be treated, or prevented, with gene-based products, including cancer, genetic diseases and infectious diseases. We believe that there is also a significant opportunity to treat diseases currently treated using recombinant DNA proteins and monoclonal antibodies or small molecules that may be more effectively treated by gene-based therapies due to their ability to provide a long-term or a localized method of treatment. Our business strategy is to develop multiple gene delivery systems, which we believe will maximize our product opportunities. Using these gene delivery systems, we are developing product candidates across multiple diseases with the belief that gene-based therapies may provide a means to treat diseases not fully treatable with current biologic and pharmaceutical drugs. We believe that, if successful, we can establish significant market potential for our product candidates. There are no commercially available gene therapy products in the United States. We intend to pursue product development programs to enable us to demonstrate proof of concept and eventually commercialize gene-based therapeutics to address currently unmet medical needs in treating disease.
The development of pharmaceutical products involves extensive preclinical development followed by human clinical trials that take several years or more to complete. The length of time required to completely develop any product candidate varies substantially according to the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidate, the degree of involvement by a development partner, and the intended use of the product candidate. Our commencement and rate of completion of clinical trials may vary or be delayed for many reasons, including those discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled Risk Factors.
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We were incorporated in the state of Washington in 1989. Our executive offices are located at 1100 Olive Way, Suite 100, Seattle, Washington 98101, and our telephone number is (206) 623-7612.
For more information about Targeted Genetics, you should read the accompanying prospectus and the information described in the section of this prospectus entitled Where You Can Find More Information, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes.
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RISK FACTORS
This offering involves a high degree of risk. Before you invest in our common stock, you should carefully read and consider the following risk factors. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, operating results or financial condition could be harmed. This could cause the trading price of our stock to decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business
We expect to continue to operate at a loss and may never become profitable, which could result in a decline in the value of our common stock and a loss of your investment.
Substantially all of our revenue has been derived under collaborative research and development agreements relating to the development of our potential product candidates. We have incurred, and will continue to incur for the foreseeable future, significant expense to develop our research and development programs, conduct preclinical studies and clinical trials, seek regulatory approval for our product candidates and provide general and administrative support for these activities. As a result, we have incurred significant net losses since inception, and we expect to continue to incur substantial additional losses in the future. As of March 31, 2004, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $221 million. We may never generate profits and, if we do become profitable, we may be unable to sustain or increase profitability.
All of our product candidates are in early-stage clinical trials or preclinical development, and if we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates we will be unable to generate sufficient capital to maintain our business.
In July 2003, we initiated a confirmatory Phase II clinical trial for our cystic fibrosis product candidate in the United States. In December 2003, we initiated a Phase I clinical trial for our AIDS vaccine product candidate in Europe. In March 2004, we initiated a Phase I clinical trial for our rheumatoid arthritis product candidate in the United States and Canada. Our product candidates for cancer have been evaluated in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. We will not generate any product revenue for at least several years and then only if we can successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates. Commercializing our potential products depends on successful completion of additional research and development and testing, in both preclinical development and clinical trials. Clinical trials may take several years or more to complete. The commencement, cost and rate of completion of our clinical trials may vary or be delayed for many reasons, including the risks discussed elsewhere in this section. If we are unable to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development of some or all of our product candidates in a timely manner, we may be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
Even if our potential products succeed in clinical trials and are approved for marketing, these products may never achieve market acceptance. If we are unsuccessful in commercializing our product candidates for any reason, including greater effectiveness or economic feasibility of competing products or treatments, the failure of the medical community or the public to accept or use any products based on gene delivery, inadequate marketing and distribution capabilities or other reasons discussed elsewhere in this section, we will be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
The regulatory approval process for our product candidates is costly, time-consuming and subject to unpredictable changes and delays, and our product candidates may never receive regulatory approval.
To our knowledge, no gene therapy products have received regulatory approval for marketing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or any similar state or foreign regulatory agencies. Because our product candidates involve new and unproven technologies, we believe that the regulatory approval process may proceed more slowly compared to clinical trials involving traditional drugs. The FDA and applicable state and foreign regulators must conclude at each stage of clinical testing that our clinical data suggest acceptable levels of safety in order for us to proceed to the next stage of clinical trials. In addition, gene therapy clinical trials conducted at institutions that receive funding for recombinant DNA research from the National
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The regulatory process for our product candidates is costly, time-consuming and subject to unpredictable delays. The clinical trial requirements of the FDA, NIH and other agencies and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of the potential products. In addition, regulatory requirements governing gene and cell therapy products have changed frequently and may change in the future. Accordingly, we cannot predict how long it will take or how much it will cost to obtain regulatory approvals for clinical trials or for manufacturing or marketing our potential products. Some or all of our product candidates may never receive regulatory approval. A product candidate that appears promising at an early stage of research or development may not result in a commercially successful product. Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a product candidate or a product candidate may generate unacceptable side effects or other problems during or after clinical trials. Should this occur, we may have to delay or discontinue development of the product candidate, and the corporate partner that supports development of that product candidate may terminate its support. Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
If we are unable to raise additional capital when needed, we will be unable to conduct our operations and develop our potential products.
Because internally generated cash flow will not fund development and commercialization of our product candidates, we will require substantial additional financial resources. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
| the rate and extent of scientific progress in our research and development programs; | |
| the timing, costs and scope of, and our success in, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and pursuing patent prosecutions; | |
| competing technological and market developments; | |
| the timing and costs of, and our success in, any commercialization activities and facility expansions, if and as required; and | |
| the existence and/or outcome of any litigation or administrative proceedings involving our intellectual property. |
As of March 31, 2004, we had approximately $41.1 million in cash and cash equivalents. We expect that our cash resources at March 31, 2004 and the funding expected from IAVI to fund 2004 work activities under our AIDS vaccine collaboration will be sufficient to fund our operations until at least the beginning of 2006. We are evaluating opportunities to obtain additional capital to fund our operations beyond that time. Additional sources of financing could involve one or more of the following:
| extending or expanding our current collaborations; | |
| entering into additional product development collaborations; | |
| selling or licensing our technology or product candidates; | |
| borrowing under loan or equipment leasing arrangements; | |
| issuing equity in the public or private markets; or | |
| issuing debt. |
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Additional funding may not be available to us on reasonable terms, if at all.
The funding that we expect to receive from IAVI depends on continued scientific progress under the collaboration and IAVIs ability and willingness to continue or extend the collaboration. If we are unable to successfully access additional capital, we may need to scale back, delay or terminate one or more of our key development programs, curtail capital expenditures or reduce other operating activities. We may also be required to relinquish some rights to our technology or product candidates or grant or take licenses on unfavorable terms, either of which would reduce the ultimate value to us of our technology or product candidates.
If we are unable to obtain or maintain licenses for necessary third-party technology on acceptable terms or to develop alternative technology, we may be unable to develop and commercialize our product candidates.
We have entered into exclusive and nonexclusive license agreements that give us and our partners rights to use technologies owned or licensed by commercial and academic organizations in the research, development and commercialization of our potential products. For example, we have a gene transfer technology license agreement with Amgen Inc., or Amgen, as the successor to Immunex Corporation, or Immunex, under which we have license rights to certain Immunex proprietary technology specifically applicable to gene therapy applications. In a February 2004 letter, Amgen has taken the position that we are not licensed, either exclusively or nonexclusively, to use Immunex intellectual property covering TNFR:Fc or therapeutic uses for TNFR:Fc. We have responded with a letter confirming our confidence that the gene transfer technology license agreement provides us with an exclusive worldwide license to use the gene construct coding for TNFR:Fc for gene therapy applications. We have had and expect to have further communications with Amgen regarding our differences. Notwithstanding our confidence, it is possible that a resolution of those differences, through litigation or otherwise, could cause delay or discontinuation of our development of our product candidate, tgAAC94, or our inability to commercialize any resulting product.
We believe that we will need to obtain additional licenses to use patents and unpatented technology owned or licensed by others for compositions, methods, processes to manufacture compositions, processes to manufacture and purify gene delivery product candidates and other technologies and processes for our present and potential product candidates. If we are unable to maintain our current licenses for third-party technology or obtain additional licenses on acceptable terms, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to develop or license replacement technology. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected product candidates. In addition, the license agreements for technology for which we hold exclusive licenses typically contain provisions that require us to meet minimum development milestones in order to maintain the license on an exclusive basis for some or all fields of the license. We also have license agreements for some of our technologies, which may require us to sublicense certain of our rights. If we do not meet these requirements, our licensor may convert all or a portion of the license to a nonexclusive license or, in some cases, terminate the license.
In many cases, patent prosecution of our licensed technology is controlled solely by the licensor. If our licensors fail to obtain and maintain patent or other protection for the proprietary intellectual property we license from them, we could lose our rights to the intellectual property or our exclusivity with respect to those rights, and our competitors could market competing products using the intellectual property. Licensing of intellectual property is of critical importance to our business and involves complex legal, business and scientific issues and is complicated by the rapid pace of scientific discovery in our industry. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including:
| the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues; | |
| the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement; | |
| the sublicensing of patent and other rights under our collaborative development relationships; |
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| the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our partners; and | |
| the priority of invention of patented technology. |
If disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.
Litigation involving intellectual property, product liability or other claims and product recalls could strain our resources, subject us to significant liability, damage our reputation or result in the invalidation of our proprietary rights.
As our product development efforts progress, especially in potentially significant markets such as AIDS or rheumatoid arthritis therapies, the risk increases that others may claim that our processes and potential products infringe on their intellectual property rights. In addition, administrative proceedings, litigation or both may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights or determine the rights of others. Defending or pursuing these claims, regardless of their merit, would be costly and would likely divert managements attention and resources away from our operations. If there were to be an adverse outcome in litigation or an interference proceeding, we could face potential liability for significant damages or be required to obtain a license to the patented process or technology at issue, or both. If we are unable to obtain a license on acceptable terms, or to develop or obtain alternative technology or processes, we may be unable to manufacture or market any product or potential product that uses the affected process or technology.
Clinical trials and the marketing of any potential products may expose us to liability claims resulting from the testing or use of our products. Gene therapy treatments are new and unproven, and potential known and unknown side effects of gene therapy may be serious and potentially life-threatening. Product liability claims may be made by clinical trial participants, consumers, healthcare providers or other sellers or users of our products. Although we currently maintain liability insurance, the costs of product liability and other claims against us may exceed our insurance coverage. In addition, we may require increased liability coverage as additional product candidates are used in clinical trials and commercialized. Liability insurance is expensive and may not continue to be available on acceptable terms. A product liability or other claim or product recall not covered by or exceeding our insurance coverage could significantly harm our financial condition. In addition, adverse publicity resulting from a product recall or a liability claim against us, one of our partners or another gene therapy company could significantly harm our reputation and make it more difficult to obtain the funding and collaborative partnerships necessary to maintain our business.
If we lose IAVI as a funding partner, we may be unable to develop our AIDS vaccine product candidate.
A significant portion of our operating and clinical trial expenses are funded through our collaborative agreements with IAVI. We have a collaborative development agreement with IAVI, which expires in December 2006, that we expect to provide us with funding to reimburse research and development and manufacturing expenses we incur in connection with the collaboration. In addition, our collaboration with IAVI provides funding for our Phase I clinical trial for our AIDS vaccine product candidate. IAVI has the right to terminate the collaboration or its obligation to provide funding at any time for any reason with 90 days notice, which would significantly affect our operating activities.
If we were to lose the collaborative funding relationship with IAVI and were unable to obtain alternative sources of funding for the AIDS vaccine product candidate covered by the IAVI collaboration, we may be unable to continue our research and development or clinical program for this product candidate. In addition, the loss of significant amounts of collaborative or clinical trial funding could cause the delay, reduction or termination of the related research and development programs, and a reduction in capital expenditures and other operating activities necessary to support general operations. Such a reduction could further impede our ability to develop our product candidates.
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If our partners or scientific consultants terminate, reduce or delay our relationships with them, we may be unable to develop our potential products.
Our partners provide funding, manage regulatory filings, aid and augment our internal research and development efforts and provide access to important intellectual property and know-how. Their activities include, for example, support in processing the regulatory filings of our product candidates and funding clinical trials. Our outside scientific consultants and contractors perform research, develop technology and processes to advance and augment our internal efforts and provide access to important intellectual property and know-how. Their activities include, for example, clinical evaluation of our product candidates, product development activities performed under our research collaborations, research under sponsored research agreements and contract manufacturing services. Collaborations with established pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and academic, research and public health organizations often provide a measure of validation of our product development efforts in the eyes of securities analysts, investors and the medical community. The development of certain of our potential products, and therefore the success of our business, depends on the performance of our partners, consultants and contractors. If they do not dedicate sufficient time, regulatory or other technical resources to the research and development programs for our product candidates or if they do not perform their obligations as expected, we may experience delays in, and may be unable to continue, the preclinical or clinical development of those product candidates. Each of our collaborations and scientific consulting relationships concludes at the end of the term specified in the applicable agreement unless we and our partners agree to extend the relationship. Any of our partners may decline to extend the collaboration, or may be willing to extend the collaboration only with a significantly reduced scope, for a number of scientific or business reasons. Competition for scientific consultants and partners in gene therapy is intense. We may be unable to successfully maintain our existing relationships or establish additional relationships necessary for the development of our product candidates on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to do so, our research and development programs may be delayed or we may lose access to important intellectual property or know-how.
If we do not attract and retain qualified personnel, we may be unable to develop and commercialize some of our potential products.
Our future success depends in large part on our ability to attract and retain key technical and management personnel. All of our employees, including our executive officers, can terminate their employment with us at any time. We have programs in place designed to retain personnel, including competitive compensation packages and programs to create a positive work environment. Other companies, research and academic institutions and other organizations in our field compete intensely for employees, however, and we may be unable to retain our existing personnel or attract additional qualified employees and consultants. If we experience significant turnover or difficulty in recruiting new personnel, our research and development of product candidates could be delayed and we could experience difficulty in generating sufficient revenue to maintain our business.
The success of our clinical trials and preclinical studies may not be indicative of results in a large number of patients of either safety or efficacy.
The successful results of our technology in preclinical studies using animal models may not be predictive of the results that we will see in our clinical trials. In addition, results in early-stage clinical trials are based on limited numbers of patients and generally test for drug safety rather than efficacy. Our reported progress and results from our early phases of clinical testing of our product candidates may not be indicative of progress or results that will be achieved from larger populations, which could be less favorable. Moreover, we do not know if the favorable results we have achieved in clinical trials will have a lasting effect. If a larger group of patients does not experience positive results, or if any favorable results do not demonstrate a beneficial effect, our product candidate for cystic fibrosis, or any other potential products that we advance to clinical trials, may not receive approval from the FDA for further clinical trials or commercialization.
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Failure to recruit patients could delay or prevent clinical trials of our potential products, which could delay or prevent the development of potential products.
Identifying and qualifying patients to participate in clinical trials of our potential products is critically important to our success. The timing of our clinical trials depends on the speed at which we can recruit patients to participate in testing our product candidates. We have experienced delays in some of our clinical trials, and we may experience similar delays in the future. If patients are unwilling to participate in our gene therapy trials because of negative publicity from adverse events in the biotechnology or gene therapy industries or for other reasons, including competitive clinical trials for similar patient populations, the timeline for recruiting patients, conducting trials and obtaining regulatory approval of potential products will be delayed. These delays could result in increased costs, delays in advancing our product development, delays in testing the effectiveness of our technology or termination of the clinical trials altogether.
We may be unable to adequately protect our proprietary rights domestically or overseas, which may limit our ability to successfully market any product candidates.
Our success depends substantially on our ability to protect our proprietary rights and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We own or license patents and patent applications, and will need to license additional patents, for genes, processes, practices and techniques critical to our present and potential product candidates. If we fail to obtain and maintain patent or other intellectual property protection for this technology, our competitors could market competing products using those genes, processes, practices and techniques. The patent process takes several years and involves considerable expense. In addition, patent applications and patent positions in the field of biotechnology are highly uncertain and involve complex legal, scientific and factual questions. Our patent applications may not result in issued patents and the scope of any patent may be reduced both before and after the patent is issued. Even if we secure a patent, the patent may not provide significant protection and may be circumvented or invalidated.
We also rely on unpatented proprietary technology and technology that we have licensed on a nonexclusive basis. While we take precautions to protect our proprietary unpatented technology, we may be unable to meaningfully protect this technology from unauthorized use or misappropriation by a third party. Our competitors could also obtain rights to our nonexclusively licensed proprietary technology. In any event, other companies may independently develop equivalent proprietary information and techniques. If our competitors develop and market competing products using our unpatented or nonexclusively licensed proprietary technology or substantially similar technology, our products, if successfully developed, could suffer a reduction in sales or be forced out of the market.
If we do not develop adequate manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, either alone or with our business partners, we will be unable to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
We currently do not have the physical capacity to manufacture large-scale quantities of our potential products. This could limit our ability to conduct large clinical trials of a product candidate and to commercially launch a successful product candidate. In order to manufacture product at such scale, we will need to expand or improve our current facilities and staff or supplement them through the use of contract providers. If we are unable to obtain and maintain the necessary manufacturing capabilities, either alone or through third parties, we will be unable to manufacture our potential products in quantities sufficient to sustain our business. Moreover, we are unlikely to become profitable if we, or our contract providers, are unable to manufacture our potential products in a cost-effective manner.
In addition, we have no experience in sales, marketing and distribution. To successfully commercialize any products that may result from our development programs, we will need to develop these capabilities, either on our own or with others. We intend to enter into collaborations with other entities to utilize their mature marketing and distribution capabilities, but we may be unable to enter into marketing and distribution agreements on favorable terms, if at all. If our current or future collaborative partners do not commit sufficient resources to timely marketing and distributing our future products, if any, and we are unable to develop the
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Post-approval manufacturing or product problems or failure to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements could prevent or limit our ability to market our products.
Commercialization of any products will require continued compliance with FDA and other federal, state and local regulations. For example, our current manufacturing facility, which is designed for manufacturing our AAV vectors for clinical and development purposes, is subject to the Good Manufacturing Practices requirements and other regulations of the FDA, as well as to other federal, state and local regulations such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Environmental Protection Act. Any future manufacturing facilities that we may construct for large-scale commercial production will also be subject to regulation. We may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for or maintain in operation this or any other manufacturing facility. In addition, we may be unable to attain or maintain compliance with current or future regulations relating to manufacture, safety, handling, storage, record keeping or marketing of potential products. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements or discover previously unknown manufacturing, contamination, product side effects or other problems after we receive regulatory approval for a potential product, we may suffer restrictions on our ability to market the product or be required to withdraw the product from the market.
Risks Related to Our Industry
Adverse events in the field of gene therapy could damage public perception of our potential products and negatively affect governmental approval and regulation.
Public perception of our product candidates could be harmed by negative events in the field of gene therapy. For example, in late 2002, two patients in a French academic clinical trial being treated for x-linked severe combined immunodeficiency in a gene therapy trial using a retroviral vector developed leukemia. Patient deaths, related and unrelated to gene therapy, have occurred in other clinical trials. These adverse events and the resulting publicity, as well as any other adverse events in the field of gene therapy that may occur in the future, could result in a decrease in demand for any products that we may develop. The commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of gene therapy for preventing or treating human diseases. If public perception is influenced by claims that gene therapy is unsafe, our product candidates may not be accepted by the general public or the medical community. The public and the medical community may conclude that our technology is unsafe.
Future adverse events in gene therapy or the biotechnology industry could also result in greater governmental regulation, unfavorable public perception, stricter labeling requirements and potential regulatory delays in the testing or approval of our potential products. Any increased scrutiny could delay or increase the costs of our product development efforts or clinical trials.
Our use of hazardous materials exposes us to liability risks and regulatory limitations on their use, either of which could reduce our ability to generate product revenue.
Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, including chemicals, biological materials and radioactive compounds. Our safety procedures for handling, storing and disposing of these materials must comply with federal, state and local laws and regulations, including, among others, those relating to solid and hazardous waste management, biohazard material handling, radiation and air pollution control. We may be required to incur significant costs in the future to comply with environmental or other applicable laws and regulations. In addition, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from hazardous materials. If a hazardous material accident were to occur, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and this liability could exceed our financial resources. Accidents unrelated to our operations could cause federal, state or local regulatory agencies to restrict our access to hazardous materials needed in our research and development efforts, which could result in delays in our research and development
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The intense competition and rapid technological change in our market may result in pricing pressures and failure of our potential products to achieve market acceptance.
We face increasingly intense competition from a number of commercial entities and institutions that are developing gene therapy and cell therapy technologies. Our competitors include early-stage and more established gene delivery companies, other biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical companies, universities, research institutions and government agencies developing gene therapy products or other biotechnology-based therapies designed to treat the diseases on which we focus. We also face competition from companies using more traditional approaches to treating human diseases, such as surgery, medical devices and pharmaceutical products. As our product candidates become commercial gene therapy products that may affect commercial markets of the analogous protein or traditional pharmaceutical therapy, disputes including lawsuits, demands, threats or patent challenges may arise in an effort to slow our development. In addition, we compete with other companies to acquire products or technology from research institutions or universities. Many of our competitors have substantially more financial and infrastructure resources and larger research and development staffs than we do. Many of our competitors also have greater experience and capabilities than we do in:
| research and development; | |
| clinical trials; | |
| obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals; | |
| manufacturing; and | |
| marketing and distribution. |
In addition, the competitive positions of other companies, institutions and organizations, including smaller competitors, may be strengthened through collaborative relationships. Consequently, our competitors may be able to develop, obtain patent protection for, obtain regulatory approval for, or commercialize new products more rapidly than we do, or manufacture and market competitive products more successfully than we do. This could limit the prices we could charge for the products that we are able to market or result in our products failing to achieve market acceptance.
Gene therapy is a rapidly evolving field and is expected to continue to undergo significant and rapid technological change and competition. Rapid technological development by our competitors, including development of technologies, products or processes that are more effective or more economically feasible than those we have developed, could result in our actual and proposed technologies, products or processes losing market share or becoming obsolete.
Healthcare reform measures and the unwillingness of third-party payors to provide adequate reimbursement for the cost of our products could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our potential products and become profitable.
Sales of medical products and treatments depends substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the availability of reimbursement to the consumer from third-party payors. Our potential products may not be considered cost-effective by third-party payors, who may not provide coverage at the price set for our products, if at all. If purchasers or users of our products are unable to obtain adequate reimbursement, they may forego or reduce their use of our products. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our investment.
Increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payors, such as Medicare, private insurance plans and managed care organizations, to cap or reduce healthcare costs will affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates and become profitable. We believe that third-party payors will attempt to reduce healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and level of reimbursement for new products approved by the FDA.
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Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Concentration of ownership of our common stock may give certain shareholders significant influence over our business.
A small number of investors own a significant number of shares of our common stock. As of March 31, 2004, Biogen, Inc. and Elan Corporation plc, or Elan, and its affiliates each held approximately 12.1 million shares of our common stock, or 14.9% of our current common shares outstanding. This concentration of stock ownership may allow these shareholders to exercise significant control over our strategic decisions and block, delay or substantially influence all matters requiring shareholder approval, such as:
| election of directors; | |
| amendment of our charter documents; or | |
| approval of significant corporate transactions, such as a change of control of Targeted Genetics. |
The interests of these shareholders may conflict with the interests of other holders of our common stock with regard to such matters. Furthermore, this concentration of ownership of our common stock could allow these shareholders to delay, deter or prevent a third party from acquiring control of Targeted Genetics at a premium over the then-current market price of our common stock, which could result in a decrease in our stock price.
Market fluctuations or volatility could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and limit our ability to raise capital.
The stock market in general and the market for biotechnology-related companies in particular have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, often unrelated to the operating performance of the affected companies. The market price of the securities of biotechnology companies, particularly companies such as ours without earnings and product revenue, has been highly volatile and is likely to remain so in the future. Any report of clinical trial results that are below the expectations of financial analysts or investors could result in a decline in our stock price. We believe that in the past, similar levels of volatility have contributed to the decline in the market price of our common stock, and may do so again in the future. Trading volumes of our common stock can increase dramatically, resulting in a volatile market price for our common stock. In addition, the trading price of our common stock could decline significantly as a result of sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or the perception that significant sales could occur.
For example, on March 31, 2004, we and Elan entered into a termination agreement that permits Elan to sell shares of our common stock, subject to certain exceptions, under the trading volume limitations of Rule 144(e)(1) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. The trading volume limitations for Elan are reduced over time subject to the terms of the termination agreement. In addition, Elan has registration rights with respect to its holdings pursuant to a registration rights agreement dated July 21, 1999. Both the termination agreement and the registration rights agreement permit Elan to sell quantities of stock, which could adversely impact the price of our common stock.
In the past, securities class action litigation has been brought against companies that experience volatility in the market price of their securities. Market fluctuations in the price of our common stock could also adversely affect our collaborative opportunities and our future ability to sell equity securities at a price we deem appropriate. As a result, you could lose all or part of your investment.
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Our future capital-raising activities could involve the issuance of equity securities, which would dilute your investment and could result in a decline in the trading price of our common stock.
To meet all or a portion of our long-term funding requirements, we may sell securities in the public or private equity markets if and when conditions are favorable, even if we do not have an immediate need for additional capital at that time. Raising funds through the issuance of equity securities will dilute the ownership of our existing shareholders. Furthermore, we may enter into financing transactions at prices that represent a substantial discount to market price. A negative reaction by investors and securities analysts to any discounted sale of our equity securities could result in a decline in the trading price of our common stock.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Our disclosure and analysis in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement contain forward-looking statements, which provide information regarding our current expectations, plans, objectives and forecasts of future events. Words such as may, will, believe, estimate, anticipate, plan, expect, may affect and intend, or statements concerning potential or opportunity and similar expressions or the negative thereof, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation:
| statements about our product development and commercialization goals and expectations; | |
| potential market opportunities; | |
| our plans for and anticipated results of our clinical development activities; | |
| the potential advantage of our product candidates; | |
| statements about our future capital requirements, the sufficiency of our capital resources to meet those requirements and the expected composition of our capital resources; and | |
| other statements that are not historical facts. |
Forward-looking statements are based on the judgment of management at the time the statements are made. Inaccurate assumptions and known and unknown risks and uncertainties can affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated in or implied by forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including the risks described in the sections of this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement entitled Risk Factors, in our other public filings, press releases and statements by our management. Other factors besides those described in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and in our other public filings, press releases and statements by our management could also affect actual results.
You should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, events or circumstances, whether anticipated or unanticipated, or to conform the statement to actual results or changes in our expectations. You should, however, review the factors, risks and other information we provide in the reports we file from time to time with the SEC.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use any net proceeds from the sale of common stock offered by this prospectus for additional working capital and other general corporate purposes, as well as the possible acquisition of or investment in complementary businesses and technologies, through joint ventures, development agreements or otherwise. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not a party to any contract, commitment or letter of intent with respect to such acquisition or investment. Until we have used the net proceeds, we may invest them in short-term marketable securities.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Distributions by the Company
We may sell the common stock offered by this prospectus in one or more transactions:
| to or through underwriters; | |
| through dealers, agents or institutional investors; | |
| directly to purchasers; or | |
| through a combination of these methods. |
We may sell the common stock at a fixed price or prices that may change, at prevailing market prices, at prices relating to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. Each time we sell common stock in a particular offering, we will provide a prospectus supplement or, if required, amend this prospectus, to disclose the following information with respect to that offering:
| the material terms of the distribution, including the number of shares and the consideration to be paid; | |
| the identity of any underwriters, dealers, agents or purchasers that will purchase the common stock; | |
| the amount of any compensation, discounts or commissions to be received by underwriters, dealers or agents; | |
| the nature of any transactions by underwriters, dealers or agents during the offering that are intended to stabilize or maintain the market price of the common stock; and | |
| the terms of any indemnification provisions. |
Underwriters, dealers, agents or other purchasers may sell the common stock at a fixed price or prices that may change, at prices set at or relating to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices.
Underwriters
We may sell all or a portion of the shares offered by this prospectus in one or more transactions to or through underwriters. In connection with the sale of our common stock, underwriters, dealers or agents may receive compensation from us, or from the purchasers of the common stock for whom they may act as agents, in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters, dealers, agents or purchasers that participate in the distribution of the common stock, and any broker-dealers or other persons acting on behalf of parties that participate in the distribution of the common stock, are underwriters under the Securities Act. Any discounts or commissions they receive and any profit on the resale of the common stock they receive constitute underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. Any person deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act may be subject to statutory liabilities, including those under Sections 11, 12 and 17 of the Securities Act and Rule 10b-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
Only underwriters named in the applicable prospectus supplement, if any, will be underwriters of the common stock offered through that prospectus supplement. Any underwriters used in an offering will acquire the common stock for their own account and may resell the common stock from time to time in one or more transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. We may offer the common stock to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or through underwriters without a syndicate. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time.
Agents; Direct Sales
We may designate agents to distribute the common stock offered by this prospectus. Unless the applicable prospectus supplement states otherwise, any such agent will act on a best-efforts basis for the period
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Stabilization Activities
In connection with a firm commitment underwritten offering of our common stock, underwriters and purchasers that are deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the common stock. For example, they may:
| over-allot in connection with the offering, creating a syndicate short position for their own account; | |
| bid for and purchase our common stock in the open market to cover short positions or to stabilize the price of our common stock; or | |
| reclaim selling concessions allowed for distributing our common stock in the offering if the underwriters repurchase previously distributed common stock in transactions to cover short positions, stabilization transactions or otherwise. |
Any of these activities may stabilize or maintain the market price above independent market levels. These activities may be conducted only in conjunction with a firm commitment underwritten offering. Underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may terminate any such activity at any time. In engaging in any such activities, underwriters will be subject to the applicable provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations under those acts. Regulation M under the Securities Act, for example, may restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution of the common stock to engage in market-making activities with respect to the common stock, and the anti-manipulation rules under the Exchange Act may also apply to market sales of the common stock. These provisions may affect the marketability of the common stock and the ability of any person to engage in market-making activities with respect to the common stock.
Indemnification
We may agree to indemnify underwriters, dealers, agents or other purchasers against civil liabilities they may incur in connection with the offer and sale of the common stock offered by this prospectus, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We may also agree to contribute to payments that these persons may be required to make with respect to these liabilities.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to the common stock being offered by this prospectus. As permitted by the SEC rules, this prospectus omits some information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the common stock and this offering, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits.
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, as will as registration and proxy statements and other information with the SEC. We fhave filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 with under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock we are offering under this prospectus. SEC rules allow us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus the information we file with the SEC, which means
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1. Our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004, filed with the SEC on April 30, 2004; | |
2. Our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, filed with the SEC on March 12, 2004; | |
3. Our current reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 6, 2004, March 18, 2004, February 4, 2004, January 27, 2004, January 22, 2004, and January 13, 2004; | |
4. Our definitive proxy statement dated March 22, 2004, relating to our May 20, 2004 annual meeting of shareholders; and | |
5. The description of our common stock contained in our registration statements on Form 8-A filed on April 26, 1994 and October 22, 1996 under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating that description. |
We also incorporate by reference all documents we file under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, (a) after the filing date of the initial registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and before the effectiveness of the registration statement and (b) after the effectiveness of the registration statement and before all of the shares registered under the registration statement are sold. The most recent information that we file with the SEC automatically updates and supersedes older information. The information contained in any such filing will be deemed to be part of this prospectus as of the date on which the document is filed, and any older information that has been modified or superseded will not be deemed to be a part of this prospectus. Unless specifically stated to the contrary, none of the information that we disclose under Item 9 or 12 of any Current Report on Form 8-K that we may from time to time furnish to the SEC will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise included in, this prospectus.
Upon request, we will provide without charge to each person who receives a prospectus, including any beneficial owner, a copy of the information that has been incorporated by reference into this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement. Please direct your request, either in writing or by telephone, to the Secretary, Targeted Genetics Corporation, 1100 Olive Way, Suite 100, Seattle, Washington 98101, (206) 623-7612.
You may also inspect and copy the registration statement and other documents that we have filed with the SEC, at prescribed rates, at the public reference facility maintained by the SEC at Room 1024, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information regarding the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the registration statement and other documents we have filed with the SEC are publicly available through the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov or through our website at www.targetedgenetics.com.
LEGAL MATTERS
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the validity of the common stock will be passed on for us by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Seattle, Washington.
EXPERTS
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, have audited our consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our consolidated financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLPs report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
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