RISK FACTORS

           Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the following risks, together with all the other information in this prospectus, including our combined financial statements and notes thereto, before you invest in our common stock. If any of the following risks actually materializes, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

The animal health industry is highly competitive.

          The animal health industry is highly competitive. Our competitors include standalone animal health businesses, the animal health businesses of large pharmaceutical companies, specialty animal health businesses and companies that mainly produce generic products. We believe many of our competitors are conducting R&D activities in areas served by our products and in areas in which we are developing products. There are also several new start-up companies competing in the animal health industry. We also face competition from manufacturers of drugs globally, as well as producers of nutritional health products. These competitors may have access to greater financial, marketing, technical and other resources. As a result, they may be able to devote more resources to developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling their products, initiating or withstanding substantial price competition or more readily taking advantage of acquisitions or other opportunities. Further, consolidation in the animal health industry could result in existing competitors realizing additional efficiencies or improving portfolio bundling opportunities, thereby potentially increasing their market share and pricing power, which could lead to a decrease in our revenue and profitability and an increase in competition. For example, many of our competitors have relationships with key distributors and, because of their size, the ability to offer attractive pricing incentives, which may negatively impact or hinder our relationships with these distributors. In addition to competition from established market participants, new entrants to the animal health medicines and vaccines industry could substantially reduce our market share, render our products obsolete or disrupt our business model.

          To the extent that any of our competitors are more successful with respect to any key competitive factor, or we are forced to reduce, or are unable to raise, the price of any of our products in order to remain competitive, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Competitive pressure could arise from, among other things, more favorable safety and efficacy product profiles, limited demand growth or a significant number of additional competitive products being introduced into a particular market, price reductions by competitors, the ability of competitors to capitalize on their economies of scale, the ability of competitors to produce or otherwise procure animal health products at lower costs than us and the ability of competitors to access more or newer technology than us.

Disruptive innovations and advances in veterinary medical practices, animal health technologies and alternatives to animal-derived protein, could negatively affect the market for our products.

          The markets for our products are regularly impacted by the introduction and/or broad market acceptance of newly-developed or alternative products that address the diseases and conditions for which we sell products, including "green" or "holistic" health products, specially bred disease-resistant animals or replacements for meat, milk, eggs or fish from alternative natural or synthetic sources. For example, the market for our companion animal therapeutics has been particularly affected by innovation in new molecules and delivery formulations in recent years. Technological breakthroughs by others may render obsolete our products and reduce or eliminate the market for

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our products. Introduction or acceptance of competing animal health products and innovation or disruptive protein alternatives could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Regulatory restrictions and bans on the use of antibiotics and productivity products in food animals, as well as changing market demand, may continue to negatively affect demand for certain of our food animal products.

          Over the past few years, our operational results have been, and will continue to be, affected by regulations and changing market demand. In certain markets, including the U.S., sales of certain of our food animal products have been negatively affected by an increase in consumer sentiment for "clean" proteins and dairy products (i.e., proteins and dairy products produced without the use of antibiotics or other products intended to increase animal production).

          There are two classes of antibiotics used in animal health: shared-class, or medically important, antibiotics, which are used to treat infectious disease caused by pathogens that occur in both humans and animals; and animal-only antibiotics, which are used to treat infectious disease caused by pathogens that occur in animals only. See "Business — Products — Antibiotics." Concerns that the use of antibiotics in food animal production may lead to increased antibiotic resistance of human pathogens have resulted in increased regulation and changing market demand. In December 2013, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (the "FDA") announced final guidance establishing procedures for the voluntary phase-out in the U.S. over a three-year period of the use of shared-class antibiotics in animal feed for growth promotion in food animal production. The guidance allows for continued use of shared-class antibiotics in food-producing animals under the supervision of a veterinarian for treatment, control and, under certain circumstances, for prevention of disease. The FDA indicated that it took this action to help preserve the efficacy of shared-class antibiotics to treat infections in humans. As part of those efforts, stricter guidelines governing the administration of shared-class antibiotics have recently come into effect. As of January 1, 2017, under the FDA guidance and the related rule known as the Veterinary Feed Directive, the use of shared-class antibiotics in the water or feed of food-producing animals requires written authorization by a licensed veterinarian. In addition, other countries in which we sell or plan to sell our products, such as France and Vietnam, have passed restrictions or bans on antibiotic use. Other countries have placed restrictions or bans on the use of specific antibiotics in certain food-producing animals, regardless of the route of administration (in feed or injectable).

          From 2015 to 2017, our revenue from shared-class antibiotics declined at a CAGR of 7%, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, driven primarily by changing regulations in many markets, including the Veterinary Feed Directive, as well as changing market demand. Globally, during the first half of 2018, our revenue from shared-class antibiotics was flat, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, and represented 12% (4% from sales in North America and 8% from sales outside of North America) of our total revenue, down from 16% in the first half of 2015. From 2015 to 2017, our revenue from animal-only antibiotics grew at a CAGR of 4%, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, driven by sales outside North America, which offset a slight decline in North America. Globally, during the first half of 2018, our revenue from animal-only antibiotics grew 9%, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, and represented 24% of our total revenue, up from 21% in the first half of 2015. During 2017, as well as the first half of 2018, 86% of our revenue from animal-only antibiotics resulted from the sale of ionophores. Ionophores are a special class of animal-only antimicrobials, and because of their animal-only designation, mode of action and spectrum of activity, their use has not to date been impacted by regulations or changing market demand in many markets outside of North America.

          The impact of changes in regulations and market preferences regarding the use of antibiotics in food animals could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results

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of operations. If there is an increased public perception that consumption of food derived from animals that utilize our products poses a risk to human health, there may be a further decline in the production of those food products and, in turn, demand for our products. In addition, antibiotic resistance concerns will likely result in additional restrictions or bans, expanded regulations or public pressure to further reduce the use of antibiotics in food animals, increased demand for antibiotic-free protein, or changes in the market acceptance or regulatory treatment of ionophores, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

          In addition, our revenue has also been impacted by regulatory changes in China and other markets restricting the use of productivity products, such as those containing ractopamine, in food animals. This has resulted in many U.S. food producers who access such markets to eliminate their use of ractopamine. Our FA Ruminants & Swine products Optaflexx and Paylean contain ractopamine. If more producers decide to access such markets or additional markets restrict the use of ractopamine or other productivity products, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Generic products may be viewed as more cost-effective than our products.

          We face competition from products produced by other companies, including generic alternatives to our products. We depend on patents and regulatory data exclusivity periods to provide us with exclusive marketing rights for some of our products. Patents for individual products expire at different times based on the date of the patent filing (or sometimes the date of patent grant) and the legal term of patents in the jurisdictions where such patents are obtained. The extent of protection afforded by our patents varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and is limited by the scope of the claimed subject matter of our patents, the term of the patent and the availability and enforcement of legal remedies in the applicable jurisdiction. In 2017, approximately 75% of our revenue was from products that did not have patent protection, including revenue from some of our top products such as Rumensin , Maxiban , Denagard and Tylan Premix . Other products are protected by patents that expire over the next several years. For example, certain patents related to Trifexis expire as early as 2020 in the U.S., 2021 in Japan and 2025 in European territories. As the patents for a brand name product expire, competitors may begin to introduce generic or other alternatives, and as a result, we may face competition from lower-priced alternatives to many of our products. For example, we have experienced significant competitive headwinds from generic ractopamine in the U.S. In the third quarter of 2013, a large established animal health company received U.S. approval for generic ractopamine. U.S. revenue from Optaflexx , our ractopamine beef product, has declined at a CAGR of 28% from 2015 to 2017 as a result of generic competition and international regulatory restrictions. We may face similar competition in the future for existing products that do not benefit from exclusivity, including Rumensin , which has not benefitted from patent protection in the U.S. for over 20 years, or for existing products with material patents expiring in the future. See "Business — Intellectual Property."

          Generic competitors are becoming more aggressive in terms of launching products before patent rights expire, and, because of attractive pricing, sales of generic products are an increasing percentage of overall animal health sales in certain regions. Although the impact of generic competition in the animal health industry to date has not typically mirrored that seen in human health, product pricing and the impact of generic competition in the future may more closely mirror human health as a result of changes in industry dynamics, such as channel expansion, consolidation, an increase in the availability and use of pet insurance and the potential for generic competition by established animal health businesses. If animal health customers increase their use of new or existing generic products, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

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We may not successfully implement our business strategies or achieve targeted cost efficiencies and gross margin improvements.

          We are pursuing strategic initiatives that management considers critical to our long-term success, including, but not limited to: improving manufacturing processes, reducing our manufacturing footprint, achieving lean initiatives, consolidating our CMO network, strategically insourcing projects, pursuing cost savings opportunities with respect to raw materials through a new procurement process and improving the productivity of our sales force. We may pursue additional strategic initiatives in the future to improve gross margins and achieve our targeted cost efficiencies. We also have acquired or partnered with a number of smaller animal health businesses, and we intend to continue to do so in the future. There are significant risks involved with the execution of these initiatives, including significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control. Accordingly, we may not succeed in implementing these strategic initiatives. Realizing the anticipated benefits from these initiatives, if any benefits are achieved at all, may take several years. We may be unable to achieve our targeted cost efficiencies and gross margin improvements. Additionally, we may have insufficient access to capital to fund investments in strategic initiatives, or our business strategy may change from time to time, which could delay our ability to implement initiatives that we believe are important to our business.

Consolidation of our customers and distributors could negatively affect the pricing of our products.

          Third-party distributors, veterinarians and food animal producers are our primary customers. In recent years, there has been a trend towards the concentration of veterinarians in large clinics and hospitals. In addition, food animal producers, particularly swine and poultry producers, and our distributors have seen recent consolidation in their industries. Furthermore, we have seen the expansion of larger cross-border corporate customers and an increase in the consolidation of buying groups (cooperatives of veterinary practices that leverage volume to pursue discounts from manufacturers). The pace of consolidation and structure of markets varies greatly across geographies. If these trends towards consolidation continue, our customers could attempt to improve their profitability by leveraging their buying power to obtain favorable pricing. The resulting decrease in our prices could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

An outbreak of infectious disease carried by food animals could negatively affect the demand for, and sale and production of, our food animal products.

          Sales of our food animal products could be materially adversely affected by the outbreak of disease carried by food animals, which could lead to the widespread death or precautionary destruction of food animals as well as the reduced consumption and demand for animal protein. In addition, outbreaks of disease carried by food animals may reduce regional or global sales of particular animal-derived food products or result in reduced exports of such products, either due to heightened export restrictions or import prohibitions, which may reduce demand for our food animal products due to reduced herd or flock sizes.

          In recent years, outbreaks of various diseases, including avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (otherwise known as BSE or "mad cow" disease) and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (otherwise known as PEDV), have negatively impacted sales of our animal health products. The discovery of additional cases of any of these, or new, diseases may result in additional restrictions on animal protein, reduced herd or flock sizes, or reduced demand for animal protein, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the outbreak of any highly contagious disease near our main production sites could require us to immediately halt production of our products at such sites or force us to incur substantial expenses in procuring raw materials or products elsewhere.

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Our R&D, acquisition and licensing efforts may fail to generate new products or expand the use of our existing products.

          Our future success depends on both our existing product portfolio and our pipeline of new products, including new products that we may develop through joint ventures and products that we are able to obtain through license or acquisition. We commit substantial effort, funds and other resources to R&D, both through our own dedicated resources and through collaborations with third parties.

          We may be unable to determine with accuracy when or whether any of our products now under development will be approved or launched, or we may be unable to develop, license or otherwise acquire product candidates or products. In addition, we cannot predict whether any products, once launched, will be commercially successful or will achieve sales and revenue that are consistent with our expectations. The animal health industry is subject to regional and local trends and regulations and, as a result, products that are successful in some markets may not achieve similar success when introduced into other markets. Furthermore, the timing and cost of our R&D may increase, and our R&D may become less predictable as, among other things, regulations applicable to our industry may make it more time-consuming and/or costly to research, develop and register products. If we are unable to generate new products or expand the use of our existing products, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially adversely affected. For example, between 2015 and 2017, prior to our February 2018 launch of Credelio in the U.S., we experienced an innovation lag in the companion animal parasiticide space. In the absence of a competitive combined oral flea and tick product, our U.S. companion animal parasiticide portfolio revenue declined 15% in 2017, excluding the impact on revenue resulting from a reduction in inventory levels within our distribution channel.

          In addition, some of our growth has occurred through Lilly's acquisitions, including Novartis Animal Health, Lohmann Animal Health, Janssen Animal Health and the BI Vetmedica U.S. vaccines portfolio. However, following the Separation, we will no longer benefit from Lilly's scale, capital base and financial strength.

We had losses on an as-reported basis for the last three years.

          Historically, we have incurred net losses, as reported on a combined basis, including a net income (loss) for each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 of $(310.7) million, $(47.9) million and $(210.8) million, respectively. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." We could continue to incur asset impairment, restructuring and other special charges and could report losses in the future. We also expect to continue to incur substantial expenditures to develop, manufacture and market our products and implement our business strategies. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, adverse events and other unknown factors that may materially adversely affect our business.

The misuse or off-label use of our products may harm our reputation or result in financial or other damages.

          Our products have been approved for use under specific circumstances for the treatment of certain diseases and conditions in specific species. There may be increased risk of product liability claims if veterinarians, food animal producers, pet owners or others attempt to use our products off-label, including the use of our products in species (including humans) for which they have not been approved. Furthermore, the use of our products for indications other than those for which our products have been approved may not be effective, which could harm our reputation and lead to an increased risk of litigation. If we are deemed by a governmental or regulatory agency to have engaged in the promotion of any of our products for off-label use, such agency could request that we modify our training or promotional materials and practices, and we could be subject to

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significant fines and penalties, and the imposition of these sanctions could also affect our reputation and position within the industry. Any of these events could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Animal health products are subject to unanticipated safety, quality or efficacy concerns, which may harm our reputation.

          Unanticipated safety, quality or efficacy concerns arise from time to time with respect to animal health products, whether or not scientifically or clinically supported, leading to product recalls, withdrawals or suspended or declining sales, as well as product liability and other claims.

          Regulatory actions based on these types of safety, quality or efficacy concerns could impact all, or a significant portion, of a product's sales and could, depending on the circumstances, materially adversely affect our results of operations.

          In addition, since we depend on positive perceptions of the safety, quality and efficacy of our products, and animal health products generally, by food producers, veterinarians and pet owners, any concern as to the safety, quality or efficacy of our products, whether actual or perceived, may harm our reputation. These concerns and the related harm to our reputation could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, regardless of whether such reports are accurate.

Our business may be negatively affected by weather conditions and the availability of natural resources.

          The animal health industry and demand for many of our products in a particular region are affected by weather conditions, varying weather patterns and weather-related pressures from pests, such as ticks. As a result, we may experience regional and seasonal fluctuations in our results of operations.

          Food animal producers depend on the availability of natural resources, including large supplies of fresh water. Their animals' health and their ability to operate could be adversely affected if they experience a shortage of fresh water due to human population growth or floods, droughts or other weather conditions. In the event of adverse weather conditions or a shortage of fresh water, veterinarians or food animal producers may purchase less of our products.

          Further, heat waves may cause stress in animals and lead to increased vulnerability to disease, reduced fertility rates and reduced milk production. Droughts may threaten pasture and feed supplies by reducing the quality and amount of forage available to grazing livestock, while climate change may increase the prevalence of parasites and diseases that affect food animals. Adverse weather conditions may also have a material impact on the aquaculture business. Changes in water temperatures could affect the timing of reproduction and growth of various fish species, as well as trigger the outbreak of certain water borne diseases.

          In addition, veterinary hospitals and practitioners depend on visits from, and access to, the animals under their care. Veterinarians' patient volume and ability to operate could be adversely affected if they experience prolonged snow, ice or other severe weather conditions, particularly in regions not accustomed to sustained inclement weather.

We may not be able to realize the expected benefits of our investments in emerging markets and are subject to certain risks due to our presence in emerging markets, including political or economic instability and failure to adequately comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

          We have taken steps to increase our presence in select emerging markets, including by expanding our sales organization and product offerings in these markets. Failure to continue to

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maintain and expand our business in emerging markets could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

          In addition, certain emerging markets have legal systems that are less developed. Other jurisdictions in which we conduct business may have legal and regulatory regimes that differ materially from U.S. laws and regulations, are continuously evolving or do not include sufficient judicial or administrative guidance to interpret such laws and regulations. Compliance with diverse legal requirements is costly and time-consuming and requires significant resources. Violations or possible violations of applicable laws or regulations by our employees may result in investigation costs, potential penalties and other related costs which in turn could negatively affect our reputation and our results of operations.

          Some countries within emerging markets may be especially vulnerable to periods of local, regional or global economic, political or social instability or crisis. For example, our sales in certain emerging markets have suffered from extended periods of disruption due to natural disasters. Furthermore, we have also experienced lower than expected sales in certain emerging markets due to local, regional and global restrictions on banking and commercial activities in those countries. In addition, certain emerging markets have currencies that fluctuate substantially, which may impact our financial performance. For these reasons, among others, doing business within emerging markets carries significant risks.

Modification of foreign trade policy may harm our food animal product customers.

          Changes in laws, agreements and policies governing foreign trade in the territories and countries where our customers do business could negatively impact such customers' businesses and adversely affect our results of operations. A number of our customers, particularly U.S.-based food animal producers, benefit from free trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"). The U.S. has initiated negotiations with Canada and Mexico aimed at re-negotiating terms of NAFTA. Efforts by the U.S. to withdraw from or materially modify NAFTA or other international trade agreements to which it is a party, as well as trade disputes or the imposition of tariffs, could harm our customers, and as a result, materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is subject to risk based on global economic conditions.

          Macroeconomic business and financial disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Certain of our customers and suppliers could be affected directly by an economic downturn and could face constraints on the availability of credit or decreased cash flow that could give rise to payment delays, increased credit risk, bankruptcies and other financial hardships that could decrease the demand for our products or hinder our ability to collect amounts due from our customers. If one or more of our large customers, including distributors, discontinues or modifies their relationship with us as a result of economic conditions or otherwise, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In addition, economic concerns may cause some pet owners to forgo or defer visits to veterinary practices or could reduce their willingness to treat pet health conditions or to continue to own a pet. Furthermore, our exposure to credit and collectability risk is higher in certain international markets and our ability to mitigate such risks may be limited. Our procedures intended to monitor and limit our exposure to credit and collectability risk may not effectively limit such risk and avoid losses.

Our results of operations are dependent upon the success of our top products.

          If any of our top products experience issues, such as disruptive innovations or the introduction of more effective competitive products, negative publicity, changes to veterinarian or customer preferences, loss of patent protection, material product liability litigation, new or unexpected side

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effects, manufacturing disruptions and/or regulatory proceedings, our revenue could be negatively impacted, perhaps significantly. Our top five products, Rumensin , Trifexis , Maxiban , Denagard and Tylan Premix , contributed approximately 29% of our revenue in 2017. Any issues with these top products, particularly Rumensin , which contributed approximately 10% of our revenue in 2017, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is subject to risk based on customer exposure to rising costs and reduced customer income.

          Feed, fuel, transportation and other key costs for food animal producers may increase or animal protein prices or sales may decrease. Either of these trends could cause deterioration in the financial condition of our food animal product customers, potentially inhibiting their ability to purchase our products or pay us for products delivered. Our food animal product customers may offset rising costs by reducing spending on our food animal products, including by switching to lower-cost alternatives to our products. In addition, concerns about the financial resources of pet owners could cause veterinarians to alter their treatment recommendations in favor of lower-cost alternatives to our products, which could result in a decrease in sales of our companion animal products, especially in developed countries where there is a higher rate of pet ownership. Rising costs or reduced income for our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

For our companion animal products, increased use of alternative distribution channels, or changes within existing distribution channels, could negatively impact our market share, margins and distribution of our products.

          In most markets, pet owners typically purchase their animal health products directly from veterinarians. However, pet owners increasingly have the option to purchase animal health products from sources other than veterinarians, such as online retailers, "big-box" retail stores or other over-the-counter distribution channels. This trend has been demonstrated by the significant shift away from the veterinarian distribution channel in the sale of flea and tick products in recent years. Pet owners also could decrease their reliance on, and visits to, veterinarians as they rely more on internet-based animal health information. Because we market our companion animal prescription products primarily through the veterinarian distribution channel, any decrease in visits to veterinarians by pet owners could reduce our market share for such products and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, pet owners may substitute human health products for animal health products if human health products are deemed to be lower-cost alternatives.

          Legislation has also been proposed in the U.S., and may be proposed in the U.S. or abroad in the future, that could impact the distribution channels for our companion animal products. For example, such legislation may require veterinarians to provide pet owners with written prescriptions and disclosure that the pet owner may fill prescriptions through a third party, which may further reduce the number of pet owners who purchase their animal health products directly from veterinarians. Such requirements may lead to increased use of generic alternatives to our products or the increased substitution of our companion animal products with other animal health products or human health products if such other products are deemed to be lower-cost alternatives. Many states already have regulations requiring veterinarians to provide prescriptions to pet owners upon request and the American Veterinary Medical Association has long-standing policies in place to encourage this practice.

          Over time, these and other competitive conditions may increase our use of online retailers, "big-box" retail stores or other over-the-counter distribution channels to sell our companion animal products. We may not be adequately prepared or able to distribute our companion animal products if an increased portion of our sales occurs through these channels. Also, we may realize lower

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margins on sales through these distribution channels than we do on sales through veterinarians. Any of these events could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

          In addition, if one or more of our companion animal distributors discontinues or modifies their relationship with us, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. For example, in 2017, a change in our U.S. inventory management practices resulted in a revenue lag as existing inventory was sold down, which management estimates decreased our revenue by approximately $35 million.

Loss of our executive officers or other key personnel could disrupt our operations.

          We depend on the efforts of our executive officers and other key personnel. Our executive officers and other key personnel are not currently, and are not expected to be, subject to non-compete provisions. In addition, we have not entered into employment agreements with our executive officers or other key personnel. Any unplanned turnover or our failure to develop an adequate succession plan for one or more of our executive officer or other key personnel positions could deplete our institutional knowledge base and erode our competitive advantage. The loss or limited availability of the services of one or more of our executive officers or other key personnel, or our inability to recruit and retain qualified executive officers or other key personnel in the future, could, at least temporarily, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be required to write down goodwill or identifiable intangible assets.

          Under U.S. GAAP, if we determine goodwill or identifiable intangible assets are impaired, we will be required to write down these assets and record a non-cash impairment charge. As of June 30, 2018, we had goodwill of $2.9 billion and identifiable intangible assets, less accumulated amortization, of $2.5 billion. Identifiable intangible assets consist primarily of marketed products acquired or licensed from third parties, licensed platform technologies that have alternative future uses in R&D, manufacturing technologies, and customer relationships from business combinations. We also have indefinite-lived intangible assets, which consist of acquired in-process R&D projects from business combinations that are subject to impairment and non-cash impairment charges.

          Determining whether an impairment exists and the amount of the potential impairment involves quantitative data and qualitative criteria that are based on estimates and assumptions requiring significant management judgment. Future events or new information may change management's valuation of an intangible asset in a short amount of time. The timing and amount of impairment charges recorded in our combined statements of operations and write-downs recorded in our combined balance sheets could vary if management's conclusions change. Any impairment of goodwill or identifiable intangible assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our R&D relies on evaluations of animals, which may become subject to bans, additional restrictive regulations or increased attention from activism movements.

          As an animal health medicines and vaccines business, the evaluation of our existing and new products in animals is required to register our products. Animal testing in certain industries has been the subject of controversy and adverse publicity. Some organizations and individuals have attempted to ban animal testing or encourage the adoption of new regulations applicable to animal testing. To the extent that the activities of such organizations and individuals are successful, our R&D, and by extension our business, financial condition and results of operations, could be materially adversely affected. In addition, negative publicity about us or our industry could harm our reputation.

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Manufacturing problems and capacity imbalances may cause product launch delays, inventory shortages, recalls or unanticipated costs.

          In order to sell our products, we must be able to produce and ship sufficient quantities to our customers. Following the Separation, we will own and operate 13 internal manufacturing sites located in nine countries. We also employ a network of approximately 120 third-party CMOs. Many of our products involve complex manufacturing processes and are sole-sourced from certain manufacturing sites.

          Minor deviations in our manufacturing or logistical processes, such as temperature excursions or improper package sealing, could result, and have in the past resulted in, delays, inventory shortages, unanticipated costs, product recalls, product liability and/or regulatory action. In addition, a number of factors could cause production interruptions, including:

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the failure of us or any of our vendors or suppliers, including logistical service providers, to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines;



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mislabeling;



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construction delays;



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equipment malfunctions;



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shortages of materials;



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labor problems;



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natural disasters;



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power outages;



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criminal and terrorist activities;



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changes in manufacturing production sites and limits to manufacturing capacity due to regulatory requirements, changes in types of products produced, shipping distributions or physical limitations; and



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the outbreak of any highly contagious diseases near our production sites.

          These interruptions could result in launch delays, inventory shortages, recalls, unanticipated costs or issues with our agreements under which we supply third parties, which may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

          Our manufacturing network may be unable to meet the demand for our products or we may have excess capacity if demand for our products changes. The unpredictability of a product's regulatory or commercial success or failure, the lead time necessary to construct highly technical and complex manufacturing sites and shifting customer demand (including as a result of market conditions or entry of branded or generic competition) increase the potential for capacity imbalances. In addition, construction of sites is expensive, and our ability to recover costs will depend on the market acceptance and success of the products produced at the new sites, which is uncertain.

We rely on third parties to provide us with materials and services and are subject to increased labor and material costs and potential disruptions in supply.

          The materials used to manufacture our products may be subject to availability constraints and price volatility caused by changes in demand, weather conditions, supply conditions, government regulations, economic climate and other factors. In addition, labor costs may be subject to volatility caused by the supply of labor, governmental regulations, economic climate and other factors. Increases in the demand for, availability or the price of, materials used to manufacture our products and increases in labor costs could increase the costs to manufacture our products, result in product delivery delays or shortages, and impact our ability to launch new products on a timely basis or at all. We may not be able to pass all or a material portion of any higher material or labor costs on to our customers, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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          We may be unable to meet demand for certain of our products if any of our third-party suppliers cease or interrupt operations, fail to renew contracts with us or otherwise fail to meet their obligations to us.

We may incur substantial costs and receive adverse outcomes in litigation and other legal matters.

          Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by unfavorable results in pending or future litigation matters. These matters may include, among other things, allegations of violation of U.S. and foreign competition law, labor laws, consumer protection laws and environmental laws and regulations, as well as claims or litigations relating to product liability, intellectual property, securities, breach of contract and tort. In addition, changes in the interpretations of laws and regulations to which we are subject, or in legal standards in one or more of the jurisdictions in which we operate, could increase our exposure to liability. For example, in the U.S., attempts have been made to allow damages for emotional distress and pain and suffering in connection with the loss of, or injury to, a companion animal. If such attempts were successful, our exposure with respect to product liability claims could increase materially.

          Litigation matters, regardless of their merits or their ultimate outcomes, are costly, divert management's attention and may materially adversely affect our reputation and demand for our products. We cannot predict with certainty the eventual outcome of pending or future litigation matters. An adverse outcome of litigation or legal matters could result in our being responsible for significant damages. Any of these negative effects resulting from litigation matters could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is subject to substantial regulation.