Item 1.    Business

Overview

We are a specialty pharmaceutical company developing proprietary therapeutics for the treatment of serious medical disorders. Our product development programs focus primarily on important pharmaceutical markets with significant unmet medical needs and commercial potential. We are directly developing our product candidates and also utilize corporate, academic and government partnerships as appropriate. Such collaborations have helped to fund product development and have enabled us to retain significant economic interest in our products.

Our principal asset is Probuphine®, the first slow release implant formulation of buprenorphine in development for the long term maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. It is designed to maintain a stable, around the clock blood level of the medicine in patients for six months following a single treatment. Upon completion of the Phase 3 clinical studies of Probuphine, we participated in a pre- NDA meeting with the FDA, and subsequently prepared and submitted the NDA in October 2012. On April 30, 2013, the FDA issued a complete response letter to our NDA stating that it cannot approve the application in its present form and outlining the FDA’s request for additional clinical data demonstrating adequate clinical benefit to patients from this treatment, data from human factors testing of the training program for insertion and removal of the implants, as well as recommendations regarding product labeling, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (“REMS”) and non-clinical safety data. We are committed to addressing these issues and have been working diligently with our commercialization partner in the United States and Canada, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals Sprl (“Braeburn”), and a team of proven, expert clinical and regulatory advisors with experience in assisting companies through similar regulatory processes. Following a meeting with the FDA on November 19, 2013 and subsequent discussions, we and Braeburn have agreed in principle with the FDA on a path forward, which along with other steps includes conducting an additional clinical study that is designed to provide a non-inferiority comparison of treatment with a dose of four Probuphine implants in stable patients undergoing maintenance treatment with 8mg or less per day of an FDA approved sublingual formulation of buprenorphine. The clinical study protocol has been submitted for FDA review and further details of the study and implementation plans will be available after completion of the FDA review.

Pursuant to our license agreement with Braeburn, as amended to date (the “Agreement”), we are entitled to receive a $15 million milestone payment upon FDA approval of the Probuphine NDA and royalties on net sales ranging from the mid-teens to the low twenties. The Agreement also provides for up to $165 million in sales milestones and $35 million in regulatory milestones and entitles us to low single digit royalties on sales by Braeburn, if any, of future products in the addiction market.

Probuphine is the first product to utilize ProNeura™, our novel, proprietary, continuous drug delivery technology. Our ProNeura technology has the potential to be used in developing products for the treatment of other chronic conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, where maintaining stable, around the clock blood levels of a dopamine agonist may benefit the patient and improve medical outcomes. We are currently evaluating drugs and disease settings for opportunities to develop this drug delivery technology for other potential treatment applications in situations where conventional treatment is limited by variability in blood drug levels and poor patient compliance. We do not currently have the financial resources to pursue these research and development programs beyond an initial stage and are dependent on our ability to secure the requisite financing, either through payments from Braeburn under the Agreement in the event the Probuphine NDA is approved or through other arrangements.

We operate in only one business segment, the development of pharmaceutical products.

Our Products

Probuphine

We are developing Probuphine for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. Probuphine is the first product specifically designed for the long-term treatment of opioid dependence and it utilizes ProNeura, our novel, proprietary, long-term drug delivery technology. See “Continuous Drug Delivery Technology (ProNeura)” below. Upon subdermal insertion in a patient, Probuphine is designed to release medication continuously and maintain a stable, around the clock blood level of the drug buprenorphine, an approved agent in a daily dosed formulation for the treatment of opioid dependence. If approved, Probuphine is expected to provide six months of medication following a single treatment. Probuphine has been evaluated in the following Phase 3 clinical studies:

The goal of any therapy for an addictive disorder is to reduce the use of the addictive substance over time and to engage the patient in treatment long enough for therapeutic gains to be consolidated. In a clinical study, the effectiveness of a treatment for opioid dependence is primarily evaluated by testing a patient’s urine samples for the presence of illicit opioids over the treatment period. In both placebo-controlled Phase 3 studies of Probuphine, every participant was required to provide urine samples three times a week, essentially on alternate days. Any missed sample was considered a positive result (i.e. urine testing positive for illicit opioid). In these studies, the primary effectiveness of the treatment with Probuphine (i.e. the primary endpoint) was established by comparing the negative urine results (i.e. urine testing negative for illicit opioid) between the Probuphine and placebo arms using a statistical technique, specifically ‘the cumulative distribution function of negative urines’, which basically performs a comparative analysis on the relative proportions of negative urines between treatment groups over the time period of treatment. The patients in the Probuphine arm showed statistically significant difference in the negative urines as compared to the placebo arm in both studies, i.e. the Probuphine patients had statistically more negative results than the placebo arm, demonstrating that the treatment with Probuphine was successful in reducing their usage of illicit opioids as compared to the treatment with placebo. These favorable results for Probuphine were also confirmed by a significant difference over the placebo arm in other secondary measures such as retention in treatment, withdrawal symptoms and craving for opioids, all of which are monitored by clinicians to see if a treatment is providing benefit to the patients.

Results for the first double-blind, placebo-controlled safety and efficacy study have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA , October 2010) and results of the follow-on randomized three arm study with Probuphine, placebo and sublingual treatment have been published in the journal Addiction ( Addiction , September 2013).

Patients who completed the controlled studies were eligible for enrollment in the six-month re-treatment studies, which provided data on up to one full year of treatment. The pharmacokinetic safety study has provided important data on the level of buprenorphine in the blood during the treatment period and gives a good profile of the safety of Probuphine. Data from all of these studies was presented at several scientific meetings, including the International Society of Addiction Medicine Annual Meetings in November 2008 and September 2011, the American Society of Addiction Medicine Annual Meetings in May 2009 and 2012, American Society of Addiction Medicine Education Forum in October 2011, and the American College of Neuropharmacology in November 2009 and 2012.

These studies are part of a registration directed program intended to obtain marketing approval of Probuphine for the treatment of opioid dependence in the U.S. and in Europe. We met with the FDA in October 2011 for a pre-NDA meeting and reviewed the clinical development program as well as the chemistry, manufacturing and controls (“CMC”) aspects of the NDA. Based on this interaction we completed the requirements for an NDA and subsequently prepared and submitted the NDA in October 2012. On April 30, 2013, the FDA issued a complete response letter to our NDA stating that it cannot approve the application in its present form and outlining the FDA’s request for additional clinical data demonstrating adequate clinical benefit to patients from this treatment, data from human factors testing of the training program for insertion and removal of the implant, as well as recommendations regarding product labeling, REMS and non-clinical safety data. We are committed to addressing these issues and have been working diligently with our partners at Braeburn along with a team of proven, expert clinical and regulatory advisors with experience in assisting companies through similar regulatory processes. Following a meeting with the FDA on November 19, 2013 and subsequent discussions, we and Braeburn have agreed in principle with the FDA on a path forward, which along with other steps includes conducting an additional clinical study that is designed to provide a non-inferiority comparison of treatment with a dose of four Probuphine implants in stable patients undergoing maintenance treatment with 8mg or less per day of an FDA approved sublingual formulation of buprenorphine. The clinical study protocol has been submitted for FDA review and further details of the study including size and the data analysis plan, and implementation plans will be available after completion of the FDA review.

Continuous Drug Delivery Technology (ProNeura)

Our continuous drug delivery system consists of a small, solid rod made from a mixture of ethylene-vinyl acetate (“EVA”) and a drug substance. The resulting product is a solid matrix that is placed subdermally, normally in the upper arm in a simple office procedure, and is removed in a similar manner at the end of the treatment period. The drug substance is released continuously through the process of dissolution. This results in a steady rate of release similar to intravenous administration. We believe that such long-term, linear release characteristics are desirable by avoiding peak and trough level dosing that may pose problems for many disease settings.

Our ProNeura technology was developed to address the need for a simple, practical method to achieve continuous long-term drug delivery, and potentially can provide treatment on an outpatient basis over extended periods of up to 6-12 months. This technology has been validated with the successful results to date with Probuphine, and if approved, its potential commercialization in the future is likely to further strengthen the appeal of this continuous drug delivery system. We continue to seek opportunities to develop this drug delivery technology for other potential treatment applications in which conventional treatment is limited by variability in blood drug levels and poor patient compliance (e.g. treatment of Parkinson disease with dopamine agonists). During 2012, with the support of an SBIR grant, we completed a non-clinical study with long-term delivery of dopamine agonists which supports the potential to develop an implant delivering ropinirole for treating Parkinson’s disease. We have also worked with scientific collaborators on delivering other therapeutic substances, including peptides, in non-clinical testing. Additional non-clinical testing will be required to develop an optimal formulation and evaluating toxicity prior to any clinical testing, however, with the limited resources available at the present time, only preliminary formulation development work can be done over the next year. Once adequate capital is available we can advance these projects into clinical testing.

Fanapt ^® (iloperidone)

Fanapt (iloperidone) is an atypical antipsychotic approved by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia currently being marketed by Novartis in the U.S. Under a sublicense agreement with Novartis, we are entitled to a royalty of 8-10% of net sales, based on a U.S. patent that we licensed from Sanofi-Aventis. The U.S. patent expires in October 2016 (excluding a six-month pediatric extension). Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Vanda”) owns the development and commercialization rights to the oral and depot formulations of this product for the rest of the world. However, because patent coverage on the compound has now expired in the significant markets outside of the U.S. and no patent term extensions are possible since the product was not approved in these countries prior to patent expiration, we do not expect any royalties on any future sales in such markets.

We have entered into several agreements with Deerfield, which entitle Deerfield to most of the future royalty revenues related to Fanapt in exchange for cash and debt considerations, the proceeds of which have been used to advance the development of Probuphine and for general corporate purposes. We have retained a portion of the royalty revenue from net sales of Fanapt in excess of specified annual threshold levels; however, based on sales levels to date, it is unlikely that we will ever receive any revenue from Fanapt. We do not incur any ongoing expenses associated with this product.

License Agreements

In December 2012, we entered into the Agreement with Braeburn pursuant to which we granted Braeburn an exclusive right and license to commercialize Probuphine in the United States of America and its territories, including Puerto Rico, and Canada (the “Territory”). Under the Agreement, Braeburn made a non-refundable up-front license fee payment of $15.75 million and agreed to pay us tiered royalties on net sales of Probuphine ranging from the mid-teens to the low twenties. Additionally, the Agreement provided for us to receive $45 million upon FDA approval of the NDA for Probuphine and at such time ownership of the NDA will transfer to Braeburn, as well as up to an additional $130 million upon the achievement of specified sales milestones and up to $35 million in regulatory milestones. We will retain all of the rights to Probuphine outside the Territory. Unless earlier terminated, the Agreement will expire on the later of (i) the 15th anniversary of the date of product launch in the Territory or (ii) the expiration of the last to expire patent in the Territory covered by the Agreement (the “Term”). Either party may terminate the Agreement prior to the expiration of the Term in the event of a material breach by the other party that remains uncured or in the event of the other party’s bankruptcy. We may terminate the Agreement if, for reasons other than force majeure, regulatory, safety, manufacturing or product quality issues, Braeburn discontinues commercial sale of the product and fails to resume sales within 30 days following notice or in the event Braeburn or any of its affiliates or sublicensees commences any legal proceeding seeking to challenge or dispute the validity or ownership of the licensed patents. Braeburn may terminate the Agreement in the event that Braeburn, notwithstanding good faith efforts to do so, is unable to enter into an agreement for the supply of EVA or if such a supply agreement is terminated by Braeburn due to a material breach by the supplier or the supplier fails to provide EVA to Braeburn for a period of at least three months. Braeburn may also terminate the Agreement (i) on a country by country basis upon six months’ notice following the occurrence of any “significant competition” in such country, as such term is defined in the Agreement; (ii) immediately upon notice if Braeburn determines in good faith that it is inadvisable to continue commercialization as a result of any actual or perceived safety issues.

In May 2013, we entered into an amendment to the Agreement (the “Amendment”) primarily to modify certain of the termination provisions of the Agreement. The Amendment gives Braeburn the right to terminate the Agreement in the event that (A) after May 28, 2013, based on written or oral communications from or with the FDA, Braeburn reasonably determines either that the FDA will require significant development to be performed before approval of the Probuphine™ NDA can be given, such as, but not limited to, one or more additional controlled clinical studies with a clinical efficacy endpoint, or substantial post-approval commitments that may materially impact the products financial returns or that the FDA will require one or more changes in the proposed label, which change(s) Braeburn reasonably determines will materially reduce the authorized prescribed patient base, or (B) the NDA has not been approved by the FDA on or before June 30, 2014. The Amendment also provides that we will share in legal and consulting expenses in excess of a specified amount prior to approval of the NDA.

In July 2013, we entered into a second amendment to the Agreement (the “Second Amendment”) primarily to establish and provide the parameters for a committee comprised of representatives of Titan and Braeburn responsible for and with the authority to make all decisions regarding the development and implementation of a strategic plan to seek approval from the FDA of Probuphine® for subdermal use in the maintenance treatment of adult patients with opioid dependence, including development of the strategy for all written and oral communications with the FDA. The Second Amendment also makes Braeburn the primary contact for FDA communications regarding the Probuphine NDA.

In November 2013, we entered into a stock purchase agreement pursuant to which Braeburn made a $5 million equity investment in our company and a third amendment to the Agreement (the “Third Amendment”) primarily to modify the amount and timing of the approval and sales milestone payments payable under the Agreement. Under the Third Amendment, we are entitled to receive a $15 million payment upon FDA approval of the NDA, up to $165 million in sales milestones and $35 in regulatory milestones.  In addition, we are entitled to receive a low single digit royalty on sales by Braeburn, if any, of other continuous delivery treatments for opioid dependence as defined in the Third Amendment and can elect to receive a low single digit royalty on sales by Braeburn, if any, of other products in the addiction market in exchange for a similar reduction in the Company’s royalties on Probuphine.

In January 1997, we acquired an exclusive worldwide license under U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications relating to the use of iloperidone for the treatment of psychiatric and psychotic disorders and analgesia from Sanofi-Aventis SA (“Sanofi-Aventis”) (formerly Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc.). The Sanofi-Aventis agreement provides for the payment of royalties on future net sales. In November 1997, we granted a worldwide sublicense, exclusive of Japan, to Novartis under which Novartis continued, at its expense, all further development of iloperidone. In April 2001, that sublicense was extended to include Japan. Under this agreement, Novartis agreed to pay Titan a royalty on future net sales of the product equal to 8% of annual worldwide net sales up to $200 million and 10% of annual worldwide net sales above $200 million, in addition to royalty payments owed by us to Sanofi-Aventis. In June 2004, Novartis granted Vanda the worldwide rights to develop and commercialize iloperidone. In October 2009, Vanda and Novartis amended and restated their sub-license agreement whereby Novartis acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to commercialize Fanapt, the oral formulation of iloperidone approved in the U.S. Novartis also acquired the U.S. and Canadian development and commercialization rights to the depot formulation previously under development by Vanda and retained the right of first negotiation to co-market Fanapt and the depot formulation in the rest of the world. All of our rights and economic interests in iloperidone, including royalties on sales, remained essentially unchanged under these agreements and, as previously stated, we have entered into several agreements with Deerfield, which entitle Deerfield to the future royalty revenues related to Fanapt in exchange for cash and debt considerations.

In July 2005, we entered into an agreement with the University of Iowa Research Foundation. Under this agreement, we received an exclusive worldwide license to patent rights held by the University of Iowa Research Foundation covering the methods of treating biofilm formation, pseudomonas aeruginosa growth, human deficiency virus, and intracellular pathogens and pathogens causing chronic pulmonary infection using gallium maltolate. Under this agreement, we are required to pay a license issuance fee and certain minimum annual royalty payments. In addition, we are required to pay royalties based on net sales of products and processes incorporating the licensed technology. We will evaluate the utility of this license with respect to future product development programs and take action as appropriate.

Patents and Proprietary Rights

Four patent applications have been filed which incorporate the use of specific compounds with the continuous delivery technology, including three applications related to Probuphine for the potential treatment of opioid addiction and chronic pain. In June 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued a patent covering methods of using Probuphine for the treatment of opiate addiction. Titan is the owner of this patent which claims a method for treating opiate addiction with a subdermally implanted device comprising buprenorphine and EVA, a biocompatible copolymer that releases buprenorphine continuously for extended periods of time. This patent will expire in April 2024. Patents covering use of Probuphine for the treatment of opiate addiction have also issued in Australia, India, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. Further prosecution of Probuphine applications is currently proceeding at the USPTO and corresponding agencies in Europe, Canada, India and Hong Kong. Patents covering certain dopamine agonist implants have already been issued or allowed in Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and Hong Kong, while prosecution of the patent application continues in the U.S., Israel, India, Japan, and China.

We have filed additional patent applications for a heterogenous implant designed with some unique properties that may provide benefits to the structural integrity of the implants and potentially enhance drug delivery.

We hold a license from Sanofi-Aventis under certain issued U.S. patents and certain issued foreign patents relating to iloperidone and its methods of use in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, psychotic disorders and analgesia. The term of the U.S. patent that covers certain aspects of our iloperidone product expires in October 2016, excluding a six month extension possible if an approval of pediatric indication is obtained.

We are the licensee from the University of Iowa Research Foundation (“UIRF”) of two issued U.S. patents (expiring in 2016) relating to methods of use of gallium compounds to inhibit the growth of P. aeruginosa, and the treatment of infections by pathogens causing chronic pulmonary infection. We are also the licensee from UIRF of certain rights to patent applications covering the use of gallium complexes in preventing and also treating bacterial biofilm-based infections, for which patents have issued in Australia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and South Africa, and prosecution in the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, Hong Kong, and India continues.

Competition

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are characterized by rapidly evolving technology and intense competition. Many companies of all sizes, including major pharmaceutical companies and specialized biotechnology companies, are engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutic agents designed for the treatment of the same diseases and disorders that we target. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial and other resources, larger research and development staff and more experience in the regulatory approval process. Moreover, potential competitors have or may have patents or other rights that conflict with patents covering our technologies. For risks we face with respect to competition, see “Risk Factors—We face intense competition.”

With respect to Probuphine, Reckitt Benckiser Group, PLC (“Reckitt”) markets globally a sublingual buprenorphine product (tablet and film formulations) for the treatment of opioid dependence. This product (Subutex ^® , Suboxone ^® ) which is administered daily, will compete with our six-month implantable product for treating opioid dependence. In September 2012, Reckitt announced the discontinuation of the sublingual tablet formulation of Suboxone in favor of the sublingual film formulation which they will continue to market aggressively. In addition, during 2013, several generic and a proprietary sublingual tablet formulations of buprenorphine similar to Suboxone and Subutex were approved by the FDA which are expected to compete in the opioid addiction treatment market. Other forms of buprenorphine are also in development by other companies, including intramuscular injections, buccal delivery and intranasally delivered buprenorphine, which also might compete with our product. In 2010, Alkermes, Inc. received FDA approval to market Vivitrol ^® , a one month depot injection of naltrexone as a maintenance treatment for opioid dependent patients who have successfully achieved abstinence. We are aware of one month depot formulations of buprenorphine in early clinical development for the treatment of opioid dependence, but we are not aware of any six-month formulations being developed other than Probuphine.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing of Probuphine has primarily been conducted at DPT Laboratories, Inc., and we have expanded the manufacturing facility at this contract manufacturer to establish commercial scale capability to support the future market launch of Probuphine and ongoing demand following potential approval by the FDA.

Government Regulation

FDA Approval Process

In the United States, pharmaceutical products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDC Act, and other federal and state statutes and regulations, govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, and import and export of pharmaceutical products. Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve pending new drug applications, or NDAs, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties, and criminal prosecution.

Pharmaceutical product development in the U.S. typically involves preclinical laboratory and animal tests, the submission to the FDA of either a notice of claimed investigational exemption or an investigational new drug application, or IND, which must become effective before clinical testing may commence, and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of the drug for each indication for which FDA approval is sought. Satisfaction of FDA pre-market approval requirements typically takes many years and the actual time required may vary substantially based upon the type, complexity, and novelty of the product or disease.

Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, formulation, and toxicity, as well as animal trials to assess the characteristics and potential safety and efficacy of the product. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements, including good laboratory practices. The results of preclinical testing are submitted to the FDA as part of an IND along with other information, including information about product chemistry, manufacturing and controls, and a proposed clinical trial protocol. Long term preclinical tests, such as animal tests of reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity, may continue after the IND is submitted.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of a qualified investigator. Clinical trials must be conducted: (i) in compliance with federal regulations; (ii) in compliance with good clinical practice, or GCP, an international standard meant to protect the rights and health of patients and to define the roles of clinical trial sponsors, administrators, and monitors; as well as (iii) under protocols detailing the objectives of the trial, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. Each protocol involving testing on U.S. patients and subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND.

The FDA may order the temporary, or permanent, discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time, or impose other sanctions if it believes that the clinical trial either is not being conducted in accordance with FDA requirements or presents an unacceptable risk to the clinical trial patients. The study protocol and informed consent information for patients in clinical trials must also be submitted to an institutional review board, or IRB, for approval. An IRB may also require the clinical trial at the site to be halted, either temporarily or permanently, for failure to comply with the IRB’s requirements, or may impose other conditions.

Clinical trials to support NDAs for marketing approval are typically conducted in three sequential phases, but the phases may overlap. In Phase 1, the initial introduction of the drug into healthy human subjects or patients, the drug is tested to assess metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacological actions, side effects associated with increasing doses, and, if possible, early evidence on effectiveness. Phase 2 usually involves trials in a limited patient population to determine the effectiveness of the drug for a particular indication, dosage tolerance, and optimum dosage, and to identify common adverse effects and safety risks. If a compound demonstrates evidence of effectiveness and an acceptable safety profile in Phase 2 evaluations, Phase 3 trials are undertaken to obtain the additional information about clinical efficacy and safety in a larger number of patients, typically at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites, to permit FDA to evaluate the overall benefit-risk relationship of the drug and to provide adequate information for the labeling of the drug.

After completion of the required clinical testing, an NDA is prepared and submitted to the FDA. FDA approval of the NDA is required before marketing of the product may begin in the U.S. The NDA must include the results of all preclinical, clinical, and other testing and a compilation of data relating to the product’s pharmacology, chemistry, manufacture, and controls. The cost of preparing and submitting an NDA is substantial.

Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review. Priority review can be applied to drugs that the FDA determines offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. The FDA may refer applications for novel drug products, or drug products which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy, to an advisory committee – typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts – for review, evaluation, and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved. The FDA is not bound by the recommendation of an advisory committee, but it generally follows such recommendations. Before approving an NDA, the FDA will typically inspect one, or more, clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP. Additionally, the FDA will inspect the facility or the facilities at which the drug is manufactured. FDA will not approve the product unless compliance with current good manufacturing practices, or GMP – a quality system regulating manufacturing – is satisfactory and the NDA contains data that provide substantial evidence that the drug is safe and effective in the indication studied.

After the FDA evaluates the NDA and the manufacturing facilities, it issues either an approval letter or a complete response letter. A complete response letter generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional testing, or information, in order for the FDA to reconsider the application. If, or when, those deficiencies have been addressed to the FDA’s satisfaction in a resubmission of the NDA, the FDA will issue an approval letter.

An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications. As a condition of NDA approval, the FDA may require a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, to help ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh the potential risks. REMS can include medication guides, communication plans for healthcare professionals, and elements to assure safe use, or ETASU. ETASU can include, but are not limited to, special training or certification for prescribing or dispensing, dispensing only under certain circumstances, special monitoring, and the use of patient registries. The requirement for a REMS can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the drug. Moreover, product approval may require substantial post-approval testing and surveillance to monitor the drug’s safety or efficacy. Once granted, product approvals may be withdrawn if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained or problems are identified following initial marketing.

The Hatch-Waxman Act

In seeking approval for a drug through an NDA, applicants are required to list with the FDA each patent whose claims cover the applicant’s product. Upon approval of a drug, each of the patents listed in the application for the drug is then published in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book. Drugs listed in the Orange Book can, in turn, be cited by potential competitors in support of approval of an abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA. An ANDA provides for marketing of a drug product that has the same active ingredients in the same strengths and dosage form as the listed drug and has been shown through bioequivalence testing to be therapeutically equivalent to the listed drug. Other than the requirement for bioequivalence testing, ANDA applicants are not required to conduct, or submit results of, pre-clinical or clinical tests to prove the safety or effectiveness of their drug product. Drugs approved in this way are commonly referred to as “generic equivalents” to the listed drug, and can often be substituted by pharmacists under prescriptions written for the original listed drug.

The ANDA applicant is required to certify to the FDA concerning any patents listed for the approved product in the FDA’s Orange Book. Specifically, the applicant must certify that: (i) the required patent information has not been filed; (ii) the listed patent has expired; (iii) the listed patent has not expired, but will expire on a particular date and approval is sought after patent expiration; or (iv) the listed patent is invalid or will not be infringed by the new product. A certification that the new product will not infringe the already approved product’s listed patents, or that such patents are invalid, is called a Paragraph IV certification. If the applicant does not challenge the listed patents, the ANDA application will not be approved until all the listed patents claiming the referenced product have expired. The ANDA application also will not be approved until any non-patent exclusivity listed in the Orange Book for the referenced product has expired. Federal law provides a period of five years following approval of a drug containing no previously approved active ingredients during which ANDAs for generic versions of those drugs cannot be submitted, unless the submission contains a Paragraph IV challenge to a listed patent - in which case the submission may be made four years following the original product approval. Federal law provides for a period of three years of exclusivity during which the FDA cannot grant effective approval of an ANDA based on the approval of a listed drug that contains previously approved active ingredients but is approved in a new dosage form, route of administration or combination, or for a new use; the approval of which was required to be supported by new clinical trials conducted by, or for, the applicant.

Section 505(b)(2) New Drug Applications

Most drug products obtain FDA marketing approval pursuant to an NDA or an ANDA. A third alternative is a special type of NDA, commonly referred to as a Section 505(b)(2) NDA, enables the applicant to rely, in part, on the FDA’s previous approval of a similar product, or published literature, in support of its application. Section 505(b)(2) permits the filing of an NDA where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies not conducted by, or for, the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference. If the 505(b)(2) applicant can establish that reliance on the FDA’s previous approval is scientifically appropriate, it may eliminate the need to conduct certain preclinical or clinical studies of the new product. The FDA may also require companies to perform additional studies or measurements to support the change from the approved product. The FDA may then approve the new product candidate for all, or some, of the label indications for which the referenced product has been approved, as well as for any new indication sought by the Section 505(b)(2) applicant.

Advertising and Promotion

Once an NDA is approved, a product will be subject to certain post-approval requirements. For instance, the FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs, including standards and regulations for direct-to-consumer advertising, off-label promotion, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities and promotional activities involving the internet.

Drugs may be marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. Changes to some of the conditions established in an approved application, including changes in indications, labeling, or manufacturing processes or facilities, require submission and FDA approval of a new NDA or NDA supplement before the change can be implemented. An NDA supplement for a new indication typically requires clinical data similar to that in the original application, and the FDA uses the same procedures and actions in reviewing NDA supplements as it does in reviewing NDAs.

Adverse Event Reporting and GMP Compliance

Adverse event reporting and submission of periodic reports is required following FDA approval of an NDA. The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, known as Phase 4 testing, risk minimization action plans, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product, or the FDA may place conditions on an approval that could restrict the distribution or use of the product. In addition, quality-control, drug manufacture, packaging, and labeling procedures must continue to conform to current good manufacturing practices, or cGMPs, after approval. Drug manufacturers and certain of their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with FDA and certain state agencies. Registration with the FDA subjects entities to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA, during which the agency inspects manufacturing facilities to assess compliance with cGMPs. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the areas of production and quality-control to maintain compliance with cGMPs. Regulatory authorities may withdraw product approvals or request product recalls if a company fails to comply with regulatory standards, if it encounters problems following initial marketing, or if previously unrecognized problems are subsequently discovered.

Pediatric Information

Under the Pediatric Research Equity Act, or PREA, NDAs or supplements to NDAs must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the drug for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the drug is safe and effective. The FDA may grant full or partial waivers, or deferrals, for submission of data. Unless otherwise required by regulation, PREA does not apply to any drug for an indication for which orphan designation has been granted.

The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, or BPCA, provides NDA holders a six-month extension of any exclusivity – patent or non-patent – for a drug if certain conditions are met. Conditions for exclusivity include the FDA’s determination that information relating to the use of a new drug in the pediatric population may produce health benefits in that population, the FDA making a written request for pediatric studies, and the applicant agreeing to perform, and reporting on, the requested studies within the statutory timeframe. Applications under the BPCA are treated as priority applications, with all of the benefits that designation confers.

Physician Drug Samples

As part of the sales and marketing process, pharmaceutical companies frequently provide samples of approved drugs to physicians. The Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or the PDMA, imposes requirements and limitations upon the provision of drug samples to physicians, as well as prohibits states from licensing distributors of prescription drugs unless the state licensing program meets certain federal guidelines that include minimum standards for storage, handling, and record keeping. In addition, the PDMA sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations.

Controlled Substances

Manufacturers of controlled substances, including buprenorphine, are also subject to the licensing, quota, and regulatory requirements of the Controlled Substances Act. Failure to comply with the Controlled Substances Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder could subject companies to loss or suspension of those licenses and to civil or criminal penalties.

Anti-Kickback, False Claims Laws & The Prescription Drug Marketing Act

In addition to FDA restrictions on marketing of pharmaceutical products, several other types of state and federal laws have been applied to restrict certain marketing practices in the pharmaceutical industry in recent years. These laws include anti-kickback statutes and false claims statutes. The federal healthcare program anti-kickback statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce; or in return for; purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for the purchase, lease or order of any healthcare item or service reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid, or other federally financed healthcare programs. This statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers, and formulary managers on the other. Violations of the anti-kickback statute are punishable by imprisonment, criminal fines, civil monetary penalties, and exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs. Although there are a number of statutory exemptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting certain common activities from prosecution or other regulatory sanctions, the exemptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly, and practices that involve remuneration intended to induce prescribing, purchases, or recommendations may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exemption or safe harbor.

Federal false claims laws prohibit any person from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government, or knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement to have a false claim paid. Recently, several pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under these laws for allegedly inflating drug prices they report to pricing services, which in turn were used by the government to set Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates, and for allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal programs for the product. In addition, certain marketing practices, including off-label promotion, may also violate false claims laws. The majority of states also have statutes or regulations similar to the federal anti-kickback law and false claims laws, which apply to items and services reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs, or, in several states, apply regardless of the payor.

Foreign Regulatory Issues

Sales of pharmaceutical products outside the United States are subject to foreign regulatory requirements that vary widely from country to country. Whether or not FDA approval has been obtained, approval of a product by a comparable regulatory authority of a foreign country must generally be obtained prior to the commencement of marketing in that country. Although the time required to obtain such approval may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval, the requirements for FDA approval are among the most detailed in the world and FDA approval generally takes longer than foreign regulatory approvals.

Employees

At December 31, 2013, we had 13 full-time employees.