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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 15, 2017

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Zai Lab Limited

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Not applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

 

Cayman Islands		2834		98-1144595
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

4560 Jinke Road

Bldg. 1, 4F, Pudong, Shanghai, 201210, China

Telephone: +86 21 6163 2588

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code,

of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc.

801 2^nd Avenue, Suite 403

New York, New York 10017

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code,

of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Patrick O’Brien Ropes & Gray LLP Prudential Tower 800 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02199-3600 Telephone: (617) 951-7000		Samantha Du Chief Executive Officer Zai Lab Limited 4560 Jinke Rd Bldg.1, Fourth Floor Pudong Shanghai, China 201210 Telephone: +86 21 6163 2588		Richard D. Truesdell, Jr., Esq. Li He Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 450 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10017 Telephone: (212) 450-4000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to public: As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement is declared effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.  ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.

Emerging growth company  ☒

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards^† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☒

 

†

The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of each class of securities to be registered(1)		Proposed maximum aggregate offering price(2)(3)		Amount of registration fee
Ordinary Shares, $0.00001 par value		$115,000,000		$13,329

(1)

American depositary shares issuable upon deposit of the ordinary shares registered hereby have been registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (Registration No. 333-            ). Each American depositary share represents              ordinary shares.

 

(2)

Includes the ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares that may be sold upon exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.

 

(3)

Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the amount of registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act.

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to completion

Preliminary prospectus dated                 , 2017

Prospectus

Zai Lab Limited

 

 

             American depositary shares

Representing                  ordinary shares

We are offering American depositary shares, or ADSs. Each ADS represents              ordinary shares.

This is our initial public offering in the United States, and no public market currently exists for our ADSs.

We currently expect the initial public offering price to be between $         and $         per ADS. After pricing of the offering, we expect that the shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “ZLAB.”

We are eligible to be treated as an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and, as a result, are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. See “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Foreign Private Issuer.”

Investing in our ADSs involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 12 of this prospectus.

 

		Per ADS				Total
Public offering price		$				$
Underwriting discount(1)		$				$
Proceeds to Zai Lab Limited before expenses		$				$

 

(1)

See “Underwriting” for a detailed description of compensation payable to the underwriters.

To the extent that the underwriters sell more than              ADSs, the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an aggregate of                  additional ADSs from us at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions for 30 days after the date of this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs to the purchasers on or about                 , 2017.

 

J.P. Morgan		Citigroup		Leerink Partners

The date of this prospectus is                 , 2017

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		Page
Prospectus summary			1
Risk factors			12
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements			62
Use of proceeds			64
Dividend policy			65
Capitalization			66
Dilution			68
Selected consolidated financial data			70
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations			71
Industry			90
Business			96
Regulation			138
Management			174
Security ownership of beneficial owners and management			193
Related party transactions			195
Description of share capital			198
Description of American depositary shares			208
Shares eligible for future sale			220
Taxation			222
Underwriting			231
Legal matters			241
Experts			241
Enforcement of civil liabilities			241
Expenses relating to this offering			244
Where you can find more information			244

We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus and in any free writing prospectus we prepare or authorize. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we and the underwriters take no responsibility for any other information others may give you. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction repetitive of where the offer and sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since such date.

Through and including              (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery requirement is in addition to the obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

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Industry and market data

Although we are responsible for all disclosure contained in this prospectus, in some cases we have relied on certain market and industry data obtained from third-party sources that we believe to be reliable. Market estimates are calculated by using independent industry publications, government publications and third-party forecasts in conjunction with our assumptions about our markets. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding any market, industry or similar data presented herein, such data involves risks and uncertainties and is subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the headings “Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements” and “Risk factors” in this prospectus.

Trademarks and service marks

We own or have rights to trademarks and service marks for use in connection with the operation of our business, including, but not limited to, ZAI LAB and .. All other trademarks or service marks appearing in this prospectus that are not identified as marks owned by us are the property of their respective owners.

Solely for convenience, the trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may be listed without the ^®, (TM) and (sm) symbols, but we will assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our applicable rights in these trademarks, service marks and trade names.

 

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Program Commercial rights Indication Zai Lab clinical stage Partnerships Partner clinical stage ZL-2306 (Niraparib) Ovarian cancer Phase 3(1) Commercial Breast cancer Phase 3(1) Phase 3 Lung cancer Phase 2(1) Phase 2 ZL-2401 (Omadacycline) ABSSSI Phase 3(2) Phase 3 CABP Phase 3(2) Phase 3 ZL-2301 HCC Phase 2 Phase 3 ZL-3101 (Fugan) Eczema, Psoriasis Phase 2 ZL-2302 NSCLC Pre-clinical ZL-1101 GVHD, SLE Pre-clinical Internal Discovery Programs Multiple (Immuno-oncology) Pre-clinical

 

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Risk factors

Investing in our ADSs involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and their related notes appearing at the end of this prospectus, before deciding to invest in our ADSs. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could suffer materially, the trading price of our ADSs could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business.

Risks related to our financial position and need for additional capital

We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses in the future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a drug candidate will fail to gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. To date, we have financed our activities primarily through private placements. We have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we continue to incur significant development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. As a result, we are not profitable and have incurred losses in each period since our inception in 2014. For the two years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, we reported a net loss of $37.5 million and $18.0 million, respectively.

We expect to continue to incur losses in the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we:

 

•

continue our development and commence clinical trials of our drug candidates;

 

•

seek regulatory approvals for our drug candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;

 

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commercialize any of our drug candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval;

 

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complete construction of and maintain our manufacturing facilities;

 

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hire additional clinical, operational, financial, quality control and scientific personnel;

 

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establish a sales, marketing and commercialization infrastructure for any products that obtain regulatory approval;

 

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seek to identify additional drug candidates;

 

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obtain, maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;

 

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enforce and defend intellectual property-related claims; and

 

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acquire or in-license other intellectual property, drug candidates and technologies.

To become and remain profitable, we must develop and eventually commercialize drug candidates with significant market potential. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including completing preclinical testing and clinical trials of our drug candidates, obtaining marketing approval for these drug candidates, manufacturing, marketing and selling those drug candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval and satisfying any post-marketing requirements. We may never succeed in any or all of

 

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these activities and, even if we do, we may never generate revenues that are significant or large enough to achieve profitability. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company also could cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

Even if we consummate this offering, we will likely need substantial additional funding for our drug development programs and commercialization efforts, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise capital on acceptable terms when needed, we could incur losses or be forced to delay, reduce or terminate such efforts.

To date, we have financed our activities primarily through private placements. Through June 30, 2017, we have raised $164.5 million in equity financing. Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. The net cash used in our operating activities was $11.5 million and $32.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively, and $8.8 million and $17.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively. We expect our expenses to increase significantly in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance the clinical development of our four clinical-stage drug candidates and continue research and development of our preclinical-stage drug candidates and initiate additional clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, these and other future drug candidates. In addition, if we obtain regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution. In particular, the costs that may be required for the manufacture of any drug candidate that receives regulatory approval may be substantial as we may have to modify or increase the production capacity at our current manufacturing facilities or contract with third-party manufacturers. We may also incur expenses as we create additional infrastructure to support our operations as a U.S. public company. Accordingly, we will likely need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations through public or private equity offerings, debt financing, collaborations or licensing arrangements or other sources. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on acceptable terms, we could incur losses and be forced to delay, reduce or terminate our research and development programs or any future commercialization efforts.

We believe our cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2017, combined with the net proceeds from this offering, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for the next          months at a minimum. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

 

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the number and development requirements of the drug candidates we pursue;

 

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the scope, progress, timing, results and costs of researching and developing our drug candidates, and conducting pre-clinical and clinical trials;

 

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the cost, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our drug candidates;

 

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the cost and timing of future commercialization activities, including product manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution, for any of our drug candidates for which we receive regulatory approval;

 

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the cash received, if any, received from commercial sales of any drug candidates for which we receive regulatory approval;

 

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our ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships, collaboration, licensing or other arrangements and the financial terms of such agreements;

 

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the cost, timing and outcome of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending any intellectual property-related claims;

 

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the extent to which we acquire or in-license other drug candidates and technologies;

 

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our headcount growth and associated costs; and

 

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the costs of operating as a public company in the United States.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our shareholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or drug candidates.

Identifying and acquiring rights to develop potential drug candidates and conducting pre-clinical testing and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that may take years to complete, and our commercial revenue, if any, will be derived from sales of drug candidates that we do not expect to be commercially available until we receive regulatory approval, if at all. We may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain regulatory approval and achieve product sales, and even if one or more of our drug candidates is approved, they may not achieve commercial success. Accordingly, we will need to continue to rely on additional financing to achieve our business objectives. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

We may seek additional funding through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, licensing arrangements, strategic alliances and marketing or distribution arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a holder of our ADSs. The incurrence of additional indebtedness or the issuance of certain equity securities could result in increased fixed payment obligations and could also result in certain additional restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt or issue additional equity, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. In addition, issuance of additional equity securities, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. In the event that we enter into collaborations or licensing arrangements to raise capital, we may be required to accept unfavorable terms, including relinquishing or licensing to a third party on unfavorable terms our rights to technologies or drug candidates that we otherwise would seek to develop or commercialize ourselves or potentially reserve for future potential arrangements when we might be able to achieve more favorable terms.

Risks related to our business and industry

We have a very limited operating history, which may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability.

We commenced our operations in 2014. Our operations to date have been limited to organizing and staffing our company, identifying potential partnerships and drug candidates, acquiring product and technology rights, and conducting research and development activities for our drug candidates. We have not yet demonstrated the ability to successfully complete large-scale, pivotal clinical trials. We have also not yet obtained regulatory approval for, or demonstrated an ability to manufacture or commercialize, any of our drug candidates. Consequently, any predictions about our future success, performance or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history and/or approved products on the market.

 

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Our limited operating history, particularly in light of the rapidly evolving drug research and development industry in which we operate, may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and prospects for future performance. Our short history makes any assessment of our future performance or viability subject to significant uncertainty. We will encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by early-stage companies in rapidly evolving fields as we seek to transition to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. In addition, as a new business, we may be more likely to encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays due to limited experience. If we do not address these risks and difficulties successfully, our business will suffer.

All of our drug candidates are still in development. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval and ultimately commercialize our drug candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects will be materially adversely harmed.

All of our drug candidates are still in development. Four of our drug candidates are in clinical development and various others are in pre-clinical development. Our ability to generate revenue from our drug candidates is dependent on their receipt of regulatory approval and successfully commercializing such products, which may never occur. Each of our drug candidates will require additional pre-clinical and/or clinical development, regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions, development of manufacturing supply and capacity, substantial investment and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenue from product sales. The success of our drug candidates will depend on several factors, including the following:

 

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successful completion of pre-clinical and/or clinical studies;

 

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successful enrollment in, and completion of, clinical trials;

 

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receipt of regulatory approvals from applicable regulatory authorities for planned clinical trials, future clinical trials or drug registrations, manufacturing and commercialization;

 

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successful completion of all safety studies required to obtain regulatory approval in China, the United States and other jurisdictions for our drug candidates;

 

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adapting our commercial manufacturing capabilities to the specifications for our drug candidates for clinical supply and commercial manufacturing;

 

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making and maintaining arrangements with third-party manufacturers;

 

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obtaining and maintaining patent, trade secret and other intellectual property protection and/or regulatory exclusivity for our drug candidates;

 

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launching commercial sales of our drug candidates, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others;

 

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acceptance of the drug candidates, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community and third-party payors;

 

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effectively competing with other therapies and alternative drugs;

 

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obtaining and maintaining healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement;

 

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successfully enforcing and defending intellectual property rights and claims; and

 

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maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of the drug candidates following regulatory approval.

The success of our business is dependent upon our ability to develop and commercialize our clinical-stage drug candidates, particularly niraparib, which received FDA approval as maintenance treatment for recurrent

 

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ovarian cancer patients. As niraparib has been approved in the United States, if approved by the EMA, we anticipate commercializing niraparib in Hong Kong and Macau approximately 12 months after it is approved by the EMA. We anticipate initiating Phase III studies of niraparib in patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer as a second-line maintenance therapy in the second half of 2017, and as a first-line maintenance therapy in the first half of 2018. We also anticipate initiating a Phase III study in patients with gBRCA positive breast cancer in the first half of 2018. Additionally, we plan to study niraparib in patients with triple negative breast cancer, squamous-type non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer in China. For omadacycline, we are in the technology transfer stage and plan to discuss our China development plan with key opinion leaders and the CFDA. We initiated a Phase II trial in advanced HCC patients in China to investigate ZL-2301’s optimal treatment schedule and dosage as a second-line treatment in the second quarter of 2017 and, pending successful Phase II results, plan to conduct a Phase III registration trial. As a result, our business is substantially dependent on our ability to complete the development of, obtain regulatory approval for, and successfully commercialize niraparib, omadacycline and ZL-2301 and our other drug candidates in a timely manner.

We cannot commercialize drug candidates in China without first obtaining regulatory approval from the CFDA. Similarly, we cannot commercialize drug candidates in the United States or another jurisdiction outside of China without obtaining regulatory approval from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The process to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize drug candidates is long, complex and costly both inside and outside of China and approval may not be granted. Clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries, and obtaining regulatory approval in one country does not mean that regulatory approval will be obtained in any other country. Approval processes vary among countries and can involve additional product testing and validation and additional administrative review periods. Even if our drug candidates were to successfully obtain approval or, in the case of niraparib, have obtained approval, from the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, we would still need to seek approval in China and any other jurisdictions where we plan to market the product. For example, we will need to conduct clinical trials of each of our drug candidates in patients in China prior to seeking regulatory approval in China. Even if our drug candidates have successfully completed clinical trials outside of China, there is no assurance that clinical trials conducted with Chinese patients will be successful. Any safety issues, product recalls or other incidents related to products approved and marketed in other jurisdictions may impact approval of those products by the CFDA. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for our drug candidates in one or more jurisdictions, or any approval contains significant limitations, or are imposed on certain drug candidates, we may not be able to obtain sufficient funding or generate sufficient revenue to continue the development of our drug candidates or any other drug candidate that we may in-license, acquire or develop in the future.

We may allocate our limited resources to pursue a particular drug candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on drug candidates or indications that may later prove to be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we must limit our licensing, research and development programs to specific drug candidates that we identify for specific indications. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other drug candidates or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial drugs or profitable market opportunities. In addition, if we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular drug candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that drug candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements when it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such drug candidate.

 

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Our drug candidates are subject to extensive regulation, and we cannot give any assurance that any of our drug candidates will receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized.

Our drug candidates and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, quality control, recordkeeping, labeling, packaging, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale, distribution, import and export are subject to comprehensive regulation by the CFDA, FDA and EMA and other regulatory agencies in China and the United States and by comparable authorities in other countries. We are not permitted to market any of our drug candidates in China, the United States and other jurisdictions unless and until we receive regulatory approval from the CFDA, FDA and EMA and other comparable authorities, respectively. Securing regulatory approval requires the submission of extensive pre-clinical and clinical data and supporting information to the various regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the drug candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing regulatory approval may also require the submission of information about the drug manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authority. Our drug candidates may not be effective, may be only moderately effective or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that may preclude our obtaining regulatory approval or prevent or limit commercial use. Although niraparib was approved in the United States, we cannot provide any assurance that we will ever obtain regulatory approval for niraparib in China or for any of our other drug candidates in any jurisdiction or that any of our drug candidates will be successfully commercialized, even if we receive regulatory approval.

The process of obtaining regulatory approvals in China, the United States and other countries is expensive, may take many years if additional clinical trials are required and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity and novelty of the drug candidates involved. Changes in regulatory approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations, or changes in regulatory review for each submitted new drug application, or NDA, pre-market approval or equivalent application type, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. The CFDA, FDA and EMA and comparable authorities in other countries have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional pre-clinical, clinical or other studies. Our drug candidates could be delayed in receiving, or fail to receive, regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:

 

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disagreement with the CFDA, FDA and EMA or comparable regulatory authorities regarding the number, design, size, conduct or implementation of our clinical trials;

 

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failure to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the CFDA, FDA and EMA or comparable regulatory authorities that a drug candidate is safe and effective for its proposed indication;

 

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failure of contract research organizations, or CROs, clinical study sites or investigators to comply with the ICH-good clinical practice, or GCP, requirements imposed by the CFDA, FDA and EMA or comparable regulatory authorities;

 

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failure of the clinical trial results to meet the level of statistical significance required by the CFDA, FDA and EMA or comparable regulatory authorities for approval;

 

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failure to demonstrate that a drug candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;

 

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the CFDA, FDA and EMA or comparable regulatory authorities disagreeing with our interpretation of data from pre-clinical studies or clinical trials;

 

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insufficient data collected from clinical trials to support the submission of an NDA or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval in China, the United States or elsewhere;

 

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the CFDA, FDA and EMA or comparable regulatory authorities not approving the manufacturing processes for our clinical and commercial supplies;

 

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changes in the approval policies or regulations of the CFDA, FDA or comparable regulatory authorities rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval;

 

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the CFDA, FDA or comparable regulatory authorities restricting the use of our products to a narrow population; and

 

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our CROs or licensors taking actions that materially and adversely impact the clinical trials.

In addition, even if we were to obtain approval, regulatory authorities may revoke approval, approve any of our drug candidates for fewer or more limited indications than we request, may monitor the price we intend to charge for our drugs, may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials, or may approve a drug candidate with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that drug candidate. Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for our drug candidates.

If safety, efficacy, manufacturing or supply issues arise with any therapeutic that we use in combination with our drug candidates, we may be unable to market such drug candidate or may experience significant regulatory delays or supply shortages, and our business could be materially harmed.

We plan to develop certain of our drug candidates for use as a combination therapy. For example, Tesaro, Inc., or Tesaro, is currently developing, and we also plan to develop, niraparib as both a monotherapy and in combination with any potential anti-VEGF or PD-1/PD-L1 treatments. However, we did not develop or obtain regulatory approval for, and we do not manufacture or sell, any anti-VEGF or PD-1/PD-L1 treatments or any other therapeutic we use in combination with our drug candidates. We may also seek to develop our drug candidates in combination with other therapeutics in the future.

If the CFDA, FDA or another regulatory agency revokes its approval of any anti-VEGF or PD-1/PD-L1 treatments or another therapeutic we use in combination with our drug candidates, we will not be able to market our drug candidates in combination with such revoked therapeutic. If safety or efficacy issues arise with these or other therapeutics that we seek to combine with our drug candidates in the future, we may experience significant regulatory delays, and we may be required to redesign or terminate the applicable clinical trials. In addition, if manufacturing or other issues result in a supply shortage of any anti-VEGF or PD-1/PD-L1 treatments or any other combination therapeutics, we may not be able to complete clinical development of niraparib and/or another of our drug candidates on our current timeline or at all.

Even if one or more of our drug candidates were to receive regulatory approval for use in combination with any anti-VEGF or PD-1/PD-L1 treatments, as applicable, or another therapeutic, we would continue to be subject to the risk that the CFDA, FDA or another regulatory agency could revoke its approval of the combination therapeutic, or that safety, efficacy, manufacturing or supply issues could arise with one of these combination therapeutics. This could result in niraparib or one of our other products being removed from the market or being less successful commercially.

We face substantial competition, which may result in our competitors discovering, developing or commercializing drugs before or more successfully than we do, or develop therapies that are more advanced or effective than ours, which may adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to successfully market or commercialize our drug candidates.

The development and commercialization of new drugs is highly competitive. We face competition with respect to our current drug candidates, and will face competition with respect to any drug candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. For example, there are a number of large pharmaceutical

 

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and biotechnology companies that currently market drugs or are pursuing the development of therapies in the field of PARP inhibition to treat cancer. Some of these competitive drugs and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to that of our drug candidates. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. Specifically, there are a large number of companies developing or marketing treatments for oncology, autoimmune and infectious diseases including many major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Many of the companies against which we are competing or against which we may compete in the future have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, pre-clinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved drugs than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs.

Our commercial opportunities could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize drugs that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than drugs that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain CFDA, FDA or other regulatory approval for their drugs more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. Additionally, technologies developed by our competitors may render our potential drug candidates uneconomical or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing our drug candidates against competitors.

In addition, as a result of the expiration or successful challenge of our patent rights, we could face more litigation with respect to the validity and/or scope of patents relating to our competitors’ products. The availability of our competitors’ products could limit the demand, and the price we are able to charge, for any products that we may develop and commercialize.

Clinical development involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome.

There is a risk of failure for each of our drug candidates. It is difficult to predict when or if any of our drug candidates will prove effective and safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. Before obtaining regulatory approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any drug candidate, our drug candidates must complete pre-clinical studies and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our drug candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, and can take many years to complete. The outcomes of pre-clinical development testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. Moreover, pre-clinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their drug candidates performed satisfactorily in pre-clinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain regulatory approval of their drug candidates. Future clinical trials of our drug candidates may not be successful. For example, ZL-2301 failed to meet its primary endpoint of overall survival noninferiority for ZL-2301 versus sorafenib in Phase III trials in patients with HCC conducted by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, or Bristol-Myers Squibb, before we licensed the development rights from them. Although we believe that ZL-2301 has the potential to be an effective treatment for Chinese patients and merits further clinical trials patients, we cannot guarantee that our future clinical trials of ZL-2301 in Chinese patients will be successful.

 

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Commencement of clinical trials is subject to finalizing the trial design based on ongoing discussions with the CFDA, FDA and/or other regulatory authorities. The CFDA, FDA and other regulatory authorities could change their position on the acceptability of trial designs or clinical endpoints, which could require us to complete additional clinical trials or impose approval conditions that we do not currently expect. Successful completion of our clinical trials is a prerequisite to submitting an NDA (or analogous filing) to the CFDA, FDA and/or other regulatory authorities for each drug candidate and, consequently, the ultimate approval and commercial marketing of our drug candidates. We do not know whether the clinical trials for our drug candidates will begin or be completed on schedule, if at all.

We may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing pre-clinical or clinical trials, or ultimately be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our drug candidates.

We may experience delays in completing our pre-clinical or clinical trials, and numerous unforeseen events could arise during, or as a result of, future clinical trials, which could delay or prevent us from receiving regulatory approval, including:

 

•

regulators or institutional review boards, or IRBs, or ethics committees may not authorize us or our investigators to commence or conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site;

 

•

we may experience delays in reaching, or may fail to reach, agreement on acceptable terms with prospective trial sites and prospective CROs who conduct clinical trials on our behalf, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;

 

•

clinical trials may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us or them, to conduct additional clinical trials or we may decide to abandon drug development programs;

 

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the number of patients required for clinical trials of our drug candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate or participants may drop out of these clinical trials or fail to return for post-treatment follow-up at a higher rate than we anticipate;

 

•

third-party contractors used in our clinical trials may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations in a timely manner, or at all, or may deviate from the clinical trial protocol or drop out of the trial, which may require that we add new clinical trial sites or investigators;

 

•

the ability to conduct a companion diagnostic test to identify patients who are likely to benefit from our drug candidates;

 

•

we may elect to, or regulators, IRBs or ethics committees may require that we or our investigators, suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including non-compliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;

 

•

the cost of clinical trials of our drug candidates may be greater than we anticipate;

 

•

the supply or quality of our drug candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of our drug candidates may be insufficient or inadequate; and

 

•

our drug candidates may have undesirable side effects or unexpected characteristics, causing us or our investigators, regulators, IRBs or ethics committees to suspend or terminate the trials, or reports may arise from pre-clinical or clinical testing of other cancer therapies that raise safety or efficacy concerns about our drug candidates.

We could encounter regulatory delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us or, as applicable, the IRBs or the ethics committee of the institutions in which such trials are being conducted, by the data safety

 

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monitoring board, which is an independent group of experts that is formed to monitor clinical trials while ongoing, or by the CFDA, FDA or other regulatory authorities. Such authorities may impose a suspension or termination due to a number of factors, including: a failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or the applicable clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the CFDA, FDA or other regulatory authorities that results in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a drug, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial. Many of the factors that cause a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our drug candidates. Further, the CFDA, FDA or other regulatory authorities may disagree with our clinical trial design or our interpretation of data from clinical trials, or may change the requirements for approval even after it has reviewed and commented on the design for our clinical trials.

If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our drug candidates beyond those that are currently contemplated, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our drug candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we may:

 

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be delayed in obtaining regulatory approval for our drug candidates;

 

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not obtain regulatory approval at all;

 

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obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;

 

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be subject to post-marketing testing requirements;

 

•

encounter difficulties obtaining or be unable to obtain reimbursement for use of certain drugs;

 

•

be subject to restrictions on the distribution and/or commercialization of drugs; and/or

 

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have the drug removed from the market after obtaining regulatory approval.

Our drug development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or regulatory approvals. We do not know whether any of our clinical trials will begin as planned, will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant pre-clinical study or clinical trial delays also could allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our drug candidates and may harm our business and results of operations. Any delays in our clinical development programs may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.

If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials, the progress of such clinical trials and our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented.

We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for our drug candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials as required by the CFDA, FDA or similar regulatory authorities. In particular, we have designed many of our clinical trials, and expect to design future trials, to include some patients with the applicable genomic mutation with a view to assessing possible early evidence of potential therapeutic effect. Genomically defined diseases, however, may have relatively low prevalence, and it may be difficult to identify patients with the applicable genomic mutation. In addition, for our trials studying niraparib in ovarian cancer patients and certain of our other drug candidates, we plan to focus on enrolling patients who have failed their first or second-line treatments, which limits the total size of the patient population available for such trials. The inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients with the applicable genomic alteration or that meet other applicable criteria for our clinical trials would result in significant delays and could require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether.

 

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In addition, some of our competitors have ongoing clinical trials for drug candidates that treat the same indications as our drug candidates, and patients who would otherwise be eligible for our clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors’ drug candidates.

Patient enrollment may be affected by other factors including:

 

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the severity of the disease under investigation;

 

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the total size and nature of the relevant patient population;

 

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the design and eligibility criteria for the clinical trial in question;

 

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the availability of an appropriate genomic screening test;

 

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the perceived risks and benefits of the drug candidate under study;

 

•

the efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;

 

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the patient referral practices of physicians;

 

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the availability of competing therapies also undergoing clinical trials;

 

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the ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment; and

 

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the proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients.

Enrollment delays in our clinical trials may result in increased development costs for our drug candidates, which could cause the value of our company to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing.

Our drug candidates may cause undesirable side effects that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following regulatory approval, if any.

Undesirable side effects caused by our drug candidates could cause us to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials or could cause regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt our clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the CFDA, FDA or other regulatory authorities. In particular, as is the case with all oncology drugs, it is likely that there may be side effects, such as fatigue, nausea and low blood cell levels, associated with the use of certain of our oncology drug candidates. For example, the known adverse events for niraparib include thrombocytopenia, anemia and neutropenia and for ZL-2301, the known adverse events include hyponatremia, AST elevation, fatigue, hand-foot skin reaction and hypertension. The results of our drug candidates’ trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of these or other side effects. In such an event, trials of our drug candidates could be suspended or terminated and the CFDA, FDA or comparable regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny approval of our drug candidates for any or all targeted indications. The drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.

Additionally, our drug candidates could cause undesirable side effects related to off-target toxicity. For example, many of the currently approved PARP inhibitors have been associated with off-target toxicities. While we believe that the superior selectivity of niraparib has the potential to significantly improve the unfavorable adverse off-target toxicity issues, if patients were to experience off-target toxicity, we may not be able to achieve an effective dosage level (especially in combination therapies), receive approval to market, or achieve the commercial success we anticipate with respect to, any of our drug candidates, which could prevent us from ever generating revenue or achieving profitability. Many compounds that initially showed promise in early stage testing for treating cancer have later been found to cause side effects that prevented further development of the compound.

 

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Clinical trials assess a sample of the potential patient population. With a limited number of patients and duration of exposure, rare and severe side effects of our drug candidates may only be uncovered with a significantly larger number of patients exposed to the drug candidate. If our drug candidates receive regulatory approval and we, our partners or others identify undesirable side effects caused by such drug candidates (or any other similar drugs) after such approval, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

 

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the CFDA, FDA or other comparable regulatory authorities may withdraw or limit their approval of such drug candidates;

 

•

the CFDA, FDA or other comparable regulatory authorities may require the addition of labeling statements, such as a “boxed” warning or a contra-indication;

 

•

we may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients;

 

•

we may be required to change the way such drug candidates are distributed or administered, conduct additional clinical trials or change the labeling of our drug candidates;

 

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the CFDA, FDA or other comparable regulatory authorities may require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS (or analogous requirement), plan to mitigate risks, which could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools;

 

•

we may be subject to regulatory investigations and government enforcement actions;

 

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we may decide to remove such drug candidates from the marketplace;

 

•

we could be sued and held liable for injury caused to individuals exposed to or taking our drug candidates; and

 

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our reputation may suffer.

Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected drug candidates and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our drug candidates, if approved, and significantly impact our ability to successfully commercialize our drug candidates and generate revenue.

If we are unable to obtain CFDA approval for our drug candidates to be eligible for an expedited registration pathway as Category 1 drug candidates, the time and cost we incur to obtain regulatory approvals may increase. Even if we receive such Category 1 designation, it may not lead to a faster development, review or approval process.

The CFDA categorizes domestically-manufactured innovative drug applications as Category 1, provided such drug has a new and clearly defined structure, pharmacological property and apparent clinical value and has not been marketed anywhere in the world. Domestically developed and manufactured innovative drugs will be attributed to Category 1 for their CTA and NDA applications. While some multinational pharmaceutical companies may file CTAs with the CFDA prior to approval of a drug in another country in order to take advantage of Category 1 classification, such drug will most likely be assigned to Category 5 for NDA approval purposes because, based on historical observations, multinational pharmaceutical companies will typically not prioritize applying for local manufacturing rights in China, hence subjecting the drug to the imported drug status. Our CTAs for niraparib and ZL-2301 were approved as Category 1 drugs by the CFDA, and our CTA for ZL-2302 was accepted as a Category 1 drug by the CFDA. Other than fugan, all our other clinical stage drug candidates are eligible for Category 1 designation. These two categories have distinct approval pathways. We believe the local drug registration pathway is a faster and more efficient path to approval in the China market

 

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than the imported drug registration pathway. The imported drug registration pathway is more complex and is evolving. Imported drug registration applications in China may only be submitted after a drug has obtained an NDA approval and received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product granted by a major drug regulatory authority, such as the FDA. A Category 1 designation by the CFDA may not be granted for any of our drug candidates or may not lead to faster development or regulatory review or approval process. Moreover, a Category 1 designation does not increase the likelihood that our drug candidates will receive regulatory approval.

Furthermore, there has been recent regulatory initiatives in China, including (i) the China’s State Council’s August 2015 statement, Opinions on Reforming the Review and Approval Process for Pharmaceutical Products and Medical Devices, which declared the Chinese government’s clear determination to encourage transformation and upgrade of the pharmaceutical industry, (ii) the CFDA’s November 2015 release, Circular Concerning Several Policies on Drug Registration Review and Approval, with aims to accelerate the approval process of clinical trials and (iii) the CFDA’s February 2016 release, Opinions on Priority Review and Approval for Resolving Drug Registration Applications Backlog, which further clarified that a fast track clinical trial approval or drug registration pathway will be available to certain designated drugs. As such, the regulatory process in China is evolving and subject to change. Any future policies, or changes to current polices, that the CFDA approves might require us to change our planned clinical study design or otherwise spend additional resources and effort to obtain approval of our drug candidates. In addition, policy changes may contain significant limitations related to use restrictions for certain age groups, warnings, precautions or contraindications, or may be subject to burdensome post-approval study or risk management requirements. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for our drug candidates in one or more jurisdictions, or any approval contains significant limitations, we may not be able to obtain sufficient funding or generate sufficient revenue to continue the development of our drug candidates or any other drug candidate that we may in-license, acquire or develop in the future.

Even if we receive regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates, we will be subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense, and if we fail to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements or experience any unanticipated problems with any of our drug candidates, we may be subject to penalties.

If the CFDA, FDA or a comparable regulatory authority approves any of our drug candidates, the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for the drug will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, and continued compliance with cGMPs and GCPs. Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our drug candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the drug may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase IV studies for the surveillance and monitoring the safety and efficacy of the drug.

In addition, once a drug is approved by the CFDA, FDA or a comparable regulatory authority for marketing, it is possible that there could be a subsequent discovery of previously unknown problems with the drug, including problems with third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements. If any of the foregoing occurs with respect to our drug products, it may result in, among other things:

 

•

restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the drug, withdrawal of the drug from the market, or voluntary or mandatory drug recalls;

 

•

fines, warning letters or holds on clinical trials;

 

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•

refusal by the CFDA, FDA or comparable regulatory authority to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us, or suspension or revocation of drug license approvals;

 

•

drug seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of drugs; and

 

•

injunctions or the imposition of civil, administrative or criminal penalties.

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources and could generate negative publicity. Moreover, regulatory policies may change or additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our drug candidates. If we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, regulatory approval that has been obtained may be lost and we may not achieve or sustain profitability, which may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.

The incidence and prevalence for target patient populations of our drug candidates are based on estimates and third-party sources. If the market opportunities for our drug candidates are smaller than we estimate or if any approval that we obtain is based on a narrower definition of the patient population, our revenue and ability to achieve profitability might be materially and adversely affected.

Periodically, we make estimates regarding the incidence and prevalence of target patient populations for particular diseases based on various third-party sources and internally generated analysis and use such estimates in making decisions regarding our drug development strategy, including acquiring or in-licensing drug candidates and determining indications on which to focus in pre-clinical or clinical trials.

These estimates may be inaccurate or based on imprecise data. For example, the total addressable market opportunity will depend on, among other things, their acceptance by the medical community and patient access, drug pricing and reimbursement. The number of patients in the addressable markets may turn out to be lower than expected, patients may not be otherwise amenable to treatment with our drugs, or new patients may become increasingly difficult to identify or gain access to, all of which may significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

 

Our future success depends on our ability to retain key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.

We are highly dependent on the expertise of the members of our research and development team, as well as the other principal members of our management, including Samantha Du, our founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Although we have entered into employment letter agreements with our executive officers, each of them may terminate their employment with us at any time with one months’ prior written notice. We do not maintain “key person” insurance for any of our executives or other employees.

Recruiting and retaining qualified management, scientific, clinical, manufacturing and sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success. The loss of the services of our executive officers or other key employees could impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives and seriously harm our ability to successfully implement our business strategy. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to successfully develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize drugs. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research

 

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institutions. In addition, our management will be required to devote significant time to new compliance initiatives from our status as a U.S. public company, which may require us to recruit more management personnel. Failure to succeed in clinical trials may make it more challenging to recruit and retain qualified scientific personnel.

We will need to increase the size and capabilities of our organization, and we may experience difficulties in managing our growth.

We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and consultants and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of drug development, regulatory affairs and business development. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations, and have a materially adverse effect on our business.

We have concluded that there is a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting in the past and cannot assure you that additional material weaknesses will not be identified in the future. This weakness may not be timely eliminated and general reputational harm could result or persist, which could materially and adversely affect our business, operations and financial condition. Our failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in material misstatements in our financial statements which could require us to restate financial statements, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and have a negative effect on our stock price.

Prior to the completion of this offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting personnel to adequately execute our accounting processes and other supervisory resources with which to address our internal control over financial reporting. Our management has not completed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting. In the course of auditing our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified one material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016, in accordance with the standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness related to the lack of sufficient accounting personnel with U.S. GAAP knowledge and SEC financial reporting requirements for the purpose of financial reporting, and lack of accounting policies and procedures over financial reporting in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We are seeking to remedy this material weakness by adding staff with extensive U.S. GAAP experience to our accounting team and developing, communicating and implementing an accounting policy manual for our financial reporting personnel for recurring transactions and period-end closing processes, although no assurance can be given as to whether these steps will be sufficient. The implementation of these improvements may increase our administrative expenses. To the extent these steps are not successful, we could be forced to incur additional management time and expense.

We cannot assure you that additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting will not be identified in the future. Any failure to maintain or implement required new or improved controls, or any difficulties we encounter in their implementation, could result in additional

 

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significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. Any such failure could also adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Furthermore, we will be required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of our fiscal year ending on December 31, 2018. However, for as long as we are an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could detect problems that our management’s assessment might not. The existence of a material weakness could result in errors in our financial statements that could result in a restatement of financial statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, leading to a decline in our stock price.

In addition to in-licensing or acquiring drug candidates, we may engage in future business acquisitions that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our ADS holders and harm our financial condition and operating results.

While we currently have no specific plans to acquire any other businesses, we have, from time to time, evaluated acquisition opportunities and may, in the future, make acquisitions of, or investments in, companies that we believe have products or capabilities that are a strategic or commercial fit with our current drug candidates and business or otherwise offer opportunities for our company. In connection with these acquisitions or investments, we may:

 

•

issue stock that would dilute our ADS holders’ percentage of ownership;

 

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incur debt and assume liabilities; and

 

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incur amortization expenses related to intangible assets or incur large and immediate write-offs.

We also may be unable to find suitable acquisition candidates and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. If we do complete an acquisition, we cannot assure you that it will ultimately strengthen our competitive position or that it will not be viewed negatively by customers, financial markets or investors. Further, future acquisitions could also pose numerous additional risks to our operations, including:

 

•

problems integrating the purchased business, products or technologies;

 

•

increases to our expenses;

 

•

the failure to have discovered undisclosed liabilities of the acquired asset or company;

 

•

diversion of management’s attention from their day-to-day responsibilities;

 

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harm to our operating results or financial condition;

 

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entrance into markets in which we have limited or no prior experience; and

 

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potential loss of key employees, particularly those of the acquired entity.

We may not be able to complete one or more acquisitions or effectively integrate the operations, products or personnel gained through any such acquisition without a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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If we are unable to establish sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our drug candidates, we may be unable to generate any revenue.

We do not currently have an organization for the sales, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products and the cost of establishing and maintaining such an organization may exceed the cost-effectiveness of doing so. In order to market any products that may be approved by the CFDA, FDA and comparable regulatory authorities, we must build our sales, marketing, managerial and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services. If we are unable to establish adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, whether independently or with third parties, we may not be able to generate product revenue and may not become profitable. We will be competing with many companies that currently have extensive and well-funded sales and marketing operations. Without an internal commercial organization or the support of a third party to perform sales and marketing functions, we may be unable to compete successfully against these more established companies.

Reimbursement may not be immediately available for our drug candidates in China, the United States or other countries, which could diminish our sales or affect our profitability.

The regulations that govern pricing and reimbursement for pharmaceuticals vary widely from country to country. In China, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the PRC or provincial or local human resources and social security authorities, together with other government authorities, review the inclusion or removal of drugs from the PRC’s National Drug Catalog for Basic Medical Insurance, Work-related Injury Insurance and Maternity Insurance, or the National Reimbursement Drug List, or the NRDL, or provincial or local medical insurance catalogues for the National Medical Insurance Program regularly, and the tier under which a drug will be classified, both of which affect the amounts reimbursable to program participants for their purchases of those drugs. These determinations are made based on a number of factors, including price and efficacy.

In February 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the PRC released a new edition of the NRDL, or the 2017 NRDL. The 2017 NRDL expands its scope by including an additional 339 drugs. The 2017 NRDL reflects an emphasis on innovative drugs and drugs that treat cancer and other serious diseases. For instance, most of the innovative chemical drugs and biological products approved in China between 2008 and the first half of 2016 have been included in the 2017 NRDL or its candidate list. Most of our drug candidates targeted at treating oncology diseases, including niraparib, are unlikely to be included in the NRDL for the National Medical Insurance Program at least in the short-term. Products included in the NRDL are typically generic and essential drugs. Innovative drugs, like niraparib, have historically been more limited on their inclusion in the NRDL due to the affordability of the government’s Basic Medical Insurance. More recently, the government has started to include more innovative drugs in the 2017 NRDL. As a result, if we were to successfully launch commercial sales of our oncology-based drug candidates, including niraparib, our revenue from such sales is largely expected to be self-paid by patients, which may make our drug candidates less desirable. On the other hand, if the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the PRC or any of its local counterparts accepts our application for the inclusion of our drug candidates in the NRDL or provincial or local medical insurance catalogues, which may increase the demand for our drug candidates, our potential revenue from the sales of our drug candidates may still decrease as a result of lower prices we may be required to charge for our drug candidates that are included in the NRDL or provincial or local medical insurance catalogues.

In the United States, there have been and continue to be a number of legislative initiatives to contain healthcare costs which may affect reimbursement rates of our drug candidates if approved. For example, in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or the Affordable Care Act, was passed, which substantially changed the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers. The Affordable Care Act, among other things, subjects biologic products to potential competition by lower-cost biosimilars and establishes annual fees and taxes on manufacturers of certain branded prescription drugs. It also establishes a new Medicare Part D coverage gap

 

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discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D. In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. We expect that additional U.S. state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our drug candidates or additional pricing pressures.

Some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act have yet to be fully implemented, while certain provisions have been subject to judicial and Congressional challenges. In January 2017, Congress voted to adopt a budget resolution for fiscal year 2017, that while not a law, is widely viewed as the first step toward the passage of legislation that would repeal certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. Further, on January 20, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision of the Affordable Care Act that would impose a fiscal burden on states or a cost, fee, tax, penalty or regulatory burden on individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices. Congress also could consider subsequent legislation to replace elements of the Affordable Care Act that are repealed. Thus, the full impact of the Affordable Care Act, or any law replacing elements of it, on our business remains unclear. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our drugs.

Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement in either China or the United States does not imply that any drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including licensing fees, research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Interim U.S. reimbursement levels for new drugs, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by U.S. government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. Third-party payors in the United States often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and profitable payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved drugs that we develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize drugs and our overall financial condition.

Pharmaceutical companies in China are required to comply with extensive regulations and hold a number of permits and licenses to carry on their business. Our ability to obtain and maintain these regulatory approvals is uncertain, and future government regulation may place additional burdens on our efforts to commercialize our drug candidates.

The pharmaceutical industry in China is subject to extensive government regulation and supervision. The regulatory framework addresses all aspects of operating in the pharmaceutical industry, including approval, registration, production, distribution, packaging, labelling, storage and shipment, advertising, licensing and certification requirements and procedures, periodic renewal and reassessment processes, registration of new drugs and environmental protection. Violation of applicable laws and regulations may materially and adversely affect our business. In order to commercialize our drug candidates and manufacture and distribute pharmaceutical products in China, we are required to:

 

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obtain a pharmaceutical manufacturing permit and GMP certificate for each production facility from the CFDA and its relevant branches for trading and distribution of drugs not manufactured by the drug registration certificate holder;

 

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obtain a drug registration certificate, which includes a drug approval number, from the CFDA for each drug manufactured by us;

 

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obtain a pharmaceutical distribution permit and good supply practice, or GSP, certificate from the CFDA and its relevant branches; and

 

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renew the pharmaceutical manufacturing permits, the pharmaceutical distribution permits, drug registration certificates, GMP certificates and GSP certificates every five years, among other requirements.

If we are unable to obtain or renew such permits or any other permits or licenses required for our operations, will not be able to engage in the commercialization, manufacture and distribution of our drug candidates and our business may be adversely affected.

The regulatory framework governing the pharmaceutical industry in China is subject to change and amendment from time to time. Any such change or amendment could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and prospects. The PRC government has introduced various reforms to the Chinese healthcare system in recent years and may continue to do so, with an overall objective to expand basic medical insurance coverage and improve the quality and reliability of healthcare services. The specific regulatory changes under the reform still remain uncertain. The implementing measures to be issued may not be sufficiently effective to achieve the stated goals, and as a result, we may not be able to benefit from such reform to the level we expect, if at all. Moreover, the reform could give rise to regulatory developments, such as more burdensome administrative procedures, which may have an adverse effect on our business and prospects.

For further information regarding government regulation in China and other jurisdictions, see “Regulation—Government Regulation of Pharmaceutical Product Development and Approval,” “Regulation—Coverage and Reimbursement” and “Regulation—Other Healthcare Laws.”

If we breach our license or other intellectual property-related agreements for our drug candidates or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose the ability to continue the development and commercialization of our drug candidates.

Our business relies, in large part, on our ability to develop and commercialize drug candidates we have licensed and sublicensed from third parties including niraparib from Tesaro, ZL-2301 from Bristol-Myers Squibb, omadacycline from Paratek Bermuda, Ltd., a subsidiary of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Paratek, fugan from GlaxoSmithKline (China) R&D Co., Ltd., an affiliate of GlaxoSmithKline plc, or GSK, ZL-2302 from Sanofi and ZL-1101 from UCB Biopharma Sprl, an affiliate of Union Chimique Belge, or UCB. Because our licenses from Paratek, GSK and UCB are granted to us by a subsidiary or an affiliate of Paratek, GSK or UCB, as applicable, our licenses may not encumber all intellectual property rights owned or controlled by the affiliates of our licensors and relevant to our drug candidates. If we have not obtained a license to all intellectual property rights owned or controlled by such affiliates of our licensors that are relevant to our drug candidates, we may need to obtain additional licenses to such intellectual property rights which may not be available on an exclusive basis, on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In addition, if our licensors breach such agreements, we may not be able to enforce such agreements against our licensors’ parent entity or affiliates. Under each of our license and intellectual property-related agreements, in exchange for licensing or sublicensing us the right to develop and commercialize the applicable drug candidates, our licensors will be eligible to receive from us milestone payments, tiered royalties from commercial sales of such drug candidates, assuming relevant approvals from government authorities are obtained, or other payments. Our license and intellectual property-related agreements also require us to comply with other obligations including development and diligence obligations, providing certain information regarding our activities with respect to such drug candidates and/or maintaining the confidentiality of information we receive from our licensors. For example, under our agreements relating to niraparib and ZL-2301, we are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to conduct the necessary

 

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pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and other activities necessary to develop and commercialize such drug candidates in the licensed territories. We are also obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize omadacycline, fugan, ZL-2302 and ZL-1101 in certain of their respective licensed territories, in each case, under their respective license agreements.

If we fail to meet any of our obligations under our license and intellectual property-related agreements, our licensors have the right to terminate our licenses and sublicenses and, upon the effective date of such termination, have the right to re-obtain the licensed and sub-licensed technology and intellectual property. If any of our licensors terminate any of our licenses or sublicenses, we will lose the right to develop and commercialize our applicable drug candidates and other third parties may be able to market drug candidates similar or identical to ours. In such case, we may be required to provide a grant back license to the licensors under our own intellectual property with respect to the terminated products. For example, if our agreement with Sanofi for ZL-2302 terminates for any reason, we are required to grant Sanofi an exclusive license with respect to certain of our owned patents and know-how that are necessary to exploit ZL-2302 in the field of oncology in the regions where the license is terminated. In addition, if our agreements with UCB for ZL-1101 and Tesaro for niraparib terminate for any reason, we are required to grant UCB or Tesaro, as applicable, an exclusive license to certain of our intellectual property rights that relate to ZL-1101 or niraparib, as applicable. While we would expect to exercise all rights and remedies available to us, including seeking to cure any breach by us, and otherwise seek to preserve our rights under the intellectual property rights licensed and sublicensed to us, we may not be able to do so in a timely manner, at an acceptable cost or at all. In particular, some of the milestone payments are payable upon our drug candidates reaching development milestones before we have commercialized, or received any revenue from, sales of such drug candidate, and we cannot guarantee that we will have sufficient resources to make such milestone payments. Any uncured, material breach under the license agreements could result in our loss of exclusive rights and may lead to a complete termination of our rights to the applicable drug candidate. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

In addition, disputes may further arise regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including, but not limited to:

 

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the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;

 

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the extent to which our technology and processes infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;

 

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the sublicensing of patent and other rights under our collaborative development relationships;

 

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our diligence obligations under the license agreement and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;

 

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the inventorship and 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

 

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the priority of invention of patented technology.

Moreover, certain of our licensors do not own some or all of the intellectual property included in the license, but instead have licensed such intellectual property from a third party, and have granted us a sub-license. As a result, the actions of our licensors or of the ultimate owners of the intellectual property may affect our rights to use our sublicensed intellectual property, even if we are in compliance with all of the obligations under our license agreements. For example, our licenses from Tesaro and Paratek comprise sublicenses to us of certain intellectual property rights owned by third parties that are not our direct licensors. If our licensors were to fail to comply with their obligations under the agreements pursuant to which they obtain the rights that are

 

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sublicensed to us, or should such agreements be terminated or amended, our rights to the applicable licensed intellectual property may be terminated or narrowed, our exclusive licenses may be converted to non-exclusive licenses, and our ability to produce and sell our products and drug candidates may be materially harmed. In addition, our license from Paratek is limited to intellectual property rights under the control of Paratek Bermuda, Ltd. To the extent Paratek Bermuda, Ltd. loses control over any of the licensed intellectual property rights for any reason, we will no longer be licensed to such intellectual property rights to use, develop and otherwise commercialize omadacycline. Also, our license from GSK for fugan includes license agreements between GSK and third parties, which were assigned to us. If we do not comply with our license agreement with GSK or with such other third parties, any such agreements may be terminated or narrowed and we may lose our rights to the licensed intellectual property rights and be required to cease development and commercialization of fugan. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

In addition, the agreements under which we currently license intellectual property or technology from third parties are complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Moreover, if disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed or sublicensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected drug candidates, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects.

Product liability claims or lawsuits could cause us to incur substantial liabilities.

We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the use of our drug candidates in clinical trials or any drug candidates we may decide to commercialize and manufacture in the future. If we cannot successfully defend against claims that the use of such drug candidates in our clinical trials or any products we may choose to manufacture at our production facilities in the future, including any of our drug candidates which receive regulatory approval, caused injuries, we could incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

 

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significant negative media attention and reputational damage;

 

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withdrawal of clinical trial participants and inability to continue clinical trials;

 

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significant costs to defend the related litigation;

 

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substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;

 

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the inability to commercialize any drug candidates that we may develop;

 

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initiation of investigations by regulators;

 

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a diversion of management’s time and our resources; and

 

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a decline in the ADS price.

Existing PRC laws and regulations do not require us to have, nor do we currently, maintain liability insurance to cover product liability claims. We do not have business liability, or in particular, product liability insurance for each of our drug candidates. Any litigation might result in substantial costs and diversion of resources. While we maintain liability insurance for certain clinical trials (which covers the patient human clinical trial liabilities

 

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including, among others, bodily injury), this insurance may not fully cover our potential liabilities. Inability to obtain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or otherwise to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of drugs we develop, alone or with our collaborators.

The research and development projects under our internal discovery programs are at an early stage of development. As a result, we are unable to predict if or when we will successfully develop or commercialize any drug candidates under such programs.

Our internal discovery programs are at an early stage of development and will require significant investment and regulatory approvals prior to commercialization. We currently have no drug candidates beyond pre-clinical trials under our internal discovery programs. Each of our drug candidates will require additional clinical and preclinical development, management of clinical, preclinical and manufacturing activities, obtaining regulatory approval, obtaining manufacturing supply, building of a commercial organization, substantial investment and significant marketing efforts before they generate any revenue from product sales. We are not permitted to market or promote any of our drug candidates before we receive regulatory approval from the CFDA, the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities, and we may never receive such regulatory approval for any such drug candidates.

We cannot be certain that clinical development of any drug candidates from our internal discovery programs will be successful or that we will obtain regulatory approval or be able to successfully commercialize any of our drug candidates and generate revenue. Success in preclinical testing does not ensure that clinical trials will be successful, and the clinical trial process may fail to demonstrate that our drug candidates are safe and effective for their proposed uses. Any such failure could cause us to abandon further development of any one or more of our drug candidates and may delay development of other drug candidates. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials will delay and possibly preclude the filing of any NDAs, with the CFDA, the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our drug candidates and generate product revenue.

If our manufacturing facilities are not approved by regulators, are damaged or destroyed or production at such facilities is otherwise interrupted, our business and prospects would be negatively affected.

In early 2017 we built a small molecule facility capable of supporting clinical and commercial production and have begun construction of a large molecule facility capable of supporting clinical production of our drug candidates. The construction of the large molecule facility is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018. We intend to rely on these facilities for the manufacture of clinical and commercial supply of some of our product candidates. Prior to being permitted to sell any drugs produced at these facilities the facilities will need to be inspected and approved by regulatory authorities. If either facility is not approved by regulators or is damaged or destroyed, or otherwise subject to disruption, it would require substantial lead-time to replace our manufacturing capabilities. In such event, we would be forced to identify and rely partially or entirely on third-party contract manufacturers for an indefinite period of time. Any new facility needed to replace an existing production facility would need to comply with the necessary regulatory requirements and be tailored to our production requirements and processes. We also would need regulatory approvals before using any products manufactured at a new facility in clinical trials or selling any products that are ultimately approved. Any disruptions or delays at our facility or its failure to meet regulatory compliance would impair our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, which would adversely affect our business and results of operations.

 

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Risks related to our dependence on third parties

We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical and clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our drug candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.

We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third-party CROs to monitor and manage data for some of our ongoing preclinical and clinical programs. We rely on these parties for execution of our preclinical and clinical trials, and control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol and legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We also rely on third parties to assist in conducting our preclinical studies in accordance with Good Laboratory Practices, or GLP, and the Administrative Regulations on Experimental Animals or the Animal Welfare Act requirements. We and our CROs are required to comply with GCP regulations and guidelines enforced by the CFDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our drug candidates in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these GCP requirements through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, investigators and trial sites. If we or any of our CROs fail to comply with applicable GCP requirements, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the CFDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with ICH-GCP requirements. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product produced under cGMP requirements. Failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat preclinical and clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

Our CROs are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such CROs, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our on-going clinical, nonclinical and preclinical programs. If CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to their failure to adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our drug candidates. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our drug candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed or compromised.

Because we rely on third parties, our internal capacity to perform these functions is limited. Outsourcing these functions involves risk that third parties may not perform to our standards, may not produce results in a timely manner or may fail to perform at all. In addition, the use of third-party service providers requires us to disclose our proprietary information to these parties, which could increase the risk that this information will be misappropriated. We currently have a small number of employees, which limits the internal resources we have available to identify and monitor our third-party providers. To the extent we are unable to identify and successfully manage the performance of third-party service providers in the future, our business may be adversely affected. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.

If we lose our relationships with CROs, our drug development efforts could be delayed.

We rely on third-party vendors and CROs for some of our preclinical studies and clinical trials related to our drug development efforts. Switching or adding additional CROs involves additional cost and requires

 

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management time and focus. Our CROs have the right to terminate their agreements with us in the event of an uncured material breach. In addition, some of our CROs have an ability to terminate their respective agreements with us if it can be reasonably demonstrated that the safety of the subjects participating in our clinical trials warrants such termination, if we make a general assignment for the benefit of our creditors or if we are liquidated. Identifying, qualifying and managing performance of third-party service providers can be difficult, time-consuming and cause delays in our development programs. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work and the new CRO may not provide the same type or level of services as the original provider. If any of our relationships with our third-party CROs are terminated, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or to do so on commercially reasonable terms, and we may not be able to meet our desired clinical development timelines.

We have no experience manufacturing our drug candidates on a large clinical or commercial scale and have built or just started building our manufacturing facilities. We may be dependent on third party manufacturers for the manufacture of our drug candidates as well as on third parties for our supply chain, and if we experience problems with any of these third parties, the manufacture of our drug candidates or products could be delayed, which could harm our results of operations.

In early 2017 we built a small molecule facility capable of supporting clinical and commercial production and have begun construction of a large molecule facility capable of supporting clinical production of our drug candidates. The construction of the large molecule facility is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018. If either of these two facilities is unable to meet our intended production capacity in a timely fashion, we may have to engage a CMO for the production of clinical supplies of our drug candidates.

Additionally, in order to successfully commercialize our drug candidates, we will need to identify qualified CMOs for the scaled production of a commercial supply of certain of our drug candidates. The CMOs should be drug manufacturers holding GMP certificates with a scope that can cover our drug registration candidates, and such CMO arrangement should be approved by the CFDA’s provincial level branches. We have not yet identified suppliers to support scaled production. If we are unable to arrange for alternative third-party manufacturing sources, or to do so on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner, or to obtain the CFDA approval for our CMO arrangement in a timely manner, we may not be able to complete development of our drug candidates, or market or distribute them.

If we were to rely on third-party manufacturers to manufacture our drug candidates, such reliance entails risks to which we would not be subject to if we manufactured drug candidates or products ourselves, including reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance and quality assurance, the possibility of breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party because of factors beyond our control (including a failure to synthesize and manufacture our drug candidates or any products we may eventually commercialize in accordance with our specifications) and the possibility of termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party, based on its own business priorities, at a time that is costly or damaging to us. In addition, the CFDA and other regulatory authorities require that our drug candidates and any products that we may eventually commercialize be manufactured according to cGMP standards. Any failure by our third-party manufacturers to comply with cGMP standards or failure to scale up manufacturing processes, including any failure to deliver sufficient quantities of drug candidates in a timely manner, could lead to a delay in, or failure to obtain, regulatory approval of any of our drug candidates. In addition, such failure could be the basis for the CFDA to issue a warning or untitled letter, withdraw approvals for drug candidates previously granted to us, or take other regulatory or legal action, including recall or seizure, total or partial suspension of production, suspension of ongoing clinical trials, refusal to approve pending applications or supplemental applications, detention or product, refusal to permit the import or export of products, injunction, or imposing civil and criminal penalties.

 

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Any significant disruption in our potential supplier relationships could harm our business. We currently source key materials from third parties, either directly through agreements with suppliers or indirectly through our manufacturers who have agreements with suppliers, as well as through our licensors. We anticipate that, in the near term, all key materials will be sourced through third parties. There are a small number of suppliers for certain capital equipment and key materials that are used to manufacture some of our drugs. Such suppliers may not sell these key materials to us or our manufacturers at the times we need them or on commercially reasonable terms. We currently do not have any agreements for the commercial production of these key materials. Any significant delay in the supply of a drug candidate or its key materials for an ongoing clinical study could considerably delay completion of our clinical studies, product testing and potential regulatory approval of our drug candidates. If we or our manufacturers are unable to purchase these key materials after regulatory approval has been obtained for our drug candidates, the commercial launch of our drug candidates would be delayed or there would be a shortage in supply, which would impair our ability to generate revenues from the sale of our drug candidates.

Furthermore, because of the complex nature of our compounds, we or our manufacturers may not be able to manufacture our compounds at a cost or in quantities or in a timely manner necessary to make commercially successful products. In addition, as our drug development pipeline increases and matures, we will have a greater need for clinical study and commercial manufacturing capacity. We have no experience manufacturing pharmaceutical products on a commercial scale and some of our current suppliers will need to increase their scale of production to meet our projected needs for commercial manufacturing, the satisfaction of which on a timely basis may not be met.

We depend on our licensors or patent owners of our in-licensed patent rights to prosecute and maintain patents and patent applications that are material to our business. Any failure by our licensors or such patent owners to effectively protect these patent rights could adversely impact our business and operations.

We have licensed and sublicensed patent rights from third parties for some of our development programs, including niraparib from Tesaro, omadacycline from Paratek, ZL-2301 from Bristol-Myers Squibb and ZL-2302 from Sanofi. As a licensee and sublicensee of third parties, we rely on these third parties to file and prosecute patent applications and maintain patents and otherwise protect the licensed intellectual property under certain of our license agreements. In addition, we have not had and do not have primary control over these activities for certain of our patents or patent applications and other intellectual property rights that we jointly own with certain of our licensors and sub-licensors. We cannot be certain that these patents and patent applications have been or will be prepared, filed, prosecuted or maintained by such third parties in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business, or in a manner that will result in valid and enforceable patents or other intellectual property rights that cover our drug candidates. If our licensors or such third parties fail to prepare, prosecute, or maintain such patent applications and patents, or lose rights to those patent applications or patents, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated, and our right to develop and commercialize any of our drug candidates that are subject of such licensed rights could be adversely affected.

Pursuant to the terms of the license agreements with some of our licensors, the licensors may have the right to control enforcement of our licensed patents or defense of any claims asserting the invalidity or unenforceability of these patents. For example, under our agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb for ZL-2301, Bristol-Myers Squibb has the first right to enforce the licensed patents in China, Hong Kong and Macau, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, with respect to the patent portfolio for omadacycline, which we sub-license from Paratek, Paratek has the first right to enforce such patent portfolio in territories outside of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Similarly, with respect to the patent portfolio for niraparib, which we sub-license from Tesaro, we have the first right to enforce such patent portfolio within China, Hong Kong and Macau. However,

 

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Tesaro maintains the right to enforce such patent portfolio in all other territories or, if we fail to bring an action within 90 days within China, Hong Kong or Macau, Tesaro can control such enforcement actions in those areas as well. In the case where Tesaro controls such enforcement actions, although we have rights to consult with Tesaro on such actions within China, Hong Kong and Macau, rights granted by Tesaro under niraparib to another licensee, such as Janssen Biotech, Inc. to whom Tesaro has granted an exclusive right to develop niraparib for the treatment of prostate cancer, could potentially influence Tesaro’s interests in the exercise of its prosecution, maintenance and enforcement rights in a manner that may favor the interests of such other licensee as compared with us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects.

Even if we are permitted to pursue the enforcement or defense of our licensed and sub-licensed patents, we will require the cooperation of our licensors and any applicable patent owners and such cooperation may not be provided to us. We cannot be certain that our licensors will allocate sufficient resources or prioritize their or our enforcement of such patents or defense of such claims to protect our interests in the licensed patents. Even if we are not a party to these legal actions, an adverse outcome could harm our business because it might prevent us from continuing to license intellectual property that we may need to operate our business. If we lose any of our licensed intellectual property, our right to develop and commercialize any of our drug candidates that are subject of such licensed rights could be adversely affected.

Other risks and risks related to doing business in China

If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations of the PRC, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. Our operations primarily occur in China and involve the use of hazardous materials, including chemical materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We are therefore subject to PRC laws and regulations concerning the discharge of waste water, gaseous waste and solid waste during our processes of research and development of drugs. We engage competent third party contractors for the transfer and disposal of these materials and wastes. We may not at all times comply fully with environmental regulations. Any violation of these regulations may result in substantial fines, criminal sanctions, revocations of operating permits, shutdown of our facilities and obligation to take corrective measures. We cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials and wastes. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from the use or discharge of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil, administrative or criminal fines and penalties.

Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover costs and expenses incurred due to on-the-job injuries to our employees and third party liability insurance for injuries caused by unexpected seepage, pollution or contamination, such insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. Furthermore, the PRC government may take steps towards the adoption of more stringent environmental regulations. Due to the possibility of unanticipated regulatory or other developments, the amount and timing of future environmental expenditures may vary substantially from those currently anticipated. If there is any unanticipated change in the environmental regulations, we may need to incur substantial capital expenditures to install, replace, upgrade or supplement our manufacturing facility and equipment or make operational changes to limit any adverse impact or potential adverse impact on the environment in order to comply with new environmental protection laws and regulations. If such costs become prohibitively expensive, we may be forced to cease certain aspects of our business operations.

 

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The PRC’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as governmental policies, could affect the business environment and financial markets in China, our ability to operate our business, our liquidity and our access to capital.

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China. Accordingly, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by economic, political, legal and social conditions in China. China’s economy differs from the economies of developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth over the past 30 years, growth has been uneven across different regions and among various economic sectors of China. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic development and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall PRC economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are currently applicable to us. In addition, in the past the PRC government implemented certain measures, including interest rate increases, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, which may adversely affect our business and results of operation. More generally, if the business environment in China deteriorates from the perspective of domestic or international investment, our business in China may also be adversely affected.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system and changes in laws, regulations and policies in China could materially and adversely affect us.

We conduct our business primarily through our subsidiaries in China. PRC laws and regulations govern our operations in China. Our subsidiaries are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China, which may not sufficiently cover all of the aspects of our economic activities in China. In addition, the implementation of laws and regulations may be in part based on government policies and internal rules that are subject to the interpretation and discretion of different government agencies (some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not always be aware of any potential violation of these policies and rules. Such unpredictability regarding our contractual, property and procedural rights could adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations. Furthermore, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. These uncertainties could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In January 2015, the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC, or the MOFCOM, published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law. The MOFCOM has solicited comments on this draft and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation. If enacted as proposed, the Foreign Investment Law may materially impact our current corporate governance practice and business operations in many aspects and may increase our compliance costs. For instance, the proposed Foreign Investment Law would impose stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable foreign invested entities. Depending on the seriousness of the circumstances, non-compliance with the information reporting obligations, concealment of information or providing misleading or false information could result in monetary fines or criminal charges. In addition, the draft Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulation trend of rationalizing the foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments.

 

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Additionally, the CFDA’s recent reform of the drug and approval system may face implementation challenges. The timing and full impact of such reforms is uncertain and could prevent us from commercializing our drug candidates in a timely manner.

In addition, any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

We may be exposed to liabilities under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and Chinese anti-corruption laws, and any determination that we have violated these laws could have a material adverse effect on our business or our reputation.

Following this offering, we will be subject to the FCPA. The FCPA generally prohibits us from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We are also subject to the anti-bribery laws of other jurisdictions, particularly China. As our business expands, the applicability of the FCPA and other anti-bribery laws to our operations will increase. Our procedures and controls to monitor anti-bribery compliance may fail to protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. If we, due to either our own deliberate or inadvertent acts or those of others, fail to comply with applicable anti-bribery laws, our reputation could be harmed and we could incur criminal or civil penalties, other sanctions and/or significant expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.

Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use financing in foreign currencies, including proceeds from this offering, effectively.

Our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to obtain foreign exchange is subject to significant foreign exchange controls and, in the case of transactions under the capital account, requires the approval of and/or registration with PRC government authorities, including the state administration of foreign exchange, or SAFE. In particular, if we finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of foreign debt from us or other foreign lenders, the amount is not allowed to, among other things, exceed the statutory limits and such loans must be registered with the local counterpart of the SAFE. If we finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of additional capital contributions, the amount of these capital contributions must first be approved or filed by the relevant government approval authority.

In the light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans or capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approval, our ability to use the proceeds we receive from this offering and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into these subsidiaries, limit these subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.

In 2014, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE or competent banks designated by SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity

 

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interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” The term “control” under SAFE Circular 37 is broadly defined as the operation rights, beneficiary rights or decision-making rights acquired by the PRC residents in the offshore special purpose vehicles or PRC companies by such means as acquisition, trust, proxy, voting rights, repurchase, convertible bonds or other arrangements. SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any changes with respect to the basic information of or any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle. If the shareholders of the offshore holding company who are PRC residents do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches, the PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to the offshore company, and the offshore company may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital to its PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with SAFE registration and amendment requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

To our knowledge, there are no PRC residents who hold direct or indirect interests in our company, and we will request PRC residents who we know hold direct or indirect interests in our company, if any, to make the necessary applications, filings and amendments as required under SAFE Circular 37 and other related rules. However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents holding direct or indirect interest in our company, and we cannot provide any assurance that these PRC residents will comply with our request to make or obtain any applicable registrations or comply with other requirements under SAFE Circular 37 or other related rules. The failure or inability of our PRC resident shareholders to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may subject us to fines and legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, limit the ability of our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China to distribute dividends and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may also be prohibited from injecting additional capital into these subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for circumventing applicable foreign exchange restrictions. As a result, our business operations and our ability to distribute profits to you could be materially and adversely affected.

PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

PRC regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions including the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, and other recently adopted regulations and rules with respect to mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time consuming and complex. For example, the M&A Rules require that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise, if (i) any important industry is concerned, (ii) such transaction involves factors that have or may have impact on the national economic security, or (iii) such transaction will lead to a change in control of a domestic enterprise which holds a famous trademark or PRC time-honored brand. Moreover, according to the Anti-Monopoly Law of PRC promulgated on August 30, 2007 and the Provisions on Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings, or the Prior Notification Rules issued by the State Council in August 2008, the concentration of business undertakings by way of mergers, acquisitions or contractual arrangements that allow one market player to take control of or to exert decisive impact on another market player must also be notified in advance to the MOFCOM when the threshold is crossed and such concentration shall not be implemented without the clearance of prior notification. In addition, the Regulations on Implementation of Security Review System for the Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprise by Foreign Lenders, or the Security Review Rules issued by the MOFCOM that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may

 

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acquire the de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOFCOM, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review by structuring the transaction through, among other things, trusts, entrustment or contractual control arrangements. In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOFCOM or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions. It is unclear whether our business would be deemed to be in an industry that raises “national defense and security” or “national security” concerns. However, the MOFCOM or other government agencies may publish explanations in the future determining that our business is in an industry subject to the security review, in which case our future acquisitions in the PRC, including those by way of entering into contractual control arrangements with target entities, may be closely scrutinized or prohibited. Our ability to expand our business or maintain or expand our market share through future acquisitions would as such be materially and adversely affected.

Our business benefits from certain financial incentives and discretionary policies granted by local governments. Expiration of, or changes to, these incentives or policies would have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

In the past, local governments in China granted certain financial incentives from time to time to our PRC subsidiaries as part of their efforts to encourage the development of local businesses. We received approximately $2.41 million and $0.36 million in financial incentives from local governments in China relating to our business operations in 2016 and 2015, respectively. We also received approximately $0.37 million in financial incentives from local governments in Australia as part of its tax incentive program in 2016. The timing, amount and criteria of government financial incentives are determined within the sole discretion of the local government authorities and cannot be predicted with certainty before we actually receive any financial incentive. We generally do not have the ability to influence local governments in making these decisions. Local governments may decide to reduce or eliminate incentives at any time. In addition, some of the government financial incentives are granted on a project basis and subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including compliance with the applicable financial incentive agreements and completion of the specific project therein. We cannot guarantee that we will satisfy all relevant conditions, and if we do so we may be deprived of the relevant incentives. We cannot assure you of the continued availability of the government incentives currently enjoyed by us. Any reduction or elimination of incentives would have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

If we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders or ADS holders.

The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law and the Regulation on the Implementation of the EIT Law, effective as of January 1, 2008, define the term “de facto management bodies” as “bodies that substantially carry out comprehensive management and control on the business operation, employees, accounts and assets of enterprises.” Under the EIT Law, an enterprise incorporated outside of PRC whose “de facto management bodies” are located in PRC is considered a “resident enterprise” and will be subject to a uniform 25% enterprise income tax, or EIT, rate on its global income. On April 22, 2009, PRC’s State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, in the Notice Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Offshore-Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or SAT Circular 82, further specified certain criteria for the determination of what constitutes “de facto management bodies.” If all of these criteria are met, the relevant foreign enterprise may be regarded to have its “de facto management bodies” located in China and therefore be considered a PRC resident enterprise. These criteria include: (i) the enterprise’s day-to-day operational management is primarily exercised in China; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprise’s

 

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financial and human resource matters are made or subject to approval by organizations or personnel in China; (iii) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholders’ meeting minutes are located or maintained in China; and (iv) 50% or more of voting board members or senior executives of the enterprise habitually reside in China. Although SAT Circular 82 only applies to foreign enterprises that are majority-owned and controlled by PRC enterprises, not those owned and controlled by foreign enterprises or individuals, the determining criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 may be adopted by the PRC tax authorities as the test for determining whether the enterprises are PRC tax residents, regardless of whether they are majority-owned and controlled by PRC enterprises.

We believe that neither Zai Lab Limited nor any of our subsidiaries outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities, and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” If the PRC tax authorities determine that Zai Lab Limited or any of its subsidiaries outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, that entity would be subject to a 25% enterprise income tax on its global income. If such entity derives income other than dividends from its wholly-owned subsidiaries in China, a 25% EIT on its global income may increase our tax burden. Dividends paid to a PRC resident enterprise from its wholly-owned subsidiaries in China may be regarded as tax-exempt income if such dividends are deemed to be “dividends between qualified PRC resident enterprises” under the EIT Law and its implementation rules. However, we cannot assure you that such dividends will not be subject to PRC withholding tax, as the PRC tax authorities, which enforce the withholding tax, have not yet issued relevant guidance.

In addition, if Zai Lab Limited is classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes, we may be required to withhold tax at a rate of 10% from dividends we pay to our shareholders, including the holders of our ADSs, that are non-resident enterprises. In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders (including our ADS holders) may be subject to a 10% PRC withholding tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within China. Furthermore, gains derived by our non-PRC individual shareholders from the sale of our shares and ADSs may be subject to a 20% PRC withholding tax. It is unclear whether our non-PRC individual shareholders (including our ADS holders) would be subject to any PRC tax (including withholding tax) on dividends received by such non-PRC individual shareholders in the event we are determined to be a PRC resident enterprise. If any PRC tax were to apply to such dividends, it would generally apply at a rate of 20%. The PRC tax liability may be reduced under applicable tax treaties. However, it is unclear whether our non-PRC shareholders would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that Zai Lab Limited is treated as a PRC resident enterprise.

We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.

We are a holding company, and we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders or to service any debt we may incur. If any of our PRC subsidiaries incur debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiaries, each of which is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise may pay dividends only out of its respective accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is required to set aside at least 10% of its accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a certain statutory reserve fund, until the aggregate amount of such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. Such reserve funds cannot be distributed to us as dividends. At its discretion, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise

 

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may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to an enterprise expansion fund, or a staff welfare and bonus fund.

Our PRC subsidiaries generate primarily all of their revenue in renminbi, which is not freely convertible into other currencies. As result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to use their Renminbi revenues to pay dividends to us.

In response to the persistent capital outflow in China and renminbi’s depreciation against U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of 2016, the PBOC and the SAFE have promulgated a series of capital control measure over recent months, including stricter vetting procedures for domestic companies to remit foreign currency for overseas investments, dividends payments and shareholder loan repayments.

The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls, and more restrictions and substantial vetting process may be put forward by SAFE for cross-border transactions falling under both the current account and the capital account. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other kinds of payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

We and our shareholders face uncertainties in the PRC with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises.

The indirect transfer of equity interest in PRC resident enterprises by a non-PRC resident enterprise, or Indirect Transfer, is potentially subject to income tax in China at a rate of 10% on the gain if such transfer is considered as not having a commercial purpose and is carried out for tax avoidance. The SAT has issued several rules and notices to tighten the scrutiny over acquisition transactions in recent years. SAT Circular 7 sets out the scope of Indirect Transfers, which includes any changes in the shareholder’s ownership of a foreign enterprise holding PRC assets directly or indirectly in the course of a group’s overseas restructuring, and the factors to consider in determining whether an Indirect Transfer has a commercial purpose. An Indirect Transfer satisfying all the following criteria will be deemed to lack a bona fide commercial purpose and be taxable under PRC laws: (i) 75% or more of the equity value of the intermediary enterprise being transferred is derived directly or indirectly from the PRC taxable assets; (ii) at any time during the one-year period before the indirect transfer, 90% or more of the asset value of the intermediary enterprise (excluding cash) is comprised directly or indirectly of investments in China, or 90% or more of its income is derived directly or indirectly from China; (iii) the functions performed and risks assumed by the intermediary enterprise and any of its subsidiaries that directly or indirectly hold the PRC taxable assets are limited and are insufficient to prove their economic substance; and (iv) the non-PRC tax payable on the gain derived from the indirect transfer of the PRC taxable assets is lower than the potential PRC income tax on the direct transfer of such assets. Nevertheless, a non-resident enterprise’s buying and selling shares or ADSs of the same listed foreign enterprise on the public market will fall under the safe harbor available under SAT Circular 7 and will not be subject to PRC tax pursuant to SAT Circular 7.

However, as these rules and notices are relatively new and there is a lack of clear statutory interpretation, we face uncertainties regarding the reporting required for and impact on future private equity financing transactions, share exchange or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, or the sale or purchase of shares in other non-PRC resident companies or other taxable assets by us. For example, the PRC tax authorities may consider that our current offering involves an indirect change of shareholding in our PRC subsidiaries and therefore it may be regarded as an Indirect Transfer under SAT Circular 7. Although we believe no SAT Circular 7 reporting is required on the basis that the current offering has commercial purposes and is not conducted for tax avoidance, the PRC tax

 

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authorities may pursue us to report under SAT Circular 7 and request that we and our PRC subsidiaries assist in the filing. As a result, we and our subsidiaries may be required to expend significant resources to provide assistance and comply with SAT Circular 7, or establish that we or our non-resident enterprises should not be subject to tax under SAT Circular 7, for the current offering or other transactions, which may have an adverse effect on our and their financial condition and day-to-day operations.

Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for our employee equity incentive plans may subject us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In February 2012, the SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly Listed Companies, or the Stock Option Rules. In accordance with the Stock Option Rules and relevant rules and regulations, PRC citizens or non-PRC citizens residing in China for a continuous period of not less than one year, who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of such overseas listed company, and complete certain procedures. We and our employees who are PRC citizens or who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year and who participate in our stock incentive plan will be subject to such regulation. We plan to assist our employees to register their share options or shares. However, any failure of our PRC individual beneficial owners and holders of share options or shares to comply with the SAFE registration requirements may subject them to fines and legal sanctions and may limit the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional incentive plans for our directors and employees under PRC law.

Proceedings brought by the SEC against the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in our inability to file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

In December 2012, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e)(1)(iii) of the SEC’s Rules of Practice against the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, alleging that these firms had violated U.S. securities laws and the SEC’s rules and regulations thereunder by failing to provide to the SEC the firms’ audit work papers with respect to certain PRC-based companies under the SEC’s investigation. On January 22, 2014, the administrative law judge, or the ALJ, presiding over the matter rendered an initial decision that each of the firms had violated the SEC’s rules of practice by failing to produce audit workpapers to the SEC. The initial decision censured each of the firms and barred them from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months. On February 12, 2014, the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms appealed the ALJ’s initial decision to the SEC. On February 6, 2015, the four China-based accounting firms each agreed to a censure and to pay a fine to the SEC to settle the dispute and avoid suspension of their ability to practice before the SEC and audit U.S.-listed companies. The settlement required the firms to follow detailed procedures and to seek to provide the SEC with access to Chinese firms’ audit documents via the CSRC, in response to future document requests by the SEC made through the CSRC. If the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms fail to comply with the documentation production procedures that are in the settlement agreement or if there is a failure of the process between the SEC and the CSRC, the SEC could restart the proceedings against the firms.

In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about the proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding PRC-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

 

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If the accounting firms are subject to additional remedial measures, our ability to file our financial statements in compliance with SEC requirements could be impacted. A determination that we have not timely filed financial statements in compliance with SEC requirements would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

Risks related to intellectual property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our drug candidates through intellectual property rights, or if the scope of such intellectual property rights obtained is not sufficiently broad, third parties may compete directly against us.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our drug candidates from competition by obtaining, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights, including patent rights. We seek to protect the drug candidates and technology that we consider commercially important by filing PRC and international patent applications, relying on trade secrets or pharmaceutical regulatory protection or employing a combination of these methods. We also seek to protect our proprietary position by in-licensing intellectual property relating to our technology and drug candidates. We do not own or exclusively license any issued patents with respect to certain of our drug candidates in all territories in which we plan to commercialize our drug candidates. For example, we do not own or exclusively license any issued patents covering niraparib in Hong Kong and Macau. We cannot predict whether any of our other owned or in-licensed pending patent applications will result in the issuance of any patents that effectively protect our drug candidates. If we or our licensors are unable to obtain or maintain patent protection with respect to our drug candidates and technology we develop, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially harmed.

The patent prosecution process is expensive, time-consuming and complex, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, enforce or license all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. In addition, our license and intellectual property-related agreements may not provide us with exclusive rights to use our in-licensed intellectual property rights relating to the applicable drug candidates in all relevant fields of use and in all territories in which we may wish to develop or commercialize our technology and products in the future. For example, under our agreements with Tesaro for niraparib, Paratek for omadacycline and Bristol-Myers Squibb for ZL-2301, our exclusive licenses are limited to China, Hong Kong, Macau and, in the case of our agreement for omadacycline, Taiwan. As a result, we may not be able to prevent competitors from developing and commercializing competitive products in all such fields and territories.

Patents may be invalidated and patent applications may not be granted for a number of reasons, including known or unknown prior art, deficiencies in the patent application or the lack of novelty of the underlying invention or technology. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output in time to obtain patent protection. Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to confidential or patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and any other third parties, any of these parties may breach such agreements and disclose such output before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection. In addition, publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases, not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or in-licensed patents or pending patent applications or that we or our licensors were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Furthermore, the PRC and, recently, the United States have adopted the “first-to-file” system under which whoever first files a patent application will be awarded the patent if all other patentability requirements are met. Under the first-to-file system, third parties may be granted a patent relating to a technology, which we invented.

 

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In addition, under PRC Patent Law, any organization or individual that applies for a patent in a foreign country for an invention or utility model accomplished in China is required to report to the State Intellectual Property Office, or SIPO, for confidentiality examination. Otherwise, if an application is later filed in China, the patent right will not be granted. Moreover, even if patents do grant from any of the applications, the grant of a patent is not conclusive as to its scope, validity or enforceability.

The coverage claimed in a patent application can be significantly reduced before the patent is issued, and its scope can be reinterpreted after issuance. Even if patent applications we license or own currently or in the future issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors or other third parties from competing with us, or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. In addition, the patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions, and has been the subject of much litigation in recent years. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain.

The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the PRC, United States and abroad. We and our licensors may be subject to a third-party preissuance submission of prior art to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or become involved in opposition, derivation, revocation, re-examination, post-grant and inter partes review, or interference proceedings or similar proceedings in foreign jurisdictions challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope of, or invalidate, our owned or in-licensed patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or drug candidates and compete directly with us without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize drug candidates without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating third-party patent rights. Moreover, we, or one of our licensors, may have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the USPTO to determine priority of invention or in post-grant challenge proceedings, such as oppositions in a foreign patent office, that challenge the priority of our or our licensor’s invention or other features of patentability of our owned or in-licensed patents and patent applications. Such challenges may result in loss of patent rights, loss of exclusivity, or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and drug candidates. Such proceedings also may result in substantial costs and require significant time from our scientists and management, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. Consequently, we do not know whether any of our technology or drug candidates will be protectable or remain protected by valid and enforceable patents. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to circumvent our owned or in-licensed patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.

Furthermore, the terms of patents are finite. The patents we own or in-license and the patents that may issue from our currently pending owned and in-licensed patent applications generally have a 20-year protection period starting from such patents and patent applications’ earliest filing date. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new drug candidates, patents protecting such drug candidates might expire before or shortly after such drug candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned or in-licensed patents and patent applications may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours. Moreover, some of our patents and patent applications are, and may in the future be, co-owned with third parties. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to any such third party co-owners’ interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners of our patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects.

 

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Our owned or in-licensed patents could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or before the USPTO or comparable foreign authority.

We or our licensors may become involved in patent litigation against third parties to enforce our owned or in-licensed patent rights, to invalidate patents held by such third parties, or to defend against such claims. A court may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our owned or in-licensed patents do not cover the third-party technology in question. Further, such third parties could counterclaim that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate their intellectual property or that a patent we or our licensors have asserted against them is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation, defendant counterclaims challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of asserted patents are commonplace and there are numerous grounds upon which a third party can assert invalidity or unenforceability of a patent. In addition, third parties may initiate legal proceedings before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation, against us or our licensors with respect to our owned or in-licensed intellectual property to assert such challenges to such intellectual property rights. Such mechanisms include re-examination, inter partes review, post-grant review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in revocation, cancellation or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover and protect our drug candidates.

The outcome of any such proceeding is generally unpredictable. Grounds for a validity challenge could be, among other things, an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, lack of written description or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be, among other things, an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information or made a misleading statement during prosecution. It is possible that prior art of which we and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution exists, which could render our patents invalid. Moreover, it is also possible that prior art may exist that we are aware of but do not believe is relevant to our current or future patents, but that could nevertheless be determined to render our patents invalid. Even if we are successful in defending against such challenges, the cost to us of any patent litigation or similar proceeding could be substantial, and it may consume significant management and other personnel time. We do not maintain insurance to cover intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or violation.

An adverse result in any litigation or other intellectual property proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, rendered unenforceable or interpreted narrowly. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability of our patents covering one or more of our drug candidates, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection covering such drug candidates. Competing drugs may also be sold in other countries in which our patent coverage might not exist or be as strong. If we lose a foreign patent lawsuit, alleging our infringement of a competitor’s patents, we could be prevented from marketing our drugs in one or more foreign countries. Any of these outcomes would have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property in the PRC.

The validity, enforceability and scope of protection available under the relevant intellectual property laws in the PRC are uncertain and still evolving. Implementation and enforcement of PRC intellectual property-related laws have historically been deficient and ineffective. Accordingly, intellectual property and confidentiality legal regimes in China may not afford protection to the same extent as in the United States or other countries. Policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult and expensive, and we may need to resort to litigation to enforce or defend patents issued to us or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of others. The experience and capabilities of PRC courts in handling intellectual property litigation varies, and outcomes are unpredictable. Further, such litigation may require a significant

 

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expenditure of cash and may divert management’s attention from our operations, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. An adverse determination in any such litigation could materially impair our intellectual property rights and may harm our business, prospects and reputation.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting, maintaining and defending patents on drug candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States or PRC or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States, the PRC or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own competing products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection or licenses but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions, including China. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our intellectual property and proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

Furthermore, many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected.

Developments in patent law could have a negative impact on our business.

Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States, PRC and other government authorities could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of issued patents, including changing the standards of patentability, and any such changes could have a negative impact on our business. For example, in the United States, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the America Invents Act, which was signed into law in September 2011, includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These changes include a transition from a “first-to-invent” system to a “first-to-file” system as of March 2013, changes to the way issued patents are challenged, and changes to the way patent applications are disputed during the examination process. These include allowing third party submission of prior art to the USPTO during patent prosecution and additional

 

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procedures to attack the validity of a patent by USPTO administered post grant proceedings, including post grant review, inter partes review, and derivation proceedings. As a result of these changes, patent law in the United States may favor larger and more established companies that have greater resources to devote to patent application filing and prosecution. The USPTO has developed new and untested regulations and procedures to govern the full implementation of the America Invents Act, and many of the substantive changes to patent law associated with the America Invents Act, and, in particular, the first-to-file provisions became effective in March 2013. Substantive changes to patent law associated with the America Invents Act may affect our ability to obtain patents, and if obtained, to enforce or defend them. Accordingly, it is not clear what, if any, impact the America Invents Act will have on the cost of prosecuting our patent applications and our ability to obtain patents based on our discoveries and to enforce or defend any patents that may issue from our patent applications, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In addition, the patent positions of companies in the development and commercialization of biologics and pharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. This combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the validity and enforceability of patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could have a material adverse effect on our existing patent portfolio and our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property in the future.

If we are unable to maintain the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position may be harmed.

In addition to the protection afforded by registered patents and pending patent applications, we rely upon unpatented trade secret protection, unpatented know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. However, trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect. We also seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with parties that have access to them, such as our partners, collaborators, scientific advisors, employees, consultants and other third parties, and invention assignment agreements with our consultants and employees. We cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. We may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical know-how or other trade secrets by the parties to these agreements, however, despite the existence generally of confidentiality agreements and other contractual restrictions. If any of the partners, collaborators, scientific advisors, employees and consultants who are parties to these agreements breaches or violates the terms of any of these agreements or otherwise discloses our proprietary information, we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach or violation, and we could lose our trade secrets as a result. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally disclosed or misappropriated our trade secrets, including through intellectual property litigations or other proceedings, is difficult, expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts in China and other jurisdictions inside and outside the United States are less prepared, less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets.

Our trade secrets could otherwise become known or be independently discovered by our competitors or other third parties. For example, competitors could purchase our drug candidates and attempt to replicate some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate our intellectual property rights, design around our intellectual property protecting such technology or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no

 

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right to prevent them, or others to whom they communicate it, from using that technology or information to compete against us, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

If our drug candidates infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of third parties, we may incur substantial liabilities, and we may be unable to sell commercialize these drug candidates.

Our commercial success depends significantly on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our drug candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the patents and other proprietary rights of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. In the PRC and the United States, invention patent applications are generally maintained in confidence until their publication 18 months from the filing date. The publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature frequently occurs substantially later than the date on which the underlying discoveries were made and invention patent applications are filed. Even after reasonable investigation, we may not know with certainty whether any third-party may have filed a patent application without our knowledge while we are still developing or producing that product. We may become party to, or threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our technology and any drug candidates we may develop, including interference proceedings, post-grant review, inter partes review and derivation proceedings before the USPTO and similar proceedings in foreign jurisdictions.

Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit. Even if we believe third-party intellectual property claims are without merit, there is no assurance that a court would find in our favor on questions of infringement, validity, enforceability or priority. A court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable and infringed, which could materially and adversely affect our ability to commercialize any drug candidates we may develop and any other drug candidates or technologies covered by the asserted third-party patents. In order to successfully challenge the validity of any such U.S. patent in federal court, we would need to overcome a presumption of validity. There is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent.

If we are found to infringe a third party’s patent rights, and we are unsuccessful in demonstrating that such patents are invalid or unenforceable, we could be required to:

 

•

obtain royalty-bearing licenses from such third party to such patents, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all and even if we were able to obtain such licenses, they could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments;

 

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defend litigation or administrative proceedings;

 

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reformulate product(s) so that it does not infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may not be possible or could be very expensive and time consuming;

 

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cease developing, manufacturing and commercializing the infringing technology or drug candidates; and

 

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pay such third party significant monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent or other intellectual property right.

Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Even if

 

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we are successful in such litigations or administrative proceedings, such litigations and proceedings may be costly and could result in a substantial diversion of management resources. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Intellectual property litigation and proceedings could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.

Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to our, our licensor’s or other third parties’ intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing, or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct such litigation or proceedings adequately. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of competitors or their current or former employers or are in breach of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements with competitors or other third parties.

We could in the future be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or advisors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of current or former employers, competitors or other third parties. Many of our employees, consultants and advisors are currently or were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees and consultants do not improperly use the intellectual property, proprietary information, know-how or trade secrets of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have breach the terms of his or her non-competition or non-solicitation agreement, or that we or these individuals have, inadvertently or otherwise, used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of a current or former employer, competitor or other third parties.

Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and could be a distraction to management and research personnel. If our defenses to these claims fail, in addition to requiring us to pay monetary damages, a court could prohibit us from using technologies or features that are essential to our drug candidates, if such technologies or features are found to incorporate or be derived from the trade secrets or other proprietary information of the former employers. An inability to incorporate such technologies or features would have a material adverse effect on our business and may prevent us from successfully commercializing our drug candidates. In addition, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel as a result of such claims. Moreover, any such litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our ability to hire employees or contract with independent sales representatives. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our drug candidates, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property

 

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to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. The assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing, or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. Such claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may not be successful in obtaining necessary intellectual property rights to drug candidates for our development pipeline through acquisitions and in-licenses.

Although we also intend to develop drug candidates through our own internal research, our near-term business model is predicated, in large part, on our ability to successfully identify and acquire or in-license drug candidates to grow our drug candidate pipeline. However, we may be unable to acquire or in-license intellectual property rights relating to, or necessary for, any such drug candidates from third parties on commercially reasonable terms or at all, including because we are focusing on specific areas of care such as oncology and inflammatory and infectious diseases. In that event, we may be unable to develop or commercialize such drug candidates. We may also be unable to identify drug candidates that we believe are an appropriate strategic fit for our company and intellectual property relating to, or necessary for, such drug candidates. Any of the foregoing could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The in-licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights for drug candidates is a competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing strategies to in-license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights for drug candidates that we may consider attractive or necessary. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cash resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. Furthermore, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to suitable drug candidates, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects for growth could suffer.

In addition, we expect that competition for the in-licensing or acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights for drug candidates that are attractive to us may increase in the future, which may mean fewer suitable opportunities for us as well as higher acquisition or licensing costs. We may be unable to in-license or acquire the third-party intellectual property rights for drug candidates on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment.

If we do not obtain patent term extension and data exclusivity for any drug candidates we may develop, our business may be materially harmed.

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of any FDA marketing approval of any drug candidates we may develop, one or more of our owned or in-licensed U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Action of 1984, or Hatch Waxman Amendments. The Hatch Waxman Amendments permit a patent extension term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. A patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent may be extended and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it, or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. However, we may not be granted an extension because of, for example, failing to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, failing to apply within applicable deadlines, failing to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents, or otherwise failing to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could

 

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be less than we request. In addition, no patent term extension system has been established in the PRC. As a result, the patents we have in-licensed or own in the PRC are not eligible to be extended for patent term lost during the regulatory review process. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or term of any such extension is less than we request, our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially harmed.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment, and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees, and various other government fees on patents and applications will be due to be paid to the USPTO and various government patent agencies outside of the United States over the lifetime of our owned or licensed patents and applications. In certain circumstances, we rely on our licensing partners to pay these fees due to U.S. and non-U.S. patent agencies. The USPTO and various non-U.S. government agencies require compliance with several procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent application process. We are also dependent on our licensors to take the necessary action to comply with these requirements with respect to our licensed intellectual property. In some cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. There are situations, however, in which non-compliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in a partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, potential competitors might be able to enter the market with similar or identical products or technology, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats.

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:

 

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others may be able to make gene therapy products that are similar to any drug candidates we may develop or utilize similar gene therapy technology but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we license or may own in the future;

 

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we, our licensors, patent owners of patent rights that we have in-licensed, or current or future collaborators might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by the issued patent or pending patent application that we license or may own in the future;

 

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we, our licensors, patent owners of patent rights that we have in-licensed, or current or future collaborators might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our or their inventions;

 

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others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating our owned or licensed intellectual property rights;

 

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it is possible that our pending licensed patent applications or those that we may own in the future will not lead to issued patents;

 

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issued patents that we hold rights to may be held invalid or unenforceable, including as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;

 

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•

our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;

 

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we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;

 

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the patents of others may harm our business; and

 

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we may choose not to file a patent in order to maintain certain trade secrets or know how, and a third party may discover certain technologies containing such trade secrets or know how through independent research and development and/or subsequently file a patent covering such intellectual property.

Should any of these events occur, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks related to our ADSs and this offering

We have broad discretion to determine how to use the net proceeds from this offering and may use them in ways that may not enhance our results of operations or the price of the ADSs.

Although we currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering in the manner described in the section titled “Use of proceeds” in this prospectus, our management will have broad discretion over the use of net proceeds from this offering, and we could spend the net proceeds from this offering in ways the holders of the ADSs may not agree with or that do not yield a favorable return. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of the net proceeds from this offering, our use of these proceeds may differ substantially from our current plans. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation. You will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether proceeds are being used appropriately. You must rely on the judgment of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds of this offering.

After the completion of the global offering, we may be at an increased risk of securities class action litigation.

Historically, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies have experienced significant share price volatility in recent years. If we were to be sued, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they publish negative evaluations of our business, the price of our ADSs could decline.

The trading market for our ADSs will rely in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We may never obtain research coverage by industry or financial analysts. If no or few analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price of our stock would likely decrease. Even if we do obtain analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts covering our business downgrade their evaluations of our stock, the price of our stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover our stock, we could lose visibility in the market for our stock, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.

 

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We are eligible to be treated as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Securities Act, and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to us as an “emerging growth company” will make our ADSs less attractive to investors.

We are eligible to be treated as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information that they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if our total annual gross revenue exceeds $1.07 billion, if we issue more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during any three-year period, or if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million. We cannot predict if investors will find our ADSs less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our ADSs less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our ADSs and our stock price may be more volatile.

If we fail to establish and maintain proper internal financial reporting controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we will be required to file a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting, including an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. However, while we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. The presence of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting could result in financial statement errors which, in turn, could lead to errors in our financial reports and/or delays in our financial reporting, which could require us to restate our operating results. We might not identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal controls in connection with evaluating our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting, we will need to expend significant resources and provide significant management oversight. Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may require specific compliance training of our directors and employees, entail substantial costs in order to modify our existing accounting systems, take a significant period of time to complete and divert management’s attention from other business concerns. These changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal control.

If we are unable to conclude that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in our operating results, the price of the ADSs could decline and we may be subject to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. In addition, if we are unable to meet the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the ADSs may not be able to remain listed on the NASDAQ Global Market.

As a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to certain U.S. securities law disclosure requirements that apply to a domestic U.S. issuer, which may limit the information publicly available to our shareholders.

As a foreign private issuer we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and therefore there may be less publicly available information about us than if we were a U.S. domestic issuer. For example, we are not subject to the proxy rules in the United States and disclosure with respect to our annual general meetings will be governed by the Cayman Islands requirements. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules thereunder. Therefore, our shareholders may not know on a timely basis when our officers, directors and principal shareholders purchase or sell our ordinary shares or ADSs.

 

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As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the NASDAQ Stock Market corporate governance listing standards. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with corporate governance listing standards.

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to take advantage of certain provisions in the NASDAQ Stock Market listing rules that allow us to follow Cayman Islands law for certain governance matters. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands may differ significantly from corporate governance listing standards as, except for general fiduciary duties and duties of care, Cayman Islands law has no corporate governance regime which prescribes specific corporate governance standards. When our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market, we intend to continue to follow Cayman Islands corporate governance practices in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market in respect of the following: (i) the majority independent director requirement under Section 5605(b)(1) of the NASDAQ Stock Market listing rules, (ii) the requirement under Section 5605(d) of the NASDAQ Stock Market listing rules that a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors governed by a compensation committee charter oversee executive compensation and (iii) the requirement under Section 5605(e) of the NASDAQ Stock Market listing rules that director nominees be selected or recommended for selection by either a majority of the independent directors or a nominations committee comprised solely of independent directors. Cayman Islands law does not impose a requirement that our board of directors consist of a majority of independent directors. Nor does Cayman Islands law impose specific requirements on the establishment of a compensation committee or nominating committee or nominating process. Therefore, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would have under corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.

As discussed above, we are a foreign private issuer, and therefore, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2018. We would lose our foreign private issuer status if, for example, more than 50% of our ordinary shares are directly or indirectly held by residents of the U.S. and we fail to meet additional requirements necessary to maintain our foreign private issuer status. If we lose our foreign private issuer status on this date, we will be required to file with the SEC periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms beginning on January 1, 2019, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We will also have to mandatorily comply with U.S. federal proxy requirements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will become subject to the short-swing profit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements under the NASDAQ Stock Market listing rules. As a U.S. listed public company that is not a foreign private issuer, we will incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we will not incur as a foreign private issuer, and accounting, reporting and other expenses in order to maintain a listing on a U.S. securities exchange.

The audit report included in this prospectus was prepared by an auditor who is not inspected by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, and as such, you are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Auditors of companies that are registered with the SEC and traded publicly in the United States, including the independent registered public accounting firm of our company, must be registered with the PCAOB, and are required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess their

 

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compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because substantially all of our operations are within the PRC, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, our auditor is not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

In May 2013, the PCAOB announced that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Enforcement Cooperation with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, and the Ministry of Finance, which establishes a cooperative framework between the parties for the production and exchange of audit documents relevant to investigations undertaken by the PCAOB in the United States or the CSRC or the Ministry of Finance in the PRC. The PCAOB continues to be in discussions with the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance to permit joint inspections in the PRC of audit firms that are registered with PCAOB and audit Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.

This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating audits and quality control procedures of any auditors operating in China, including our auditor. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

We do not currently intend to pay dividends on our securities, and, consequently, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of the ADSs.

We have never declared or paid any dividends on our ordinary shares. We currently intend to invest our future earnings, if any, to fund our growth. Therefore, you are not likely to receive any dividends on your ADSs at least in the near term, and the success of an investment in ADSs will depend upon any future appreciation in its value. Consequently, investors may need to sell all or part of their holdings of ADSs after price appreciation, which may never occur, to realize any future gains on their investment. There is no guarantee that the ADSs will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which our investors purchased their ADSs.

There has been no public market in the United States for our ordinary shares or ADSs prior to this offering, and you may not be able to resell our ADSs at or above the price you paid, or at all.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market in the United States for our ordinary shares or ADSs. We have applied to have our ADSs listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. Our ordinary shares will not be listed on any other exchange, or quoted for trading on any over-the-counter trading system, in the United States.

The initial public offering price for our ADSs will be determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters and may bear no relationship to the market price for our ADSs after this initial public offering. We cannot assure you that an active trading market for our ADSs will develop or that the market price of our ADSs will not decline below the initial public offering price. If an active trading market for our ADSs does not develop after this offering, the market price and liquidity of our ADSs will be materially and adversely affected.

The market price for our ADSs may be volatile which could result in substantial loss to you.

The market price for our ADSs is likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors, including the following:

 

•

announcements of competitive developments;

 

•

regulatory developments affecting us, our customers or our competitors;

 

•

announcements regarding litigation or administrative proceedings involving us;

 

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•

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our period-to-period operating results;

 

•

changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;

 

•

additions or departures of our executive officers;

 

•

fluctuations of exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar;

 

•

release or expiry of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding ordinary shares or ADSs; and

 

•

sales or perceived sales of additional ordinary shares or ADSs.

In addition, the securities markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies. For example, since August 2008, multiple exchanges in the United States and other countries and regions, including China, experienced sharp declines in response to the growing credit market crisis and the recession in the United States. As recently as August 2015, the exchanges in China experienced a sharp decline. Prolonged global capital markets volatility may affect overall investor sentiment towards our ADSs, which would also negatively affect the trading prices for our ADSs.

Fluctuations in the value of the renminbi may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

The value of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the renminbi to the U.S. dollar, and the renminbi appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted, and the exchange rate between the renminbi and U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. In June 2010, China’s People’s Bank of China, or PBOC, announced that the PRC government would increase the flexibility of the exchange rate, and thereafter allowed the renminbi to appreciate slowly against the U.S. dollar within the narrow band fixed by the PBOC. However, more recently, on August 11, 12 and 13, 2015, the PBOC significantly devalued the renminbi by fixing its price against the U.S. dollar 1.9%, 1.6%, and 1.1% lower than the previous day’s value, respectively. On October 1, 2016, the renminbi joined the International Monetary Fund’s basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Right, or SDR, along with the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the renminbi depreciated significantly while the U.S. dollar surged and China experienced persistent capital outflows. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and renminbi internationalization, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system. There is no guarantee that the renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future.

Significant revaluation of the renminbi may have a material adverse effect on your investment. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the renminbi amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. In addition, appreciation or depreciation in the value of the renminbi relative to U.S. dollars would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms regardless of any underlying change in our business or results of operations.

 

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Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert renminbi into foreign currency.

Since the U.S. initial public offering price is substantially higher than our net tangible book value per share, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution.

If you purchase our ADSs in this offering, you will pay more for your ADSs than the amount paid by our existing shareholders for their ordinary shares on a per ADS basis. As a result, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of approximately $        per ADS, representing the difference between our net tangible book value per ADS as of December 31, 2016, after giving effect to this offering and an assumed initial public offering price of $        per ADS. In addition, you may experience further dilution to the extent that our ordinary shares are issued upon the exercise of share options. See “Dilution” for a more complete description of how the value of your investment in our ADSs will be diluted upon completion of this offering.

Substantial future sales or perceived sales of our ADSs in the public market could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

Sales of our ADSs in the public market after this offering, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. Upon completion of this offering, we will have                  ordinary shares outstanding, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs. All ADSs sold in this offering will be freely transferable without restriction or additional registration under the Securities Act. The remaining ordinary shares outstanding after this offering will be available for sale, subject to restrictions as applicable under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, upon the expiration of the 180-day lock-up arrangements entered into among us and the underwriters. There are certain exceptions to these lock-up arrangements. See “Underwriting” and “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for additional information. We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our significant shareholders or any other shareholder or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of our ADSs.

Holders of ADSs have fewer rights than shareholders and must act through the depositary to exercise their rights.

Holders of our ADSs do not have the same rights as our shareholders and may only exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under our fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which will be effective immediately upon completion of this offering, an annual general meeting and any extraordinary general meeting at which the passing of a special resolution is to be considered may be called with not less than      days’ notice, and all other extraordinary general meetings may be called with not less than      days’ notice. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders’ meeting to permit you to withdraw the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs to allow you to vote with respect to any specific matter. If we ask for your instructions, we will give the depositary notice of any such meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted upon at least 30 days in advance of the meeting date and the depositary will send a notice to you about the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. The depositary and its agents, however, may not be able to send voting instructions to you or carry out your voting instructions in a timely manner. We will make all commercially reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to you in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the ordinary shares underlying your

 

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ADSs. Furthermore, the depositary will not be liable for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a holder or beneficial owner of ADSs, you may have limited recourse if we or the depositary fail to meet our respective obligations under the deposit agreement or if you wish us or the depositary to participate in legal proceedings. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may lack recourse if your ADSs are not voted as you request. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting.

You may not receive distributions on our ADSs or any value for them if such distribution is illegal or impractical or if any required government approval cannot be obtained in order to make such distribution available to you.

Although we do not have any present plan to pay any dividends, the depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying our ADSs, after deducting its fees and expenses and any applicable taxes and governmental charges. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities whose offering would require registration under the Securities Act but are not so properly registered or distributed under an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary may also determine that it is not reasonably practicable to distribute certain property. In these cases, the depositary may determine not to distribute such property. We have no obligation to register under the U.S. securities laws any offering of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may cause a material decline in the value of our ADSs.

Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make rights available to you in the United States unless we register the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Also, under the deposit agreement, the depositary bank will not make rights available to you unless either both the rights and any related securities are registered under the Securities Act, or the distribution of them to ADS holders is exempted from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective. Moreover, we may not be able to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. If the depositary does not distribute the rights, it may, under the deposit agreement, either sell them, if possible, or allow them to lapse. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in your holdings.

If we are classified as a passive foreign investment company, U.S. investors could be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.

Generally, if, for any taxable year, at least 75% of our gross income is passive income, or at least 50% of the value of our assets is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income, including cash, we would be characterized as a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For purposes of these tests, passive income includes dividends, interest, and gains from the sale or exchange of investment property and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties which are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business.

 

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If we are a PFIC, U.S. holders of our ADSs may suffer adverse tax consequences, including having gains realized on the sale of the ADSs treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain, the loss of the preferential rate applicable to dividends received on the ADSs by individuals who are U.S. holders, and having interest charges apply to distributions by us and the proceeds of sales of the ADSs.

Whether we are a PFIC for any taxable year is a factual determination that can be made only after the end of each taxable year and which depends on the composition of our income and the composition and value of our assets for the relevant taxable year. Because we hold, and will continue to hold after this offering, a substantial amount of passive assets, including cash, and because the value of our assets for purposes of the PFIC rules (including goodwill) may be determined by reference to the market value of our ADSs, which may be especially volatile due to the early stage of our drug candidates, we cannot give any assurance that we will not be a PFIC for the current or any future taxable year.

Whether or not U.S. holders make a timely “qualified electing fund,” or QEF election or mark-to-market election may affect the U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders with respect to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our ADSs. Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding all aspects of the application of the PFIC rules to the ADSs. See “Material United States federal income tax considerations—Passive foreign investment company considerations.”

You may have difficulty enforcing judgments obtained against us.

We are a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. Substantially all of our current operations are conducted in the PRC. In addition, some of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. A substantial portion of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors, some of whom currently reside in the United States and whose assets are located outside the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state.

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other forms of reciprocity with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.

You may be subject to limitations on transfers of your ADSs.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deems it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

 

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Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, our operational results and other future conditions. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” “contemplate” and other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this prospectus and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which we operate.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We believe that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in the “Risk factors” section of this prospectus, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

•

the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and our research and development programs;

 

•

our ability to advance our drug candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical trials;

 

•

the ability of our drug candidates to be granted or maintain Category 1 designation with the CFDA and to receive a faster development, review or approval process;

 

•

our reliance on the success of our clinical-stage drug candidates niraparib, omadacycline and ZL-2301 and certain other drug candidates;

 

•

the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals;

 

•

the commercialization of our drug candidates, if approved;

 

•

our ability to develop sales and marketing capabilities;

 

•

the pricing and reimbursement of our drug candidates, if approved;

 

•

our ability to contract on commercially reasonable terms with CROs;

 

•

the disruption of our business relationships with our licensors;

 

•

our ability to operate our business without breaching our licenses or other intellectual property-related agreements;

 

•

cost associated with defending against intellectual property infringement, product liability and other claims;

 

•

regulatory developments in the United States, China and other jurisdictions;

 

•

ability to obtain additional funding for our operations;

 

•

the rate and degree of market acceptance of our drug candidates;

 

•

developments relating to our competitors and our industry;

 

•

our ability to effectively manage our growth; and

 

•

our ability to retain key executives and to attract, retain and motivate personnel.

 

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These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read with the other cautionary statements in this prospectus.

Although we base these forward-looking statements on assumptions that we believe are reasonable when made, we caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement that we make in this prospectus speaks only as of the date of such statement, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of those statements to reflect future events or developments. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance, unless specifically expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.

 

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Use of proceeds

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from our issuance and sale of              ADSs in this offering will be approximately $            million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. This estimate assumes an initial public offering price of $            per ADS, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $            per ADS would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by $            million, assuming the number of ADSs offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated expenses payable by us.

We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering, together with the cash generated by our operations and other cash resources, primarily to further advance the clinical development and commercial launch of our multiple drug candidates. In particular, we currently expect to use the net proceeds from this offering as follows:

 

•

approximately $            million to complete (i) Phase III studies of niraparib (ZL-2306) in patients with ovarian, breast cancer and other indications in China, (ii) Phase III studies of omadacycline (ZL-2401) in China and (iii) Phase II/III studies of ZL-2301 in patients with HCC in China;

 

•

approximately $            million to support the commercialization efforts for niraparib (ZL-2306) in China, Hong Kong and Macau;

 

•

approximately $            million to fund new business development and licensing opportunities and to accelerate and broaden clinical development of our drug candidates for which we have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize globally; and

 

•

approximately $            million for research and clinical development of other drug candidates.

The expected use of net proceeds from this offering represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions, which we could change in our discretion in the future as our plans and business conditions evolve. Due to the many variables inherent to the development of our drug candidates at this time, such as the timing of patient enrollment and evolving regulatory requirements, we cannot currently predict the stage of development we expect to achieve for our pre-clinical and clinical trial and drug candidates with the net proceeds of this offering. We expect to use the remainder of the net proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes, such as acquiring the commercial rights to other drug products and expanding our research organization and infrastructure. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures may vary significantly depending on numerous factors, including the results of the pre-clinical and clinical trial of our drug candidates, our operating costs and expenditures and the amount of cash generated by our operations. As a result, our management will have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering.

Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in investment-grade, short-term fixed income instruments.

For additional information, see “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations—Liquidity and capital resources.”

 

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Dividend policy

We have never declared or paid regular cash dividends on our ordinary shares. We currently expect to retain all future earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The declaration and payment of any dividends in the future will be determined by our board of directors, in its discretion, and will depend on a number of factors, including our earnings, capital requirements, overall financial condition and contractual restrictions.

 

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Capitalization

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of June 30, 2017:

 

•

on an actual basis;

 

•

on a pro forma basis to give effect to (i) the conversion of our outstanding preferred shares into an aggregate of 170,659,714 ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering, (ii) the exercise of warrants to purchase our preferred shares and further conversion of the preferred shares into ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering, and (iii) the effectiveness of our fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which will occur immediately upon this closing of this offering; and

 

•

on a pro forma and as adjusted basis to reflect the issuance and sale of                  ordinary shares in the form of ADSs by us in this offering and the application of net proceeds from this offering described under “Use of Proceeds.”

The information below is illustrative only, and assumes an initial public offering price at the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Our capitalization following this offering will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing, including the amount by which actual offering expenses are higher or lower than estimated. The table should be read in conjunction with the information contained in “Use of proceeds,” “Selected consolidated financial data” and “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations,” as well as our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

		As of June 30, 2017
		Actual				Pro forma				Pro forma as adjusted
Cash and cash equivalents		$	92,562,012			$	93,562,012			$
Warrant liabilities			3,700,000				—
Series A1, par value $0.00001 per share; 50,800,001 shares authorized; 50,800,001 shares issued and outstanding (actual); no shares authorized, issued or outstanding (pro forma and pro forma as adjusted)			10,028,572				—
Series A2, par value $0.00001 per share; 53,424,190 shares authorized; 50,653,339 shares issued and outstanding (actual); no shares authorized, issued or outstanding (pro forma and pro forma as adjusted)			18,278,572				—
Series B1, par value $0.00001 per share; 33,374,023 shares authorized; 33,374,023 shares issued and outstanding (actual); no shares authorized, issued or outstanding (pro forma and pro forma as adjusted)			53,100,000				—
Series B2, par value $0.00001 per share; 23,838,588 shares authorized; 23,838,588 shares issued and outstanding (actual); no shares authorized, issued or outstanding (pro forma and pro forma as adjusted)			53,100,000				—
Series C, par value $0.00001 per share; 11,993,763 shares authorized; 11,993,763 shares issued and outstanding (actual); no shares authorized, issued or outstanding (pro forma and pro forma as adjusted)			30,000,000				—
Shareholders’ (deficits) equity:
Ordinary shares, par value $0.00001 per share; 500,000,000 shares authorized, 67,588,056 (actual); 241,018,621 issued and outstanding (pro forma);              shares issued and outstanding (pro forma as adjusted)			675				2,410
Subscription receivable			(8	)			(8	)
Additional paid-in capital			13,756,667				182,962,076
Accumulated deficits			(84,586,920	)			(84,586,920	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(321,958	)			(321,958	)
Total shareholders’ (deficits) equity			(71,151,544	)			98,055,600
Total capitalization		$	97,055,600			$	98,055,600			$

 

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The information above is illustrative only and our capitalization following the completion of this offering will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $            per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated price range shown on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the amount of cash and cash equivalents, additional paid-in capital, total shareholders’ deficits and total capitalization on a pro forma as adjusted basis by approximately $            million, assuming the number of ADSs offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase (decrease) of              ADSs offered by us would increase (decrease) cash and cash equivalents, total shareholders’ deficits and total capitalization on a pro forma as adjusted basis by approximately $            million, assuming the assumed initial public offering price remains the same, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

The actual, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted information set forth in the table excludes:

 

•

38,690,512 shares issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of June 30, 2017 pursuant to our 2015 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of $0.17 per share; and

 

•

11,545,967 shares reserved for future issuance under our 2017 Equity Plan, which was adopted in connection with this offering.

 

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Dilution

If you invest in our ADSs, your investment will be diluted for each ADS you purchase to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per ADS and our net tangible book value per ADS after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the initial public offering price per ordinary share is substantially in excess of the book value per ordinary share attributable to the existing shareholders for our presently outstanding ordinary shares.

As of June 30, 2017, we had a net tangible book value of $            million, or $            per ordinary share and $            per ADS. We calculate net tangible book value per ordinary shares by dividing our total tangible assets less our total liabilities by the number of our ordinary shares outstanding. Pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share is calculated after giving effect (i) to the conversion of all of our issued and outstanding preferred shares, (ii) the exercise of warrants to purchase our preferred shares and the further conversion of the preferred shares into ordinary shares and (iii) the effectiveness of our fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share is calculated after giving effect to the conversion of all our issued and outstanding preferred shares and the issuance of ordinary shares in the form of ADSs by us in this offering. Dilution is determined by subtracting pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share from the public offering price per ordinary share.

Without taking into account any other changes in such net tangible book value after June 30, 2017, after giving effect to the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from our sale of ADSs in this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of $            per ADS (the midpoint of the offering range shown on the cover of this prospectus), and the application of the estimated net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds,” our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value at December 31, 2016 would have been approximately $            , or $            per ordinary share and $            per ADS. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $            per ordinary share and $            per ADS to existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $            per ordinary share and $            per ADS to you, or     %. The following table illustrates this dilution per ordinary share.

 

Per ordinary share

Per ADS

Assumed initial public offering price

$

$

Historical net tangible book value per ordinary share as of June 30, 2017

$

$

Pro forma increase in net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2017

Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2017

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering

Dilution per share to new investors in this offering

$

$

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $            per ADS would decrease (increase) our pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the offering by $            , assuming no

 

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change to the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated expenses payable by us.

If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs in full, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value would be $            per ordinary shares and $            per ADS, and the dilution in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value to investors in this offering would be $            per ordinary shares and $            per ADS.

The following table sets forth, as of June 30, 2017, the number of ordinary shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid to us and the average price per ordinary share/ADS paid by existing shareholders and to be paid by new investors purchasing ADSs in this offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

		Ordinary shares purchased								Total consideration								Average price per ordinary share				Average price per ADS
		Number				Percent				Amount				Percent
Existing shareholders		$					%			$					%			$				$
New investors
Total		$					100.0%			$					100.0%			$				$

If the underwriters were to fully exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs from us, the percentage of our ordinary shares held by existing shareholders would be     %, and the percentage of our ordinary shares held by new investors would be     %.

The above discussion and tables are based on 72,405,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2017 and also reflects the conversion of all outstanding preferred shares into an aggregate of 170,659,714 ordinary shares immediately prior to the closing of this offering, and excludes:

 

•

38,690,512 shares issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of June 30, 2017 pursuant to our 2015 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of $0.17 per share; and

 

•

11,545,967 shares reserved for future issuance under our 2017 Equity Plan, which was adopted in connection with this offering.

To the extent that any share options or warrants are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors.

 

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Selected consolidated financial data

The following selected consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2016 and the selected balance sheet data as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2017 and the selected balance sheet data as of June 30, 2017 have been derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature that are necessary for the fair presentation of the financial statements. Our consolidated financial statements appearing in this prospectus have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Our historical results for any prior period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period. This selected historical consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with the disclosures set forth under “Capitalization,” “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

		Six months ended June 30,								Year ended December 31,
(in thousands, except share and per share data)		2016				2017				2015				2016
Research and development expenses		$	(8,778	)		$	(20,874	)		$	(13,587	)		$	(32,149	)
General and administrative expenses			(2,377	)			(4,041	)			(2,762	)			(6,380	)
Loss from operations			(11,155	)			(24,915	)			(16,349	)			(38,529	)
Interest income			64				286				5				403
Fair value of warrants			(920	)			200				(1,980	)			(1,920	)
Other income			176				11				341				2,534
Other expense			—				(1	)			(39	)			—
Loss before income taxes			(11,835	)			(24,419	)			(18,022	)			(37,512	)
Income tax expense			—				—				—				—
Net loss		$	(11,835	)		$	(24,419	)		$	(18,022	)		$	(37,512	)
Weighted-average shares used in calculating net loss per ordinary share, basic and diluted(1)			55,453,938				63,780,229				52,161,918				56,634,142
Net loss per share, basic and diluted(1)		$	(0.21	)		$	(0.38	)		$	(0.35	)		$	(0.66	)

 

		As of June  30, 2017				As of December 31,
(in thousands)						2015				2016
Balance sheet data:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	92,562			$	13,161			$	83,949
Total assets			103,865				13,940				88,907
Total shareholders’ deficits			(71,152	)			(18,370	)			(51,552	)
Total current liabilities			9,630				3,941				5,173
Total non-current liabilities			880				62				778

 

(1)

See Note 2 within our notes to our financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus for a description of the method used to calculate basic and diluted net loss per share.

 

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Management’s discussion and analysis of

financial condition and results of operations

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with “Selected consolidated financial data,” and our financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this prospectus, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should read the “Risk factors” and “Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements” sections of this prospectus for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. The terms “Company”, “Zai Lab”, “we”, “our” or “us” as used herein refer to Zai Lab Limited and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise stated or indicated by context.

Overview

We are an innovative biopharmaceutical company based in Shanghai focusing on discovering or licensing, developing and commercializing proprietary therapeutics that address areas of large unmet medical need in the China market, including in the fields of oncology, autoimmune and infectious diseases therapies. Our mission is to transform patients’ lives in China and eventually leverage our capabilities to impact human health worldwide.

Since our founding in 2014, we have assembled a pipeline consisting of six drug candidates through partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies. These include three late-stage assets targeting fast growing segments of China’s pharmaceutical market and three assets addressing global unmet medical needs. We believe that management’s decades-long global drug development expertise, combined with our demonstrated understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, clinical resources and regulatory system in China, has provided us, and will continue to provide us, opportunities to partner with global companies aiming to bring innovative products to market in China efficiently and effectively.

Our consolidated net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017 was $11.8 million and $24.4 million, respectively. Our consolidated net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016 was $18.0 million and $37.5 million, respectively.

Basis of presentation

Our consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2016 and our consolidated statement of financial position data as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our consolidated statements of operations data for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2017 and our consolidated statement of financial position data as of June 30, 2017 have been derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature that are necessary for the fair presentation of the financial statements. Our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Factors affecting our results of operations

Research and development expenses

We believe our ability to successfully develop drug candidates will be the primary factor affecting our long-term competitiveness, as well as our future growth and development. Developing high quality drug candidates

 

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requires a significant investment of resources over a prolonged period of time, and a core part of our strategy is to continue making sustained investments in this area. As a result of this commitment, our pipeline of drug candidates has been steadily advancing and expanding, with four clinical-stage drug candidates being investigated. For more information on the nature of the efforts and steps necessary to develop our drug candidates, see “Business” and “Regulation.”

To date, we have financed our activities primarily through private placements. Through June 30, 2017, we have raised $164.5 million in equity financing. Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. The net cash used in our operating activities was $11.5 million and $32.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The net cash used in our operating activities was $8.8 million and $17.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively. We expect our expenses to increase significantly in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance the clinical development of our four clinical-stage drug candidates and continue research and development of our preclinical-stage drug candidates and initiate additional clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, these and other future drug candidates. These expenses include:

 

•

expenses incurred for payments to CROs, investigators and clinical trial sites that conduct our clinical studies;

 

•

employee compensation related expenses, including salaries, benefits and equity compensation expense;

 

•

expenses for licensors;

 

•

the cost of acquiring, developing, and manufacturing clinical study materials;

 

•

facilities, depreciation, and other expenses, which include office leases and other overhead expenses;

 

•

costs associated with pre-clinical activities and regulatory operations; and

 

•

additional costs associated with operating as a public company upon the completion of this offering.

If completed, the net proceeds to us from this offering will be an important source of funds for our research and development. For more information on the nature of the intended uses for the proceeds from this offering, see “Use of Proceeds.”

For more information on the research and development expenses incurred for the development of our drug candidates, see “Key components of results of operations—Research and development expenses.”

General and administrative expenses

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel compensation and related costs, including share-based compensation for administrative personnel. Other general and administrative expenses include professional service fees for legal, intellectual property, consulting, auditing and tax services as well as other direct and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities, insurance and other supplies used in general and administrative activities. We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in future periods to support increases in our research and development activities and as we prepare to manufacture and commercialize our products. These increases will likely include increased headcount, increased share compensation charges, expanded infrastructure and increased costs for insurance. We also anticipate increased legal, compliance, accounting and investor and public relations expenses associated with being a public company.

Our ability to commercialize our drug candidates

All of our drug candidates are still in development. Four of our drug candidates are in clinical development and various others are in pre-clinical development. Our ability to generate revenue from our drug candidates is dependent on their receipt of regulatory approval for and successful commercialization of such products, which may never occur. Certain of our drug candidates may require additional pre-clinical and/or clinical development, regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions, manufacturing supply, substantial investment and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenue from product sales.

 

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Our licensing arrangements

Our results of operations have been, and we expect them to continue to be, affected by our licensing, collaboration and development agreements. We are required to make upfront payments upon our entry into such agreements and milestone payments upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones for the relevant drug product under these agreements as well as tiered royalties based on the net sales of the licensed products. These expenses are recorded in research and development expense in our consolidated financial statements and totaled $1.5 million and $7.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and $6.2 million and $17.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Critical accounting policies and significant judgments and estimates

We prepare our financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions. We continually evaluate these estimates and assumptions based on the most recently available information, our own historical experiences and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from our expectations as a result of changes in our estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application and require us to make significant accounting estimates.

The selection of critical accounting policies, the judgments and other uncertainties affecting application of those policies and the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions are factors that should be considered when reviewing our financial statements. We believe the following accounting policies involve the most significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.

Share-based compensation

Awards granted to employees

We grant share options to eligible employees, management and directors and account for these share-based awards in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation, or ASC 718.

Share-based awards are measured at the grant date fair value and recognized as an expense (i) immediately at grant date if no vesting conditions are required or (ii) using a graded vesting method over the requisite service period, which is the vesting period. See footnote 10 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for further details on the assumptions used to estimate the fair value of share-based awards granted in prior periods.

All transactions in which goods or services are received in exchange for equity instruments are accounted for based on the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instrument issued, whichever is more reliably measurable.

To the extent the required vesting conditions are not met resulting in the forfeiture of the share-based awards, previously recognized compensation expense relating to those awards are reversed.

We, with the assistance of an independent third party valuation firm, determined the fair value of the stock options granted to employees. The binomial option pricing model was applied in determining the estimated fair value of the options granted to employees.

Awards granted to non-employees

We have accounted for equity instruments issued to non-employees in accordance with the provisions of ASC 505, Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees. All transactions in which goods or services are received in

 

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exchange for equity instruments are accounted for based on the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instrument issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. The measurement date of the fair value of the equity instrument issued is the date on which the counterparty’s performance is completed as there is no associated performance commitment. The expense is recognized in the same manner as if we had paid cash for the services provided by the non-employees.

Fair value measurements

We apply ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, of ASC 820, in measuring fair value. ASC 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires disclosures to be provided on fair value measurement.

ASC 820 establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1—Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

Level 2—Include other inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.

Level 3—Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity.

ASC 820 describes three main approaches, for example, to measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities: (1) market approach, (2) income approach and (3) cost approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated from market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present value amount. The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. The cost approach is based on the amount that would currently be required to replace an asset.

Financial instruments of our company primarily include cash and cash equivalents, prepayments and other current assets, accounts payable, warrant liabilities and other payables. As of each reporting date, the carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, prepayments and other current assets, accounts payable and other payables approximated their fair values due to the short-term maturity of these instruments. The warrant liabilities were recorded at fair value as determined on the respective issuance dates and subsequently adjusted to the fair value at each reporting date. We determined the fair values of the warrant liabilities with the assistance of an independent third party valuation firm, and we have measured the warrant liabilities at fair values on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) as of each reporting date.

Fair value of our ordinary shares

We are a private company with no quoted market prices for our ordinary shares. We have therefore needed to make estimates of the fair value of our ordinary shares at various dates for the following purposes:

 

•

determining the fair value of our ordinary shares at the date of issuance and the dates of subsequent measurement of convertible instruments as one of the inputs in determining the intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature, if any; and

 

•

determining the fair value of our ordinary shares at the date of the grant of a share-based compensation award to our employees and non-employees as one of the inputs in determining the grant date fair value of the award.

 

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In determining the fair value of our ordinary shares as of various valuation dates, we first applied an income approach, specifically a discounted cash flow, or DCF, analysis based on our projected cash flows using management’s best estimates as of the valuation date and the market approach by referring to transaction prices of our private equity financing transactions with independent third parties to conclude on the equity value. We then applied the option-pricing method to allocate the equity value between preferred shares and ordinary shares. The determination of the equity value requires complex and subjective judgments to be made regarding prospects of the industry and the products at the respective valuation dates, our projected financial and operating results, our unique business risks and the liquidity of our shares.

The income approach involves applying appropriate discount rates to estimated cash flows that are based on earnings forecasts. However, these fair values are inherently uncertain and highly subjective. The major assumptions utilized in DCF analysis include:

Financial projection. The projected cash flows include among other things, an analysis of projected revenue growth, gross margins, effective tax rates, capital expenditures, working capital requirements and depreciation and amortization. The assumptions used in deriving the fair values are consistent with our business plan. These assumptions include no material changes in the existing political, legal and economic conditions in China; our ability to retain competent management and key personnel to support our ongoing operations; and no material deviation in historical industry trends and market conditions from current forecasts. These assumptions are inherently uncertain.

Discount Rates. The discount rates were based on the weighted average cost of capital and ranged from 16%-25% where the cost of equity was determined based on a Capital Asset Pricing Model, which includes a consideration of the factors including risk-free rate, comparative industry risk, equity risk premium, company size and non-systemic risk factors.

Discount for Lack of Marketability, or DLOM. DLOM reflects the fact that our shares were privately-held shares. DLOM was quantified by various valuation techniques, such as the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Under this method, the cost of the put option, which could be used to hedge the price change before the privately held shares can be sold, was considered as a basis to determine the DLOM. This option pricing method is one of the methods commonly used in estimating DLOM. The key assumptions of such model includes risk-free rates, timing of a liquidity event, and estimated volatility of our shares. The farther the valuation date is from an expected liquidity event, the higher the put option value and thus the higher the implied DLOM. The lower DLOM is used for the valuation, the higher is the determined fair value of the ordinary shares.

The equity value of our company determined at the respective valuation dates based on the income approach under the above assumptions and the market approach referring to transaction price of our private equity financing transactions with independent third parties was allocated between the preferred shares and ordinary shares. The option-pricing method was used to allocate equity value, taking into account the guidance prescribed by the AICPA Audit and Accounting Practice Aid, “Valuation of Privately-Held Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation.” The method treats common stock and preferred stock as call options on the enterprise’s value, with exercise prices based on the liquidation preference of the preferred stock.

The option-pricing method involves making estimates of the anticipated timing and probability of a potential liquidity event, such as a sale of our company, an initial public offering, a redemption event (for Series C preferred shares issued in June 2017) and estimates of risk free rate and the volatility of our equity securities. The anticipated timing and probability were based on the plans of our board of directors and management. The risk free rate is adopted based on the United States Treasury bond yield with a maturity commensurating with the expected time to liquidity, adjusted by country risk premium between China and the United States. Estimating the volatility of the share price of a privately held company is complex because there is no readily available market for the shares. We estimated the volatility of our shares to be 70% based on the historical

 

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volatilities of comparable publicly traded companies engaged in similar lines of business. Had we used different estimates of volatility, the allocations between preferred and ordinary shares would have been different.

Income taxes

Current income taxes are provided on the basis of net income for financial reporting purposes, adjusted for income and expense items which are not assessable or deductible for income tax purposes, in accordance with the regulations of the relevant tax jurisdictions. We follow the liability method of accounting for income taxes.

Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the temporary differences between the financial statements carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities by applying enacted statutory tax rates that will be in effect in the period in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. We record a valuation allowance to offset deferred tax assets if based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rate is recognized in our consolidated financial statements in the period of change.

In accordance with the provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes, we recognize in our financial statements the benefit of a tax position if the tax position is “more likely than not” to prevail based on the facts and technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the “more likely than not” recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon settlement. We estimate our liability for unrecognized tax benefits which are periodically assessed and may be affected by changing interpretations of laws, rulings by tax authorities, changes and/or developments with respect to tax audits, and expiration of the statute of limitations. The ultimate outcome for a particular tax position may not be determined with certainty prior to the conclusion of a tax audit and, in some cases, appeal or litigation process.

We consider positive and negative evidence when determining whether some portion or all of our deferred tax assets will not be realized. This assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency and severity of current and cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carry-forward periods, our historical results of operations, and our tax planning strategies. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Based upon the level of our historical taxable income and projections for future taxable income over the periods in which the deferred tax assets are deductible, we believe it is more likely than not that we will not realize the deferred tax assets resulted from the tax loss carried forward in the future periods.

The actual benefits ultimately realized may differ from our estimates. As each audit is concluded, adjustments, if any, are recorded in our financial statements in the period in which the audit is concluded. Additionally, in future periods, changes in facts, circumstances and new information may require us to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Changes in recognition and measurement estimates are recognized in the period in which the changes occur. As of December 31, 2015 and 2016, we did not have any significant unrecognized uncertain tax positions.

Key components of results of operations

Taxation

Cayman Islands

Zai Lab Limited is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on profits, income, gains or appreciation earned by individuals or corporations. In addition, our payment of dividends, if

 

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any, is not subject to withholding tax in the Cayman Islands. For more information, see “Taxation—Cayman Islands taxation.”

People’s Republic of China

Our subsidiaries incorporated in the PRC are governed by the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or EIT Law, and regulations. Under the EIT Law, the standard Enterprise Income Tax, or EIT, rate is 25% on taxable profits as reduced by available tax losses. Tax losses may be carried forward to offset any taxable profits for up to following five years. For more information, see “Taxation—People’s Republic of China taxation.”

Results of operations

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

 

		Six months ended June 30,								Year ended December 31,
(in thousands, except share and per share data)		2016				2017				2015				2016
Comprehensive Loss Data:
Operating expenses:
Research and development		$	(8,778	)		$	(20,874	)		$	(13,587	)		$	(32,149	)
General and administrative			(2,377	)			(4,041	)			(2,762	)			(6,380	)
Loss from operations			(11,155	)			(24,915	)			(16,349	)			(38,529	)
Interest income			64				286				5				403
Fair value of warrants			(920	)			200				(1,980	)			(1,920	)
Other income			176				11				341				2,534
Other expense			—				(1	)			(39	)			—
Loss before income tax			(11,835	)			(24,419	)			(18,022	)			(37,512	)
Income tax expense			—				—				—				—
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders		$	(11,835	)		$	(24,419	)		$	(18,022	)		$	(37,512	)
Weighted-average shares used in calculating net loss per ordinary share, basic and diluted			55,453,938				63,780,229				52,161,918				56,634,142
Net loss per share, basic and diluted			(0.21	)			(0.38	)			(0.35	)			(0.66	)

 

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Six Months Ended June 30, 2017 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2016

Research and development expenses

The following table sets forth the components of our research and development expenses for the six months indicated.

 

		Six months ended June 30,
(in thousands)		2016				%				2017				%
Research and development expenses:
Personnel compensation and related costs		$	1,887				21.5			$	4,498				21.6
Licensing fees			1,506				17.1				7,811				37.4
Payment to CROs/CMOs			3,991				45.5				5,306				25.4
Other costs			1,394				15.9				3,259				15.6
Total		$	8,778				100.0			$	20,874				100.0

Research and development expense increased by $12.1 million to $20.9 million for six months ended June 30, 2017 from $8.8 million for six months ended June 30, 2016. The increase in research and development expense included the following:

 

•

$2.6 million for increased personnel compensation and related costs which was primarily attributable to increased employee compensation costs, due to hiring of more personnel during six months ended June 30, 2017, the grants of new share options and vesting of restricted shares to certain employees; and

 

•

$6.3 million for increased licensing fees in connection with the upfront fee paid for licensing agreement with Paratek in the second quarter of 2017, for more information, see “Business—Overview of our license agreements—Paratek.”

The following table summarizes our research and development expense by program for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively:

 

		Six months ended June 30,
(in thousands)		2016				%				2017				%
Research and development expenses:
Clinical programs		$	4,224				48.1			$	12,820				61.4
Preclinical programs			1,995				22.7				1,888				9.1
Unallocated research and development expenses			2,559				29.2				6,166				29.5
Total		$	8,778				100.0			$	20,874				100.0

During the six months ended June 30, 2017, 61% and 9% of our total research and development expenses were attributable clinical programs and preclinical programs, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2016, 48% and 23% of our total research and development expenses were attributable to clinical programs and preclinical programs, respectively. ZL-2401 represented approximately 58% of our external research and development expense, which includes licensing fees and payments to CROs and CMOs, for the six months ended June 30, 2017. ZL-2303 represented approximately 36% of our external research and development expense for the six months ended June 30, 2016. No other programs represented a significant amount of research and development expense for the six months ended June 30, 2017 or 2016.

 

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Though we maintain our external research and development expenses by program we do not allocate our internal research and development expenses by program, because our employees and internal resources may be engaged in projects for multiple programs at any time.

General and administrative expenses

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel compensation and related costs, including share-based compensation for administrative personnel. Other general and administrative expenses include professional service fees for legal, intellectual property, consulting, auditing and tax services as well as other direct and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities, insurance and other supplies used in general and administrative activities. The following table sets forth the components of our research and development expenses for the years indicated.

 

		Six months ended June 30,
(in thousands)		2016				%				2017				%
General and Administrative Expenses:
Personnel compensation and related costs		$	1,067				44.9			$	2,475				61.2
Professional service fee			1,059				44.6				1,102				27.3
Other costs			251				10.5				464				11.5
Total		$	2,377				100.0			$	4,041				100.0

General and administrative expenses increased by $1.6 million to $4.0 million for six months ended June 30, 2017 from $2.4 million for six months ended June 30, 2016. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to a $1.4 million for increased personnel compensation and related costs which was primarily attributable to increased administrative personnel compensation costs, due to hiring of more personnel during six months ended June 30, 2017, the grants of new share options and vesting of restricted shares to certain employees.

Interest Income

Interest income increased by $0.2 million for six months ended June 30, 2017 due to higher cash on hand in 2017.

Changes in Fair Value of Warrants

The expense associated with the changes in fair value of warrants reflected the result of the change in value of the preferred shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We determined the fair values of the warrant liabilities with the assistance of an independent third party valuation firm.

 

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Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2015

Research and development expenses

The following table sets forth the components of our research and development expenses for the years indicated.

 

		Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)		2015				%				2016				%
Research and development expenses:
Personnel compensation and related costs		$	3,172				23.3			$	6,095				19.0
Licensing fees			6,203				45.7				17,108				53.2
Payment to CROs/CMOs			3,180				23.4				6,759				21.0
Other costs			1,032				7.6				2,187				6.8
Total		$	13,587				100.0			$	32,149				100.0

Research and development expense increased by $18.6 million to $32.1 million for year ended December 31, 2016 from $13.6 million for year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in research and development expense included the following:

 

•

$2.9 million for increased personnel compensation and related costs which was primarily attributable to increased employee compensation costs, due to hiring of more personnel during year ended December 31, 2016 and the grants of new share options to certain employees;

 

•

$10.9 million for increased licensing fees in connection with the upfront fee paid for licensing agreement with Tesaro for ZL-2306 in fiscal year 2016 (see “Business—Our Clinical Pipeline—Niraparib” for further information); and

 

•

$3.6 million for increased payment to CROs/CMOs in fiscal year 2016 as we advanced our drug candidate pipeline.

The following table summarizes our research and development expense by program for the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2016, respectively:

 

		Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)		2015				%				2016				%
Research and development expenses:
Clinical programs		$	6,020				44.3			$	20,129				62.6
Preclinical programs			3,821				28.1				4,839				15.1
Unallocated research and development expenses			3,746				27.6				7,181				22.3
Total		$	13,587				100.0			$	32,149				100.0

During the year ended December 31, 2016, 63% and 15% of our total research and development expenses were attributable to clinical programs and preclinical programs, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2015, 44% and 28% of our total research and development expenses were attributable to clinical programs and preclinical programs, respectively. Niraparib represented approximately 63% of our external research and development expense, which includes licensing fees and payments to CROs and CMOs, for the year ended December 31, 2016. ZL-2303 represented approximately 10% and 61% of our external research and development expense for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. No other

 

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programs represented a significant amount of research and development expense for the years ended December 31, 2016 or December 31, 2015. Though we manage our external research and development expenses by program we do not allocate our internal research and development expenses by program because our employees and internal resources may be engaged in projects for multiple programs at any time.

General and administrative expenses

The following table sets forth the components of our research and development expenses for the years indicated.

 

		Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)		2015				%				2016				%
General and Administrative Expenses:
Personnel compensation and related costs		$	1,811				65.6			$	3,120				48.9
Professional service fee			340				12.3				2,691				42.2
Other costs			611				22.1				569				8.9
Total		$	2,762				100.0			$	6,380				100.0

General and administrative expenses increased by $3.6 million to $6.4 million for year ended December 31, 2016 from $2.8 million for year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in general and administrative expenses included the following:

 

•

$1.3 million for increased personnel compensation and related costs which was primarily attributable to increased administrative personnel compensation costs, due to hiring of more personnel during year ended December 31, 2016 and the grants of new share options to certain employees; and

 

•

$2.4 million for increased professional service fee due to the increase of legal due diligence expenses in fiscal year 2016.

Interest income

Interest income increased by $0.4 million for year ended December 31, 2016 due to higher cash on hand in 2016.

Fair value change of warrants

On December 31, 2015, we entered into a warrant agreement with an investor to purchase up to 2,770,551 of our Series A2 preferred shares at $0.3609 per share. The fair value of the warrants of $2.0 million was expensed on the date of issuance and an additional $1.9 million change in fair value was expensed in 2016 on the re-measurement date. The warrants are expected to be exercised in connection with this offering. Upon such conversion of the underlying preferred stock, the preferred stock will be classified as a component of equity and no longer be subject to re-measurement. We will incur a non-cash expense upon such exercise of $             (at an assumed initial public offering price of $             per ADS, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus).

Other income

Other income increased by $2.2 million for year ended December 31, 2016 primarily as a result of an increase in governmental subsidies.

 

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Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders

As a result of the foregoing, we had net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of $18.0 million the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of $37.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Liquidity and capital resources

Since our inception, we have incurred net losses and negative cash flows from our operations. Substantially all of our losses have resulted from funding our research and development programs and general and administrative costs associated with our operations. We incurred net losses of $11.8 million and $24.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and $18.0 million and $37.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively. As of June 30, 2017, we had an accumulated deficit of $84.6 million. Our primary use of cash is to fund research and development costs. Our operating activities used $8.8 million and $17.7 million of cash flows during the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and $11.5 million $32.2 million of cash flows during the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively. Historically, we have financed our operations principally through proceeds from private placements of preferred shares and warrants of $164.5 million. At June 30, 2017, we had cash and cash equivalents of $92.6 million. We believe that the net proceeds of this offering, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, will be sufficient to fund our operations through              .

Our ability to pay dividends may depend on receiving distributions of funds from our PRC subsidiaries. Relevant PRC statutory laws and regulations permit payments of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. The results of operations reflected in the consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP differ from those reflected in the statutory financial statements of our PRC subsidiaries. In accordance with the relevant applicable PRC laws and regulations, a domestic enterprise is required to provide statutory reserves of at least 10% of its annual after-tax profit until such reserve has reached 50% of its respective registered capital based on the enterprise’s PRC statutory accounts. A domestic enterprise is also required to provide discretionary surplus reserve, at the discretion of the board of directors, from the profits determined in accordance with the enterprise’s PRC statutory accounts. The aforementioned reserves can only be used for specific purposes and are not distributable as cash dividends. Our PRC subsidiaries were established as domestic enterprises and therefore are subject to the above mentioned restrictions on distributable profits.

During the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017 and the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, no appropriation to statutory reserves was made because our PRC subsidiaries had substantial losses during such periods. As a result of relevant applicable PRC laws and regulations subject to the limit discussed above that require annual appropriations of 10% of after-tax income to be set aside, prior to payment of dividends, as a general reserve fund, our PRC subsidiaries are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of its net assets. Foreign exchange and other regulations in the PRC may further restrict our PRC subsidiaries from transferring funds to us in the form of dividends, loans and advances. As of June 30, 2017, amounts restricted are the paid-in capital of our PRC subsidiaries, which amounted to $64.0 million.

 

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The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2017 and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016:

 

		Six months ended June 30,								Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)		2016				2017				2015				2016
Net cash (used in) operating activities			(8,809	)			(17,677	)			(11,465	)			(32,158	)
Net cash (used in) investing activities			(49	)			(3,647	)			(738	)			(2,730	)
Net cash provided by financing activities			106,200				29,840				18,278				106,200
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes			(5	)			97				(67	)			(524	)
Net increases in cash and cash equivalents			97,337				8,613				6,008				70,788

Net cash used in operating activities

The use of cash resulted primarily from our net losses adjusted for non-cash charges and changes in components of our operating assets and liabilities. The primary use of our cash was to fund the development of our research and development activities, regulatory and other clinical trial costs, and related supporting administration. Our prepayments and other current assets, accounts payable and other payables balances were affected by the timing of vendor invoicing and payments.

During the six months ended June 30, 2017, our operating activities used $17.7 million of cash, which resulted principally from our net loss of $24.4 million, adjusted for non-cash charges of $4.3 million, and by cash used in our operating assets and liabilities of $2.4 million. Our net non-cash charges during the six months ended June 30, 2017 primarily consisted of $0.1 million of depreciation expense, $4.4 million of share-based compensation expense and a $0.2 million gain from changes in fair value of warrants.

During the six months ended June 30, 2016, our operating activities used $8.8 million of cash, which resulted principally from our net loss of $11.8 million, adjusted for non-cash charges of $2.8 million, and by cash provided by our operating assets and liabilities of $0.2 million. Our net non-cash charges during the six months ended June 30, 2016 primarily consisted of $0.1 million of depreciation expense, $1.8 million of share-based compensation expense and a $0.9 million loss from changes in fair value of warrants.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, our operating activities used $32.2 million of cash, which resulted principally from our net loss of $37.5 million, adjusted for non-cash charges of $7.0 million, and by cash used in our operating assets and liabilities of $1.7 million. Our net non-cash charges during the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily consisted of $0.2 million of depreciation expense, $4.9 million of share-based compensation expense and a $1.9 million loss from changes in fair value of warrants.

During the year ended December 31, 2015, our operating activities used $11.5 million of cash, which resulted principally from our net loss of $18.0 million, adjusted for non-cash charges of $4.8 million, and by cash provided by our operating assets and liabilities of $1.7 million. Our net non-cash charges during the year ended December 31, 2015 primarily consisted of $0.1 million of depreciation expense, $2.7 million of share-based compensation expense and a $2.0 million loss from changes in fair value of warrants.

Net cash used in investing activities

Net cash used in investing activities was $3.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 compared to $0.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016. The increase in cash used in investing activities was mainly due to the construction of our small molecule commercial facility in 2017.

 

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Net cash used in investing activities was $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in cash used in investing activities was due to the construction of our small molecule commercial facility and other investments in 2016.

Net cash provided by financing activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was $29.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 compared to $106.2 million cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2016. The financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017 primarily consisted of the issuance of $30 million Series C preferred shares.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $106.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $18.3 million cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase was due to the issuance of $106.2 million Series B preferred shares and warrants to certain investors.

Internal control over financial reporting

In connection with the audit of our financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016. The material weakness related to the lack of sufficient accounting personnel with U.S. GAAP knowledge and SEC financial reporting requirements for the purpose of financial reporting, and lack of accounting policies and procedures over financial reporting in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We are implementing measures designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate this material weakness, including the following:

 

•

hiring additional financial professionals with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting experience;

 

•

increasing the number of qualified financial reporting personnel;

 

•

improving the capabilities of existing financial reporting personnel through training and education in the accounting and reporting requirements under U.S. GAAP and SEC rules and regulations;

 

•

developing, communicating and implementing an accounting policy manual for our financial reporting personnel for recurring transactions and period-end closing processes; and

 

•

establishing effective monitoring and oversight controls for non-recurring and complex transactions to ensure the accuracy and completeness of our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

These additional resources and procedures are designed to enable us to broaden the scope and quality of our internal review of underlying information related to financial reporting and to formalize and enhance our internal control procedures. With the oversight of senior management and our board of directors, we have begun taking steps and plan to take additional measures to remediate the underlying causes of the material weakness.

We, and our independent registered public accounting firm, were not required to perform an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016 in accordance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we have identified all, or that we will not in the future have additional, material weaknesses. Material weaknesses may still exist when we report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as required by reporting requirements under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act after the completion of this offering.

 

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Contractual obligations

The following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2016. Amounts we pay in future periods may vary from those reflected in the table.

 

		Total				Less than 1 year				1 to 3 years				3 to 5 years				More than 5 years
		(in thousands)
Operating Lease Obligations		$	2,119			$	712			$	1,209			$	198			$	—
Purchase Obligations			3,397				3,397				—				—				—
Total		$	5,516			$	4,109			$	1,209			$	198				—

We also have obligations to make future payments to third party licensors that become due and payable on the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones as well as tiered royalties on net sales. We have not included these commitments on our balance sheet or in the table above because the commitments are cancelable if the milestones are not complete and achievement and timing of these obligations are not fixed or determinable.

Off-balance sheet arrangements

We currently do not engage in trading activities involving non-exchange traded contracts or interest rate swap transactions or foreign currency forward contracts. In the ordinary course of our business, we do not enter into transactions involving, or otherwise form relationships with, unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships that are established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.

Qualitative & quantitative disclosures about market risk

We are exposed to market risk including foreign exchange risk, credit risk, cash flow interest rate risk and liquidity risk.

Foreign exchange risk

Renminbi (“RMB”) is not a freely convertible currency. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, under the authority of the People’s Bank of China, controls the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies. The value of RMB is subject to changes in central government policies and to international economic and political developments affecting supply and demand in the China Foreign Exchange Trading System market. The cash and cash equivalents of our company included aggregated amounts of RMB3.5 million and RMB44.2 million, which were denominated in RMB, as of December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively, representing 4% and 8% of the cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Our business mainly operates in the PRC with most of our transactions settled in RMB, and our financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars. We do not believe that we currently have any significant direct foreign exchange risk and have not used any derivative financial instruments to hedge our exposure to such risk. Although, in general, our exposure to foreign exchange risks should be limited, the value of your investment in our ADSs will be affected by the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the RMB because the value of our business is effectively denominated in RMB, while the ADSs will be traded in U.S. dollars.

Translation of the net proceeds that we will receive from this offering into RMB will also expose us to currency risk. The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among

 

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other things, changes in China’s political and economic conditions. The conversion of RMB into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, has been based on rates set by the PBOC. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar. Under the revised policy, the RMB is permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. This change in policy resulted in a more than 20% appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar in the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted, and the exchange rate between the RMB and U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. In June 2010, the PBOC announced that the PRC government would increase the flexibility of the exchange rate, and thereafter allowed the RMB to appreciate slowly against the U.S. dollar within the narrow band fixed by the PBOC. However, more recently, on August 11, 12 and 13, 2015, the PBOC significantly devalued the RMB by fixing its price against the U.S. dollar 1.9%, 1.6%, and 1.1% lower than the previous day’s value, respectively.

To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive from this offering into RMB for our operations or if any of our arrangements with other parties are denominated in U.S. dollars and need to be converted into RMB, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amounts available to us.

Credit risk

Our credit risk is primarily attributable to the carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents. The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents represent the maximum amount of loss due to credit risk. As of December 31, 2015 and 2016, all of our cash and cash equivalents were held by major financial institutions located in the PRC and international financial institutions outside of the PRC which we believe are of high credit quality, and we will continually monitor the credit worthiness of these financial institutions.

Recently issued accounting standards

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Updates, or ASU, 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), to clarify the principles of recognizing revenue and create common revenue recognition guidance between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS. An entity has the option to apply the provisions of ASU 2014-09 either retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying this standard recognized at the date of initial application. ASU 2014-09 is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2016, and early adoption is not permitted. In August, 2015, the FASB updated this standard to ASU 2015-14, the amendments in this update defer the effective date of Update 2014-09, that the update should be applied to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and earlier application is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period.

In May 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients. The amendments in this update do not change the core principle of the guidance in Topic 606. Rather, the amendments in this update affect only the narrow aspects of Topic 606. The areas improved include: (1) Assessing the Collectability Criterion in Paragraph 606-10-25-1(e) and Accounting for Contracts That Do Not Meet the Criteria for Step 1; (2) Presentation of Sales Taxes and Other Similar Taxes Collected from Customers; (3) Noncash Consideration; (4) Contract Modifications at Transition; (5) Completed Contracts at Transition; and (6) Technical Correction. The effective date and transition requirements for the amendments in this update are the same as the effective date and transition requirements for Topic 606 (and any other topic amended by update 2014-09).

 

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We are in a development stage, with no revenues to date, and will evaluate the application of this ASU, but as a result we have not yet determined the potential effects it may have on the Company’s financial statements.

In November 2015, FASB issued ASU 2015-17, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes, which requires deferred income tax liabilities and assets to be classified as noncurrent on the balance sheet rather than being separated into current and noncurrent. The guidance is effective for public entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods with early adoption being permitted. We have adopted this guidance during the year ended December 31, 2016, retrospectively. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (“ASU 2016-01”), which requires that equity investments, except for those accounted for under the equity method or those that result in consolidation of the investee, be measured at fair value, with subsequent changes in fair value recognized in net income. However, an entity may choose to measure equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. ASU 2016-01 also impacts the presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments. ASU 2016-01 is effective for public business entities for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted only for certain provisions. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this guidance on the consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize most leases on the balance sheet. This ASU requires lessees to recognize a right-of-use asset and lease liability for all leases with terms of more than 12 months. Lessees are permitted to make an accounting policy election to not recognize the asset and liability for leases with a term of twelve months or less. The ASU does not significantly change the lessees’ recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses and cash flows from the previous accounting standard. Lessors’ accounting under the ASC is largely unchanged from the previous accounting standard. In addition, the ASU expands the disclosure requirements of lease arrangements. Lessees and lessors will use a modified retrospective transition approach, which includes a number of practical expedients. The provisions of this guidance are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those years, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating this ASU to determine the full impact on its consolidated financial statements, as well as the impact of adoption on policies, practices and systems. As of December 31, 2016, we have $2.1 million of future minimum operating lease commitments that are not currently recognized on its consolidated balance sheets. Therefore, we would expect changes to its consolidated balance sheets for the recognition of these and any additional leases entered into in the future upon adoption.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions for both public and non-public entities, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. For public entities, the ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption will be permitted in any interim or annual period for which financial statements have not yet been issued or have not been made available for issuance. We have elected to early adopt this standard on a modified retrospective basis at the beginning of the period presented as we elected to account for forfeitures when they occur to reduce the complexity in the accounting of share based compensation.

 

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In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230). The update is intended to improve financial reporting in regards to how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. This update requires that debt extinguishment costs be classified as cash outflows for financing activities and provides additional classification guidance for the statement of cash flows. The update also requires that the classification of cash receipts and payments that have aspects of more than one class of cash flows to be determined by applying specific guidance under generally accepted accounting principles. The update also requires that each separately identifiable source or use within the cash receipts and payments be classified on the basis of their nature in financing, investing or operating activities. The update is effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this guidance on the consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740). Under the new standard, an entity is to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. The new standard does not include new disclosure requirements; however, existing disclosure requirements might be applicable when accounting for the current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory. The new standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within those annual periods. The ASU is not expected impact the consolidated balance sheet upon adoption.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230), Restricted Cash. The update applies to all entities that have restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents and are required to present a statement of cash flows. The update addresses diversity in practice that exists in the classification and presentation of changes in restricted cash on the statement of cash flows, and requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. As a result, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The update is effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The updates should be applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented. We currently do not have restricted cash balances.

In May 2017, FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. The guidance provides clarity and reduces diversity in practice and cost and complexity when accounting for a change to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. The amendments in this update are effective for all entities for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The Group is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this ASU will have on its consolidated financial statements.

JOBS Act exemptions and foreign private issuer status

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. This includes an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may take advantage of this exemption for up to five years or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We will cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue, have more than $700.0 million in market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates or issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these

 

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reduced burdens. We have irrevocably elected not to take advantage of the extended transition period provided under Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards.

Upon consummation of this offering, we will report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, as long as we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act we will be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including:

 

•

the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;

 

•

the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time;

 

•

the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events; and

 

•

Regulation FD, which regulates selective disclosures of material information by issuers.

 

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Industry

Evolution of China’s emerging innovative pharmaceutical market

China’s pharmaceutical market is the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world and is projected to grow from $115 billion in 2016 to $160 billion by 2021 and $237 billion by 2026, according to BMI Research. This growth is driven by strong fundamental demand for therapeutic treatments and the Chinese government’s focus on providing better quality care to patients including by encouraging greater usage of innovative drugs. We believe that the significant market opportunities for innovative therapies in the China market are due to several trends, including:

 

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Demographics and disease incidence:    China’s large and rapidly aging population, increasingly sedentary and westernized lifestyle and environmental pollution are contributing to rising incidence rates of diseases in China, such as cancer. China had a total annual cancer incidence of 4.3 million people, compared to 1.7 million in the United States in 2015. For some specific tumor types, including lung, gastric and liver, China’s incidence represents approximately 40% to 50% of worldwide incidences.

 

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Improving access to healthcare:    The Chinese government has been strongly committed to improving healthcare access for patients, including enabling access to healthcare through universal public insurance coverage. Recently, the Chinese government has encouraged commercial private health insurance to further increase healthcare accessibility.

 

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Increasing affordability and demand for healthcare:    According to the Global Wealth Report 2015, China’s middle class population, adjusted for local purchasing power, amounted to 109 million people, which is larger than the 92 million middle class population in the United States. Nevertheless, China’s middle class accounted for only 11% of the total Chinese adult population in 2015, lower than the 38% in the United States, and this share is expected to grow. The rising middle class in China is expected to lead to increasing self-awareness of health issues and demand for more effective treatments.

 

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Focus on innovation:    Historically, China’s pharmaceutical market was dominated by mature and generic products. In 2016, innovative patented prescription drugs accounted for only 22% of total drug sales in China, significantly lower than the approximately 75% share of patented drugs in the United States. In recent years, the Chinese government has focused on promoting innovation especially in areas of high unmet medical need through streamlining regulatory processes, improving drug quality standards and fostering a favorable environment for innovation. For example in 2016, the Chinese government announced the “Healthy China 2030” plan, which included a goal to increase the overall five year survival rate of cancer by 15% by 2030, which we believe underscores the need for innovative therapies. Going forward, innovative patented therapeutics are projected to grow at over 10% annually until 2020, which is expected to surpass the growth rate of generic products.

CFDA regulatory outlook—CFDA reform to accelerate innovation

Historically, time to market of new products has been slow in China due to long regulatory timelines, resulting from large numbers of applications for generic drugs, constrained capability of China’s Center for Drug Evaluation, or CDE, and other factors. In 2014, there were approximately 120 staff members in the CDE to review more than 8,000 new drug applications every year. This resulted in a large volume of backlog. Recognizing these issues and determined to promote innovation, in August 2015 China’s State Council released its circular Opinions Concerning the Reform of the Review and Approval System for Drugs and Medical Devices, or Circular No. 44, which sets forth the government’s clear determination to encourage transformation and

 

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upgrade of the pharmaceutical industry. It also officially started the CFDA’s reform of the drug review and approval system, with five major goals:

 

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Improve the quality of regulatory approval and establish a more scientific and efficient evaluation system for drug and medical device registration;

 

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Clear the backlog of registration applications and strictly control the approval of oversupplied drugs;

 

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Accelerate the conformance assessment of generic drugs;

 

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Encourage clinically oriented drug innovation, improve the review process of innovative drugs, open approval fast lanes for innovative drugs of high clinical demand and introduce the pilot Marketing Authorization Holder, or MAH, scheme to incentivize local biopharmaceutical companies to engage in drug development while utilizing contract manufacturers in China to manufacture their drugs; and

 

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Make the approval process more transparent to the public.

Since the launch of this initiative, significant progress has been made by the CFDA. Total CDE staff numbers increased to around 600 by 2016 and the backlog has been almost eliminated, according to the 2016 working report of the CDE. The IND/CTA timeline has been reduced from an average of 33 months to eight months, and the NDA timeline from 35 months to 11 months, according to the Boston Consulting Group. Meanwhile, priority review for innovative drugs with large unmet need has been established. In 2016, approximately 200 drug applications were granted priority review, of which approximately 40% were oncology, autoimmune or infectious disease therapeutics.

More recently, on May 11, 2017, the CFDA issued three new draft policies regarding innovation for public comments. The three draft policies aim to accelerate the review and approval of new drug and medical device applications (Circular No. 52), deregulate the conduct of clinical trials to encourage innovation (Circular No. 53), and enhance post-market supervision throughout a product’s entire life cycle (Circular No. 54). Specifically, several new measures were proposed by the draft policies to reduce government controls over clinical studies and marketing authorizations, including, but not limited to:

 

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Streamline of the clinical trial authorization process.    Like the IND process in the United States, companies would need to submit a CTA to the CDE but will only need to wait 60 working days before initiating the study, unless the CDE rejects the application or issues a deficiency notice during the 60-day period.

 

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Accept foreign clinical study data.    Foreign clinical data can be submitted to support NDA applications in China as long as (i) the studies comply with Chinese regulations, (ii) the studies pass the CFDA’s on-site audits and (iii) applicants can provide clinical data to prove that no ethnicity difference affects the drug’s safety and efficacy.

 

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Improve efficiency of ethics reviews.    Currently, ethics committee review at clinical trial sites occurs after the CDE’s approval of the CTA. In the proposed regulatory scheme, companies can apply for ethics committee review and approval in parallel to the CDE’s review of the CTA.

 

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Allow conditional approvals for urgently needed therapies.    Drugs that offer new solutions for treating life-threatening diseases or address critical unmet medical needs could be eligible for conditional approval, as long as early- and mid-stage study data in clinical trials indicate their efficacy and predict their clinical value. Companies receiving conditional approval must develop a risk management plan and initiate confirmatory post-approval studies in accordance with the requirements in the conditional approvals. Innovative drugs sponsored by the National Science and Technology Major Project can be eligible for expedited review and approval.

 

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Market access benefits.    Hospitals will be encouraged to prioritize their procurement and use of new drugs with definite efficacy and reasonable prices. The government will support inclusion of innovative drugs in the basic medical insurance scheme, and the reimbursable drug list will be updated more frequently.

The CFDA was admitted as a new regulatory member by the ICH on June 1, 2017, and will reform its regulatory process in order to conform its policies and regulations to ICH guidelines. We believe it is likely that the draft policies will be adopted and benefit China-based companies that are experienced with global standards of innovative drug development. If the draft policies are not fully adopted, we believe that China-based, innovation-focused pharmaceutical companies will still enjoy competitive advantages over foreign peers. Under the current CFDA regulations, foreign pharmaceutical companies are typically allowed to receive NDAs in China after their products are approved by a foreign regulatory authority. This requirement typically causes delays in time to market for foreign pharmaceutical companies.

Medical insurance and drug spending outlook—multiple engines for improving affordability

Over the past decade, the Chinese national government has been working on alleviating the burden on individuals by expanding health insurance coverage from approximately 30% of the population in 2003 to over 95% in 2013, with a goal of achieving universal coverage by 2020. At the same time, medical insurance plans at the provincial level have been introduced to complement the basic insurance programs. This increase in health insurance coverage has had a dramatic impact on drug reimbursement and affordability in China.

In China, public drug reimbursement schemes depend on the inclusion on the National Reimbursement Drug List, or NRDL, and/or provincial reimbursement drug lists, or PRDL. Historically, the NRDL generally included basic or mature drugs, which were subject to significant price cuts with the PRDL having some flexibility to include more expensive and innovative therapies. In early 2017, the Chinese government updated the NRDL for the first time since its last update in 2009. With the strong intention to promote innovation, the Chinese government has added 339 new drugs to the NRDL, some of which are expensive oncology and autoimmune drugs, including Yi Sai Pu, a local recombinant TNFa receptor II product for rheumatoid arthritis, and Conmana^®, the first domestically-developed oncology targeted therapy. In addition to these drugs, the Chinese government created a list with 44 more innovative drugs for price negotiation in 2017. In late July 2017, the government announced the result of the negotiation; among the 44 drugs, 36 drugs have reached the price agreement successfully, 18 of which are for oncology treatment. The 36 drugs will be included in the NRDL and the PRDL.

Aside from the Chinese government’s efforts to improve public reimbursement, a large part of China’s population has become increasingly affluent and has demonstrated an ability and willingness to pay out-of-pocket for innovative drugs. For example, in June 2011, Betta Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.’s drug Conmana^®, the first domestically-developed oncology targeted therapy in China, was approved by the CFDA for second- or third- line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. In November 2014, the approved indication expanded to first-line treatment of patients with advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, mutations. Conmana^®, along with the other EGFR inhibitor Iressa ^® were not included in the NRDL until 2017. Another EGFR inhibitor Tarceva^® was included in the NRDL price negotiation list in April 2017. According to the CFDA Southern Medicine Economic Research Institute, aggregate China sales of these three EGFR inhibitors, mostly driven by patient self-pay, grew from approximately $180 million since Conmana’s launch in 2011 to nearly $450 million in 2015. Although rapidly growing in recent years, this represented only 12.3% of the total lung cancer market in 2015. These relatively modest penetration rates highlight the growth potential for targeted therapy drugs as supported by both self-pay and improving public reimbursement environment.

 

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In addition to government health insurance and self-pay, there is also growing government support for the development of commercial private health insurance to provide support for China’s growing middle and upper classes. Favorable industry policies such as tax incentives to consumers have been issued. Total private health insurance premiums increased by over two times, from RMB 158.7 billion in 2014 to RMB 404.2 billion in 2016, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. There are now already more than 100 private insurers in China offering some type of medical coverage.

The advantages of being a China-based, innovation-focused biopharmaceutical platform

Innovation is one of China’s strategic priorities in its most recent Five-Year Plan, a high-level master plan guiding China’s economic development for a period of five years. The biopharmaceutical industry is one of the six “pillar industry sectors” in the government’s pathway to transform China from a manufacturing-focused economy to an innovation-focused economy. Multiple initiatives have been implemented by the government to support this goal. For example, the State Key Healthcare Project designation is granted to promising therapies from China. The grant recipients may benefit from expedited regulatory review and other favorable conditions for the product, including market access benefits. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is also encouraging venture capital and private equity funds to invest in the biopharmaceutical industry and is providing tax incentives to companies that invest in the research and development of innovative drugs. Furthermore, the Chinese government introduced a “Thousand Talents Plan” to recruit leading overseas scientists and business leaders to advance high tech companies and encourage innovation in China. We expect that this multi-pronged approach will support the emergence of innovative, globally competitive China-based biopharmaceutical companies.

However, the China pharmaceutical market remains fragmented and dominated by a large number of generic drug manufacturers. Although the Chinese government is actively promoting consolidation through increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, the historical lack of investment in research and development has created a deficit in the infrastructure needed to keep pace with the government’s focus on innovative drugs and its requirement to conduct robust clinical trials in Chinese patients. As a result, while there is a growing demand for innovative drugs to address urgent areas such as oncology, the domestic pharmaceutical companies lack effective clinical development capabilities. We believe there is a significant opportunity for global standard China-based companies that develop, manufacture and commercialize innovative medicines for the China market and beyond.

Some of the key advantages of being a fully integrated, China-based and innovation-focused biopharmaceutical development and commercialization platform include:

Accelerated time to market

The CFDA regulatory framework for new drug development is modeled on the FDA’s development pathway. Upon completion of its preclinical research, the developer is required to obtain the CFDA’s CTA before initiating clinical trials in China. A three-phase clinical evaluation program is typically required to demonstrate drug safety and efficacy. Developers then submit an NDA.

The CFDA adopted a classification system to guide its registration and approval pathways for chemical drugs, botanical drugs and biological drugs. New drugs and generics (or biosimilars) are assigned to different categories. Under the new classification system adopted by the CFDA in March 2016, chemical drugs are classified into five categories. Category 1 drugs refer to innovative chemical drugs which are not approved anywhere in the world at the time of their initial China CTA submission and are manufactured in China at the time of their NDA submissions. In comparison, imported drugs that are manufactured outside China or have

 

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been first approved by a foreign regulatory authority are referred to as Category 5 drugs. When a chemical drug candidate is accepted as Category 1, it is entitled to expedited CTA and NDA review and approval, similar to the FDA Fast Track Designation.

Market exclusivity for up to five years

Innovative drugs which are manufactured in China are monitored for five years by the CFDA following their NDA approval, during which the CFDA will not accept any applications for new drugs with the same active ingredient.

By contrast, an imported drug which receives its NDA approval from the CFDA is not afforded any protection from this monitoring requirement. Therefore, Category 1 new drugs approved by the CFDA and manufactured in China receive a de facto exclusivity (assuming no other applications were already on file) for five years plus the time it would take for the CFDA to accept, review and approve a competitor’s NDA filing for a drug with the same active ingredient. We believe this regulatory framework provides significant advantages for companies developing and manufacturing new drugs in China.

Customized development programs which are tailored to Chinese patients’ specific unmet medical needs, and higher efficiency in executing clinical development programs

Companies with China-based research and development operations are more likely to efficiently execute drug development programs in China. Moreover, we believe that companies with their headquarters and key decision makers in China will be able to develop broad and deep relationships with Chinese key opinion leaders which will have benefits both in the development and commercialization of drugs. By leveraging these strong working relationships, China-based companies can more efficiently collaborate with key opinion leaders to rapidly design clinical trial protocols to focus on the clinical needs and characteristics of Chinese patients that are in line with the standard of care in China, which can be different from the standard of care in either the United States or Europe. This localized approach to clinical development allows China-based companies to generate the clinical data in Chinese patients that satisfies the CFDA’s stringent requirements for clinical trials to identify, or confirm the absence of, ethnicity differences a drug may have in Chinese patients. Through these interactions with Chinese key opinion leaders, domestic companies are also able to efficiently enroll and conduct their clinical trials in China. Moreover, by engaging with these key opinion leaders through the clinical trial stage, domestic companies gain prior experience and have superior communication channels to cultivate the endorsement of these key opinion leaders, which is important in commercializing the drug in China.

Global pharmaceutical companies have historically been and, we believe, continue to be focused on accessing familiar, more established markets, such as the United States and Europe, where they have established clinical development infrastructure. Their reluctance to commence early stage clinical trials in China will hinder the speed of executing clinical development programs for the Chinese market.

Commercialization of innovative therapies

China-based, innovation-focused biopharmaceutical companies have several advantages in commercializing their products in China. By engaging key opinion leaders in the design and conduct of local clinical trials, these drugs benefit from the key opinion leaders’ practical experience and endorsement of their clinical efficacy in the Chinese population, which we believe may allow more rapid acceptance of the drug by physicians and accelerate market uptake. In addition, locally-developed products have other market access benefits, such as advantages in reimbursement and priority in hospital procurement. These advantages have already been demonstrated in the commercial success of local innovative drugs, which have taken market share from multinationals on several occasions.

 

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For example, in the EGFR inhibitor market, Conmana was launched in 2011, approximately six years after Iressa’s entry in China. By 2015, despite being the last EGFR inhibitor to enter the market, Conmana gained significant share from Iressa, reaching approximately 33% market share in the lung cancer EGFR inhibitor market, and becoming the second product in the market, after Iressa’s 44% share. The advantage has also been observed in the case of a local product launched earlier than multinational products. Yi Sai Pu was the first anti-TNF-a product approved for treating rheumatoid arthritis, which was launched in China in 2005. Other anti-TNF-a therapies for rheumatoid arthritis such as Enbrel, Humira and Remicade all received CFDA approval between 2006 and 2010. More than 10 years after its launch, Yi Sai Pu has maintained its leading market position with a market share of over 60% as of 2016, according to 3SBio Inc., the maker of Yi Sai Pu. We believe these examples demonstrate the unique advantage of a local innovator when commercializing a product in China.

 

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Business

Overview of our business

We are an innovative biopharmaceutical company based in Shanghai focusing on discovering or licensing, developing and commercializing proprietary therapeutics that address areas of large unmet medical need in the China market, including in the fields of oncology, autoimmune and infectious diseases. We believe there exists a significant opportunity to build an organization that not only addresses such unmet needs but leverages underutilized resources in China to foster innovation. As part of that effort, we have assembled a management team with global experience and an extensive track record in navigating the regulatory process to develop and commercialize innovative drugs in China. Our mission is to leverage our expertise and insight to address the expanding needs of Chinese patients in order to transform their lives and eventually utilize our China-based competencies to impact human health worldwide.

Furthermore, Zai Lab was built on the vision that, despite having a significant addressable market and sizable growth potential, China has historically lacked access to many innovative therapies available in other parts of the world and its drug development infrastructure has been underutilized. There remains the need to bring new and transformative therapies to China. In recent years, the Chinese government has focused on promoting local innovation through streamlining regulatory processes, improving drug quality standards and fostering a favorable environment, which we believe creates an attractive opportunity for the growth of China-based, innovation-focused companies.

Since our founding in 2014, we have assembled an innovative pipeline consisting of six drug candidates through partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies. These include three late-stage assets targeting fast growing segments of China’s pharmaceutical market and three assets addressing global unmet medical needs. We believe that our management’s extensive global drug development expertise, combined with our demonstrated understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, clinical resources and regulatory system in China, has provided us, and will continue to provide us, opportunities to partner with global companies aiming to bring innovative products to market in China efficiently.

To date, we have in-licensed three late-stage clinical drug candidates for development in China, Hong Kong, Macau and, in certain instances, Taiwan, through partnerships with Tesaro, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Paratek. Our CTAs for two of these drug candidates have been accepted as Category 1 drugs by the CFDA. This classification provides us with a competitive advantage as Category 1 drugs benefit from an expedited review of CTAs and NDAs as well as commercial benefits.

Our lead drug candidate is niraparib (ZL-2306), an oral, once-daily small molecule PARP 1/2 inhibitor being developed and commercialized by our partner Tesaro. In March 2017, Tesaro received FDA marketing approval for niraparib as a maintenance treatment for women with recurrent platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer and, in April 2017, commercially launched the product in the United States under the commercial name Zejula. Niraparib is the first PARP inhibitor approved by the FDA for ovarian cancer that does not require BRCA mutation or other biomarker testing. We believe niraparib is uniquely suited for the China marketplace where BRCA biomarker diagnostic tests are not widely available. We intend to develop niraparib for Chinese patients across multiple tumor types and anticipate beginning two Phase III studies of niraparib in patients with ovarian cancer, one in the second half of 2017 and the other in the first half of 2018. In addition, we intend to pursue niraparib in other indications.

As part of our licensing strategy, we have also obtained global development and commercialization rights to three drug candidates, including one late-stage clinical and two preclinical drug candidates, through partnerships with GSK, Sanofi and UCB. We intend to leverage our resources and competitive advantages in

 

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China, including our ability to access China’s large patient population and conduct efficient clinical trials, to rapidly and cost-effectively establish proof of concept for such candidates prior to pursuing further late-stage development for the global market.

In the longer term, we plan to build a premier, fully integrated drug discovery and development platform that brings both in-licensed and internally-discovered medicines to patients in China and globally. Our strong in-house research and development team had previously been directly involved in the discovery and development of several successful innovative drug candidates at Hutchison Medi-Pharma, including fruquintinib and savolitinib. These assets were out-licensed to Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca, respectively. Our in-house discovery team is currently focused on exploring immuno-oncology approaches to treating cancer. We have collaborations with leading academic institutions in China, including Tsinghua University and Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, to expand our in-house research projects. We believe this team and our discovery strategy will enable us to achieve our long-term goal of commercializing our internally discovered innovative medicine for patients worldwide.

As our business grows, we plan to build our own commercial team to launch our portfolio of drug products. Part of our strategy to become a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company is the ability to produce both large and small molecule therapeutics under global standard cGMP. To this end, in the first half of 2017 we built a small molecule drug product facility capable of supporting clinical and commercial production and have also begun construction of a large molecule facility. Completion of the large molecule facility is expected in the first half of 2018, which we estimate will cost approximately $10.0 million to complete and will be financed with existing cash.

Finally, our company is led by a management team with extensive pharmaceutical research, development and commercialization track record in both global and Chinese biopharmaceutical companies. Our team is passionate about bringing transformative medicines to patients in China and worldwide.

Since our founding in 2014, we have raised $164.5 million in equity financing from our dedicated group of investors, including global and China-based healthcare funds.

 

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Our innovative pipeline

We have a broad pipeline of proprietary drug candidates that range from discovery stage to late-stage clinical programs. These include three drug candidates with greater China rights and three drug candidates with global rights. The following table summarizes our drug candidates and programs:

 

Our greater China rights drug candidates

Our three late-stage products with greater China rights focus on oncology and infectious diseases, two therapeutic areas where there is a large unmet need and lack of innovative treatment options in China. These drug candidates include:

 

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Niraparib (ZL-2306), a highly potent and selective oral, small molecule PARP 1/2 inhibitor with the potential to be a first-in-class drug for treatment across multiple solid tumor types in China including ovarian and certain types of breast and lung cancers. We have licensed niraparib from Tesaro, which in March 2017 received FDA marketing approval for niraparib (Zejula®) as maintenance treatment for women with recurrent platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer. Niraparib was commercially launched in the United States in April 2017. Niraparib does not require BRCA mutation or other biomarker testing as is necessary for other approved PARP inhibitors which, we believe, significantly expands its availability to ovarian cancer patients in China. As niraparib has been approved in the United States, if approved by the EMA, we anticipate commercializing niraparib in Hong Kong and Macau approximately 12 months after it is approved by the EMA. In China, our CTA for niraparib has been approved as a Category 1 drug by the CFDA. We anticipate initiating Phase III studies of niraparib in patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer as a second-line maintenance therapy in the second half of 2017, and as a first-line maintenance therapy in the first half of 2018. These studies are expected to be similar in design to Tesaro’s clinical studies of niraparib. We also anticipate beginning a Phase III

 

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study in patients with gBRCA positive breast cancer in the first half of 2018. In addition, we intend to study niraparib in patients with triple negative breast cancer, squamous-type non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer in China. Niraparib has the potential to be the first PARP inhibitor marketed in China. In addition to niraparib monotherapy in the potential indications stated, we also intend to explore the combination of niraparib with other potential therapies such as immuno-oncology therapy, targeted therapy and chemotherapy in the clinically relevant indications.

 

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Omadacycline (ZL-2401) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic in a new class of tetracycline derivatives, known as aminomethylcyclines. We have licensed omadacycline from Paratek where it is primarily being developed for ABSSSI, CABP and UTI. Omadacycline is designed to overcome the two major mechanisms of tetracycline resistance, known as pump efflux and ribosome protection. If approved, omadacycline is expected to be available in IV and PO once-daily formulations. Paratek has reported the results of two pivotal IV-to-oral Phase III studies of omadacycline in ABSSSI and CABP. Both of these studies achieved their primary endpoints. Paratek also reported top-line data from its oral-only Phase III ABSSSI study in July 2017. This study also achieved its primary endpoints. We are in the technology transfer stage and plan to discuss China development plans with key opinion leaders and the CFDA.

 

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ZL-2301 is an oral, small molecule dual target TKI which blocks both VEGFR and FGFR. ZL-2301 was studied by our partner Bristol-Myers Squibb mainly for the treatment of HCC, the most common type of liver cancer. In these trials, ZL-2301 demonstrated anti-tumor activity and a generally well-established safety profile in HCC patients. In 2012, Bristol-Myers Squibb terminated its development program of ZL-2301 after it missed the primary endpoints in two Phase III trials with advanced HCC patients. Based on our review of the results from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s development program for ZL-2301, our understanding of the etiology and current standard of care of HCC in Chinese patients and our ongoing research, we believe that ZL-2301 has the potential to be an effective treatment option for Chinese HCC patients and merits further clinical trials. The CFDA has approved our CTA for ZL-2301 as a Category 1 drug, and in the second quarter of 2017 we initiated a Phase II trial of ZL-2301 as a second-line treatment for advanced HCC patients in China. Pending results from this Phase II trial, we plan to initiate a Phase III clinical trial shortly thereafter.

For our late-stage oncology drug candidates with greater China rights, our near-term development plan focuses on specific patient segments. These patient segments have an estimated annual incidence of approximately 816,000 patients in China. We expect that the commercial success of our products will be driven by their differentiated clinical profiles, efficacy in Chinese patients and ability to provide clinical benefit over existing standards of care in a market where targeted therapies are either unavailable or less utilized relative to more developed markets. For additional information, please refer to the “Market Opportunity” section under each our clinical stage product candidates.

In addition to the opportunities available for our oncology products, we believe that, through our development of omadacycline, we have the chance to introduce into China a new broad-spectrum antibiotic with excellent activity not only against common Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but also against several MDR pathogens. The profile of omadacycline includes MRSA, enterococci, ESBL-E. coli and many Acinetobacter isolates. In addition, availability of an IV and oral formulation allows treatment of hospital- and community-acquired infections. The prevalent overuse of antibiotics, evolution of resistant bacteria and state of current treatment practices are expected to lead to an increase in drug-resistant infection rates. A 2015 study indicated that the total antibiotic usage in China in 2013 accounted for about half of the global antibiotic usage, with a per-capita use of antibiotics in China being more than five times that in Europe and the United States. Based on our estimates, in 2015 there was an incidence of approximately 2.8 million ABSSSI patients and 16.5 million CABP patients in China.

 

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The China market opportunity for our greater China-rights drug candidates

 

 

Sources: 1. Cancer Statistics in China, 2015, a study published by Wangqing Chen et. al. in “A Cancer Journal for Clinicians” in 2016, and based on historical data from 72 local, population-based cancer registries, representing 6.5% of China’s population. 2. Assumes that 10% and 15% of the total breast cancer patients would be with gBRCA+ mutation and triple negative mutation, respectively. According to the study by Kim and Choi in 2013, the percentage of BRCA 1/2 gene mutation in familial breast cancer and early-onset breast cancer patients ranged from 8.0% to 13.5% and from 8.7% to 11.4%, respectively. 10-20% of breast cancer is Triple-negative, according to the study by Ping-Ping Bao et. al in 2016. 3. American Cancer Society estimated that globally about 80-85% of lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer, and about 25-30% of lung cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. Calculation is based on 80% for NSCLC, of which 30% is squamous non-small cell lung cancer, and 20% for small cell lung cancer patients. 4. Management estimate. 5. According to the study by Ran Xu Zhu et. al. in 2016, HCC accounts for 80% of liver cancer patients.

In addition to mainland China, we intend to seek registration and commercialization of the above drug candidates, where we have applicable rights, in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. For Hong Kong and Macau, products with existing approvals by the FDA, EMA or a comparable regulatory agency are eligible for an expedited registration process that does not require conducting local clinical trials. In the case of niraparib, we intend to pursue expedited registration and, if approved by the EMA, expect to launch and commercialize niraparib in Hong Kong and Macau approximately 12 months after it is approved by the EMA.

While the overall patient population in Hong Kong and Macau is smaller compared to that of China, they are higher income markets with developed medical infrastructure, widely available private insurance and proven capacity to pay for advanced therapeutics. In addition to local patients, there is a significant opportunity to provide treatment for medical tourists from China, who visit these regions in order to access high-end cancer treatment, including prescription drugs which may not be available in mainland China.

Our global rights drug candidates

Our drug candidates for which we retain global rights include:

 

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Fugan (ZL-3101) is a novel steroid-sparing topical product for the treatment of eczema and psoriasis. We are developing fugan as a botanical formulation to offer patients with eczema and psoriasis a natural alternative to topical steroid treatments, which are currently the main forms of treatment and are known to have many side effects associated with long-term use. We licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to fugan from GSK in 2016. We initiated a Phase II study of fugan in patients with eczema in China in the second quarter of 2017. Pending results of this Phase II study, we plan to initiate a Phase III global, multi-center clinical trial.

 

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ZL-2302 is a multi-targeted TKI with activity against both ALK mutation and crizotinib-resistant ALK mutations being developed for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who have ALK

 

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mutations and who have developed crizotinib resistance and/or brain metastasis. We licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to ZL-2302 from Sanofi in 2015. Our preclinical studies demonstrated that ZL-2302 has ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, which could make ZL-2302 an effective therapy for a subset of patients who have non-small cell lung cancer with ALK mutations and brain metastasis. Such patients typically have limited treatment options, poor prognosis and low quality of life. Our CTA for ZL-2302 has been accepted as a Category 1 drug by the CFDA, and we expect to initiate a Phase I study of ZL-2302 in China in the first half of 2018.

 

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ZL-1101 is an anti-OX40 antagonistic antibody with first-in-class potential for the treatment of a range of autoimmune diseases such as graft-versus-host disease or systemic lupus erythematosus. We licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to ZL-1101 from UCB in 2015. Its anti-inflammatory activities have been validated by a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune disease models. ZL-1101’s bioactivities and functional potency have been investigated in both in vitro and in vivo studies. In such studies, cellular proliferation and production of inflammatory cytokines was markedly suppressed, demonstrating that ZL-1101 effectively inhibits lymphocyte activation. ZL-1101 was also found to be highly potent. We intend to file an IND in 2018.

Our vision and strategy

Our vision is to become a leading global innovative biopharmaceutical company based in China and deliver transformative medicines to patients in China and around the world. We intend to utilize our strengths to pursue the following strategies:

Rapidly advance and commercialize our in-licensed late stage clinical drug candidates.

Two of our late stage assets, niraparib and ZL-2301, have the potential to address large unmet medical needs in China’s oncology drug market, where there is a higher total incidence in our targeted indications compared to the United States market. In addition to our oncology products, we believe that through our development of ZL-2401 we have the chance to introduce into China a new and effective broad-spectrum antibiotic, while ZL-3101 could offer eczema and psoriasis patients with a natural alternative to topical steroid treatments, which are known to have many side effects associated with long-term use.

We intend to advance our lead asset, niraparib, into two Phase III trials in China as a second-line and first-line maintenance treatment in platinum sensitive ovarian cancer patients, regardless of their gBRCA mutation status, in the second half of 2017 and first half of 2018, respectively. We also anticipate beginning a Phase III study in patients with gBRCA mutation positive breast cancer in the first half of 2018. Niraparib has the potential to be the first PARP inhibitor marketed in China. As niraparib has been approved in the United States, if approved by the EMA, we anticipate commercializing niraparib in Hong Kong and Macau approximately 12 months after it is approved by the EMA.

In April 2017, we received an exclusive sub-license from Paratek to develop, manufacture and commercialize omadacycline in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Based on the clinical data, we believe omadacycline has the potential to be an effective treatment of patients with serious bacterial infections. We are in the technology transfer stage and plan to discuss China development plans with key opinion leaders and the CFDA.

In the second quarter of 2017, we initiated a Phase II trial for our dual target TKI, ZL-2301, in advanced HCC patients in China to investigate its optimal treatment schedule and dosage as a second-line treatment. Pending Phase II results, we intend to initiate to a Phase III registration trial. We also initiated a Phase II study of fugan, our global rights product, in patients with eczema in China in the second quarter of 2017. Pending results from this Phase II study, we plan to initiate a Phase III global, multi-center trial.

 

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Capitalize on our location in China, our management team’s domestic and international drug development experience and our track record of licensing to further solidify our position as a strategic gateway partner into China for biopharmaceutical companies outside of China.

Our drug development team has extensive domestic and international development expertise, combining unique insight in screening drug candidates in global development and an in-depth understanding of the Chinese development pathway. We believe that our management team’s experience navigating the Chinese regulatory framework, combined with potential enrollment efficiencies in China, including many treatment-naïve patients, concentrated treatment centers, and relatively lower clinical costs, gives us the ability to bring products to market in China expediently. Moreover, we benefit from China’s recent regulatory reforms, which aim to elevate drug quality standards and achieve a faster drug application review process. Given our plans to develop and manufacture our current clinical-stage drug candidates in China, we believe our current clinical drug candidates, other than fugan, will remain Category 1 drugs throughout the development and approval process, making them eligible for expedited regulatory pathways in China.

Conversely, global pharmaceutical companies have historically been and, we believe, continue to be, focused on mature western markets, with which they are more familiar and where they have established clinical development infrastructure. Their reluctance to commence early stage clinical trials in China and to prioritize obtaining China manufacturing rights for innovative products restricts such drug candidates potential to be classified as Category 1, which typically results in a longer regulatory review process than a domestically-manufactured drug candidate classified as Category 1. This has resulted in significant medical demand for innovative treatment options in China. In order to address this unmet medical need and to capture the rapid growth in the Chinese pharmaceutical market, we believe that an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies outside of China will seek to commercialize their drugs in China through a local partner that can do so in a timely and cost-effective manner.

As a result, we believe the combination of our management’s experience and knowledge, the changing regulatory landscape in China, the manufacturing and commercial capabilities we are developing and the global pharmaceutical industry’s current approach to the China market makes us an ideal gateway partner for biopharmaceutical companies outside of China seeking access to the China market. The recognition of our team as a local partner of choice in China is evidenced by our partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies, including Tesaro, Paratek and Bristol-Myers Squibb, that out-licensed their clinical products to Zai Lab. We will continue to actively seek high quality drug candidates and to evaluate inbound interest we receive. We are currently in active negotiations for multiple promising assets to further our ambitions to bring new medicines to the China market.

Continue to license promising programs for global rights.

We have a track record of in-licensing the global rights of drug candidates from leading global biopharmaceutical companies such as GSK, Sanofi and UCB. We will continue to seek new in-licensing opportunities which grant us the global rights for differentiated drug candidates. In particular, we focus on candidates that are complementary to our drug pipeline, have demonstrated promising data in early clinical studies and have large global market potential. We seek to utilize the advantages of drug development in China, including relatively fast patient enrollment and low clinical costs to rapidly establish proof of concept for such candidates prior to pursuing further global multi-center trials for the global market.

Build a fully integrated platform with drug discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities in China and expand globally.

We will continue to execute our strategy to become a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company in China. We have assembled an internal research and development team with extensive capabilities, whom we will leverage

 

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to discover and develop innovative drug candidates in China and globally. By focusing on developing, manufacturing and commercializing our late-stage in-licensed drug candidates in parallel with expanding our earlier-stage internal research and discovery capabilities, we believe we can rapidly establish a fully integrated biopharmaceutical platform. We believe that building our own China manufacturing and commercialization capabilities presents tangible benefits, which include maintaining better control over the quality and compliance of our operations with increasingly stringent industry regulations and receiving government manufacturing incentives. In addition, where appropriate, we will use China-based high-quality contract manufacturers as back-up and to supplement our internal manufacturing capabilities. By using our own internal manufacturing facilities or China-based contract manufacturers, we believe that we will be able to seek and maintain a Category 1 classification for our current clinical stage drug candidates (other than fugan) throughout the IND and NDA review process, where utilizing China-based manufacturing is a necessary condition for such classification. We believe these capabilities make us a more attractive China licensing partner for global pharmaceutical companies.

We have already built a cGMP-compliant small molecule facility capable of supporting clinical and commercial production and have begun construction of a cGMP-compliant large molecule facility capable of supporting clinical production of our drug candidates in China. The construction of the large molecule facility is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018.

Furthermore, to support our anticipated commercial launch of niraparib in Hong Kong and Macau, we have developed a targeted sales and marketing strategy and plan to build a specialized sales force to cover major medical centers in greater China, where the administration of innovative treatments for cancers and other diseases tend to be concentrated.

Leverage our senior management’s experience.

Our management team has extensive experience in the global pharmaceutical industry and is led by our Chief Executive Officer, Samantha Du, Ph.D., who is widely recognized as a leading figure in the China biotech industry. Before the founding of our business, Samantha Du managed the healthcare investment team for Sequoia Capital China, or Sequoia, where she led the fund’s investments, including Betta Pharma, BGI Genomics, and JHL Biotech. Prior to Sequoia, Samantha Du founded Hutchison Medi-Pharma as its Chief Executive Officer for over 10 years and co-founded and served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Hutchison China MediTech Limited, or Hutchison, a Nasdaq-listed biopharmaceutical company, where she pioneered China-based global biopharmaceutical innovation by bringing five innovative drug candidates into clinical development and for forging drug collaborations with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and Merck Serono. While at Hutchison, Samantha Du spearheaded the regulatory strategy for securing the very first green channel treatment, a CFDA policy that allows for an expedited registration process for innovative medical assets, for a Category 1 new drug asset, and also produced two programs that successfully completed multiple global Phase III trials. Prior to Hutchison, she was responsible for its global metabolic licensing programs on the scientific side for Pfizer in the United States and was also involved in the development of two clinical stage assets which were launched globally.

In addition to Samantha Du, our senior management team includes our Chief Medical Officer, Oncology, Qi Liu, M.D., Ph.D., a board-certified medical oncologist and hematologist, and our Chief Medical Officer, Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases, Harald Reinhart, M.D., board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.

Prior to joining our company, Dr. Liu was the clinical lead of the BioVenture group at AstraZeneca and executive medical director of AstraZeneca Oncology Global Medicine Development, where she played an essential role in establishing AstraZeneca’s biologics joint ventures and was responsible for its joint venture global development programs, regulatory strategy and submissions. She also played an important role in AstraZeneca’s TKI

 

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development program. Dr. Liu completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and medical oncology and hematology fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center where she was an assistant professor prior to joining AstraZeneca.

Prior to joining our company, Dr. Reinhart was the head of clinical development and medical affairs at Shionogi US, where he managed a broad portfolio of antibiotics, diabetes, allergy and pain medications, as well as guided a pharmaceutical compound through an NDA submission and approval. He also held senior roles at Novartis, where he oversaw successful filings of SNDAs and NDAs for Coartem, Famvir, Sebivo and Cubicin. Dr. Reinhart received a medical degree from the University of Würzburg in Germany and completed his specialty training in the United States.

Our clinical pipeline

Niraparib

Niraparib (ZL-2306) is a highly potent and selective oral, once-daily small molecule poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1/2, or PARP 1/2, inhibitor with the potential to be a first-in-class drug for treatment across multiple solid tumor types in China. In March 2017, niraparib was approved by the FDA as a maintenance treatment for women with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Maintenance therapy is for those women who have had prior treatment but are expected to see their cancer return, with the purpose of avoiding or slowing a recurrence if the cancer is in remission after the prior treatment. A platinum-sensitive cancer is one that responded to initial platinum-based chemotherapy and remained in remission post-chemo therapy for more than six months.

Niraparib is the first PARP inhibitor to be approved by the FDA for ovarian cancer that does not require BRCA mutation or other biomarker testing as is required for other approved PARP inhibitors. This makes niraparib suitable for a wide patient population and significantly more accessible to patients in China where BRCA biomarker diagnostic tests are not widely available. If approved by the CFDA, niraparib may potentially be the first PARP inhibitor on the China market approved for second-line maintenance treatment in all recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer patients.

We obtained an exclusive license for the development and commercialization of niraparib in China, Hong Kong and Macau in 2016. As niraparib has been approved in the United States, if approved by the EMA, we anticipate commercializing niraparib in Hong Kong and Macau approximately 12 months after it is approved by the EMA. In addition, our CTA for niraparib has been approved as a Category 1 drug, and we plan to initiate a Phase I pharmacokinetics, or PK, trial and two Phase III trials for niraparib as a first-line and second-line maintenance treatment in patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer in China. We also intend to study niraparib in patients with gBRCA positive breast cancer and lung cancer in China, either as a monotherapy or combination.

Market opportunity

We believe that niraparib represents a significant market opportunity in China, given its differentiated clinical profile, demonstrated clinical relevance to multiple solid tumor types, potential to provide a notable improvement to existing standards of care, and prospects to be utilized in multiple combination and monotherapy treatment options. We have the right to all indications in greater China (except prostate cancer), and we intend to pursue the approval and registration of niraparib as a potential first-in-class treatment in ovarian and certain types of breast and lung cancers. Across our targeted patient segments in the ovarian, breast cancer and lung indications, we estimate a total annual incidence of 443,000 patients based on 2015 data.

 

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We believe niraparib has the potential to be the first PARP inhibitor, or at least the first PARP inhibitor that does not need a biomarker test, in China. Based on our understanding, local PARP inhibitor product candidates are currently in early stage China clinical trials. Global PARP inhibitors have either not yet made an application in China or have included a limited number of Chinese patients as part of their global Phase III studies in BRCA+ patient populations, which would likely require additional local clinical trials prior to obtaining CFDA approval.

Our currently targeted indications for niraparib include the following:

Ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer had an estimated annual incidence of 52,000 patients in China in 2015, which is more than double that of the 21,300 patients in the United States and has seen increasing mortality rates. Since early symptoms of ovarian cancer are non-specific and difficult to detect, a majority of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed when the disease is at an advanced stage, when prognosis is poor. Finding effective therapeutic approaches for advanced ovarian cancer patients represents a large unmet medical need. Given the broad applicability of niraparib across all patient populations, regardless of gBRCA mutation status, we are currently targeting the entire platinum sensitive ovarian cancer patient population. This represents a significant advantage for patient convenience and access, given that there is no need for patients to utilize diagnostic tests to determine their gBRCA mutation status, particularly in China where such tests are not widely available.

The current standard of care in China consists of radical surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy. Although platinum-based chemotherapy is effective at inducing an initial response, ovarian cancer will recur in approximately 85% of women. Many women continue to respond to second-line platinum based chemotherapy, and following a response, the guideline-recommended approach for many patients is surveillance, monitoring patients for disease progression and managing their symptoms. However, during the surveillance period, ovarian cancer survivors report anxiety about cancer antigen testing and fear of recurrence, many experiencing symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. After relapse, patients respond moderately or poorly to subsequent chemotherapy, with later lines of therapy leading to progressively shorter treatment-free intervals. Therefore, we believe effective maintenance therapies that address a broad patient population are needed to prolong the duration of response following platinum-based treatment.

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among women in China, with a total estimated annual incidence of 268,600 female patients in 2015, which is nearly 16% larger than the incidence of 231,840 female patients in the United States. Breast cancer has also seen an increasing mortality rate. We initially intend to seek approval for niraparib for treatment of gBRCA positive breast cancer. We also contemplate seeking indication expansion in other patient sub-groups, such as triple negative breast cancer patients. If approved for usage in gBRCA mutation positive and triple negative breast cancer patients, we estimate a target patient pool of approximately 68,000 people, representing about a quarter of total breast cancer incidence in China.

There is no single standard treatment in patients with metastatic breast cancer who have previously failed anthracycline and taxane treatments. Furthermore, there are no approved treatments for patients with BRCA mutations, and patients are only treated according to the status of their hormone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2, status, where Herceptin is the recommended targeted therapy. Therefore, more effective therapies that specifically address the gBRCA+ patient population are needed.

We believe niraparib could bring significant benefits to gBRCA+ metastatic breast cancer patients in China based on available clinical results from niraparib and further clinical validation from other PARP inhibitors. In a

 

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Phase I dose-escalation and confirmation study in participants with advanced solid tumors, two of the four breast cancer patients carrying gBRCA mutations had partial response as best response (response rate in patients with gBRCA mutations: 50%; 95% CI: 7%, 93%). The clinical potential of PARP inhibitors in this patient population has also been established by the results of a positive Phase III study of AstraZeneca’s olaparib. In February 2017, AstraZeneca announced that olaparib improved progression-free survival versus standard chemotherapy in patients with gBRCA+ metastatic breast cancer, according to findings from its Phase III trial.

Epidemiologic studies of BRCA 1/2 mutations in Chinese breast cancer patients performed in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore have shown a prevalence of BRCA 1/2 gene mutation in familial breast cancer and early-onset breast cancer patients that ranged from 8.0% to 13.5% and from 8.7% to 11.4%, respectively. In addition, triple-negative breast cancer accounts for 10%—20% of all invasive breast cancer subtypes.

In the case of triple negative breast cancer patients, since tumor cells lack the necessary receptors, common treatments like hormone therapy and drugs that target HER-2 are ineffective. While chemotherapy is used as standard treatment, there is unmet need for other treatment options that can improve patient survival and overcome the long-term issue of chemoresistance. Global clinical data has suggested that the combination of a PARP inhibibitor and chemotherapy might be more effective than chemotherapy alone, and we intend to explore usage of niraparib in this patient segment.

Lung cancer

Lung cancer has the highest total incidence as well as the highest mortality rate of any cancer in China. Annual incidence was estimated at 733,300 patients in China in 2015, which is more than triple the 221,200 patients in the United States. We intend to explore niraparib’s efficacy in patients with squamous-type non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer based on the large unmet need for effective treatment for such patients in China. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 80% to 85% of lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer and squamous cell carcinoma is about 25% to 30% of lung cancers. Based on an assumption of 80% share of non-small cell lung cancer and 30% of cancers being squamous, we estimate a potential target patient population of 176,000 patients with squamous-type non-small cell lung cancer and 147,000 in small cell lung cancer in China.

The standard of care for advanced small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer in China is platinum-based chemotherapy. For EGFR mutation positive patients, geftinib (Iressa^®) and erlotinib (Tarceva^®) are recommended as first-line therapies for patients in the advanced/metastatic stage of non-small cell lung cancer who are EGFR mutation positive. For non-small cell lung cancer patients with unclear EGFR mutation status, as well as for small cell lung cancer, chemotherapy is the standard of care in China.

We believe niraparib has first-in-class potential in both indications in China, by representing an attractive addition to the current standard of care in small cell lung cancer and squamous type non-small cell lung cancer. While globally monoclonal antibodies, which block the interaction between checkpoint molecules PD-1 on immune cells and PD-L1 on cancer cells, have been used to successfully treat non-small cell lung cancer, these drugs have yet been launched in China and remain in clinical trials. Given the relatively limited therapy options for Chinese physicians and patients we believe that a small molecule PARP inhibitor will offer an attractive addition to the standard of care with an attractive price level relative to large molecule drugs.

In addition to niraparib monotherapy in the potential indications stated above, we also intend to explore the combination of niraparib with other potential therapies such as immuno-oncology therapy, targeted therapy and chemotherapy in the clinically relevant indications.

 

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Our clinical trial designs and strategy for niraparib in the China market

Ovarian cancer

We plan to initiate three clinical studies of niraparib in ovarian cancer patients in China. One is a Phase I PK study for niraparib in patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. The other two studies will be Phase III studies of niraparib as a maintenance therapy in patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer either as a first-line or second-line maintenance therapy. If approved, niraparib may potentially be the first PARP inhibitor on the China market approved as a second-line maintenance therapy in all recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer patients, and we would look to rapidly expand niraparib to be available as a first-line maintenance therapy.

Our Phase I PK study is intended to establish the PK profile of niraparib in Chinese patients. We expect to initiate this study in the second half of 2017.

Our first Phase III study is expected to evaluate niraparib as a second-line maintenance therapy in patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Patients with recurrent platinum sensitive ovarian cancer who have responded to a second line platinum-containing treatment will be enrolled in the study. Patients will be randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive niraparib or placebo once daily. Patients will be stratified by gBRCA status. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival. The primary analysis will be conducted in the entire study population, regardless of gBRCA mutation status. If the primary analysis meets the statistical significance, the study will be ended. If it does not, the study will continue for gBRCA mutation positive patients with the second-step primary analysis conducted in this population. We expect to initiate this study in the second half of 2017.

Our second Phase III study is expected to evaluate niraparib as a first-line maintenance therapy in patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. The details of the clinical trial designs are being discussed with the CFDA, and, pending authorization, we plan to initiate this trial in the first half of 2018. Tesaro is also evaluating niraparib in the PRIMA trial, a Phase III clinical trial in the first-line maintenance setting in platinum sensitive ovarian cancer patients.

Breast cancer

We plan to initiate a Phase III clinical trial of niraparib in patients with recurrent gBRCA positive breast cancer in China. The details of the clinical trial designs are being discussed with the CFDA and key opinion leaders and, pending authorization, we plan to initiate this trial in the first half of 2018.

Other indications

We also intend to initiate Phase II clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of niraparib in squamous-type non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer patients in China. Details of the clinical trial designs are being discussed with the CFDA and key opinion leaders.

Background on PARP inhibitors

One well-studied area of PARP activity relates to DNA repair. DNA contains genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of most known living organisms. DNA can be damaged by many types of mutagens, including oxidizing agents, alkylating agents, ultraviolet light and X-rays. An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. This is critical when cells divide because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell. It is also critical to the integrity and survival of

 

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cells that DNA damage can be repaired. Cells have evolved multiple mechanisms to enable such DNA repair, and these mechanisms are complementary to each other, each driving repair of specific types of DNA damage. If a cell’s DNA damage repair system is overpowered, then the cell is programmed to die.

Radiation and certain chemotherapies such as alkylating agents and topoisomerase inhibitors induce significant damage to tumor cells, which results in programmed cell death. DNA repair mechanisms may reduce the activity of these anti-cancer therapies and, conversely, inhibition of DNA repair processes may enhance the effects of DNA-damaging anti-cancer therapy. For example, cancer cells can maintain viability despite disruption of the key DNA repair pathway known as the homologous recombination pathway, but they become particularly vulnerable to chemotherapy if an alternative DNA repair pathway is disrupted. This is known as “synthetic lethality”—a situation where the individual loss of either repair pathway is compatible with cell viability, but the simultaneous loss of both pathways results in cancer cell deaths. Since PARP inhibitors block DNA repair, PARP inhibition is thought to be an important part of cancer therapy.

Clinical studies have shown that PARP inhibitors are effective as a monotherapy in patients with certain types of cancer, including those with gene mutations as discussed below. PARP inhibitors have also been explored in numerous clinical trials to enhance chemotherapy treatments, including in combination with temozolomide, cisplatin, carboplatin, gemcitabine and topotecan.

Niraparib mechanism of action

Many DNA repair processes involve PARP-1 and PARP-2, which are zinc-finger DNA-binding enzymes that sense DNA damage and convert it into intracellular signals to promote DNA repair. PARP inhibitors block DNA repair by the base excision repair pathway. PARP inhibitors appear most effective when used to treat tumors with underlying defects in DNA repair or when combined with another DNA-damaging agent. This is because, in normal cells, the homologous recombination pathway compensates for PARP-mediated inhibition of the base excision repair pathway and maintains the fidelity of DNA repair. In cells with a deficiency in the homologous recombination pathway, such as those with BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 mutations, PARP inhibition leads to irreparable double-strand breaks, collapsed replication forks, and an increased use of the less effective nonhomologous end joining pathway. These disruptions ultimately result in synthetic lethality, and, in this manner, treatment with PARP inhibitors represents an opportunity to selectively kill cancer cells with deficiencies in homologous recombination and other DNA repair mechanisms. PARP inhibitors also have an additional mechanism of action known as “PARP trapping.” The effect of PARP trapping is to poison DNA by stabilizing PARP-1 and PARP-2 at sites of DNA damage, generating complexes that may be even more toxic than the unrepaired single-strand breaks which result from PARP inhibition.

Niraparib is designed to be a highly potent, selective inhibitor of PARP-1 and PARP-2. In an ovarian cancer patient-derived xenograft model, where tumor models are established from transplantation of a human tumor specimen from a cancer patient directly into a mouse, niraparib has been shown to have greater tumor concentration, allowing it to deliver sustained anti-tumor activity as compared to olaparib, an FDA-approved PARP inhibitor marketed by AstraZenaca for gBRCA+ ovarian cancer patients who have received at least three prior lines of chemotherapy.

Niraparib clinical results

NOVA, a Phase III maintenance study of niraparib versus placebo in patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

In March 2017, the FDA approved niraparib as a maintenance treatment for women with recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, regardless of BRCA mutation or biomarker status, three months ahead of the FDA’s

 

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scheduled decision date (PDUFA date). Niraparib’s FDA approval followed the release of successful results from Tesaro’s NOVA trial in which niraparib demonstrated a clinically meaningful increase in progression-free survival in women with recurrent ovarian cancer, regardless of gBRCA mutation or biomarker status. Treatment with niraparib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 73% in gBRCA mutation positive patients (hazard ratio = 0.27) and by 55% in patients without gBRCA mutations (hazard ratio = 0.45). Hazard ratio is the probability of an event (such as disease progression or death) occurring in the treatment arm divided by the probability of the event occurring in the control arm of a study, with a ratio of less than one indicating a lower probability of an event occurring for patients in the treatment arm. P-value is a measure of the probability of obtaining the observed sample results, with a lower value indicating a higher degree of statistical confidence in these studies. The magnitude of benefit was similar for patients entering the trial with a partial response or a complete response to platinum treatment. This means that FDA’s approval for niraparib is broader than the approval for AstraZeneca’s PARP inhibitor, olaparib, which is only approved for BRCA mutation positive patients.

The NOVA trial was a phase III randomized double-blind trial that assessed the effectiveness of niraparib compared with placebo to delay tumor progression following a platinum containing chemotherapy regimen. Patients enrolled into one of two independent cohorts based on gBRCA mutation status. A total of 553 patients were enrolled in the NOVA study at 107 centers worldwide. The study population has 203 patients assigned to the gBRCA mutation positive cohort and 350 patients assigned to the gBRCA mutation negative cohort. Among the patients in the gBRCA mutation negative cohort, 162 had tumors that were tumors deficient in homologous recombination, or HRDpos, and 134 had tumors did not have a homologous recombination deficiency, or HRDneg. The homologous recombination deficiency status was not determined for 54 patients. The gBRCA mutation negative cohort analyses included all patients randomized, regardless of homologous recombination deficiency status.

Within each cohort, patients were randomized 2:1 to receive niraparib or placebo, and were continuously treated with placebo or niraparib until progression. The primary endpoint of this study was progression free survival. Secondary endpoints included patient-reported outcomes, chemotherapy free interval length, and overall survival. This trial successfully achieved its primary endpoint in both cohorts, showing that niraparib treatment significantly prolonged progression free survival, compared to control in patients who were gBRCA mutation positive and in patients who were gBRCA mutation negative. In addition, within the gBRCA mutation negative cohort, niraparib treatment significantly prolonged progression free survival compared to placebo for the prospectively defined patient population with HRDpos tumors. A high proportion of patients in both treatment groups in both cohorts had received three or four prior lines of chemotherapy. The most common treatment-emergent grade 3/4 adverse events in the niraparib arm of the NOVA study, based on the National Cancer Institute’s Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Event, or CTC, which is a set of criteria for the standardized classification of adverse effects of drugs used in cancer therapy (with one and two being relatively mild and higher numbers (up to five) being more severe), were thrombocytopenia, anemia, and neutropenia.

 

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The figures below present the results for the primary endpoint of progression free survival for the three primary efficacy populations.

Figure 1: Progression free survival was significantly longer for patients who received niraparib

compared to those who received placebo for all primary efficacy populations.

 

 

Source: Tesaro.

Notes: gBRCAmut = gBRCA mutation positive; non-gBRCA mut = gBRCA mutation negative

Figure 2: Progression free survival in the gBRCA mutation positive cohort of patients treated with niraparib versus placebo

 

Source: Tesaro.

 

Median PFS (95% CI) (Months) Hazard Ratio (95% CI) p Value Disease Progression Free (%) Treatment 6 Months 12 Months 18 Months gBRCAmut Cohort Niraparib (N = 138) 21.0 (12.9, NE) 0.27 (0.173, 0.410) p <0.0001 80% 62% 50% Placebo (N = 65) 5.5 (3.8, 7.2) 43% 16% 16% HRDpos Subgroup Niraparib (N = 106) 12.9 (8.1, 15.9) 0.38 (0.243, 0.586) p <0.0001 69% 51% 37% Placebo (N = 56) 3.8 (3.5, 5.7) 35% 13% 9% Non-gBRCAmut Cohort Niraparib (N = 234) 9.3 (7.2, 11.2) 0.45 (0.338, 0.607) p <0.0001 61% 41% 30% Placebo (N = 116) 3.9 (3.7, 5.5) 36% 14% 12%

 

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Figure 3: Progression free survival in the HRDpos group of the gBRCA mutation negative cohort of patients treated with niraparib versus placebo

 

 

Source: Tesaro.

Figure 4: Progression free survival in the overall gBRCA mutation negative cohort of patients treated with niraparib versus placebo

 

 

Source: Tesaro.

Within the gBRCA mutation positive cohort, the median progression free survival was 21.0 months on niraparib versus 5.5 months on placebo (hazard ratio=0.27; p<0.0001). As shown in the chart above, niraparib’s treatment effect started very early during treatment as seen by the two curves being separated at first efficacy assessment. Progression free survival was also significantly longer with niraparib in the HRDpos group of the gBRCA mutation negative cohort (median, 12.9 months versus 3.8 months; hazard ratio=0.38; p<0.0001) and in the overall gBRCA mutation negative cohort (median, 9.3 months versus 3.9 months; hazard ratio = 0.45;

 

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p<0.0001). Additionally, in an exploratory pooled analysis that evaluated all patients in both cohorts combined, progression free survival was longer with niraparib (median 11.3 months versus 4.7 months, hazard ratio = 0.38, 95% confidence interval: 0.303, 0.488; p<0.0001).

As it is maintenance therapy, quality of life is important to patients receiving treatment. Patient-reported outcome data from validated survey tools indicated that niraparib-treated patients reported no significant difference from placebo in measures associated with symptom specific and general quality of life.

Furthermore, niraparib treatment did not reduce the effectiveness of subsequent therapies, and continued to show carry-over of the beneficial treatment effect in the secondary efficacy measure of second objective disease progression, which is time from randomization to objective tumor progression on next-line treatment or death from any cause. Overall survival data, while immature, showed no negative impact of niraparib treatment.

The incidences of CTC grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events (74% vs 23%), serious adverse events (30% vs 15%), treatment-emergent adverse events leading to treatment interruption (69% vs 5%), treatment-emergent adverse events leading to dose reduction (67% vs 15%), and treatment-emergent adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation (15% vs 2%) were higher for niraparib versus placebo. There were no on-treatment deaths reported.

The most commonly observed hematologic treatment-emergent adverse events (all CTC grades) related to niraparib were thrombocytopenia (61%), anemia (50%) and neutropenia (30%). Although CTC grade 3/4 hematologic laboratory events were common at the initiation of treatment, no severe clinical sequelae were observed and relatively few patients discontinued due to these adverse events. Dose adjustment based on individual tolerability during the first cycles substantially reduced the incidence of these events beyond the third 28-day treatment cycle, indicating the overall effectiveness of the approach to dose modification. Overall the treatment-emergent adverse events were manageable, with no negative impact on quality of life.

Niraparib preclinical development

As discussed below, Merck and our partner Tesaro have completed various preclinical trials to evaluate the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and toxicology profile of niraparib.

Pharmacodynamics.    In preclinical trials studying niraparib’s pharmacodynamics, niraparib was found to be a potent and selective PARP-1 and PARP-2 inhibitor that displayed at least a 100-fold selectivity over other PARP-family members PARP-3, v-PARP, and Tankyrase-1. A commonly used quantitative measure of potency is IC₉₀, which represents the concentration of a drug that is required to suppress 90% of the target enzyme. The IC₉₀ of niraparib for PARylation in BRCA-deficient tumor cells correlates with functional suppression of single strand breakage repair and anti-tumor effects on BRCA mutation positive tumor cells.

Normal primary cells were resistant to niraparib with the most sensitive cells (megakaryocytes) exhibiting a 13-fold selectivity margin as compared to BRCA mutation positive tumor cells in vitro. Maximal in-vivo efficacy was achieved in BRCA 1 mutation positive ovarian tumor models with once-daily oral administration of niraparib at a dose sufficient to suppress 90% of the PARP enzymatic activity in the tumor at eight hours after the dose, which translated to greater than 50% inhibition of PARP activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at eight hours post dose.

The therapeutic potential of niraparib was evaluated in a study designed to examine the benefit of niraparib in maintenance setting, i.e., daily niraparib treatment following a regression induced with a platinum-based regimen. In this study, tumors in mice receiving maintenance niraparib therapy became undetectable whereas regrowth was observed in those receiving only the chemotherapy regimen. These data support the concept that

 

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maintenance niraparib therapy after tumor response to chemotherapeutic agents may prolong recurrence-free survival.

Niraparib showed no significant observable effects in nonclinical safety pharmacology studies at clinically relevant doses across the species evaluated.

Pharmacokinetics.    Niraparib elicited desirable and consistent pharmacokinetic profiles in nonclinical species in vivo. The oral absorption in rats and dogs was rapid, with moderate to high bioavailability. The compound is readily distributed to the brains of rats and monkeys to a modest extent, suggesting additional therapeutic potential.

Elimination of niraparib and its metabolites was fecal and renal in rats, while mainly renal in dogs. The potential risk for drug—drug interactions was determined to be minimal for niraparib, due to the lack of the interactions between niraparib and the hepatic drug-metabolizing CYP enzymes, the major hepatic and renal uptake transporters (OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OAT1, OAT3, and OCT2), and BSEP, an efflux transporter known to be associated with hepatotoxicity. The in vitro metabolic results, combined with the in vivo pharmacokinetic findings, demonstrated that niraparib had a desirable disposition profile with a minimal potential for drug—drug interactions, consistent with the development of niraparib as an anticancer agent.

Toxicology.    A comprehensive preclinical toxicology program was conducted to support the administration of niraparib in patients with cancer. This program included oral repeat-dose toxicity studies (up to three-months duration) in dogs and rats, genotoxicity and phototoxicity studies. The results obtained from the general toxicity studies in rats and dogs indicated that niraparib causes bone marrow suppression which leads to decreases in circulating white and red blood cells. Infections and septicemia were a consequence of bone marrow suppression and lymphoid depletion. These findings are linked to pharmacology of niraparib and showed reversibility.

Niraparib—Pharmacokinetics

The pharmacokinetic profile of niraparib has been evaluated in multiple clinical studies, with an overall niraparib-dosed population of 526 patients.

Absorption.    Niraparib exhibited linear pharmacokinetic, dose proportional exposure, and dose-independent absorption and clearance. Following repeat administrations of the daily recommended dose of 300 mg, niraparib accumulation on day 21 was consistent for both the area under the plasma concentration-time curve and maximum concentration (approximately two- to three-fold). Niraparib was shown to be highly orally bioavailable (F ~73%). Bioavailability is a measure of the absorption of drug and is expressed as a percentage of the administrated case of the drug which reaches the patient’s system. Niraparib can be administered with or without food.

Distribution.    Niraparib was moderately protein bound to human plasma (83.0%). The apparent volume of distribution was 1220 L, indicating an extensive tissue distribution of niraparib.

Metabolism.    The carboxylesterases-catalyzed amide hydrolysis was delineated to be the major primary pathway, followed by the uridine-5’-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferases (UGT)-mediated glucuronidation and the other minor secondary pathway (i.e., methylation). The major circulating metabolites in humans are the carboxylic acid and the glucuronides of carboxylic acid. The metabolic profile seen in humans is consistent with what was detected in the experimental species (rats and dogs).

Elimination.    In an absorption, metabolism and elimination study in cancer patients using 14C-radioactive niraparib, a mean measured total of 86.2% of the radioactive dose was recovered in urine and fecal samples

 

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collected daily from 0 to 504 hours (21 days) post dose after single oral administration of 14C-niraparib. It suggests minimal long-term retention of niraparib or its metabolites in body. Moreover, hepatobiliary clearance and renal excretion are the major routes of elimination in humans.

Intrinsic Effects.    Population pharmacokinetic analysis identified no intrinsic factors such as age, race, hepatic impairment, renal impairment would have significant impact on the pharmacokinetic of niraparib.

Omadacycline

Omadacycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic in a new class of tetracycline derivatives, known as aminomethylcyclines. Omadacycline is primarily being developed for ABSSSI, CABP and UTIs in both the hospital and community settings and is designed to overcome the two major mechanisms of tetracycline resistance, known as pump efflux and ribosome protection. Omadacycline has been granted QIDP status in the U.S. by the FDA and has been granted Fast Track status by the FDA. The drug has been administered to over 1,500 patients and has an established safety profile. If approved, omadacycline is expected to be available in IV and oral once-daily formulations.

Paratek had previously reached an agreement with the FDA under a Special Protocol Assessment, or SPA, whereby if both the IV to oral Phase III ABSSSI and CABP studies are positive, Paratek could seek approval for both indications. In June 2016, Paratek announced positive top-line efficacy data in a Phase III registration study in ABSSSI which demonstrated the efficacy and safety of IV to oral once-daily omadacycline compared to linezolid. In April 2017, Paratek announced positive top-line results from a global, pivotal Phase III clinical study in CABP which demonstrated the efficacy, general safety and tolerability of IV to oral omadacycline compared to moxifloxacin. In July 2017, Paratek also announced positive top-line results from a Phase III study comparing oral-only administration of omadacycline in ABSSSI compared to oral-only linezolid, which met all of its primary endpoints.

Paratek plans to submit its NDA in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2018 and its EMA submission later in 2018. In addition to its Phase III program for omadacycline, a Phase Ib study in UTIs was initiated in May 2016 and positive top-line PK proof-of-principle data was reported in November 2016. Paratek plans to begin enrolling patients in a proof-of-concept Phase II study of omadacycline in complicated UTI, or cUTI, as early as the fourth quarter of 2017.

We obtained the exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize omadacycline in the field of all human therapeutic and preventative uses (other than biodefense) in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan in April 2017.

Market opportunity

We believe omadacycline addresses an unmet need in China for a broad-spectrum antibiotic that provides a new treatment option for physicians in China challenged by growing antibiotic resistance. A 2015 study by the State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences indicated that the total antibiotic usage in China in 2013 accounted for about half of the antibiotic usage globally, with the per-capita use of antibiotics in China being more than five times that in Europe and the United States. As a result, China has one of the world’s most serious problems with antibiotic misuse and antibiotic resistance. According to a May 2016 study from the Wellcome Trust in London, antimicrobial resistance in China could cause 1 million premature deaths annually by 2050 and cost the country $20 trillion.

In 2015, there were approximately 2.8 million ABSSSI patients and 16.5 million CABP patients in China. We believe that omadacycline will provide a new treatment option for patients with such infections, including those

 

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caused by drug-resistant pathogens whose numbers are expected to increase as the result of the abuse of antibiotics. The product has been designed to provide potential advantages over existing antibiotics, including broad-spectrum, antibacterial activity and activity against resistant bacteria, no known drug interactions and a favorable safety and tolerability profile. In addition, once daily dosing of the oral and IV formulations will offer a unique advantage by reducing hospital days through a step-down from IV to the oral formulation, which not only has important cost-saving implications but increases patient comfort and reduces exposure to nosocomial pathogens.

The competitive field in China and worldwide is characterized by the wide use of various generic formulations of older tetracyclines, such as oral formulations of doxycycline. Minocycline is rarely used except for long-term treatment of acne. A member of a new generation of tetracyclines known as glycylcyclines, dominates the market and has experienced a considerable growth rate despite a limited list of labeled indications, the absence of an oral formulation, and significant tolerability and safety issues.

In three well-controlled Phase III trials, designed with FDA input, omadacycline was shown to be non-inferior to its study comparators. Omadacycline met all primary efficacy endpoints as stipulated by the FDA and EMA. In all three studies omadacycline was shown to be generally safe and well tolerated.

Tigecycline (Tygacil^®), the most recently approved tetracycline derivative available today, is marketed in China and worldwide. One of omadacycline’s differentiating features is the availability of a bioequivalent oral formulation while tigecycline is an IV-only drug. If approved, omadacycline can be used in the outpatient setting. In the hospital, the ability to switch from IV to oral administration enables greater flexibility in patient management and potential cost savings.

Omadacycline has a broad microbiologic profile with effective microbiological activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens, including problem pathogens like MRSA and PRSP, Gram-negative pathogens such as H. influenzae and atypical bacteria such as Legionella. It has strong activity against most of the pathogens encountered in the indications pursued, ABSSSI, CABP and UTI. It has useful activity against Acinetobacter, a multi-drug resistant pathogen in the health care setting which is frequently encountered in Chinese hospitals.

Our clinical trials designs and strategy for omadacycline in the China market

We are in the technology transfer stage and plan to discuss China development plan with key opinion leaders and the CFDA.

Background on tetracycline antibiotics

The tetracycline class of antibiotics was introduced into the clinic in the 1960s and found considerable use in the treatment of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. They are mostly bacteriostatic drugs interfering with protein synthesis by binding selectively to the bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit.

Tetracyclines provide excellent broad-spectrum coverage of Gram-positive, Gram-negative, anaerobes and special pathogens (e.g., malaria, anthrax, Lyme borrelia, nocardia). Resistance is due to efflux mechanisms and ribosomal mutations, but despite the gradual and inevitable increase in resistance over many decades of continued use, doxycycline is still an effective and commonly used drug today.

Omadacycline – Pharmacokinetics

Studies showed that oral doses of 300 mg provide bioequivalent exposure with the therapeutic IV dose of 100 mg. Like with other tetracyclines, absorption is affected by food and divalent cations. The drug has a long half-life (approximately 16-18 hours) and excellent penetration into tissues, including alveolar and epithelial lining

 

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fluid. In contrast to other tetracyclines, plasma protein binding is low (20%) and not dose-related. The drug is not metabolized and excretion is predominantly via the biliary route. There is no need for dose adjustment in hepatic or renal impairment.

Omadacycline clinical results

Phase III pivotal trial—ABSSSI / OASIS—ABSI 1108

Omadacycline was statistically non-inferior to linezolid IV/PO in a direct comparison study following a protocol established under an SPA agreed to with the FDA as well as the criteria outlined by the EMA. In this trial, patients with wound infections, major abscesses, and erysipelas/cellulitis were enrolled in equal numbers. On average, patients received IV omadacycline for 4.4 days, and oral omadacycline for 5.5 days.

S. aureus (both MSSA and MRSA) was the predominant pathogen isolated from patients followed by streptococci. Clinical response and bacterial eradication rates showed the high efficacy of omadacycline against skin pathogens including MRSA.

Figure 5: Omadacycline vs Linezolid—ABSSSI Trial—Primary Efficacy Outcomes

 

 

 

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Figure 6: Early Clinical Success by Pathogen—micro-mITT Population

 

 

The safety / tolerability profile was very similar between the treatment arms with only a slightly higher rate of gastrointestinal side effects and infusion site reactions in omadacycline recipients. There was no significant imbalance in treatment emergent adverse events, or TEAEs, serious TEAEs, premature discontinuations or deaths.

Figure 7: Study ABSI-1108: Most Frequent TEAEs (> 3%)—Safety Population

 

 

Phase III Pivotal Trial—CABP / OPTIC—CABP1200

Omadacycline was non-inferior to moxifloxacin IV/oral in this direct comparison study following a protocol established under an SPA agreed with the FDA as well as the criteria outlined by the EMA. In this trial, patients with PORT Class II—IV were recruited; less than 25% of patients had received non-study antibiotics before enrollment.

S. pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae were the predominant pathogens isolated, followed by H. influenzae, H. parainfluenzae, Legionella and Chlamydophila. The clinical response rates were high for all respiratory pathogens isolated at entry and very similar between omadacycline and moxifloxacin, a powerful respiratory fluoroquinolone.

 

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Figure 8: CABP Study—OPTIC: Primary Efficacy Results—FDA Analysis

 

 

Figure 9: CABP Study—OPTIC: Primary Efficacy Results—EMA Analysis

 

 

 

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Figure 10: CABP Study—OPTIC: Clinical Success at PTE by Baseline Pathogen

 

Omadacycline was observed to be generally safe and well tolerated. Neither gastrointestinal side effects nor IV infusion reactions occurred more frequently in the omadacycline arm than in the comparator arm. Cardiovascular signs and symptoms and liver function test abnormalities occurred in both study arms with similar frequency.

Figure 11: TEAEs in CABP Trial

 

 

Phase III trial – ABSSSI /OASIS-2

Paratek’s third Phase III clinical study (OASIS-2) was an oral-only administration of omadacycline in ABSSSI compared to oral-only linezolid. Oral, once daily omadacycline met the FDA-specified primary efficacy endpoint

 

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Omadacycline (N = 204) Moxifloxacin (N = 182) Baseline Pathogen N Clinical Success n (%) N1 Clinical Success n (%) Atypical Pathogens 118 109 (92.4) 106 97 (91.5) Mycoplasma Pneumoniae 70 66 (94.3) 57 50 (87.7) Chlamydophila Pneumoniae 28 25 (89.3) 28 25 (89.3) Legionella Pneumophila 37 35 (94.6) 37 36 (97.3) Gram-Negative Bacteria (aerobes) 79 67 (84.8) 68 55 (80.9) Haemophilus Influenzae 32 26 (81.3) 16 16 (100.0) Haemophilus Parainfluenzae 18 15 (83.3) 17 13 (76.5) Klebsiella Pneumoniae 13 10 (76.9) 13 11 (84.6) Gram-Positive Bacteria(aerobes) 61 52 (85.2) 56 49 (87.5) Streptococcus Pneumoniae 43 37 (86.0) 34 31 (91.2) PSSP 26 23 (88.5) 22 21 (95.5) Macrolide Resistant 10 10 (100.0) 5 5 (100.0) Staphylococcus Aureus 11 8 (72.7) 11 9 (81.8) *10 or More Isolates for OmadacyclineOmadacycline (N = 382) n (%) Moxifloxacin (N = 388) n (%) Subjects with at Least One TEAE 157 (41.1) 188 (48.5) ALT Increased 14 (3.7) 18 (4.6) Hypertension 13 (3.4) 11 (2.8) GGT Increased 10 (2.6) 8 (2.1) Insomnia 10 (2.6) 8 (2.1) Vomiting 10 (2.6) 6 (1.5) Constipation 9 (2.4) 6 (1.5) Nausea 9 (2.4) 21 (5.4) AST Increased 8 (2.1) 14 (3.6) Headache 8 (2.1) 5 (1.3)

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of statistical non-inferiority in the modified intent-to-treat, or mITT, population (10% non-inferiority margin, 95% confidence interval) compared to oral, twice daily linezolid at the early clinical response, or ECR, 48-72 hours after initiation of therapy. The ECR rates for the omadacycline and linezolid treatment arms were 87.5% and 82.5%, respectively. In addition, omadacycline met specified co-primary endpoints for the EMA, which are key secondary endpoints for the FDA. For these endpoints, non-inferiority in the mITT and clinically evaluable populations in at the post treatment evaluation, seven to 14 days after end of treatment, omadacycline demonstrated a high response rate and met statistical non-inferiority to linezolid for both populations using a pre-specified 95% confidence interval. High success rates were observed with response rates of 84.2% (omadacycline) vs. 80.8% (linezolid) and 97.9% (omadacycline) vs. 95.5% (linezolid), respectively.

Omadacycline was shown to be generally safe and well tolerated in the OASIS-2 study, consistent with prior studies of omadacycline. The most common TEAEs in omadacycline-treated patients (occurring in ³ 3% of patients) were gastrointestinal adverse events of omadacycline vs. linezolid included: vomiting (16.8% vs. 3.0%), nausea (30.2% vs. 7.6%), diarrhea (4.1% vs. 2.7%). In addition, alanine aminotransferase, or ALT, increase (5.2% with omadacycline vs. 3.0% with linezolid), aspartate aminotransferse increases (4.6% with omadacycline vs. 3.3 for linezolid) and headache (3.5% with omadacycline vs. 2.2% with linezolid). Drug-related TEAEs were 37.8% for omadacycline vs. 14.2% for linezolid (including gastrointestinal events). Discontinuation for TEAEs was uncommon, 1.6% for omadacycline vs. 0.8% for linezolid. Serious TEAEs occurred in 1.4% of omadacycline patients and 1.4% of linezolid patients; only one serious TEAE was considered related to the study drug and the event occurred in a linezolid patient. The mortality rate was 0.0% with omadacycline and 0.3% with linezolid. Drug-related serious TEAEs leading to premature discontinuation of test articles were 0.8% with omadacycline and 0.5% with linezolid.

Phase II studies

In a small study (N=111) conducted in cSSSI patients omadacycline showed comparable efficacy and safety to linezolid IV/PO ± aztreonam. However, the design of the Phase II study (and a truncated Phase III study with 68 patients) was no longer consistent with newer FDA guidance issued for ABSSSI in 2008 which required, among other changes, an early efficacy read-out at 48-72 hours.

In addition, this early omadacycline program used a 200 mg oral step-down dose that proved to not be bioequivalent to the 100 mg IV dose. Hence, these data are considered exploratory and cannot be merged easily with the larger pivotal program trials in ABSSSI and CABP that were conducted with FDA guidance and bioequivalent IV to oral step-down dosing.

Phase I studies

Omadacycline has been evaluated in more than 20 Phase I studies, including food-effect, age and gender, and renal / hepatic insufficiency studies.

Omadacycline has a very favorable PK profile. It was absorbed well; its plasma T ¹/₂ of 14-20 hours permitted once-daily dosing. The drug was not metabolized and drug-drug interactions were minimal. In contrast to other tetracyclines, which paradoxically display dose-dependent increases in protein binding, 80% of omadacycline remained available as free drug. Excretion was via biliary and urinary routes. Data from hepatic and renal impairment studies showed that dose adjustments are not needed for patients with either condition.

In bioequivalence studies, the 300 mg oral dose was found to match the area under the curve of the 100 mg IV dose within the 80-125% range.

Omadacycline was negative on hERG testing and had no appreciable effect on cardiac conduction in a Thorough QT trial at supra-therapeutic doses. However, in animal tests and during Phase I, a dose-dependent elevation of

 

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blood pressure (syst and diast) and heart rate were observed. Omadacycline was found to be an acetylcholine antagonist for muscarinic receptor subtype M2, essentially acting as a vagolytic agent. In subsequent patient studies, these effects were less pronounced or absent and clinically asymptomatic. All Phase II and III studies included systematic cardiovascular pre- and post-dose monitoring of blood pressure and heart rate to further characterize these effects both qualitatively and quantitatively.

An ELF study showed excellent penetration of omadacycline into bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and into alveolar macrophages.

A cystitis (uUTI) study was conducted to obtain PK information for different oral dosing regimens of omadacycline.

ZL-2301

ZL-2301 is an oral, small molecule dual TKI which blocks both VEGFR and FGFR. ZL-2301 was studied by our partner Bristol-Myers Squibb mainly for the treatment of HCC, the most common type of liver cancer. To date, ZL-2301 has been tested in 26 trials, including 19 Phase I trials, two Phase II trials and five Phase III trials, with 2,651 oncology patients around the world. In these trials, ZL-2301 has demonstrated anti-tumor activity and a generally well-established safety profile, particularly in HCC patients. In 2012, Bristol-Myers Squibb terminated its development program for ZL-2301 after it missed the primary endpoints in two Phase III trials with advanced HCC patients.

Based on our review of the results from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s development program for ZL-2301, our understanding of the etiology of HCC in Chinese patients, standard of care of HCC patients in China and our ongoing research, a number of factors lead us to believe that ZL-2301 has the potential to be an effective treatment option for Chinese HCC patients and merits further clinical trials. These factors include:

 

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in prior clinical trials, ZL-2301 was observed to have comparable anti-tumor activity in HCC patients to sorafenib, particularly in patients with HCC induced by hepatitis B infection rather than hepatitis C infection. In Chinese patients HCC is typically induced by hepatitis B infection, rather than hepatitis C infection;

 

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in China, chemotherapy, rather than TKIs, such as sorafenib, remains the primary first-line treatment for HCC and, as a result, a much greater percentage of Chinese patients are TKI-naive going into second-line treatment, hence more sensitive to TKI treatment;

 

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limited target therapy treatment options for HCC patients, especially in China; and

 

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our PD analysis and PK modeling data suggest that there may be a more effective dosing schedule of ZL-2301 compared to the dosing schedule studied in prior clinical trials.

In Bristol-Myers Squibb’s BRISK-FL study, which was a Phase III non-inferiority study of ZL-2301 compared to sorafenib in patients without prior systemic treatment, 223 Chinese HCC patients out of 1,155 patients in total participated. Although the study missed the primary end point of overall survival noninferiority for ZL-2301 versus sorafenib based on the prespecified margin, ZL-2301 demonstrated evidence of anti-tumor activity. Median OS was 9.9 months for sorafenib and 9.5 months for ZL-2301. TTP, ORR, and DCR were similar between sorafenib and ZL-2301. Most frequent grade 3/4 adverse events for sorafenib and ZL-2301 were hand-foot skin reaction (15% and 2%, respectively), hyponatremia (9% and 23%, respectively), AST elevation (17% and 14%, respectively), fatigue (7% and 15%, respectively), and hypertension (5% and 13%, respectively). Discontinuation as a result of adverse events was 33% for sorafenib and 43% for ZL-2301; rates for dose reduction were 50% and 49%, respectively.

 

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Our analysis of Chinese patients in the BRISK-FL study showed that ZL-2301 demonstrated a trend of efficacy and a safety profile comparable to those of sorafenib. In particular, more Chinese HCC patients experienced no dose reduction compared to non-Chinese patients. Our analysis also showed that less Chinese HCC patients experienced one dose or two dose reductions compared to non-Chinese patients. This data suggests that ZL-2301 treatment may be better tolerated by Chinese HCC patients than non-Chinese patients. While the BRISK-FL study was not designed specifically to determine efficacy and safety in a Chinese patient population, we concluded that our analysis of such clinical data was promising and warranted further clinical trials.

It has been debated within the HCC expert community that the biology of Chinese HCC may be different from that of non-Chinese HCC. In China, hepatitis B infections are much more prevalent than that of hepatitis C, and as a result HCC among Chinese patients are usually induced by the hepatitis B virus rather than the hepatitis C virus, which more commonly induces HCC in patients from western countries. We believe that this difference between Chinese HCC patients and non-Chinese HCC patients could potentially explain the difference in outcomes in patients treated with ZL-2301. For example, the subgroup analysis of 512 patients enrolled in the BRISK-FL study whose HCC was induced by hepatitis B infection showed overall survival of 8.4 months for ZL-2301 treated patients compared to 8.1 months for sorafenib treated patients; the subgroup analysis of 235 patients enrolled in the BRISK-FL study whose HCC was induced by hepatitis C infection showed overall survival of 10.9 months for ZL-2301 treated patients compared to 12.9 months for sorafenib treated patients. The treatment available to most advanced HCC patients in China is generally limited to traditional chemotherapy, and only a very small portion of Chinese HCC patients have access to sorafenib (Nexavar^®), a kinase inhibitor co-developed and co-marketed by Bayer Healthcare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Amgen Inc., and used to treat 1^st line HCC in the United States and other jurisdictions. Due to the difference in the standard-of-care in first-line treatment, most Chinese patients are TKI naïve, and they are therefore likely more sensitive and responsive to TKI therapy as compared to western second-line HCC patients who have already been exposed to TKI treatment and in most cases have become TKI resistant.

In addition, our pharmacodynamics analysis and pharmacology modeling data suggest that a 400 mg twice-a-day treatment regime seems to have better coverage for target inhibition as compared to a regime of 800 mg once daily. Therefore, we will explore and optimize the dose and dosing schedule in our further trials.

In 2015, we obtained an exclusive license for the development and commercialization of ZL-2301 in China, Hong Kong and Macau. The CFDA has approved our CTA for ZL-2301 as a Category 1 drug, and in the second quarter of 2017 we initiated a Phase II trial of ZL-2301 as a second-line treatment comparing 800mg once daily to 400mg twice daily for advanced HCC patients in China. Pending results from such Phase II trial, we plan to initiate a Phase III clinical trial shortly thereafter.

Market opportunity

The annual incidence for liver cancer was estimated at 466,100 patients in China in 2015, as compared with 35,660 patients in the United States. Among liver cancer patients in China, HCC is largely caused by the hepatitis B virus, or HBV, while hepatitis C is the main cause for non-Chinese HCC patients. HBV is found in more than two thirds of cases in China as compared to only 8% in the United States, according to the Hepatology Journal. This corresponds to over 10 times more HCC patients in China compared to the US. The number of hepatitis B cases in China is expected to continue to grow as the result of poor control of hepatitis B infection.

When identified in its early stages, liver cancer can often be treated with surgical resection or liver transplantation. At a more advanced stage, trans-catheter arterial chemoembolization, or TACE, and systemic drug therapy are considered. TACE is a combination of regional chemotherapy and some form of hepatic artery occlusion. Consistently higher response rates have been reported for TACE when compared with systemic chemotherapy. Sorafenib, a TKI, and chemotherapy are approved as the standard-of-care, first-line targeted

 

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therapies in China. In addition, sorafenib is also recommended for use with TACE as an adjuvant in the China guidelines.

Overall, chemotherapy remains the main drug treatment method for HCC in China. There is only a low level of usage of targeted therapy with agents such as sorafenib, largely due to the low level of engagement of the leading physicians in the HCC area in China. It has been observed in HCC community that many Chinese patients with HCC who take sorafenib either do not respond well or show poor tolerance to such treatment. We believe this could be the result of a difference in biology of Chinese patients from non-Chinese patients and the fact that HCC is typically secondary to a hepatitis B infection in China. There is, therefore, a large unmet medical need to develop a widely accessible drug for advanced HCC treatment in China which presents better tolerability for Chinese patients. This is especially relevant since chemotherapy drugs are generally less effective in HCC, compared to other cancers.

Our clinical trial designs and strategy for the China market

In the second quarter of 2017 we initiated a Phase II trial in advanced HCC patients in China to further investigate ZL-2301’s optimal treatment schedule and dosage as a second-line treatment. The study is an open label study of ZL-2301 with two treatment arms of 30 patients each. One arm is receiving 800 mg of ZL-2301 once daily and the other arm is receiving 400 mg of ZL-2301 twice daily. The primary endpoints of this Phase II trial are disease control rate at three months post treatment and time to tumor progression. The PK profile of each treatment schedule and dosage level is also being investigated.

Pending results from the Phase II trial, including the optimal dosage level and schedule, we plan to initiate a Phase III double-blind, randomized, parallel trial to compare ZL-2301 at the selected treatment schedule/dosage with best supportive care versus placebo with best supportive care as a second-line treatment of advanced HCC patients. We plan to enroll 348 patients at a 2:1 ratio for the Phase III trial. The primary endpoints will be overall survival and the secondary endpoints will be time to tumor progression, disease control rate, objective response rate and overall safety. If this Phase III trial yields positive results, we plan to use the results to support an NDA submission of ZL-2301 in China.

Background on tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Tyrosine kinases are enzymes responsible for the activation of many proteins by signaling transduction cascades, the process by which a foreign DNA is introduced into a cell by a virus or viral vector. The tyrosine kinase inhibitors comprise a relatively new group of anticancer drugs that have been developed as oral formulations. The mechanism of action of tyrosine kinase inhibitors includes modulation of key pathways and mechanisms of angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels in human body, and tumorigenesis, the formation of cancers, such as VEGFR. However, tyrosine kinase involvement and activity may vary from tumor to tumor, resulting in differing responses to different TKIs.

VEGF plays a key role in tumor angiogenesis during the development of cancer, tumors at an advanced stage can secrete large amounts of VEGF to stimulate excessive angiogenesis around the tumor in order to provide greater blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients to fuel the rapid growth of the tumor. VEGF and other ligands can bind to three VEGF receptors, VEGFR1, 2 and 3, each of which has been shown to play a role in angiogenesis. Therefore, inhibition of the VEGF/VEGFR signaling pathway can act to stop the growth of the vasculature around the tumor and thereby starve the tumor of the nutrients and oxygen it needs to grow rapidly.

In addition, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the oncogenic potential of FGFR aberrations in driving tumor growth, promoting angiogenesis, and conferring resistance mechanisms to anti-cancer therapies. There is also evidence that anti-VEGF therapy treatment could increase FGFR pathway activation, leading to

 

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drug resistance to anti-VEGF therapies. As a result, simultaneously targeting VEGFR and FGFR is an attractive approach to improve clinical efficacy.

ZL-2301 mechanism of action

By inhibiting VEGFR and FGFR, ZL-2301 affects the human vein endothelium cells, which are responsible for angiogenesis. Since essentially all solid tumors require angiogenesis to progress beyond a few millimeters in diameter, anti-angiogenesis drugs have demonstrated benefits in a wide variety of tumor types.

The exact mechanisms by which ZL-2301 inhibits tumor growth are not entirely understood, but clinical trial results to date suggest that ZL-2301 effectively inhibits tumor growth and such inhibition is associated with the inactivation of VEGFR-2, increased apoptosis, a process of programmed cell death, a reduction in microvessel density, inhibition of cell proliferation and down-regulation of cell cycle regulators.

ZL-2301 preclinical and clinical background

As discussed below, Bristol-Myers Squibb completed various preclinical studies to evaluate the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and toxicology profile of ZL-2301.

Pharmacodynamics.    In preclinical studies, ZL-2301 demonstrated strong in vitro inhibitory effects on human umbilical vein endothelial cells when stimulated with VEGF and basic fibroblast growth factor for VEGFR-2 and basic fibroblast growth factor receptor-1, respectively. Each of ZL-2301 and ZL-2301 alaninate, which becomes the pharmacologically active ZL-2301 after being metabolized, demonstrated, in vivo, a broad spectrum of antitumor activities, with cytostasis, the inhibition of cell growth and multiplication, observed in all human tumor models tested.

In addition, when ZL-2301 was administered in combination with cetuximab, enhanced antitumor activities were observed against mouse xenograft lung tumor tissue samples. Enhanced antitumor activities were also observed when ZL-2301 was administered in combination with ixabepilone and paclitaxel. When tested on a model of human lung carcinoma tissues, ZL-2301 demonstrated more prolonged tumor growth delay than sorafenib. Furthermore, complete tumor stasis was also observed in a staged tumor xenograft derived from HCC patients after ZL-2301 was administered.

Further studies demonstrated that ZL-2301 effected mainly the gastrointestinal, vascular, skeletal and female reproductive systems. The effects of ZL-2301 on these target systems were consistent with the expected pharmacology of ZL-2301. In addition, in repeat-dose studies, reversible increases in serum transaminases were observed in studies conducted on mice, rats and monkeys, total bilirubin and liver weight gains were observed in studies conducted on rats, and microscopic alterations of hepatocellular vacuolation were observed in studies conducted on rats and monkeys, which indicated that ZL-2301 has a significant effect on livers.

Pharmacokinetics.    ZL-2301 elicited desirable and consistent pharmacokinetic profiles in nonclinical species in vivo. The oral absorption of ZL-2301 alaninate in mice, rats, dogs and monkeys was rapid, with bioavailability ranging from 52% to 97%.

Elimination of ZL-2301 and its metabolites was mainly fecal. ZL-2301 was also found to be highly bound to serum proteins and exhibit a moderate level of extravascular distribution.

Toxicology.    Comprehensive preclinical toxicology studies were conducted to support the administration of ZL-2301 in patients with cancer. These studies indicated that ZL-2301 alaninate and ZL-2301 inhibited hERG/IKr channels resulting in a high, in the case of ZL-2301 alaninate or moderate, in the case of ZL-2301, risk for QT prolongation. However, neither ZL-2301 alaninate nor ZL-2301 produced substantive effects on rabbit Purkinje

 

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fiber action potential duration and no biologically relevant inhibitory effect on any of 53 different receptors, transporters, and ion channels investigated in vitro. ZL-2301 produced no central nervous system-related effects on rats and monkeys, and apart from a slight decrease in heart rates on monkeys, dose-dependent increases in blood pressure, and mild decreases in heart rate in a telemetered rat model, it produced no changes in respiratory function and heart rates or sounds in exploratory or pivotal toxicity studies conducted in dogs or monkeys.

The effects of ZL-2301 alaninate on male and female fertility have not been studied. However, repeat-dose toxicity studies in rats and monkeys indicated that ZL-2301 could potentially impair reproductive function and fertility in females. ZL-2301 alaninate also produced embryo-fetal developmental toxicity in rats and rabbits at doses that did not produce maternal toxicity. As a result, ZL-2301 is considered a selective developmental toxicant in these two species.

With respect to clinical stage studies, Bristol-Myers Squibb conducted three Phase III studies of ZL-2301. The Phase III study called the BRISK-FL study tested the efficacy of ZL-2301 against sorafenib in patients with advanced HCC without prior systemic treatment. The second study, BRISK-PS, tested ZL-2301 against best supportive care in patients that failed or were intolerant to sorafenib. In both studies, ZL-2301 failed to meet its primary endpoint but nonetheless it did demonstrate some anti-tumor activity. Due to these results, a third Phase III trial in which ZL-2301 was used as an adjuvant to TACE was terminated by Bristol-Myers Squibb, prior to its completion in 2012.

Fugan

Overview

Fugan (ZL-3101) is a novel steroid-sparing topical product for the treatment of eczema and psoriasis. We licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to fugan in 2016 from GSK. The active botanical ingredients in fugan were originally used in a hospital setting within China to treat patients with eczema and psoriasis. Our management team, who has extensive experience developing botanical products in the clinical setting, acquired fugan from GSK because it identified fugan as a potential steroid-sparing treatment for eczema and psoriasis sufferers who have limited natural treatment options. The potential anti-inflammatory benefit of fugan results from its active botanical formula which incorporates the herbs Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Sophorae Flavescentis.

We started our Phase II study in patients with mild to moderate subacute eczema in China in the second quarter of 2017.

Market opportunity

Eczema.    Atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, is a chronic disease of the skin that is believed to be caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors. The main symptoms of atopic dermatitis include dry, itchy skin leading to rashes on the face, hands, feet, along with inside the elbows and behind the knees. Scratching results in redness, swelling, cracking, “weeping” clear fluid, and crusting or scaling. Globally, the disease has a prevalence rate of 15-20% in children and 1-3% in adults and 90% of eczema cases represent mild to moderate forms, according to studies by S. Nutten and Zhang JZ, respectively.

Most patients with mild to moderate eczema are currently treated with topical agents such as corticosteroids and moisturizers. Corticosteroids were the first immunomodulators available in topical formulations and exert anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. However, treatment-related side effects associated with corticosteroid use, such as local application-site reactions, including skin atrophy with prolonged use, and

 

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profound effects on neuroendocrine system, which can lead to growth retardation in adolescents and an increased risk for diabetes, underscore the need for novel therapies to treat this disease.

Non-steroidal medications such as topical calcineurin inhibitors are also sometimes applied to the parts of the skin affected by eczema for purposes of controlling symptoms for short periods of time, but there are safety risks to application of calcineurin inhibitors to large areas of skin due to systemic absorption of these immunosuppressive agents.

In recent years, drug makers have responded to the significant unmet need in the market for eczema and have actively been developing safe and efficacious prescription drug alternatives. In December 2016, the FDA granted approval for Eucrisa™ (Pfizer), a topical treatment for mild to moderate eczema, while in March 2017, the FDA granted approval for Dupixent^® (Sanofi/Regeneron), a monoclonal antibody for adults with moderate to severe eczema. According to GMR data, sales of Eucrisa™ and Dupixent^® are estimated to be $2.0 billion and $3.8 billion, respectively, by 2026. These products are expected to contribute to a broader and fast growing market opportunity. The global eczema drug market is expected to grow from $0.8 billion in 2016, to $10.5 billion by 2026, representing a CAGR of 29.4%.

Fugan is a novel botanical topical product, with the key target indication of mild to moderate eczema. We believe fugan could offer a natural, topical, steroid-sparing product with strong efficacy and limited long-term safety concerns, at a more attractive price point, compared to global competitors. In addition, fugan has shown efficacy and safety in published prototype clinical studies conducted in China. We believe that fugan will allow us to access a large and fast-growing global market opportunity.

Psoriasis.    Psoriasis is a common chronic disorder of the skin characterized by dry scaling patches, called “plaques,” for which current treatments are few, and those that are available have potentially serious