MNKD 2017 Annual Report

effective, reliable and secure operation of our computer hardware, software, networks, Internet servers and related infrastructure. The multitude and complexity of our computer systems and the potential value of our data make them inherently vulnerable to service interruption or destruction, malicious intrusion and random attack. Likewise, data privacy or security breaches by employees or others may pose a risk that sensitive data including intellectual property, trade secrets or personal information belonging to us or our customers or other business partners may be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public. Our systems are also potentially subject to cyber-attacks, which can be highly sophisticated and may be difficult to detect. Such attacks are often carried out by motivated, well-resourced, skilled and persistent actors including nation states, organized crime groups and “hacktivists.” Cyber-attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware and key loggers, a denial-of-service attack, a malicious website, the use of social engineering and other means to affect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our information technology systems, infrastructure and data. Our key business partners face similar risks and any security breach of their systems could adversely affect our security status. While we continue to invest in the protection of our critical or sensitive data and information technology, there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent or detect service interruptions or breaches in our systems that could adversely affect our business and operations and/or result in the loss of critical or sensitive information, which could result in financial, legal, business or reputational harm to us. RISKS RELATED TO GOVERNMENT REGULATION Our product candidates must undergo costly and time-consuming rigorous nonclinical and clinical testing and we must obtain regulatory approval prior to the sale and marketing of any product in each jurisdiction. The results of this testing or issues that develop in the review and approval by a regulatory agency may subject us to unanticipated delays or prevent us from marketing any products. Our research and development activities, as well as the manufacturing and marketing of Afrezza and our product candidates, are subject to regulation, including regulation for safety, efficacy and quality, by the FDA in the United States and comparable authorities in other countries. FDA regulations and the regulations of comparable foreign regulatory authorities are wide-ranging and govern, among other things: • product design, development, manufacture and testing; • product labeling; • product storage and shipping; • pre-market clearance or approval; • advertising and promotion; and • product sales and distribution. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical studies and manufacturing and marketing of Afrezza and our product candidates outside the United States vary widely from country to country. Foreign approvals may take longer to obtain than FDA approvals and can require, among other things, additional testing and different clinical study designs. Foreign regulatory approval processes include essentially all of the risks associated with the FDA approval processes. Some of those agencies also must approve prices of the products. Approval of a product by the FDA does not ensure approval of the same product by the health authorities of other countries. In addition, changes in regulatory policy in the United States or in foreign countries for product approval during the period of product development and regulatory agency review of each submitted new application may cause delays or rejections. Clinical testing can be costly and take many years, and the outcome is uncertain and susceptible to varying interpretations. We cannot be certain if or when regulatory agencies might request additional studies, under what conditions such studies might be requested, or what the size or length of any such studies might be. The clinical studies of our product candidates may not be completed on schedule, regulatory agencies may order us to stop or 35