Israeli Regional Conflict
All of our manufacturing processes, including cell banking and product manufacturing for our cell therapy product candidates, are conducted by our subsidiary, CCN, at its facility in Jerusalem, Israel, and more than two-thirds of our workforce are CCN employees who are based in the same facility. As of the date of the filing of this report, our operations have not been materially or adversely impacted as a result of the Israeli regional conflict that began in October 2023 nor the broader regional conflict that has developed since.
As a result of safety concerns and in response to government-imposed restrictions on movement and travel and other precautions taken at the outset of the conflict, our operations at our facilities in Israel were temporarily impacted. Further, a number of the employees in Israel are members of the military reserves and subject to immediate call-up in response to ongoing regional conflict. In addition, the general impact on employees operating in a region of conflict could adversely impact our operations. Although we have business continuity plans in place to address medium- or long-term disruptions that could result from regional instability, any long-term closure of our facilities in Israel, or if those facilities were damaged, or if hostilities otherwise disrupt the ongoing operation of our facilities, or if a meaningful number of employees are unable to work for significant portions of time, our operations would be materially and adversely impacted.
It is currently not possible to predict the scope, duration or severity of the ongoing conflict or its effects on our operations, financial condition or operating results. The conflict continues to rapidly evolve, and could materially adversely impact our business and operations, including our ability to raise capital, as well as the overall economy in Israel and the value of the New Israeli Shekel. See the risk factor in Item 1A. Risk Factors in Part I of the 2024 10-K titled, “All of our manufacturing operations currently are conducted at our facility in Jerusalem, Israel. Accordingly, political and economic conditions in Israel and war, cyberattacks, terrorist attacks or other armed conflicts involving Israel and the broader region could directly affect our business. Any event or condition that significantly disrupts our ordinary course of operations at our Jerusalem facility could harm our business and materially and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results”.
Our commercial insurance may not cover losses that may occur as a result of events associated with war and terrorism. Although the Israeli government currently covers the reinstatement value of direct damages that are caused by terrorist attacks or acts of war, we cannot assure that this government coverage will be maintained or that it will sufficiently cover our potential damages. Any losses or damages incurred by us could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Macroeconomic, Political, and Regulatory Environment Considerations
Our business, financial condition, operating results, stock price, and our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely affected by evolving macroeconomic, political, and regulatory developments and conditions, such as inflation, trade disruptions and restrictive measures, including tariffs, high interest rates, slowed economic growth or recession, volatility in financial markets, liquidity concerns at financial institutions, supply chain disruptions, changes in the regulatory landscape in the U.S., including due to significant reductions in funding and staffing of federal agencies and changes in leadership, and geopolitical factors. Further, third parties with whom we have business relationships, including clinical investigative sites, financial institutions, our collaborators, may be adversely affected by the foregoing risks, which could directly impact our ability to achieve our operating goals within planned timelines and budgets.
In addition, there may be significant future effects on the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries as a result of federal policy and regulatory changes under the current U.S. presidential administration, including in areas relating to regulatory framework and oversight, research and development funding, drug pricing reform, global trade policy and tariffs, and others. Recent initiatives have resulted in significant reductions in staffing levels at the FDA and other governmental agencies. The foregoing could impact agencies’ ability to retain remaining key personnel and hire additional personnel, which may disrupt their ability to perform routine activities or function in the normal course. For example, with respect to the FDA, this may result in delays or limitations on our ability to obtain guidance from agency staff and slow review times for applications we submit with respect to clinical studies, any of which could negatively impact the cost and timelines for developing and obtaining regulatory approval of our product candidates. Moreover, the current U.S. presidential administration has taken and may take additional future actions to freeze or reduce federal funding for medical research, which could decrease the ability of facilities that rely on such funding to conduct clinical trials or increase the costs to us of conducting clinical trials at those facilities. Given the high level of uncertainty regarding federal policy, enforcement and regulatory changes, and that circumstances are rapidly evolving, we cannot reasonably predict the potential impact on our business at this time.
Critical Accounting Estimates
An accounting policy is deemed critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, if different estimates reasonably could have been used, or if changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur could materially impact the financial statements. See the discussion under the Critical Accounting Estimates heading in Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Result of Operations in the 2024 10-K and our audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2024 in Part II, Item 8 of the 2024