Even if we obtain and maintain approval of one or more of our Candidates from the FDA, we may never obtain approval for our Candidates outside of the United States, which would limit our market opportunities and adversely affect our business.
Even if we receive FDA approval of one or more of our Candidates in the United States, approval of a Candidate in the United States by the FDA does not ensure approval of such Candidate by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions, and approval by one foreign regulatory authority does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. Future sales of our Candidates outside of the United States will be subject to foreign regulatory requirements governing clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing approval. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and more onerous than, those in the United States, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials. In many countries outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that country. If we submit a marketing authorization application ("MAA") to the EMA for approval of SGT-003, SGT-212, SGT-501 or other Candidates in the European Union, obtaining such approval from the European Commission following the opinion of the EMA is a lengthy and expensive process. Regulatory authorities in countries outside of the United States and the European Union also have requirements for approval of product candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those countries. Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our Candidates in certain countries.
Further, clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries. Also, regulatory approval for our Candidates may be withdrawn. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements, our target market will be reduced, and our ability to realize the full market potential of our Candidates will be harmed.
Additionally, we could face heightened risks with respect to obtaining marketing authorization in the United Kingdom as a result of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit. The United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Single Market and EU Customs Union. As of January 1, 2025 the MHRA is responsible for approving all medicinal products destined for the UK market (i.e., Great Britain and Northern Ireland), and the EMA will no longer have any role in approving medicinal products destined for Northern Ireland. On April 28, 2025, the United Kingdom Parliament adopted amendments to improve and strengthen the United Kingdom’s clinical trials regulatory regime, which are scheduled to take effect on April 28, 2026. Any delay in obtaining, or an inability to obtain, any marketing authorizations, as a result of Brexit or otherwise, may force us to restrict or delay efforts to seek regulatory approval in the United Kingdom for our Candidates, which could significantly and materially harm our business.
In addition, foreign regulatory authorities may change their approval policies and new regulations may be enacted. For instance, the EU pharmaceutical legislation is currently undergoing a complete review process, in the context of the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe initiative, launched by the European Commission in November 2020. The European Commission’s proposal for revision of several legislative instruments related to medicinal products (including potentially reducing the duration of regulatory data protection, revising the eligibility for expedited pathways, etc.) was published on April 26, 2023 with several amendments requested in April 2024. The proposed revisions remain to be agreed and adopted by the European Parliament and European Council and the proposals may therefore be substantially revised before adoption, which is not anticipated before early 2026. The revisions may, however, have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry and our business in the long term. On June 4, 2025, after almost two years of negotiations among the EU Member States, the Council of the European Union adopted its position on the proposed overhaul of the EU general pharmaceutical legislative framework, which is known as the new Pharma Package. This proposal will now be the subject of additional negotiations and technical meetings, with the objective of reaching agreement on issues such as the regulatory data protection framework and the access and supply obligations.
We expect that we will be subject to additional risks in commercializing any of our Candidates that receive marketing approval outside the United States, including tariffs, trade barriers and regulatory requirements; economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets; compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad; foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue, and other obligations incident to doing business in another country; and workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States.
We may be materially adversely affected by the imposition of duties and tariffs and other trade barriers and retaliatory countermeasures implemented by the U.S. and other governments.
Recently there have been significant changes to U.S. trade policies, sanctions, legislation, treaties and tariffs, including, but not limited to, trade policies and tariffs affecting products from outside of the U.S. For example, the current U.S. presidential administration has announced or initiated a series of tariff-related actions against U.S. trading partners, including Mexico and Canada, which has in certain instances resulted in U.S. trading partners announcing or initiating retaliatory tariff-related actions in response. The extent and duration of tariff-related actions and the resulting impact on general economic conditions and on our business are uncertain and depend on various factors, such as negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners, the responses of other countries or regions, exemptions or exclusions that may be granted, availability and cost of alternative sources of supply, and demand for our products in affected markets. Any new or additional tariff-related actions impacting goods imported to the U.S. from Mexico, Canada, or other countries, or products imported into the European Union or other non-U.S. markets, could also increase the cost of some of our products and reduce our margins. The imposition of additional tariffs or other trade barriers could increase our costs in certain markets. Other countries have changed, and may continue to change, their own policies on trade as well as business and foreign