could also be adversely affected if any such inquiries, of us or of other pharmaceutical companies or the industry more generally, were to result in legislative or regulatory proposals that limit our ability to increase the price of our product.
We are subject to extensive governmental regulation and we face significant uncertainties and potentially significant costs associated with our efforts to comply with applicable regulations. Any non-compliance may result in fines or other sanctions, including debarment, product seizures, product recalls, injunctive actions and criminal prosecutions, which could result in material adverse effects to our business, financial position and results of operations.
The pharmaceutical industry operates in a highly regulated environment and the operations of a pharmaceutical company are subject to regulation by various governmental authorities at the federal, state and local levels with respect to the development, manufacture, labeling, sale, distribution, marketing, advertising and promotion of pharmaceutical products. Such regulation may restrict our operations. As a pharmaceutical distributor, we are subject to extensive regulation by the federal government, principally the FDA, FTC and the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, as well as by state governments.
The FDCA, the Controlled Substances Act, the Generic Drug Enforcement Act of 1992, or the Generic Drug Act, and other federal, state and local statutes and regulations govern the testing, manufacture, safety, labeling, storage, disposal, tracking, recordkeeping, approval, advertising and promotion (including to the healthcare community) of our product and our current and future product candidates. If we fail, or if the manufacturing facilities for our products, our CROs, or other persons or entities working on our behalf fail, to comply with applicable regulatory requirements either before or after marketing approval, a regulatory agency, such as the FDA, may, depending on the stage of product development and approval, revoke, withdraw, or suspend approvals of previously approved products for cause, debar companies and individuals from participating in the drug-approval process, request or in certain circumstances mandate recalls of allegedly violative products, seize allegedly violative products, issue Warning Letters or Untitled Letters, mandate modifications to promotional materials or require the provision of corrective information to healthcare practitioners, amend and update labels or package inserts, suspend or terminate any ongoing clinical trials, refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to applications filed, refuse to allow entry into government contracts, obtain injunctions to close manufacturing plants allegedly not operating in conformity with FDA’s cGMP requirements, stop shipments of allegedly violative products, impose fines perhaps significant in amount, require entry into a consent decree, which can include imposition of various fines, reimbursements for inspection costs, required due dates for specific actions and penalties for noncompliance and other sanctions imposed by courts or regulatory bodies, including criminal prosecutions. We have in the past received Warning Letters from the FDA regarding certain operations and the FDA may in the future issue a Warning Letter for violation of post-marketing adverse drug experience reporting requirements. If we or a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions relative to us, that product or the manufacturing facility, including requiring product recall, notice to physicians, withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing. From time to time, we have voluntarily recalled our legacy products and may be required to voluntarily recall our products in the future.
Because of the chemical ingredients of pharmaceutical products and the nature of the manufacturing process, the pharmaceutical industry is subject to extensive environmental laws and regulation and the risk of incurring liability for damages and the costs of remedying environmental problems. These requirements include regulation of the handling, manufacture, transportation, storage, use and disposal of materials, including the discharge of hazardous materials and pollutants into the environment. We do not currently own a manufacturing facility and instead use third parties to manufacture for us. Our previous ownership of a manufacturing facility in Marietta, GA, or the acquisition of a manufacturing facility in the future, may expose us to risks relating to possible releases of hazardous substances into the environment, which could cause environmental or property damage or personal injuries, and which could result in (i) our noncompliance with such environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations and (ii) regulatory enforcement actions or claims for personal injury and property damage against us. If an unapproved or illegal environmental discharge or accident occurred or if we were to discover contamination caused by prior operations, including by prior owners and operators of properties we acquire, then we could be liable for cleanup, damages or fines, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flow. In the future, we may be required to increase expenditures in order to remedy environmental problems or comply with changes