Company: TVRD
Filing Date: 2025-10-20
Form Type: S-1/A
Source: 0001104659-25-100896
Chunk: 78

Company: Tvardi Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-10-20
Form: S-1/A
Chunk 78
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 The Company also expects to collaborate with third parties on the development of its product candidates. As a result of the aforementioned collaborations, the Company must, at times, share trade secrets with its collaborators. The Company may also conduct joint research and development programs that may require the Company to share trade secrets under the terms of its research and development partnerships or similar agreements.

Trade secrets or confidential know-how can be difficult to maintain as confidential. To protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by competitors, the Company’s policy is to require its employees, consultants, contractors and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with the Company prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose the Company’s confidential information, including its trade secrets. However, current or former employees, consultants, contractors and advisers may unintentionally or willfully disclose the Company’s confidential information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. The need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by the Company’s competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that the Company’s proprietary position is based, in part, on its know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery of its trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair its competitive position and may have an adverse effect on its business and results of operations. Enforcing a claim that a third party obtained illegally and is using trade secrets or confidential know-how is expensive, time consuming and unpredictable. The enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

In addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability of the Company’s advisors, employees, third-party contractors and consultants to publish data potentially relating to its trade secrets, although its agreements may contain certain limited publication rights. Despite the Company’s efforts to protect its trade secrets, its competitors may discover its trade secrets, either through breach of its agreements with third parties, independent development or publication of information by any of its third-party collaborators. A competitor’s discovery of the Company’s trade secrets would impair its competitive position and have an adverse impact on its business.

Furthermore, courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. If the Company chooses to go to court to stop a third party from using any of its trade secrets, the Company may incur substantial costs. These lawsuits may consume