Company: HCWB
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form Type: DRS
Source: 0000950123-25-003769
Chunk: 70

Company: HCW Biologics Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form: DRS
Chunk 70
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 our immunotherapy platform technology. In such cases, we may not be in a position to develop or commercialize product candidates unless we successfully pursue litigation to
nullify or invalidate the third-party intellectual property right concerned, which can be expensive and time-consuming, or have to enter into a license agreement with the intellectual property right holder, if available on commercially reasonable
terms at all.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and
we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our product candidates. Parties making claims against us may seek and obtain injunctive or other equitable
relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize our product candidates. If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates or platform technology either do not
infringe the patent claims of a relevant patent or that the patent claims are invalid or unenforceable, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity may be difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity in court requires a
showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. If we are unable to successfully settle future claims
on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to engage or continue costly, unpredictable, and time- consuming litigation and may be prevented from or experience substantial delays in marketing our product candidates.

In addition, indemnity provisions in various agreements and our corporate documents potentially expose us to substantial liability for
intellectual property infringement and other claims. In the ordinary course of business, we enter into agreements that may include indemnification provisions under which we agree to indemnify them for losses suffered or incurred as a result of
claims of intellectual property infringement or other liabilities relating to or arising from our clinical trials, breach of warranties or other contractual obligations. In some cases, the indemnification will continue after the termination of the
applicable agreement. In addition, in accordance with our bylaws and pursuant to indemnification agreements entered into with directors, officers and certain employees, we have indemnification obligations for claims brought against these persons
arising out of certain events or occurrences while they are serving at our request in such capacities. For example, our founder and chief executive officer is subject to a claim from a former employer. We agreed to advance certain defense costs and
other