Company: ATRA
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-035507
Chunk: 48

Company: Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 48
---
 time between the submission date of a BLA and the approval of that application. Only one patent applicable to an approved product is eligible for the extension, and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration. In the future, we may intend to apply for restoration of patent term for one of our currently owned or licensed patents to add patent life beyond its current expiration date, depending on the expected length of the clinical trials and other factors involved in the filing of the relevant BLA. 

Reimbursement of Approved Products in the U.S.

In both domestic and foreign markets, sales and reimbursement of any approved products will depend, in part, on the extent to which the costs of such products will be covered by third party payors, such as government health programs, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations. Third party payors determine which medications they will cover and establish reimbursement amounts. There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the drug is approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Interim reimbursement amounts for new drugs, if applicable, may also be insufficient to cover our costs and may only be temporary. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the U.S. Coverage and reimbursement policies for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor as there is no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for drug products among third party payors in the U.S. Third party payors in the U.S. often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies. There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement as the process of determining coverage and reimbursement is often time consuming and costly, and could require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage or adequate reimbursement will be obtained. It is difficult to predict at this time what government authorities and third party payors will decide