Company: VERA
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-029969
Chunk: 80

Company: Vera Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 80
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•require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, or which might be non-exclusive, which could result in our competitors gaining access to the same technology.

Any patent-related legal action against us claiming damages or seeking to enjoin commercial activities relating to our products, or processes could subject us to significant liability for damages, including treble damages if we were determined to willfully infringe, and require us to obtain a license to manufacture or market atacicept, MAU868, VT-109, or any future product candidates we may develop. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. We cannot predict whether we would prevail in any such actions or that any license required under any of these patents would be made available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. Moreover, even if we or a future strategic partner were able to obtain a license, the rights may be nonexclusive, which could result in our competitors gaining access to the same intellectual property. In addition, we cannot be certain that we could redesign atacicept, MAU868, VT-109, or any future product candidates we may develop processes to avoid infringement, if necessary.

An adverse determination in a judicial or administrative proceeding, or the failure to obtain necessary licenses, could prevent us from developing and commercializing atacicept, MAU868, VT-109, or any future product candidates we may develop, which could significantly harm our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, intellectual property litigation, regardless of its outcome, may cause negative publicity and could prohibit us from marketing or otherwise commercializing atacicept, MAU868, VT-109, and future product candidates and technologies.

Parties making claims against us may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation or administrative proceedings, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have an adverse effect on our ability to raise additional funds or otherwise significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for future product candidates we may develop through acquisitions and in-licenses.

Because our development programs