Company: TVRD
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form Type: 424B3
Source: 0001104659-25-014310
Chunk: 125

Company: Tvardi Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form: 424B3
Chunk 125
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 will be valid and enforceable or provide Cara with any significant protection against competitive products, or otherwise be commercially valuable to Cara.

Cara also relies on trade secrets to protect Cara’s technology, particularly where Cara does not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. While Cara uses reasonable efforts to protect Cara’s trade secrets, Cara’s licensors, employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose Cara’s information to competitors. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained and is using Cara’s trade secrets is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Moreover, Cara’s competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how.

If Cara fails to obtain or maintain patent protection or trade secret protection for difelikefalin or, should Cara resume development activities in the future, any other product candidate that Cara may develop, license or acquire, third parties could use Cara’s proprietary information, which could impair Cara’s ability to compete in the market and adversely affect Cara’s ability to generate revenues and achieve profitability.

Even if Cara’s patent applications issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide Cara with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with it or otherwise provide it with any competitive advantage. Cara’s competitors may be able to circumvent Cara’s owned or licensed patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.

The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and Cara’s owned and licensed patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit Cara’s ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of Cara’s technology and products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such product candidates might expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized. As a result, Cara’s owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide it with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to Cara’s.

If Cara or any current or future collaboration partner are sued for infringing intellectual property rights