Regulatory Matters (a) VFL and Purchaser shall cooperate and use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all consents, approvals and agreements of, and to give and make all notices and filings with, any Governmental Entity necessary to authorize, approve or permit the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Related Agreements and any other agreements contemplated hereby or thereby, including, without limitation, as set forth on Schedule 3.04 and Schedule 4.04. Purchaser and VFL will provide each other and their counsel the opportunity to review in advance and comment on all such filings with any Governmental Entity. Purchaser and VFL will keep each other informed of the status of matters relating to obtaining the regulatory approvals specified in Schedule 3.04 and Schedule 4.04. It is expressly understood by the parties hereto that each party hereto shall use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that representatives of both Purchaser and VFL shall have the right to attend and participate in any hearing, proceeding, meeting, conference or similar event before or with a Governmental Entity or other organization relating to this Agreement or a Related Agreement. In furtherance of the foregoing, Purchaser and VFL shall provide each other reasonable advance notice of any such hearing, proceeding, meeting, conference or similar event. The notice required to be given under this Section 5.04 shall be given to representatives of VFL or Purchaser entitled to receive notices hereunder.
(b) VFL and Purchaser shall cooperate and use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all other approvals and consents to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Related Agreements, including the consents of third parties under Assigned Contracts. In the event and to the extent that VFL is unable to obtain any required approval or consent of non-governmental authorities to any agreement to be assigned to Purchaser hereunder, (i) VFL shall use commercially reasonable efforts in cooperation with Purchaser to (A) provide or cause to be provided to Purchaser the benefits of any such agreement, (B) cooperate in any arrangement, reasonable and lawful as to VFL and Purchaser, designed to provide such benefits to Purchaser and (C) enforce for the account of Purchaser any rights of VFL arising from such agreements, including the right to elect to terminate in accordance with the terms thereof on the advice of Purchaser and (ii) Purchaser shall use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the obligations of VFL arising under such agreements and licenses, to the extent that, by reason of the transactions consummated pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise, Purchaser has control over the resources necessary to perform such obligations. If and when any such approval or consent shall be obtained or such agreement or license shall otherwise become assignable, VFL shall promptly assign all of its rights and obligations thereunder to Purchaser without the payment of further consideration and Purchaser shall, without the payment of any further consideration therefor, assume such rights and obligations and VFL shall be relieved of any and all obligation or liability hereunder.
Reports; Regulatory Matters (a) Each of the Companies and their Subsidiaries have timely filed or furnished, as applicable, all reports, registrations, statements and certifications, together with any amendments required to be made with respect thereto, that they were required to file or furnish, as applicable, since January 1, 2006 with (i) any state regulatory authority, (ii) the SEC, (iii) any foreign regulatory authority, and (iv) any self-regulatory authority, (collectively, “Regulatory Agencies”) and with each other applicable Governmental Entity, and all other reports and statements required to be filed or furnished by them since January 1, 2006, including any report or statement required to be filed pursuant to the laws, rules or regulations of the United States, any state, any foreign entity, or any Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity, and have paid all fees and assessments due and payable in connection therewith. Except as set forth in Section 3.5 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, no Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity has initiated since January 1, 2006 or has pending any proceeding, enforcement action or, to the knowledge of Seller, investigation into the business, disclosures or operations of any of the Companies or any of its Subsidiaries. Since January 1, 2006, no Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity has resolved any proceeding, enforcement action or, to the knowledge of Seller, investigation into the business, disclosures or operations of any of the Companies or any of its Subsidiaries. There is no unresolved, or, to Seller’s knowledge, threatened criticism, comment, exception or stop order by any Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity with respect to any report or statement relating to any examinations or inspections of any of the Companies or any of its Subsidiaries. Since January 1, 2006, there have been no formal or informal inquiries by, or disagreements or disputes with, any Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity with respect to the business, operations, policies or procedures of any of the Companies or any of its Subsidiaries (other than normal inquiries made by a Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity in the Companies’ ordinary course of business).
(b) No Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any cease-and-desist or other order or enforcement action issued by, or is a party to any written agreement, consent agreement or memorandum of understanding with, or is a party to any commitment letter or similar undertaking to, or is subject to any order or directive by, or has been ordered to pay any civil money penalty by, or has been since January 1, 2006 a recipient of any supervisory letter from, or since January 1, 2006 has adopted any policies, procedures or board resolutions at the request or suggestion of, any Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity that currently restricts or affects in any material respect the conduct of its business (or to Seller’s knowledge that, upon consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, would restrict in any material respect the conduct of the business of either Buyer or any of its Subsidiaries), or that in any material manner relates to its capital adequacy, its ability to pay dividends, its credit, risk management or compliance policies, its internal controls, its management or its business, other than those of general application that apply to similarly situated companies or their Subsidiaries (each item in this sentence, a “Company Regulatory Agreement”), nor has any of the Companies or any of their Subsidiaries been advised since January 1, 2006 by any Regulatory Agency or other Governmental Entity that it is considering issuing, initiating, ordering, or requesting any such Company Regulatory Agreement.
(c) Seller has previously made available to Buyers an accurate and complete copy of each (i) final registration statement, prospectus, report, schedule and definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC by Seller pursuant to the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) since January 1, 2006 (the “Seller SEC Reports”) and prior to the date of this Agreement and (ii) communication mailed by Seller to its shareholders since January 1, 2006 and prior to the date of this Agreement. No such Seller SEC Report or communication, at the time filed or communicated (or, if amended prior to the date hereof, as of the date of such amendment), with respect to the Companies and their Subsidiaries only, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading. To the knowledge of Seller, other than as set forth in Section 3.5 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, none of the Seller SEC Reports is the subject of any ongoing review or investigation by the SEC or any other Governmental Entity and there are no unresolved SEC comments with respect to any of such documents.
Certain Regulatory Matters Except as set forth on Section 2.24 of the Disclosure Schedules:
(a) No member of the Seller Group is in receipt of notice of, or is subject to any investigation, adverse inspection observation, finding of deficiency, fine, reprimand, sanction, assessment, finding of non-compliance, regulatory, untitled or warning letter, FDA form 483, safety alert, mandatory or voluntary recall, other reportable corrective or remedial action, or other compliance or enforcement action (“Regulatory Actions”), in each case relating to the Business Products or to the facilities in which the Business Products are prepared, assembled, tested, packaged, labeled, stored or handled, issued by any applicable Governmental Authority, and/or commercialization activities conducted by or on behalf of any member of the Seller Group, or alleging that any member of the Seller Group was or is the subject of any pending, threatened or anticipated Action or Regulatory Action by any Governmental Authority, or that there are circumstances currently existing which might reasonably be expected to lead to any loss of or refusal to renew any of the Regulatory Licenses held by any member of the Seller Group. To Sellers’ Knowledge, there is no act, omission, event, or circumstance that could reasonably be expected to give rise to any such Regulatory Action against any member of the Seller Group. No member of the Seller Group has received any written notification from the FDA or any other applicable Governmental Authority indicating that any of the Business Products or components thereof is misbranded or adulterated.
(b) No member of the Seller Group has made any false statements on, or material omissions from, any applications, certifications, reports or other submissions to any applicable Governmental Authority or in or from any other records and documentation prepared or maintained to comply with the requirements of any Governmental Authority relating to the Business Products. There has not been any violation of any laws by any member of the Seller Group in prior product development efforts, submissions or reports to any Governmental Authority that could reasonably be expected to require investigation, corrective action or enforcement action by any member of the Seller Group with respect to the Business Products.
(c) No member of the Seller Group: (i) has made an untrue statement of material fact or fraudulent statement to the FDA, United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) or any other Governmental Authority with respect to any product produced sold by any member of the Seller Group, or (ii) has failed to disclose a material fact required to be disclosed to the FDA, USDA or any other Governmental Authority.
(d) No member of the Seller Group: (i) has made or offered any payment, gratuity or other thing of value that is prohibited by any Law to personnel of the FDA, USDA or any other Governmental Authority or any other Person; (ii) has been convicted of any crime under any applicable Laws; (iii) while acting in such capacity, is considered a restricted individual under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”), has been required to post a surety bond in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding, or is under PACA employment restrictions; (iv) is involved in a business dispute, including informal or formal complaint, mediation, or is aware of any threatened complaints or disputes by any applicable Governmental Authority or other third parties under PACA; (v) used any funds to make, any unlawful contribution, gift, bribe, payoff, kickback or other unlawful payment to any Government Official or has violated any provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”); (vi) discovered any potential or actual violation of the FCPA or any other applicable anti-corruption Law; (vii) received any written communication from any Governmental Authority alleging that any member of the Seller Group, or any director, officer, agent or employee acting on behalf of any member of the Seller Group was in violation of the FCPA or any other applicable anti-corruption Law; (viii) not been in compliance with the FCPA or any other applicable anti-corruption Law.
(e) During the 24 months immediately preceding the date of this Agreement, no Business Product has been recalled, whether voluntary or otherwise and no member of the Seller Group has received notice, either completed or pending, of any proceeding seeking a recall, removal, or corrective action of any Business Product. No member of the Seller Group has filed a report under the FDA’s Reportable Food Registry or been restrained in its ability to produce, market, test, or other corrective action, sell, distribute, or promote any Business Product. To the Sellers’ Knowledge, there are no facts, including product quality complaints that would be reasonably likely to result in a voluntary or mandatory product recall or expansion of recall.
(f) No member of the Seller Group is a party to any corporate integrity agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar agreements with or imposed by any Governmental Authority.
Tax and Regulatory Matters No Buyer Entity or, to the Knowledge of Buyer, any Affiliate thereof has taken or agreed to take any action, and Buyer does not have any Knowledge of any agreement, plan or other circumstance, that is reasonably likely to (i) prevent the Merger from qualifying as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) materially impede or delay receipt of any of the Requisite Regulatory Approvals.
Litigation and Regulatory Cooperation During and after the Executive’s employment, the Executive shall cooperate fully with the Company in the defense or prosecution of any claims or actions now in existence or which may be brought in the future against or on behalf of the Company which relate to events or occurrences that transpired while the Executive was employed by the Company. The Executive’s full cooperation in connection with such claims or actions shall include, but not be limited to, being available to meet with counsel to prepare for discovery or trial and to act as a witness on behalf of the Company at mutually convenient times. During and after the Executive’s employment, the Executive also shall cooperate fully with the Company in connection with any investigation or review of any federal, state or local regulatory authority as any such investigation or review relates to events or occurrences that transpired while the Executive was employed by the Company. The Company shall reimburse the Executive for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the Executive’s performance of obligations pursuant to this Section 7(f).
Accounting, Tax and Regulatory Matters Each Owner and the Company, -------------------------------------- jointly and severally, represents and warrants to Premiere that neither the Company, any Owner nor any Affiliate thereof has taken or agreed to take any action or has any knowledge of any fact or circumstance that is reasonably likely to (i) prevent the Merger from qualifying for pooling-of-interests accounting treatment or as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code, or (ii) materially impede or delay receipt of any consents referred to in Section 5.6 of the Uniform Terms or result in the imposition of a condition or restriction of the type referred to in the last sentence of such Section.
Regulatory Cooperation In connection with any foreclosure, collection, sale or other enforcement of Liens granted to the Administrative Agent in the Collateral Documents, Parent will, and will cause its Restricted Subsidiaries to, reasonably cooperate in good faith with the Administrative Agent or its designee in obtaining all regulatory licenses, consents and other governmental approvals necessary or (in the reasonable opinion of the Administrative Agent or its designee) reasonably advisable to conduct all aviation operations with respect to the Collateral and will, at the reasonable request of the Administrative Agent and in good faith, continue to operate and manage the Collateral and maintain all applicable regulatory licenses with respect to the Collateral until such time as the Administrative Agent or its designee obtain such licenses, consents and approvals, and at such time Parent will, and will cause its Restricted Subsidiaries to, cooperate in good faith with the transition of the aviation operations with respect to the Collateral to any new aviation operator (including, without limitation, the Administrative Agent or its designee).
Regulatory Affairs From the point in time at which Novartis gives GW notice in writing that it wishes to take on responsibility for Regulatory Filings and Regulatory Approvals in the Territory, Novartis shall be responsible for all interactions with Regulatory Authorities in the Territory with respect to Regulatory Approvals as set forth in this Section 6.1, and including, filing and maintaining any required Regulatory Approvals, seeking necessary permits and/or scheduling or re-scheduling in controlled substance listings or de-scheduling of the Product from controlled substances listings in the Territory.
(a) Where required, Novartis (or its applicable Affiliate or Sublicensee) will be responsible for arranging for the Product to be scheduled in any applicable controlled substance schedule(s) in countries in the Territory. GW agrees, without additional consideration, to give all necessary consents, declarations and documentation as are reasonably required to implement the foregoing and to provide Novartis with all assistance reasonably requested by Novartis (including attending meetings with Regulatory Authorities in any such country) for the purpose of arranging for such scheduling.
(b) Subject to Section 6.1(g), Novartis (or its applicable Affiliate or Sublicensee) will file and hold all Regulatory Approvals for the Products in countries in the Territory in its own name and on its own behalf. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, within ten (10) Business Days following the Effective Date, GW will assign to Novartis all Regulatory Filings with any Regulatory Authority in the Territory at the Effective Date relating to any Product and Novartis will reimburse GW all fees paid by GW to Regulatory Authorities in such countries with respect to the submission of such Regulatory Filings. On request by Novartis, GW will deliver notices of such assignment to the applicable Regulatory Authorities. In addition, GW agrees to give all necessary consents, declarations and documentation as are reasonably required to implement the foregoing.
(c) Subject to Sections 4.2 and 6.1(e), Novartis (or its applicable Affiliate or Sublicensee) will be responsible for conducting, at its sole expense, such activities directed towards obtaining and maintaining Regulatory Approvals for Products in the Territory as it determines appropriate in its sole discretion; provided, however, that Novartis agrees to submit Regulatory Filings for Marketing Approvals for a Product in each of the Key Countries. Thereafter, Novartis shall, on a Key Country-by-Key Country basis further prosecute all such Regulatory Filings in the Key Countries in a timely, professional and diligent manner, including by paying all required filing fees promptly and responding to correspondence and requests for further information from Regulatory Authorities in the Key Countries within a reasonable timeframe. Novartis shall share with GW its plans for obtaining Regulatory Approvals in the Key Countries at the first JSC meeting and thereafter shall supply GW with its updated plan from time to time. Novartis shall report its performance against this regulatory plan to the JSC each Calendar Quarter.
(d) Novartis will: (A) determine the regulatory plans and strategies for the Products in the Territory; (B) (either itself or through its Affiliates or Sublicensees and subject to Section 6.1(g)) make and own all Regulatory Filings with respect to the Products in the Territory; and (C) will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining Regulatory Approvals with respect to the Products in the Territory in the name of Novartis or its Affiliates or Sublicensees. Accordingly:
(i) Novartis, shall at its own cost write, assemble, otherwise prepare and file all Regulatory Filings required to obtain Regulatory Approvals for Products in the Territory;
(ii) Novartis shall be the principal contact with all Regulatory Authorities on all matters pertaining to any Product, but shall consult regularly with GW regarding such matters, giving due regard to GW’s views;
(iii) Novartis shall provide to GW copies of all substantive correspondence with Regulatory Authorities in the Territory related to any Product, and, to the extent practicable, shall consult with GW in advance of submitting any material correspondence related to any Product to any such Regulatory Authority;
(iv) GW shall provide to Novartis copies of all substantive correspondence with the EMA related to any Product and, to the extent practicable, shall consult with Novartis in advance of submitting any material correspondence related to any Product to the EMA in circumstances where such correspondence could reasonably be expected to impact on the Commercialization and/or Regulatory Approvals of any Product in the Territory;
(v) Novartis shall provide such notice to GW as is reasonably practicable under the circumstances of upcoming meetings related to any Product with Regulatory Authorities in the Territory. Subject to the consent of the relevant Regulatory Authority, GW shall be entitled to attend any such meetings as an observer, and Novartis may require GW’s attendance at any such meeting it deems to be potentially material; and
(vi) Novartis shall pay all filing and maintenance costs of Regulatory Filings and Regulatory Approvals for the Product in the Territory during the Term.
(e) GW shall, without additional consideration, fully cooperate with and provide assistance to Novartis in connection with filings to any Regulatory Authority relating to the Product(s) in the Territory in order to obtain or maintain Regulatory Approvals (including Pricing and/or Reimbursement Approvals, where applicable), including by (i) providing Novartis with an electronic copy of the registration dossier for the Product in the European Union as well as providing Novartis with an electronic copy of this registration dossier in eCTD format if and when available in eCTD format, and upon request by Novartis, an electronic copy of a draft of the registration dossier for the Product in the US as soon as such draft is made available to GW (if this draft is made available to GW in eCTD format GW will provide it to Novartis in eCID format); (ii) upon request by Novartis, providing Novartis with draft responses to any requests from Regulatory Authorities in the Territory related to the Development or manufacture of Products (including any requests related to the chemistry manufacturing and controls (CMC) section of any Regulatory Filing); and (iii) executing any required documents, providing access to personnel and providing Novartis with copies of all reasonably required documentation. To the extent requested by Novartis, GW shall also grant or cause to be granted to Novartis and its Affiliates or Sublicensees, within thirty (30) days of receipt of a written request from Novartis, cross-reference rights to any relevant drug master files and other filings submitted by GW or its Affiliates with any Regulatory Authority and any Regulatory Approval for Product issued by any Regulatory Authority to GW or its Affiliates.
(f) Subject to Novartis having access to reimbursement data from outside the Territory, data generated by Novartis for reimbursement shall be available for GW and its ex-Territory licensees of the Products to use with respect to the Products outside the Territory.
(g) In the event that (A) it is not possible under applicable Laws for Novartis to file for or hold Regulatory Approvals for the Product in any country in the Territory and/or (B) if requested by Novartis in writing to do so, to the extent permitted by applicable Laws and for the duration determined by Novartis, GW will file and/or hold all Regulatory Approvals for the Products in such country, at Novartis’s cost and expense (provided that all such costs and expenses shall be in accordance with a plan and budget agreed in writing by the Parties prior to GW making any such Regulatory Filing), and:
(i) GW will be responsible for, and will use diligent efforts in, obtaining and maintaining all Regulatory Approvals necessary for the Commercialization of the Products in the country in question;
(ii) GW will provide to Novartis copies of all substantive written communications between GW (or its Affiliates) and any Regulatory Authority in the Territory relating to any Product;
(iii) Novartis shall have the right to review and comment upon any Regulatory Filings and correspondence from GW (or its Affiliates) to any Regulatory Authority in the Territory relating to any Product, and GW shall incorporate or address all such comments unless otherwise agreed between the Parties;
(iv) GW will request and seek to arrange such meetings and consultations with Regulatory Authorities in the Territory which may be requested by Novartis, with respect to any Product;
(v) To the extent permitted by the relevant Regulatory Authorities, Novartis shall have the right to have representatives of Novartis attend and participate in all meetings between GW (or its Affiliates) and any Regulatory Authority in the Territory relating to any Product; it being understood and agreed that to the extent permitted by the relevant Regulatory Authorities, Novartis will lead discussions with any such Regulatory Authority in the Territory. If the applicable Regulatory Authority does not permit Novartis to lead any such discussion, GW will lead the applicable discussions as directed by Novartis; and
(vi) Novartis will reimburse GW any and all costs incurred pursuant to the foregoing and in accordance with the agreed plan and budget as follows. Within thirty (30) days after each Calendar Quarter during which GW has incurred any such costs and expenses, GW will provide to Novartis a detailed accounting of all such costs and expenses, and shall submit an invoice to Novartis substantially in the form of Exhibit C with respect to the amount of such costs and expenses. Unless disputed, Novartis shall pay such amount within sixty (60) days after receipt of such invoice.
(h) Novartis hereby grants, and undertakes to cause its Affiliates and Sublicensees to grant, to GW and its Affiliates cross-reference rights to any Regulatory Filing for Product submitted by Novartis or its Affiliates or Sublicensees to any Regulatory Authority in the Territory and any Marketing Approval for Product issued by any Regulatory Authority in the Territory to Novartis or its Affiliates or Sublicensees. Novartis shall also grant such cross-reference rights to those of GW’s licensees of the Products for countries outside the Territory for which Novartis, its Affiliates and Sublicensees are granted corresponding cross-reference rights.
(i) The Parties will discuss at the JSC the appropriate response to any request received by either Party from a Third Party academic institution to conduct any investigator initiated clinical study of a Product in the Territory.
(j) If any information comes into GW’s Control that requires a change to the CMC section of Regulatory Filings or Regulatory Approvals, inside and outside the Territory, to avoid ‘regulatory drift’ GW will inform Novartis in writing of the required change (including by providing the necessary technical documentation in English) and Novartis will file such documentation with the relevant Regulatory Authorities as soon as practicable.
Regulatory Matters and Approvals Each of the Parties will give any notices to, make any filings with, and use its reasonable best efforts to obtain any necessary authorizations, consents, and approvals of governments and governmental agencies in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing:
Tests and Preclinical and Clinical Trials The preclinical studies and clinical trials conducted by or, to the Company’s knowledge, on behalf of the Company, that are described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as applicable, and are intended to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) or other comparable government entities, were and, if still ongoing, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to accepted professional scientific standards and all Authorizations and Applicable Laws, including, without limitation, current Good Clinical Practices and Good Laboratory Practices and any applicable rules and regulations of the jurisdiction in which such trials and studies are being conducted; the descriptions of the results of such studies and trials contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are, to the Company’s knowledge, accurate and complete in all material respects and fairly present the data derived from such studies and trials; except to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of any studies or trials, the results of which the Company believes reasonably call into question the study or trial results described or referred to in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus when viewed in the context in which such results are described and the clinical stage of development; and, except to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, the Company has not received any written notices or written correspondence from the FDA or any governmental entity requiring the termination or suspension of any preclinical studies or clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company, other than ordinary course communications with respect to modifications in connection with the design and implementation of such trials, copies of which communications have been made available to you.
