APPLIED ANALYTICAL INDUSTRIES INC
10-Q, EX-99.1, 2000-11-13
MEDICAL LABORATORIES
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                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

RISK FACTORS

Key risk factors that may have a direct bearing on the Company's results,
performance and financial condition include:

         o        the Company's ability to successfully develop, on its own
                  behalf and on behalf of its customers, and timely and
                  successfully commercialize, launch and sell new and improved
                  pharmaceutical products and services;

         o        the potential outcomes and commercial implications of clinical
                  trials related to products under development by the Company;

         o        the ability and willingness of the Company's customers to
                  successfully commercialize, launch and sell new and improved
                  pharmaceutical products in which the Company has an economic
                  interest;

         o        the Company's ability to successfully enter into and perform
                  beneficial royalty, milestone and fee-for-service agreements
                  with pharmaceutical companies;

         o        the introduction and sale of new or modified pharmaceutical
                  products and technologies by other companies that affect the
                  demand for pharmaceutical products and services in which AAI
                  has a financial interest, either directly or through sales to,
                  or royalties, milestones or other fees to be received from,
                  AAI's customers and marketing partners;

         o        the Company's success in obtaining timely regulatory approvals
                  of the Company's internally developed products and to obtain
                  other regulatory approvals and regulatorily acceptable
                  governmental audits and inspections of the Company's
                  facilities, records and other regulated activities;

         o        our ability to hire and retain adequate numbers of qualified
                  employees;

         o        industry outsourcing trends and volumes;

         o        changes in economic and market conditions that impact the
                  demand for the Company's products and services;

         o        our ability to obtain suitable types and quantities of raw
                  materials, excipients and active pharmaceutical ingredients
                  used to develop, improve or manufacture products, at
                  commercially viable prices;

         o        federal, state and foreign regulatory and legal changes and
                  developments that impact the pharmaceutical industry and those
                  companies developing or providing services and products to the
                  pharmaceutical industry, including the


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                  Company, as well as the outcome of related judicial cases
                  involving or affecting the industry or such companies,
                  including any such changes, developments or judicial cases
                  pertaining to FDA or other regulatory, environmental, health
                  and safety matters;

         o        changes in tariffs and import/export controls and
                  restrictions;

         o        account receivable collection by the Company, and bankruptcy,
                  insolvency or impaired ability by the Company's customers to
                  pay amounts owed to the Company, in full and on a timely
                  basis;

         o        risks inherent in international operations, including, e.g.,
                  possible economic, political, military, trade restraints or
                  restrictions, monetary, or currency instabilities or
                  developments affecting the United States, Canada, the European
                  Union and its member states, the People's Republic of China,
                  Turkey and Argentina, among others;

         o        the effects of vigorous competition and/or mergers and
                  acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry and those
                  companies developing or providing services and products to the
                  pharmaceutical industry;

         o        changes in interpretations and application of generally
                  accepted accounting practices and policy standards by
                  regulatory and accounting bodies that may cause the Company's
                  reported financial results to differ from anticipated results;

         o        the concurrence of the Internal Revenue Service and state and
                  foreign taxation agencies with the Company's interpretation
                  and application of the applicable tax laws and regulations to
                  the Company's operations and financial results, including in
                  the Company's tax filings and returns;

         o        the Company's ability to successfully persuade the U.S. Patent
                  and Trademark Office and its foreign counterparts to issue
                  patents with strong claims, on a timely basis, and to enforce
                  such issued patents against infringing companies;

         o        the outcome of any government reviews, investigations, claims
                  or challenges that may arise with respect to the contracts,
                  asset and stock sales and acquisitions, mergers, and joint
                  ventures of or involving the Company;

         o        our ability to successfully find and complete advantageous
                  acquisitions, joint ventures and mergers, including, e.g., our
                  ability to accurately identify and assess the value,
                  strengths, weaknesses, synergies, contingent and other
                  liabilities and potential profitability of acquisition or
                  merger candidate or of joint ventures and to successfully
                  integrate acquired or merged operations into the operations of
                  the Company; and


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         o        the compliance by the Company's customers, suppliers,
                  licensors, licensees or other third parties with which the
                  Company has contractual relations, with their contractual
                  obligations to the Company, as well as the Company's ability
                  to enforce such obligations through litigation, arbitration,
                  mediation or other dispute resolution efforts.


Discussion of Risk Factors in the Pharmaceutical Industry. The Company believes
that the pharmaceutical industry in which it currently operates through its
development and commercialization of new and improved pharmaceutical products
and services holds tremendous opportunities for companies successful in
competing in that industry. At the same time, the Company is aware of what it
takes to be successful in this industry and the risk factors associated with the
industry.

In order to assist our stockholders in better understanding the risk factors in
the pharmaceutical industry, the Company is taking this opportunity to summarize
and discuss them:

         COMPETITION. The Company encounters aggressive competition in all areas
         of its business. Our competitors are numerous, ranging from large
         pharmaceutical companies to many smaller specialized firms. AAI
         competes primarily on the basis of innovation, ability to obtain
         regulatory approvals successfully and at early dates, technology and
         patents, a sophisticated understanding of chemistry, finding and
         developing novel chemical opportunities with respect to new or existing
         pharmaceutical products, service performance, price, quality,
         reliability, and customer service and support.

         Product opportunities frequently arise as innovator drugs approach the
         end of their patent lives. These include both product life cycle
         management (PLCM) activities to extend the product franchise life
         cycles for innovator pharmaceutical firms and to engage in generic
         product development. Developing new or improved drug products is
         complex and difficult, both technically and from a regulatory
         standpoint. Commercial success and viability depends on whether (and
         how many) other companies are developing new or improved competing
         drugs or generic equivalents to innovator drugs, which companies
         receive the earliest regulatory approvals to market the competing or
         generic products, and differences in the competing products'
         characteristics, effectiveness, safety, stability and side effects
         profiles. The product development process requires, often years in
         advance, accurate anticipation of market and customer acceptance of
         particular products, customers' needs, emerging technological trends,
         and a timely ability to complete successfully many dependent and
         complex chemistry, analytical, testing and regulatory approval
         requirements. When developed, new formulations may not accomplish
         desired delivery, clinical or product stability characteristics, and
         new or reformulated drugs may not have acceptable safety,
         effectiveness, stability or side effect profiles. Complications can
         also arise during production scale-up and/or developing or using
         acceptable analytical methodologies that materially affect the
         commercial or technical viability of a


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         new or improved product. New or improved products can also encounter
         unexpected unresolvable patent conflicts. Delays or problems may also
         arise from internal conflicts for resource availability, personnel
         errors or equipment failures. Pharmaceutical product development life
         cycles are long (typically several years) with substantial risks of
         failure in any of the development and clinical testing phases. The
         windows of opportunity to develop and commercialize such products open
         and close quickly with regulatory and market developments. To remain
         competitive, the Company must develop or license new and improved
         products, find, develop and commercialize PLCM opportunities for
         innovator drugs whose patent protection is soon to expire or generic
         products, periodically enhance its existing products and services, and
         compete effectively on the basis of the factors described above.

         The Company is also subject to the impact of marketplace actions of its
competitors. For example, in the event of business difficulties faced by a major
competitor, the competitor may decide to slash its prices or take other pricing
or market actions in order to obtain new business at any price, thereby
disrupting the entire marketplace for pricing and obtaining of new business for
the Company and other marketplace participants. There can be no assurance that
disruptive actions by the Company's competitors will not occur or affect the
Company's financial results or business operations.

         SELECTION AND INVESTMENT IN NEW RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. The
         Company seeks to select new or improved products and services to work
         on in its judgment of those that may yield strong commercial success
         for the Company, in light of its then-available resources, technical
         capabilities and alternatives. However, in light of the multi-year
         product development cycle times, the Company must make long-term
         investments in its research and development projects and commit
         significant resources before knowing whether its predictions will
         eventually result in products that achieve customer and market
         acceptance and success.

         MARKETING OF NEW AND IMPROVED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. After a new or
         improved pharmaceutical product or service is successfully developed,
         the Company must either find a pharmaceutical marketing partner and
         successfully enter into a profitable license and distribution agreement
         or seek to sell the product or service through its own sales force.
         Commercial success by the Company depends on our ability to create and
         maintain such effective marketing channels.

         MANUFACTURING OBLIGATIONS. Frequently, the Company has related
         manufacturing obligations that require it to manufacture sufficient
         volumes of marketable product at acceptable costs. This is a process
         that requires accurate forecasting of costs, volumes and mix of
         products and service estimates. Moreover, the supply and timing of a
         new product or service must match customers' demand and timing for the
         particular product or service. Given the wide variety of products and


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         services the Company offers and is developing, the process of planning
         production and projecting profitable cost charges is difficult.

         INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. The Company generally relies upon patent,
         copyright, trademark and trade secret laws in the United States and in
         selected other countries to establish and maintain its proprietary
         rights in its intellectual property, technology and products. However,
         there can be no assurance that any of the Company's proprietary rights
         will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, or that any such
         rights will provide significant competitive advantages. Moreover,
         because of the rapid pace of technological change in the pharmaceutical
         industry, many of the Company's products rely on key technologies
         developed by itself or others that may be obsoleted at any time. There
         can be no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to
         develop or obtain licenses to necessary technologies. In addition, from
         time to time, the Company receives notices from third parties regarding
         patent claims. Any such claims, with or without merit, could be
         time-consuming to defend, result in costly litigation, divert
         management's attention and resources and cause the Company to incur
         significant expenses. In the event of a successful claim of
         infringement against the Company and failure or inability of the
         Company to license the infringed technology or to substitute similar
         non-infringing technology, the Company's business could be adversely
         affected. The Company also routinely enters into confidential
         disclosure agreements with third parties and customers that restrict
         the disclosure and/or use of the Company's intellectual property,
         including its confidential and proprietary information, disclosed to
         such third parties. Failure of such third-parties to honor their
         confidentiality and non-use obligations owed to AAI can materially harm
         the Company.

         RELIANCE ON SUPPLIERS. The Company's operations are dependent on our
         ability to obtain suppliers of quality raw materials, excipients and
         active pharmaceutical ingredients at commercially acceptable prices and
         terms, in time to satisfy critical product development, testing,
         analytical and manufacturing activities, customer contracts, or the
         development plans of the Company. The Company from time to time
         experiences constrained timely and cost-effective supplies of such
         desired materials. Such constraints, if persistent or widespread, may
         adversely affect the Company's operating results until resolved or
         alternate sourcing can be developed.

         DEVELOPMENT OF DIRECT SALES OF NICHE PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS. The
         Company is currently planning the development of its own distribution
         channels for certain "niche" pharmaceutical products not intended to
         conflict with products being sold by the Company's customers. The
         Company is in the process of developing its own, and seeking to
         identify and buy from third parties, non-conflicting "niche"
         pharmaceutical products. There is no assurance that such distribution
         channels can be successfully developed, that such products can be
         successfully identified, acquired or developed, or that the Company's
         customers may not react adversely to such marketing efforts by the
         Company. The Company's operational and


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         financial results could be materially and adversely affected due to any
         such adverse reactions.

         INTERNATIONAL. Sales outside the United States make up a significant
         portion of the Company's revenues. In addition, a significant portion
         of the Company's facilities and personnel, along with key customers and
         suppliers, are located outside the United States. Accordingly, the
         Company's future results could be adversely affected by a variety of
         factors, including changes in a specific country's or region's
         political conditions or changes or continued weakness in economic
         conditions, trade protection measures, import or export licensing
         requirements, facility or ownership interest nationalization, the
         overlap of different tax structures, unexpected changes in regulatory
         requirements, military conflicts or actions, and natural disasters.

         MANAGEMENT AND SKILLED PERSONNEL. As with any technological company,
         the Company's operations require adequate numbers of skilled scientific
         and technical personnel, as well as strong management and sales
         capabilities, to be successful. Such personnel are in strong demand by
         many other companies and the Company's personnel are frequently hired
         away by other companies. Retaining skilled personnel, and hiring
         replacements, are critical to the Company's success. There can be no
         assurance that the loss of key personnel, whether to other companies or
         to accident, illness, death, injury or retirement, will not occur at a
         time or in a manner that will not disrupt or delay key projects and
         activities of the Company and thereby adversely affect our operations
         or financial results.

         DEMANDS OF GROWTH. In recent years, the Company has been growing in
         size and complexity of operations. An organization bears many burdens
         organizationally caused by such growth, including, among others,
         successfully improving, increasing and changing the financial,
         information technology, operational, personnel-related and other
         systems, policies and practices of the organization and the
         organizational structure of the business and its management, as well as
         finding and hiring the appropriate people for new or changed positions.
         The Company believes that it is presently meeting the challenges of
         growth, but any failure or inability to meet such challenges, or to
         successfully create, maintain or use such systems, policies or
         practices, can materially and adversely affect the operations and
         financial result of the Company.

         LITIGATION, INVESTIGATIONS AND CLAIMS. Any company, including AAI,
         always faces the risk of potential litigation being brought against it
         in the course of its business operations. By their nature, litigation,
         pre-litigation investigations and controversies, and claim demands
         occur when disputes arise between two parties, or between a party and a
         government agency, as to whether legal obligations are owed or
         breached. These are often difficult or impossible to predict, avoid or
         mitigate in advance. When they occur, litigation, investigations and
         claim demands may be based on either valid or unfounded claims. In
         either case,


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         however, litigation typically seeks substantial amounts of money and/or
         injunctive relief and involve substantial legal fees and expenses, and
         pre-litigation investigations and claim demands frequently involve
         major costs and diversions of management and personnel time and
         attention, which, in each case, can materially and adversely affect the
         Company's operations or financial results.

         CREDITWORTHINESS AND CONTRACT COMPLIANCE OF CUSTOMERS. The magnitude of
         the Company's contracts are often substantial in comparison to the
         Company's size. While many of the Company's customers are large and
         well-funded pharmaceutical companies, others are small (or are
         "virtual" companies) with substantially less resources which can run
         into financial or operational difficulties from time to time. In the
         event that a customer with a significant contract with the Company runs
         into financial or credit difficulties, declares bankruptcy, becomes
         insolvent or otherwise is unable or unwilling to pay monies owed to the
         Company on a timely basis or otherwise honor its obligations under such
         a contract, the Company could be materially and adversely affected.

         DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS. As is common with companies operating
         internationally, the Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange
         rate risk inherent in its contracts, business dealings, and assets and
         liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, as
         well as interest rate risk inherent in the Company's debt, investment
         and accounts receivable portfolio. The Company's risk management
         strategy utilizes derivative financial instruments, including forwards
         and swaps, to hedge certain foreign currency and interest rate
         exposures, with the intent of offsetting gains and losses that occur on
         the underlying exposures with gains and losses on the derivative
         contracts hedging them. The Company does not enter into derivatives for
         trading purposes.

         The Company has performed a sensitivity analysis assuming a
hypothetical adverse movement of 10% in foreign exchange rates and 1% in
interest rates (applied to variable rate debt and leases tied to interest rates)
and disclosed the results in Part I, Item 3 of the current Form 10-Q. Actual
gains and losses in the future may differ materially from that analysis,
however, based on changes in the timing and amount of interest rate and foreign
currency exchange rate movements and the Company's actual exposures and hedges.

         ACQUISITIONS, STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, JOINT VENTURES AND DIVESTITURES.
         From time to time, the Company engages in discussions with a variety of
         parties relating to possible acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint
         ventures and divestitures. The implementation or integration of a
         transaction may contribute to the Company's results differing from the
         investment community's expectation in a given quarter. Divestitures may
         result in the cancellation of orders and charges to earnings.
         Acquisitions and strategic alliances may require, among other things,
         integration or coordination with a different company culture,
         management team organization and business infrastructure. They may also
         require the development, manufacture and marketing of product offerings
         that enhance or detract from the performance


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         of the combined business or product line. Depending on the size and
         complexity of the transaction, successful integration depends on a
         variety of factors, including the hiring and retention of key
         employees, management of geographically separate facilities, and the
         integration or coordination of different research and development and
         product manufacturing facilities. All of these efforts require varying
         levels of management resources, which may temporarily adversely impact
         other business operations.

         HURRICANES. A significant portion of the Company's research and
         development activities, its corporate headquarters, and other critical
         business operations and certain of its suppliers are located in
         geographic areas that have had, and are likely to continue to have,
         hurricanes and major storms. To mitigate this risk, the Company
         maintains certain levels of business interruption and other insurance
         coverage. However, the ultimate impact on the Company, its operations
         and its infrastructure of future hurricanes and storms cannot be
         foreseen or controlled at this time.

         DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY ("DEA") REGULATION. Certain of the Company's
         development, testing and other activities are subject to the Controlled
         Substances Act, administered by the Drug Enforcement Agency (the
         "DEA"), which regulates strictly all narcotic and habit-forming
         substances. The Company maintains separate, restricted-access
         facilities and heightened control procedures for projects involving
         such substances due to the level of security and other controls
         required by the DEA. Any failure or inability by the Company to comply
         with such Act and regulations could materially and adversely affect the
         business, operations and financial results of the Company.

         ENVIRONMENTAL AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN THE WORKPLACE. Certain of the
         Company's operations involve the use of substances regulated under
         various federal, state, local, and international laws governing the
         environment. Moreover, the Company's activities involve the controlled
         use of hazardous materials and chemicals. The Company is subject to
         federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use,
         storage, handling and disposal of such materials and certain waste
         products. In the event of an accident, discharges (e.g., to the
         groundwater or air) or other non-compliance, the Company could be held
         liable for any damages that result, including damages or injuries,
         including deaths, to persons, property or the environment, which could
         materially and adversely affect the financial condition and operations
         of the Company.

         PROFIT MARGIN. The profit margins realized by the Company vary among
         its products and services, its customers, its competitive situation,
         and its geographic areas of operation. Consequently, the overall
         profitability of the Company's operations in any given period is
         partially dependent on the product, service, customer and geographic
         mix, and competitive situation, reflected in that period's net sales.


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         CHANGES IN LAWS AND REGULATIONS. The Company operates in a highly
         regulated business. Failure or inability to comply with the laws and
         regulations applicable to our business would materially and adversely
         affect the Company's business and financial results. Moreover, these
         laws and regulations and governmental interpretations and applications
         thereof, both in the United States and in foreign countries, change
         over time. The Company can give no assurance that the laws and
         regulations applicable to our business will not change, or be
         interpreted or re-interpreted by governmental agencies or bodies, in
         ways harmful to the Company and its financial results and business
         operations.

         CREDIT FACILITIES AND AVAILABILITY OF CASH. The Company is dependent on
         its bank relationships and credit facilities to provide cash and
         funding for Company operations. In the event of any future disruption
         or limitation in such relationships or facilities, any decision by the
         Company's banks to terminate, reduce or impose limitations on our
         credit facilities or to exercise rights to impose restrictions or
         declare breaches under banking contract provisions, any decisions by
         the Company's banks to collect on any assets of the Company as
         collateral for such lending facilities, or in the event that the
         Company requires more cash than is available to it under such credit
         facilities, the Company's operations and financial condition could be
         materially and adversely affected.

FLUCTUATIONS AND VOLATILITY OF STOCK PRICES. In the pharmaceutical industry,
future revenue and margin trends cannot be reliably predicted and may cause the
Company to adjust its operations, which could cause period-to-period
fluctuations in operating results. The Company's stock price, like that of other
small pharmaceutical companies, is subject to significant volatility. The
announcement of new products, services, technological innovations or business
developments by the Company or its competitors, quarterly or annual variations
in the Company's results of operations, changes in revenue or earnings estimates
by the investment community, and speculation in the press, Internet web sites or
investment community are among the factors affecting the Company's stock price.
In addition, the stock price may be affected by general market conditions and
domestic and international macroeconomic factors unrelated to the Company's
performance. Moreover, major potential contracts or business arrangements being
negotiated or pursued by the Company frequently occur late in given financial
quarters or years. Any failure or inability by the Company in achieving, or even
brief delays in implementing, potential licensing, product life cycle
management, product development and other major contracts or arrangements being
pursued or negotiated by the Company can, and from time to time does, move the
financial and sales impact of expected or planned sales and contracts from one
accounting period to another or prevent them from being booked at all. Such
delays or inabilities are difficult or impossible to predict or control and can
materially and adversely affect quarterly or annual revenues and profitability,
which can materially and adversely affect the price of the Company's stock. In
addition, typical trading volumes in the Company stock are thin, so that the
purchase or sale of relatively small amounts of the Company stock and
announcements of Company-related news and developments can materially affect the
price of such stock, either through increases or


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decreases. Because of the foregoing reasons, recent trends should not be
considered reliable indicators of future stock prices or financial results.



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