Note 8. Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Leases

See Note 9, Leases, for further information.

Gene Biotech

See Note 15 for a description of the Company’s commitments related to its joint venture, FF Gene Biotech (as defined in Note 15).

Purchase Obligations

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had non-cancelable purchase obligations of $2.9 million for reagents and other supplies, of which, $1.5 million is payable within twelve months, and $1.4 million is payable within the next twenty-four months.

Contingencies

From time to time, the Company may be subject to legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of business. Management does not believe that the outcome of any of these matters will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2019Mar 13, 2020Showing above
2017Mar 20, 2018

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.