20. Legal Proceedings Securities Class Action On July 30, 2019, plaintiff Linda Rosi (Rosi) filed a putative class action complaint captioned Rosi v. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Company and certain of its executive officers. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated federal securities laws by, among other things, failing to disclose an alleged likelihood that regulators would scrutinize advertising materials related to ESKATA and find that the materials minimized the risks or overstated the efficacy of the product. The complaint seeks unspecified compensatory damages on behalf of Rosi and all other persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired the Companys securities between May 8, 2018 and June 20, 2019. On September 5, 2019, an additional plaintiff, Robert Fulcher (Fulcher), filed a substantially identical putative class action complaint captioned Fulcher v. Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., et al. in the same court against the same defendants. On November 6, 2019, the court consolidated the Rosi and Fulcher actions (together, the Consolidated Securities Action) and appointed Fulcher lead plaintiff for the putative class. On January 24, 2020, Fulcher filed a consolidated amended complaint in the Consolidated Securities Action, naming two additional executive officers as defendants, extending the putative class period to August 12, 2019, and adding allegations concerning, among other things, alleged statements and omissions throughout the putative class period concerning ESKATAs risks, tolerability and effectiveness. The defendants deadline to answer, move against or otherwise respond to the consolidated amended complaint is March 27, 2020. The Company and the other defendants dispute plaintiffs claims in the Consolidated Securities Action and intend to defend the matter vigorously. Stockholder Derivative Action On November 15, 2019, plaintiff Keith Allred (Allred) filed a derivative stockholder complaint captioned Allred v. Walker et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against certain of the Companys directors and executive officers. The complaint alleges that the defendants, among other things, breached their fiduciary duties as directors and/or officers in connection with the claims alleged in the Consolidated Securities Action. The complaint seeks, among other things, unspecified compensatory damages on behalf of the Company. On November 25, 2019, an additional plaintiff, Bruce Brown (Brown), filed a substantially identical complaint captioned Brown v. Walker et al. in the same court against the same defendants. On December 12, 2019, the court consolidated the Allred and Brown actions under the caption In re Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. Derivative Litigation (the Consolidated Derivative Action) and directed that future derivative cases filed in or transferred to the court arising out of substantially the same transactions or events be similarly consolidated. Thereafter, on January 11, 2020, the court stayed  subject to certain conditions  all deadlines in the Consolidated Derivative Action pending resolution of the defendants anticipated motion to dismiss the Consolidated Securities Action. The defendants dispute plaintiffs claims in the Consolidated Derivative Action and intend to defend the matter vigorously. Patent Infringement On October 8, 2019, the Company, together with Allergan, Inc., filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Taro Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Taro), related to an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) that Taro filed with the FDA to market a generic version of RHOFADE. The lawsuit claims infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,812,049, 8,420,688, 8,815,929, 9,974,773 and 10,335,391, which are listed in the FDAs Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book, for RHOFADE. The Company received a Paragraph IV Notice Letter from Taro dated August 28, 2019, advising that Taro had submitted an ANDA to the FDA seeking approval from the FDA to manufacture and market a generic version of RHOFADE prior to the expiration of the Orange Book-listed patents. Under the agreement with EPI Health for the purchase of RHOFADE, EPI Health agreed to file a motion to be substituted for the Company as a plaintiff party and has agreed to reimburse the Company for its reasonable fees and expenses so long as it remained a plaintiff party. On December 3, 2019, EPI Health was substituted for the Company as a plaintiff party.