Item 1a. Risk Factors
General Risks Related to our Business and Technology
A pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, or coronavirus, may materially and adversely affect our business and our financial results.
In the recent past, the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to control its spread have significantly impacted the movement of people, goods and services worldwide, including the conduct of our business operations. The COVID-19 pandemic has materially affected segments of the global economy and, if it were to reoccur, may affect our operations by causing a period of business disruption, supply chain issues, including the potential interruption of our clinical trial activities and delays or disruptions in the supply of our products and product candidates. In addition, there could be a potential effect of COVID-19 or any future pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease to the business at FDA or other health authorities, which could result in delays of reviews and approvals, including with respect to our product candidates.
The recurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, or the spread of any other such disease, globally could also adversely impact our clinical trial operations, including our ability to recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to disease if an outbreak occurs in their geography. COVID-19, or another infectious disease, could also negatively affect our manufacturing operations, which could result in delays or disruptions in the supply of our product candidates.
Although the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been assessed and mitigated, the ultimate extent of the impact of this or any future pandemic, including as a result of possible subsequent outbreaks of Coronavirus or of new variants thereof and measures taken in response thereto, will depend on future developments, which remain uncertain and cannot currently be predicted. While health and safety restrictions have been lifted and vaccines are available, certain adverse consequences of the pandemic continue to impact the macroeconomic environment and may persist for some time. Any negative impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, but the outbreak of any future pandemic could lead to extended disruption of economic activity and the impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be material.
Given the dynamic nature of variants of COVID-19 and the unpredictability of future pandemics, epidemics or the outbreak of infectious disease, it is difficult to predict its full impact on our business, but if we or any of the third parties with whom we engage were to experience shutdowns or other business disruptions, our ability to conduct our business in the manner and on the timelines presently planned could be materially and negatively impacted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our results of operation and financial condition.
Unfavorable global economic, geopolitical conflicts and other political conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy, the global financial markets and global political conditions. The United States and global economies are facing inflation, higher interest rates and there remains the potential of a recession. Furthermore, a severe or prolonged economic downturn, including a recession or depression resulting from another pandemic or political disruption, such as the war between Ukraine and Russia or political conflict between China and Taiwan or Israeli military actions in Gaza and the potential for a wider conflict in the Middle East, could result in a variety of risks to our business, including increased costs as well as our ability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms. A material portion of the world’s supply of pharmaceutical grade Samarium-152 is produced in Russia, and future economic sanctions or other hostilities between Ukraine and Russia could disrupt that supply. A weak or declining economy or political disruption, including any international trade disputes and disruptions in international trade and commerce, could also strain our manufacturers or suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption, or cause delays in completion of clinical trials. Any of the foregoing could seriously harm our business, and we cannot anticipate all of the ways in which the political or economic climate and financial market conditions could seriously harm our business.
Drug development is a long and inherently uncertain process with a high risk of failure at every stage of development.
Drug development is a highly uncertain scientific and medical endeavor, and failure can unexpectedly occur at any stage of clinical development. Typically, there is a high rate of attrition for product candidates in preclinical and clinical trials due to scientific feasibility, safety, efficacy, changing standards of medical care and other variables. Pre-clinical studies and clinical trials are long, expensive and highly uncertain processes that can take many years. It will take us several years to complete our clinical trials and the time required for completing, testing and obtaining approvals is uncertain. The start or end of a clinical trial is often delayed or halted due to changing regulatory requirements, manufacturing challenges, required clinical trial administrative actions, slower than anticipated patient enrollment, changing standards of care, availability or prevalence of use of a comparator drug or required prior therapy, clinical outcomes, or financial constraints. The FDA and other U.S. and foreign regulatory agencies have substantial discretion, at any phase of development, to terminate clinical trials, require additional clinical development or other testing, delay, condition or withhold registration and marketing approval and mandate product withdrawals, including recalls. Additionally, we may also amend, suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time if we believe that the participating patients are being exposed to unacceptable health risks. Results attained in our early human clinical trial may not be indicative of results in later clinical trials. Our failure to demonstrate adequately the safety and efficacy of a product under development would delay or prevent marketing approval, which could adversely affect our operating results and credibility. The failure of one or more of our product candidates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The future of our business and operations depends on the success of our development and commercialization programs.
Our business and operations entail a variety of serious risks and uncertainties and are inherently risky. The development programs on which we focus involve novel approaches to treating bone cancer and related diseases. Our product candidate is in clinical development, and in some respects, involve technologies with which we have limited prior experience. We are subject to the risks of failure inherent in the development and commercialization of product candidates based on new technologies. There is some precedent for the successful commercialization of products based on our technologies, but there are still a number of technological challenges that we must overcome to complete our clinical trials and development efforts. We may not be able to successfully develop our product candidates. We must successfully complete clinical trials and obtain regulatory approvals for potential commercial products. Once approved, if at all, commercial product sales are subject to general and industry-specific local and international economic, regulatory, technological and policy developments and trends. Delays, higher costs or other weaknesses in the manufacturing process or any of our contracted manufacturing organizations could hinder the development and commercialization of our product pipeline. The oncology space in which we operate presents numerous significant risks and uncertainties that may be expected to increase to the extent it becomes more competitive or less favored in the commercial healthcare marketplace.
We currently have no in-house sales, marketing or distribution capabilities and have limited experience in marketing products. We may in the future develop an in-house marketing and sales team, which would require significant capital expenditures, management resources and time. We will have to compete with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel. If we decide against absorbing marketing and sales responsibilities in-house, we will need to collaborate with third-parties. However, there can be no assurance that such collaborations will be successful or even if they are, they will be profitable for the Company after expending capital resources in fees and expenses. There can be no assurance that we will be able to develop in-house sales and distribution capabilities or establish or maintain relationships with third-party collaborators to commercialize any product.
If we do not obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates on a timely basis, or at all, or if the terms of any approval impose significant restrictions or limitations on use, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected. Setbacks in clinical development programs could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Regulatory approvals are necessary to market product candidates and require demonstration of a product’s safety and efficacy through extensive pre-clinical and clinical trials. We may not obtain regulatory approval for product candidates on a timely basis, or at all, and the terms of any approval (which in some countries includes pricing and reimbursement approval) may impose significant restrictions, limitations on use or other commercially unattractive conditions. The process of obtaining FDA and foreign regulatory approvals often takes many years and can vary substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the products involved. We have had only limited experience in filing and pursuing applications and other submissions necessary to gain marketing approvals. Products under development may never obtain marketing approval from the FDA or other regulatory authorities necessary for commercialization.
We or regulators may also amend, suspend or terminate clinical trials if we or they believe that the participating patients are being exposed to unacceptable health risks, and after reviewing trial results, we may abandon projects which we previously believed to be promising for commercial or other reasons unrelated to patient risks. During this process, we may find, for example, that results of pre-clinical studies are inconclusive or not indicative of results in human clinical trials, clinical investigators or contract research organizations do not comply with protocols or applicable regulatory requirements, or that product candidates do not have the desired efficacy or have undesirable side effects or other characteristics that preclude marketing approval or limit their potential commercial use if approved. In such circumstances, the entire development program for that product candidate could be adversely affected, resulting in delays in trials or regulatory filings for further marketing approval and a possible need to reconfigure our clinical trial programs to conduct additional trials or abandon the program involved. Conducting additional clinical trials or making significant revisions to a clinical development plan would lead to delays in regulatory filings. If clinical trials indicate, or regulatory bodies are concerned about, actual or possible serious problems with the safety or efficacy of a product candidate, we may stop or significantly slow development or commercialization of affected products. As a result of such concerns, the development programs for our product candidates may be significantly delayed or terminated altogether.
The results of our early-stage clinical trials may not be predictive of the results of the later-stage clinical trials. In addition, initial success in clinical trials may not be indicative of results obtained when such trials are completed. There can be no assurance that any of our current or future clinical trials will ultimately be successful or support further clinical development of any of our product candidates. There is a high failure rate for drugs and biologics proceeding through clinical trials.
If the results of any of our clinical trials are not satisfactory or we encounter problems and/or delays enrolling patients, clinical trial supply issues, setbacks in developing drug formulations or in clinical trials, including raw material supply, manufacturing, stability or other difficulties, or issues complying with protocols or applicable regulatory requirements, the entire development program for our product candidates could be adversely affected in a material manner. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses and many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies or clinical trials nonetheless failed to obtain FDA approval or approval from foreign regulatory authorities.
Our business is highly dependent on our product candidate, CycloSam ® , and a failure to obtain regulatory approval or successfully commercialize our product could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
In April 2020, the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary QSAM Therapeutics entered into an exclusive worldwide patent and technology license agreement and trademark assignment with respect to CycloSam ® and obtained exclusive commercial rights to the patent portfolio developed by IGL Pharma Inc. (“IGL”) (the “Original Agreement”). The agreement was mutually amended on November 24, 2021 (collectively with the Original Agreement referred to hereinafter as the “License Agreement). The License Agreement was amended a second time as of February 2, 2024; however, this amendment will not take effect until and unless the Company closes its Merger with Telix, provided however, we were obligated to pay IGL $50,000 upon the signing of that second amendment. The License Agreement as it currently stands is terminable in the event of a material breach by us that is not cured within a predefined period of time after notice of the breach is provided to us. If the License Agreement is terminated, the Company will not have further rights to CycloSam ® and will be unable to continue its regulatory approval process or if already commercialized, benefit from the future sales of CycloSam ® . Further, the Company may be liable for damages for the breach and may suffer additional losses, which could adversely impact our financial condition. The Company’s sole focus at this time is to develop CycloSam ® and it does not possess licenses to other product candidates. If we do not obtain regulatory approval for CycloSam ® or fail to successfully commercialize CycloSam ® , we currently have no fall back options to continue our business operations unless we secure licenses of or develop alternative drug candidates. There is no assurance that either will occur.
We must design and conduct successful clinical trials for our product candidates to obtain regulatory approval. We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, which reduces our control over their timing, conduct and expense and may expose us to conflicts of interest. Clinical trial results may be unfavorable or inconclusive, and often take longer and cost more than expected.
We have limited internal resources for conducting clinical trials, and we rely on or obtain the assistance of others to design, conduct, supervise, or monitor some or all aspects of some of our clinical trials. In relying on these third parties, we have less control over the timing and other aspects of clinical trials than if we conducted them entirely on our own. Problems with the timeliness or quality of the work of a contract research organization or clinical data management organization may lead us to seek to terminate the relationship and use an alternative service provider. However, making this change may be costly and may delay our trials and contractual restrictions may make such a change difficult or impossible. These third parties may also have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors. In all events, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for the trial. The FDA and other foreign regulatory authorities require us to comply with good clinical practices for conducting and recording and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity, and confidentiality of trial participants are protected. Our reliance on third parties that we do not control does not relieve us of these responsibilities and requirements.
To obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates we must demonstrate through preclinical studies and clinical trials that they are safe and effective. Adverse or inconclusive clinical trial results concerning any of our product candidates that regulators find deficient in scope, design or one or more other material respects, could require additional trials, resulting in increased costs, significant delays in submissions of approval applications, approvals in narrower indications than originally sought, or denials of approval, none of which we can predict. As a result, any projections that we publicly announce of commencement and duration of clinical trials are not certain. Clinical trial delays may occur as a result of slower than anticipated enrollment. Delays can be caused by, among other things, deaths or other adverse medical events; regulatory or patent issues; interim or final results of ongoing clinical trials; failure to enroll clinical sites as expected; competition for enrollment from other clinical trials; scheduling conflicts with participating clinicians and institutions; disagreements, disputes or other matters arising from collaborations; our inability to obtain necessary funding; or manufacturing problems.
Even if our product candidates obtain marketing approval, our ability to generate revenue will depend upon public perception of radiopharmaceuticals and will be diminished if our products are not accepted in the marketplace, or if we select pricing strategies for our products that are less competitive than those of our competitors, or fail to obtain acceptable prices or an adequate level of reimbursement for products from third-party payers or government agencies.
Adverse events in clinical trials of our product candidates or in clinical trials of others developing similar products and the resulting negative publicity, as well as any other adverse events in the field of radiopharmaceuticals that may occur in the future, could result in a decrease in demand for our products or any product candidates that we may develop. If public perception is influenced by claims that radiopharmaceuticals or specific therapies within radiopharmaceuticals are unsafe, our products or product candidates may not be accepted by the general public or the medical community.
The commercial success of our products will depend upon their acceptance by the medical community and third-party payers as clinically useful, cost effective and safe. Market acceptance of approved products is affected by a wide range of factors including the timing of regulatory approvals, product launches and the presence of generic, over-the-counter or other competitors; the pricing of the product and relative prices of competing products; product development efforts for new indications; the availability of reimbursement for the product; our ability to obtain sufficient commercial quantities of the product; success in arranging for necessary sublicense or distribution relationships; and general and industry-specific local and international economic pressures. If health care providers believe that patients can be managed adequately with alternative, currently available therapies, they may not prescribe our products, especially if the alternative therapies are viewed as more effective, as having a better safety or tolerability profile, as being more convenient to the patient or health care providers or as being less expensive. Third-party insurance coverage may not be available to patients for any products we develop. For pharmaceuticals administered in an institutional setting, the ability of the institution to be adequately reimbursed from government and health administration authorities, private health insurers and other third-party payers could also play a significant role in demand for our products. Significant uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly-approved pharmaceuticals. Government and other third-party payers increasingly are attempting to contain healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement for new drugs and by refusing, in some cases, to provide coverage for uses of approved products for indications for which the FDA has not granted labeling approval. In most foreign markets, pricing and profitability of prescription pharmaceuticals are subject to government control. In the U.S., we expect that there will continue to be a number of federal and state proposals to implement similar government control and that the emphasis on managed care in the U.S. will continue to put pressure on the pricing of pharmaceutical products. Cost control initiatives could decrease the price that we can receive for any products in the future and adversely affect our ability to successfully commercialize our products. If any of our product candidates do not achieve market acceptance, we will likely lose our entire investment in that product candidate.
We are subject to extensive and ongoing regulation, which can be costly and time consuming, may interfere with marketing approval for our product candidates, and can subject us to unanticipated limitations, restrictions, delays and fines.
Our business, products and product candidates are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and comparable authorities in other countries, and include the Sunshine Act under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). These agencies and other entities regulate the pre-clinical and clinical testing, safety, effectiveness, approval, manufacture, labeling, marketing, export, storage, recordkeeping, advertising, promotion and other aspects of our products and product candidates. We cannot guarantee that approvals of product candidates, processes or facilities will be granted on a timely basis, or at all. If we experience delays or failures in obtaining approvals, commercialization of our product candidates will be slowed or stopped. In addition to these uncertainties, there have been several attempts and public announcements by members of the U.S. Congress to repeal the PPACA and replace it with a curtailed system of tax credits and dissolve an expansion of the Medicaid program. For example, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was enacted in 2017, which, among other things, eliminated the individual mandate requiring most Americans (other than those who qualify for a hardship exemption) to carry a minimum level of health coverage, and became effective January 1, 2019. There is considerable uncertainty regarding the future of the current PPACA framework, and any changes will likely take time to unfold. As such, we cannot predict what effect the PPACA or other healthcare reform initiatives that may be adopted in the future will have on our business.
Even if we obtain regulatory approval for a product candidate, the approval may include significant limitations on indicated uses for which the product could be marketed or other significant marketing restrictions.
If we violate regulatory requirements at any stage, whether before or after marketing approval is obtained, we may be subject to forced removal of a product from the market, product seizure, civil and criminal penalties and other adverse consequences.
Our products may face regulatory, legal or commercial challenges even after approval.
Even if a product receives regulatory approval:
It might not obtain labeling claims necessary to make the product commercially viable (in general, labeling claims define the medical conditions for which a drug product may be marketed, and are therefore very important to the commercial success of a product), or may be required to carry warnings that adversely affect its commercial success.
Approval may be limited to uses of the product for treatment or prevention of diseases or conditions that are relatively less financially advantageous to us than approval of greater or different scope or subject to an FDA imposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (“REMS”) that imposes limits on the distribution or use of the product. While we may develop a product candidate with the intention of addressing a large, unmet medical need, the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities may only approve the use of the drug for indications affecting a relatively small number of patients, thus greatly reducing the market size and our potential revenues.
Side effects identified after the product is on the market might hurt sales or result in mandatory safety labeling changes, additional pre-clinical testing or clinical trials, imposition of a REMS, product recalls or withdrawals from the market, reputational harm to us, and lawsuits (including class-action suits).
Efficacy or safety concerns regarding a marketed product, or manufacturing or other problems, may lead to a recall, withdrawal of marketing approval, marketing restrictions, reformulation of the product, additional pre-clinical testing or clinical trials, changes in labeling, imposition of a REMS, warnings and contraindications, the need for additional marketing applications, declining sales or other adverse events. These potential consequences may occur whether or not the concerns originate from subsequent testing or other activities by us, governmental regulators, other entities or organizations or otherwise, and whether or not they are scientifically justified. If products lose previously received marketing and other approvals, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially adversely affected.
In certain foreign jurisdictions, drug products cannot be marketed until pricing and reimbursement for the product is also approved. In the United States, reimbursement approval is not required, but if not available, that may severely limit the sales, and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services may require additional clinical studies, more than the FDA demands.
We will be subject to ongoing FDA obligations and continuous regulatory review, and might be required to undertake post-marketing trials to verify the product’s efficacy or safety or other regulatory obligations.
We are increasingly dependent on information technology, and potential cyberattacks, security problems, or other disruption and expanding social media vehicles present new risks.
We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the internet, to process, transmit, and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes, including financial transactions and records, billing, and operating data. We may purchase some of our information technology from vendors, on whom our systems will depend, and we rely on commercially available systems, software, tools, and monitoring to provide security for processing, transmission, and storage of confidential operator and other patient data. We depend upon the secure transmission of this information over public networks. Our networks and storage applications could be subject to unauthorized access by hackers or others through cyberattacks, which are rapidly evolving and becoming increasingly sophisticated, or by other means, or may be breached due to operator error, malfeasance or other system disruptions. In some cases, it will be difficult to anticipate or immediately detect such incidents and the damage they cause. We cannot assure that such breaches, failures or interruptions will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately addressed by us or the third parties on which we rely. We may not be insured against all types of losses as a result of third-party failures, and insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover all losses resulting from breaches, systems failures or other disruptions. Any significant breakdown, invasion, destruction, interruption, or leakage of information from our systems could harm our reputation and business.
In addition, the use of social media could cause us to suffer brand damage or information leakage. Negative posts or comments about us on any social networking website could damage our or our brands’ reputations. Employees or others might disclose non-public sensitive information relating to our business through external media channels, including through the use of social media. The continuing evolution of social media will present us with new challenges and risks.
Risks Related to our Financial Position and Operating History
We have a limited operating history and are operating at a loss, and there is no guaranty that we will become profitable.
We began operations in late 2020 and anticipate that we will operate at a loss for some time. Since we have limited operating history and no history of profitability, we have limited financial results upon which you may judge our potential. Further, our ability to become profitable depends upon our ability to generate revenue. We have recorded no revenue from operations since inception. We do not expect to generate significant product revenue unless or until we successfully complete clinical development and obtain regulatory approval of, and then successfully commercialize, at least one of our product candidates; or alternatively, out license or sell our drug candidates. Both of these scenarios are highly uncertain. In the future, we may experience under-capitalization, development delays, set-backs with our drug development programs, lack of funding options, setbacks and many of the problems, delays and expenses encountered by any early stage business, many of which are beyond our control. These include, but are not limited to:
our lack of an operating history;
the net losses that we expect to incur as we develop our business;
obtaining FDA or other regulatory approvals or clearances for our technology;
implementing and achieving successful outcomes for clinical trials of our products;
convincing physicians, hospitals and patients of the benefits of our technology and to convert from current technology and standards of care;
the ability of users of our products (when and as developed) to obtain third-party reimbursement;
any failure to comply with rigorous FDA and other government regulations; and
securing, maintaining and defending patent or other intellectual property protections for our technology.
Because our history is limited and we are subject to intense competition, any investment in us would be inherently risky.
Because we are a company with limited operational history and no profitability, our business activity is early-staged and subject to numerous risks. The pharmaceutical development business is highly competitive with many companies having access to the similar products and markets. Many of them have greater financial resources and longer operating histories than we have and can be expected to compete within the business in which we engage and intend to engage. There can be no assurance that we will have the necessary resources to become or remain competitive. We are subject to the risks which are common to all companies with a limited history of operations and profitability. Therefore, investors should consider an investment in us to be an extremely risky venture.
There is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern.
The Report of our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm issued in connection with our audited consolidated financial statements for the calendar years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern because of our recurring operating losses and our lack of liquidity and working capital. A going concern opinion means that there is substantial doubt that the Company can continue as an ongoing business for the next 12 months. Even if we do raise additional funding, if we fail to successfully deploy our funds, fail to implement our business plan or commercialize our drug as planned, or fail to raise additional capital when required, there can be no assurance that we will not again lose our ability to continue as a going concern.
We will require additional financing.
Pharmaceutical development is inherently costly and requires significant capital. We expect our expenses to increase significantly as we enter into the next stage of our drug development including steps such as preclinical studies, clinical trials, research and development, and FDA marketing approvals. If we do obtain FDA approval, we expect to incur substantial costs in commercialization of the product. In addition, we will continue to incur costs to operate as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain additional financing in connection with our operations. There can be no assurance that additional funds will be available when and if needed, or on acceptable terms to the Company. If we are unable to obtain such financing, or if the terms thereof are too costly, we may be forced to curtail or cease operations until such time as alternative financing may be arranged, which could have a materially adverse impact on our planned operations and our shareholders’ investment.
Based upon our current operating plan, we believe that current cash will enable us to fund our operations through the second quarter of 2024 if the Merger does not close. Our operating plans and other demands on our cash resources may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings or other capital sources, including potentially additional collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements. In addition, our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on our ability to raise additional capital in order to implement our current business plan. This is particularly uncertain in the current environment of rising inflation and increasing interest rates. If the market conditions are favorable or given our strategic considerations, even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans, we may raise additional capital. Attempting to secure additional financing may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop our product candidates.
Our success will be dependent on our management, and the continued service of key employees .
Our success is dependent upon the decision making of our directors and executive officers. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key employees and our ability to hire additional key employees when and as needed. Although we currently intend to retain our existing management, we cannot assure you that such individuals will remain with us. Further, we cannot assure that we will be able to find and recruit new employees on terms acceptable to the Company. We have fixed term employment agreements with our four key employees – Messrs. Baum, Piazza and Nelson and Namrata Chand — but have not obtained key man life insurance on the lives of any of them. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our key executives, directors and advisors, or the inability to find new key employees within a reasonable period of time could have a material adverse effect on the economic condition and results of operations of the Company.
Risk Related to the Pending Merger
Failure to complete the Merger with Telix would adversely affect the stock price and future business and financial results of the Company.
There can be no assura nce that the Merger will be completed. If the Merger is not completed, the ongoing business of the Company would be adversely affected and we will be subject to a variety of risks and possible consequences associated with the failure to complete the Merger, including the following:
upon termination of the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, the $2 million option payment paid by Telix to the Company upon execution of the term sheet for Telix’s acquisition of QSAM (the “Option Payment”) will convert into shares of QSAM common stock at a price of $6.70 per share, which would have a dilutive effect;
we will incur certain significant transaction costs, including legal, accounting, financial advisor, filing, printing and mailing fees, regardless of whether the Merger closes;
under the Merger Agreement, the Company is subject to certain restrictions on the conduct of its business prior to the closing of the Merger, which may adversely affect its ability to execute certain of its business strategies;
we may lose key employees during the period in which QSAM and Telix are pursuing the Merger, which may adversely affect the Company in the future if we are not able to hire and retain qualified personnel to replace departing employees; and
the proposed Merger, whether or not it closes, will divert the attention of our management and other key employees from ongoing business activities, including the pursuit of other opportunities that could be beneficial to us as an independent company.
If the Merger is not completed, these risks could materially affect our business and financial results and our stock price, including to the extent that the current market price of QSAM common stock is positively affected by a market assumption that the Merger will be completed.
We will need additional capital to meet our current obligations and continue to operate our business if the Merger is not completed in a timely fashion or at all.
If we had adequate funding in a timely manner, QSAM management believes that we can complete the current Phase 1 safety trial of approximately 17 patients in 2024. We have estimated that an additional $3 million to $4 million will be required to complete this phase of our study. The next step in our clinical trial program, if cleared by the FDA, is expected to be a study designed to show both safety and efficacy in the treatment of bone tumors utilizing a multi-dose regimen of CycloSam®. Management estimates that an additional $12 million to $14 million will be required to complete the first portion of this critical phase of our study over the next 24 to 30 months.
Advancement of current and future plans for our technology requires significant additional funding, which would most likely result in the issuance of more common stock, preferred stock or debt in subsequent raises. There is no guaranty that we would be successful in raising such funding on terms acceptable to our shareholders, if at all, and if we were not successful, we may be required to slow down or cease our clinical trials, or in a worst-case scenario, shut down the Company. Our independent registered public accounting firm has issued a going concern opinion for the year ended December 31, 2023. This means that our auditors believe there is substantial doubt that we can continue as an on-going business for the next 12 months. Management expects expenses to increase in 2024 as our drug technology advances through clinical trials, and as a result, we will need to raise significant additional capital to support these operations. There is no assurance, however, that the Company will be successful in raising the needed capital and, if funding is available, that it will be available on terms acceptable to the Company. If the Merger does not close, the circumstances around such failure to close could create uncertainty and a lack of confidence among potential funders, which would make raising capital significantly more difficult. Any funds raised will likely result in material dilution to our current shareholders (apart from dilution caused by conversion of the Option Payment to shares of QSAM common stock to Telix) or be in the form of debt which poses other risks of default. Our current cash or cash equivalents can enable us to fund our operations through the second quarter of 2024. If we are not successful in completing this Merger prior to June 30, 2024, or raising additional capital, or providing other options to support operations and our trials, we may need to delay clinical trials, reduce overhead, or in the most extreme scenario, shut down operations.
We will incur substantial transaction fees and Merger-related costs in connection with the Merger.
We expect to incur non-recurring transaction fees, which include legal and advisory fees and substantial Merger-related costs associated with completing the Merger. Additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in the course of the integration of the businesses of Telix and QSAM. The companies cannot be certain that the realization of other benefits related to the integration of the two businesses will offset the transaction and Merger-related costs in the near term, or at all.
Risks Related to Working with Third Parties
We have been and expect to continue to be dependent on collaborators for the development, manufacturing and sales of certain products and product candidates, which expose us to the risk of reliance on these collaborators.
In conducting our operations, we currently depend, and expect to continue to depend, on numerous collaborators. In addition, certain clinical trials for our product candidates may be conducted by government-sponsored agencies, and consequently will be dependent on governmental participation and funding. These arrangements expose us to the same considerations we face when contracting with third parties for our own trials.
If any of our collaborators breach or terminate their agreement with us or otherwise fail to conduct successfully and in a timely manner the collaborative activities for which they are responsible, the preclinical or clinical development or commercialization of the affected product candidate or research program could be delayed or terminated. We generally do not control the amount and timing of resources that our collaborators devote to our programs or product candidates. We also do not know whether current or future collaboration partners, if any, might pursue alternative technologies or develop alternative products either on their own or in collaboration with others, including our competitors, as a means for developing treatments for the diseases or conditions targeted by our collaborative arrangements. Our collaborators are also subject to similar development, regulatory, manufacturing, cyber-security and competitive risks as ours, which may further impede their ability to successfully perform the collaborative activities for which they are responsible. Setbacks of these types to our collaborators could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are dependent upon third parties for a variety of functions. These arrangements may not provide us with the benefits we expect.
We rely on third parties to perform a variety of functions. We are party to numerous agreements which place substantial responsibility on clinical research organizations, consultants and other service providers for the development of our product candidates. We also rely on medical and academic institutions to perform aspects of our clinical trials of product candidates. We may not be able to enter into new arrangements without undue delays or expenditures, and these arrangements may not allow us to compete successfully. Moreover, if third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or applicable protocols, our product candidates may not be approved for marketing and commercialization or such approval may be delayed. If that occurs, we or our collaborators will not be able, or may be delayed in our efforts, to commercialize our product candidates.
Our relationships with customers and third-party payers are or may become subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, program exclusion, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits and future earnings.
Health care providers, physicians and third-party payers play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our future arrangements with third-party payers and customers will or already do require us and them to comply with broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other health care laws and regulations, including both federal and state anti-kickback and false claims laws, that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell and distribute our products that obtain marketing approval. Efforts to ensure that business arrangements comply with applicable health care laws and regulations involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If such operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or other applicable governmental regulations, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of related operations. If physicians or other providers or entities involved with our products are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs, which may adversely affect us.
If we or our partners are unable to obtain sufficient quantities of the materials needed to make our products or product candidates, development of our products or product candidates or commercialization of our approved products could be slowed or stopped.
We have utilized Missouri University Research Reactor (“MURR”) and University of Texas at Austin (“NETL”) to procure Samarium-153, a primary ingredient used in manufacturing of CycloSam ® , for our recently conducted clinical studies. Samarium-153 is critical to manufacturing of CycloSam ® and to our supply-chain process both during our clinical trials and if the product is commercialized. MURR and NETL have verbally committed to supply us with Samarium-153 in the future but we do not have definitive agreements with either group to provide such ongoing materials if we commercialize our drug candidate. If we fail to partner with MURR or NETL or secure other partners for supply of Samarium-153 or if our arrangements with a supplier do not satisfy our requirements in the future, it will directly and adversely impact the production of CycloSam ® . IsoTherapuetics currently produces all of our needed supply of DOTMP cold kits, and if they are not able to continue to supply such kits, or if we cannot obtain kits from other sources, our clinical trials may be delayed.
We or our partners may not be able to obtain the materials necessary to make a particular product or product candidate in adequate volume and quality. If any materials needed to make a product or product candidate is insufficient in quantity or quality, if a supplier fails to deliver in a timely fashion or at all or if these relationships terminate, we or our partners may not be able to fulfill manufacturing obligations for our products or product candidates, either on our own or through third-party suppliers. A delay or disruption of supplies of our products or product candidates would have a material adverse effect on our business as a whole. Our existing arrangements with suppliers may result in the supply of insufficient quantities of our product candidates needed to accomplish our clinical development programs or commercialization, and we may not have the right and in any event, do not currently have the capability to manufacture these products if our suppliers are unable or unwilling to do so. Some of these raw materials or their starting materials, components or ingredients may come from foreign countries, including countries such as Russia, where there exist trade and commercial restrictions, all of which can present significant supply chain issues. There is no broad market for pharmaceutical grade Samarium-152 (the non-radioactive version of the material used for our product candidate), and securing such raw materials from a limited number of sources, many of which are in foreign countries, has been and will likely continue to be difficult and expensive. Although we believe we have secured enough Samarium-152 for our clinical trials, we may not be able to secure enough Samarium-152 for commercial operations, which could materially restrict our ability to market CycloSam ® and recoup our development expenses. We currently arrange for supplies of critical raw materials used in production of our product candidates from single sources. We do not have long-term contracts with any of these suppliers. Any delay or disruption in the availability of materials would slow or stop product development and commercialization of the relevant product.
Manufacturing resources could limit or adversely affect our ability to commercialize products.
We or our partners may engage third parties, including nuclear reactor sites, to manufacture our product candidates. We or our partners may not be able to obtain adequate supplies from third-party manufacturers in a timely fashion for development or commercialization purposes, and commercial quantities of products may not be available from contract manufacturing organizations or CMOs at acceptable costs.
In order to commercialize our product candidates successfully, we need to be able to manufacture or arrange for the manufacture of products in commercial quantities, in compliance with regulatory requirements, at acceptable costs and in a timely manner. Manufacture of our product candidates can be complex, difficult to accomplish even in small quantities, difficult to scale-up for large-scale production and subject to delays, inefficiencies and low yields of quality products. The manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals is relatively complex and requires significant capital expenditures. We continue to rely on CMOs for our product candidates. The cost of manufacturing our product candidates may make them prohibitively expensive. If adequate supplies of any of our product candidates or related materials are not available on a timely basis or at all, our clinical trials or commercialization of our product candidates could be seriously delayed, since these materials are time consuming to manufacture and cannot be readily obtained from third-party sources. We continue to be dependent on a limited number of highly specialized manufacturing and development partners, including single source manufacturers for certain of our product candidates. If we were to lose one or more of these key relationships, it could materially adversely affect our business. Establishing new manufacturing relationships, or creating our own manufacturing capability, would require significant time, capital and management effort, and the transfer of product-related technology and know-how from one manufacturer to another is an inherently complex and uncertain process.
Failure of any manufacturer of our various product candidates to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could subject us to penalties and have a material adverse effect on supplies of our product candidates.
Third-party manufacturers are required to comply with current goods manufacturing practice regulations or cGMP or similar regulatory requirements outside of the U.S. If manufacturers of our product candidates cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA and any applicable foreign regulatory authority, they may not be able to supply us with our product candidates. If these facilities are not approved for commercial manufacture, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which could result in delays of several years in obtaining approval for a product candidate. We do not control the manufacturing operations and are completely dependent on our third-party manufacturing partners or contractors for compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements for the manufacture of some of our product candidates. Manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and corresponding state and foreign agencies for compliance with cGMP and similar regulatory requirements. Failure of any manufacturer of any of our product candidates to comply with applicable cGMP or other regulatory requirements could result in sanctions being imposed on our collaborators or us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspensions or withdrawals of approvals, operating restrictions, interruptions in supply and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our product candidates and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If the use of hazardous and biological materials by us or third parties, such as CROs or CMOs, in a manner that causes injury or violates applicable law, we may be liable for damages.
Our research and development activities may involve the controlled use of potentially hazardous substances, including radioactive, chemical and biological materials, by us or third parties, such as contract research organizations or CROs and CMOs. Exposure to high levels of radiation can cause acute health effects such as skin burns and acute radiation syndrome (“radiation sickness”). It can also result in long-term health effects such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. We and such third parties are subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations in the United States governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling, and disposal of medical and hazardous materials. Although we believe that our and such third-parties’ procedures for using, handling, storing and disposing of these materials comply with legally prescribed standards, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from medical or hazardous materials. In the event of any such contamination or injury, we may incur liability or local, city, state, or federal authorities may curtail the use of these materials and interrupt our business operations. Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development and manufacturing efforts, which could harm our business prospects, financial condition, or results of operations. We plan to maintain insurance coverage in the future for injuries resulting from hazardous materials; however, future claims may exceed the amount of our coverage. Also, we do not have insurance coverage for pollution cleanup and removal. Currently the costs of complying with such federal, state, provincial, local and foreign environmental regulations are not significant, and consist primarily of waste disposal expenses. However, they could become expensive, and current or future environmental laws or regulations may impair our research, development, production and commercialization efforts. Further, although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us in connection with our storage or disposal of biological, hazardous or radioactive materials.
Unexpected disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our expenditures.
Our operations, and those of our CROs, CMOs and other contractors and consultants, could be subject to events like earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications failures, water shortages, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics and other natural or man-made disasters or business interruptions, for which we are predominantly self-insured. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our operations and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. We rely on third-party manufacturers to produce and process our product candidates to meet our demands. Our ability to obtain clinical supplies of our product candidates could be disrupted if the operations of these suppliers are affected by a man-made or natural disaster or other business interruption.
Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property
The validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patents and other intellectual property rights are highly uncertain.
We license a number of issued patents and other patent applications that have not yet been issued. We must obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other rights to protect our intellectual property. The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms is highly uncertain and involves many complex legal and technical issues. There are many laws, regulations and judicial decisions that dictate and otherwise influence the manner in which patent applications are filed and prosecuted and in which patents are granted and enforced, all of which are subject to change from time to time. There is no clear policy involving the breadth of claims allowed, or the degree of protection afforded, under patents in this area. Accordingly, patent applications owned by or licensed to us may not result in patents being issued. Even if we own or license a relevant issued patent, we may not be able to preclude competitors from commercializing drugs that may compete directly with one or more of our products or product candidates, in which event such rights may not provide us with any meaningful competitive advantage. In the absence or upon successful challenge of patent protection, drugs may be subject to generic competition, which could adversely affect pricing and sales volumes of the affected products.
It is generally difficult to determine the relative strength or scope of a biotechnology or pharmaceutical patent position in absolute terms at any given time. The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its validity or enforceability, which can be challenged in litigation or via administrative proceedings. The License Agreement from which we derive or license intellectual property provide for various royalty, milestone, sublicensing and other payments, and include other provisions like patent prosecution and enforcement, insurance, indemnification and other obligations and rights, and is subject to certain reservations of rights. While we generally have the right to defend and enforce patents licensed to or by us, either in the first instance or if the licensor or licensee chooses not to do so, we must usually bear the cost of doing so.
Patents have a limited life and expire by law.
In addition to uncertainties as to scope, validity, enforceability and changes in law, patents by law have limited lives. Upon expiration of patent protection, our drug candidates and/or products may be subject to generic competition, which could adversely affect pricing and sales volumes of the affected products. Many of our licensed patents expire in 2034 unless they can be extended through legal procedures provided by the USPTO.
We depend on intellectual property licensed from third parties and unpatented technology, trade secrets and confidential information. If we lose any of these rights, including by failing to achieve milestone requirements or to satisfy other conditions, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
Our core product candidate is derived from intellectual property licensed from a third party. We could lose the right to patents and other intellectual property licensed to us if the related License Agreement is terminated due to a breach by us or otherwise. Our ability to commercialize products incorporating licensed intellectual property would be impaired if the related License Agreements were terminated. In addition, we are required to make substantial cash payments, achieve milestones and satisfy other conditions, including filing for and obtaining marketing approvals and introducing products, to maintain rights under our intellectual property license. Due to the nature of this agreement and the uncertainties of development, we may not be able to achieve milestones or satisfy conditions to which we have contractually committed, and as a result may be unable to maintain our rights under the license. If we do not comply with our License Agreement, the licensor may terminate it, which could result in our losing our rights to, and therefore being unable to commercialize, related products.
We also rely on unpatented technology, trade secrets and confidential information. Third parties may independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our technology or disclose our technology, and we may be unable to effectively protect our rights in unpatented technology, trade secrets and confidential information. We require each of our employees, consultants and advisors to execute a confidentiality agreement at the commencement of an employment or consulting relationship with us. These agreements may, however, not provide effective protection in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information. Any loss of trade secret protection or other unpatented technology rights could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we infringe third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we may need to alter or terminate a product development program.
There may be patent or other intellectual property rights belonging to others that require us to alter our products, pay licensing fees or cease certain activities. If our products infringe patent or other intellectual property rights of others, the owners of those rights could bring legal actions against us claiming damages and seeking to enjoin manufacturing and marketing of the affected products. If these legal actions are successful, in addition to any potential liability for damages, we could be required to obtain a license in order to continue to manufacture or market the affected products. We may not prevail in any action brought against us, and any license required under any rights that we infringe may not be available on acceptable terms or at all.
Research, development and commercialization of a biopharmaceutical product often require choosing between alternative development and optimization routes at various stages in the development process. Preferred routes may depend on subsequent discoveries and test results and cannot be predicted with certainty at the outset. There are numerous third-party patents in our field, and we may need to obtain a license under a patent in order to pursue the preferred development route of one or more of our products or product candidates. The need to obtain a license would decrease the ultimate profitability of the applicable product. If we cannot negotiate a license, we might have to pursue a less desirable development route or terminate the program altogether.
We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensors. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to take legal action to enforce our patents or our licensors’ patents against such infringing activity. Such enforcement proceedings can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that one or more of our patents is invalid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the compositions or activities in question. An adverse result could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable, or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not being issued. Defense against these assertions, non-infringement, invalidity or unenforceability regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties, pay royalties or redesign our infringing products, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.
Post-grant proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by the United States Patent and Trademarks Office may be brought to determine the validity or priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could result in a loss of our current patent rights and could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Litigation or post-grant proceedings may result in a decision adverse to our interests and, even if we are successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensors, misappropriation of our trade secrets or confidential information, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as those within the United States.
Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
Risks Related to our common stock
Liquidity risks associated with our common stock.
Our stock currently trades on OTCQB and our shares of common stock are thinly traded. While management would like to pursue a listing on NASDAQ Capital Market or other national exchange for its common stock in the future if the Merger does not close, there can be no assurance that (1) such plan will be achieved, (2) an active trading market will be developed or sustained, (3) the liquidity of such market will increase, (4) our stockholders will be able sell their shares of common stock, or (5) the price that our stockholders may obtain for their common stock will be greater than the public offering price. If an active market for our common stock with meaningful trading volume does not develop or is not maintained, the market price of our common stock may decline materially and you may not be able to sell your shares. Under the Merger, shares of Telix received by QSAM shareholders will be restricted under Rule 144 of the Securities Act and, as a result, may not be sold for a period of time after the closing.
The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, which could lead to losses for stockholders.
The securities of public companies can experience extreme price and volume fluctuations, which can be unrelated or out of proportion to the operating performance of such companies. We expect our common stock price will be subject to similar volatility. Any negative change in the public’s perception of the prospects of our Company or companies in our market could also depress our common stock price, regardless of our actual results. Factors affecting the trading price of our common stock may include:
Failure to close the Merger;
Regulatory actions;
Variations in our operating results;
Announcements of technological innovations, new products or product enhancements, strategic alliances or significant agreements by us or by our competitors;
Recruitment or departure of key personnel;
Litigation, legislation, regulation or technological developments that adversely affect our business;
Changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in recommendations by any securities analysts that elect to follow our common stock; and
Market conditions in our industry, the industries of our customers and the economy as a whole.
The application of the “penny stock” rules could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and increase your transaction costs to sell those shares.
The open-market trading of our common stock is currently subject to the “penny stock” rules. The penny stock rules impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell securities to persons other than accredited investors. For transactions covered by these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchase of securities and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction before the purchase. Additionally, for any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the broker-dealer must deliver, before the transaction, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the Commission relating to the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must disclose the commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, monthly statements must be sent disclosing recent price information on the limited market in penny stocks. These additional burdens imposed on broker-dealers may restrict the ability or decrease the willingness of broker-dealers to sell our common stock, and may result in decreased liquidity of our common stock and increased transaction costs for sales and purchases of our common stock as compared to other securities. Penny stocks generally do not have a very high trading volume. Therefore, as long as our shares of common stock are subject to the penny stock rules, the holders of such shares of common stock may find it more difficult to sell their securities.
We do not intend to pay dividends.
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock since inception and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Earnings, if any, that we may realize will be retained in the business for further development and expansion.
Concentration of Stock Ownership and Control.
Our executive officers and directors currently control approximately 26% of the common stock of the Company inclusive of vested options; David H. Clarke, a major investor in our last three offerings and a consultant to the Company, and certain entities that he controls holds 16.5% of the Company; and Checkmate Capital and its affiliates, one of our former debt holders and lead investors in the Series B round, control approximately 7% of the Company. The Company has employee options that could result in further dilution. We may conduct funding rounds in the future which may utilize our common stock or preferred stock. In this regard, management, prior investors and future investors may control a significantly large amount of equity, and as a result, these stockholders acting together will be able to influence many matters requiring stockholder approval including the election of directors and other significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control, and could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares of common stock as part of a sale of our company and may affect the market price of our stock.
We will need to grow the size of our organization, and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth.
As of December 31, 2023, we had four full-time employees and one part-time employee. As our drug development and commercialization plans and strategies develop, and assuming the Merger does not close, we expect to need additional operational, sales, marketing, managerial, financial and other personnel, as well as additional resources to expand our operations.
We currently rely, and for the foreseeable future will continue to rely, in large part on certain third-party organizations, advisors and consultants to provide certain services, including substantially all aspects of regulatory approval, clinical trial management and manufacturing. There can be no assurance that the services of independent organizations, advisors and consultants will continue to be available to us on a timely basis when needed, or that we can find qualified replacements. In addition, if we are unable to manage our outsourced activities effectively or if the quality or accuracy of the services provided by consultants is compromised for any reason, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates or otherwise advance our business. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage our existing consultants or find other competent outside contractors and consultants on economically reasonable terms, or at all. If we are not able to effectively expand our organization by hiring new employees and expanding our groups of consultants and contractors, or we are not able to effectively build out new facilities to accommodate this expansion, we may not be able to successfully implement our business plan to further develop and commercialize our product candidates and, accordingly, may not achieve our research, development and commercialization goals.
We are a smaller reporting company, and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined in the Exchange Act, and we will remain a smaller reporting company until the fiscal year following the determination that our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is more than $250 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenue is more than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is more than $700 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter. Smaller reporting companies are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosure and have certain other reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, being required to provide only two years of audited financial statements and not being required to provide selected financial data, supplemental financial information or risk factors.
We may choose to take advantage of the available exemptions for smaller reporting companies. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our shares price may be more volatile.
If we fail to comply with the rules and regulations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our operating results, our ability to operate our business and investors’ views of us may be harmed.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires public companies to conduct an annual review and evaluation of their internal controls. Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that will need to be evaluated frequently. Our failure to maintain the effectiveness of our internal controls in accordance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business. We could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could have an adverse effect on the price of our common stock. In addition, our efforts to comply with the rules and regulations under the Sarbanes-Oxley or new or changed laws, regulations, and standards may differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice. Regulatory authorities may investigate transactions disclosed in our “ Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ,” and if legal proceedings are initiated against us, it may harm our business.
We have historically identified certain material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and if we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable laws and regulations could be impaired.
In the course of preparing our financial statements, we have historically identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness related to limited accounting personnel and resources resulting into lack of segregation of duties, lack of experience in accounting for equity transactions, and lack of internal controls.
We plan to take additional steps to continue to improve our accounting function; and we must be able to confirm that such remedial measures have been operating effectively for a sufficient period of time. Further, we cannot assure you that any such actions we have taken or will take will prevent or avoid potential future material weaknesses. Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.
Our financial statements may be materially affected if our estimates prove to be inaccurate as a result of our limited experience in making critical accounting estimates.
Financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP require the use of estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. These estimates, judgments, and assumptions are inherently uncertain, and, if they prove to be wrong, then we face the risk that charges to income will be required. In addition, because we have limited to no operating history and limited experience in making these estimates, judgments, and assumptions, the risk of future charges to income may be greater than if we had more experience in these areas. Any such charges could significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and the price of our securities. See “ Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” under notes to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of the accounting estimates, judgments, and assumptions that we believe are the most critical to an understanding of our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
