Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Investing in our common stock is highly speculative and involves a significant degree of risk. Before you invest in our securities, you should give careful consideration to the following risk factors, in addition to the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements and related notes, before deciding whether to invest in our securities. The occurrence of any of the adverse developments described in the following risk factors could materially and adversely harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our business has a limited operating history, and we continue to refine our business model, which makes it difficult to evaluate and compare our past performance with both current performance and future prospects. Moreover, we have recently made significant strategic, operational and staffing changes to our business, and it is impossible to know how or if such changes will increase future revenue and earnings.
Our business was formed only in 2016, and therefore there is limited historical data on which to evaluate our company. This is particularly true because our VIP-focused business model only commenced in mid-2018. Furthermore, since the roll out of our VIP-focused business model, we have continued to refine or alter our strategies, including in 2024 to reduce our reliance on VIP enrollment revenue and instead pursue marketing and distribution alliances with, or acquisitions of, medical sleep clinics and other medical providers. The 2024 pivot in our business model was accompanied by significant strategic, financial, operational and staffing changes to our business, which we have continued to refine as we progress. Therefore, there is very limited and evolving or differing historical operating data on which to evaluate the results of and prospects for our current business model. Moreover, given that our medical-focused sales, marketing and distribution model is at its early stages, it is impossible to know with any certainty whether this new model will increase our revenues or ultimately lead to profitability.
We have a history of operating losses and may never achieve cash flow positive or profitable results of operations.
Since our inception, we have not been profitable and have incurred significant losses and cash flow deficits. For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we reported net losses of $21.2 million and $11.1 million respectively, and negative cash flow from operating activities of $15.3 million and $12.7 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $125.4 million and ended the period with approximately $2.0 million in cash and cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2025, we had total liabilities of approximately $26.7 million. We anticipate that we will continue to report losses and negative cash flow until we can substantially increase our revenues, which we may be unable to do. There is therefore a risk that we will be unable to operate our business in a manner that generate positive cash flow or profit, and our failure to increase our revenues, generate positive cash flow and operate our business profitably would damage our reputation and stock price.
We will need to raise additional capital to bolster our stockholders’ equity and to fund and grow our business. Such funding, even if obtained, could result in substantial dilution or significant debt service obligations. We may not be able to obtain additional capital on commercially reasonable terms in a timely manner or at all, which could adversely affect our liquidity, financial position, and ability to continue operations.
We have a present need for additional capital to fund and grow our business, as well as to bolster our stockholders’ equity for Nasdaq Stock Market purposes. We will need to obtain additional financing either through borrowings, private offerings, public offerings, or some type of business combination, such as a merger, or buyout, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in such pursuits. We may be unable to acquire the additional funding necessary to fund our growth or to continue operating. Accordingly, if we are unable to generate adequate cash from operations, and if we are unable to find sources of funding, it may be necessary for us to sell one or more lines of business or all or a portion of our assets, enter into a business combination, or reduce or eliminate operations. Any of these possibilities, to the extent available, may be on terms that result in significant dilution to our shareholders or that result in our investors losing all of their investment in our company.
Even if we are able to raise additional capital, we do not know what the terms of any such capital raising would be. In addition, any future sale of our equity securities would dilute the ownership and control of your shares and could be at prices substantially below prices at which our shares currently trade. Our inability to raise capital, coupled with our inability to generate adequate cash from operations, could require us to significantly curtail or terminate our operations. We may seek to increase our cash reserves through the sale of additional equity or debt securities. The sale of convertible debt securities or additional equity securities could result in additional and potentially substantial dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations and liquidity and ability to pay dividends. In addition, our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms is subject to a variety of uncertainties. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Any failure to raise additional funds on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.
Additionally, beginning in 2022 we have periodically reduced staff and eliminated or renegotiated certain vendor contracts, strategically reorganized our business and revamped our business model. Further such steps, or even more, may be required before management is satisfied that we are positioned to succeed or even survive, and there is a risk that we will be unable to implement cost-cutting programs effectively.
We previously identified material weaknesses in our internal controls and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to operating effectiveness of our review controls, which may result in material misstatements of our consolidated financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations.
In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness in our case related to the operating effectiveness of our review controls in that we did not put the appropriate resources in place to be able to identify technical accounting issues and perform review functions appropriately. Material errors were also identified in our analysis and review of our VIP contracts for applicable factors to meet the definition of a contract under ASC 606 Contracts with Customers , step 1, and our evaluation of our note receivable with respect to our former Orem dental clinic for impairment in accordance with ASC 310 Receivables .
Furthermore, in 2022 we did not put the appropriate resources in place to be able to identify technical accounting issues and perform review functions appropriately related to revenue recognition. Material errors were identified in our ability to determine that its existing revenue recognition policy was consistent with the guidance in ASC 606. After analyzing contracts using the five-step process in ASC 606, we have determined that for both VIP enrollment contracts and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (MyoSync), modifications to our revenue recognition policies were required in order to identify the performance obligations and recognize the revenue as the performance obligations are satisfied or over the customer life as applicable.
Additionally, we did not put the appropriate resources in place to be able to identify technical accounting issues and perform review functions appropriately. As a consequence, we did not effectively design, implement, and operate process-level control activities related to order-to-cash (including revenue, trade receivables, allowance for doubtful accounts, deferred revenue, and bad debt expense), procure-to-pay (including prepaid expenses), hire-to-pay (including compensation expense), and leases. These control deficiencies resulted in immaterial misstatements, some of which were corrected, in the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022. These control deficiencies, aggregated, create a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement to the consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
In summary, as of December 31, 2022 we identified material weaknesses related to the operating effectiveness of our review controls in that we did not put the appropriate resources in place to be able to identify and account for technical accounting issues and perform review functions appropriately.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we began to implement a remediation plan to address the material weakness derived from the deficiencies and errors noted above. While we believe that at December 31, 2023, we had taken great strides to complete the full remediation of all of our internal control deficiencies and associated material weakness by undertaking the plan described in Item 9A of this Report, we believe our additional review and testing in 2024 had cured and fully remediated the material weakness as of December 31, 2024.
If a similar material weakness or weaknesses arise in the future, or if we generally fail to establish and maintain effective internal controls appropriate for a public company, we may be unable to produce timely and accurate financial statements, and we may be required to again conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective, which could adversely impact our investors’ confidence and our stock price. Delays in filing our periodic reports have led and could in the future lead to the loss of our ability to use certain “short form” registration statements (including “shelf” registration statements used for more efficient fundraising).
Readers are advised that notwithstanding our management’s assessment that our internal controls were effective as of December 31, 2025, such assessment does not mean our internal controls are free from any significant deficiencies or do not require any improvement. As our business has evolved, most notably through the acquisition of the operating assets of SCN in 2025, we have faced new accounting challenges, including those relating to integrating SCN’s operations into our own and properly accounting for revenues generated through SCN. As we look to replicate acquisitions like SCN and our MSO/DSO support model in order to grow our business, we will need to continue to evolve and improve our accounting controls and procedures. These efforts have taken, and will continue to take, material time and resources, and we may be unable to undertake such efforts effectively.
We expect to derive a substantial portion of our prospective future revenue from sales of our appliances and treatment pursuant to our new strategic alliance and acquisition models, which leaves us reliant on the commercial viability of The Vivos Method and other associated products and services.
Currently, our primary product is The Vivos Method, inclusive of MyoSync and our SleepImage HST. Our secondary source of revenue is our clinical training and practice support programs, including Billing Intelligence Services and Airway Intelligence System. We expect that sales of the component aspects of The Vivos Method and our services to our VIPs and affiliated sleep centers related to the use of such treatments will account for a significant majority of our prospective revenue for the foreseeable future. We currently market and sell our appliances (which are central to The Vivos Method) primarily in the United States and Canada, with a very limited presence in Australia. The Vivos Method is different from current surgical and non-surgical treatments dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA and snoring, therefore we cannot assure you that dentists and sleep clinics in corroboration with physicians will use The Vivos Method or become VIPs or strategic alliance partners, and demand for The Vivos Method may decline or may not increase as quickly as we expect. Also, we cannot assure you that The Vivos Method will compete effectively as a treatment alternative to other more well-known and well-established therapies, such as CPAP, mandibular advancement, or palatal surgical procedures. The Vivos Method currently represents our primary product, and since our VIP program has historically been, but is no longer, our primary means of commercialization, however, we are reliant on the level of recurring sales using The Vivos Method treatment and decreased or lower than expected sales to and maintenance of VIPs or sleep centers would cause us to lose all or substantially all of our revenue.
A material portion of our future revenue is expected to derive from sales of our appliances and other closely related diagnostic and therapeutic services to patients through dentists and other medical professionals, who are part of various Vivos-supported Medical and Dental Service Organizations (MSOs / DSOs) which we intend to form in various states, and which leave us reliant on our ability to establish, staff, and operate such operations successfully across diverse and geographically dispersed markets.
We believe that The Vivos Method is the first commercially available treatment based on our proprietary technology for the treatment of dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA. Our success depends both on the sufficient acceptance and adoption by the medical/dental community of The Vivos Method as a non-invasive treatment for the treatment of dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA. Currently, a relatively limited number of dentists and other medical clinicians provide treatment with The Vivos Method. We cannot predict how quickly, if at all, the medical/dental community will accept The Vivos Method, or, if accepted, the extent of its use. For us to be successful:
our dentist customers and referring physicians must believe that The Vivos Method offers meaningful clinical and economic benefits for the treating provider and for the patient as compared to the other surgical and non-surgical procedures or devices currently being used to treat individuals with dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA and referring physicians must write a prescription for the use of a Class II Vivos appliance; and
our dentist customers must believe patients will pay for The Vivos Method out-of-pocket, and patients must believe that paying out-of-pocket for treatment in The Vivos Method is the best alternative to either doing nothing or entering into another treatment option.
In reference to the treatment of mild to severe OSA and snoring, studies have shown that a significant percentage of people who have OSA remain undiagnosed and therefore do not seek treatment. Many of those patients who are diagnosed with OSA may be reluctant to seek treatment because of the significant costs of treatment given the less severe nature of their condition, the potentially negative lifestyle effects of traditional treatments, and the lack of awareness of new treatment options. If we are unable to increase public awareness of the prevalence of OSA or if the medical/dental community is slow to adopt or fails to adopt The Vivos Method as a treatment for their patients, we would suffer a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our future operating results are difficult to predict and may vary significantly from quarter to quarter, which may adversely affect the price of our common stock.
Our limited history of sales of The Vivos Method, together with our history of losses, make prediction of future operating results difficult. You should not rely on our past revenue growth as any indication of future growth rates or operating results. Our valuation and the price of our securities will likely fall in the event our operating results (notably our revenue growth, with the goal of achieving cash flow positive and profitable operations) do not meet the expectations of analysts and investors. Comparisons of our quarterly operating results are an unreliable indication of our future performance because they are likely to vary significantly based on many factors, including:
our inability to attract demand for and obtain acceptance of The Vivos Method for the treatment of dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA and snoring by both medical professionals and their patients;
the success of alternative therapies and surgical procedures to treat individuals, and the possible future introduction of new products and treatments;
our ability to design, implement and as necessary modifying product pricing programs for existing VIPs;
the success of our sleep centers and other sleep centers we operate in a strategic alliance model, which are dependent on patient volume, insurance reimbursement rates, provider credentialing timelines, staff recruitment and retention, the time required for each Sleep Optimization team to reach full operational capacity, and other factors beyond our control;
the expansion and rate of success of our marketing and advertising efforts to both consumers and dentists as well as other medical professionals, and the rate of success of our direct sales force in the United States and internationally;
Failure of third-party contract manufacturers to deliver products or provide services in a cost effective and timely manner;
our failure to develop, find or market new products;
the successful completion of current and future clinical studies, and the possibility that the results of any future study may be adverse to our product and services, or reveal some heretofore unknown risk to patients from treatment in The Vivos Method; the failure by us to make professional presentation and publication of positive outcomes data from these clinical studies, and the increased adoption of The Vivos Method by dentists as a result of the data from these clinical studies;
actions relating to ongoing FDA compliance;
the size and timing of orders from dentists and independent distributors;
our ability to obtain reimbursement for The Vivos Method (i.e., billable oral appliances and orofacial myofunctional therapy) in the future from third-party healthcare insurers;
the willingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket for treatment in The Vivos Method in the absence of reimbursement from third-party healthcare insurers, for; decisions by one or more commercial health insurance companies to preclude, deny, limit, reduce, eliminate, or curtain reimbursement for treatment in whole or part by The Vivos Method;
unanticipated delays in the development and introduction of our current and future products and/or our inability to control costs;
the effects of global or local pandemics or epidemics and governmental responses, such as COVID-19;
seasonal fluctuations in revenue due to the elective nature of sleep-disordered breathing treatments for mild to severe OSA, as well as seasonal fluctuations resulting from adverse weather conditions, earthquakes, floods or other acts of nature in certain areas or regions that result in power outages, transportation interruptions, damages to one or more of our facilities, food shortages, or other events which may cause a temporary or long-term disruption in patient priorities, finances, or other matters; and
general economic conditions as well as those specific to our customers and markets.
Therefore, you should expect that our results of operations will be difficult to predict, which will make an investment in our company uncertain.
We may not be able to respond in a timely and cost-effective manner to changes in consumer preferences.
The Vivos Method is subject to changing consumer preferences. A shift in consumer preferences away from the protocol and products we offer would result in significantly reduced revenue. Our future success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and respond to changes in consumer preferences. Failure to anticipate and respond to changing consumer preferences in the products we market could lead to, among other things, lower sales of products, significant markdowns or write-offs of inventory, increased product returns and lower margins. If we are not successful in anticipating and responding to changes in consumer preferences, our results of operations in future periods will be materially adversely impacted.
Our business and results of operations may be impacted by the extent to which patients using The Vivos Method achieve adequate levels of third-party insurance reimbursement, or the extent to which third party patient financing is available.
Whenever practical, The Vivos Method is paid for primarily out-of-pocket by patients, with any available health insurance coverage being reimbursed if and as paid at a later date, where the patient is being treated for dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA.
The cost of treatments for dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA, such as CPAP, and most surgical procedures generally are covered and reimbursed in whole or part by third-party healthcare insurers. The Vivos Method is a customized protocol often combined with custom oral appliance therapy, some of which currently qualify for reimbursement. Our ability to generate revenue from additional sales of The Vivos Method for the treatment of dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild to severe OSA, as well as our potential revenues from MSO/DSO support fees, may be materially limited by the extent to which reimbursement of The Vivos Method or other treatments and testing offered by our supported providers is available in the future. In addition, third-party healthcare insurers are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and procedures. If we are successful in our efforts to obtain reimbursement for the billable procedures within The Vivos Method or otherwise impacting our business, any changes in this reimbursement system could materially affect our ability to continue to grow our business.
Medical coverage and benefits are subject to medical necessity, provider credentialing, and payer guidelines. We have experienced challenges with these insurance processes in connection with establishing our SCN-related operations, causing delays in revenue generation and cash flow, and we expect to face these challenges with other sleep practices we may acquire or affiliate with.
Reimbursement and healthcare payment systems in international markets vary significantly by country and reimbursement for the billable procedures within The Vivos Method may not be available at all under either government or private reimbursement systems. If we are unable to achieve reimbursement approvals in international markets, it could have a negative impact on market acceptance of The Vivos Method and potential revenue growth in the markets in which these approvals are sought.
Our products and third-party contract manufacturing activities are subject to extensive governmental regulation that could prevent us from manufacturing or obtaining Vivos appliances or introducing new and/or improved products in the United States or internationally.
Our products and third-party contract manufacturing activities are subject to extensive regulation by several governmental agencies, including the FDA and comparable international regulatory bodies. We are required to:
obtain clearance from the FDA and certain international regulatory bodies before we can market and sell our products;
satisfy all content requirements for the sales and promotional materials associated with The Vivos Method; and
undergo rigorous inspections of our facilities, manufacturing and quality control processes, records and documentation.
Compliance with the rules and regulations of these various regulatory bodies have created regulatory challenges for us in the past and may delay or prevent us from introducing any new models of The Vivos Method or other new products. In addition, government regulations may be adopted that could prevent, delay, modify or rescind regulatory clearance or approval of our products.
Our contract manufacturing labs are further required to demonstrate compliance with the FDA’s quality system regulations. The FDA enforce their quality system regulations through pre-approval and periodic post-approval inspections by representatives from the FDA. These regulations relate to product testing, vendor qualification, design control and quality assurance, as well as the maintenance of records and documentation. If we fail to conform to these regulations, the FDA may take actions that could seriously harm our business. These actions include sanctions, including temporary or permanent suspension of our operations, product recalls and marketing restrictions. A recall or other regulatory action could substantially increase our costs, damage our reputation and materially affect our operating results.
Our products are currently recommended only by a relatively small minority of medical sleep specialists, who are integral to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep breathing disorders. Accordingly, our ability to scale our business is thus highly dependent on the expansion of qualified medical sleep specialists who will support and recommend the Vivos Method to their patients.
The majority of patients being treated today for OSA, domestically and internationally, are initially referred to pulmonologists or other sleep specialists by their primary care physicians. Pulmonologists or other sleep specialists typically administer a polysomnogram, or overnight sleep study, to diagnose the presence and severity of OSA. If an individual is diagnosed with OSA by a qualified medical doctor, CPAP is typically prescribed as the therapy of choice. Although we offer The Vivos Method through our VIPs and strategic alliances, our domestic sales organization does not generally call on sleep specialists or third-party sleep centers to sell The Vivos Method, and we do not believe that most qualified sleep specialists today would recommend The Vivos Method to their patients with mild to severe OSA. We cannot predict the extent to which medical doctors will, in the future, endorse or recommend our protocol to their patients, even for those who are unwilling or unable to comply with other alternative therapies.
We may not be able to protect our patents and proprietary technology and may become subject to intellectual property claims or litigation.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection for The Vivos Method components and the confidentiality of proprietary clinical treatments. Our success further depends on our ability to obtain and maintain trademark protection for our name and mark; to preserve our trade secrets and know-how; and to operate without infringing the intellectual property rights of others.
We cannot assure investors that we will continue to innovate and file new patent applications, or that if filed any future patent applications will result in granted patents We cannot assure you that any of our patents pending will result in issued patents, that any current or future patents will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, that the scope of any of our patents will exclude competitors or that the patent rights granted to us will provide us any competitive advantage or protect our products. The patent position of device companies, including ours, is generally uncertain and involves complex legal and factual considerations and, therefore, validity and enforceability cannot be predicted with certainty. Patents may be challenged, deemed unenforceable, invalidated or circumvented. We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our proprietary technologies, treatments and any future products are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets.
Any patents we have obtained or do obtain may be challenged by re-examination or otherwise invalidated or eventually found unenforceable. Both the patent application process and the process of managing patent disputes can be time consuming and expensive. If we were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent related to one of our products, the defendant in such litigation could counterclaim that our patent is invalid and/or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the U.S., defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace, as are validity challenges by the defendant against the subject patent or other patents before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (or USPTO). Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness or non-enablement, failure to meet the written description requirement, indefiniteness, and/or failure to claim patent eligible subject matter. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent intentionally withheld material information from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. Additional grounds for an unenforceability assertion include an allegation of misuse or anticompetitive use of patent rights, and an allegation of incorrect inventorship with deceptive intent. Third parties may also raise similar claims before the USPTO even outside the context of litigation. The outcome is unpredictable following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that no invalidating prior art existed of which we and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. These assertions may also be based on information known to us or the USPTO. If a defendant or third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the claims of the challenged patent. Such a loss of patent protection would or could have a material adverse impact on our business.
The standards that the USPTO (and foreign equivalents) use to grant patents are not always applied predictably or uniformly and can change. There is also no uniform, worldwide policy regarding the subject matter and scope of claims granted or allowable in device patents. Accordingly, we do not know the degree of future protection for our proprietary rights or the breadth of claims that will be allowed in any patents issued to us or to others.
However, there can be no assurance that our technology will not be found in the future to infringe upon the rights of others or be infringed upon by others. Moreover, patent applications are in some cases maintained in secrecy until patents are issued. The publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature frequently occurs substantially later than the date on which the underlying discoveries were made and patent applications were filed. Because patents can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending applications of which we are unaware that may later result in issued patents that our products or product candidates infringe. For example, pending applications may exist that provide support or can be amended to provide support for a claim that results in an issued patent that our product infringes. In such a case, others may assert infringement claims against us, and should we be found to infringe upon their patents, or otherwise impermissibly utilize their intellectual property, we might be forced to pay damages, potentially including treble damages, if we are found to have willfully infringed on such parties’ patent rights. In addition to any damages we might have to pay, we may be required to obtain licenses from the holders of this intellectual property. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses or intellectual property rights on commercially reasonable terms. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In that event, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to develop or license replacement technology. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected products, which could materially harm our business and the third parties owning such intellectual property rights could seek either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or, with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation. Conversely, we may not always be able to successfully pursue our claims against others that infringe upon our technology. Thus, the proprietary nature of our technology or technology licensed by us may not provide adequate protection against competitors.
In addition to patents, we rely on trademarks to protect the recognition of our company and product in the marketplace. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how, and proprietary knowledge that we seek to protect, in part, through confidentiality agreements with employees, consultants and others. We cannot assure you that our proprietary information will not be shared, our confidentiality agreements will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, or that our trade secrets will not otherwise become known to or independently developed by competitors.
We face the risk of product liability claims that could be expensive, divert management’s attention and harm our reputation and business.
Our business exposes us to the risk of product liability claims that are inherent in the testing manufacturing and marketing of medical devices. This risk exists even if a device is registered, cleared and approved for commercial sale by the FDA and manufactured in facilities licensed and regulated by the FDA or an applicable foreign regulatory authority. Any side effects, manufacturing defects, misuse or abuse associated with use of our appliance could result in patient injury or death. The medical device industry has historically been subject to extensive litigation over product liability claims, and we cannot offer any assurance that we will not face product liability suits. We may be subject to product liability claims if the use of our appliance may cause, or merely appeared to have caused, patient injury or death. In addition, an injury that is caused by the activities of our suppliers, such as those who provide us with components and raw materials, may be the basis for a claim against us. Product liability claims may be brought against us by patients, healthcare providers or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our appliances, among others. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we will incur substantial liabilities and reputational harm. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:
costs of litigation;
distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;
the inability to commercialize our appliances or new products;
decreased demand and brand reputation for our appliances;
product recalls or withdrawals from the market;
withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants; or
loss of sales.
Any recall or market withdrawal of our products may delay the supply of those products to our customers and may impact our reputation. We can provide no assurance that we will be successful in initiating appropriate market recall or market withdrawal efforts that may be required in the future or that these efforts will have the intended effect of preventing product malfunctions and the accompanying product liability that may result. Such recalls and withdrawals may also be used by our competitors to harm our reputation for safety or be perceived by patients as a safety risk when considering the use of our products, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our relationships with VIPs, other healthcare providers, and third-party payors will be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, health information privacy and security laws, and other healthcare laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.
Healthcare providers (including our VIPs and strategic alliances), physicians and third-party payors in the United States and elsewhere will play a primary role in the recommendation of The Vivos Method. Our current and future arrangements with healthcare professionals, principal investigators, consultants, customers and third-party payors may subject us to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws and other health care laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal civil and criminal false claims laws and the law commonly referred to as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and regulations. These laws will impact, among other things, our clinical research, sales, marketing and educational programs. In addition, we may be subject to patient privacy laws by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct or may conduct our business. The laws that will affect our operations include, but are not limited to:
the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, in return for the purchase, recommendation, leasing or furnishing of an item or service reimbursable under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between medical device manufacturers on the one hand, and physicians and patients on the other. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended (or the PPACA), amended the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and, as a result, a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it;
federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including, without limitation, the False Claims Act, and civil monetary penalty laws which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment or approval from Medicare, Medicaid or other government payors that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to Avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. The PPACA provides, and recent government cases against medical device manufacturers support, the view that federal Anti-Kickback Statute violations and certain marketing practices, including off-label promotion, may implicate the False Claims Act;
the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (or HIPAA), which created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit a person from knowingly and willfully executing a scheme or making false or fraudulent statements to defraud any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private);
HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (or HITECH), and its implementing regulations, and as amended again by the final HIPAA omnibus Rule, Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules Under HITECH and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act; Other Modifications to HIPAA, published in January 2013, which imposes certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information without appropriate authorization by entities subject to the rule, such as health plans, health care clearinghouses and health care providers, and their respective business associates;
Federal transparency laws, including the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which is part of the PPACA, that require certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (or CMS), information related to: (i) payments or other “transfers of value” made to physicians and teaching hospitals; and (ii) ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members;
state and foreign law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, state laws that require manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures, and state laws that require medical device companies to comply with the specific industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or to adopt compliance programs as prescribed by state laws and regulations, or that otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers; and
state and foreign laws that govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws.
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 our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion of our products from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations.
The risk of our being found in violation of these laws is increased by the fact that many of them have not been fully interpreted by the regulatory authorities or the courts, and their provisions are open to a variety of interpretations. Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. The shifting compliance environment and the need to build and maintain robust and expandable systems to comply with multiple jurisdictions with different compliance and/or reporting requirements increases the possibility that a healthcare company may run afoul of one or more of the requirements.
The misrepresentation, misuse or off-label use of The Vivos Method or other Vivos products and services could result in injuries that lead to product liability suits or result in costly investigations, fines or sanctions by regulatory bodies if we are deemed to have engaged in the promotion of these uses, any of which could be costly to our business.
We train our marketing personnel and direct sales force to not promote the oral appliances of The Vivos Method for uses outside of the FDA-cleared indications for use, known as off-label uses. We cannot, however, prevent a medical professional from using our appliances off label when, in their independent professional medical judgment, he or she deems it appropriate. There may be increased risk of injury or other side effects to patients if physicians misrepresent, misuse or attempt to use our appliances and associated treatments off label. Furthermore, the use of our appliances and associated treatments for indications other than those cleared by the FDA or cleared by any foreign regulatory body may not effectively treat such conditions, which could harm our reputation in the marketplace among physicians and patients.
Given that we are aware that, notwithstanding our training guidelines, our independent VIPs may use our appliances off-label, there is a risk that we could face regulatory scrutiny because of such use. If the FDA or any foreign regulatory body determines that our promotional (labeling) materials or training constitute promotion of an off-label use, it could request that we modify our training or promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions, including the issuance or imposition of an untitled letter, which is used for violations that do not necessitate a warning letter, injunction, seizure, civil fine or criminal penalties. It is also possible that other federal, state or foreign enforcement authorities might take action under other regulatory authority, such as false claims laws, if they consider our business activities to constitute promotion of an off-label use, which could result in significant penalties, including, but not limited to, criminal, civil and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs and the curtailment of our operations.
In addition, dentists may misuse our appliances within The Vivos Method or use improper techniques if they are not adequately trained, potentially leading to injury and an increased risk of product liability. If The Vivos Method is misused or used with improper technique, we may become subject to costly litigation by our customers or their patients. Similarly, in an effort to decrease costs, physicians may also reuse our appliances despite them being intended for a single use or may purchase reprocessed Vivos appliances from third-party processors in lieu of purchasing a new Vivos appliance from one of our contract manufacturers, which could result in product failure and liability. Product liability claims could divert management’s attention from our core business, be expensive to defend and result in sizeable damage awards against us that may not be covered by insurance.
We have engaged in and will continue to pursue acquisitions of, or affiliations with, medical or dental practices or complementary businesses or technologies, which could divert the attention of management, and which may not be integrated successfully into our existing business.
We have engaged in and will continue to pursue acquisitions of medical or dental practices or other complementary businesses or assets as well as licenses of technology to, among other things, expand our marketing and distribution model and the scope of products and services we provide. For example, in February 2023, acquired certain U.S. and international patents, product rights, and other miscellaneous intellectual property from Advanced Facialdontics, LLC. We cannot guarantee that we will identify suitable acquisition candidates, that acquisitions will be completed on acceptable terms or that we will be able to successfully integrate the operations of any acquired business into our existing business. The acquisitions could be of significant size and involve operations in multiple jurisdictions. Moreover, the acquisition of medical or dental practice implicates complicated healthcare laws which will need to be navigated. The acquisition and integration of another business or technology would divert management attention from other business activities, including our core business. This diversion, together with other difficulties we may incur in integrating an acquired business or technology, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may borrow money or issue capital stock to finance acquisitions. Such borrowings might not be available on terms as favorable to us as our current borrowing terms and may increase our leverage, and the issuance of capital stock could dilute the interests of our stockholders.
We could be subject to lawsuits for which we are not fully insured.
Healthcare providers have become subject to an increasing number of lawsuits alleging malpractice and related legal theories such as negligent hiring, supervision and credentialing. Some of these lawsuits involve large claim amounts and substantial defense costs. We generally procure professional liability insurance coverage for our affiliated medical professionals and professional and corporate entities. We are currently insured under policies in amounts management deems appropriate, based upon the nature and risk of our business. Our medical professionals are also required to provide their own medical malpractice insurance coverages. Nevertheless, there are exclusions and exceptions to coverage under each insurance policy that may make coverage for any claim unavailable, future claims could exceed the limits of available insurance coverage, existing insurers could become insolvent and fail to meet their obligations to provide coverage for such claims, and such coverage may not always be available with sufficient limits and at reasonable cost to insure us adequately and economically in the future. One or more successful claims against us not covered by, or exceeding the coverage of, our insurance could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, in the normal course of our business, we may be involved in other types of lawsuits, claims, audits and investigations, including those arising out of our billing and marketing practices, employment disputes, contractual claims and other business disputes for which we may have no insurance coverage. Furthermore, for our losses that are insured or reinsured through commercial insurance providers, we are subject to the financial viability of those insurance companies. Although we believe our commercial insurance providers are currently creditworthy, they may not remain so in the future. The outcome of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
We depend on certain key personnel.
We substantially rely on the efforts of our current senior management, including our Chief Executive Officer, R. Kirk Huntsman, our Chief Financial Officer, Brad Amman, Susan McCullough, our EVP of Operations, and Michael Bruhn, our EVP of Operations, East Coast, among others. Our business would be impeded or harmed if we were to lose their services. In addition, if we are unable to attract, train and retain highly skilled technical, managerial, product development, sales and marketing personnel, we may be at a competitive disadvantage and unable to develop new products or increase revenue. The failure to attract, train, retain and effectively manage employees could negatively impact our research and development, sales and marketing and reimbursement efforts. In particular, the loss of sales personnel could lead to lost sales opportunities as it can take several months to hire and train replacement sales personnel. Uncertainty created by turnover of key employees could adversely affect our business.
Members of our board of directors and our executive officers will have other business interests and obligations to other entities.
Neither our directors nor our executive officers will be required to manage our business as their sole and exclusive function and they may have other business interests and may engage in other activities in addition to those relating to us, provided that such activities do not compete with the business of our company or otherwise breach their agreements with us. We are dependent on our directors and executive officers to successfully operate our company. Their other business interests and activities could divert time and attention from operating our business.
We will need to carefully manage our expanding operations to achieve sustainable growth.
To expand our medical provider-focused marketing and distribution model, achieve increased revenue levels, complete clinical studies and develop future products, we believe that we will be required to periodically expand our operations, particularly in the areas of sales and marketing, clinical research, reimbursement, research and development, manufacturing and quality assurance. As we expand our operations in these areas, management will face new and increased responsibilities. To accommodate any growth and compete effectively, we must continue to upgrade and improve our information systems, as well as our procedures and controls across our business, and expand, train, motivate and manage our work force. Our future success will depend significantly on the ability of our current and future management to operate effectively. Our personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our future operations. If we are unable to effectively manage our expected growth, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws with respect to our activities outside the United States.
We distribute our products to locations within and outside the United States and Canada. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other similar anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws and regulations, generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. As we expect to expand our international operations in the future, we will become increasingly subjected to these laws and regulations. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in preventing our agents from taking actions in violation of these laws or regulations. Such violations, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
Risks Related to Our Products and Regulation
We depend in large part on The Vivos Method technology, and the loss of regulatory approval or access to this technology would terminate or delay the further development of our products, injure our reputation or force us to pay higher fees.
We depend, in large part, on The Vivos Method technology. The loss of this key technology would seriously impair our business and future viability, and could result in delays in developing, introducing or maintaining our treatments/products until equivalent technology, if available, is identified, licensed and integrated. In addition, any defects in the products of The Vivos Method technology or other technologies we gain access to in the future could prevent the implementation or impair the functionality of our products, delay new product introductions or injure our reputation. If we are required to acquire or enter into license agreements with third parties for replacement technologies, we could be subject to higher fees, milestone or royalty payments, assuming we could access such technologies at all.
Our failure to obtain government approvals, including required FDA approvals, or to comply with ongoing, and ever increasing, governmental regulations relating to our technologies and products could delay or limit introduction of our products and result in failure to achieve revenue or maintain our ongoing business.
Our development activities and the manufacture and marketing of The Vivos Method are subject to extensive regulation for safety, efficacy and quality by numerous government authorities in the United States and abroad. Before receiving FDA or foreign regulatory clearance to market our future products needing approval, we will have to demonstrate that these products are safe and effective in the patient population and for the diseases that are to be treated. Clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing of medical devices are subject to the rigorous testing and approval process of the FDA and equivalent foreign regulatory authorities. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other federal, state and foreign statutes and regulations govern and influence the testing, manufacture, labeling, advertising, distribution and promotion of medical devices. As a result, regulatory approvals for our products not yet approved or that we may develop in the future can take a number of years or longer to accomplish and require the expenditure of substantial financial, managerial and other resources.
We cannot assure that we will be able to complete any required clinical trial programs successfully within any specific time period, and if such clinical trials take longer to complete than we project, our ability to execute our current business strategy will be adversely affected.
Conducting clinical trials is a lengthy, time-consuming and expensive process. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any products, we must demonstrate through clinical trials the safety and effectiveness of our products. We have incurred, and we will continue to incur, substantial expense for, and devote a significant amount of time to, product development, pilot trial testing, clinical trials and regulated, compliant manufacturing processes.
Even if completed, we do not know if these trials will produce statistically significant or clinically meaningful results sufficient to support an application for marketing approval. If and how quickly we complete clinical trials is dependent in part upon the rate at which we are able to advance the rate of patient enrollment, and the rate to collect, clean, lock and analyze the clinical trial database.
Patient enrollment in trials is a function of many factors. These include the design of the protocol; the size of the patient population; the proximity of patients to and availability of clinical sites; the eligibility criteria for the study; the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study; the medical investigators’ efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials; the patient referral practices of local physicians; the existence of competitive clinical trials; and whether other investigational, existing or new products are available or cleared for the indication. If we experience delays in patient enrollment and/or completion of our clinical trial programs, we may incur additional costs and delays in our development programs and may not be able to complete our clinical trials on a cost-effective or timely basis. Accordingly, we may not be able to complete the clinical trials within an acceptable time frame, if at all. If we fail to enroll and maintain the number of patients for which the clinical trial was designed, the statistical power of that clinical trial may be reduced, which would make it harder to demonstrate that the product candidate being tested in such clinical trial is safe and effective. Further, if we or any third party have difficulty enrolling a sufficient number of patients in a timely or cost-effective manner to conduct clinical trials as planned, or if enrolled patients do not complete the trial as planned, we or a third party may need to delay or terminate ongoing clinical trials, which could negatively affect our business.
The results of our clinical trials may not support either further clinical development or the commercialization of any new product candidates or modifications to existing products.
Even if our ongoing or contemplated clinical trials are completed as planned, their results may not support either the further clinical development or the commercialization of any new product candidates or modifications of existing products. The FDA or government authorities may not agree with our conclusions regarding the results of our clinical trials. Success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, and the results from any later clinical trials may not replicate the results of prior clinical trials and pre-clinical testing. The clinical trial process may fail to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe and effective for indicated uses. This failure would cause us to abandon a product candidate or a modification to any existing product and may delay development of other product candidates. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials will delay the filing of our 510(k)’s and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate product revenue. Generally, Class II medical device marketed in the U.S. must receive a 510(k) clearance from the FDA. A 510(k) is a premarket submission made to FDA to demonstrate that the device to be marketed is at least as safe and effective, that is, substantially equivalent (or SE), to a legally marketed device. Companies must compare their device to one or more similar legally marketed devices, commonly known as “predicates”, and make and support their substantial equivalency claims. The submitting company may not proceed with product marketing until it receives an order from the FDA declaring a device substantially equivalent. The substantially equivalent determination is usually made within 90 days, based on the information submitted by the applicant.
In addition, we or the FDA may suspend our clinical trials at any time if it appears that we are exposing participants to unacceptable health risks or if the FDA finds deficiencies in the conduct of these trials. A number of companies in the medical technology industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials despite promising results in earlier trials. In the end, we may be unable to develop marketable products.
Modifications to appliances within The Vivos Method may require additional FDA approvals which, if not obtained, could force us to cease marketing and/or recall the modified device until we obtain new approvals.
After a device receives a 510(k) clearance, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, requires a new 510(k) clearance or could require a Premarket approval (or PMA). PMA is the FDA process of scientific and regulatory review to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Class III medical devices. Class III devices are those that support or sustain human life, are of substantial importance in preventing impairment of human health, or which present a potential, unreasonable risk of illness or injury. Currently we do not market devices within this Class III category nor do we intend to in the foreseeable future. However, the FDA requires each manufacturer to make this determination in the first instance, but the FDA can review any decision. If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s decision not to seek a new 510(k) clearance, the agency may retroactively require the manufacturer to seek 510(k) clearance or PMA approval. The FDA also can require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or recall the modified devices until 510(k) clearance or PMA approval is obtained. We cannot assure you that the FDA would agree with any of our decisions not to seek 510(k) clearance or PMA approval. If the FDA requires us to seek 510(k) clearance or PMA approval for any modification, we also may be required to cease marketing and/or recall the modified device until we obtain a new 510(k) clearance or PMA approval.
We are subject to regular inspection and market surveillance by the FDA to determine compliance with regulatory requirements.
We are subject to inspection and market surveillance by the FDA to determine compliance with regulatory requirements. If the FDA finds that we have failed to comply, the agency can institute a wide variety of enforcement actions, ranging from a public warning letter to more severe sanctions such as:
fines, injunctions and civil penalties;
recall, detention or seizure of our products;
the issuance of public notices or warnings;
operating restrictions, partial suspension or total shutdown of production;
refusing our requests for a 510(k) clearance of new products or new uses of existing products;
withdrawing a 510(k) clearance already granted; and
criminal prosecution.
We have received an FDA warning letter in the past when such a letter was received by our subsidiary BioModeling Solutions, Inc. (“ BioModeling ” or “ BMS ”) in January 2018 following a routine FDA audit. In its letter, the FDA noted matters such as inadequate documentation of certain FDA-required procedures, not keeping certain records and materials in paper format and in triplicate, and using certain descriptive words and phrases on its website and in marketing materials that were unapproved in advance by FDA. We believe these issues have been resolved as the FDA notified the Company in 2022 that the Warning Letter had been resolved. Since that time, we have enhanced our quality systems, policies, and procedures designed to support ongoing compliance. In a subsequent FDA inspection in 2024, the agency issued a single observation and did not cite any repeat observations related to those matters. We remain subject to ongoing FDA oversight, and there can be no assurance that future inspections will not identify additional issues.
The FDA also has the authority to request repair, replacement or refund of the cost of any medical device manufactured or distributed by us. Our failure to comply with applicable requirements could lead to an enforcement action that may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Treatment with The Vivos Method has only been available for a relatively limited time, and we do not know whether there will be significant post-treatment regression or relapse.
Patient treatment using the FDA registered DNA appliance began in 2009, while treatment for mild to moderate OSA using the FDA cleared mRNA appliance began in 2014. Both began under the prior business model of our predecessor (and now subsidiary) BMS, and well before our formation. Under the BMS model, the independent treating dentists generated and maintained all records of treatment and ordered their appliances directly from one of the BMS designated labs. Thus, with the exception of specific patients who participated in studies, clinical trials or case reports, we have had limited visibility into patient records which might contain data on this subject. Therefore, we have limited empirical data to support our view that the risk of post treatment regression or relapse is not significant. To the extent a material number of patients who were treated with The Vivos Method were to be found to experience post-treatment relapse or regression, it could pose a significant risk to our brand, the willingness or ability of physicians to prescribe and dentists to use our products and the willingness of patients to engage in treatment with our products and could thus have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our medical-provider focused alliance marketing and distribution model under which will seek to acquire or create alliances with healthcare providers, may implicate federal and state laws involving the practice of medicine and related anti-kickback and similar laws.
Our M&A Group, or formerly known as the MID, was launched in 2020 to assist VIP practices in establishing clinical collaboration ties to local primary care physicians, sleep specialists, ENTs, pediatricians and other healthcare professionals who routinely see or treat patients with sleep and breathing disorders. Historically, the primary objective of our MID was to promote The Vivos Method to the medical profession and thus facilitate more patients being able to receive a treatment with The Vivos Method. With the change in business model to focus on alliance marketing and distribution of Vivos products through sleep centers, the M&A Group has shifted focus to identifying and closing strategic alliances with sleep clinics. There is a risk that our M&A Group may implicate legal or regulatory compliance issues that may arise in the course of our activities, including various Federal healthcare statutes such as the Stark and anti-kickback laws as well as state-by-state regulations pertaining to inter-disciplinary ownership of professional corporations or other legal entities. We have conducted research, including obtaining advice from outside legal counsel, regarding the implications of these laws and regulations to the M&A Group and believe M&A Group’s operations will be in compliance with or will not implicate these laws and regulations. However, there is a risk that such laws and regulations (or similar laws and regulations adopted in the future) might be interpreted, reinterpreted, or modified in the future in such a way so as to impede or prevent us from continuing our M&A Group, which could leave us subject to regulatory scrutiny and sanction. No advice of counsel has been obtained with respect any potential operations of the M&A Group in Canada.
Risks Related to Our Acquisition of the Sleep Center of Nevada (“SCN”)
In 2024 and 2025, we worked to pivot our sales, marketing distribution model, including via the acquisition of the Sleep Center of Nevada (the “SCN Acquisition”). However, we have limited experience operating this business model, and it may not produce the benefits we anticipate. This makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk of your investment.
In June 2025, we acquired all assets, including operating assets such as sleep testing, diagnostics, and treatment centers, of SCN. The SCN Acquisition marked the completion in a pivot to our sales, marketing distribution model for our innovative OSA appliances. Under the new model, SCN will provide sleep disorder patients with the opportunity to be candidates for our advanced, proprietary and FDA-cleared CARE oral medical devices, oral appliances and additional adjunctive therapies and methods. Under customary agreements designed to comply with applicable corporate practice of medicine law, our operation of SCN allows us to manage and capture both diagnostic and consulting revenues, representing new higher margin revenue streams for us, as well as potential Vivos appliance sales revenue from SCN. We are exploring and seeking to implement additional acquisitions of, or collaborations with, medical sleep and similar healthcare practices to expand our business model in an effort to grow our revenues.
We are placing significant emphasis on establishing and growing this new model as means of increasing our revenue. However, we have limited operating history associated with this business model. Our prior collaboration with Rebis Health in Colorado entered into in 2024 has not met our expectations and differed materially from the SCN Acquisition in that we did not have adequate control over patient processing, systems and protocols, dentist hiring and management, staff hiring and management, patient education, hours of operation, or medical provider training and education. As a result, the Rebis Health collaboration has not benefited us as we had anticipated. There is therefore a lack of information for you to evaluate our future prospects utilizing this business model.
Moreover, there is a material risk that this new model will not increase our revenues or gross margins in the manner we anticipate. For example, we have faced challenges in fully integrating SCN’s operations into our own and meeting market demand due to matters such as (i) difficulties in identifying and training healthcare providers in the products and services we offer and (ii) obtaining insurance reimbursement for such products and services. Our ability to address these and similar challenges could lead to slower increases, or even reductions, in our revenues.
In addition, we may be unable to find additional sleep medical providers to incorporate into our business, and even if we do, the is a risk we may not derive the benefits from additional acquisition that we intend to. Our inability to implement and scale this marketing and distribution model would materially harm our business and operating results and likely cause our stock price to suffer.
Additionally, if the benefits of the SCN Acquisition or similar acquisitions or collaborations we may undertake do not meet the expectations of our shareholders, the market price of our securities may decline. Fluctuations, including declines, in the price of our common stock could contribute to the loss of all or part of your investment. Certain factors, including, but not limited to, the factors listed below could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock:
actual or anticipated fluctuations in financial results post-SCN-Acquisition or following the execution of similar transactions;
changes in the market’s expectations about our operating results post-SCN-Acquisition or following the execution of similar transactions;
announcements of technological innovation, or new products, by our competition; and
the success of our competitors.
As such, no assurances can be given that the SCN Acquisition or similar transactions will benefit our operating results or stock price.
We have incurred substantial indebtedness in connection with financing the SCN acquisition, the cost of servicing that debt could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operation, and we may not be able in the future to service that debt.
Concurrently with the SCN Acquisition, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement with Streeterville, pursuant to which we issued and sold to Streeterville a Secured Promissory Note in the original principal amount of $8,250,000 (the “ Streeterville Note ”). The Streeterville Note is secured by our wholly-owned subsidiary AIM, which manages SCN in accordance with the corporate practice of medicine. The Company has also pledged the entirety of AIM’s membership interests to the Streeterville as collateral for the Streeterville Note pursuant and caused AIM to provide a guarantee of our obligations to the Streeterville under the Streeterville Note and the other transaction documents.
Our ability to make scheduled payments under the Streeterville Note or any alternative debt financing arrangements we may enter into in connection with our growth strategy to acquire additional medical sleep practices will depend on our financial and operating performance, which will be affected by economic, financial, competitive, business, and other factors, some or all of which are beyond our control. The indebtedness we incurred in connection with the SCN Acquisition will require us to dedicate a portion of our cash flow to servicing this debt, thereby reducing the availability of cash to fund other business initiatives. There can be no assurance that our business, inclusive of SCN, will generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. If we are unable to meet our debt obligations or fund our other liquidity needs, we may need to restructure or refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity or sell certain of our assets. There can be no assurance that we will be able to restructure or refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, which could cause us to default on our debt obligations and impair our liquidity. Any refinancing of our indebtedness could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. If we are unable to generate or borrow sufficient cash to make payments on our indebtedness, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Integrating SCN’s operations may be more difficult, costly, or time-consuming than expected.
The ongoing integration of Vivos and SCN could result in the disruption of our ongoing business, and inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures, policies and insurance coverage that adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with patients and employees or achieve the anticipated benefits of the SCN Acquisition. As with any acquisition, there also may be disruptions that cause us to lose patients or cause patients to elect alternative form of sleep treatment. We may also face other unintended consequences from the SCN Acquisition (including adverse effects on our business reputation, supply chain issues, and similar matters) that that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and stock price.
If our contractual arrangements between Airway Integrated Management Company, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“AIM”) and our physicians at SCN are found to constitute the improper rendering of medical services or to violate corporate practice of medicine or dentistry or fee splitting under applicable state laws, our business, financial condition and our ability to operate in those states could be adversely impacted.
Our contractual relationships between AIM and our physicians at SCN (and similar arrangements we may enter into in the future in connection with other sleep provider acquisitions) may implicate certain state laws that generally prohibit non-professional entities from providing licensed medical services or exercising control over medical practitioners or other healthcare professionals (such activities generally referred to as the “corporate practice of medicine”, and laws, rules and regulations relating to the corporate practice of medicine, the “ CPM Laws” ) or engaging in certain practices such as fee-splitting with such licensed professionals. The interpretation and enforcement of CPM Laws vary significantly from state to state. There can be no assurance that CPM Laws will be interpreted in a manner consistent with our practices or that other laws or regulations will not be enacted in the future that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Regulatory authorities, state boards of medicine, state attorneys general and other parties may assert that, despite the agreements through which we operate, we are engaged in the provision of medical services and/or that our arrangements with our medical practitioners constitute unlawful fee-splitting. If a jurisdiction’s prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine or fee-splitting is interpreted in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices, we would be required to restructure or terminate our arrangements with our medical practitioner at SCN to bring our activities into compliance with such CPM Laws. A determination of non-compliance, or the termination of or failure to successfully restructure these relationships could result in disciplinary action, penalties, damages, fines, and/or a loss of revenue, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. State corporate practice and fee-splitting prohibitions also often impose penalties our medical practitioners for aiding in the improper rendering of professional services, which could discourage medical practitioners and other healthcare professionals from providing clinical services at SCN or other sleep centers we may operate in the future.
As a result of our business model pivot which includes the acquisition of sleep centers like SCN, we may become a party to lawsuits, demands, claims, qui tam suits, governmental investigations and audits and other legal matters, any of which could result in, among other things, substantial financial and other penalties, damage to our reputation or adverse effects on our ability to conduct business.
As a result of our 2025 business model pivot, which includes acquisitions of sleep medical providers like SCN as a means of driving sales of our OSA treatments, our business has (subject to compliance with CPM laws as described above) become more associated with diagnosing and treating OSA patients. Given the nature of this business, we may in the future be subject to investigations and audits by governmental agencies, private civil qui tam complaints and other lawsuits, demands, claims, legal proceedings and/or other actions alleging our, or the medical practices we manage, failure to comply with applicable rules, regulations, laws or the practice of medicine.
For example, we and sleep medical providers we manage (like SCN) could become subject to audits from the government concerning the billing of patients. If, following the conclusion of any audit, the government were to require refunds and/or modifications to our business practices, and such amounts or changes are significant, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, any allegation against us, our medical providers we manage or related personnel, representatives, third party vendors, or operations in such matters or matters that involve patients suffering adverse health outcomes, may, among other things harm our reputation, stock price, and adversely affect our relationships and/or contracts related to our business, among other things.
Responding to subpoenas, investigations and other lawsuits, claims and legal proceedings, as well as defending ourselves in such matters, would require management’s attention and cause us to incur significant legal expense. Negative developments, findings or terms and conditions that we might agree to accept as part of a negotiated resolution of pending or future legal or regulatory matters, or have been forced upon us, could result in, among other things, harm to our or our medical providers’ reputation, substantial financial penalties or awards against us, substantial payments made by us, required changes to our business practices, impacts on our various relationships and/or contracts related to our business, exclusion from future participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs and, in certain cases, criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on us.
Changes in the structure and payment rates under private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or other non-Medicare government-based programs or payment rates related to our business could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Sleep center providers like SCN or other medical sleep providers we may acquire and manage or do business with rely on various forms of insurance held by patients for payment for products and services. These include private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs. As such, the business of the medical sleep providers we manage and our business and results of operations could be adversely impacted by matters related to insurance coverage including, without limitation:
The risk that reimbursement rates are reduced by private insurance carriers or government insurance providers;
The risk that changes in insurance policies or regulatory mandates could limit the ability to either be paid for covered services or bill for treatments or services or otherwise impact reimbursement;
The risk that interpretations of existing regulations, manual provisions and/or guidance, or the implementation or enforcement of new interpretations, will be inconsistent with how we and the medical sleep providers we manage have interpreted regulations, manual provisions and/or guidance;
The risk that data and related reporting requirements are implemented that result in decreased reimbursement, increased technology and operational costs, or reputational harm;
The risk that increases in our operating costs will outpace any Medicare or other rate increases we receive;
The risk of federal budget sequestration cuts or other disruptions in federal government operations and funding; and
The risk of ensuring that the sleep medical providers we manage remain compliant with applicable requirements, including marketing and education requirements and restrictions, as well as contractual terms with associated insurance plans.
If we are faced with these or similar risks, we could face material adverse consequences on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our business and the medical practices we manage are labor intensive. Our inability to recruit qualified talent, including but not limited to sufficient numbers of dentists, physicians, nurse practitioners, or other clinical support personnel and manage labor costs or shortages could result in significant increases in our operating costs, decreases in productivity, and disruptions in our business operations.
Our business and the business of the medical practices we manage is labor intensive. This is particularly true with respect to the Sleep Optimization (SO) teams we are putting in place at SCN, each consisting of one nurse practitioner (or physician’s assistant), two specially trained dentists, six dental assistants, six administrative support personnel, and one treatment navigator. Labor requirements also exist, albeit to a lesser extent, for contractual alliances with medical sleep providers we may enter into. We face increased labor costs and the risk of difficulties in hiring skilled clinical personnel. The healthcare labor market for the talent we require is challenging and experiences volatility, uncertainty and labor supply shortages. We may be unable to achieve the financial results we desire from the SCN acquisition, the acquisition of other medical sleep providers or our contractual alliances due to variations in labor-related costs and the productivity our personnel.
We have incurred and, as we seek to scale our business, expect to continue to incur increased labor costs, including through elevated compensation levels to our personnel, the ultimate extent of which will depend on the needs at SCN or other medical sleep providers we acquire as well as macroeconomic conditions and ancillary impacts on the labor market, among other things.
We compete for qualified talent with hospitals and other healthcare providers. Furthermore, changes in certification requirements could adversely impact our ability to maintain sufficient staff levels, including to the extent our personnel are not able to meet new requirements. In addition, if we experience a higher than normal turnover rate for our skilled clinical personnel, our operations and ability to meet patient demand may be negatively impacted, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Also, political or other efforts at the national or local level could result in actions or proposals that increase the likelihood of success of union organizing activities at the facilities we manage. If a significant portion of our personnel were to become unionized, we could experience, among other things, potential additional work stoppages or other business disruptions; adverse impacts to our financial results due to the costs of bargaining or implementing a grievance procedure and processing grievances, decreases in our operational flexibility and efficiency, or negative impacts on our employee culture. Any of these events or circumstances, including our responses to such events or circumstances, could have a material adverse effect on our employee relations, treatment growth, productivity, business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and reputation.
Risks Related to Our Securities Generally
We have issued a large number of shares of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock in connection with financing activities. Substantial future sales of such shares of our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline or have other adverse effects on our Company.
Since the January 2023 Private Placement, we have issued a large number of shares of common stock and warrants to purchase shares of common stock in connection with financing activities. Most of those shares have been registered for resale pursuant to registration statement filed by us with the SEC, including the shares of common stock underlying warrants and certain of those shares of common stock may currently be sold by holders, pursuant to Rule 144, promulgated under the Securities Act (“ Rule 144 ”). When these shares of common stock are sold by the holders, either pursuant to an applicable registration statement or pursuant to Rule 144, thereafter will become freely tradable. Sales of a substantial number of these shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock or cause such market price to decline significantly. Such sales or the perception that such sales might occur could also impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict with any certainty the effect that such sales, or the perception that such sales may occur, or may have on the prevailing market price of our shares of common stock or other adverse impacts that this situation could have on our company.
The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be highly volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment
The market price of our common stock has been, and is likely in the future to be, volatile (which we define the frequency and magnitude of movements in the market price for our common stock). As we believe is typical for smaller public companies, particularly those who operate in our industry, our common stock prices have been volatile around the times we announce significant news to the marketplace or when we conduct financings. For example, in late November 2023, we announced that our C.A.R.E. appliances were cleared by the FDA to treat moderate and severe OSA in adults, 18 years of age and older along with PAP and/or myofunctional therapy, as needed. This announcement was followed by an over 800% increase in the price of our common stock with over 46 million shares of common stock traded on November 29, 2023. There is a significant risk that this level of upward market volatility will not be sustained, and downward volatility in our public stock price could lead to investment losses by our stockholders. It is important to note that market volatility is not something over which we have direct control.
Moreover, volatility may prevent you from being able to sell your securities at or above the price you paid for your securities. Our stock price could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, which include:
whether we achieve our anticipated corporate objectives;
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;
changes in our financial or operational estimates or projections;
our ability to implement our operational plans;
restrictions on the ability of our stockholders to sell shares in the future;
changes in the economic performance or market valuations of companies similar to ours; and
general economic or political conditions in the United States or elsewhere.
In addition, the stock market in general, and the stock of publicly-traded medical technology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance, and downward volatility in our public stock price could lead to investment losses by our stockholders.
Our failure to meet the continuing listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market, including the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement and minimum bid price requirements, could result in a delisting of our securities.
If we fail to satisfy the continuing listing requirements of Nasdaq, such as the corporate governance, $2.5 million minimum stockholders’ equity (the “Equity Requirement”) or minimum closing bid price requirements, Nasdaq may take steps to delist our common stock. Given that our stockholders’ equity at December 31, 2025 was less than $2.5 million, we are presently not in compliance with the Equity Requirement. We are seeking to regain compliance by raising new funding in the form of equity and reducing costs. However, we will be faced with delisting proceedings which will distract management and cost resources to remedy,
A delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq for any would very likely (i) damage our reputation, (ii) make it more difficult to manage our business and raise necessary capital, (iii) have a negative effect on the price of our common stock and (iv) impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. In the event of a delisting scenario, we would likely take actions to restore our compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements, but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us would allow our common stock to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our securities, prevent our common stock from dropping below the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements.
Readers should be aware that we have a history of challenges in maintaining compliance with the Nasdaq’s continuing listing requirements. During 2022, we received two notices from Nasdaq informing us of our failure to comply with two continuing Nasdaq listing requirements: failure to timely file our reports with the SEC, and failure to achieve the Nasdaq minimum bid price for 30 consecutive trading days. While both of these deficiencies were cured by January 2023, we became subject to additional delisting from Nasdaq during 2023, one for failure to meet the minimum bid requirement and the other for failing to meet the Equity Requirement.
On September 21, 2023, we received a written notice from the Nasdaq staff confirming that since, as of that date, we failed to meet the minimum bid price requirement, and because as of the period ended June 30, 2023 we also failed the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement, Nasdaq would commence delisting proceedings against us. As permitted under Nasdaq rules, we appealed the Nasdaq staff’s determination and requested a hearing (the “Hearing”) before a Nasdaq Hearing Panel (the “Hearing Panel”). The Hearing request stayed any delisting or suspension action by the Nasdaq staff pending the issuance of the Hearing’s Panel decision. The Hearing took place on November 9, 2023.
Prior to the date of the Hearing, we effectuated a reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock at a ratio of 1-for-25. The reverse stock split became effective on October 25, 2023, and our common stock began trading on a post-reverse stock split basis on the Nasdaq on October 27, 2023. To satisfy the minimum bid requirement, our common stock was required to trade at above $1.00 per share for at least 10 trading days, and this was achieved on November 9, 2023. We therefore believe that the Hearing Panel should find that we have regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Requirement.
At the Hearing on November 9, 2023, we presented our plan to regain compliance with the Equity Requirement, which included raising additional equity capital. On November 30, 2023, we received a letter from the Hearings Panel that, subject to certain conditions, the Hearings Panel granted our request to continue to be listed on Nasdaq. These conditions include providing an update as to our plan to regain compliance with the Equity Requirement as well as demonstrating compliance by March 19, 2024. On February 23, 2024 we presented our plan of compliance to the Hearings Committee. On May 6, 2024, we received written notice from the Nasdaq staff indicating that the Company had regained compliance with the Equity Requirement.
On May 16, 2024, we received a further written notice from Nasdaq indicating that, as of March 31, 2024, we failed to comply with the Equity Requirement. On June 25, 2024, we reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K that we believed we had stockholders’ equity of at least $2.5 million as of the date of the filing of such report as a result of our closing of a $7.5 million equity private placement on June 10, 2024.
On June 27, 2024, we met with the Panel to discuss our past, current, and anticipated future compliance with the Equity Requirement, and requested the continued listing of our securities on Nasdaq. On July 5, 2024, we were notified that the Panel granted our request for continued listing on Nasdaq, subject to our filing of the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, with the Securities and Exchange Commission by August 15, 2024, evidencing our compliance with the Equity Requirement.
We are working diligently to ensure continued compliance with the Equity Requirement, including exploring potential additional equity capital financing or financings to stay above the minimum threshold of the Equity Requirement. We anticipate that our medical provider-focused strategic marketing and distribution alliance will also positively impact our revenue growth and stockholders’ equity in upcoming fiscal quarters. However, there is a risk that we will be unable to raise sufficient capital or generate sufficient revenue or positive operating results to maintain compliance with the Equity Requirement. If we fail to achieve ongoing compliance and our common stock is delisted by Nasdaq, such delisting would likely have a material adverse effect on our stock price, the ability of its stockholders to buy or sell their common stock, our ability to raise capital and on our reputation, all of which could make it significantly more difficult to operate. The risk of delisting for our company is compounded by the fact that we have been faced with delisting proceedings before, and no assurances can be given that we will be able to maintain compliance or satisfy Nasdaq that our plan to regain compliance has merit.
If our shares of common stock become subject to the penny stock rules, it would become more difficult to trade our shares.
The SEC has adopted rules that regulate broker-dealer practices in connection with transactions in penny stocks. Penny stocks are generally equity securities with a price of less than $5.00, other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or authorized for quotation on certain automated quotation systems, provided that current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system. If we do not obtain or retain a listing on Nasdaq and if the price of our common stock is less than $5.00, our common stock will be deemed a penny stock. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, before a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document containing specified information. In addition, the penny stock rules require that before effecting any transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, a broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive (i) the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure statement; (ii) a written agreement to transactions involving penny stocks; and (iii) a signed and dated copy of a written suitability statement. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the trading activity in the secondary market for our common stock, and therefore stockholders may have difficulty selling their shares.
Actions of activist shareholders could be disruptive and potentially costly and the possibility that activist shareholders may seek changes that conflict with our strategic direction could cause uncertainty about the strategic direction of our business.
Activist investors and other stockholders who disagree with our management may attempt to effect changes in our strategic direction and how our company is governed or may seek to acquire control over our company. Some investors (commonly known as “activist investors”) seek to increase short-term stockholder value by advocating corporate actions such as financial restructuring, increased borrowing, special dividends, stock repurchases, or even sales of assets or the entire company. Activist campaigns can also seek to change the composition of our board of directors, and campaigns that contest or conflict with our strategic direction could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition as responding to proxy contests and other actions by activist shareholders can disrupt our operations, be costly and time-consuming, and divert the attention of our board of directors and senior management from the pursuit of our business strategies. In addition, perceived uncertainties as to our future direction that can arise from potential changes to the composition of our board of directors sought by activists may lead to the perception of a change in the direction of the business, instability or lack of continuity which may be exploited by our competitors, may cause concern to our current or potential customers or other partners, may result in the loss of potential business opportunities and may make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel and business partners. These types of actions could divert our management’s attention from our business or cause significant fluctuations in our stock price based on temporary or speculative market perceptions or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our company.
Seneca and its affiliates own a significant percentage of our common stock and are thus able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval and otherwise.
As of the date of this Report, affiliates of our investor Seneca collectively own approximately 19.99% of our outstanding common stock on a primary basis and approximately 48% on a fully diluted basis assuming full exercise of all common stock warrants held by Seneca (and not accounting for a 19.99% beneficial ownership blocker contained in certain of the warrants held). Representatives of Seneca have the right to attend meetings of our board of directors and are actively involved in advising our management regarding our business. As a result, Seneca has significant influence over all matters related to our company, including those matters requiring stockholder approval, such as:
the election of directors;
amendment to our organizational documents; and
approval of significant corporate transactions, such as mergers, consolidations, or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets.
There is a risk that this concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing, or deterring a change in control, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company, and might depress the market price of our common stock as a result of the market’s perception of Seneca’s influence.
Furthermore, there is a risk that the interests of Seneca may not always coincide with your interests or the interests of our other stockholders. Seneca may make decisions regarding our business or our company generally that you or other stockholders disagree with, or that may be more aligned with Seneca’s own investment objectives rather than the view of our board of directors, management and other stockholders regarding the long-term value of our company.
We continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.
As a public company, and particularly since we ceased being an “emerging growth company” as of December 31, 2025, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased our legal and financial compliance costs relative to prior years and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly.
For as long as we remain a smaller reporting company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements as described in the preceding risk factor.
Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, we are required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting. However, while we remain a non-accelerated filer and a smaller reporting company, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. If we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.
Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation may make it more difficult for a third party to effect a change-of-control.
Our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock. The preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined at the time of issuance by our board of directors without further action by the stockholders. These terms may include preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion rights, redemption rights and sinking fund provisions. The issuance of any preferred stock could diminish the rights of holders of our common stock and therefore could reduce the value of such common stock. In addition, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell assets to, a third party. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock could make it more difficult, delay, discourage, prevent or make it more costly to acquire or effect a change-in-control, which in turn could prevent our stockholders from recognizing a gain in the event that a favorable offer is extended and could materially and negatively affect the market price of our common stock.
Our bylaws designate certain courts as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.
Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) will be the exclusive forum for: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company; (ii) any action asserting a claim for breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee, or agent of ours to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Certificate of Incorporation, or the bylaws; and (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine (the “Delaware Forum Provision”). Our bylaws further provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act (the “Federal Forum Provision”). In addition, our bylaws provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our common stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the Delaware Forum Provision and the Federal Forum Provision.
Section 27 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the Delaware Forum Provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
We recognize that the Delaware Forum Provision and the Federal Forum Provision in our bylaws may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders in pursuing any such claims, particularly if the stockholders do not reside in or near the State of Delaware. Additionally, the Delaware Forum Provision and the Federal Forum Provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees even though an action, if successful, might benefit our stockholders. In addition, while the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in March 2020 that federal forum selection provisions purporting to require claims under the Securities Act be brought in federal court were “facially valid” under Delaware law, there is uncertainty as to whether other courts will enforce the Federal Forum Provision. If the Federal Forum Provision is found to be unenforceable, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters. The Federal Forum Provision may also impose additional litigation costs on stockholders who assert that the provision is not enforceable or invalid. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the United States District Court may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders.
Limitations on director and officer liability and indemnification of our officers and directors by us may discourage stockholders from bringing suit against an officer or director.
Our Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, as it presently exists or may be amended from time to time, a director shall not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director. Under Delaware law, this limitation of liability does not extend to, among other things, acts or omissions which involve intentional misconduct, fraud or knowing violation of law, or unlawful payments of dividends. These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing suit against a director or officer for breach of fiduciary duty and may reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation brought by stockholders on our behalf against a director or officer.
We are responsible for the indemnification of our officers and directors.
Should our officers and/or directors require us to contribute to their defense, we may be required to spend significant amounts of our capital. Our Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws also provide for the indemnification of our directors, officers, employees, and agents, under certain circumstances, against attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred by them in any litigation to which they become a party arising from their association with or activities on behalf of our company. This indemnification policy could result in substantial expenditures, which we may be unable to recoup. If these expenditures are significant or involve issues which result in significant liability for our key personnel, we may be unable to continue operating as a going concern.
Our ability to use our net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards to offset future taxable income may limited, perhaps substantially.
In general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (or the Code), a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change by value in its equity ownership over a three-year period, is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change net operating losses (“ NOLs ”), carryforwards to offset future taxable income. Our existing NOLs may be subject to limitations arising from previous ownership changes. If we undergo, or are deemed to have previously undergone, an ownership change, our ability to utilize NOLs carryforwards could be limited (perhaps substantially) by Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. Additionally, future changes in our stock ownership, some of which might be beyond our control, could result in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code. For these reasons, in the event we experience or are deemed to have experienced an “ownership change” for these purposes, we may not be able to utilize a material or even a substantial portion of the NOLs carryforwards, even if we attain profitability. We have not completed a Code Section 382 analysis regarding any limitation on our NOL carryforwards.
The financial and operational projections that we may make from time to time are subject to inherent risks.
The projections that our management may provide from time to time (including, but not limited to, those relating to market sizes and other financial or operational matters) reflect numerous assumptions made by management, including assumptions with respect to our specific as well as general business, economic, market and financial conditions and other matters, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, there is a risk that the assumptions made in preparing the projections, or the projections themselves, will prove inaccurate. There will be differences between actual and projected results, and actual results may be materially different from those contained in the projections. The inclusion of the projections in this Annual Report should not be regarded as an indication that we or our management or representatives considered or consider the projections to be a reliable prediction of future events, and the projections should not be relied upon as such.
If we were to dissolve, the holders of our securities may lose all or substantial amounts of their investments.
If we were to dissolve as a corporation, as part of ceasing to do business or otherwise, we may be required to pay all amounts owed to any creditors before distributing any assets to the investors. There is a risk that in the event of such a dissolution, there will be insufficient funds to repay amounts owed to holders of any of our indebtedness and insufficient assets to distribute to our other investors, in which case investors could lose their entire investment.
An investment in our company may involve tax implications, and you are encouraged to consult your own advisors as neither we nor any related party is offering any tax assurances or guidance regarding our company or your investment.
The formation of our company and our financings, as well as an investment in our company generally, involves complex federal, state and local income tax considerations. Neither the Internal Revenue Service nor any state or local taxing authority has reviewed the transactions described herein, and may take different positions than the ones contemplated by management. You are strongly urged to consult your own tax and other advisors prior to investing, as neither we nor any of our officers, directors or related parties is offering you tax or similar advice, nor are any such persons making any representations and warranties regarding such matters.
Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gain.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. This means that it is very unlikely that we will pay dividends on our shares of common stock. In addition, the terms of any future debt agreements may preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our common stock adversely, the price of our common stock and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock may be influenced by the research and reports that securities or industry analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our common stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, the price of our common stock would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us was to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the price of our common stock or trading volume to decline.
