AETHLON MEDICAL INC - Quarter Report: 2023 September (Form 10-Q)

Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒     QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2023

OR

☐     TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _____to_____

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 001-37487

Aethlon Medical, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(619) 941-0360

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes   ☒ No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of November 10, 2023, the registrant had outstanding 2,492,908 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAUTIONARY NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, or Quarterly Report, contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which are subject to the safe harbor created by those sections.

We may, in some cases, use words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and are based upon our current expectations, beliefs, estimates and projections, and various assumptions, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Such statements, include, but are not limited to, statements contained in this Quarterly Report relating to our business, business strategy, products and services we may offer in the future, the timing and results of future clinical trials, and capital outlook, successful completion of our clinical trials, our ability to raise additional capital, our ability to maintain our Nasdaq listing, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approval of our products candidates, our ability to comply with changing government regulations, patent protection of our proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological change, and other risk factors detailed herein and in other of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. They are neither statement of historical fact nor guarantees of assurance of future performance. We caution you therefore against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, a decline in general economic conditions nationally and internationally, the ability to protect our intellectual property rights, competition from other providers and products, risks in product development, inability to raise capital to fund continuing operations, changes in government regulation, and other factors (including the risks contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors”) relating to our industry, our operations and results of operations and any businesses that may be acquired by us. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ significantly from those anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or planned.

Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to and do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

AETHLON MEDICAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

AETHLON MEDICAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

For the Three and Six Month Periods Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

AETHLON MEDICAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

For the Three and Six Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

AETHLON MEDICAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

For the Six Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

AETHLON MEDICAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)

September 30, 2023

1. NATURE OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION ORGANIZATION

Aethlon Medical, Inc., or Aethlon, the Company, we or us, is a medical therapeutic company focused on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases. The Aethlon Hemopurifier is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutic device designed to combat cancer and life-threatening viral infections. In cancer, the Hemopurifier is designed to deplete the presence of circulating tumor-derived exosomes that promote immune suppression, seed the spread of metastasis and inhibit the benefit of leading cancer therapies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has designated the Hemopurifier as a “Breakthrough Device” for two independent indications:

We believe the Hemopurifier can be a substantial advance in the treatment of patients with advanced and metastatic cancer through the clearance of exosomes that promote the growth and spread of tumors through multiple mechanisms. We are currently working with our new contract research organization, or CRO, on preparations to conduct a clinical trial in Australia in patients with solid tumors, including head and neck cancer, gastrointestinal cancers and other cancers.

In January 2023, we entered into an agreement with North American Science Associates, LLC, or NAMSA, a world leading MedTech CRO offering global end-to-end development services, to oversee our clinical trials investigating the Hemopurifier for oncology indications. Pursuant to the agreement, NAMSA will manage our clinical trials of the Hemopurifier for patients in the United States and Australia with various types of cancer tumors. We anticipate that the initial clinical trials will begin in Australia.

We also believe the Hemopurifier can be part of the broad-spectrum treatment of life-threatening highly glycosylated, or carbohydrate coated, viruses that are not addressed with an already approved treatment. In small-scale or early feasibility human studies, the Hemopurifier has been used in the past to treat individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, hepatitis-C and Ebola.

Additionally, in vitro, the Hemopurifier has been demonstrated to capture Zika virus, Lassa virus, MERS-CoV, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Herpes simplex virus, Chikungunya virus, Dengue virus, West Nile virus, smallpox-related viruses, H1N1 swine flu virus, H5N1 bird flu virus, Monkeypox virus and the reconstructed Spanish flu virus of 1918. In several cases, these studies were conducted in collaboration with leading government or non-government research institutes.

On June 17, 2020, the FDA approved a supplement to our open Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, for the Hemopurifier in viral disease to allow for the testing of the Hemopurifier in patients with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, or COVID-19, in a New Feasibility Study. That study was designed to enroll up to 40 subjects at up to 20 centers in the United States. Subjects were to have established laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19, be admitted to an intensive care unit, or ICU, and have acute lung injury and/or severe or life-threatening disease, among other criteria. Endpoints for this study, in addition to safety, included reduction in circulating virus as well as clinical outcomes (NCT # 04595903). In June 2022, the first patient in this study was enrolled and completed the Hemopurifier treatment phase of the protocol. Due to lack of COVID-19 patients in the ICUs of our trial sites, we terminated this study in 2022.

Under Single Patient Emergency Use regulations, the Company has treated two patients with COVID-19 with the Hemopurifier, in addition to the COVID-19 patient treated with our Hemopurifier in our COVID-19 clinical trial discussed above.

We previously reported a disruption in our Hemopurifier supply, as our then existing supply of Hemopurifiers expired on September 30, 2022, and also as previously disclosed, we are dependent on FDA approval of qualified suppliers to manufacture our Hemopurifier. Our intended transition to a new supplier for galanthus nivalis agglutinin, or GNA, a component of our Hemopurifier, was delayed as we work with the FDA for approval of our supplement to our IDE, which is required to make this manufacturing change. We are continuing to work with the FDA to qualify this second supplier of our GNA. We also are in the process of completing final testing in order to begin manufacturing Hemopurifiers at our new manufacturing facility in San Diego for use in U.S. clinical trials, using GNA from our current supplier. We expect the first manufacturing lot that incorporates the GNA from our original supplier to be approved and released by the end of December 2023. We also have sufficient Hemopurifiers on hand for use in our planned Australia and India oncology trials.

In October 2022, we launched a wholly owned subsidiary in Australia, formed to conduct clinical research, seek regulatory approval and commercialize our Hemopurifier in that country. The subsidiary will initially focus on the oncology trials in Australia.

We also obtained ethics review board, or ERB approval, from and entered into a clinical trial agreement with Medanta Medicity Hospital, a multi-specialty hospital in Delhi NCR, India, for a COVID-19 clinical trial at that location. One patient has completed participation in the Indian COVID-19 study. The relevant authorities in India have accepted the use of our Hemopurifiers made with the GNA from our new supplier.

In May 2023, we also received ERB approval from the Maulana Azad Medical College, or MAMC, for a second site for our clinical trial in India to treat severe COVID-19. MAMC was established in 1958 and is located in New Delhi, India. MMAC is affiliated with the University of Delhi and is operated by the Delhi government.

In October 2023, we announced that we received clearance from the Drug Controller General of India, or DCGI, the central drug authority in India, to conduct a Phase 1 safety, feasibility and dose-finding trial of the Company's Hemopurifier in patients with solid tumors who have stable or progressive disease during anti-PD-1 monotherapy treatment, such as Keytruda^® or Opdivo^®. The trial is expected to begin following completion of an internal in vitro binding study of relevant targets, and subsequent approval by the respective Ethics Boards of interested sites in India.

Additionally, we recently announced that we also have begun investigating the use of our Hemopurifier in the organ transplant setting. Our objective is to confirm that the Hemopurifier, in our translational studies, when incorporated into a machine perfusion organ preservation circuit, can remove harmful viruses and exosomes from recovered organs. We initially are focused on recovered kidneys, in a research collaboration with 34 Lives, PBC. We have previously demonstrated the removal of multiple viruses and exosomes from buffer solutions, in vitro, utilizing a scaled-down version of our Hemopurifier. This process potentially may reduce complications following transplantation of the recovered organ, which can include viral infection, delayed graft function and rejection. We believe this new approach could be additive to existing technologies that currently are in place to increase the number of viable kidneys for transplant.

Successful outcomes of human trials will also be required by the regulatory agencies of certain foreign countries where we plan to market and sell the Hemopurifier. Some of our patents may expire before FDA approval or approval in a foreign country, if any, is obtained. However, we believe that certain patent applications and/or other patents issued to us more recently will help protect the proprietary nature of our Hemopurifier treatment technology.

In addition to the foregoing, we are monitoring closely the impact of inflation, recent bank failures and the war in Ukraine on our business. Given the level of uncertainty regarding the duration and impact of these events on capital markets and the U.S. economy, we are unable to assess the impact on our timelines and future access to capital. The full extent to which inflation, recent bank failures and the war in Ukraine will impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, clinical trials and preclinical research will depend on future developments, as well as the economic impact on national and international markets that are highly uncertain.

We incorporated in Nevada on March 10, 1999. Our executive offices are located at 11555 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 203, San Diego, California 92121. Our telephone number is (619) 941-0360. Our website address is www.aethlonmedical.com.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “AEMD.”

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

During the six months ended September 30, 2023, there were no changes to our significant accounting policies as described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023.

REVERSE STOCK SPLIT

On October 4, 2023, the Company effected a 1-for-10 reverse stock split of the outstanding shares of its common stock. Accordingly, each 10 shares of outstanding common stock held by the Company’s stockholders were combined into one share of common stock. Any fractional shares resulting from the reverse split were rounded up to the next whole share. Authorized common stock remained at 60,000,000 shares (see Note 11) following the stock split. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes have been retroactively revised to reflect such reverse stock split as if it had occurred on April 1, 2022. All shares and per share amounts have been revised accordingly.

Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on June 28, 2023. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Aethlon Medical, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Aethlon Medical Australia Pty Ltd, as well as its previously majority-owned subsidiary, Exosome Sciences, Inc., which dissolved in September 2022. All significant inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, contain all adjustments that are of a normal recurring nature necessary to present fairly the operating results, cash flows, and financial position of the Company as of and for the period ended September 30, 2023. Estimates were made relating to useful lives of fixed assets, impairment of assets, share-based compensation expense and accruals for clinical trial and research and development expenses. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. The accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2023 has been derived from the audited consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2023, contained in the above referenced 10-K. The results of operations for the three and six months ended September 30, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year or any future interim periods.

Reclassifications

Certain prior year balances within the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation, including the impact of the reverse stock split.

LIQUIDITY AND GOING CONCERN

Management expects existing cash as of September 30, 2023 to be sufficient to fund the Company’s operations for at least twelve months from the issuance date of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Restricted Cash

To comply with the terms of our laboratory and office lease and our lease for our manufacturing space, see Note 10, we caused our bank to issue two standby letters of credit, or L/Cs, in the aggregate amount of $87,506 in favor of the landlord. The L/Cs are in lieu of a security deposit. In order to support the L/Cs, we agreed to have our bank withdraw $87,506 from our operating accounts and to place that amount in a restricted certificate of deposit. We have classified that amount as restricted cash, a long-term asset, on our balance sheet.

2. LOSS PER COMMON SHARE

Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period of computation. Diluted loss per share is computed similar to basic loss per share, except that the denominator is increased to include the number of additional dilutive common shares that would have been outstanding if potential common shares had been issued, if such additional common shares were dilutive. Since we had net losses for all periods presented, basic and diluted loss per share are the same, and additional potential common shares have been excluded, as their effect would be antidilutive.

As of September 30, 2023 and 2022, an aggregate of 221,839 and 223,903 potential common shares, respectively, consisting of shares underlying outstanding stock options, warrants, and restricted stock units were excluded, as their inclusion would be antidilutive.

3. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES

Our research and development costs are expensed as incurred. We incurred research and development expenses during the three and six month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, which are included in various operating expense line items in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. Our research and development expenses in those periods were as follows:

4. RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

None.

5. EQUITY TRANSACTIONS IN THE SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

2022 At The Market Offering Agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC

On March 24, 2022, we entered into an At The Market Offering Agreement, or the 2022 ATM Agreement, with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, or Wainwright, which established an at-the-market equity program pursuant to which we may offer and sell shares of our common stock from time to time as set forth in the 2022 ATM Agreement.

The offering was registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, pursuant to our shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration Statement No. 333-259909), as previously filed with the SEC and declared effective on October 21, 2021. We filed a prospectus supplement, dated March 24, 2022, with the SEC that provides for the sale of shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $15,000,000, or the 2022 ATM Shares.

Under the 2022 ATM Agreement, Wainwright may sell the 2022 ATM Shares by any method permitted by law and deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or on any other existing trading market for the 2022 ATM Shares. In addition, under the 2022 ATM Agreement, Wainwright may sell the 2022 ATM Shares in privately negotiated transactions with our consent and in block transactions. Under certain circumstances, we may instruct Wainwright not to sell the 2022 ATM Shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price designated by us from time to time.

We are not obligated to make any sales of the 2022 ATM Shares under the 2022 ATM Agreement. The offering of the 2022 ATM Shares pursuant to the 2022 ATM Agreement will terminate upon the termination of the 2022 ATM Agreement by Wainwright or us, as permitted therein.

The 2022 ATM Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and agreements by us, and customary indemnification and contribution rights and obligations of the parties. We agreed to pay Wainwright a placement fee of up to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of the 2022 ATM Shares. We also agreed to reimburse Wainwright for certain specified expenses in connection with entering into the 2022 ATM Agreement.

During the three months ended September 30, 2023, no capital was raised under the 2022 ATM Agreement. During the six months ended September 30, 2023, we raised net proceeds of $1,086,119, net of $27,999 in commissions to Wainwright and $5,846 in other offering expense, through the sale of, 177,891 shares of our common stock at an average price of $6.11 per share under the 2022 ATM Agreement.

Restricted Stock Unit Grants

On April 28, 2023, the Board approved, pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy, or the Director Compensation Policy, the grant of the annual restricted stock units, or RSUs, under the Director Compensation Policy to each of the three non-employee directors of the Company then serving on the Board. The Director Compensation Policy provides for a grant of stock options or $50,000 worth of RSUs at the beginning of each fiscal year for current directors then serving on the Board, and for a grant of stock options or $75,000 worth of RSUs for a newly elected director, with each RSU priced at the average for the closing prices for the five days preceding and including the date of grant, or $4.30 per share for the RSUs granted in April 2023. As a result, in April 2023 the three eligible directors each were granted an RSU in the amount of 11,628 shares under the Company’s 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2020 Plan. The RSUs are subject to vesting in four equal installments, with 25% of the restricted stock units vesting on each of June 30, 2023, September 30, 2023, December 31, 2023, and March 31, 2024, subject in each case to the director’s Continuous Service (as defined in the 2020 Plan), through such dates. Vesting will terminate upon the director’s termination of Continuous Service prior to any vesting date.

6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

During the six months ended September 30, 2023, we accrued unpaid fees of $68,250 owed to our non-employee directors. Amounts due to related parties were comprised of the following items:

7. OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

Other current liabilities were comprised of the following items:

8. STOCK COMPENSATION

The following tables summarize share-based compensation expenses relating to RSUs and stock options and the effect on basic and diluted loss per common share during the three and six month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022:

All of the stock-based compensation expense recorded during the six months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, an aggregate of $507,295 and $528,975, respectively, is included in payroll and related expense in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. Stock-based compensation expense recorded during each of the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 represented an impact on basic and diluted loss per common share of $(0.21) and $(0.29), respectively.

We review share-based compensation on a quarterly basis for changes to the estimate of expected award forfeitures based on actual forfeiture experience. The cumulative effect of adjusting the forfeiture rate for all expense amortization is recognized in the period the forfeiture estimate is changed. The effect of forfeiture adjustments for the six months ended September 30, 2023 was insignificant.

Stock Option Activity

We did not issue any stock options during the six months ended September 30, 2023. During the six months ended September 30, 2022, we recognized a stock option grant made in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 to purchase 6,160 shares of our common stock under our 2020 Plan that previously was contingent on stockholder approval of an increase of 180,000 shares of common stock authorized for issuance under the 2020 Plan, at the Company’s 2022 annual meeting of stockholders. The increase was approved at the Company’s 2022 annual meeting of stockholders held in September 2022.

Stock options outstanding that have vested as of September 30, 2023 and stock options that are expected to vest subsequent to September 30, 2023 are as follows:

A summary of stock option activity during the six months ended September 30, 2023 is presented below:

On September 30, 2023, our outstanding stock options had no intrinsic value since the closing share price on that date of $2.30 per share was below the exercise price of our outstanding stock options.

At September 30, 2023, there was approximately $1,514,000 of unrecognized compensation cost related to share-based payments, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.77 years.

9. WARRANTS

During the six months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, we did not issue any warrants.

A summary of warrant activity during the six months ended September 30, 2023 is presented below:

10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

LEASE COMMITMENTS

Office, Lab and Manufacturing Space Leases

In December 2020, we entered into an agreement to lease approximately 2,823 square feet of office space and 1,807 square feet of laboratory space located at 11555 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 203, San Diego, California 92121 and 11575 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 200, San Diego, California 92121, respectively. The agreement carries a term of 63 months and we took possession of the office space effective October 1, 2021. We took possession of the laboratory space effective January 1, 2022. In October 2021, we entered into another lease for approximately 2,655 square feet of space to house our manufacturing operations located at 11588 Sorrento Valley Road, San Diego, California 92121. The term is for 55 months and we took possession of the manufacturing space in August 2022. The current monthly base rent under the office and laboratory component of the lease is $13,772. The current monthly base rent under the manufacturing component of the lease is $12,080.

The office, lab and manufacturing leases are coterminous with a remaining term of 45 months. The weighted average discount rate is 4.25%.

As of our September 30, 2023 balance sheet, we have a right-of-use lease asset of $1,019,145.

In addition, the lease agreements for the new office, lab and manufacturing space required us to post a standby L/C in favor of the landlord in the aggregate amount of $87,506 in lieu of a security deposit. We arranged for our bank to issue standby L/Cs for the new office and lab in the amounts of $46,726 in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 and for the manufacturing space in the amount of $40,780 in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. We transferred like amounts to a restricted certificate of deposit which secured the bank’s risk in issuing those L/Cs. We have classified those restricted certificates of deposit on our balance sheet as restricted cash with a balance of $87,506.

Mobile Clean Room

In addition, we rented a mobile clean room on a short term, month-to-month basis, where we housed our manufacturing operations until our permanent manufacturing space was completed. The mobile clean room was located on leased land near our office and lab and we paid $2,000 per month for the right to locate it there. The arrangement was terminated in September 2022 and the mobile clean room was returned to the vendor that leased it to us.

Overall, our rent expense, which is included in general and administrative expenses, approximated $210,000 and $309,000 for the six month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

LEGAL MATTERS

We may be involved from time to time in various claims, lawsuits, and/or disputes with third parties or breach of contract actions incidental to the normal course of our business operations. We are currently not involved in any litigation or any pending legal proceedings.

11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management has evaluated events subsequent to September 30, 2023 through the date that the accompanying consolidated financial statements were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for transactions and other events which may require adjustment of and/or disclosure in such financial statements.

Reverse Split – Following the approval of a reverse stock split at our Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held on September 15, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a 1-for-10 reverse stock split or our outstanding shares of Common Stock, effective as of the close of business on October 4, 2023. Accordingly, each 10 shares of outstanding common stock held by stockholders were combined into one share of common stock. Our authorized common stock remained at 60,000,000 shares following the stock split. As the result of the rounding up of fractional shares related to the reverse split, we have issued an additional 32 shares to our stockholders.

Management/Board Changes – Effective November 7, 2023, James B. Frakes, MBA, Chief Financial Officer of Aethlon, was appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company, replacing Charles J. Fisher, Jr. M.D.  Mr. Frakes also was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors.   Mr. Frakes will additionally remain as Chief Financial Officer of the Company.  Effective as of November 7, 2023, Guy Cipriani, MBA, formerly Chief Business Officer of the Company, was appointed as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer and resigned from the Company’s Board of Directors.

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by, the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 1 in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a complete discussion of forward-looking statements, see the section above entitled “Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements.”

Overview

Aethlon Medical, Inc., or Aethlon, the Company, we or us, is a medical therapeutic company focused on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases. The Aethlon Hemopurifier is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutic device designed to combat cancer and life-threatening viral infections. In cancer, the Hemopurifier is designed to deplete the presence of circulating tumor-derived exosomes that promote immune suppression, seed the spread of metastasis and inhibit the benefit of leading cancer therapies. The FDA has designated the Hemopurifier as a “Breakthrough Device” for two independent indications:

We believe the Hemopurifier can be a substantial advance in the treatment of patients with advanced and metastatic cancer through the clearance of exosomes that promote the growth and spread of tumors through multiple mechanisms. We are currently working with our new contract research organization, or CRO, on preparations to conduct a clinical trial in Australia in patients with solid tumors, including head and neck cancer, gastrointestinal cancers and other cancers.

In January 2023, we entered into an agreement with North American Science Associates, LLC, or NAMSA, a world leading MedTech CRO offering global end-to-end development services, to oversee our clinical trials investigating the Hemopurifier for oncology indications. Pursuant to the agreement, NAMSA will manage our clinical trials of the Hemopurifier for patients in the United States and Australia with various types of cancer tumors. We anticipate that the initial clinical trials will begin in Australia.

We also believe the Hemopurifier can be part of the broad-spectrum treatment of life-threatening highly glycosylated, or carbohydrate coated, viruses that are not addressed with an already approved treatment. In small-scale or early feasibility human studies, the Hemopurifier has been used in the past to treat individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, hepatitis-C and Ebola.

Additionally, in vitro, the Hemopurifier has been demonstrated to capture Zika virus, Lassa virus, MERS-CoV, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Herpes simplex virus, Chikungunya virus, Dengue virus, West Nile virus, smallpox-related viruses, H1N1 swine flu virus, H5N1 bird flu virus, Monkeypox virus and the reconstructed Spanish flu virus of 1918. In several cases, these studies were conducted in collaboration with leading government or non-government research institutes.

On June 17, 2020, the FDA approved a supplement to our open Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, for the Hemopurifier in viral disease to allow for the testing of the Hemopurifier in patients with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, or COVID-19, in a New Feasibility Study. That study was designed to enroll up to 40 subjects at up to 20 centers in the United States. Subjects were to have established laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19, be admitted to an intensive care unit, or ICU, and have acute lung injury and/or severe or life-threatening disease, among other criteria. Endpoints for this study, in addition to safety, included reduction in circulating virus as well as clinical outcomes (NCT # 04595903). In June 2022, the first patient in this study was enrolled and completed the Hemopurifier treatment phase of the protocol. Due to lack of COVID-19 patients in the ICUs of our trial sites, we terminated this study in 2022.

Under Single Patient Emergency Use regulations, the Company has treated two patients with COVID-19 with the Hemopurifier, in addition to the COVID-19 patient treated with our Hemopurifier in our COVID-19 clinical trial discussed above.

We previously reported a disruption in our Hemopurifier supply, as our then existing supply of Hemopurifiers expired on September 30, 2022 and, also as previously disclosed, we are dependent on FDA approval of qualified suppliers to manufacture our Hemopurifier. Our intended transition to a new supplier for galanthus nivalis agglutinin, or GNA, a component of our Hemopurifier, was delayed as we work with the FDA for approval of our supplement to our IDE, which is required to make this manufacturing change. We are continuing to work with the FDA to qualify this second supplier of GNA. We also are in the process of completing final testing in order to begin manufacturing Hemopurifiers at our new manufacturing facility in San Diego for use in U.S. clinical trials, using GNA from our current supplier. We expect the first manufacturing lot that incorporates the GNA from our original supplier to be approved and released by the end of December 2023. We also have sufficient Hemopurifiers on hand for use in our planned Australia and India oncology trials.

In October 2022, we launched a wholly owned subsidiary in Australia, formed to conduct clinical research, seek regulatory approval and commercialize our Hemopurifier in that country. The subsidiary will initially focus on the oncology trials in Australia.

We also obtained ethics review board, or ERB, approval from and entered into a clinical trial agreement with Medanta Medicity Hospital, a multi-specialty hospital in Delhi NCR, India, for a COVID-19 clinical trial at that location. One patient has completed participation in the Indian COVID-19 study. The relevant authorities in India have accepted the use of our Hemopurifiers made with the GNA from our new supplier.

In May 2023, we also received ERB approval from the Maulana Azad Medical College, or MAMC, for a second site for our clinical trial in India to treat severe COVID-19. MAMC was established in 1958 and is located in New Delhi, India. MMAC is affiliated with the University of Delhi and is operated by the Delhi government.

In October 2023, we announced that we received clearance from the Drug Controller General of India, or DCGI, the central drug authority in India, to conduct a Phase 1 safety, feasibility and dose-finding trial of the Company's Hemopurifier in patients with solid tumors who have stable or progressive disease during anti-PD-1 monotherapy treatment, such as Keytruda^® or Opdivo^®. The trial is expected to begin following completion of an internal in vitro binding study of relevant targets, and subsequent approval by the respective Ethics Boards of interested sites in India.

Additionally, we recently announced that we have begun investigating the use of our Hemopurifier in the organ transplant setting. Our objective is to confirm that the Hemopurifier, in our translational studies, when incorporated into a machine perfusion organ preservation circuit, can remove harmful viruses and exosomes from recovered organs. We initially are focused on recovered kidneys, in a research collaboration with 34 Lives, PBC. We have previously demonstrated the removal of multiple viruses and exosomes from buffer solutions, in vitro, utilizing a scaled-down version of our Hemopurifier. This process potentially may reduce complications following transplantation of the recovered organ, which can include viral infection, delayed graft function and rejection. We believe this new approach could be additive to existing technologies that currently are in place to increase the number of viable kidneys for transplant.

Successful outcomes of human trials will also be required by the regulatory agencies of certain foreign countries where we plan to market and sell the Hemopurifier. Some of our patents may expire before FDA approval or approval in a foreign country, if any, is obtained. However, we believe that certain patent applications and/or other patents issued to us more recently will help protect the proprietary nature of our Hemopurifier treatment technology.

In addition to the foregoing, we are monitoring closely the impact of inflation, recent bank failures and the war in Ukraine on our business. Given the level of uncertainty regarding the duration and impact of these events on capital markets and the U.S. economy, we are unable to assess the impact on our timelines and future access to capital. The full extent to which inflation, recent bank failures and the war in Ukraine will impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, clinical trials and preclinical research will depend on future developments, as well as the economic impact on national and international markets that are highly uncertain.

We incorporated in Nevada on March 10, 1999. Our executive offices are located at 11555 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 203, San Diego, California 92121. Our telephone number is (619) 941-0360. Our website address is www.aethlonmedical.com.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “AEMD.”

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act, and must file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants, like us, which file electronically with the SEC.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2023 COMPARED TO THE THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Operating Expenses

Consolidated operating expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2023 were $3,175,346, compared to $3,665,309 for the three months ended September 30, 2022. This decrease of $489,963, or 13.4%, in the 2023 period was due to decreases in our general and administrative expenses of $697,675 offset by increases in professional fees of $129,240, and an increase in our payroll and related expenses of $78,471.

The $697,675 decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to the combination of a $377,281 decrease in clinical trial expenses associated with the closed COVID trial, $261,267 decrease in purchase of raw materials for research and development testing for use in our Hemopurifier, $139,752 decrease in subcontract expenses associated with previous government contracts and $64,264 decrease in rent related to previously rented mobile cleanroom. The decreases were offset by an increase $84,845 related to our Australian subsidiary’s activities, $38,852 increase in depreciation related to leasehold improvements and new equipment for our manufacturing and lab facilities, $21,192 aggregated net increase in various other general and administrative.

The $129,240 increase in our professional fees was due to an increase of $72,232 in accounting fees associated with audit and compliance services, $55,625 increase in recruiting expense, $54,028 increase in contract labor associated with pre-clinical and other research and development services, $37,757 increase relating to services for our Australian subsidiary and an increase of $11,250 in director fess associated with adding a new member to our Board of Directors. These increases were offset by a decrease of $52,256 in general corporate legal fees and 62,909 in scientific consulting associated with completed studies.

The $78,471 increase in payroll expense was due to $134,828 in salary expense related to increase in headcount, which was partially offset by a $56,357 decrease in stock-based compensation related to employee stock option grants.

Net Loss

As a result of the changes in revenues and expenses noted above, our net loss decreased from $3,807,430 in the three months ended September 30, 2022, to $3,036,891 in the three months ended September 30, 2023.

Basic and diluted loss attributable to common stockholders was ($1.22) for the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to ($1.84) for the three month period ended September 30, 2022.

SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2023 COMPARED TO THE SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Operating Expenses

Consolidated operating expenses for the six months ended September 30, 2023 were $6,583,506, compared to $6,573,045 for the six months ended September 30, 2022. This increase of $10,461or .2%, in the 2023 period was due to increases in our professional fees of $261,850, payroll and related expenses of $172,024 and a decrease of $423,413 in our general and administrative expenses.

The $423,413 decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to the combination of a $537,570 decrease in clinical trial expenses associated with the previous COVID trial, $279,504 decrease in subcontract expenses associated with previous government contracts, $98,615 decrease in rent associated to previously rented mobile cleanroom and $17,905 decrease in office equipment and supplies. The decreases were offset by $244,809 increase in operating expenses associated with our Australian subsidiary, $98,528 increase in depreciation expense related to leasehold improvements and new equipment for our manufacturing and lab facilities, $82,635 increase in raw material supplies for production of our Hemopurifier, $56,516 increase in repairs and maintenance and fees for our manufacturing and lab facilities, and $29,647 in insurance expense.

The $261,850 increase in our professional fees was due to an increase of $108,040 in investor relations associated with facilitating investor awareness, an increase of $79,783 in accounting fees associated with audit and financial services, an increase of $61,151 in contract labor relating to outside services associated with general research and development, $73,880 relating to services for our Australian subsidiary, $36,198 of legal expenses associated with patent filings and maintenance, $28,101 increase in recruiting fees, $20,653 for website services relating to compliance to the American Disability Act and $11,250 in director fees related to the addition to the board of directors. The increases were offset by $92,639 decreases in scientific consulting for previously completed studies, and a decrease of $64,567 in regulatory services.

The $172,024 increase in payroll expense was due to $193,704 in salary expense related to an increase in headcount, which was partially offset by a $21,680 decrease in stock-based compensation related to employee stock option grants.

Net Loss

As a result of the changes in revenues and expenses noted above, our net loss decreased from $6,715,166 in the six months ended September 30, 2022, to $6,320,064 in the six months ended September 30, 2023.

Basic and diluted loss attributable to common stockholders was ($2.57) for the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to ($3.70) for the six month period ended September 30, 2022.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

As of September 30, 2023, we had a cash balance of $10,175,920 and working capital of $8,776,783. This compares to a cash balance of $14,532,943 and working capital of $13,585,477 at March 31, 2023. We expect our existing cash as of September 30, 2023 to be sufficient to fund our operations for at least twelve months from the issuance date of these financial statements.

2022 At The Market Offering Agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC

On March 24, 2022, we entered into an At The Market Offering Agreement, or the 2022 ATM Agreement, with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, or Wainwright, which established an at-the-market equity program pursuant to which we may offer and sell shares of our common stock from time to time as set forth in the 2022 ATM Agreement.

The offering was registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, pursuant to our shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration Statement No. 333-259909), as previously filed with the SEC and declared effective on October 21, 2021. We filed a prospectus supplement, dated March 24, 2022, with the SEC that provides for the sale of shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $15,000,000, or the 2022 ATM Shares.

Under the 2022 ATM Agreement, Wainwright may sell the 2022 ATM Shares by any method permitted by law and deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or on any other existing trading market for the 2022 ATM Shares. In addition, under the 2022 ATM Agreement, Wainwright may sell the 2022 ATM Shares in privately negotiated transactions with our consent and in block transactions. Under certain circumstances, we may instruct Wainwright not to sell the 2022 ATM Shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price designated by us from time to time.

We are not obligated to make any sales of the 2022 ATM Shares under the 2022 ATM Agreement. The offering of the 2022 ATM Shares pursuant to the 2022 ATM Agreement will terminate upon the termination of the 2022 ATM Agreement by Wainwright or us, as permitted therein.

The 2022 ATM Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and agreements by us, and customary indemnification and contribution rights and obligations of the parties. We agreed to pay Wainwright a placement fee of up to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of the 2022 ATM Shares. We also agreed to reimburse Wainwright for certain specified expenses in connection with entering into the 2022 ATM Agreement.

During the six months ended September 30, 2023, we raised net proceeds of $1,086,119, net of $27,999 in commissions to Wainwright and $5,846 in other offering expense, through the sale of, 1,778,901 shares of our common stock at an average price of $0.61 per share under the 2022 ATM Agreement.

Cash Flows

Cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities, as reflected in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, are summarized as follows:

NET CASH USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES. We used cash in our operating activities due to our losses from operations. Net cash used in operating activities was approximately $5,187,000 in the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to approximately $5,607,000 in the six months ended September 30, 2022. The primary component in the $420,000 decrease in cash used in our operating activities in the 2023 period was a decrease in our net loss of approximately $398,000.

NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES. We used approximately $237,000 of cash in investing activities in the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to approximately $780,000 in the six months ended September 30, 2022. The $543,000 decrease in the 2023 period was primarily a result of the bulk of the equipment purchase and leasehold improvements for our manufacturing facility being incurred in the 2022 period.

NET CASH PROVIDED BY FINANCING ACTIVITIES. During the six months ended September 30, 2023, we raised approximately $1,086,000 from the issuance of our common stock under our at the market facility. That source of cash from our financing activities was partially offset by the use of approximately $16,000 to pay for the tax withholding on restricted stock units, for a net aggregate amount of cash provided by financing activities of approximately $1,068,000.

During the six months ended September 30, 2022, we raised approximately $8,927,000 from the issuance of our common stock under our at the market facility, which was partially offset by the use of approximately $8,000 to pay for the tax withholding on restricted stock units, for a net aggregate amount of cash provided by financing activities of approximately $8,919,000.

Material Cash Requirements

As noted above in the results of operations, our clinical trial expense decreased by $537,570 in the six months ended September 30, 2023, compared to the six-month period ended September 30, 2022. However, we expect our clinical trial expenses will increase over the foreseeable future as we continue to expand our clinical trials both in the United States and internationally.

Future capital requirements will depend upon many factors, including progress with pre-clinical testing and clinical trials for our Hemopurifier, the number and breadth of our clinical programs, the time and costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing patent claims and other proprietary rights, the time and costs involved in obtaining regulatory approvals, competing technological and market developments, as well as our ability to establish collaborative arrangements, effective commercialization, marketing activities and other arrangements. We expect to continue to incur increasing negative cash flows and net losses for the foreseeable future. We will continue to need to raise additional capital either through equity and/or debt financing for the foreseeable future.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, requires us to make a number of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate estimates and assumptions based upon historical experience and various other factors and circumstances. We believe our estimates and assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances; however, actual results may differ from these estimates under different future conditions.

We believe that the estimates and assumptions that are most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations, in that they require the most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, form the basis for the accounting policies deemed to be most critical to us. These critical accounting estimates relate to long lived assets, stock compensation, deferred tax asset valuation allowance and contingencies.

There have been no changes to our critical accounting estimates as disclosed in our Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2023.

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

As a smaller reporting company, as defined by Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K, we are not required to provide the information required by this item.

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report.

Based on such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of the end of such period, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting, on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act and are effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

CHANGES IN INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

From time to time, claims are made against us in the ordinary course of business, which could result in litigation. Claims and associated litigation are subject to inherent uncertainties and unfavorable outcomes could occur, such as monetary damages, fines, penalties or injunctions prohibiting us from selling one or more products or engaging in other activities.

The occurrence of an unfavorable outcome in any specific period could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations for that period or future periods. We are not presently a party to any pending or threatened legal proceedings.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on June 28, 2023, or Annual Report, and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the SEC before making investment decisions regarding our securities.

There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report. The risks described in our Annual Report are not the only risks facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or future results.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS.

We did not issue or sell any unregistered securities during the three months ended September 30, 2023.

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES.

None.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION.

We have no disclosure applicable to this item.

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS.

(a) Exhibits. The following documents are filed as part of this report:

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.