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PALISADE BIO, INC. - Annual Report: 2009 (Form 10-K)


UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
 Washington, D.C. 20549

 
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
 
x
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
          For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.
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 000-1357459
 
NEURALSTEM, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
Delaware
52-2007292
State or other jurisdiction of
 incorporation or organization
(I.R.S. Employer
 Identification No.)
   
9700 Great Seneca Highway
Rockville, MD
 
20850
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
 
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (301)-366-4841 
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
 
Title of each class
 
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, $0.01 par value
 
NYSE Amex

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
 
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ¨ Yes  x No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ¨Yes  x No

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.  x  Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).  x  Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
 
   Large accelerated filer  ¨
 
Accelerated filer ¨
 
Non-accelerated filer ¨
 (Do not check if a smaller reporting
company)
 
Smaller reporting company  x
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  Yes   ¨  No   x
 
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter based upon the closing price of the common stock as reported by NYSE Amex on such date, was approximately $33,827,962.
 
The number of shares outstanding of Registrant’s common stock, $0.01 par value at March 25, 2010 was 42,820,875.
 
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
 
None.
 
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

During the first quarter of 2010, the Company entered into a series of transactions resulting in securing what management believes provides sufficient financing to fund operations through the first quarter of 2011.  As a result of these transactions, it received net proceeds from the exercise of our Series A, B, C and D warrants of $7.3 million.  On March 16, 2010 the Company had cash on hand of $7.5 million.

On January 21, 2010, Neuralstem, Inc. announced that the first Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (“ALS” or “Lou Gehrig’s disease”) patient was treated with its spinal cord stem cells at the Emory ALS Center at Emory University, in Atlanta, GA.

 
 

 
 
NEURALSTEM, INC

FORM 10-K

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009

INDEX
 
       
Page
PART I
 
3
         
Item 1.
 
Business
 
3
Item 1A.
 
Risk Factors
 
13
Item 2.
 
Properties
 
21
Item 3.
 
Legal Proceedings
 
21
Item 4.
 
Removed and Reserved
 
21
 
PART II
 
22
         
Item 5.
 
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
 
22
Item 6.
 
Selected Financial Data
 
24
Item 7.
 
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
 
24
Item 7A.
 
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
 
30
Item 8.
 
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
 
30
Item 9.
 
Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
 
46
Item 9A.
 
Controls and Procedures
 
47
Item 9B.
 
Other Information
 
48
 
PART III
 
48
         
Item 10.
 
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
 
48
Item 11.
 
Executive Compensation
 
52
Item 12.
 
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
 
56
Item 13.
 
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
 
58
Item 14.
 
Principal Accounting Fees and Services
 
58
 
PART IV
 
58
         
Item 15.
 
Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
 
59
 
 
2

 
 
PART I
We urge you to read this entire Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the” Risk Factors” section, the financial statements and related notes included herein.  As used in this Annual Report, unless context otherwise requires, the words “we,” “us,”“our,” “the Company,” “Neuralstem” and “Registrant” refer to Neuralstem, Inc.  Also, any reference to “common share” or “common stock,” refers to our $.01 par value common stock.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements included in this Annual Report, including those related to our cash, liquidity, resources and our anticipated cash expenditures, as well as any statements other than statements of historical fact, regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are derived, in part, from various assumptions and analyses we have made in the context of our current business plan and information currently available to us and in light of our experience and perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate in the circumstances. You can generally identify forward looking statements through words and phrases such as “believe”, “expect”, “seek”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “budget”, “project”, “may likely result”, “may be”, “may continue”  and other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.

Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the risks described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or strategic investments. In addition, any forward-looking statement represents our expectation only as of the day this Annual Report was first filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and should not be relied on as representing our expectations as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our expectations change.

When reading any forward-looking statement, you should remain mindful that actual results or developments may vary substantially from those expressed in or implied by such statement for a number of reasons or factors, including but not limited to:
 
·
the success of our research and development activities, the development of a viable commercial product, and the speed with which regulatory authorizations and product launches may be achieved;

·
whether or not a market for our product develops, and, if a market develops, the rate at which it develops;

·
our ability to successfully sell or license our products if a market develops;

·
our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel to implement our business plan and corporate growth strategies;

·
our ability to develop sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities;

·
our ability to obtain reimbursement from third party payers for our proposed products if they are developed;

·
the accuracy of our estimates and projections;

·
our ability to fund our short-term and long-term financing needs;

·
changes in our business plan and corporate strategies; and

·
other risks and uncertainties discussed in greater detail in the section captioned “Risk Factors

Each forward-looking statement should be read in context with and in understanding of the various other disclosures concerning our company and our business made elsewhere in this Annual Report as well as our public filings with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. We are not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report or any other filing to reflect new events or circumstances unless and to the extent required by applicable law. 

ITEM 1.
BUSINESS

Overview

We are focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for central nervous system disease based on transplanting human neural stem cells and small molecule drugs.  We are headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

 
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We have developed and maintain a portfolio of patents and patent applications that form the proprietary base of our research and development efforts in the areas of neural stem cell research, small molecule research, and related technologies. We believe our patented technology, in combination with our know-how, and collaborative projects with major research institutions, provide a competitive advantage and will enable us to  develop and commercialize products for use in treatment of a number of neurodegenerative conditions and in regenerative repair of acute disease.

Regenerative medicine is a young and emerging field. There can be no assurances that our intellectual property portfolio will ultimately produce viable commercialized products and processes. Even if we are able to produce a commercially viable product, there are strong competitors in this field and our product may not be able to successfully compete against them.
  
All of our research efforts to date are at either the level of research or pre-clinical stage of development, or at the clinical stage of development.  On December 18, 2008 we filed our first Investigational New Drug Application (“IND”) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to begin a clinical trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (“ALS” or “Lou Gehrig’s disease”). On September 21, 2009, the FDA approved our IND.  The first patient was dosed on January 21, 2010.

The Field of Regenerative Medicine
    
The emerging field of treatment called "regenerative medicine" or "cell therapy" refers to treatments that are founded on the concept of producing new cells to replace malfunctioning or dead cells as a way to treat disease and injury. Many significant and currently untreatable human diseases arise from the loss or malfunction of specific cell types in the body. Our focus is the development of effective methods to generate replacement cells from neural stem cells. We believe that replacing damaged or malfunctioning or dead neural cells with fully functional ones may be a useful therapeutic strategy in treating many diseases and conditions of the central nervous system (“CNS”) including: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, depression, and injuries to the spinal cord.

Stem Cell Therapy Background
 
Cells maintain normal physiological function in healthy individuals by secreting or metabolizing substances, such as sugars, amino acids, neurotransmitters and hormones, which are essential to life. When cells are damaged or destroyed, they no longer produce, metabolize or accurately regulate those substances. Cell loss or impaired cellular functions are leading causes of degenerative diseases, and some of the specific substances or proteins that are deficient in some of these diseases have been identified. Although administering these substances or proteins has some advantages over traditional pharmaceuticals, such as specificity, there is no existing technology that can deliver them precisely to the sites of action, under the appropriate physiological regulation, in the appropriate quantity, nor for the duration required to cure the degenerative condition. Cells, however, may do all this naturally. Thus, where failing cells are no longer producing needed substances or proteins or where there has been irreversible tissue damage or organ failure, transplantation of stem or progenitor cells may enable the generation of new functional cells, thus potentially restoring organ function and the patient's health.

Stem cells have two defining characteristics: (i) they produce mature cells which make up particular organs; and (ii) they self renew — that is, some of the cells developed from stem cells are themselves new stem cells, thus permitting the process to continue again and again. Stem cells are known to exist for a number of systems of the human body, including the blood and immune system, the central and peripheral nervous systems (including the brain), the skin, bone, and even hair. They are thought to exist for many others, including the liver and pancreas endocrine systems, gut, muscle, and heart. Stem cells are responsible for organ regeneration during normal cell replacement and, to a greater or lesser extent, after injury.
 
Stem cells are rare and only available in limited supply, whether from the patients themselves or from donors. Also, stem cells can often be obtained only through significant surgical procedures. Therefore, in order to develop stem cell therapeutics, three key challenges must be overcome: (i) identification of stem or progenitor cells of a particular organ and testing them for therapeutic potential; (ii) creation of processes to enable use of these rare cells in clinical applications, such as expanding and banking them in sufficient quantities to transplant into multiple patients; and (iii) demonstration of the safety and efficacy of these potential therapeutics in human clinical trials.
 
The Potential of Our Tissue-Derived Stem Cell-Based Therapy

We believe that, if successfully developed, stem cell therapeutics have the potential to provide a broad therapeutic approach comparable in importance to traditional pharmaceuticals and genetically engineered biologics. With respect to the human neural stem cells, we have developed proprietary and reproducible processes to identify, isolate, expand, and control cell differentiation in mature functioning human neuronsand glia2 and bank human neural stem cells derived from brain tissue. Because the cells are normal human neural stem cells, they may be better suited for transplantation and may provide a safer and more effective alternative to therapies that are based on cells derived from cancer cells, animal derived cells or cells derived from an unpurified mix of many different cell types.


1 Neurons are a major class of cells in the nervous system. Neurons are sometimes called nerve cells, though this term is technically imprecise since many neurons do not form nerves. In vertebrates, they are found in the brain, the spinal cord and in the nerves and ganglia of the peripheral nervous system, and their primary role is to process and transmit neural information. One important characteristic of neurons is that they have excitable membranes which allow them to generate and propagate electrical signals.
 
2 Glia cells, commonly called neuroglia or simply glia, are non-neuronal cells that provide support and nutrition, maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and participate in signal transmission in the nervous system. In the human brain, glia are estimated to outnumber neurons by as much as 50 to 1.

 
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Potential Markets

We believe the potential markets for regenerative medicine based on our technologies are large. The table below summarizes the potential United States patient populations which we believe may be amenable to neural cell transplantation or treatment with our small molecule compound and represent potential target markets for our proposed products:

Medical Condition
 
Number of Patients
 
Stem cells
     
ALS
 
30,000
(1)
Huntington’s disease
 
15,000
(2)
Spinal Cord Injury
 
250,000
(4)
Stroke
 
 6.5 million
(3)
Small molecule compound
     
Alzheimer’s disease
 
4.5 million
(5)
Depression
 
14.8 million
(5)
Schizophrenia
 
2.4 million
(5)
Stroke
 
6.5 million
(3)

(1) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR),
(2) National Institute of the Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
(3) 2005 American Heart Association study
(4) The University of Alabama National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center - March 2002
(5) National Institute of Health

Our Technology

Stem Cells

Our technology includes the ability to isolate human neural stem cells from most areas of the human brain and spinal cord and to grow them into physiologically relevant human neurons of all types. Our core patents entitled:

·
Isolation, Propagation, and Directed Differentiation of Stem Cell from Embryonic and Adult Central Nervous System of Mammal; and

·
In Vitro Generation of Differentiated Neurons from Cultures of Mammalian Multi-potential CNS Stem Cell

contain claims which cover the details of this process and the culture of cells created. What differentiates our stem cell technology from others is that our patented processes do not require us to “push” the cells towards a certain fate by adding specific growth factors. Our cells actually “become” the type of cell they are fated to be. We believe this process and the resulting cells create a technology platform that allows for the efficient isolation and ability to produce, in commercially reasonable quantities, neural stem cells.
  
Our technology allows for cells to grow in cultured dishes, also known as “in vitro” growth, without mutations or other adverse events that would compromise their usefulness. We believe this provides the following advantages:

 
·
 Our cells are multipotent, so they give rise to the three critical cell types of the nervous system: neurons (cells that carry signals throughout the brain and spinal cord), astrocytes (cells that support and protect neurons), and oligodendrocytes (cells that provide insulation to neurons to make signaling efficient).
 
·
The cells are lineage-restricted, so they only give rise to cells of the nervous system. For example, our spinal cord stem cells can only form cells found within the spinal column.
 
·
Our technology enables large-scale expansion of neural stem cells under controlled conditions without introducing mutations or other adverse events that would compromise their usefulness.
 
·
Our spinal cord cells can be produced in commercial quantities.

 
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·
We have isolated and cultured cells from multiple regions of the brain, allowing application to a number of serious disorders. Cells have been isolated from spinal cord (ALS, spinal cord injury), hippocampus (stroke, Alzheimer’s disease), midbrain (Parkinson’s disease), and cortex (ischemia).
 
·
Universal Compatibility.   The Company’s stem cell products are provided to patients as ‘allografts,’ As such, the recipient is not genetically identical to the donor, and may be treated with a course of immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection of the cells. This strategy allows for a single stem cell product to be provided to many thousands of patients, ensuring the highest degree of quality in manufacturing and predictability in outcome. Because the brain and spinal cord are considered ‘immune privileged’ by most experts in the field, it is expected that immune suppression of the patient will only be performed for a brief period, allowing for minimal disruption of their normal immune function.
 
·
Our biologic drug candidates can be stored frozen at end-user medical facilities until they are needed. This is a key feature of our technology.
 
Although not the focus of our business, our technology also has ancillary uses with respect to drug development. Our ability to grow and differentiate neural cells in vitro, gives us the ability to analyze the potential biological effects of molecules on these cells.

Small molecule Compounds

The Company has developed and patented a series of small molecule compounds (low molecular weight organic compounds which can efficiently cross the blood/brain barrier).  The Company expects to file an IND to commence a human safety trial of its lead compound to treat major depression in late 2010 or early 2011.

Business Strategy
 
Neuralstem has a number of prospects for developing treatments for central nervous system disease using its stem cells and small molecule compounds.

A central focus of Company strategy is keeping its fixed costs as low as possible through outsourcing a wide variety of functions including some legal services, financial transaction processing, laboratory staffing, regulatory management, IT, public relations and research projects. As a result we can find the best possible resource to fill a particular need, and after the project is completed the associated costs stop. This low fixed cost approach enables the company to fit its development spending to the cash on hand.

Stem Cells

The Company has focused its most intensive cell development activities on treating spinal cord injury and disease. All preclinical safety and efficacy testing has been successfully completed for our first application in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). This work culminated in the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA.  In September of 2009 the FDA approved the Company’s application, making ours the first neural stem cell clinical trial in the United States for ALS.  Neuralstem believes that it can manage the clinical trial and product approval process without a strategic partner.

In preparation for the clinical trials described above, Neuralstem has reached the following milestones with regard to our spinal cord stem cell product: (1) the cells have been produced in large quantities under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) methodology; (2) the cells have completed pre-clinical safety testing in the context of delivery to the spinal cord; and (3) the Company has developed a process for delivering the cells to the spinal cord.  We are also working on the following additional indications for our technologies:

 
·
Spinal Cord Injury
 
·
Stroke
 
·
Huntington’s disease
 
·
ALS

Small Molecule Compounds

As a first indication, Neuralstem is targeting depression. The Company plans to file a request with the FDA to initiate clinical trials for this application without a partner, and may also manage initial clinical safety and efficacy trials by itself. Because of the complexity and cost of managing clinical trials after the earliest phases, Neuralstem will seek a strategic partner to manage the later stages of the trials.

Our Research and Programs

We have devoted substantial resources to our research programs to isolate and develop a series of neural stem cell banks that we believe can serve as a basis for therapeutic products. Our efforts to date have been directed at methods to identify, isolate and culture large varieties of stem cells of the human nervous system, and to develop therapies utilizing these stem cells. This research is conducted both internally and through the use of third party laboratory consulting companies under our direct supervision.

 
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In addition to research which we conduct internally or under our direct supervision, we conduct research and development through research collaborations. These collaborations, or programs, are undertaken with both commercial and scholarly institutes pursuant to the terms and conditions of our standard material transfer agreement.
  
The terms of our standard material transfer agreement require us to provide our research partner or collaborator with access to our technology or “research materials,” which are comprised of our neurological stem cells, for a specific pre-defined purpose. As part of the agreement, we agree to provide sufficient research materials and technical assistance to accomplish the purpose of the program. The determination of sufficiency is determined at our sole discretion. As part of these agreements, we are entitled to certain reporting rights and the right to have patentable discoveries presented to us prior to publication in order for us to file applicable patents. In the event we choose to file a patent, we will either be responsible for all filing and maintenance fees or we will split the fees with our research partner depending on the type of patent to be filed. The agreements also provide for us to receive a fully paid up, royalty free, non-exclusive license to any inventions made by our partner with respect to our technologies and their interest in any intellectual property jointly developed and first right to negotiate an exclusive license. The agreements also provide confidentiality between the parties. Generally each party is responsible for its own expense, there are no milestone payment or royalty payment requirements and the duration of these agreements is for a three year term which can be terminated by either party by providing 90 days written notice.  Also, these agreements may require us to pay for certain costs and expenses incurred in connection with the research.
 
Examples of such projects include:
 
University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA: In May of 2002, we initiated a research project with the University of California in San Diego for the purpose of researching the applicability of our technology to the treatment of Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia and traumatic spinal cord injury. The project is ongoing. The research yielded findings that contributed to our filing of patent entitled Transplantation of Human Cells for Treatment of Neurological Disorders.

Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD: In March of 2001 we initiated a research project with Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine for the purpose of researching the applicability of our technology to the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and traumatic spinal cord injury. The project is ongoing. The research yielded findings that contributed to our filing of patent entitled Transplantation of Human Cells for Treatment of Neurological Disorders.
  
University of Southern Florida, Tampa, FL: In September of 2005 we initiated a research project with the University of Southern Florida for the purpose of researching the applicability of our technology to the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. The project is ongoing.

University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL: In March of 2006 we initiated a research project with the University of Central Florida for the purpose of researching the applicability of our technology to the treatment of spinal cord injuries. The project is ongoing.
 
University of Pennsylvania whereby we have entered into an agreement with the university to assist us in developing “A Feasibility and Safety Study of human Spinal Stem Cell Transplantation for the Treatment of Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia Due to Spinal Cord Ischemia.

China Medical University & Hospital of Taiwan, to  collaborate on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) with Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, MD, PhD as principle investigator.

Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, to collaborate on the treatment of Huntington's disease.

University of  Cincinnati to collaborate on the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

University of Michigan to collaborate on the treatment of ALS

Emory University for ALS clinical trials.

The forgoing is not exhaustive and is only meant to provide a brief overview of the types of projects we are undertaking with third parties.        
 
Manufacturing
 
We currently manufacture our cells both in-house and on an outsource basis. We manufacture cells in-house which are not required to meet stringent FDA requirements. We use these cells in our research and collaborative programs. We outsource all the manufacturing and storage of our stem cells to be used in pre-clinical works, and which are accordingly subject to higher FDA requirements, to Charles River Laboratories, Inc., of Wilmington, Massachusetts. The Charles River facility has the capacity to be used for cell processing under the FDA determined Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in quantities sufficient for our current and anticipated pre-trial and clinical trial needs in both the near to intermediate term. We have no quantity or volume commitment with Charles River Laboratories and our cells are ordered and manufactured on an as needed basis.

 
7

 
 
Products & Marketing
 
Because of the early stage of our programs, we have yet to identify any specific product and we have not yet addressed questions of channels of distribution and marketing of potential future products.
 
Our Intellectual Property

Our research and development is supported by our intellectual property. We currently own or have exclusive licenses to 14 patents and 22 patent applications pending worldwide in the field of regenerative medicine and cell therapy.

Our success will likely depend upon our ability to preserve our technologies and operate without infringing the proprietary rights of other parties. However, we may rely on certain proprietary technologies and know-how that are not patentable. We protect our proprietary information, in part, by the use of confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants and certain of our contractors.

When appropriate, we seek patent protection for inventions in our core technologies and in ancillary technologies that support our core technologies or which we otherwise believe will provide us with a competitive advantage. We accomplish this by filing patent applications for discoveries we make, either alone or in collaboration with scientific collaborators and strategic partners. Typically, although not always, we file patent applications both in the United States and in select international markets. In addition, we plan to obtain licenses or options to acquire licenses to patent filings from other individuals and organizations that we anticipate could be useful in advancing our research, development and commercialization initiatives and our strategic business interests.
 
The following table identifies the issued and pending patents we own that we believe currently support our technology platform.

 
8

 

Patents Pending
 
Number
 
Country
 
Filing
Date
 
Issue Date
 
Expiration
Date
 
Title
                     
2257068
 
CA
 
5/7/1997
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
ISOLATION, PROPOGATION, AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
2343571
 
CA
 
9/20/1999
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
STABLE NEURAL STEM CELL LINES
                     
99948396.9
 
EP
 
9/20/1999
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
STABLE NEURAL STEM CELL LINES
                     
2000-574224
 
JP
 
9/20/1999
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
STABLE NEURAL STEM CELL LINES
                     
3790356.4
 
EP
 
12/5/2003
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
METHOD FOR DISCOVERING NEUROGENIC AGENTS
                     
11/281,640
 
US
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
200580039450
 
CN
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
5851748.3
 
EP
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
2613/CHENP/2007
 
IN
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
183092
 
IL
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
2007-543219
 
JP
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
10-2007-7012097
 
KR
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
1-2007-501016
 
PH
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
2007122507
 
RU
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
1-2007-01216
 
VN
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEURODEGENERATIVE CONDITIONS
                     
20073078
 
NO
 
11/17/2005
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
11/852,922
 
US
 
9/10/2007
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
METHOD FOR DISCOVERING NEUROGENIC AGENTS
                     
11/932,923
 
US
 
10/31/2007
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
                     
12/404,841
 
US
 
3/16/2009
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
METHODS OF TREATING ISCHEMIC SPASTITICY
                     
12/424,238
 
US
 
4/15/2009
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
STABLE NEURAL STEM CELL LINES
                     
12/500,073
 
US
 
7/9/2009
 
N/A
 
N/A
 
USE OF FUSED NICOTINAMIDES TO PROMOTE NEUROGENESIS

 
9

 

Patents Issued

Number
 
Country
 
Filing
Date
 
Issue Date
 
Expiration
Date
 
Title
5,753,506
 
US
 
9/25/1996
 
5/19/1998
 
9/25/2016
 
ISOLATION PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
6,040,180
 
US
 
5/7/1997
 
3/21/2000
 
5/7/2017
 
IN VITRO GENERATION OF DIFFERENTIATED NEURONS FROM CULTURES OF MAMMALIAN MULTIPOTENTIAL CNS STEM CELLS
                     
6,284,539
 
US
 
10/9/1998
 
9/4/2001
 
10/9/2018
 
METHOD FOR GENERATING DOPAMINERGIC CELLS DERIVED FROM NEURAL PRECURSORS
                     
7,544,511
 
US
 
1/14/2002
 
6/9/2009
 
4/13/2017
 
STABLE NEURAL STEM CELL LINES
                     
7,560,553
 
US
 
3/17/2008
 
7/14/2009
 
8/9/2024
 
USE OF FUSED NICOTINAMIDES TO PROMOTE NEUROGENESIS
                     
755849
 
AU
 
9/20/1999
 
4/3/2003
 
9/20/2019
 
STABLE NEURAL STEM CELL LINES
                     
915968
 
EP
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPOGATION, AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
915968
 
ES
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
915968
 
FR
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
915968
 
GB
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
915968
 
IE
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
915968
 
SE
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
915968
 
CH
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
69737949.3
 
DE
 
5/7/1997
 
7/25/2007
 
5/7/2017
 
ISOLATION, PROPAGATION AND DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION OF STEM CELLS FROM EMBRYONIC AND ADULT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAMMALS
                     
132324
 
SG
 
11/17/2005
 
11/30/2009
 
11/17/2025
 
TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN NEURAL CELLS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

We also rely upon trade-secret protection for our confidential and proprietary information and take active measures to control access to that information.
 
Our policy is to require our employees, consultants and significant scientific collaborators and sponsored researchers to execute confidentiality and assignment of invention agreements upon the commencement of an employment or consulting relationship with us. These agreements generally provide that all confidential information developed or made known to the individual by us during the course of the individual's relationship with us is to be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties except in specific circumstances. In the case of employees and consultants, the agreements generally provide that all inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us shall be our exclusive property.

 
10

 

The patent positions of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including ours, are uncertain and involve complex and evolving legal and factual questions. The coverage sought in a patent application can be denied or significantly reduced before or after the patent is issued. Consequently, we do not know whether any of our pending applications will result in the issuance of patents, or if any existing or future patents will provide significant protection or commercial advantage or will be circumvented by others. Since patent applications are secret until the applications are published (usually eighteen months after the earliest effective filing date), and since publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature often lags behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we were the first to make the inventions covered by each of our pending patent applications or that we were the first to file patent applications for such inventions. There can be no assurance that patents will issue from our pending or future patent applications or, if issued, that such patents will be of commercial benefit to us, afford us adequate protection from competing products, or not be challenged or declared invalid.
 
In the event that a third party has also filed a patent application relating to inventions claimed in our patent applications, we may have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to determine priority of invention, which could result in substantial uncertainties and cost for us, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. There can be no assurance that our patents, if issued, would be held valid by a court of competent jurisdiction.
 
A number of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other companies, universities and research institutions have filed patent applications or have been issued patents relating to cell therapy, stem cells and other technologies potentially relevant to or required by our expected products. We cannot predict which, if any, of such applications will issue as patents or the claims that might be allowed.
 
If third party patents or patent applications contain claims infringed by our technology and such claims are ultimately determined to be valid, there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain licenses to these patents at a reasonable cost, if at all, or be able to develop or obtain alternative non-infringing technology. If we are unable to obtain such licenses or develop or obtain alternative non-infringing technology at a reasonable cost, we may not be able to develop certain products commercially. There can be no assurance that we will not be obliged to defend ourselves in court against allegations of infringement of third party patents. Patent litigation is very expensive and could consume substantial resources and create significant uncertainties. An adverse outcome in such a suit could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties, require us to seek licenses from third parties, or require us to cease using such technology.

Competition

The biotechnology industries are characterized by rapidly evolving technology and intense competition. Our competitors include major multinational pharmaceutical companies, specialty biotechnology companies and chemical and medical products companies operating in the fields of regenerative medicine, cell therapy, tissue engineering and tissue regeneration. Many of these companies are well-established and possess technical, research and development, financial and sales and marketing resources significantly greater than ours. In addition, certain smaller biotech companies have formed strategic collaborations, partnerships and other types of joint ventures with larger, well established industry competitors that afford these companies potential research and development and commercialization advantages. Academic institutions, governmental agencies and other public and private research organizations are also conducting and financing research activities which may produce products directly competitive to those we are developing. Moreover, many of these competitors may be able to obtain patent protection, obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals and begin commercial sales of their products before we do.

Although not necessarily direct competitors, some of the specialty biotechnology companies include Geron Corporation, Genzyme Corporation, StemCells, Inc., Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. and Viacell, Inc. Some of these companies are well-established and have substantial technical and financial resources compared to us. However, as cell-based products are only just emerging as medical therapies, many of our direct competitors are smaller biotechnology and specialty medical products companies. These smaller companies may become significant competitors through rapid evolution of new technologies. Any of these companies could substantially strengthen their competitive position through strategic alliances or collaborative arrangements with large pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies.

The diseases and medical conditions we are targeting have no effective long-term therapies. Nevertheless, we expect that our technologies and products will compete with a variety of therapeutic products and procedures offered by major pharmaceutical companies. Many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are investigating new drugs and therapeutic approaches for the same purposes, which may achieve new efficacy profiles, extend the therapeutic window for such products, alter the prognosis of these diseases, or prevent their onset. We believe that our products, when and if successfully developed, will compete with these products principally on the basis of improved and extended efficacy and safety and their overall economic benefit to the health care system. Competition for our products may be in the form of existing and new drugs, other forms of cell transplantation, surgical procedures, and gene therapy. We believe that some of our competitors are also trying to develop similar stem cell-based technologies. We expect that all of these products will compete with our potential stem cell products based on efficacy, safety, cost and intellectual property positions. We may also face competition from companies that have filed patent applications relating to the use of genetically modified cells to treat disease, disorder or injury. In the event our therapies should require the use of such genetically modified cells, we may be required to seek licenses from these competitors in order to commercialize certain of our proposed products, and such licenses may not be granted or be extremely expensive.

If we develop products that receive regulatory approval, they would then have to compete for market acceptance and market share. For certain of our potential products, an important success factor will be the timing of market introduction of competitive products. This timing will be a function of the relative speed with which we and our competitors can develop products, complete the clinical testing and approval processes, and supply commercial quantities of a product to market. These competitive products may also impact the timing of clinical testing and approval processes by limiting the number of clinical investigators and patients available to test our potential products.

 
11

 

Government Regulation

Regulation by governmental authorities in the United States and other countries is a significant factor in our research and development and will be a significant factor in the manufacture and marketing of our proposed products. The nature and extent to which such regulation applies to us will vary depending on the nature of any products we may develop. We anticipate that many, if not all, of our products will require regulatory approval by governmental agencies prior to commercialization. In particular, human therapeutic products are subject to rigorous preclinical and clinical testing and other approval procedures of the FDA and similar regulatory authorities in European and other countries. Various governmental statutes and regulations also, govern, or influence testing, manufacturing, safety, labeling, storage and recordkeeping related to such products and their marketing. The process of obtaining these approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and money, and there can be no guarantee that approvals will be granted.

FDA Approval    

We are presently at the stage of clinical development.  On December 18, 2008 we filed our first investigational new drug application (IND) with the FDA to begin a clinical trial to treat amyotrophic ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. On September 22, 2009, the FDA provided us approval of the IND.

The protocol for each clinical study must be approved by an independent institutional review board, or IRB, of the institution at which the study is conducted, and the informed consent of all participants must be obtained. The Emory IRB approved our trial in December of 2009.  The first patient was dosed January 21, 2010.  The IRB reviews the existing information on the product, considers ethical factors, the safety of human subjects, the potential benefits of the therapy and the possible liability of the institution. The IRB is responsible for ongoing safety assessment of the subjects during the clinical investigation.

Clinical development is traditionally conducted in three sequential phases.
 
 
·
Phase 1 studies for a cell therapy product are designed to evaluate safety in a small number of subjects in a selected patient population by assessing adverse effects, and may include multiple dose levels. This study may also gather preliminary evidence of a beneficial effect on the disease.

 
·
Phase 2 may involve studies in a limited patient population to determine biological and clinical effects of the product and to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks of the product in the selected patient population.

 
·
Phase 3 trials would be undertaken to conclusively demonstrate clinical benefit or effect and to test further for safety within a broader patient population, generally at multiple study sites. The FDA continually reviews the clinical trial plans and results and may suggest changes or may require discontinuance of the trials at any time if significant safety issues arise.

The results of the preclinical studies and clinical studies are submitted to the FDA in the form of Biological License Application (“BLA”) marketing approval authorization applications.  The FDA must approve the applications prior to any commercial sale or practice of the technology or product. Biologic product manufacturing establishments located in certain states also may be subject to separate regulatory and licensing requirements. The testing and approval process will require substantial time, effort and expense. The time for approval is affected by a number of factors, including relative risks and benefits demonstrated in clinical trials, the availability of alternative treatments and the severity of the disease, and animal studies or clinical trials that may be requested during the FDA review period.

Our research and development is based largely on the use of human stem and progenitor cells. The FDA has initiated a risk-based approach to regulating human cell, tissue and cellular and tissue-based products and has published current Good Tissue Practice regulations. As part of this approach, the FDA has published final rules for registration of establishments that engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage or distribution of human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products, and for the listing of such products. While the Company believes that it is in compliance with all such practices and regulations; we are not required to register until we apply for licensure from the FDA for our product, subject to successful completion of human trials. In addition, the FDA has published rules for making suitability and eligibility determinations for donors of cells and tissue and for current good tissue practice for manufacturers using them, which have recently taken effect. We cannot now determine the full effects of this regulatory initiative, including precisely how it may affect the clarity of regulatory obligations and the extent of regulatory burdens associated with our stem cell research and the manufacture and marketing of stem cell products.

European and Other Regulatory Approval   Approval of a product by regulatory authorities comparable to the FDA in Europe and other countries will likely be necessary prior to commencement of marketing a product in any of these countries. The regulatory authorities in each country may impose their own requirements and may refuse to grant approval, or may require additional data before granting approval, even though the relevant product has been approved by the FDA or another authority. The regulatory authorities in the European Union, or EU, and other developed countries have lengthy approval processes for pharmaceutical products. The process for gaining approval in particular countries varies, but is generally similar to the FDA approval process. In Europe, the European Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products provides a mechanism for EU-member states to exchange information on all aspects of product licensing. The EU has established a European agency for the evaluation of medical products, with both a centralized community procedure and a decentralized procedure, the latter being based on the principle of licensing within one member country followed by mutual recognition by the other member countries.

 
12

 

Other Regulations   In addition to safety regulations enforced by the FDA, we are also subject to regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and other present and potential future and federal, state, local, and foreign regulations.

Outside the United States, we will be subject to regulations that govern the import of drug products from the United States or other manufacturing sites and foreign regulatory requirements governing human clinical trials and marketing approval for our products. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursements vary widely from country to country.
 
The United States Congress, several states and foreign countries have considered legislation banning or restricting human application of stem cell-based and nuclear transfer based technologies. No assurance can be given regarding future restrictions or prohibitions that might affect our technology and business. In addition, we cannot assure you that future judicial rulings with respect to nuclear transfer technology or human stem cells will not have the effect of delaying, limiting or preventing the use of nuclear transfer technology or stem cell-based technology or delaying, limiting or preventing the sale, manufacture or use of products or services derived from nuclear transfer technology or stem cell-derived material. Any such legislative or judicial development would harm our ability to generate revenues and operate profitably.
 
For additional information about governmental regulations that will affect our planned and intended business operations, see "Risk Factors.”

Employees
 
As of March 13, 2010, we had eight full-time employees and six full time independent contractors.  Of these employees, ten work on research and development and four in administration. We also use the services of numerous outside consultants in business and scientific matters.

Where to Find More Information
 
We make our public filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all exhibits and amendments to these reports.  Also our executive officers, directors and holders of more than 10% of our common stock, file reports with the SEC on Forms 3, 4 and 5 regarding their ownership of our securities. These materials are available on the SEC’s web site, http://www.sec.gov. You may also read or copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.  Alternatively, you may obtain copies of these filings, including exhibits, by writing or telephoning us at:

NEURALSTEM, INC
9700 Great Seneca Highway,
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Attn: Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (301) 366-4841
 
ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS

We have described below a number of uncertainties and risks which, in addition to uncertainties and risks presented elsewhere in this Annual Report, may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.  The uncertainties and risks enumerated below as well as those presented elsewhere in this Annual Report should be considered carefully in evaluating us, our business and the value of our securities. The following important factors, among others, could cause our actual business, financial condition and future results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report or presented elsewhere by management from time to time.

Risks Relating to Our Stage of Development

We have a limited operating history and have significantly shifted our operations and strategies since inception.

Since inception in 1996 and through December 31, 2009, we have raised $62,551,375 of capital and recorded accumulated losses totaling $67,566,831.  On December 31, 2009, we had a working capital surplus of $892,552 and stockholders’ deficit of $5,015,456.  Our net losses for the two most recent fiscal years have been $10,364,363 and $11,830,798 for 2009 and 2008 respectively.  We had no revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009.

 
13

 

Our ability to generate revenues and achieve profitability will depend upon our ability to complete the development of our proposed stem cell products, obtain the required regulatory approvals, manufacture, and market and sell our proposed products. In part because of our past operating results, no assurances can be given that we will be able to accomplish any of these goals.

Although we have generated some revenue in prior years, we have not generated any revenue from the commercial sale of our proposed stem cell products. Since inception, we have engaged in several related lines of business and have discontinued operations in certain areas. For example, in 2002, we lost a material contract with the Department of Defense and were forced to close our principal facility and lay off almost all of our employees in an attempt to focus our development strategy on stem cell technologies. This limited and changing history may not be adequate to enable you to fully assess our future prospects. No assurances can be given as to exactly when, if at all, we will be able to fully develop, commercialize, market, sell and/or derive material revenues from our proposed products

We will need to raise additional capital to continue operations.

Since inception, we have relied almost entirely on external financing to fund operations. Such financing has come primarily from the sale of common stock and the exercise of investor warrants.  As of December 31, 2009, we had cash and cash equivalents on hand of $2,309,774.  Presently, we have a monthly cash burn rate of approximately $600,000.  We will need to raise additional capital to fund anticipated operating expenses and future expansion. Among other things, external financing will be required to further develop our technologies and products, as well as to pay general operating costs.   On September 21, 2009, the FDA approved our IND application to commence Phase I trials for ALS. The first patient was dosed on January 21, 2010.

We have expended and expect to continue to expend substantial cash in the research, development, clinical and pre-clinical testing of our stem cell technologies with the goal of ultimately obtaining FDA approval to market our proposed products. We will require additional capital to conduct research and development, establish and conduct clinical and pre-clinical trials, enter into commercial-scale manufacturing arrangements and to provide for marketing and distribution of our products.

Our long term capital requirements are expected to depend on many factors, including:

·
the continued progress and costs of our research and development programs;

·
the progress of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials;

·
the time and costs involved in obtaining regulatory clearance;

·
the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing patent claims;

·
The cost of defending any patent litigation;

·
the costs of developing sales, marketing and distribution channels and our ability to sell our products if developed;

·
the costs involved in establishing manufacturing capabilities for commercial quantities of our proposed products;

·
competing technological and market developments;

·
market acceptance of our proposed products;

·
the costs of recruiting and retaining employees and consultants; and

·
the costs associated with educating and training physicians about our proposed products.

We cannot assure you that financing will be available if needed. If additional financing is not available, we may not be able to fund operations and planned growth, develop or enhance our technologies, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive market pressures.  If we exhaust our cash reserves and are unable to realize adequate additional financing, we may be unable to meet operating obligations which could result in us initiating bankruptcy proceedings or delaying, or eliminating some or all of our research and product development programs.

Additional financing requirements could result in dilution to existing stockholders.

We are not able to finance our operations by generating revenue.  Accordingly, we will be required to secure additional financing which may be dilutive to current shareholders.  We are authorized to issue 150,000,000 shares of common stock and 7,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Such securities may generally be issued without the approval or consent of our stockholders.  The issuance of such securities may result in substantial dilution.

 
14

 

Risks Relating to Our Business

Our business is dependent on a single product candidate.

At present our ability to progress as a company is significantly dependent on a single product candidate for ALS which is entering Phase I clinical trials.  Any clinical, regulatory or other development that significantly delays or prevents us from completing any of our trials, any material safety issue or adverse side effect to any study participant in any of these trials, or the failure of these trials to show the results expected would likely depress our stock price significantly and could prevent us from raising the substantial additional capital we will need to further develop our cellular technologies. Moreover, any material adverse occurrence in our first clinical trials could substantially impair our ability to initiate clinical trials to test our stem cell therapies in other potential indications. This, in turn, could adversely impact our ability to raise additional capital and pursue our planned research and development efforts.

Our business relies on stem cell technologies that we may not be able to commercially develop.

We have concentrated the majority of our research on stem cell technologies.  Our ability to generate revenue and operate profitably will depend on being able to develop these technologies for human applications. These are emerging technologies and have limited human applications. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to develop our technologies or that such development will result in products with any commercial utility or value. We anticipate that the commercial sale of such products and royalty/licensing fees related to the technology, will be our primary sources of revenues. If we are unable to develop the technologies, we may never realize any revenue.

Our product development programs are based on novel technologies and are inherently risky.

We are subject to the risks of failure inherent in the development of products based on new technologies. The novel nature of these therapies creates significant challenges in regard to product development and optimization, manufacturing, government regulation, third party reimbursement, and market acceptance. For example, the pathway to regulatory approval for cell-based therapies, including our product candidates, may be more complex and lengthy than the pathway for conventional drugs. These challenges may prevent us from developing and commercializing products on a timely or profitable basis or at all.

Our inability to complete pre-clinical and clinical testing and trials will impair our viability.

On September 21, 2009, we received approval from the FDA for our first IND in order to commence clinical trials.  We commenced the trials on January 21, 2010 with the dosing of our first patient.  Although we have commenced the trials, the outcome of the trials is uncertain, and if we are unable to satisfactorily complete such trials, or if such trials yield unsatisfactory results, we will be unable to commercialize our proposed products. No assurances can be given that the clinical trials will be completed or result in a successful outcome.

If regulatory authorities do not approve our products or if we fail to maintain regulatory compliance, we would be unable to commercialize our therapeutic products, and our business and results of operations would be materially harmed.

Our proposed products may not have favorable results in clinical trials or receive regulatory approval.

Positive results from pre-clinical studies should not be relied upon as evidence that clinical trials will succeed. Even if our product candidates achieve positive results in pre-clinical studies, we will be required to demonstrate through clinical trials that the product candidates are safe and effective for use in a diverse population before we can seek regulatory approvals for their commercial sale. There is typically an extremely high rate of attrition from the failure of product candidates as they proceed through clinical trials. If any product candidate fails to demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy in any clinical trial, then we would experience potentially significant delays in, or be required to abandon, development of that product candidate. If we delay or abandon our development efforts of any of our product candidates, then we may not be able to generate sufficient revenues to become profitable, and our operations could be materially harmed.

There are no assurances that we will be able to submit or obtain FDA approval of a biologics license application.

There can be no assurance that even  if the clinical trials of any potential product candidate are successfully initiated and completed, we will be able to submit a Biologics License Application (“BLA”) to the FDA or that any BLA we submit will be approved in a timely manner, if at all. If we are unable to submit a BLA with respect to any future product candidate, or if any BLA we submit is not approved by the FDA, we will be unable to commercialize that product. The FDA can and does reject BLAs and requires additional clinical trials, even when product candidates performed well or achieved favorable results in clinical trials. If we fail to commercialize our product candidate, we may be unable to generate sufficient revenues to attain profitability and our reputation in the industry and in the investment community would likely be damaged, each of which would cause our stock price to decrease.

The manufacturing of stem cell-based therapeutic products is novel and dependent upon specialized key materials.

The manufacturing of stem cell-based therapeutic products is a complicated and difficult process, dependent upon substantial know-how and subject to the need for continual process improvements.  We depend almost exclusively on third party manufacturers to supply our cells.  In addition, our suppliers’ ability to scale-up manufacturing to satisfy the various requirements of our planned clinical trials is uncertain.  Manufacturing irregularities or lapses in quality control could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and business, which could cause a significant loss of stockholder value. Many of the materials that we use to prepare our cell-based products are highly specialized, complex and available from only a limited number of suppliers. At present, some of our material requirements are single sourced, and the loss of one or more of these sources may adversely affect our business

 
15

 

Our business is subject to ethical and social concerns.

The use of stem cells for research and therapy has been the subject of debate regarding ethical, legal and social issues.  Negative public attitudes toward stem cell therapy could result in greater governmental regulation of stem cell therapies, which could harm our business. For example, concerns regarding such possible regulation could impact our ability to attract collaborators and investors.  Existing and potential U.S. government regulation of human tissue may lead researchers to leave the field of stem cell research or the country altogether, in order to assure that their careers will not be impeded by restrictions on their work. Similarly, these factors may induce graduate students to choose other fields less vulnerable to changes in regulatory oversight, thus exacerbating the risk that we may not be able to attract and retain the scientific personnel we need in the face of competition among pharmaceutical, biotechnology and health care companies, universities and research institutions for what may become a shrinking class of qualified individuals

We may be subject to litigation that will be costly to defend or pursue and uncertain in its outcome.

Our business may bring us into conflict with licensees, licensors, or others with whom we have contractual or other business relationships or with our competitors or others whose interests differs from ours. If we are unable to resolve these conflicts on terms that are satisfactory to all parties, we may become involved in litigation brought by or against it. Any litigation is likely to be expensive and may require a significant amount of management's time and attention, at the expense of other aspects of our business. The outcome of litigation is always uncertain, and in some cases could include judgments against us which could have a materially adverse effect on our business.  By way of example, in May of 2008, we filed a complaint against StemCells Inc., alleging that U.S. Patent No. 7,361,505 (the “‘505 patent”), allegedly exclusively licensed to StemCells, Inc., is invalid, not infringed and unenforceable. On the same day, StemCells, Inc. filed a complaint alleging that we had infringed, contributed to the infringement of, and or induced the infringement of two patents owned by or exclusively licensed to StemCells relating to stem cell culture compositions. At present, the litigation is in its initial stages and any likely outcome is difficult to predict.

We may not be able to obtain necessary licenses to third-party patents and other rights.

A number of companies, universities and research institutions have filed patent applications or have received patents relating to technologies in our field. We cannot predict which, if any, of these applications will issue as patents or how many of these issued patents will be found valid and enforceable. There may also be existing issued patents on which we would be infringed by the commercialization of our product candidates. If so, we may be prevented from commercializing these products unless the third party is willing to grant a license to us. We may be unable to obtain licenses to the relevant patents at a reasonable cost, if at all, and may also be unable to develop or obtain alternative non-infringing technology. If we are unable to obtain such licenses or develop non-infringing technology at a reasonable cost, our business could be significantly harmed. Also, any infringement lawsuits commenced against us may result in significant costs, divert our management’s attention and result in an award against us for substantial damages, or potentially prevent us from continuing certain operations.

We may not be able to obtain third-party patient reimbursement or favorable product pricing.

Our ability to successfully commercialize our proposed products in the human therapeutic field depends to a significant degree on patient reimbursement of the costs of such products and related treatments. We cannot assure you that reimbursement in the United States or foreign countries will be available for any products developed, or, if available, will not decrease in the future, or that reimbursement amounts will not reduce the demand for, or the price of, our products.  We cannot predict what additional regulation or legislation relating to the health care industry or third-party coverage and reimbursement may be enacted in the future or what effect such regulation or legislation may have on our business. If additional regulations are overly onerous or expensive or if health care related legislation makes our business more expensive or burdensome than originally anticipated, we may be forced to significantly downsize our business plans or completely abandon the current business model.

Our products may not be profitable due to manufacturing costs.

Our products may be significantly more expensive to manufacture than other drugs or therapies currently on the market today due to a fewer number of potential manufacturers, greater level of needed expertise and other general market conditions affecting manufacturers of stem cell based products.  Accordingly, we may not be able to charge a high enough price for us to make a profit from the sale of our cell therapy products.

We are dependent on the acceptance of our products by the health care community.

Our proposed products, if approved for marketing, may not achieve market acceptance since hospitals, physicians, patients or the medical community in general may decide not to accept and utilize these products. The products that we are attempting to develop represent substantial departures from established treatment methods and will compete with a number of more conventional drugs and therapies manufactured and marketed by major pharmaceutical companies. The degree of market acceptance will depend on a number of factors, including:

 
16

 

 
 ·
the clinical efficacy and safety of our proposed products;

 
 ·
the superiority of our products to alternatives currently on the market;

 
 ·
the potential advantages of our products over alternative treatment methods; and

 
 ·
the reimbursement policies of government and third-party payors.

If the health care community does not accept our products for any reason, our business would be materially harmed.

We depend on two key employees for our continued operations and future success.

The loss of either of our key executive officers, Richard Garr and Karl Johe, would be detrimental to us.

 
 ·
We currently do not maintain “key person” life insurance on the life of Mr. Garr. As a result, the Company will not receive any compensation upon the death or incapacity of this key individual;

 
 ·
We currently do maintain “key person” life insurance on the life of Mr. Johe. As a result, the Company will receive approximately $1,000,000 in the event of his death or incapacity.

In addition, we anticipate growth and expansion into areas and activities requiring additional expertise, such as clinical testing, regulatory compliance, manufacturing and marketing.  We anticipate the need for additional management personnel and the development of additional expertise by existing management personnel. There is intense competition for qualified personnel in the areas of our present and planned activities, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to attract and retain the qualified personnel necessary for the development our business.

The employment contracts of key employees contain significant anti-termination provisions which could make changes in management difficult or expensive.

We have entered into employment agreements with Messrs. Garr and Johe which expire on November 1, 2012.  In the event either individual is terminated prior to the full term of their respective contracts, for any reason other than a voluntary resignation, all compensation due to such employee under the terms of the respective agreement shall become due and payable immediately. These provisions will make the replacement of either of these employees very costly and could cause difficulty in effecting a change in control. Termination prior to the full term of these contracts would cost us as much as $1,000,000 per contract and the immediate vesting of all outstanding options and/or warrants held by Messrs. Garr and Johe.

Our competition has significantly greater experience and financial resources.

The biotechnology industry is characterized by intense competition. We compete against numerous companies, many of which have substantially greater resources. Several such enterprises have initiated cell therapy research programs and/or efforts to treat the same diseases which we target. Although not necessarily direct competitors, companies such as Geron Corporation, Genzyme Corporation, StemCells, Inc., Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. and Viacell, Inc., as well as others, may have substantially greater resources and experience in our fields which put us at a competitive disadvantage.

Our outsource model depends on third parties to assist in developing and testing our proposed products.

Our strategy for the development, clinical and preclinical testing and commercialization of our proposed products is based on an outsource model. This model requires us to engage third parties in order to further develop our technology and products as well as for the day to day operations of our business. In the event we are not able to enter into such relationships in the future, our ability to operate and develop products may be seriously hindered or we would be required to expend considerable resources to bring such functions in-house. Either outcome could result in our inability to develop a commercially feasible product or in the need for substantially more working capital to complete the research in-house.

The development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapeutic products expose us to product liability claims.

By developing and, ultimately, commercializing medical products, we are exposed to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability claims against us could result in substantial litigation costs and damage awards against us. We have obtained liability insurance that covers our clinical trials.  If and when we begin commercializing products, we will need to increase our insurance coverage.  We may not be able to obtain insurance on acceptable terms, if at all, and the policy limits on our insurance policies may be insufficient to cover our liability.

 
17

 

We intend to rely upon third-party FDA-approved manufacturers for our stem cells.

We currently have no internal manufacturing capability, and will rely extensively on FDA-approved licensees, strategic partners or third party contract manufacturers or suppliers. Should we be forced to manufacture our stem cells, we cannot give you any assurance that we will be able to develop an internal manufacturing capability or procure alternative third party suppliers. Moreover, we cannot give you any assurance that any contract manufacturers or suppliers we procure will be able to supply our product in a timely or cost effective manner or in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements or our specifications.

Risks Relating to Our Common Stock

Our common shares are sporadically or “thinly” traded.

Our common shares have historically been sporadically or “thinly” traded, meaning that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common shares at or near the asking price at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent. This situation is attributable to a number of factors, including the facts that we are a small company which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community.  Even if we came to the attention of such persons, they tend to be risk-adverse and would be reluctant to follow an unproven development stage company such as ours or purchase or recommend the purchase of our shares until such time as we became more seasoned and viable. As a consequence, there may be periods of several days or more when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer which has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous sales without a material reduction in share price. We cannot give you any assurance that a broader or more active trading market for our common shares will develop or be sustained, or that current trading levels will be sustained. Due to these conditions, we can give you no assurance that you will be able to sell your shares if you need money or otherwise desire to liquidate your investment.

As a result of a recent accounting pronouncement, we no longer meet the continued listing requirements of the NYSE AMEX.

Effective January 1, 2009, we adopted new guidance issued by FASB related to determining whether an instrument or embedded feature is indexed to an entity’s own stock.  As a result, we reclassified 8,547,762 of our issued and outstanding common stock purchase warrants from equity to liability status.  The adjustment also had the effect of reducing stockholder’s equity by $2.8 million.  Due to such adjustment, we may no longer meet the continued listing requirements of the NYSE AMEX with regard to stockholders (deficit) equity.   On June 4, 2009, as anticipated, we received notification from the NYSE AMEX that we are not in compliance with continued listing requirements contained in Section 1003(i) of the NYSE AMEX company guide.  In order to maintain our listing on the NYSE AMEX, we were required to submit a plan detailing how we intend to regain compliance.  On July 6, 2009, we submitted our plan.  On August 18, 2009, the NYSE AMEX notified that it would continue listing our common shares subject to the following conditions:

 
·
That we regain compliance with Section 1003(i) of the NYSE AMEX company guide by December, 2010, and

 
·
That we provide the Exchange Staff with updates in conjunction with the initiatives of the Plan as appropriate or upon request, but no later than at each quarter completion concurrent with our appropriate filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We are currently being monitored by the NYSE AMEX with regard to listing qualifications.

On February 16, 2010 we received a letter from the NYSE Amex informing it that it had now resolved the continued listing deficiencies referenced in the NYSE Amex LLC's ("NYSE Amex") letters dated June 4, 2009 and August 18, 2009. The Exchange said that while the Company remains noncompliant with the stockholders' equity requirements under Section 1003 of the NYSE Amex Company Guide, the Exchange staff has determined that the Company complies with the alternative listing standards in Section 1003, including the requirement for $50,000,000 million in market capitalization. The Exchange will continue to monitor the Company's compliance with the continued listing standards in Section 1003 of the NYSE Amex Company Guide. As provided in Section 1009(f) of the NYSE Amex Company Guide.  If the Company is able to demonstrate compliance with the continued listing standards for a period of two consecutive quarters ending June 30, 2010, the Exchange staff will deem the Plan Period over. However, if the Company cannot demonstrate compliance over the next two quarters, the Plan Period will remain open and Exchange staff will continue to monitor the Company throughout the end of the Plan Period, December 6, 2010. At any time during the Plan Period, the Exchange staff may initiate delisting proceedings based on its evaluation of the Company. In the event the Company does not comply with all continued listing standards as of December 6, 2010, the Exchange staff will promptly initiate delisting procedures.

The delisting of our common shares from the NYSE Amex may limit the ability of our stockholders to sell their common stock.

We are currently being monitored by the NYSE AMEX.  If we are delisted, our stock will most likely commence trading on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board or the Pink Sheets. In such case, a stockholder likely would find it more difficult to trade our common stock or to obtain accurate market quotations for it.  If our common stock is delisted, it will become subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “penny stock rules,” which impose sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell that common stock to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors.” Application of this rule could make broker-dealers unable or unwilling to sell our common stock and limit the ability of stockholders to sell their common stock in the secondary market.

 
18

 

The market price for our common shares is particularly volatile.

The market for our common shares is characterized by significant price volatility when compared to seasoned issuers, and we expect that our share price will continue to be more volatile than those of a seasoned issuer. The volatility in our share price is attributable to a number of factors. First, our common shares are sporadically or thinly traded. As a consequence of this lack of liquidity, the trading of relatively small quantities of shares by our shareholders may disproportionately influence the price of those shares in either direction. The price for our shares could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of our common shares are sold on the market without commensurate demand.  Secondly, we are a speculative or “risky” investment due to our limited operating history, lack of significant revenues to date and the uncertainty of future market acceptance for our products if successfully developed. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the stock of a seasoned issuer. Additionally, in the past, plaintiffs have often initiated securities class action litigation against a company following periods of volatility in the market price of its securities. We may in the future be the target of similar litigation. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and liabilities and could divert management’s attention and resources.

The following factors may add to the volatility in the price of our common shares:  actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly or annual operating results; government regulations; announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures; our capital commitments; and additions or departures of our key personnel. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our common shares, regardless of our operating performance. We cannot make any predictions or projections as to what the prevailing market price for our common shares will be at any time, including as to whether our common shares will sustain their current market prices, or as to what effect the sale of shares or the availability of common shares for sale at any time will have on the prevailing market price.

We face risks related to compliance with corporate governance laws and financial reporting standard.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as related new rules and regulations implemented by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, require changes in the corporate governance practices and financial reporting standards for public companies. These new laws, rules and regulations, including compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 relating to internal control over financial reporting (“Section 404”), will materially increase the Company's legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming, burdensome and expensive.  ). On October 2, 2009, the SEC announced it would extend the deadline for non-accelerated filers to comply with Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  Unless further extended, we will be required to include attestation reports in our annual report for year ending on December 31, 2010.  We anticipate this will further increase the costs associated with our compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Any failure to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, our ability to remediate any material weaknesses that we may identify during our compliance program,  or difficulties  encountered in their implementation,  could harm our operating results,  cause us to fail to meet our reporting  obligations  or result in  material  misstatements  in our  financial statements. Any such failure could also adversely affect the results of the periodic management evaluations of our internal controls and, in the case of a failure to remediate any material weaknesses that we may identify, would adversely affect the annual auditor attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that are required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  Inadequate internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.

We have never paid a cash dividend and do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

We have never paid cash dividends nor do we anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future.  Accordingly, any return on your investment will be as a result of stock appreciation.

Issuance of additional securities could dilute your proportionate ownership and voting rights.
 
We are entitled under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to issue up to 150,000,000 common and 7,000,000 “blank check” preferred shares. As of December 31, 2009, we have issued and outstanding 35,743,831 common shares, 24,365,916 common shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of current outstanding options and warrants (excluding options and warrants issued under our equity compensation plans), 319,341 common shares reserved for issuance of additional grants under our 2005 incentive stock plan, and 760,000 shares reserved for issuance of grants under our 2007 stock plan. Accordingly, we will be entitled to issue up to 88,810,912 additional common shares and 7,000,000 additional preferred shares. Our board may generally issue those common and preferred shares, or options or warrants to purchase those shares, without further approval by our shareholders based upon such factors as our board of directors may deem relevant at that time. Any preferred shares we may issue shall have such rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions as may be designated from time-to-time by our board, including preferential dividend rights, voting rights, conversion rights, redemption rights and liquidation provisions. It is likely that we will be required to issue a large amount of additional securities to raise capital to further our development and marketing plans. It is also likely that we will be required to issue a large amount of additional securities to directors, officers, employees and consultants as compensatory grants in connection with their services, both in the form of stand-alone grants or under our various stock option plans, in order to attract and retain qualified personnel. In the event of issuance, your proportionate ownership and voting rights may be significantly decreased and the value of your investment impacted.

 
19

 

Risks Relating to Intellectual Property and Government Regulation

We may not be able to withstand challenges to our intellectual property rights.

We rely on our intellectual property, including issued and applied-for patents, as the foundation of our business. Our intellectual property rights may come under challenge.  No assurances can be given that, even though issued, our current and potential future patents will survive such challenges. For example, in 2005 our neural stem cell technology was challenged in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Although we prevailed in this particular matter upon re-examination by the patent office, these cases are complex, lengthy, expensive, and could potentially be adjudicated adversely to our interests, removing the protection afforded by an issued patent. The viability of our business would suffer if such patent protection were limited or eliminated. Moreover, the costs associated with defending or settling intellectual property claims would likely have a material adverse effect on our business and future prospects. At present, there is litigation with StemCells, Inc. which is in its initial stages and any likely outcome is difficult to predict.

We may not be able to adequately protect against the piracy of the intellectual property in foreign jurisdictions.

We anticipate conducting research in countries outside of the United States.  A number of our competitors are located in these countries and may be able to access our technology or test results.  The laws protecting intellectual property in some of these countries may not adequately protect our trade secrets and intellectual property.  The misappropriation of our intellectual property may materially impact our position in the market and any competitive advantages, if any, that we may have.

Our products may not receive regulatory approval.

The FDA and comparable government agencies in foreign countries impose substantial regulations on the manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products through lengthy and detailed laboratory, pre-clinical and clinical testing procedures, sampling activities and other costly and time-consuming procedures. Satisfaction of these regulations typically takes several years or more and vary substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the proposed product.  On September 21, 2009 the FDA approved our IND application to commence a Phase I trial for ALS.  We commenced the trials on January 21, 2010 with the dosing of our first patient.  We cannot assure you that we will successfully complete any clinical trials in connection with such IND. Further, we cannot predict when we might first submit any product license application for FDA approval or whether any such product license application will be granted on a timely basis, if at all.  Moreover, we cannot assure you that FDA approvals for any products developed by us will be granted on a timely basis, if at all. Any delay in obtaining, or failure to obtain, such approvals could have a material adverse effect on the marketing of our products and our ability to generate product revenue.

Development of our technologies is subject to extensive government regulation.

Our research and development efforts, as well as any future clinical trials, and the manufacturing and marketing of any products we may develop, will be subject to, and restricted by, extensive regulation by governmental authorities in the United States and other countries. The process of obtaining FDA and other necessary regulatory approvals is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. FDA and other legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the development and manufacture of the cells and cell lines required for our preclinical and clinical products could substantially delay or prevent us from producing the cells needed to initiate additional clinical trials. We may fail to obtain the necessary approvals to commence clinical testing or to manufacture or market our potential products in reasonable time frames, if at all. In addition, the U.S. Congress and other legislative bodies may enact regulatory reforms or restrictions on the development of new therapies that could adversely affect the regulatory environment in which we operate or the development of any products we may develop.

We base our research and development on the use of human stem cells obtained from human tissue. The U.S. federal and state governments and other jurisdictions impose restrictions on the acquisition and use of human tissue, including those incorporated in federal Good Tissue Practice, or “GTP,” regulations. These regulatory and other constraints could prevent us from obtaining cells and other components of our products in the quantity or of the quality needed for their development or commercialization. These restrictions change from time to time and may become more onerous. Additionally, we may not be able to identify or develop reliable sources for the cells necessary for our potential products — that is, sources that follow all state and federal laws and guidelines for cell procurement. Certain components used to manufacture our stem and progenitor cell product candidates will need to be manufactured in compliance with the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices, or “GMP.” Accordingly, we will need to enter into supply agreements with companies that manufacture these components to “GMP” standards.  There is no assurance that we will be able to enter into any such agreements.

Noncompliance with applicable requirements both before and after approval, if any, can subject us, our third party suppliers and manufacturers and our other collaborators to administrative and judicial sanctions, such as, among other things, warning letters, fines and other monetary payments, recall or seizure of products, criminal proceedings, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, interruption or cessation of clinical trials, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, limitations on or the elimination of claims we can make for our products, refusal of the government to enter into supply contracts or fund research, or government delay in approving or refusal to approve new drug applications.

 
20

 

We cannot predict if or when we will be permitted to commercialize our products due to regulatory constraints.

Federal, state and local governments and agencies in the United States (including the FDA) and governments in other countries have significant regulations in place that govern many of our activities.  We are or may become subject to various federal, state and local laws, regulations and recommendations relating to safe working conditions, laboratory and manufacturing practices, the experimental use of animals and the use and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances used in connection with its research and development work. The preclinical testing and clinical trials of our proposed products are subject to extensive government regulation that may prevent us from creating commercially viable products. In addition, our sale of any commercially viable product will be subject to government regulation from several standpoints, including manufacturing, advertising, marketing, promoting, selling, labeling and distributing. If, and to the extent that, we are unable to comply with these regulations, our ability to earn revenues will be materially and negatively impacted.
 
ITEM 2.
PROPERTIES

We currently lease two facilities.   Our executive offices and primary research facilities are located at 9700 Great Seneca Highway, Rockville MD, 20850. We lease these facilities consisting of approximately 2,500 square feet for $8,220 per month. The term of our lease expires on January 31, 2011.

We entered into a lease in 2009 consisting of approximately 2,375 square feet of research space in San Diego, California at a monthly lease rate of $4,806. The lease terminates in August of 2011.

The aforesaid properties are in good condition and we believe they will be suitable for our purposes for the next 12 months. There is no affiliation between us or any of our principals or agents and our landlords or any of their principals or agents.
 
ITEM 3.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

As of the date of this Annual Report, there are no material pending legal or governmental proceedings relating to our company or properties to which we are a party, and to our knowledge there are no material proceedings to which any of our directors, executive officers or affiliates are a party adverse to us or which have a material interest adverse to us, other than the following:
 
·
On May 7, 2008, we filed suit against StemCells, Inc., StemCells California, Inc. (collectively “StemCells”) and Neurospheres Holding Ltd., (collectively StemCells and Neurospheres Holding Ltd are referred to as “Plaintiffs”) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleging that U.S. Patent No. 7,361,505 (the “’505 patent”), alleging that the ‘505 patent was exclusively licensed to the Plaintiffs, is invalid, not infringed, and unenforceable.   See Civil Action No. 08-1173.   On May 13, we filed an Amended Complaint seeking declaratory judgment that U.S. Patent No. 7,155,418 (the “’418 patent”) is invalid and not infringed and that certain statements made by our CEO are not trade libel or do not constitute unfair competition as alleged by the Plaintiffs.  On July 15, 2008, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Lack of Personal Jurisdiction, and Improper Venue or in the Alternative to Transfer to the Northern District of California.  On August 27, 2008, Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. of the District of Maryland denied StemCells’ Motion to Dismiss, but granted Neurospheres’ motion to dismiss. On September 11, 2008, StemCells filed its answer asserting counterclaims of infringement for the ‘505 patent, the 418 patent, and state law claims for trade libel and unfair competition. This case was consolidated with the 2006 litigation discussed below and it is not known when, nor on what basis, this matter will be concluded.

·
On July 28, 2006, StemCells, Inc., filed suit against Neuralstem, Inc. in the U.S. District Court in Maryland, alleging that Neuralstem has been infringing, contributing to the infringement of, and or inducing the infringement of four patents owned by or exclusively licensed to StemCells relating to stem cell culture compositions, genetically modified stem cell cultures, and methods of using such cultures.  See Civil Action No. 06-1877.  We answered the Complaint denying infringement, asserting that the patents are invalid, asserting that we have intervening rights based on amendments made to the patents during reexamination proceedings, and further asserting that some of the patents are unenforceable due to inequitable conduct.  Neuralstem has also asserted counterclaims that StemCells has engaged in anticompetitive conduct in violation of antitrust laws.  Discovery has commenced and it is not known when, nor on what basis, this matter will be concluded.
 
ITEM 4.
REMOVED AND RESERVED.
 
 
21

 

PART II

ITEM 5. 
MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the NYSE Amex under the symbol "CUR."  The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low intraday sale prices for our common stock.

   
High
 
Low
             
2008
           
First Quarter
 
$
3.58
 
$
2.29
Second Quarter
 
$
2.59
 
$
1.31
Third Quarter
 
$
1.86
 
$
1.20
Fourth Quarter
 
$
2.15
 
$
1.01
2009
           
First Quarter
 
$
1.79
 
$
0.80
Second Quarter
 
$
1.30
 
$
1.03
Third Quarter
 
$
2.08
 
$
1.04
Fourth Quarter
 
$
1.91
 
$
1.26

Holders

As of March 8, 2010 our common stock was held by approximately 725 record holders.  We believe our actual number of shareholders may be significantly higher as 34,638,732 shares are currently being held in street name.

Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends to date and have no plans to do so in the immediate future.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table sets forth information with respect to our 2005 & 2007 Stock Plans as of December 31, 2009.
 
 
(a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
 
Number of Securities
to be Issued
upon Exercise of
Outstanding
Options, Warrants
and Rights
 
Weighted-Average
Exercise Price of 
Outstanding
Options,
Warrants and
Rights
 
Number of Securities
Remaining Available for
Future Issuance under
Equity Compensation Plans 
(Excluding Securities
Reflected in Column (a))
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
  
 
 
 
  
2005 Stock Plan, as amended 
3,680,659
 
$
1.26
 
            319,341
2007 Stock Plan
5,615,475
   
3.38
 
            534,525
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
N/A
   
N/A
 
N/A
             
Total
9,296,134
 
$
                  2.52
 
853,866

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

The following information is given with regard to unregistered securities sold during the period covered by this report.  The unregistered securities were issued pursuant to section 4(2) of the Securities Act:  

 
22

 

 
·
On January 5, 2009 we granted a consultant options to purchase 100,000 common shares at a price per share of $1.64.  The options were issued as compensation for services rendered.  The grant was made pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan.  The options have a term of 7 years.

 
·
On March 30, 2009, we granted a consultant a common stock purchase warrant to purchase 96,000 common shares at a price per share of $1.25.  The warrant will expire on 3/30/2015.

 
·
On June 3, 2009, we granted a consultant100,000 options to purchase common shares at a price of $1.13.  The options were issued as compensation for services rendered.  The grant was made pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan.  The options vest as follows:  25,000 vested immediately; 25,000 vest at the six month anniversary; 25,000 vest at the twelve month anniversary; 25,000 vest at the eighteen month anniversary.  The options expire on June 3, 2019.

 
·
On July 2, 2009, pursuant to our director compensation policy, we granted each of Messrs. Ogilvie and Oldaker options to purchase 35,000 common shares as compensation for their services on our board of directors and related committees.  For a further description of the transaction, please refer to the section of this Annual Report entitled “Executive Compensation – Director Compensation” contained in Item 11.

 
·
On October 1, 2009 we granted a consultant warrants to purchase100,000 shares at a price of $1.49.  The warrants are fully vested and have a cashless exercise provision.  The warrants expire on 10/1/2016.

 
·
On December 29, 2009, we completed a private placement of 646,551 common shares resulting in gross proceeds of $1,500,000.  The shares were sold to 1 accredited investor at a price per share of $2.32.

 
·
On December 30, 2009, we issued Richard Garr and John Conron, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, an aggregate of 225,475 common shares as consideration for the cancelation of certain obligations owed to such executives.  For a further description of the transaction, please refer to the section of this Annual Report entitled “Transactions with Related Persons, Promoters and Certain Control Person’s” contained in Item 13.

 
·
On January 8, 2010, pursuant to a consulting agreement for investor relations and business development services, we issued Market Development Consulting Group, Inc.: (i) 140,000 common shares; and (ii) a common stock purchase warrant entitling the holder to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock at $1.70 per share.  The warrant is exercisable immediately, shall expire on December 31, 2019, and is freely assignable in whole or in part.   We also agreed to register the shares underlying the warrant for resale.  In connection with the registration of the shares underlying the warrant, we agreed to pay consultant a penalty of 1% additional warrants per each 30 days in the event: (i) a registration statement covering the shares is not filed by March 21, 2009, and (ii) the registration statement covering the shares is not declared effective within 90 days of filing.  The date for registration has been extended to the earlier of: (a) the day following such day as we file our Annual Report for 2009 ; or (b) April 15, 2010.

 
·
On January 15, 2010, we issued a consultant options to purchase an aggregate of 45,000 common shares at $2.40 per share.  The options vest as follows: (i) 25,000 upon grant; and (ii) 20,000 on December 31, 2010.  The options have a term of 5 years.

 
·
On January 15, 2010, we issued a consultant options to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 common shares at $2.40 per share.  The options are 100% vested upon grant and have a term of 7 years.

 
·
On January 29, 2010, as an inducement to exercise 800,000 Series D Warrants, we issued Vicis Capital Master Fund a replacement warrant.  As a result of the exercise, we received gross proceeds in the amount of $1,000,000.  The replacement warrant entitles the holder to purchase 400,000 common shares at price of $1.85 per share.  The warrant has a term of 1 year.

 
·
In March of 2010, in connection with the exercise of 2,699,400 Series C Warrants, we issued the prior warrant holders an aggregate of 2,699,400 replacement warrants.  As a result of the exercise, we received gross proceeds in the amount of $3,374,250.   The replacement warrant is substantially the same as the prior Series C warrants except that: (i) the exercise price is $2.13; (ii) the replacement warrants expire 5 years from the date they were issued; and (iii) the replacement warrants do not provide for any anti-dilution rights.
 
 
·
In March of 2010, in connection with the exercise of 782,005 placement agent warrants, we issued T.R. Winston & Company, LLC, a replacement warrant to purchase 782,005.   As a result of the exercise, we received gross proceeds in the amount of  $860,205.  The replacement warrant is substantially the same as the prior replacement warrants issued to our Series C Warrant holders except that: (i) the exercise price is $2.13; (ii) the replacement warrants expire 5 years from the date they were issued; and (iii) the replacement warrants do not provide for any anti-dilution rights.
 
 
·
In March of  2010, we amended 706,752 placement agent warrants held by TR Winston & Company, LLC.  Pursuant to the amendment, we agreed to extend the expiration date of the placement agent warrants from March 15, 2012 to March 15, 2014 in exchange for the removal of the anti-dilution provisions from said warrants.  We did not receive any additional consideration in connection with the amendment.

 
23

 
 
ITEM 6.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

We are not required to provide the information as to selected financial data as we are considered a smaller reporting company.

ITEM 7. 
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is provided in addition to the accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes to assist readers in understanding our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. MD&A is organized as follows:

 
• 
Overview. Discussion of our business and overall analysis of financial and other highlights affecting the company in order to provide context for the remainder of MD&A.
 
 
• 
Trends & Outlook. Discussion of what we view as the overall trends affecting our business and the strategy for our operating segments and outlook for 2010.
 
 
• 
Critical Accounting Policies. Accounting policies that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results and forecasts.

 
• 
Results of Operations. Analysis of our financial results comparing 2009 to 2008.
 
 
• 
Liquidity and Capital Resources. An analysis of changes in our balance sheets and cash flows, and discussion of our financial condition including potential sources of liquidity.
 
The various sections of this MD&A contain forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects,” “goals,” “plans,” “believes,” “continues,” “may,” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by the uncertainties and risk factors described throughout this filing and particularly in the “Overview” and “Trends & Outlook” section (see also “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K). Our actual results may differ materially.
 
Overview

Neuralstem is focused on the development and commercialization of treatments based on transplanting human neural stem cells.

We have developed and maintain a portfolio of patents and patent applications that form the proprietary base for our research and development efforts in the area of neural stem cell research. We own or exclusively license four (4) issued patents and twelve (12) patent pending applications in the field of regenerative medicine and related technologies. We believe our technology base, in combination with our know-how, and collaborative projects with major research institutions provides a competitive advantage and will facilitate the successful development and commercialization of products for use in the treatment of a wide array of neurodegenerative conditions and in regenerative repair of acute disease.

Regenerative medicine is a young and emerging field. There can be no assurances that our intellectual property portfolio will ultimately produce viable commercialized products and processes. Even if we are able to produce a commercially viable product, there are strong competitors in this field and our product may not be able to successfully compete against them.
 
All of our research efforts to date are at the pre-clinical or clinical stage of development. We are focused on leveraging our key assets, including our intellectual property, our scientific team, our facilities and our capital, to accelerate the advancement of our stem cell technologies. In addition, we are pursuing strategic collaborations with members of academia. We are headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

In addition to our core tissue based technology, we have begun developing a neurogenic and neuroprotective Small-Molecule compound.  The patent covering this new class of drugs was issued June 10, 2009.

 
24

 
Technology

Stem Cells
 
Our technology enables the isolation and large-scale expansion of human neural stem cells from all areas of the developing human brain and spinal cord, thus enabling the generation of physiologically relevant human neurons of all types. Our two issued core patents entitled: (i)  Isolation, Propagation, and Directed Differentiation of Stem Cells from Embryonic and Adult Central Nervous System of Mammals ; and (ii)  In Vitro Generation of Differentiated Neurons from Cultures of Mammalian Multipotential CNS Stem Cell  contain claims which cover the process of deriving the cells and the cells created from this process.
 
What differentiates our stem cell technology from others is that our patented processes do not require us to direct the cells towards a certain fate by adding specific growth factors. Our cells actually “become” the type of cell they are fated to be. This process and the resulting cells comprise a technology platform that allows for the efficient isolation and production, in commercially reasonable quantities, of neural stem cells from the human brain and spinal cord.

To date the Company has focused its efforts on applications involving spinal cord stem cells. It has completed preclinical efficacy and safety studies on these cells sufficient to gain FDA approval for human clinical trials. The company believes it has established “proof of principle” for two important spinal cord applications: ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Ischemic Spastic Paraplegia (a painful form of spasticity that may arise as a complication of surgery to repair aortic aneurysms). In anticipation of Phase I trials, the Company has created spinal cord cell banks using GMP.

We have developed and we maintain a portfolio of patents and patent applications that form the proprietary basis for our research and development efforts in the area of neural stem cell research.  We own or exclusively license four (4) issued patents and thirteen (13) patent pending applications in the field of regenerative medicine and related technologies.

Small-molecule Compounds

The Company has performed tests using cultured neural stem cells and in animals to validate the performance of small molecule compounds for hippocampal neurogenesis. The Company has successfully contracted for the manufacture of small batches of the compound. It expects to contract for a production run using Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) methods which will be large enough to complete safety testing and Phase I clinical trials.

 In June the company received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent on these compounds. Patent application 12/049,922, entitled “Use of Fused Nicotinamides to Promote Neurogenesis,” claims four chemical entities and any pharmaceutical composition including them.
.
Research

We have devoted substantial resources to our research programs in order to isolate and develop a series of neural stem cell banks that we believe can serve as a basis for therapeutic products. Our efforts to date have been directed at methods to identify, isolate and culture large varieties of stem cells of the human nervous system, and to develop therapies utilizing these stem cells. This research is conducted both internally and through the use of third party laboratory consulting companies under our direct supervision.
 
Trends & Outlook

Revenue

 We had no revenue for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008.  Our focus is now on initiating and successfully managing the clinical trial for ALS authorized by the FDA in September of this year.  We are also pursuing pre-clinical studies on other central nervous system indications in preparation for additional clinical trials. We are not focused at this time on generating revenue.

Long-term, we anticipate our revenue will be derived primarily from licensing fees and sales of our cell therapy and small molecule compounds. Because we are at such an early stage in the clinical trials process for our first application, ALS, we are not yet able to accurately predict when we will have a product ready for commercialization.

Research & Development Expenses

Our research and development costs consist of expenses incurred in identifying, developing and testing treatments for central nervous system diseases. These expenses consist primarily of salaries and related expenses for personnel, fees paid to professional service providers and academic collaborators for research, testing, contract manufacturing, costs of facilities, and the preparation of regulatory applications and reports. 

We focus on the development of treatment candidates with potential uses in multiple indications, and use employee and infrastructure resources across several projects. Accordingly, many of our costs are not attributable to a specifically identified product and we do not account for internal research and development costs on a project-by-project basis.

 
25

 

We expect that research and development expenses will increase in the future, as funding allows. To the extent that it is practical, we will continue to outsource much of our efforts, including product manufacture, proof of principle and preclinical testing, toxicology, tumorigenicity, dosing rationale, and development of clinical protocol and IND packages. This approach allows the Company to use the best expertise available for each task and keep its spending inside available cash resources.

Stem Cells

Our top development priority is the ALS clinical trial at Emory University in Atlanta. We estimate that the Phase I trial for ALS will require 12 to 18 patients at an estimated cost of $130,000 per patient. The per- patient number includes the costs of the operation to administer our spinal cord cells, post operation treatment for the patient, Emory University’s charges for running the trial and third party trial monitoring and data collection. Our spending on an individual patient will be spread over the life of the trial as the majority of our costs are incurred after the patient has been operated on. We expect trial spending to gradually increase to $100,000 per month after a number of patients have been treated.

In the strategy section we outlined a number of additional indications for which our spinal cord stem cells have potential therapeutic value.  We will work on proof of principle testing, dosing rationale, and the development of clinical protocols for the most promising indications. We intend to submit IND applications to the FDA to initiate clinical trials for the most promising treatment candidates.  The Company expects to submit an IND to treat Spinal Cord Injury in 2010.

Small Molecule Compounds

We believe we have successfully demonstrated proof of principle to support advancement of our lead small molecule compound for treatment of depression.  We have completed planning for toxicology, tumorigenicity, dosing rationale, and development of the clinical protocol. We will issue work orders to contractors for these efforts when funding is available. If the remaining preclinical testing results are successful we will file an IND with the FDA. We hope to begin clinical trials for this indication in late 2010 or early 2011.

General and Administrative Expenses

Our general and administrative (“G&A”) expenses consist of the general costs, expenses and salaries for the operation and maintenance of our business. We anticipate that general and administrative expenses will increase as we progress from pre-clinical to a clinical phase.

We anticipate G&A expenses related to our core business will increase at a slower rate than that of similar companies making such transition due in large part to our outsourcing model.
 
Critical Accounting Policies

Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Note 1of the Notes to Financial Statements describes the significant accounting policies used in the preparation of the financial statements. Certain of these significant accounting policies are considered to be critical accounting policies, as defined below.

A critical accounting policy is defined as one that is both material to the presentation of our financial statements and requires management to make difficult, subjective or complex judgments that could have a material effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Specifically, critical accounting estimates have the following attributes: (1) we are required to make assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time of the estimate; and (2) different estimates we could reasonably have used, or changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur, would have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Estimates and assumptions about future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be applicable and reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates may change as new events occur, as additional information is obtained and as our operating environment changes. These changes have historically been minor and have been included in the financial statements as soon as they became known. Based on a critical assessment of our accounting policies and the underlying judgments and uncertainties affecting the application of those policies, management believes that our financial statements are fairly stated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, and present a meaningful presentation of our financial condition and results of operations. We believe the following critical accounting policies reflect our more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our financial statements:

 Use of Estimates—Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and, accordingly, require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Specifically, our management has estimated the expected economic life and value of our licensed technology, our net operating loss for tax purposes and our stock option and warrant expenses related to compensation to employees and directors, consultants and investment banks. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 
26

 

Revenue Recognition—We had no revenues for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008.  Our revenues, to date, have been previously derived primarily from providing treated samples for gene expression data from stem cell experiments and from providing services as a subcontractor under federal grant programs. Revenue is recognized when there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, delivery of goods and services has occurred, the price is fixed and determinable, and collection is reasonably assured.

Intangible and Long-Lived Assets—We follow FASB guidelines related to the accounting for impairment of long-lived assets, which established a "primary asset" approach to determine the cash flow estimation period for a group of assets and liabilities that represents the unit of accounting for a long lived asset to be held and used. Long-lived assets to be held and used are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. Long-lived assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell. During the period ended December 31, 2009 no impairment losses were recognized.

 Accounting for WarrantsWe have adopted FASB guidance related to determining whether an instrument or embedded feature is indexed to an entity’s own stock.  This guidance applies to any freestanding financial instruments or embedded features that have the characteristics of a derivative, as defined by the FASB, and to any freestanding financial instruments that are potentially settled in an entity’s own common stock.  As a result, certain of our warrants are considered to be derivatives and must be valued using various assumptions as they are recorded as liabilities.

Research and Development Costs—Research and development costs consist of expenditures for the research and development of patents and technology, which are not capitalizable and charged to operations when incurred. Our research and development costs consist mainly of payroll and payroll related expenses, research supplies and costs incurred in connection with specific research grants.
 
Stock Based Compensation—The Company accounts for equity instruments issued to non-employees in accordance with guidance issued by FASB.  Accordingly, the estimated fair value of the equity instrument is recorded on the earlier of the performance commitment date or the date the services required are completed.

Beginning in 2006, we adopted the guidance issued by the FASB related to share based payments.  This guidance requires compensation costs related to share-based payment transactions to be recognized in the financial statements.  We recognized $4,556,916   and $4,632,847 in stock-based compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

Results of Operations
 
Revenue

The company did not have revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

We do not anticipate any revenues for 2010.

Operating Expenses
 
Operating expenses totaled $10,466,549 in 2009 and $11,831,973 in 2008.

         
Change in
 
         
2009
 
         
Versus 2008
 
 
2009
 
2008
 
$
 
%
 
Operating Expenses
                       
Research & development
  $ 5,346,904     $ 6,513,349     $ (1,166,445 )     18 %
General, selling & administrative expense
    5,030,981       5,252,863       (221,882 )     4 %
Depreciation and amortization
    88,664       65,761       22,903       35 %
Total expense
  $ 10,466,549     $ 11,831,973     $ (1,365,424 )     12 %

 
27

 
 
Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses totaled $5,346,904 in 2009, as compared to $6,513,349 in 2008.  The decrease of $1,166,445, or 18%, from 2008 to 2009 was primarily attributable to the costs in 2008 of completing the application to the FDA to move our cell based product into clinical trials and a reduction in non-cash stock-based compensation expense.

General and Administrative Expenses
 
G&A expenses totaled $5,030,981 in 2009, compared with $5,252,863 in 2008.  The decrease of $221,882, or 4%, from 2008 to 2009 was primarily attributable to increased litigation expenses offset by expense decreases spread over a wide range of categories, including non-cash stock-based compensation expense, and reflects management’s ongoing efforts to manage cash consumption.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization expenses totaled $88,664 in 2009, compared with $65,761 in 2008.  The increase of $29,203 or 35% from 2008 to 2009 was primarily attributed to fixed asset and patent filing fee additions over the past year.

Nonoperating (expense) income
 
Nonoperating (expense) income totaled $102,186 and $1,175 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.  The nonoperating income or expense is discussed below.
 
Interest income totaled $19,614 in 2009 compared to $39,806 in 2008. The decrease of $20,192 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 compared to the comparable period in 2008 was attributable to lower cash balances and much reduced interest rates on short term savings.
 
Interest expense was $776 in 2009 and $0 in 2008. The increase in 2009 as compared to 2008 was attributable to the short term financing of some insurance costs.

The Company had a warrant modification expense of $38,631 in 2008.  Details of the transaction are in Note 2 to the financial statements.

On January 1, 2009 we reclassified the fair value of  common stock purchase warrants, which have exercise price reset and anti-liquidation features, from equity to liability classification as if these warrants were treated as a derivative liability since their date of issue.  We established a long-term warrant liability of $6.8 million to recognize the fair value of such warrants. In the first quarter ended March 30, 2009, the fair value of these common stock purchase warrants decreased because of a decrease in the stock price, resulting in a gain for the quarter.  In the three months ended June 30, 2009, the fair value of these common stock purchase warrants increased to $3.2 million because of an increase in the stock price. We recognized a $473,799 non-cash expense from the change in fair value of these warrants for the three months ended June 30, 2009.  In the three months ended September 30, 2009, the fair value of these common stock purchase warrants increased to $5.6 million due to an increase in the stock price. We recognized a $2.6 million non-cash expense from the change in fair value of these warrants for the three months ended September 30, 2009.  In the three months ended December 31, 2009, the fair value of these common stock purchase warrants increased to $6.5 million due to an increase in the stock price.  We recognized a $677,830 non-cash expense from the change in fair value of the warrants for the three months ended December 31, 2009.The net gain for the twelve month period ended December 31, 2009 is $83,348.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
 
Since our inception, we have financed our operations through the private placement of our securities, the exercise of investor warrants, and to a lesser degree from grants. Currently, our monthly cash burn rate is $600,000.   We anticipate that our available cash and expected income will be sufficient to finance our current activities for at least the next 12 months from December 31, 2009, although certain activities and related personnel may need to be reduced.

On December 18, 2008, we filed our first IND with the FDA.  We estimate that we will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to finance our current operations, pre-clinical and clinical work for at least 12 months from December 31, 2009. We cannot assure you that public or private financing or grants will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. Several factors will affect our ability to raise additional funding, including, but not limited to, the volatility of our common shares and general market conditions.
 
               
Change in 2008
 
               
Versus 2007
 
   
2009
   
2008
   
$
   
%
 
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 2,309,774     $ 4,903,279     $ (2,593,505 )     (53 )%
                                 
Net cash used in operating activities
  $ (5,144,820 )   $ (6,860,039 )   $ (1,715,219 )     (25 )%
Net cash used in investing activities
  $ (210,784 )   $ (193,630 )   $ 17,154       (9 )%
Net cash provided by financing activities
  $ 2,762,099     $ 4,553,211     $ (1,791,112 )     (39 )%

 
28

 

Total cash and cash equivalents was $2,309,774 at December 31, 2009, compared with $4,903,279 at December 31, 2008.  The decrease in our cash and cash equivalents of $2,593,505 or 53%, from December 31, 2008 to December 31, 2009 was do to the postponement of new financing until the first quarter of 2010 when the company raised an additional $7M.

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities
 
Operating activities required $5,144,820 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 compared to $6,860,039 for the same period  in 2008. The decrease of $1,715,219 in cash consumption, or 25%, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 was primarily attributable to an increase of $295,334 in short term financing by vendors, employees and other service providers for the year and a reduction in spending, particularly in research of $969,506 and $325,112 in management incentive bonuses. .

Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
 
In our investment activities we used $210,784 in cash in 2009 and $193,630 in cash in 2008.  The increase in our cash use of $17,154, or 9%, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 was primarily attributable to an increase in purchases of property and equipment.
 
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
 
Net cash provided by financing activities was $2,762,099 in 2009 as compared to $4,553,211 in 2008 as $7M of new financing activity was postponed to the first quarter of 2010 when better terms where available.
 
Subsequent Financing Activities

During the first quarter of 2010, and subsequent to the date of the balance sheet included in this Annual Report, we completed a series of transactions resulting in us receiving gross proceeds for the exercise of our Series A, B, C and D warrants of $7.3 million.  On March 16, 2010 we had cash on hand of $7.8 million. 

Listed below are key financing transactions entered into by us in the last two years.  Also, please refer to the section of this Annual Report entitled “Recent Sale of Unregistered Securities” for a further description of the following transactions:
 
In February of 2008, we sold a strategic purchaser $2,500,000 of our common stock.

 
• 
On December 18, 2008, we sold $2,000,000 of common stock pursuant to our shelf registration statement on Form S-3.

 
• 
On June 30, 2009, we sold $1,000,000 of common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 2,440,000 common shares pursuant to our shelf registration statement on Form S-3.

 
• 
In September 2009, we received $347,418 as a result of warrant exercises.

 
• 
In October and December 2009, we received $53,214 as a result of warrant exercises.

 
• 
On December 29, 2009 we sold $1,500,000 of common stock pursuant to a private placement.

Transactions Subsequent to December 31, 2009

 
·
On January 29, 2010, we received $1,000,000 as a result of Series D warrant exercises.
 
 
·
In February of 2010, we exercised the call provision related to our Series B Warrants which resulted in $2,460,918from the exercise thereof.
 
 
29

 

 
·
In March of 2010, we received $3,374,250 as a result of Series C warrant exercises.
 
 
·
In March of 2010, we received $860,205 as a result of placement agent warrant exercises.
 
Call of Series B Warrants

During the first quarter of 2006, we issued an aggregate of 2,019,231 Series B warrants in connection with a private placement of our securities. The Series B warrants contained a call provision allowing us to redeem the warrants for $.01 per warrant share, upon 30 days notice, provided the following two conditions were met:  (a) we receive approval of our IND, and (b) a registration statement covering the resale of the warrant shares shall be effective.  As a result, Series B warrant holders exercised their respective warrants which resulted in us issuing 1,993,876 common shares and receiving gross proceeds in the amount of $2,460,918.
 
We have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows since inception. We have not achieved profitability and may not be able to realize sufficient revenue to achieve or sustain profitability in the future. We do not expect to be profitable in the next several years, but rather expect to incur additional operating losses. We have limited liquidity and capital resources and must obtain significant additional capital resources in order to sustain our product development efforts, for acquisition of technologies and intellectual property rights, for preclinical and clinical testing of our anticipated products, pursuit of regulatory approvals, acquisition of capital equipment, laboratory and office facilities, establishment of production capabilities, for general and administrative expenses and other working capital requirements. We rely on cash balances and the proceeds from the offering of our securities, exercise of outstanding warrants and grants to fund our operations.

We intend to pursue opportunities to obtain additional financing in the future through the sale of our securities and additional research grants. We have a shelf registration statement which was declared effective on September 29, 2008 and covers up to approximately $25,000,000 of our securities that could be available for financings. On December 18, 2008 and June 30, 2009, we filed Prospectus Supplements under which we sold securities with an aggregate market value pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3, of $6,167,520.  Accordingly, depending on our market capitalization and other restrictions and conditions contained in General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3, we may be able to sell up to an additional $18,832,420 pursuant to our shelf registration statement.

The source, timing and availability of any future financing will depend principally upon market conditions, interest rates and, more specifically, on our progress in our exploratory, preclinical and future clinical development programs. Funding may not be available when needed — at all, or on terms acceptable to us. Lack of necessary funds may require us, among other things, to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of our research and product development programs, planned clinical trials, and/or our capital expenditures or to license our potential products or technologies to third parties.

ITEM 7A. 
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK 

We are not required to provide the information as to selected financial data as we are considered a smaller reporting company, as defined by Rule 229.10(f)(1).
 
ITEM 8. 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
  
 
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
 
31
     
Balance Sheets
 
32
     
Statements of Operations
 
33
     
Statements of Cash Flows
 
34
     
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
 
35
     
Notes to Financial Statements
 
36
 
 
30

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders
Neuralstem, Inc.
Rockville, Maryland

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Neuralstem, Inc. as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, and the related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008.  Neuralstem, Inc.’s management is responsible for these financial statements.  Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).  Those standards required that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.  Neuralstem, Inc. is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting.  Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of Neuralstem, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting.  Accordingly, we express no such opinion.  An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.  We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Neuralstem, Inc. as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

As discussed in Note 8 to the financial statements, in 2009 Neuralstem, Inc. adopted the guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board regarding whether an instrument or embedded feature is indexed to an entity’s own stock.  This resulted in the recharacterization of certain warrants as liabilities.

 
/s/ Stegman & Company

Baltimore, Maryland
March 30, 2010

 
31

 

Neuralstem, Inc.
 
Balance Sheets

   
December 31,
   
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
ASSETS
           
CURRENT ASSETS
           
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 2,309,774     $ 4,903,279  
Prepaid expenses
    143,600       136,287  
                 
Total current assets
    2,453,374       5,039,566  
                 
Property and equipment, net
    196,755       163,930  
Intangible assets, net
    301,560       212,265  
Other assets
    55,716       52,972  
                 
Total assets
  $ 3,007,405     $ 5,468,733  
                 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' (DEFICIT) EQUITY
               
                 
CURRENT LIABILITIES
               
                 
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
  $ 791,607     $ 547,950  
Accrued bonus expense
    769,215       717,538  
Total current liabilities
    1,560,822       1,265,488  
                 
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
               
                 
Fair value of warrant obligations
    6,462,039       -  
                 
Total liabilities
    8,022,861       1,265,488  
                 
STOCKHOLDERS' (DEFICIT) EQUITY
               
                 
Preferred stock, 7,000,000 shares authorized, zero shares issued and outstanding
    -       -  
                 
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 150 million shares authorized, 35,743,831 and 33,751,300 shares outstanding in 2009 and 2008, respectively
    357,438       337,513  
Additional paid-in capital
    62,193,937       61,352,527  
Accumulated deficit
    (67,566,831 )     (57,486,795 )
Total stockholders' (deficit) equity
    (5,015,456 )     4,203,245  
                 
Total liabilities and stockholders' (deficit) equity
  $ 3,007,405     $ 5,468,733  

See notes to financial statements.
 
 
32

 
 
Neuralstem, Inc.

Statements of Operations

   
Years
 
   
Ended December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Revenues
  $ -     $ -  
                 
Operating expenses:
               
Research and development costs
    5,346,904       6,513,349  
General, selling and administrative expenses
    5,030,981       5,252,863  
Depreciation and amortization
    88,664       65,761  
Total operating expenses
    10,466,549       11,831,973  
Operating loss
    (10,466,549 )     (11,831,973 )
                 
Nonoperating (expense) income:
               
Interest income
    19,614       39,806  
Interest expense
    (776 )     -  
Warrant modification expense
    -       (38,631 )
Gain from change in fair value of warrant obligations
    83,348       -  
Total nonoperating income
    102,186       1,175  
                 
Net loss attributable to common shareholders
  $ (10,364,363 )   $ (11,830,798 )
                 
Net loss per share, basic and diluted
  $ (0.30 )   $ (0.37 )
                 
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted
    34,280,882       32,114,365  

See notes to financial statements.
 
 
33

 

Neuralstem, Inc.
 
Statements of Cash Flows

   
Twelve Months
 
   
Ended December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Cash flows from operating activities:
           
Net loss
  $ (10,364,363 )   $ (11,830,798 )
                 
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash used in operating activities:
               
Depreciation and amortization
    88,664       65,761  
Share based compensation expenses
    4,556,916       4,632,847  
Warrant modification expense
    -       38,631  
                 
Gain from change in fair value of warrant obligations
    (83,348 )     -  
                 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
               
Prepaid expenses
    (7,313 )     (5,568 )
Other assets
    (2,744 )     (9,701 )
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
    243,657       127,301  
Accrued bonus expenses
    423,711       121,488  
Net cash used in operating activities
    (5,144,820 )     (6,860,039 )
                 
Cash flows from investing activities:
               
Acquisition of intangible assets
    (122,406 )     (116,921 )
Purchase of property and equipment
    (88,378 )     (76,709 )
Net cash used in investing activities
    (210,784 )     (193,630 )
                 
Cash flows From financing activities:
               
Issuance of common stock
    2,762,099       4,553,211  
Net cash provided by financing activities
    2,762,099       4,553,211  
                 
Net decrease in cash
    (2,593,505 )     (2,500,458 )
                 
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
    4,903,279       7,403,737  
                 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
  $ 2,309,774     $ 4,903,279  
                 
Supplemental disclosure of cash flows information:
               
Cash paid for interest
    776       -  
Cash paid for income taxes
    -       -  
                 
Supplemental schedule of non cash investing and financing activities:
               
Common stock issued to pay accrued employee bonuses
    372,033       -  

See notes to financial statements.

 
34

 

Neuralstem, Inc.

Statements
of Shareholders' Equity (Deficit)

For the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008

   
Common
   
Common
   
Additional
         
Total
 
   
Stock
   
Stock
   
Paid-In
   
Accumulated
   
Stockholders'
 
   
Shares
   
Amount
   
Capital
   
Deficit
   
Equity (Deficit)
 
                               
Balance at January 1, 2008
    31,410,566     $ 314,106     $ 52,151,245     $ (45,655,997 )   $ 6,809,354  
Exercise of Warrants to purchase Common Stock ($1.50 to $2.00 per share), net of offering costs of $20,889
    125,425       1,254       209,957               211,211  
Issuance of common stock though private placement ($4.06 per share).
    615,309       6,153       2,493,847               2,500,000  
Issuance of common stock though private placement ($1.25 per share) , net of offering costs of $158,000
    1,600,000       16,000       1,826,000               1,842,000  
Share Based Payments - Employee Compensation
                    4,632,847               4,632,847  
Warrant Modification Expense
                    38,631               38,631  
Net loss
                            (11,830,798 )     (11,830,798 )
Balance at December 31, 2008
    33,751,300       337,513       61,352,527       (57,486,795 )     4,203,245  
Cumulative effect of reclassification of warrants to liabilities
                    (7,044,118 )     284,327       (6,759,791 )
Balance, January 1, 2009 as adjusted
    33,751,300       337,513       54,308,409       (57,202,468 )     (2,556,546 )
Share based payment - employee compensation
                    4,556,916               4,556,916  
Issuance of common stock through Private Placement ($1.25 per share), net of financing costs of $96,608.
    800,000       8,000       895,392               903,392  
Issuance of common stock from warrants exercised ($1.25 per share), net of financing costs of $31,300.
    320,505       3,205       575,741               578,946  
Issuance of common stock in settlement of outstanding 2008 bonus due to officers (225,475 shares at $1.65 per share)
    225,475       2,255       369,778               372,033  
Issuance of common stock through Private Placement ($2.32 per share), net of financing costs of $5,833
    646,551       6,465       1,487,701               1,494,166  
Net loss
                            (10,364,363 )     (10,364,363 )
Balance at December 31, 2009
    35,743,831     $ 357,438     $ 62,193,937     $ (67,566,831 )   $ (5,015,456 )

See notes to financial statements.

 
35

 

NEURALSTEM, INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 
Note 1.  Nature of Business and Significant Accounting Policies
 
Nature of business:

Neuralstem, Inc. (“Company”) is a biopharmaceuticals company that is utilizing its proprietary human neural stem cell technology to create a comprehensive platform for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. The Company will commercialize this technology as a tool for use in the next generation of small-molecule drug discovery and to create cell therapy biotherapeutics to treat central nervous system diseases for which there are no cures. The Company was founded in 1997 and currently occupies lab and office space in Rockville, Maryland.

Inherent in the Company’s business are various risks and uncertainties, including its limited operating history, the fact that Neuralstem’s technologies are new and may not allow the Company or its customers to develop commercial products, regulatory requirements associated with drug development efforts and the intense competition in the genomics industry. The Company’s success depends, in part, upon successfully raising additional capital, prospective product development efforts, the acceptance of the Company’s solutions by the marketplace, and approval of the Company’s solutions by various governmental agencies.

A summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies is as follows:

Basis of Presentation

These financial statements have been prepared on the basis that the Company will continue as a going concern.  Such assertion contemplates the significant losses recognized to date and the challenges we anticipate with respect to obtaining near-term funding under prevailing and forecasted economic conditions.  The Company continues to be fully committed and has the capacity to continue to provide necessary capital and liquidity to fund continuing operations.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make 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 and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Because of the use of estimates inherent in the financial reporting process, actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
 
The Company's business currently does not generate cash. The Company's management does not know when this will change. The Company has expended and will continue to expend substantial funds in the research, development and clinical and pre-clinical testing of the Company's stem cell technologies and products with the goal of ultimately obtaining approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") to market and sell our products. We believe our long-term cash position is inadequate to fund all of the costs associated with the full range of testing and clinical trials required by the FDA for our core products. Based on our current operating levels, we believe that we have sufficient levels of cash and cash equivalents to fund operations into the first quarter of 2011.

No assurance can be given that (i) we will be able to expand our operations prior to FDA approval of our products, or (ii) that FDA approval will ever be granted for our products.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

For the Statements of Cash Flows, all highly liquid investments with maturity of three months or less are considered to be cash equivalents.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is stated at cost and depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives ranging from three to eight years. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred.

Recoverability of Long-Lived Assets and Identifiable Intangible Assets

Long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangible assets to be held and used are reviewed for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on an estimate of undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. In the event that such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the carrying amount of the assets, the assets are written down to their estimated fair values. Long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangible assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell.
 
36

 
Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair values of financial instruments are estimated based on market rates based upon certain market assumptions and information available to management. The respective carrying value of certain on-balance-sheet financial instruments approximated their fair values. These financial instruments include cash, accounts payable and notes payable. Fair values were assumed to approximate carrying values for cash and payables due to the short-term nature or that they are payable on demand.

Revenue Recognition
Our revenue recognition policies are in accordance with guidance issued by the SEC and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).  Historically, our revenue has been derived primarily from providing treated samples for gene expression data from stem cell experiments, from providing services under various grant programs and through the licensing of the use of our intellectual property.  Revenue is recognized when there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, delivery of goods and services has occurred, the price is fixed and determinable, and collection is reasonably assured.

Research and Development

 Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs associated with pre-clinical research, exclusively in the field of human neural stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine, related to our clinical cell therapy candidates. These expenses represent both pre-clinical development costs and costs associated with non-clinical support activities such as quality control and regulatory processes. Research and development costs are expensed as they are incurred.

Income taxes

Income taxes are provided for using the liability method of accounting in accordance with accepted accounting standards.  A deferred tax asset or liability is recorded for all temporary differences between financial and tax reporting. Temporary differences are the differences between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax basis. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effect of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment.

Significant New Accounting Pronouncements

On July 1, 2009, the Accounting Standards codification became FASB’s officially recognized source of authoritative U.S. generally accepted accounting principles applicable to all public and non-public non-governmental entities, superseding existing FASB, AICPA, EITF and related literature.  Rules and interpretive releases of the SEC under the authority of federal securities laws are also sources of authoritative GAAP for SEC registrants.  All other accounting literature is considered non-authoritative.  The switch to the ASC affects the way companies refer to U.S. GAAP in financial statements and accounting policies.  Citing particular content in the ASC involves specifying the unique numeric path to the content through the Topic, Subtopic, Section and Paragraph structure.

In June 2008, the FASB ratified consensus reached on determining whether an instrument is indexed to an entity’s own stock. The FASB provides guidance for determining whether an equity-linked financial instrument (or embedded feature) is indexed to an entity's own stock. The guidance applies to any freestanding financial instrument or embedded feature that has all the characteristics of a derivative, as defined by the FASB. The guidance also applies to any freestanding financial instrument that is potentially settled in an entity's own stock, regardless of whether the instrument has all the characteristics of a derivative, for purposes of determining whether the instrument is subject to accounting guidance for instruments that are indexed to, and potentially settled in, the issuer's own stock. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008.  See Note 5 for a discussion of the effect of this standard that was adopted on January 1, 2009.

In May 2009, the FASB issued new accounting guidance related to the accounting and disclosures of subsequent events.  This guidance incorporates the subsequent events guidance contained in the auditing standards literature into authoritative accounting literature. This guidance is effective for financial statements issued for interim or annual periods ending after June 15, 2009.  We adopted this guidance upon its issuance and it had no material impact on our financial statements.
 
In June 2009, the FASB issued new accounting guidance to improve financial reporting by companies involved with variable interest entities and to provide more relevant and reliable information to users of financial statements.  This guidance is effective as of the beginning of each reporting entity’s first annual reporting period that begins after November 15, 2009, for interim periods within that first annual reporting period, and for interim and annual reporting periods thereafter. Earlier application is prohibited.  We adopted this guidance upon its issuance and it had no material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
 
Share Based Payments

We have granted stock-based compensation awards to employees and board members.  Awards may consist of common stock, warrants, or stock options.  Our stock options and warrants have up to a ten year life.  The stock options or warrants vest either upon the grant date or over varying periods of time. The stock options we grant provide for option exercise prices equal to or greater than the fair market value of the common stock at the date of the grant. 
 
37

 
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2009, we granted 270,000 options, and in the similar period ended December 31, 2008, we granted 5,650,000 options. We recorded related compensation expenses as our options vest in accordance with guidance issued by the FASB related to share based payments.  We recognized $4,556,916 and $4,632,847 in share-based compensation expense during the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, from the vesting of stock options or warrants.

Note 2. Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity

Preferred and Common Stock

The authorized stock of the Company consists of 7,000,000 shares of blank check preferred stock with a par value of $0.01 and 150,000,000 shares of common stock with par value of $0.01.  None of these shares have been issued.
 
The Company completed a registered offering of 800,000 common shares at $1.25 per share increasing equity by approximately $1,000,000 in June 2009, less approximately $97,000 in related placement and closing costs.  In September 2009 and December 2009, several warrant holders exercised 320,505 warrants at $1.25 per warrant increasing equity by approximately $401,000 less $31,300 in related financing costs.  In December 2009, the Company completed a private placement of 646,551 common shares at $2.32 per share increasing equity by approximately $1,500,000 less approximately $6,000 in related costs.

During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company sold 2,215,309 shares of common stock for a total consideration of $4,342,000 (net of offering expenses of $158,000). During the year ended December 31, 2008 the Company also converted 125,425 warrants to purchase Common Stock into common shares, raising $211,211 net of $20,889 in expenses.
 
Stock Options

In 1997, the Company adopted a stock incentive plan (the Plan) to provide for the granting of stock awards, such as stock options and restricted common stock to employees, directors and other individuals as determined by the Board of Directors. The Company reserved 2.7 million shares of common stock for issuance under the Plan. At December 31, 2002, 816,084 options were outstanding with 216,040 options exercisable. During 2003, the Company reduced operations and terminated employment with all employees. The Plan was discontinued, terminating all options outstanding.

·
On January 21, 2008, we granted the following options pursuant to our 2007 Stock Plan:
 
Karl Johe, Chairman and Chief Science Officer - options to purchase 2.1 million common shares at a price of $3.66 per share. The options vest over 3.5 years with the vesting period commencing on January 1, 2008 with 700,000 options vesting on each of February 28, 2009, April 30, 2010, and June 30, 2011. The options expire on January 1, 2018. Additionally, the options will become immediately exercisable upon an event which would result in an acceleration of Mr. Johe’s stock options granted under his employment agreement.

Richard Garr, Chief Executive Officer and General Council - options to purchase 2.1 million common shares at a price of $3.66 per share. The options vest over 3.5 years with the vesting period commencing on January 1, 2008 with 700,000 options vesting on each of February 28, 2009, April 30, 2010, and June 30, 2011. The options expire on January 1, 2018.  Additionally, the options will become immediately exercisable upon an event which would result in an acceleration of Mr. Garr’s stock options granted under his employment agreement.

·
On April 1, 2008, we granted an officer compensatory options to purchase an aggregate of 1,050,000 common shares at an exercise price of $2.60. The options vest as follows: (i) 50,000 vest immediately; and (ii) 1,000,000 vest annually over the next three years so that 100% of the options will be vested on April 1, 2011. The options were issued pursuant to our two stock plans as follows: (x) the option to purchase 1,000,000 common shares was issued pursuant to our 2007 Stock Plan; and (y) option to purchase 50,000 common shares was issued pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan.

·
On May 28, 2008, we granted independent directors options to purchase an aggregate of 120,000 common shares at an exercise price of $1.32. The grant was made pursuant to our 2007 Stock Plan and in compliance with our non-executive compensation arrangement. The grant consists of: (i) an option purchase 90,000 common shares as compensation for serving on the board of directors; (ii) an option to purchase 10,000 common shares as compensation for serving on our Audit Committee; (iii) an option to purchase 10,000 common shares as compensation for serving on our Compensation Committee; and (iv) an option to purchase 10,000 common shares as compensation for serving on our Governance and Nominating Committee. The options vest quarterly over the grant year and expire 7 years from the date of grant.
 
38

 
·
On August 14, 2008, we granted options to purchase an aggregate of 30,000 common shares at an exercise price of $1.88 to two employees (15,000 each). The grants were made pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan. The options vest as follows: (i) 15,000 on the granted date; and (ii) 15,000 on August 14, 2009. The options expire on August 14, 2018.

·
On August 14, 2008, we granted one of our employees options to purchase 200,000. The grant is effective as of August 11, 2008, the employee’s start date. The options vest as follows: (i) 40,000 on the effective date; and (ii) 40,000 on each of August 11, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The grant was made pursuant to the 2005 Stock Plan. The options have an exercise price of $1.89 and expire on August 14, 2018.

·
On November 14, 2008 we granted a consultant 50,000 warrants to purchase common shares at a price of $2.75, which were reclassed in 2009 to options with the same terms. The grant was made pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan.  The options are fully vested.  The options were issued as partial compensation for services rendered.  The options expire on November 13, 2013.

·
On January 5, 2009 we granted a consultant 100,000 options to purchase common shares at a price of $1.64.  The options were issued as compensation for services rendered. The grant was made pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan.  The options are fully vested and have a cashless exercise provision.  The options expire on January 5, 2016.

·
On June 3, 2009 we granted a consultant100,000 options to purchase common shares at a price of $1.13.  The options were issued as compensation for services rendered.  The grant was made pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan.  The options vest as follows:  25,000 vested immediately; 25,000 vest at the six month anniversary; 25,000 vest at the twelve month anniversary; 25,000 vest at the eighteen month anniversary.  The options expire on June 3, 2019.

·
On July 2, 2009 we granted independent directors options to purchase an aggregate of 70,000 common shares at an exercise price of $1.17.  The grant was made pursuant to our 2007 Stock Plan and in compliance with our non-executive compensation arrangement.  The grant consists of: (i) options to purchase 40,000 common shares as compensation for serving on the Board of Directors; (ii) options to purchase 10,000 common shares as compensation for serving on the Audit Committee; (iii) options to purchase 10,000 common shares as compensation for serving on the Compensation Committee; and (iv) options to purchase 10,000 common shares as compensation for serving on the Governance and Nominating Committee.  These options vest quarterly over the grant year and expire 7 years from the date of grant.
 
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2009, we granted 270,000 options and in the similar period ended December 31, 2008, we granted 5,650,000 options. We recorded related compensation expenses as our options vest in accordance with accordance with guidance issued by the FASB related to share based payments.   We recognized $4,556,916 and $4,632,847 in share-based compensation expense during the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, from the vesting of stock options or warrants.

   
Number of
Options
   
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
   
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
(in years)
   
Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
 
                                 
Outstanding at January 1, 2008
    3,150,659     $ 1.19       6.8     $ -  
                                 
Granted
    5,650,000       3.34       9.3     $ -  
Exercised
    -       -       -       -  
Forfeited
    -       -       -       -  
                                 
Outstanding at January 1, 2009
    8,800,659     $ 2.55       8.2     $ -  
                                 
Granted
    270,000       1.33       8.2     $ 124,400  
Exercised
    -       -       -       -  
Forfeited
    -       -       -       -  
                                 
Outstanding at December 31, 2009
    9,070,659     $ 2.52       7.2     $ 3,276,800  
                                 
Exercisable at December 31, 2009
    5,065,659     $ 1.88       6.6     $ 3,222,100  
 
 
39

 

Range of
           
Exercise
 
Outstanding
       
Price
 
Options
   
Expiration Dates
 
             
$0.50 - 2.00
    3,070,000       2015 - 2019  
                 
$ 2.01 - 3.00
    1,115,000       2013 - 2018  
                 
$3.01 - 4.00
    4,818,275       2012 - 2018  
                 
$4..01 - 8.00
    62,042       2011 - 2015  
                 
$8.01 - higher
    5,342       2010 - 2011  
                 
      9,070,659          

Share-based compensation included in the statements of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009and 2008 was as follows:

Stock Compensation Expense

   
Twelve Months Ended Dec. 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Research and development costs
  $ 2,887,001     $ 3,024,537  
                 
General, selling and administrative expenses
    1,669,915       1,608,310  
Total
  $ 4,556,916     $ 4,632,847  

Stock Warrants

 During the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2009 the company issued the following warrants:

 
·
On December 18, 2008, we completed a registered offering of our shares at a price per share of $1,25.  As a result of this transaction we issued:
 
o
112,000 placement agent warrants to purchase common stock at a price per share of $2.52.  The warrants expire December 16, 2013.
 
o
1,884,672 Series C Warrants to purchase common stock at a price per share of $1.25.  The warrants expire October 31, 2012.
 
40

 
 
·
On March 30, 2009 we granted a consultant warrants to purchase 96,000 shares at a price of $1.25.  The warrants shall be fully vested on 3/20/2010 and expire on 3/30/2015.

 
·
On June 30, 2009 we completed a registered offering of 800,000 units at a price per share of $1.25.  As a result of this transaction we issued:
 
o
800,000 fully paid common shares.
 
o
800,000 Series D Warrants to purchase common stock at a price of $1.25.  The warrants expire on June 30, 2010.
 
o
800,000 Series E Warrants to purchase common stock at a price of $1.25.  The warrants expire on June 30, 2012.
 
o
800,000 Series F Warrants to purchase common stock at a price of $1.25.  The warrants expire on June 30, 2014.
 
o
40,000 placement agent warrants to purchase common stock at a price of $1.5625.  The warrants expire on June 30, 2014.
 
 
·
On October 1, 2009 we granted a consultant warrants to purchase100,000 shares at a price of $1.49.  The warrants are fully vested and have a cashless exercise provision.  The warrants expire on 10/1/2016.
 
               
Weighted-
       
         
Weighted-
   
Average
       
         
Average
   
Remaining
   
Aggregate
 
   
Number
   
Exercise
   
Contractual
   
Intrinsic
 
   
of Warrants
   
Price
   
Life (in years)
   
Value
 
                         
Outstanding at January 1, 2008
    11,208,515                   -  
                             
Issued
    1,996,672                   -  
Exercised
    (125,425 )                 -  
Forfeited
    -                      
                             
Outstanding at December 31, 2008
    13,079,762     $ 2.27       2.0       -  
                                 
Issued
    2,536,000       1.25       2.8       -  
Exercised
    (320,505 )     1.25       -       -  
Forfeited
    -       -       -       -  
                                 
Outstanding at December 31, 2009
    15,295,257     $ 1.82       2.0       -  
                                 
Exercisable at December 31, 2009
    12,199,257     $ 1.53       2.0       -  

Effective January 1, 2009 we adopted the provisions of recent accounting guidance, described below.  As a result of adopting this guidance, 8,547,762 of our issued and outstanding common stock purchase warrants previously treated as equity pursuant to the derivative treatment exemption were no longer afforded equity treatment. These warrants have the following characteristics:

   
 
Strike
Price
  
Date
of Issue
   
Date
of Expiration
 
Warrants
Outstanding
 
Series A & B Warrants
  $ 1.25  
February-06
 
February-11
    4,359,605  
Series A & B Warrants, Placement Agent
  $ 1.10  
February-06
 
February-11
    782,005  
Series C Warrants
  $ 1.25  
October-07
 
October-12
    1,227,000  
Series C Warrants, Placement Agent
  $ 1.25  
March-07
 
March-12
    294,480  
Series C Warrants, anti-dilution awards
  $ 1.25  
December-08
 
October-12
    1,472,400  
Series C Warrants, Placement Agent, anti-dilution awards
  $ 1.25  
December-08
 
March-12
    412,272  
                       
Total warrants no longer accounted for as equity
                  8,547,762  
 
41

 
In June 2008, the FASB ratified EITF Issue 07-05, Determining Whether an Instrument (or an Embedded Feature) is indexed to an Entity’s Own Stock, or EITF 0705, codified into FASB ASC Subtopic 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity.  EITF 07-5 provides that an entity should use a two step approach to evaluate whether an equity-linked financial instrument (or embedded feature) is indexed to its own stock, including evaluating the instrument’s contingent exercise and settlement provisions.  EITF 07-5 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. 

 As such, effective January 1, 2009 we reclassified the fair value of the common stock purchase warrants, which were outstanding at January 1, 2009, and which have exercise price reset and anti-liquidation features, from equity to liability status as if these warrants were treated as a derivative liability since their date of issue.  On January 1, 2009, we reduced additional paid-in capital by $6.9 million and decreased the beginning retained deficit by $.3 million as a cumulative effect to establish a long-term warrant liability of $6.6 million to recognize the fair value of such warrants.  During the three months ended September 30, 2009, 277,934 warrants were exercised. The fair value of the common stock purchase warrants which remained declined to $5.6 million as of September 30, 2009, and we recognized a $0.76 million gain from the change in fair value of these warrants for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, and a $2.6 million loss for the three months ended September 30, 2009.  In the three months ended December 31, 2009, the fair value of these common stock purchase warrants increased to $6.5 million due to an increase in the stock price.  We recognized a $677,830 non-cash expense from the change in fair value of the warrants for the three months ended December 31, 2009.  The net gain for the twelve month period ended December 31, 2009 is $83,348.
 
These common stock purchase warrants were initially issued in connection with placement of the Company’s common stock. The common stock purchase warrants were not issued with the intent of effectively hedging any future cash flow, fair value of any asset, liability or any net investment in a foreign operation. The warrants do not qualify for hedge accounting, and as such, all future changes in the fair value of these warrants will be recognized currently in earnings until such time as the warrants are exercised or expire. These common stock purchase warrants do not trade in an active securities market, and as such, we estimate the fair value of these warrants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the following assumptions:

   
December 31,
   
January 1,
 
   
2009
   
2009
 
             
Annual dividend yield
    -       -  
Expected life (years)
    .60-2.00       1.0-2.5  
Risk free interest rate
    .20%-1.14 %     0.40 %
Expected volatility
    62%-98 %     86 %
 
Expected volatility is based primarily on historical volatility. Historical volatility was computed using daily pricing observations for a group of similar companies for recent periods that correspond to the expected life of the warrants. We believe this method produces an estimate that is representative of our expectations of future volatility over the expected term of these warrants. We currently have no reason to believe future volatility over the expected remaining life of these warrants is likely to differ materially from historical volatility. The expected life is estimated by management based on the remaining term of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the rate for U.S. Treasury securities over the expected life.

Warrant Modification Expense 

In November 2008 we extended the lives of warrants for 320,000 shares of common stock with a strike price of $.50 for two years. The warrants had been issued earlier in the decade in exchange for extinguishment of debt. The warrants were due to expire in November 2008.  As a result of the term change we recorded a Warrant Modification Expense charge of $38,631 for the warrants that were modified.

Valuation and Expense Information for Share-based Compensation

On January 1, 2006, we adopted accounting guidance which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees, service providers, and directors, including employee stock options and warrant awards.
 
The following table summarizes the stock-based compensation expense related to share-based payment awards under this accounting guidance for the year ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 which was allocated as follows:
 
   
Twelve Months Ended Dec. 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Research and development costs
  $ 2,887,001     $ 3,024,537  
General, selling and administrative expenses
    1,669,915       1,608,310  
Total
  $ 4,556,916     $ 4,632,847  
 
42

 
The fair value of options granted in fiscal years 2009 and 2008 reported above have been estimated at the date of grant using the Black Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:

   
2009
   
2008
 
Dividend yield
    0 %     0 %
Expected volatility range
  46% to 85 %   46% to 82 %
Risk-free interest rate range
  .74% to 4.96 %   1.22% to 4.96 %
Expected life
 
2 to 6.5 yrs
   
2 to 6.5 yrs
 

We have not used the historical volatility of our stock since we began public trading in December 2006 and consequently do not have sufficient trading history to forecast volatility for the expected life of our options. Instead to estimate expected volatility we use a market capitalization weighted average of the historical trading of other companies in our industry. The expected term of options is two years beyond the vesting date. This is an estimate based on management‘s judgment and corresponds with its experience with Equity Warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates as published by the US Treasury for the expected term in effect on the date of grant. We grant options under our equity plans to employees, non-employee directors, and consultants for whom the vesting period is between immediate and 4.5 years.

As stock-based compensation expense recognized in the statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it has been reduced for estimated forfeitures but at a minimum, reflects the grant-date fair value of those awards that actually vested in the period. Accounting guidance requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Forfeitures were estimated based on management judgment.
 
Based on the Black Scholes option-pricing model, the weighted average estimated fair value of employee stock options granted during the year ended December 31, 2009 was $1.33 per share.  The weighted average estimated fair value of employee stock options granted during the year ended December 31, 2008 was $3.34.
 
Loss per Common Share
 
Basic loss per common share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per common share adjusts basic loss per share for the potentially dilutive effects of shares issuable under our stock option plan, using the treasury stock method. All of the Company’s options and warrants, which are common stock equivalents, have been excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share, as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.
 
Note 3. Property and Equipment
 
The major classes of property and equipment consist of the following:
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
Furniture and Fixtures
  $ 14,400     $ 14,400  
Computers and office equipment
    47,109       43,273  
Lab equipment
    280,579       196,036  
                 
    $ 342,088     $ 253,709  
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization
    (145,333 )     (89,779 )
Property and equipment, net
  $ 196,755     $ 163,930  
 
Depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 was $55,554 and $49,699, respectively.
  
Note 4. Intangible Assets
 
The Company holds patents related to its stem cell research. Patent filing costs were capitalized and are being amortized over the life of the patents. The company has determined that the intangibles purchased have a seventeen year useful life. The Company follows FASB guidelines in determining if there is any impairment. The Company determined that no impairment to the assigned values had occurred. The Company’s intangible assets and accumulated amortization consisted of the following at December 31, 2009 and 2008:
 
43

 
   
2009
   
2008
 
         
Accumulated
         
Accumulated
 
   
Gross
   
Amortization
   
Gross
   
Amortization
 
                         
Patent filing fees
  $ 365,409     $ (63,849 )   $ 243,004     $ (30,739 )

Amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 was $33,110 and $16,062, respectively.

Note 5. Income Taxes
 
We did not provide any current or deferred U.S. federal income tax provision or benefit for any of the periods presented because we have experienced operating losses since inception. We provided a full valuation allowance on the net deferred tax asset, consisting of net operating loss carryforwards, because management has determined that it is more likely than not that we will not earn income sufficient to realize the deferred tax assets during the carryforward period.
 
The tax effects of significant temporary differences representing deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2009 and 2008:
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
Net operating loss carry-forwards
  $ 17,842,957     $ 15,563,878  
Valuation allowance
    (17,842,957 )     (15,563,878 )
Net deferred tax asset
  $ -     $ -  

At December 31, 2009, the Company has net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $44.6 million. The Company has also reported certain other tax credits, the benefit of which has been deferred. The Company’s NOL carryforwards and credits will begin to expire in the tax year 2012. The timing and manner in which these net operating loss carryforwards and credits may be utilized in any year by the Company will be limited to the Company’s ability to generate future earnings and also may be limited by certain provision of the U.S. tax code.
 
Note 6. Commitments and Contingencies

We currently lease two facilities. Our executive offices and primary research facilities are located at 9700 Great Seneca Highway, Rockville MD, 20850. We lease these facilities consisting of approximately 2,500 square feet for $8,220 per month. The term of our lease expires on January 31, 2011

We entered into a lease in 2007 to secure approximately 900 square feet of research space in San Diego, California at a monthly lease rate of $3,278. The lease expired in August of 2009.

We entered into a lease in February 2008 to secure an additional two rooms for research purposes in San Diego, California at a monthly lease rate of $6,000.  The lease expired in February of 2009.  The Company then extended the lease an additional year for one room at $4,000 per month.  The lease was terminated in September 2009.

We entered into a lease in September 2009 consisting of approximately 2,375 square feet of research space in San Diego, California, at a monthly lease rate of $4,806.  The lease terminates in August of 2011.

The Company recognized $217,386 and $180,356 in rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, respectively.

On November 1, 2005, the Company amended and extended its employment agreements dated January 1, 1997 with Richard Garr and Karl Johe for an additional seven (7) years which includes a base salary of $240,000 per year for each officer. On July 28, 2005, the Company granted both Mr. Garr and Mr. Johe stock options for 1,200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock each vesting annually over a four year period with an exercise price of $0.50 per share. Termination prior to full term on the contracts would cost the Company $240,000 per year unserved, or as much as $1,213,000 per contract, and immediate vesting of all outstanding options.

In May of 2008, the Company filed a complaint against StemCells Inc., alleging that U.S. Patent No. 7,361,505 (the “‘505 patent”), allegedly exclusively licensed to StemCells, Inc., is invalid, not infringed and unenforceable. On the same day, StemCells, Inc. filed a complaint alleging that we had infringed, contributed to the infringement of, and or induced the infringement of two patents owned by or exclusively licensed to StemCells relating to stem cell culture compositions. At present, the litigation is in its initial stages and any likely outcome is difficult to predict.
 
44

 
Note 7.  Fair Value

In September 2006, the FASB issued new accounting guidance related to fair value measurements and related disclosures.  This new guidance establishes a standard framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles, clarifies the definition of "fair value" within that framework, and expands disclosures about the use of fair value measurements. We adopted this new guidance in the first quarter of 2008 with regard to all financial assets and liabilities in our financial statements going forward.  However, the FASB deferred the effective date of this new guidance for one year as it relates to fair value measurement requirements for nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities that are not recognized or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis.  We adopted these remaining provisions on January 1, 2009.  The adoption of this accounting guidance had no material impact on our financial statements.  

Fair value is defined as the price at which an asset could be exchanged or a liability transferred (an exit price) in an orderly transaction between knowledgeable, willing parties in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability. Where available, fair value is based on observable market prices or parameters or derived from such prices or parameters. Where observable prices or inputs are not available, valuation models are applied.
 
Financial assets recorded at fair value in the accompanying financial statements are categorized based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair value. Hierarchical levels, as defined by the new guidance related to fair value measurements and disclosures, and directly related to the amount of subjectivity associated with the inputs to fair valuation of these assets and liabilities, are as follows:

Level 1 —
Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets at the reporting date. Active markets are those in which transactions for the asset or liability occur in sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

The fair valued assets we hold that are generally included in this category are money market securities where fair value is based on publicly quoted prices and included in cash equivalents.

Level 2 —
Inputs are other than quoted prices included in Level 1, which are either directly or indirectly observable for the asset or liability through correlation with market data at the reporting date and for the duration of the instrument's anticipated life.

We carry no investments classified as Level 2.

Level 3 —
Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities and which reflect management's best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the reporting date. Consideration is given to the risk inherent in the valuation technique and the risk inherent in the inputs to the model.  Our warranty obligations are considered Level 3.
 
Financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below:

   
Fair value measurements at December 31, 2009 using
 
   
Fair Value on
Balance
Sheet
2009
   
Quoted prices in
active markets for
identical assets
(Level 1)
   
Significant
other
observable
inputs
(Level 2)
   
Significant
unobservable
inputs
(Level 3)
 
                         
Assets:
                       
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 2,309,774     $ 2,309,774     $ -     $ -  
                                 
Liabilities:
                               
Fair value of warrant obligations
    6,462,039       -       -       6,462,039  
 
45

 
   
Three months ended
December 31, 2009
   
Twelve months ended
December 31, 2009
 
             
Fair value of warrant obligations at beginning of period
  $ 5,622,339     $ -  
                 
Cumulative effect of reclassification of warrants to liabilities at beginning period
    181,498       6,759,791  
                 
Net loss (gain) for change in fair value included in the statement of operations for period
    677,830       (83,348 )
                 
Decrease in value from warrant exercises
    (19,628 )     (214,404 )
                 
Fair value of warrant obligations at end of period
  $ 6,462,039     $ 6,462,039  

The fair value of the warrant obligations was determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model with inputs which are described in Note 2.

Note 8.  Change in Accounting Principle:  Recharacterization of Warrants

In June 2008, the FASB ratified the consensus reached on whether an instrument or embedded feature is indexed to an entity’s own stock.  FASB guidance clarifies the determination of whether an instrument (or an embedded feature) is indexed to an entity’s own stock, which would qualify as a scope exception
 
We adopted the FASB guidance as of January 1, 2009.  As is discussed in Note 1 and 2 above, as of that date we had 8,547,762 warrants which were reassessed under the new guidance. Because of certain price adjustment provisions contained in the warrants, they were no longer deemed to be indexed to our stock and therefore, no longer meet the scope exception.  Hence, these warrants were determined to be derivatives and were reclassified from equity to liabilities.  As a result of this change in accounting principle, on January 1, 2009 we recorded these liabilities at their value of $6,759,791.  At that date we also recorded a cumulative catch up adjustment of $284,327 to reduce the accumulated deficit and a $7,044,118 decrease to additional paid-in capital.  The adjustment to the accumulated deficit (the cumulative income effect of the accounting change) was calculated for the decrease in the fair value of the warrants from the date of their issuance through January 1, 2009.
 
These warrant liabilities will be marked to fair value from January 1, 2009 going forward resulting in the recognition of gain or loss in our statement of operations for changes in their fair value.   In the twelve months ended December 31, 2009 we recognized a gain from the change in the fair value of these warrant obligations of $83,348.

 In the first quarter the Company converted, redeemed or modified more than 70% of the warrants outstanding at the beginning of the year which had price protection features. These changes removed the price protection features. In 2009 we were not able to account for these as equity and so treated as long term liabilities.  The Company expects these changes to significantly reduce its derivative liability.

Note 9.  Subsequent Events

During the first quarter of 2010, the Company entered into a series of transactions resulting in securing what management believes provides sufficient financing to fund operations through the first quarter of 2011.  On March 16, 2010, the Company had cash on hand of $7.5 million and working capital of $6.4 million.
 
ITEM 9.
CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
 
Not applicable.
 
46

 
ITEM 9A. 
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
 
Based on management’s evaluation (with the participation of our CEO and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)), as of the end of the period covered by this report, our CEO and CFO have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)), are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
 
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
 
There were no changes to our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
 
Management Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
 
Management of Neuralstem, Inc. is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers to provide reasonable assurance to the Company’s management and board of directors regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
 
 
·
pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;

 
·
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and

 
·
provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
 
Because of inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. The design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs.
 
Management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) as a guide. The Company sought in its evaluation to determine whether there were any “significant deficiencies” or “material weakness” in its internal control over financial reporting, or whether it had identified any acts of fraud involving management or other employees. Based on the above evaluation, the Company’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that as of December 31, 2009, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting were effective.

This annual report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting.  Management’s report was not subject to attestation by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to temporary rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission that permit the Company to provide only the management’s report in this annual report.
 
Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls
 
Our management, including the CEO and CFO, does not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. The design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Further, because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Controls can also be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based in part on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Projections of any evaluation of controls effectiveness to future periods are subject to risks. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures.
 
47

 
Item 9B. 
Other Information

The information contained herein is being disclosed in this annual Report as it either: (i) was not required to be disclosed on Form 8-K at the time of occurrence, or (ii) has occurred within 4 days of the filing of this Annual Report.

 
·
During the first quarter of 2010, and subsequent to the date of the balance sheet included in this Annual Report, we completed a series of transactions resulting in us receiving gross proceeds for the exercise of our Series A, B, C and D warrants of $7.3 million.  For a further description of those transactions, please refer to the Sections of this Annual Report contained in:
 
 
·
Item 5. –  Section entitled “Recent Sale of Unregistered Securities
 
 
·
Item 7. — Section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
 
See also the notes to our financial statements.

 
·
On March 31, 2010, our Compensation Committee determined 2009 bonuses for our executive officers.  For a further description of the bonuses, refer to the section of this Annual Report contained in Item 11.  Executive Compensation.
 
PART III

ITEM 10. 
DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Directors

Our board of directors consists of four members. Our bylaws provide for a staggered board consisting of 3 groups. The following sets forth our current directors, information concerning their ages and background, and information concerning their respective groups.

Class I Directors

The following directors are Class I directors and will serve until our 2012 annual meeting:

Name
  
Principal Occupation
  
Age
  
Director
Since
Scott Ogilvie(1)
 
CEO and President of Gulf Enterprises International, Ltd.
Director of Neuralstem, Inc.
 
55
 
2007

(1)           Mr. Ogilvie qualifies as an independent director within the meaning of the NYSE Amex rules and regulations.
 
Class II Directors

The following directors are Class II directors and will serve until our 2011 annual meeting:

Name
  
Principal Occupation
  
Age
  
Director
Since
I. Richard Garr
 
Chief Executive Officer, President, General Counsel and Director of Neuralstem, Inc.
 
57
 
1996
             
Karl Johe, Ph.D
 
Chief Scientific Officer, Chairman of the Board and Director of Neuralstem, Inc.
 
49
 
1996
 
48

 
Class III Directors

The following directors are Class III directors and will serve until our 2010 annual meeting:

Name
  
Principal Occupation
  
Age
  
Director
Since
William  Oldaker(1)
 
Partner at Oldaker Group LLC
Director of Neuralstem, Inc.
 
68
 
2007

(1)           Mr. Oldaker qualifies as an independent director within the meaning of the NYSE Amex rules and regulations.
 
Mr. I. Richard Garr, JD, age 57, has been a director and our Chief Executive Officer since 1996.  Mr. Garr was previously an attorney with Beli, Weil & Jacobs, the B&G Companies, and Circle Management Companies. Mr. Garr is a graduate of Drew University (1976) and the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America (1979). Additionally, he was a founder and current Board member of the First Star Foundation, a children’s charity focused on abused children’s issues; a founder of The Starlight Foundation Mid Atlantic chapter, which focuses on helping seriously ill children; and is a past Honorary Chairman of the Brain Tumor Society. In evaluating Mr. Garr’s specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills in connection with his appointment to our board, we took into account his broad experience in Neural Stem Cells.  He is among the longest serving executives in the field.

Mr. Karl Johe, Ph.D., age 49, has been a director, Chairman of the Board and our Chief Scientific Officer since 1996. Dr. Johe has over 15 years of research and laboratory experience. Dr. Johe is the sole inventor of Neuralstem’s granted stem cell patents and is responsible for the strategic planning and development of our therapeutic products. Dr. Johe received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry and a Master’s Degree from the University of Kansas. Dr. Johe received his doctorate from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. From 1993 to January 1997, Dr. Johe served as a Staff Scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland. While holding this position, Dr. Johe conducted research on the isolation of neural stem cells, the elucidation of mechanisms directing cell type specification of central nervous system stem cells and the establishment of an in vitro model of mammalian neurogenesis. In evaluating Dr. Johe’s specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills in connection with his appointment to our board, we took into account his extensive experience in international  science and business communities.  He is also multilingual.  

Mr. William Oldaker, age 68, has served on our board of directors since April 12, 2007. Mr. Oldaker is a founder and partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Oldaker Group LLC. Prior to founding the firm in 1993, Mr. Oldaker was a partner in the Washington office of the law firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips from 1987 to 1993. In 2004, Mr. Oldaker was a founder of Washington First Bank in Washington, D.C. and serves as a member of the board of directors. He previously served as a director of Century National Bank, from 1982 until its acquisition in 2001. Mr. Oldaker was appointed by President Clinton to serve as a commissioner on the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, a post he held until 2001. He is a member of the Colorado, D.C. and Iowa Bar Associations, the Bar Association for the Court of Appeals, D.C., and the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. He is also a partner in The National Group, a consulting firm. In evaluating Mr. Oldaker’s specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills in connection with his appointment to our board, we took into account his extensive experience with managing and developing federal government regulations and expertise in the legislative process. He also was a founding member, and has served on the board of directors of a bank for almost thirty years.

Mr. Scott V. Ogilvie, age 55, has served on our board of directors since April 12, 2007.  Mr. Ogilvie is President of AFIN International, Inc., a private equity/business advisory firm, which he founded in 2006.  Prior to December 31, 2009, he was CEO of Gulf Enterprises International, Ltd, (“Gulf”) a company that brings strategic partners, expertise and investment capital to the Middle East and North Africa. He held this position since August of 2006. Mr. Ogilvie previously served as Chief Operating Officer of CIC Group, Inc., an investment manager, a position he held from 2001 to 2007. He began his career as a corporate and securities lawyer with Hill, Farrer & Burrill, and has extensive public and private corporate board experience in finance, real estate, and technology companies. Mr. Ogilvie currently serves on the board of directors of Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE AMEX:CUR), Innovative Card Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:INVC) and Preferred Voice Inc, (OTCBD:PRFV). In evaluating Mr. Ogilvie’s specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills in connection with his appointment to our board, we took into account his prior work in both public and private organizations regarding corporate finance, securities and compliance and international business development.

Executive Officers and Significant Employees

The following sets forth our current executive officers and information concerning their age and background:

Name
  
Position
  
Age
  
Position Since
I. Richard Garr
 
Chief Executive Officer, President, General Counsel
 
57
 
1996
             
Karl Johe, Ph.D.
 
Chief Scientific Officer
 
49
 
1996
             
John Conron
 
Chief Financial Officer
 
59
 
4/1/2007

I. Richard Garr – See Bio in the “Directors” section
 
49

 
Karl Johe, Ph.D.  – See Bio in the “Directors” section

Mr. John Conron has served as our Chief Financial Officer since April 1, 2007. Mr. Conron, a Certified Public Accountant, has over 30 years of experience in the field of corporate finance. Since 2003, Mr. Conron has been consulting early stage companies by providing critical outsource CFO functions such as implementation of accounting systems, creation and monitoring of internal controls, Sarbanes Oxley compliance, audit preparation, financial modeling and strategic planning. Prior to his work as a consultant, Mr. Conron worked for Cyberstar, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, Inc., where he held the position of CFO from 2000 to 2003. Mr. Conron joined Cyberstar from Transworld Telecommunications, Inc., a Qualcom spin-off which offered telecommunication services in Russia, where he served as CFO.  Mr. Conron also served as CFO and on the board of directors of Mercury Communications in London. Mercury was the European subsidiary of Cable & Wireless.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships between any director, executive officer, or person nominated or chosen by the registrant to become a director or executive officer.

Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our officers, directors, and stockholders owning more than ten percent of our common stock, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC and to furnish us with copies of such reports. Based solely on our review of Form 3, 4 and 5’s, the following table provides information regarding any of the reports which were filed late during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009:

Name of Reporting Person
 
Type of Report Filed Late
 
No. of Transactions
Reported Late
         
William Oldaker
 
Form 4 - Statement of Change in Beneficial Ownership
 
1

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a "Code of Ethics” that applies to our officer, directors and employees.  We have also adopted a “Finance Code of Professional Conduct” that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, and any persons who participate in our financial reporting process.  A copy of our codes can be viewed on our website at www.neuralstem.com.

The codes incorporate our guidelines designed to deter wrongdoing and to promote honest and ethical conduct and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The codes also incorporate our expectations of our officers, directors and employees that enable us to provide accurate and timely disclosure in our filings with the SEC and other public communications. In addition, the codes incorporate guidelines pertaining to topics such as complying with applicable laws, rules, and regulations; reporting violations; and maintaining accountability for adherence to the codes.
 
We intend to disclose future amendments to certain provisions of our codes, or waivers of such provisions on our web site within four business days following the date of such amendment or waiver.

Committees

We have established 3 corporate governance committees comprising of the: (i) Audit Committee; (ii) Compensation Committee; and (iii) Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee. The committee membership and the function of each of the committees are described below.
 
Director
 
Audit Committee
 
Nomination
and Corporate
Governance
Committee
 
Compensation
Committee
William Oldaker
 
Chair
 
Member
 
Member
Scott Ogilvie
 
Member
 
Chair
 
Chair
             
 
50

 
Audit Committee
 
We have a designated audit committee in accordance with section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act. The members of the Audit Committee are Messrs Ogilvie and Oldaker. The Audit Committee assists our board in fulfilling its responsibility for the oversight of the quality and integrity of our accounting, auditing, and reporting practices, and such other duties as directed by the board. The committee's purpose is to oversee our accounting and financial reporting processes, the audits of our financial statements, the qualifications of our public accounting firm engaged by us as our independent auditor to prepare or issue an audit report on our financial statements, and the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditor. The committee reviews and assesses the qualitative aspects of financial reporting to shareholders, our processes to manage business and financial risk, and compliance with significant applicable legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements. The committee is directly responsible for the appointment (subject to shareholder ratification), compensation, retention, and oversight of our independent auditor.

Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ogilvie is an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC rules.  An audit committee financial expert is a person who can demonstrate the following attributes:  (1) an understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and financial statements; (2) the ability to assess the general application of such principles in connection with the accounting for estimates, accruals and reserves; (3) experience preparing, auditing, analyzing or evaluating financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by the company’s financial statements, or experience actively supervising one or more persons engaged in such activities; (4) an understanding of internal controls and procedures for financial reporting; and (5) an understanding of audit committee functions.
 
Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee

The Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee reviews and evaluates the effectiveness of our executive development and succession planning processes, as well as provides active leadership and oversight of these processes, and oversight of our corporate governance policies. The Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee also evaluates and recommends nominees for membership on our board of directors and its committees. Messrs Ogilvie and Oldaker are the members of the Nomination Committee.

There has been no material change to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to our board of directors since we last provided such disclosure in our definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC in connection with our 2008 annual meeting.

 We do not have a formal policy with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying Director nominees, but the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee strives to nominate Directors with a variety of complementary skills so that, as a group, the Board will possess the appropriate talent, skills, and expertise to oversee our businesses.

Compensation Committee
 
The Compensation Committee's role is to discharge our board’s responsibilities relating to compensation of our executives and to oversee and advise the board of directors on the adoption of policies that govern our compensation and benefit programs. Messrs Ogilvie and Oldaker are the members of the Compensation Committee.

Leadership Structure
 
The Board does not have a policy regarding the separation of the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board as the Board believes it is in the best interests of the Company to make that determination based on the position and direction of the Company and the membership of the Board. At present, the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer are held by different individuals.  This structure makes the best use of the Chief Executive Officer's and Chairman’s respective knowledge of the Company and its industry, as well as fostering greater communication between the Company's management and the Board.
 
Risk Oversight
 
The Company has a risk management program overseen by the Chief Executive Officer. Material risks are identified and prioritized by management, and each prioritized risk is referred to a Board Committee or the full Board for oversight. For example, strategic risks are referred to the full Board while financial risks are referred to the Audit Committees. The Board regularly reviews information regarding the Company's liquidity and operations, as well as the risks associated with each, and annually reviews the Company's risk management program as a whole. Also, the Compensation Committee periodically reviews the most important risks to the Company to ensure that compensation programs do not encourage excessive risk-taking.
 
Independent Directors
 
Our board of directors has determined that Messrs Ogilvie and Oldaker are each “independent” as that term is defined by the NYSE Amex.   Messrs Ogilvie and Oldaker are the sole members of our: (i) Audit Committee; (ii) Compensation Committee; and (iii) Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee.
 
51

 
ITEM 11. 
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Executive Compensation

Summary Compensation

The following table sets forth information for our most recently completed fiscal year concerning the compensation of (i) the Principal Executive Officer (PEO) and (ii) all other executive officers of Neuralstem, Inc. who earned over $100,000 in salary and bonus during the last most recently completed fiscal year ended December 31, 2009(together the “Named Executive Officers”).  
 
                               
Nonequity
   
Non-
qualified
             
                   
Stock
         
Incentive
   
deferred
             
Name and
           
Bonus
   
Awards
   
Option
   
Plan
   
compensation
   
All other
       
principal
     
Salary
   
($)
   
($)
   
Award
   
compensation
   
earning
   
Compensation
   
Total
 
position
 
Year
 
($)
   
(d)
   
(e)
   
($)
   
($)
   
($)
   
($)
   
($)
 
(a)
 
(b)
 
(c)
   
(3)
   
(3)
   
(f)(2)
   
(g)
   
(h)
   
(i)(1)
   
(j)
 
       
   
                                               
I. Richard Garr
 
2009
  $ 407,000       52,584       157,754       -                   48,688     $ 666,026  
Chief Executive
 
2008
  $ 436,750       33,917       312,033       3,437,056                               88,523     $ 4,308,279  
President, General Counsel (“PEO”)
                                                                   
                                                                     
Karl Johe
 
2009
  $ 422,100       204,508       68,169       -                       6,000     $ 700,777  
Chief Scientific Officer
 
2008
  $ 427,250       341,700       -       3,437,056                       6,000     $ 4,212,006  
                                                                     
John Conron
 
2009
  $ 225,000       7,481       22,444       -                       6,000     $ 260,925  
Chief Financial Officer
 
2008
  $ 208,750       18,750       60,000       1,125,581                       4,500     $ 1,417,581  
                                                                     
Thomas Hazel
 
2009
  $ 180,000       15,000       -       -                       -     $ 195,000  
Senior Vice President of Research
 
2008
  $ 100,000       7,500       -       179,411                       -     $ 286,911  
 

(1)           Includes automobile allowance, perquisites and other personal benefits.

(2)           For additional information regarding the valuation of Option Awards, refer to Note 2 of our financial statements in the section captioned “Stock Options

(3)           On March 30, 2010 the Compensation Committee made incentive bonus awards for 2009. The 2009 incentive bonus plan awards will made in both fully paid, fully vested common stock and cash. The common stock proportion of 2009 executive management bonuses will be awarded in the form of 253,931 fully paid; fully vested; shares of common stock. The stock award will be restricted. The shares will not be tradable by the recipients for five years unless there is a “change of control” or termination of employment.  The share awards will be based on the closing price of the shares on March 29, 2010. The shares awarded will be provided by the 2007 Stock Option Plan. The restricted common shares will be awarded as follows (assuming $2.05 per share):
 
52

 
   
2009 Equity Award Calculation
 
   
Bonus
   
Equity
   
  
       
   
Present Value
   
Proportion
   
Equity Pool
   
Shares
 
Chairman and Chief Science Officer
  $ 272,677       25 %   $ 68,169       33,253  
                                 
Chief Executive Officer
  $ 210,338       75 %   $ 157,754       76,953  
                                 
Chief Financial Officer
  $ 29,925       75 %   $ 22,444       10,948  

   
2009 Cash Award Calculation
 
   
Base
   
Cash
   
Cash
 
   
Salary
   
Proportion
   
Award
 
Chairman and Chief Science Officer
  $ 272,677       75 %     204,508  
                         
Chief Executive Officer
  $ 210,338       25 %     52,585  
                         
Chief Financial Officer
  $ 29,925       25 %     7,481  

Employment Agreements and Arrangements and Change-In-Control Arrangements

Employment Agreement with I. Richard Garr

We have a written employment agreement with Mr. Garr, our Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel. Pursuant to the agreement, as in effective, Mr. Garr is entitled to an annual salary of $407,000 paid semi-monthly of which $30,000 is paid in connection with Mr. Garr’s duties as general counsel.   In addition, the agreement provides for certain performance bonuses as determined from time to time by our Compensation Committee. Mr. Garr’s employment agreement also provides for a $500 monthly automobile allowance and the reimbursement of reasonable business expenses. The term of the agreement is until October 31, 2012.

Mr. Garr’s employment agreement also provides for severance (“Termination Provisions”) in an amount equal to the greater of: (i) the aggregate compensation remaining on his contract; or (ii) $1,000,000, in the event Mr. Garr is terminated for any reason. In the event of termination, the agreement also provides for the immediate vesting of 100% of stock options granted to Mr. Garr during his term of employment. These termination provisions apply whether employee is terminated for “cause” or “without cause.” Additionally, in the event employee voluntarily terminates his employment following a change in control and material reassignment of duties, he will also be entitled to the termination provisions under the contract. In the event of early termination, the Termination Provisions will require us to make a substantial payment to the employee. By way of example, such payments would be approximately as follows:

Officer
 
Termination 
Date  
    
Salary(1)
   
Auto (2)
   
Accelerated Vesting 
of Options(3)
   
Total
 
                             
I Richard Garr
                           
   
12/31/09
  $ 1,153,170     $ 17,000     $ 1,548,000     $ 2,718,170  
   
03/31/10
  $ 1,051,419     $ 15,500     $ 1,548,000     $ 2,614,919  
   
6/30/10
  $ 1,000,000           $ 1,548,000     $ 2,548,000  
   
After 7/1/10
  $ 1,000,000           $ 1,548,000     $ 2,548,000  
 
 (1)
Assumes an annual salary of $407,000.  Does not include annual bonus or salary increase.
 (2)
Executive is entitled to a $500 per month automobile allowance.
 (3)
Derived from in the money stock options as of 12/31/09 using a market value of $1.79 for the Company’s common stock.
 
Mr. Garr’s agreement contains non-solicitation, and confidentiality and non-competition covenants. The agreement may be terminated by either party with or without cause and without prior notice subject to the termination provisions as discussed.
 
Employment Agreement with Karl Johe, Ph.D.

We have a written employment agreement with Mr. Johe, our Chief Scientific Officer. Pursuant to the agreement, as in effective, Mr. Johe is entitled to an annual salary of $422,100 paid semi-monthly.  In additional, the agreement provides for certain performance bonuses as determined from time to time by our Compensation Committee.  Mr. Johe’s employment agreement also provides for a $500 monthly automobile allowance and the reimbursement of reasonable business expenses. The term of the agreement is until October 31, 2012.
 
53

 
Mr. Johe’s employment agreement also provides for severance (“Termination Provisions”) in an amount equal to the greater of: (i) the aggregate compensation remaining on his contract; or (ii) $1,000,000, in the event Mr. Johe is terminated for any reason. In the event of termination, the agreement also provides for the immediate vesting of 100% of stock options granted to Mr. Johe during his term of employment. These termination provisions apply whether employee is terminated for “cause” or “without cause.” Additionally, in the event employee voluntarily terminates his employment following a change in control and material reassignment of duties, he will also be entitled to the termination provisions under the contract. In the event of early termination, the Termination Provisions will require us to make a substantial payment to the employee. By way of example, such payments would be approximately as follows:
 
Officer
 
Termination 
Date  
     
Salary(1)
   
Auto (2)
   
Accelerated Vesting 
of Options(3)
   
Total
 
                             
Karl Johe, Ph.D
                           
   
12/31/09
  $ 1,195,950     $ 17,000     $ 1,548,000     $ 2,760,950  
   
03/31/10
  $ 1,090,425     $ 15,500     $ 1,548,000     $ 2,653,425  
   
6/30/10
  $ 1,000,000           $ 1,548,000     $ 2,548,000  
   
After 7/1/10
  $ 1,000,000           $ 1,548,000     $ 2,548,000  
 
 (1)
Assumes an annual salary of $422,100.  Does not include annual bonus or salary increase.
 (2)
Executive is entitled to a $500 per month automobile allowance.
 (3)
Derived from in the money stock options as of 12/31/09 using a market value of $1.79 for the Company’s common stock.
 
Mr. Johe’s agreement contains non-solicitation, and confidentiality and non-competition covenants. The agreement may be terminated by either party with or without cause and without prior notice subject to the termination provisions as discussed.

Employment Agreement with John Conron.

We have a written employment agreement with Mr. Conron, our Chief Financial Officer.   Pursuant to the agreement, as in effect, Mr. Conron is entitled to an annual salary of $225,000.  In addition, the agreement provides for certain performance bonuses as determined from time to time by our Compensation Committee.    Mr. Conron’s employment agreement also provides for a $500 monthly automobile allowance.
 
Employment Arrangement with Thomas Hazel

We have a written employee agreement with Mr. Hazel, our Senior Vice President of Research.   We pay Mr. Hazel an annual salary of $180,000 in connection with his employment.
 
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table provides information concerning unexercised options; stock that has not vested; equity incentive; and awards for each Named Executive Officer outstanding as of the end of the last completed fiscal year ending December 31, 2009.
 
54

 
Name
(a)
     
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#)
exercisable
(b)
   
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#)
unexercisable
(c)
   
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
unearned
options
(#)
(d)
   
Option
exercise
price
($)
(e)
 
Option
expiration
date
(f)
 
Number
of shares
or units
of stock
that have
not
vested
(#)
(g)
   
Market
value of
shares of
units of
stock that
have not
vested
($)
(h)
   
Equity
incentive
plan
award:
Number
of un-
earned
shares,
units or
other
rights that
have not
vested
(#)
(i)
   
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Market or
payout
value of
unearned
shares,
units or
other
rights that
have not
vested
($)
(j)
 
                                                       
I. Richard Garr  
 
(1)
    1,200,000       0               $ 0.50  
7/28/15
                                       
     
 
(2)
    700,000       1,400,000             $ 3.66  
1/1/18
                               
                                                                       
Karl Johe (3)
 
(4)
    1,200,000       0             $ 0.50  
7/28/15
                               
   
(5)
            333,333             $ 3.01  
10/31/15
                               
     
 
(6)
    700,000       1,400,000             $ 3.66  
1/1/18
                               
                                                                       
John Conron
 
(7)
    100,000                     $ 3.15  
4/1/15
                               
   
(8)
    50,000                     $ 2.60  
4/1/18
                               
   
(9)
    333,333       666,667             $ 2.60  
4/1/18
                               
 

(1)
On July 28, 2005, we granted our CEO an option to purchase 1,200,000 common shares.  The option was granted under our 2005 Stock Plan.  The option vests annually over 4 years at a rate of 300,000 per year.  The applicable vesting dates are July 28, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.  The only vesting condition is Mr. Garr’s continued employment.

(2)
On January 21, 2008, we granted our CEO an option to purchase 2,100,000 common shares.  The grant has an effective date of January 1, 2008.  The option was granted under our 2007 Stock Plan.  The option vests at a rate of 700,000 per 14 month period.  The applicable vesting dates are February 28, 2009, April 30, 2010, and June 30, 2011.  The only vesting condition is Mr. Garr’s continued employment.

(3)
Outstanding equity awards for Mr. Johe do not include warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 common shares that were issued on June 5, 2007.  For a further description of the transaction, please refer to the section of this report entitled “Transactions with Related Persons, Promoters and Certain Control Persons.”

(4)
On July 28, 2005, we granted our CSO an option to purchase 1,200,000 common shares.  The option was granted under our 2005 Stock Plan.  The option vests annually over 4 years at a rate of 300,000 per year.  The applicable vesting dates are July 28, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.  The only vesting condition is Mr. Johe’s continued employment.

(5)
On September 20, 2007, we granted our Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer, an option to purchase an aggregate of 333,333 shares of our common stock at a price per share of $3.01 pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan. The option expires 5 years from the date when they become exercisable.   The option vests on October 31, 2010.  The option is immediately exercisable upon an event which would result in an acceleration of Mr. Johe’s stock option grants under his employment agreement.

(6)
On January 21, 2008, we granted our CSO an option to purchase 2,100,000 common shares.  The grant has an effective date of January 1, 2008.  The option was granted under our 2007 Stock Plan.  The option vests at a rate of 700,000 per 14 month period.  The applicable vesting dates are February 28, 2009, April 30, 2010, and June 30, 2011.  The only vesting condition is Mr. Johe’s continued employment.

(7)
In April of 2007, we granted our CFO an option to purchase 100,000 common shares pursuant to his employment contract.  The option is fully vested as of December 31, 2008.

(8)
On April 1, 2008, we granted our CFO an option to purchase 50,000 common shares.  The grant was made pursuant to Mr. Conron’s employment agreement.  The option was fully vested at the grant date.
 
(9)
On April 1, 2008, we granted our CFO an option to purchase 1,000,000 common shares.  The option vests at an annual rate of 333,333 per year.  The vesting dates are April 1, 2009, 2010 and 2011.  The only vesting condition is Mr. Conron’s continued employment.
 
55

 
Director Compensation

The following table summarizes the compensation for our board of directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009: 
  
Name
 
Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash
($)
   
Stock
Awards
($)
   
Option
Awards
($)
   
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
   
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)
   
All Other
Compensation
($)
   
Total
($)
 
(a)
 
(b)
   
(c)
   
(d)
   
(e)
   
(f)
   
(g)
   
(h)
 
William Oldaker
                                         
Independent Director(1)
    20,000               $ 10,959                                   $ 30,959  
Audit Committee(2)
    5,000             $ 2,740                             $ 7,740  
Compensation Committee(2)
    5,000             $ 2,740                             $ 7,740  
Nomination Committee(2)
    5,000             $ 2,740                             $ 7,740  
                                                         
Scott Ogilvie
                                                       
Independent Director(1)
    20,000             $ 10,959                             $ 30,959  
Audit Committee(2)
    5,000             $ 2,740                             $ 7,740  
Compensation Committee(2)
    5,000             $ 2,740                             $ 7,740  
Nomination Committee(2)
    5,000             $ 2,740                             $ 7,740  

(1)
On July 2, 2009, pursuant to our adopted director compensation plan, we issued to each of Messrs Ogilvie and Oldaker options to purchase 20,000 shares of our common stock.  The options were issued pursuant to our 2007 Stock Plan.  The exercise price per share is $1.17 and will expire 10 years from the date of grant.  The individual grants vest on July 2, 2010.

(2)
On July 2, 2009, pursuant to our adopted director compensation plan, we issued to each of Messrs Ogilvie and Oldaker, options to purchase 15.000 shares of our common stock (5,000 shares per each committee on which they serve). The options were issued pursuant to our 2007 Stock Plan. The exercise price per share is $1.17 and the options vest on July 2, 2010.

Director Compensation Plan

Our Compensation Committee has adopted a formal outside director compensation plan to assist us in attracting and retaining qualified directors.  Under our plan, each eligible director shall receive:

Option Grants

First Year Grant.  Upon joining the board, individual will receive options to purchase 45,000 common shares. The options shall vest as follows: (i) 25,000 shall vest on the one month anniversary of joining the Board; and (ii) 20,000 shall vest quarterly over a one year period commencing on the date such Director joins the Board. For purpose of the First Year option grant, all current eligible directors will be considered “First Year” directors and be eligible for such grant;

Annual Grant.  Starting on the first year anniversary of service, and each subsequent anniversary thereafter, each eligible director will be granted options to purchase 20,000 shares of common stock. These Annual Grants will vest quarterly during the year; and

Committee Grant.  Each Director will receive options to purchase an additional 5,000 shares for each committee on which he or she serves. These Committee Grants will vest quarterly during the year.

The exercise price for the options to be granted to the independent directors shall be the market price of the stock on each applicable grant date. The options shall expire 7 years from the grant date. The option will be granted pursuant to our 2005 Stock Plan, or as directed by the Board of Directors.

Cash Compensation

Board Retention Amount.  Each director shall receive a $20,000 annual board retainer. The retainer shall be payable quarterly commencing on January 1, 2008.

Committee Retainer.  In addition to the Board Retention Amount, each director serving on a committee shall receive an additional $5,000 per committee on which he serves.
 
ITEM 12.
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

Information regarding shares authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans approved and not approved by stockholders required by this Item is incorporated by reference from Item 5 of this Annual Report from the section entitled “Equity Compensation Plan Information.”
 
56

 
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth, as of March 9, 2010, information regarding beneficial ownership of our capital stock by:

·
each person, or group of affiliated persons, known by us to be the beneficial owner of 5% or more of any class of our voting securities;

·
each of our current directors and nominees;

·
each of our current named executive officers; and

·
all current directors and named executive officers as a group.
 
Beneficial ownership is determined according to the rules of the SEC. Beneficial ownership means that a person has or shares voting or investment power of a security and includes any securities that person or group has the right to acquire within 60 days after the measurement date. This table is based on information supplied by officers, directors and principal stockholders. Except as otherwise indicated, we believe that each of the beneficial owners of the common stock listed below, based on the information such beneficial owner has given to us, has sole investment and voting power with respect to such beneficial owner’s shares, except where community property laws may apply.

   
Common Stock
 
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)
 
Shares
   
Shares
Underlying
Convertible
Securities(2)
   
Total
   
Percent of
Class(2)
 
Directors and named executive officers
                       
I. Richard Garr
    1,413,195       2,600,000       4,013,195       9.77 %
Karl Johe, Ph.D
    1,705,484       2,600,000       4,305,484       10.48 %
Scott Ogilvie
          121,250       121,250       * %
William Oldaker
    79,300       181,250       260,550       * %
John Conron
    51,364       816,666       868,030       2.11 %
All directors and executive officers as a group (5 persons)
    3,249,343       6,319,166       9,568,509       23.29 %

*
Less than one percent.

(1)
Except as otherwise indicated, the persons named in this table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock shown as beneficially owned by them, subject to community property laws where applicable and to the information contained in the footnotes to this table. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of the beneficial owner is c/o Neuralstem, Inc. 9700 Great Seneca Highway, Rockville, MD.

(2)
Pursuant to Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which a shareholder has sole or shared voting power or investment power, and also any shares which the shareholder has the right to acquire within 60 days, including upon exercise of common shares purchase options or warrant. There are 33,751,300 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of March 9, 2009.
 
57

 
ITEM 13. 
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
 
Transactions with Related Persons, Promoters and Certain Control Persons

Summarized below are certain transactions and business relationships between Neuralstem and persons who are or were an executive officer, director or holder of more than five percent of any class of our securities since January 1, 2008 or which have been proposed since December 31, 2009.

Information regarding disclosure of an employment relationship or transaction involving an executive officer and any related compensation solely resulting from that employment relationship or transaction is incorporated by reference from Item 11 of this Annual Report.

Information regarding disclosure of compensation to a director is incorporated by reference from Item 11 of this Annual Report.

Information regarding the identification of each independent director is incorporated by reference from Item 10 of this Annual Report

On February 9, 2009, our compensation committee awarded Messrs Garr and Conron 2008 discretionary cash bonuses in the amount of $312,033 and $60,000, respectively.  Both individuals voluntarily agreed to defer such bonuses until such later date as our cash position increased.  On December 28, 2009, we requested that Messrs Garr and Conron exchange their respective obligations for restricted common shares in a private placement.  As a result of the exchange, Mr. Garr received 189,111 restricted shares and Mr. Conron received 36,364 restricted shares as payment in full of their respective obligations.   The purchase price per share was $1.65.  The transaction was unanimously approved by our audit committee as well as our disinterested board members.
 
Director Independence

Information regarding director independence required by this Item is incorporated by reference from Item. 10 of this Annual Report from the section entitled “Director Independence.”

ITEM 14. 
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

The following table summarizes the approximate aggregate fees billed to us or expected to be billed to us by our independent auditors for our 2009 and 2008 fiscal years:

Type of Fees
 
2009
   
2008
 
Audit Fees
           
Stegman & Company
  $ 69,256     $ 66,426  
                 
Audit Related Fees
    -       -  
                 
Tax Fees
               
Stegman & Company
    6,000       6,000  
                 
All Other Fees
               
Total Fees
  $ 75,256     $ 78,426  

Pre-Approval of Independent Auditor Services and Fees
 
Our audit committee reviewed and pre-approved all audit and non-audit fees for services provided by Stegman & Company and has determined that the provision of such services to us during fiscal 2009 and in connection with the audit of our 2009 fiscal year financials is compatible with and did not impair independence. It is the practice of the audit committee to consider and approve in advance all auditing and non-auditing services provided to us by our independent auditors in accordance with the applicable requirements of the SEC. Stegman & Company did not provide us with any services, other than those listed above.
 
PART IV

ITEM 15. 
EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

 
1. 
Financial Statements: See “Index to Financial Statements” in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
 
 
58

 
 
 
2. 
Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Form 10-K.
 
Certain of the agreements filed as exhibits to this Form 10-K contain representations and warranties by the parties to the agreements that have been made solely for the benefit of the parties to the agreement. These representations and warranties:

 
·
may have been qualified by disclosures that were made to the other parties in connection with the negotiation of the agreements, which disclosures are not necessarily reflected in the agreements;

 
·
may apply standards of materiality that differ from those of a reasonable investor; and

 
·
were made only as of specified dates contained in the agreements and are subject to later developments.

Accordingly, these representations and warranties may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time, and investors should not rely on them as statements of fact.

SIGNATURES
 
In accordance with Section 13 or 15(d) 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.
 
 
NEURALSTEM, INC
   
Dated: March 30, 2010
By:
/S/ I Richard Garr
   
I Richard Garr
President and Chief Executive Officer
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the following capacities and on the dates indicated.

Name
  
Title
 
Date
     
/s/ I. Richard Garr
  
President, Chief Executive Officer, General Counsel and Director
 
March 30, 2010
     I. Richard Garr
 
(Principal executive officer)
   
     
/s/ John Conron
  
Chief Financial Officer (Principal financial and accounting officer)
 
March 30, 2010
     John Conron
       
     
/s/ Karl Johe
  
Chairman of the Board and Director
 
March 30, 2010
     Karl Johe
       
     
/s/ William Oldaker
  
Director
 
March 30, 2010
     William Oldaker
       
     
/s/ Scott Ogilvie
  
Director
 
March 30, 2010
     Scott Ogilvie
       

 
59

 
 
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
 
       
  
 
Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit
No.
 
Description
 
Filed
Herewith
 
Form
 
Exhibit
No. 
 
File No.
 
Filing Date
                         
3.01(i)
 
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Neuralstem, Inc. filed on 9/29/05
     
10-K
 
3.01(i)
 
001-33672
 
3/31/09
                         
3.02(i)
 
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation of Neuralstem, Inc. filed on 5/29/08
     
DEF 14A
 
Appendix I
 
 001-33672
 
4/24/08
                         
3.03(ii)
 
Amended and Restated Bylaws of Neuralstem, Inc. adopted on July 16, 2007
     
10-QSB
 
3.2(i)
 
333-132923
 
8/14/07
                         
4.01**
 
Amended and Restated 2005 Stock Plan adopted on June 28, 2007
     
10-QSB
 
4.2(i)
 
333-132923
 
8/14/07
                         
4.02**
 
Non-qualified Stock Option Agreement between Neuralstem, Inc. and Richard Garr dated July 28, 2005
     
SB-2
 
4.4
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
4.03**
 
Non-qualified Stock Option Agreement between Neuralstem, Inc. and Karl Johe dated July 28, 2005
     
SB-2
 
4.5
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
4.04
 
Private Placement Memorandum for March 2006 offering
     
SB-2
 
4.12
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
4.05
 
Form of Placement Agent Warrant issued in connection with the March 2006 offering
     
SB-2
 
4.13
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
4.06
 
Form of Series A Warrant ($1.50) issued in connection with the March 2006 offering
     
SB-2
 
4.14
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
4.07
 
Form of Series B Warrant ($2.00) issued in connection with the March 2006 offering
     
SB-2
 
4.15
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
4.08
 
Form of Subscription Agreement for March 2006 offering
     
SB-2
 
4.16
 
333-132923
 
7/26/06
                         
4.09
 
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated March 15, 2007
     
8-K
 
4.1
 
333-132923
 
3/16/07
                         
4.10
 
Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant dated March 15, 2007 (Series C)
     
8-K
 
4.2
 
333-132923
 
3/16/07
                         
4.11
 
Form of Registration Rights Agreement dated March 15, 2007
     
8-K
 
4.3
 
333-132923
 
3/16/07
                         
4.12**
 
Neuralstem, Inc. 2007 Stock Plan
     
10-QSB
 
4.21
 
333-132923
 
8/14/07
 
60

 
4.13
 
Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant Issued to Karl Johe on June 5, 2007
     
10-KSB
 
4.22
 
333-132923
 
3/27/08
                         
4.14
 
Form of Registration Rights Agreement entered into on February 19, 2008 between the Company and CJ CheilJedang Corporation
     
8-K
 
10.20
 
001-33672
 
2/25/08
                         
4.15
 
Form of Placement Agent Warrant Issued to Midtown Partners & Company on December 18, 2008
     
8-K
 
4.1
 
001-33672
 
12/18/08
                         
4.16
 
Form of Consultant Common Stock Purchase Warrant issued on January 5, 2009
     
S-3/A
 
10.1
 
333-157079
 
02/3/09
                         
4.17
 
Form of Series D, E and F Warrants
     
8-K
 
4.01
 
001-33672
 
7/1/09
                         
4.18
 
Form of Placement Agent Warrant
     
8-K
 
4.02
 
001-33672
 
7/1/09
                         
4.19
 
Form of December 29, 2009 Securities Purchase Agreement
 
*
               
                         
4.20
 
Form of Consultant Warrant Issued January 8, 2010
 
*
               
                         
4.21
 
Form of Replacement Warrant Issued January 29, 2010
 
*
               
                         
4.22
 
Form of Replacement Warrant Issued March of 2010
 
*
               
                         
4.23
 
Form of employee and consultant option grant
 
*
               
                         
10.01**
 
Employment Agreement with I. Richard Garr dated January 1, 2007 and amended as of November 1, 2005
     
SB-2
 
10.1
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
10.02**
 
Amended terms to the Employment Agreement of I Richard Garr dated January 1, 2008
     
10-K
 
10.02
 
001-33672
 
3/31/09
                         
10.03**
 
Employment Agreement with Karl Johe dated January 1, 2007 and amended as of November 1, 2005
     
SB-2
 
10.1
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
10.04**
 
Amended terms to the Employment Agreement of Karl Johe dated January 1, 2009
     
10-K
 
10.04
 
001-33672
 
3/31/09
                         
14.01
 
Neuralstem Code of Ethics
     
SB-2
 
14.1
 
333-132923
 
6/21/06
                         
14.02
 
Neuralstem Financial Code of Profession Conduct adopted on May 16, 2007
     
8-K
 
14.2
 
333-132923
 
6/6/07
                         
23
 
Consent of Stegman & Company
 
*
               
 
61

 
31.1
 
Certification of the Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
 
*
               
                         
31.2
 
Certification of the Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
 
*
               
                         
32.1
 
Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350
 
*
               
                         
32.2
 
Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350
 
*
               
 
**Management contracts or compensation plans or arrangements in which directors or executive officers are eligible to participate.
 
62