PLx Pharma Winddown Corp. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to PLx Pharma Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Form 10-K and certain information incorporated herein by reference may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical fact and involve assessments of certain risks, developments, and uncertainties in our business looking to the future, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect” or the negative versions of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short- and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K, which could cause our future operating results to differ materially from those set forth in any forward-looking statement. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking events or circumstances included herein can be realized, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

Note Regarding Trademarks and Trade Names

We own various U.S. federal trademark registrations and applications and unregistered trademarks, trade names and service marks, including:

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Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this Form 10-K are sometimes referred to without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend the use or display of other companies’ trademarks and trade names to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies, products or services.

Summary of Risk Factors

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. We have described below a number of risk factors which, in addition to uncertainties, risks and other information presented elsewhere in this Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. The uncertainties and risks enumerated below, as well as those presented elsewhere in this Form 10-K, should be considered carefully in evaluating the Company, our business and the value of our securities. These risks are more fully described in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors. These risks include, among others, the following:

PART I

ITEM 1.  BUSINESS.

Company Overview

The Company, together with its subsidiary PLx Opco Inc., is a commercial-stage drug delivery platform technology company focused on improving how and where active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”) are absorbed in the gastrointestinal GI tract via its clinically-validated and patent-protected PLxGuard™ technology. The Company has two Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approved products, VAZALORE® 81 mg and VAZALORE® 325 mg, which are liquid-filled aspirin capsules for over-the-counter (“OTC”) distribution.

VAZALORE delivers aspirin differently from plain and enteric coated aspirin products. The special complex inside the capsule allows for targeted release of aspirin, limiting its direct contact with the stomach lining. VAZALORE delivers fast, reliable absorption for pain relief plus the lifesaving benefits of aspirin.

2021 Business Highlights

Corporate Information

We were originally incorporated in Texas in 2002 and re-incorporated in Delaware in 2015. Our principal executive offices are located at 9 Fishers Lane, Suite E, Sparta, NJ 07871, and our telephone number is (973) 409-6541. Our website address is www.plxpharma.com. We have not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K the information in, or that can be accessed through, our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this Form 10-K.

On April 19, 2017, Dipexium Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Merger Sub”) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Dipexium”), merged with and into PLx Pharma Inc., a privately-held Delaware corporation (“Old PLx”), pursuant to the terms of a certain Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization, dated as of December 22, 2016, by and among Dipexium, Merger Sub and Old PLx (the “Merger”). As part of the Merger, Dipexium was re-named PLx Pharma Inc. and Old PLx was re-named PLx Opco Inc. Following completion of the Merger, Old PLx became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Since the completion of the Merger, the business we have conducted has primarily been the business of Old PLx.

Our Strategy and Our Products

Our commercialization strategy targets the OTC market, taking advantage of the existing distribution channels for aspirin. We market VAZALORE to the healthcare professional and the consumer through several sales and marketing channels. Our product pipeline also includes other oral NSAIDs using the PLxGuard drug delivery platform that may be developed, including PL1200 Ibuprofen 200 mg and PL1100 Ibuprofen 400 mg, for pain and inflammation in Phase 1 clinical stage. We are also screening additional compounds outside of the NSAID category for possible development using our PLxGuard drug delivery platform.

PLxGuard Drug Delivery Platform

Some APIs can cause injury to the stomach lining. The innovative and unique PLxGuard drug delivery platform employs a pH-dependent release mechanism that relies on association of lipidic excipients with APIs for targeted release in the GI tract. The preassociation of PLxGuard’s proprietary pharmaceutical lipid means that the API is isloated from interaction with similar, naturally occurring phospholipids in the stomach lining, helping to prevent direct contact of the APIs with the stomach lining and subsequent local gastric injury.

This drug delivery platform is intended to reliably release APIs in higher pH environments and decrease exposure to the stomach lining, which is the most susceptible part of the GI tract to NSAID-induced local gastric injury. PLxGuard may have the potential to:

The PLxGuard drug delivery platform, with our novel formulations using the APIs aspirin and ibuprofen, has undergone the clinical and preclinical testing described below. Other existing or new drugs in development that may benefit from the PLxGuard drug delivery platform will be evaluated either by us or through collaboration with other companies.

Product Pipeline

Our lead product, VAZALORE 325 mg, has been approved by the FDA for OTC distribution and is the first and only FDA-approved liquid-filled aspirin capsule. Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated bioequivalence of VAZALORE to immediate-release, plain aspirin. In a clinical trial in obese diabetic patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, VAZALORE 325 mg was compared to immediate-release and enteric coated formulations after 3 day dosing. VAZALORE 325 mg delivered fast, reliable and predictable absorption and platelet inhibition consistent with immediate release aspirin. The area under the curve (“AUC”) of plasma concentrations of acetylsalicylic acid were VAZALORE 325 mg (2,523), immediate release aspirin (1,964) and enteric coated aspirin (456), thus absorption with VAZALORE 325 mg was 5 times as high as with enteric-coated aspirin 325 mg. After three days of treatment VAZALORE 325 mg provided extensive antiplatelet effects, with a median time to 99% inhibition of serum thromboxane B2 production of 2 hours compared with 48 hours for enteric-coated aspirin. This greater bioavailability translates into consistent and sustained antiplatelet benefits with twice as many patients achieving a complete antiplatelet response after 3 days treatment compared with enteric-coated aspirin 325 mg. Near complete inhibition of serum thromboxane B2 (>99%) is a clinically accepted marker for antiplatelet efficacy, which is sometimes referred to as aspirin response. The effects of VAZALORE on another measure of antiplatelet effect, inhibition of arachidonic acid induced platelet aggregation assessed by light transmission aggregometry, were consistent. The fast and reliable platelet inhibition achieved with VAZALORE 325 mg may be particularly important in the management of patients with vascular events such as heart attacks and clot-related strokes where complete platelet inhibition is absolutely critical.

VAZALORE 325 mg has also caused significantly fewer erosions and ulcers than immediate release aspirin after seven days of treatment. In a clinical trial, VAZALORE resulted in 47% lower risk of erosions or ulcers with a number needed to treat (“NNT”) of five and 71% lower risk of ulcers with an NNT of eight. The lower risk for local GI injury can have important benefits. The reduction of adverse gastric events may also be particularly important in the hospital setting where patients with vascular events such as heart attacks and clot-related strokes are at very high risk for gastric erosions and ulcers due to the stress associated with the episode and the co-administration of aspirin with other antiplatelet therapies that are standard components of the treatment protocols. Finally, the lower risk of erosions and ulcers after seven days of treatment as compared to immediate release aspirin may also be used to differentiate VAZALORE 325 mg from products intended for use in conditions associated with pain and inflammation, including other aspirin and NSAID products, although significant additional development and clinical testing will need to be performed.

VAZALORE 81 mg is our lower-dose companion product for VAZALORE 325 mg. This product utilizes exactly the same formulation as the 325 mg product (except delivered in a capsule one quarter the size). SNDAs for VAZALORE 81 mg and VAZALORE 325 mg doses were approved by the FDA in February 2021. In 2021, the Company conducted a randomized, open-label, crossover study of VAZALORE and enteric-coated aspirin. Preliminary results showed VAZALORE 81 mg provided fast and reliable absorption, and potent and early inhibition of platelet aggregation after a single dose. The pharmacologic profile of the 81 mg dose is consistent with the 325 mg dose. The study is titled, “Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Profile of PL-ASA, a Novel Phospholipid-Aspirin Complex Liquid Formulation, Compared to Enteric-coated Aspirin at an 81 mg Dose – Results from a Prospective, Randomized Crossover Study” (F. Franchi et al.), were included in a virtual poster presentation during the 2021 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Meeting of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

We also believe the PLxGuard drug delivery platform may be used with other selected NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen. We have used the platform to create a lipid-based formulation of ibuprofen, PL1200 Ibuprofen 200 mg, for the OTC market, and PL1100 Ibuprofen 400 mg, for prescription doses of ibuprofen. We have OTC and prescription (“Rx”) Investigational New Drug applications (“INDs”) active with the FDA and have demonstrated bioequivalence with the OTC 200 mg dose ibuprofen to support a 505(b)(2) NDA in fasted-state clinical trials at three different doses, 200 mg, 400 mg, and 800 mg. Using the PL1200 capsules at prescription doses, we demonstrated potentially better GI tolerability in osteoarthritic patients with equivalent analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy, when compared with prescription ibuprofen in a six-week endoscopy pilot clinical trial. PL1200 and PL1100 Ibuprofen may be considered as being in Phase 1 in the FDA approval process and may qualify for the 505(b)(2) NDA path.

Warehousing & Distribution

We manage product distribution in the continental United States through one facility located in Illinois, which is owned and operated by RJW Logistics LLC, a third-party provider of warehouse services including storage, handling and shipping.

Sales & Marketing

We employ a variety of strategies to drive sales and consumer and healthcare professional awareness of VAZALORE, including mass media, digital marketing, in-store displays and coupons. We also generate awareness among healthcare professionals via our cardiovascular specialty field force.

Manufacturing and Product Supply

We do not own or operate manufacturing facilities for the production of our product candidates, nor do we have plans to develop or own manufacturing operations in the foreseeable future. We currently rely on third-party contract manufacturers for all of our required ingredients and finished products for VAZALORE and other product candidates. We have entered into a Manufacturing Services Agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Pharma Services (“Thermo Fisher”) business to provide the capabilities to bring VAZALORE to market. We currently employ internal resources to manage our manufacturing contractors. Our agreement with Thermo Fisher includes representations and warranties that Thermo Fisher will perform its services under the agreement in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”). There can be no assurance that VAZALORE or other product candidates, if approved, can be manufactured in sufficient commercial quantities, in compliance with regulatory requirements and at an acceptable cost.

We and our contract manufacturers are and will be subject to extensive government regulation in connection with the manufacture of any pharmaceutical product. We and our contract manufacturers must ensure that all of the processes, methods and equipment are compliant with cGMP and current Good Laboratory Practices (“cGLPs”) for drugs on an ongoing basis, as mandated by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and conduct extensive audits of vendors, contract laboratories and suppliers.

While we believe that most of the ingredients we require to manufacture VAZALORE are readily available from multiple suppliers and are commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry, some key components are sourced from a limited number of suppliers.

Customers

The Company generates revenue from the sale of its VAZALORE products through a broad distribution platform that includes drugstores, mass merchandisers, grocery stores, and e-commerce channels, all of which sell its products to consumers. For the year ending December 31, 2021, gross sales to Walmart Inc. and major drug store chains were 30.2% and 36.3%, respectively.

Competition

The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. We face competition and potential competition from a number of sources, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, consumer goods companies, generic drug companies, drug delivery companies and academic and research institutions. We believe the key competitive factors that will affect the development and commercial success of our product candidates include the therapeutic efficacy, safety and tolerability profiles and cost. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than we do, as well as more experience in the development of product candidates, obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of products, and the commercialization of those products. Consequently, our competitors may develop products that may be more effective, better tolerated and less costly than our product candidates. Our competitors may also be more successful in manufacturing and marketing their products than we are. We will also face competition in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient enrollment in clinical trials.

VAZALORE faces competition from many companies that sell OTC aspirin products. These include branded products from Bayer AG, Prestige Brands, Inc. (i.e., Bayer, Ecotrin, Goody’s, BC Powder) and Foundation Consumer Healthcare, LLC (i.e., St. Joseph) and private label or store brands (e.g., CVS, Walgreens). Aspirin is sold in the United States for multiple uses. In addition to cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment, OTC aspirin may be used for the treatment of pain, inflammation and fever. There are two aspirin products for cardiovascular disease prevention that are approved by the FDA for prescription use owned by Innovida Pharmaceutique Inc. (i.e., Yosprala) and Espero BioPharma, Inc. (i.e., Durlaza) that are, to the best of our knowledge, not currently marketed in the U.S. There are a variety of aspirin and NSAID products in various stages of development in the United States and globally that represent potential competition when and if they become approved by the FDA and are commercialized. Companies and academic institutions involved include Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc, Antibe Therapeutics Inc. and The City College of New York. VAZALORE and other pain and inflammation product candidates such as PL1200 Ibuprofen will face competition from many firms. These include OTC and prescription products. Major competitors include GSK/Pfizer Inc. (i.e., Advil), Johnson & Johnson (i.e., MotrinIB, Tylenol), Bayer AG (i.e., Aleve) and private label or store brands (e.g., CVS, Walgreens).

The aspirin market is currently predominantly composed of generic products either branded (e.g. Bayer) or private label (e.g. CVS). VAZALORE is the only liquid-filled aspirin capsule product to be approved by the FDA. VAZALORE went through a different regulatory approval process than the current OTC aspirin products being marketed in the U.S. VAZALORE was approved under the 505(b)(2) NDA process and is currently the only OTC available aspirin-based product that successfully passed this rigorous process. We believe the clinical trials, which demonstrated better efficacy and safety, will assist us in differentiating VAZALORE from the competition. Other product candidates will undergo clinical trials to provide differentiation as part of their product development and commercialization.

Intellectual Property

Our success depends, in part, upon our ability to protect our core novel technology. To establish and protect our proprietary rights, we rely on a combination of patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and know-how, license agreements, confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements with third parties, employee disclosure and invention assignment agreements, and other contractual rights.

Patent Portfolio

We have developed our own patent applications that, as issued or if issued with claims as filed, will provide patent protection for VAZALORE 81 mg, VAZALORE 325 mg and other NSAID products, and will broaden the opportunity for new products to include many different drug classes. In the U.S., we have six patents issued from the “pH dependent carriers for targeted release of pharmaceuticals along the gastrointestinal tract, compositions therefrom and making and using same” family consisting of U.S. patent numbers 9216150, 9226892, 9730884, 10179104, 10646431 and 10786444 expiring on September 29, 2032. In China, we have been issued patent number ZL201280058596X expiring on September 28, 2032. In Hong Kong, we have been issued patent number HK1200098 expiring September 29, 2032. In Australia, we have been issued patent number 2012315545 expiring September 29, 2032. In Mexico, we have been issued patent numbers 340951 and 356017 expiring on September 29, 2032. In Japan, we have been issued patent numbers 6368645 and 6799504 expiring September 29, 2032. In India, we have been issued patent number 368047 expiring September 29, 2032. In Canada, we have been issued patent number 2850187 expiring September 29, 2032. In South Korea, we have been issued patent numbers 10-2162901 and 10-2188840 expiring September 29, 2032, and we have received a Notice of Allowance for additional claims. We have a pending application in Europe, which if issued, is expected to provide patent protection through September 29, 2032.

In March 2020, we filed a new patent application entitled Pharmaceuticals Carriers Capable of pH Dependent Reconstitution and Methods for Making and Using Same in the U.S. and may file in other international jurisdictions. If issued with claims as filed, this will provide additional patent protection for VAZALORE 81 mg, VAZALORE 325 mg, other NSAID products and new products to include many different drug classes with expiration in March 2041.

On January 8, 2003, we entered into a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System (“UT”), as described in more detail in the section herein titled “License Agreements—UT License Agreement”, which was amended and restated on December 11, 2009, and subsequently amended on April 15, 2011 and on December 17, 2011 (as amended, the “UT License Agreement”). The patents in-licensed under the UT License Agreement constitute a part of our intellectual property. This family of patents includes composition of matter, methods of manufacturing and methods of treatment that provide protection for VAZALORE, PL1200 Ibuprofen and other NSAID product candidates in the United States and global markets. The following is a summary of the patents in-licensed under the UT License Agreement and their respective expiration dates:

U.S. patent numbers 10646431 and 10786444 “pH dependent carriers for targeted release of pharmaceuticals along the gastrointestinal tract, compositions therefrom and making and using same” have been submitted for listing in the FDA Orange Book (the “Orange Book”). As new patents are issued relative to FDA approved products such as VAZALORE 81 mg and 325 mg, they will be added to the Orange Book and, as new products are approved by the FDA, the relevant patents will be added to the Orange Book. The Orange Book lists patents that protect each drug. Patent listings and use codes are provided by the drug application owner, and the FDA is obliged to list them. In order for a generic drug manufacturer to win approval of a drug under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (the “Hatch-Waxman Act”), the generic manufacturer must certify either that they will not launch their generic pharmaceutical product until after the expiration of the Orange Book-listed patent, that the patent is invalid and unenforceable, or that the generic product will not infringe the listed patent.

The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term for patents in the countries in which they are granted. In most countries, including the United States, the patent term is generally 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date of a non-provisional patent application in the applicable country. In the United States, a patent’s term may, in certain cases, be lengthened by patent term adjustment, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) in examining and granting a patent or may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over a commonly owned patent or a patent naming a common inventor and having an earlier expiration date. The Hatch-Waxman Act permits a patent term extension of up to five years beyond the expiration date of a U.S. patent as partial compensation for the length of time the drug is under regulatory review.

License Agreements

UT License Agreement

On January 8, 2003, we entered into the UT License Agreement. The patents in-licensed under this agreement constitute an important part of our intellectual property. This family of patents includes composition of matter, methods of manufacturing and methods of treatment that provide protection for VAZALORE, PL1200 Ibuprofen and other NSAID product candidates in the United States and in a number of global markets. Pursuant to the UT License Agreement, UT granted us an exclusive license under its patents and know-how related to their NSAID-phospholipid technology to develop and commercialize NSAID products for use anywhere in the world. Certain of the technology was developed with government funding, and the exclusivity of our license is therefore subject to certain retained rights of the U.S. federal government. We are responsible for the development and commercialization of the licensed products under the agreement. The UT License Agreement is in effect as to each of the licensed patents as long as the patents are valid. The UT License Agreement provides for milestone payments related to the first product to obtain regulatory approval to sell a licensed product, which milestone payments have been paid. The UT License Agreement provides for milestone payments based upon the aggregate revenue from the sale of all licensed products. There is a running royalty obligation in the low single digit range based upon net sales. If a product is commercialized by another company under a sublicense agreement with us, then UT receives a share of consideration received by us that is in the low double-digit range. There is a minimum annual royalty payment obligation. We are responsible for the prosecution and maintenance of the licensed patents at our expense and for the prosecution and control of any action for infringement related to any product that does, or may, compete with one of our marketed licensed products and any claim within a licensed patent that covers or relates to such marketed licensed product. In 2021, we paid milestones and royalties in the amount of approximately $0.1 million.

Government Regulation

Government authorities in the United States, at the federal, state and local level, in the European Union, and in other countries and jurisdictions extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, including any manufacturing changes, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution, marketing, import and export of pharmaceutical products such as those we are developing. The processes for obtaining regulatory approvals in the United States and in foreign countries and jurisdictions, along with subsequent compliance with applicable statutes and regulations, require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.

U.S. Drug Approval Process

In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FDCA”), implementing regulations and other federal and state statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval may subject an applicant to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as the FDA’s refusal to approve pending NDAs, withdrawal of an approval, imposition of a clinical hold, issuance of untitled or warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil or criminal penalties.

The process required by the FDA before a drug may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:

Preclinical studies and submission of an IND

Preclinical studies include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, toxicity and formulation, as well as animal studies to assess a product’s potential safety and efficacy. An IND sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data and any available clinical data or literature, among other things, to the FDA as part of an IND. Some preclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted. An IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless during such 30-day period the FDA raises concerns or questions related to one or more proposed clinical trials and places the trial on a clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. As a result, submission of an IND may not result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to commence.

Clinical trials

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators in accordance with cGCP requirements, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent (assent, if applicable) in writing for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. A protocol for each clinical trial and any subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. In addition, an IRB at each institution participating in the clinical trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial before it commences at that institution. Information about certain clinical trials must be submitted within specific timeframes to the National Institutes of Health for public dissemination on their ClinicalTrials.gov website.

Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases, which may overlap or be combined:

Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and more frequently if serious adverse events occur. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, or at all. Furthermore, the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the clinical trial patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. The FDA may order the temporary, or permanent, discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time, or impose other sanctions, if it believes that the clinical trial either is not being conducted in accordance with FDA requirements or presents an unacceptable risk to the clinical trial patients. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.

Marketing approval

Assuming successful completion of the required clinical testing, the results of the preclinical and clinical studies, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacture, controls and proposed labeling, among other things, are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. In most cases, the submission of an NDA is subject to a substantial application user fee, which is typically increased annually. Under the new Prescription Drug User Fee Act guidelines that are currently in effect, the FDA has a goal of ten months from the date of the FDA’s acceptance for filing of a standard non-priority NDA to review and act on the submission.

As a condition of NDA approval, the FDA also may require submission of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (“REMS”) plan to mitigate any identified or suspected serious risks. The REMS plan could include medication guides, physician communication plans, assessment plans and elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries or other risk minimization tools.

The FDA conducts a preliminary review of all NDAs within the first 60 days after submission, before accepting them for filing, to determine whether they are sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. The FDA may request additional information rather than accept an NDA for filing. In this event, the application must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application is also subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review. The FDA reviews an NDA to determine, among other things, whether the drug is safe and effective and whether the facility in which it is manufactured, processed, packaged or held meets standards designed to assure the product’s continued safety, quality and purity. The FDA may refer an application for a novel drug to an advisory committee, which is a panel of independent experts, including clinicians and other scientific experts, that reviews, evaluates and provides a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.

Before approving an NDA, the FDA typically will inspect the facility or facilities where the product is manufactured, which is not under the control of the product sponsor. The FDA will not approve an application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving an NDA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with cGCP.

After the FDA evaluates the NDA and the manufacturing facilities, it issues either an approval letter or a complete response letter. A complete response letter generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional testing, or information, in order for the FDA to reconsider the application. The FDA has committed to reviewing such resubmissions in two or six months depending on the type of information included. Even with submission of this additional information, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval. If, or when, those conditions have been met to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA will issue an approval letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications.

Even if the FDA approves a product, it may limit the approved indications for use for the product, require that contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling, require that post-approval studies, including Phase 4 clinical trials, be conducted to further assess a drug’s safety after approval, require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the product after commercialization, or impose other conditions, including distribution restrictions or other risk management mechanisms, which can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the product. The FDA may prevent or limit further marketing of a product based on the results of post-marketing studies or surveillance programs. After approval, some types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further testing requirements and FDA review and approval.

Post-approval requirements

Drugs manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, requirements relating to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, advertising and promotion and reporting of adverse experiences with the product. After approval, most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications or other labeling claims, are subject to prior FDA review and approval. There also are continuing, annual user fee requirements for any marketed products and the establishments at which such products are manufactured, as well as new application fees for supplemental applications with clinical data.

The FDA may impose a number of post-approval requirements as a condition of approval of an NDA. For example, the FDA may require post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization.

In addition, drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA and state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and these state agencies to determine compliance with cGMP requirements. Changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated and often require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP and impose reporting and documentation requirements upon the sponsor and any third-party manufacturers that the sponsor may decide to use. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend significant time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance.

Once an approval is granted, the FDA may withdraw the approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information, imposition of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks, or imposition of distribution or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:

The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Drugs may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label, although doctors may prescribe drugs for off-label purposes. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability. In addition, the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical products is subject to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act which regulates the distribution of drugs and drug samples at the federal level, and sets minimum standards for the registration and regulation of drug distributors by the states. In addition, prescription drug manufacturers in the United States must comply with applicable provisions of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act and provide and receive product tracing information, maintain appropriate licenses, ensure they only work with other properly licensed entities, and have procedures in place to identify and properly handle suspect and illegitimate products.

Section 505(b)(2) NDAs

Most drug products obtain FDA marketing approval pursuant to an NDA or an abbreviated new drug application (“ANDA”). A third alternative is a special type of NDA, commonly referred to as a Section 505(b)(2) NDA, which enables the applicant to rely, in part, on FDA’s prior findings of safety and/or effectiveness for a similar product or published literature in support of its application.

505(b)(2) NDAs often provide an alternate path to FDA approval for new or improved formulations or new uses of previously approved products. Section 505(b)(2) permits the filing of an NDA where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies not conducted by, or for, the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference. If the 505(b)(2) applicant can establish that reliance on the FDA’s prior findings of safety and/or effectiveness is scientifically appropriate, it may eliminate the need to conduct certain preclinical or clinical studies of the new product. The FDA may also require companies to perform additional studies or measurements to support the change from the approved product. The FDA may then approve the new product candidate for all, or some, of the indications for which the referenced product has been approved, as well as for any new indication sought by the Section 505(b)(2) applicant.

Hatch-Waxman exclusivity

Marketing exclusivity provisions under the FDCA can delay the submission or the approval of certain applications for competing products. The FDCA provides a five-year period of non-patent exclusivity within the United States to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity. A drug is a new chemical entity (“NCE”) if the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, which is the molecule or ion responsible for the action of the drug substance. During the NCE exclusivity period, the FDA may not accept for review an ANDA or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company that references the previously approved drug. However, an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA may be submitted after four years if it contains a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement (a Paragraph IV certification). If the ANDA or 505(b)(2) applicant has provided a Paragraph IV certification to the FDA, the applicant must also send notice of the Paragraph IV certification to the NDA and patent holders once the ANDA has been accepted for filing by the FDA. The NDA and patent holders may then initiate a patent infringement lawsuit in response to the notice of the Paragraph IV certification. The filing of a patent infringement lawsuit within 45 days of the receipt of a Paragraph IV certification automatically prevents the FDA from approving the ANDA until the earlier of 30 months, expiration of the patent, settlement of the lawsuit, or a decision in the infringement case that is favorable to the ANDA applicant.

The FDCA also provides three years of marketing exclusivity for an NDA, 505(b)(2) NDA or supplement to an existing NDA or 505(b)(2) NDA if new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant, are deemed by the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application, for example, for new indications, dosages, strengths or dosage forms of an existing drug. This three-year exclusivity covers only the conditions of use associated with the new clinical investigations and, as a general matter, does not prohibit the FDA from approving ANDAs or 505(b)(2) NDAs for generic versions of the original, unmodified drug product. Five-year and three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of a full NDA. However, an applicant submitting a full NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness.

NDA vs. OTC Monograph products

OTC drugs can be brought to market via two routes: the NDA approval process and the OTC monograph process. A drug product is eligible to be brought to market via the OTC monograph process if it is not a new drug, and the drug product meets the FDA’s established conditions for general recognition of safety and effectiveness (“GRASE”). The OTC drug monographs are a kind of “rule book” of conditions for each therapeutic category covering acceptable ingredients, uses (indications), doses, formulations, labeling, and testing.

The OTC Drug Review is a three-phase public rulemaking process established by the FDA to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of OTC drug products marketed in the United States prior to May 11, 1972. The three-phase rulemaking process can be summarized as follows:

If a product deviates from the conditions under the TFM or final monograph and was not marketed before May 1972, then the drug product is considered a new drug and requires an NDA to be legally marketed. Aspirin was classified into the therapeutic class for Internal Analgesic, Antipyretic, and Antirheumatic Drug Products (“IAAA”). The ANPR was published in 1977, and in 1988, the FDA published the TFM for IAAA. The IAAA TFM recommends appropriate labeling, including therapeutic indications, dosage instructions, and warnings about side effects and ways of preventing misuse. Although it has been updated and amended since its original publication, the IAAA monograph has not been finalized.

Differences between the NDA approval process and the OTC monograph process are listed below.

VAZALORE is the only NDA-approved OTC liquid-filled aspirin product available. Approval of the VAZALORE NDA granted VAZALORE labeling similar to that of monograph aspirin products.

Professional Labeling

Although the IAAA TFM has not been finalized for OTC use, final regulations for the professional labeling of aspirin were published in 1988. Professional labeling is labeling that provides specific information to health professionals for uses not included in OTC drug labeling. Professional labeling can be provided solely to healthcare professionals. Professional labeling may not be used on consumer products or on consumer-directed labeling. Under the IAAA regulations for professional labeling of aspirin, patients can only use aspirin for cardiovascular-related uses when directed to do so by a physician.

Professional labeling for aspirin includes the following indications:

FDA Oversight vs. FTC Oversight

Since 1971, the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) have had a Memorandum of Understanding in place, which dictates that the FDA has primary responsibility over OTC drug labeling, while the FTC has primary responsibility over OTC drug advertising.

For an NDA-approved product, OTC labeling, including the labeling on the box, must be submitted to the FDA for review and approval prior to distribution. As indicated above, this is different from monograph products, which are not subjected to the FDA’s labeling review and approval processes prior to launching to market. Advertising for OTC products is under the purview of the FTC. Promotional material (including print, radio, and/or TV) is not required to be submitted to the FTC prior to distribution, unlike Rx promotional materials submitted to the FDA.

Under FTC regulations, claims in advertisements, including OTC medicine advertisements, must be truthful, substantiated, and cannot be misleading or unfair.

Advertisers must have substantiation that all objective express and implied claims in advertising are true before making the claims. The standard for substantiation of health claims is “competent and reliable scientific evidence.” For drug claims, competent and reliable scientific evidence generally has been interpreted as requiring at least one or two adequate and well-controlled human clinical studies of the product, or of an essentially equivalent product, that conform to acceptable designs and protocols and whose results, when considered in light of the entire body of relevant and reliable scientific evidence, are sufficient to substantiate that the representation is true.

Beyond FTC regulation of advertising, industry self-regulation plays an important role. The National Advertising Division (“NAD”) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus reviews advertising complaints by competitors. NAD generally applies the same standard as the FTC. If NAD determines that the substantiation does not support the claims or that it is otherwise false and misleading, it will recommend that the advertiser revise or discontinue the advertisement. If the advertiser does not agree to do so, NAD will forward the case to the FTC or the FDA for review.

Foreign Regulatory Approval Process

In order to market any product outside of the United States, we would need to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries and jurisdictions regarding quality, safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of our products. The cost of establishing a regulatory compliance system for numerous varying jurisdictions can be very significant. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we would need to obtain the necessary approvals by the comparable foreign regulatory authorities before we can commence clinical trials or marketing of the product in foreign countries and jurisdictions. Although many of the issues discussed above with respect to the United States apply similarly in the context of the European Union, the approval process varies between countries and jurisdictions and can involve additional product testing and additional administrative review periods. The time required to obtain approval in other countries and jurisdictions might differ from and be longer than that required to obtain FDA approval. Regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction may negatively impact the regulatory process in others.

Pursuant to the European Clinical Trials Directive, a system for the approval of clinical trials in the European Union has been implemented through national legislation of the member states. Under this system, we must obtain approval from both the competent national authority of a European Union member state in which the clinical trial is to be conducted, and a favorable opinion from the competent ethics committee. Our clinical trial application must be accompanied by an investigational medicinal product dossier with supporting information prescribed by the European Clinical Trials Directive and corresponding national laws of the member states and further detailed in applicable guidance documents.

To obtain marketing approval of a drug under European Union regulatory systems, we may submit a Marketing Authorization Application (“MAA”) either under a centralized or decentralized procedure. The centralized procedure provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization by the European Commission that is valid for all European Union member states. The centralized procedure is compulsory for specific products, including medicines produced by certain biotechnological processes, products designated as orphan medicinal products, advanced therapy products and products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of certain diseases. For products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of other diseases and products that are highly innovative or for which a centralized process is in the interest of patients, the centralized procedure may be optional. Under the centralized procedure, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (the “CHMP”) established at the European Medicines Agency (the “EMA”) is responsible for conducting the initial assessment of a drug. The CHMP also is responsible for several post-authorization and maintenance activities, such as the assessment of modifications or extensions to an existing marketing authorization. Under the centralized procedure in the European Union, the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of an MAA is 210 days, excluding clock stops, when additional information or written or oral explanation is requested by the CHMP but has not yet been provided. Accelerated evaluation might be granted by the CHMP in exceptional cases, when a medicinal product is of major interest from the point of view of public health and in particular from the viewpoint of therapeutic innovation. In this circumstance, the EMA ensures that the opinion of the CHMP is given within 150 days.

The decentralized procedure is available to applicants who wish to market a product in various European Union member states where such product has not previously received marketing approval in any European Union member state. The decentralized procedure provides for approval by one or more other, or concerned, member states of an assessment of an application performed by one member state designated by the applicant, known as the reference member state. Under this procedure, an applicant submits an application based on identical dossiers and related materials, including a draft summary of product characteristics, and draft labeling and package leaflet, to the reference member state and concerned member states. The reference member state prepares a draft assessment report and drafts of the related materials within 120 days after receipt of a valid application. Within 90 days of receiving the reference member state’s assessment report and related materials, each concerned member state must decide whether to approve the assessment report and related materials.

If a member state cannot approve the assessment report and related materials on the grounds of potential serious risk to public health, the disputed points are subject to a dispute resolution mechanism and may eventually be referred to the European Commission, whose decision is binding on all member states.

In the European Union, new chemical entities qualify for eight years of data exclusivity upon marketing authorization and an additional two years of market exclusivity. This data exclusivity, if granted, prevents regulatory authorities in the European Union from referencing the innovator’s data to assess a generic (abbreviated) application for eight years, after which generic marketing authorization can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but not approved for two years. The overall ten-year period will be extended to a maximum of eleven years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. Even if a compound is considered to be a new chemical entity and the sponsor is able to gain the prescribed period of data exclusivity, another company nevertheless could also market another version of the drug if such company can complete a full MAA with a complete database of pharmaceutical test, preclinical tests and clinical trials and obtain marketing approval of its product.

Pharmaceutical Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement

Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any drug products for which we may obtain regulatory approval. Sales of any of our product candidates, if approved, will depend, in part, on the extent to which the costs of the products will be covered by third-party payors, including government health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, commercial health insurers and managed care organizations. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a drug product typically is separate from the process for setting the price of a drug product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that a payor will pay for the drug product once coverage is approved. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific drug products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the approved drugs for a particular indication.

In order to secure coverage and reimbursement for any product that might be approved for sale, we may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of the product, in addition to the costs required to obtain FDA or other comparable regulatory approvals. Whether or not we conduct such studies, our product candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. A third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a drug product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Third party reimbursement may not be sufficient to enable us to maintain price levels high enough to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development.

The containment of healthcare costs has become a priority of federal, state and foreign governments, and the prices of drugs have been a focus in this effort. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services, examining the medical necessity and reviewing the cost-effectiveness of drug products and medical services and questioning safety and efficacy. If these third-party payors do not consider our products to be cost-effective compared to other available therapies, they may not cover our products after FDA approval or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow us to sell our products at a profit. The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs to limit the growth of government-paid healthcare costs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products for branded prescription drugs. Adoption of such controls and measures, and tightening of restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could limit payments for pharmaceuticals such as our drug product candidates and could adversely affect our net revenue and results.

Pricing and reimbursement schemes vary widely from country to country. Some countries provide that drug products may be marketed only after a reimbursement price has been agreed. Some countries may require the completion of additional studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. For example, the European Union provides options for its member states to restrict the range of drug products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. European Union member states may approve a specific price for a drug product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the drug product on the market. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for drug products, but monitor and control company profits. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription drugs, has become intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. In addition, in some countries, cross-border imports from low-priced markets exert competitive pressure that may reduce pricing within a country. Any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for drug products may not allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products.

The marketability of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if the government and third-party payors fail to provide adequate coverage and reimbursement. In addition, emphasis on managed care in the United States has increased and we expect will continue to increase the pressure on drug pricing. Coverage policies, third-party reimbursement rates and drug pricing regulation may change at any time. In particular, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which we collectively refer to as the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), contains provisions that have the potential to substantially change healthcare financing, including impacting the profitability of drugs. For example, the ACA revised the methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers to the state and federal government for covered outpatient drugs under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, extended the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to utilization of prescriptions of individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations and subjected manufacturers to new annual fees and taxes for certain branded prescription drugs. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.

Healthcare Law and Regulation

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and prescribing of any product candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval. Our business operations and arrangements with investigators, healthcare professionals, consultants, third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations. These laws may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we research, market, sell and distribute our products that obtain marketing approval. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government in addition to requiring drug manufacturers to report information related to payments to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures. State and foreign laws also govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.

Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and/or administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If any of the physicians or other providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering or authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring us to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the Company, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations.

As we pursue international licensing and sales arrangements outside the United States, we will be heavily regulated and expect to have significant interaction with foreign officials. Additionally, in many countries outside the United States, the healthcare providers who prescribe human pharmaceuticals are employed by the government and the purchasers of human pharmaceuticals are government entities; therefore, our interactions with these prescribers and purchasers would be subject to regulation under the FCPA.

In addition to the U.S. application and enforcement of the FCPA, the various jurisdictions in which we operate and supply our products have laws and regulations aimed at preventing and penalizing corrupt and anticompetitive behavior. In recent years, several jurisdictions, including China, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, have enhanced their laws and regulations in this area, increased their enforcement activities, and/or increased the level of cross-border coordination and information sharing.

Employees

As of December 31, 2021, we had 19 employees, of which 16 are full time employees. Of these full-time employees, one works on research and development and clinical operations and 15 work in sales, marketing, management and administration. We added 8 new employees in 2021. We also use the services of numerous outside consultants in business and scientific matters. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good. In 2022, we anticipate continuing to grow our number of employees. We also will continue to use consultants in certain instances in order to maximize our employment flexibility in light of our business needs. Additionally, when we think it is in the best interest of our business we will rely upon external expertise rather than our internal employee base.

Compliance with Environmental Regulations

Our third-party manufacturers’ activities and our own activities may involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, including the components of our pharmaceutical product candidates, test samples and reagents, biological materials and other hazardous compounds. We and our manufacturers are subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations governing the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. We currently carry no insurance specifically covering environmental claims relating to the use of hazardous materials. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of these materials and waste products comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from the use, storage, handling or disposal of hazardous materials. In the event of an accident, state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of these materials and/or interrupt our business operations. In addition, if an accident or environmental discharge occurs, or if we discover contamination caused by prior operations, including by prior owners and operators of properties we acquire, we could be liable for cleanup obligations, damages and fines. If such unexpected costs are substantial, this could significantly harm our financial condition and results of operations.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. We have described below a number of risk factors which, in addition to uncertainties, risks and other information presented elsewhere in this Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. The uncertainties and risks enumerated below, as well as those presented elsewhere in this Form 10-K, should be considered carefully in evaluating the Company, our business and the value of our securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected. Please also read carefully the section entitled “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included in this Form 10-K.

Risks Related to Commercialization of VAZALORE

Our future success largely depends on sales of our VAZALORE products. To the extent VAZALORE is not commercially successful, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially adversely affected.

In connection with our strategic shift to a commercial-stage drug delivery platform technology company, we expect to generate a significant percentage of our future revenue from sales of our VAZALORE product. As a result, the market acceptance of VAZALORE is critical to our continued success, and if we are unable to expand market acceptance of VAZALORE, our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and growth prospects would be materially adversely affected.

Even though VAZALORE has already obtained regulatory approval, it may never achieve market acceptance by physicians, patients, and others in the medical community and retail trade environment necessary for commercial success and the market opportunity may be smaller than we estimate.

Although we have launched VAZALORE commercially, it may not achieve market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals (including pharmacy directors) and third-party payors and, ultimately, may not be commercially successful. Market acceptance of VAZALORE and any potential product candidate for which we receive approval depends on a number of factors, including:

For example, while we believe that the safety profile and certain efficacy data will allow us to differentiate VAZALORE from other aspirin products in the market, we may not be able to make direct comparative claims regarding the safety or efficacy of VAZALORE and other aspirin products in our promotional materials for VAZALORE. Any failure by VAZALORE or any other product candidate that obtains regulatory approval to achieve market acceptance or commercial success would adversely affect our business prospects.

Our ability to market VAZALORE for long-term use may be hampered by lack of trial results demonstrating long-term GI-safety benefits.

While demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in mucosal damage at 42 days when evaluated using the same clinical endpoints used for early studies involving plain aspirin (i.e., ulcers and erosions), VAZALORE 325 mg did not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in ulcers alone over the course of a 42-day trial. This lack of demonstrated long-term ulcer reduction could hamper our ability to market VAZALORE 325 mg for long-term use.

Serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or other unexpected properties of VAZALORE or any other product candidate may be identified after approval that could delay, prevent or cause the withdrawal of regulatory approval, limit the commercial potential, or result in significant negative consequences following marketing approval.

Serious adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by, or other unexpected properties of, VAZALORE or our other product candidates could cause us, an IRB, or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt our manufacturing and distribution operations and could result in a more restrictive label, the imposition of distribution or use restrictions or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. If VAZALORE or any of our other product candidates are associated with serious adverse events or undesirable side effects or have properties that are unexpected, we may need to abandon their development or limit development to certain uses or subpopulations in which the undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Many compounds that initially showed promise in clinical or earlier stage testing have later been found to cause undesirable or unexpected side effects that prevented further development of the compound.

Undesirable side effects or other unexpected adverse events or properties of VAZALORE or any of our other product candidates could arise or become known either during clinical development or, if approved, after the approved product has been marketed. If such an event occurs during development, our trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of, or deny approval of, our other product candidates. If such an event occurs with respect to VAZALORE, a number of potentially significant negative consequences may result, including:

Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product candidate, or could substantially increase commercialization costs and expenses, which could delay or prevent us from generating revenue from the sale of our products and harm our business and results of operations.

If we are unable to maintain effective sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into sufficient third party arrangements for sales, marketing and distribution, we may not be able to effectively market, sell and distribute our product candidates, if approved.

We have recently established sales and marketing staff and distribution capabilities. If we are unable to maintain effective sales and marketing and distribution capabilities on our own or through third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing our products. To achieve commercial success for any approved product candidate, we must either develop a sales, marketing and distribution organization or outsource these functions to third parties. If we rely on third parties for marketing and distributing our approved products, any revenue we receive will depend upon the efforts of third parties, which may not be successful and are only partially within our control, and our product revenue may be lower than if we directly marketed or sold our products. We have limited historical operations in this area, and if such efforts were necessary, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our future products. If we are not successful in commercializing our future products, either on our own or through third parties, any future product revenue will be materially and adversely affected.

We face substantial competition and our competitors may discover, develop or commercialize products faster or more successfully than us.

The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. We face competition from major pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide with respect to VAZALORE and other product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. There are a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of product candidates that compete directly or indirectly with VAZALORE. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing technologies and drug products that are more effective, safer or less costly than VAZALORE or any other product candidates that we are currently developing or that we may develop, which could render our product candidates obsolete and noncompetitive.

Many of our competitors have materially greater name recognition and financial, manufacturing, marketing, research and drug development resources than we do. Additional mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. Large pharmaceutical companies in particular have extensive expertise in commercial sales, preclinical and clinical testing and in obtaining regulatory approvals for drugs. In addition, academic institutions, government agencies, and other public and private organizations conducting research may seek patent protection with respect to potentially competitive products or technologies. These organizations may also establish exclusive collaborative or licensing relationships with our competitors.

Finally, the success of any product that is commercialized will depend in large part on our ability to prevent competitors from launching a generic version that would compete with such product. If such competitors are able to establish that our patents are invalid or that the generic version would not infringe upon our product, they may be able to launch a generic product prior to the expected expiration of our relevant patents, and any generic competition could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition

Interruptions in our relationships or declines in our business with major customers could materially harm our business and financial results.

Walmart Inc. and the major drug store chains accounted for 66.5% of our gross sales during the year ended December 31, 2021. Any interruption in our relationship or decline in our business with these customers or other customers upon whom we become highly dependent could cause harm to our business. Factors that could influence our relationship with our customers upon whom we may become highly dependent include:

We have not yet generated significant revenues, have a limited operating history, have incurred operating losses in each year since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and if we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the market value of our common stock will likely decline.

We have not generated significant revenue from the sale of VAZALORE and have incurred operating losses since we commenced operations. The Company’s operating loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $46.1 million. As of December 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $148.3 million. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we continue the commercialization of VAZALORE and our other product candidates. If VAZALORE is not successfully commercialized in the U.S., we will not achieve profitability and our business may fail. Our expenses will also increase substantially if and when we:

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with launching a commercial pharmaceutical product, pharmaceutical product development and the regulatory environment, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses, or when, or if, we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we do generate more significant revenues, we may never achieve profitability. If we do achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital. If we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the market value of our common stock will likely decline. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing biopharmaceutical products, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when, if ever, we will become profitable.

We may need additional funding. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce or terminate our operations or commercialization efforts.

As of December 31, 2021, we had working capital of approximately $61.6 million and cash and cash equivalents of approximately $69.4 million. We may need to raise additional financing in the future to fund our operations. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through the issuance of equity securities, borrowings, grants and more recently with revenues from sales of VAZALORE since the commercial launch in the third quarter of 2021. We may obtain additional financing through public or private equity offerings, our ATM Offering, debt financings (including related-party financings), a credit facility or strategic collaborations.

Additional financing may not be available to us when we need it or it may not be available to us on favorable terms, if at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed could have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategies. Our future financing requirements will depend on many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

Future capital requirements will also depend on the extent to which we acquire or invest in additional complementary businesses, products and technologies. We currently have no understandings, commitments or agreements relating to any of these types of transactions. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we may be required to sell or license to others technologies or clinical product candidates or programs that we would prefer to develop and commercialize ourselves. Without additional funding — or, alternatively, a partner willing to collaborate and fund development — we will be unable to continue development of PL1200 Ibuprofen or any other development-stage products in our pipeline.

To fund our operations, we may sell additional equity securities, which may result in dilution to our stockholders, or debt securities, which may impose restrictions on our business.

We expect that additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. In order to raise additional funds to support our operations, we may sell additional equity securities, including under the ATM Offering. We may sell common stock, convertible securities, or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. Selling additional equity securities may result in dilution to our existing stockholders and new investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. Incurring additional indebtedness, including through the sale of debt securities, would result in increased fixed payment obligations and could also result in additional restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions, such as minimum cash balances, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Sales of equity or debt securities may also provide new investors with rights superior to our existing stockholders. If we are unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

In addition, worsening economic conditions and other adverse effects or developments relating to global events such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may negatively affect the market price of our stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The market price for our common stock is likely to continue to be volatile, particularly due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and subject to significant price and volume fluctuations in response to market, industry and other factors. If additional funding is not available on favorable terms, if at all, due to these factors, we may not be able to obtain sufficient additional funding to support our operations.

Increased prices and inflation could negatively impact our financial results.

Though we believe that the rates of inflation in recent years have not had a significant impact on our operations, a continued increase in inflation, including rising prices for freight, packaging and labor, could result in increases to the costs to manufacture and distribute VAZALORE, and we may be unable to pass these costs on to our customers. If inflation in these costs increases beyond our ability to control for them through measures such as implementing operating efficiencies, we may not be able to increase prices to sufficiently offset the effect of various cost increases without negatively impacting customer demand, thereby negatively impacting our margin performance and results of operations.

Risks Related to Product Safety and Efficacy Issues

Our understanding of the safety and efficacy of VAZALORE could change as larger portions of the population begin using VAZALORE.

VAZALORE, like all NSAIDs, poses specific risks, including stomach bleeding and, for aspirin, Reyes syndrome. As the product is used by additional patients, we may discover new risks associated with VAZALORE which may result in changes to the distribution program and additional restrictions on the use of VAZALORE which may decrease demand for the product. Regulatory authorities have been moving towards more active and transparent pharmacovigilance and are making greater amounts of standalone safety information and clinical trial data directly available to the public through websites and other means, e.g., periodic safety update report summaries, risk management plan summaries and various adverse event data. Safety information, without the appropriate context and expertise, may be misinterpreted and lead to misperception or legal action which may potentially cause our product sales or stock price to decline. Further, if serious safety, resistance or drug interaction issues arise with our marketed products, sales of these products could be limited or halted by us or by regulatory authorities and our results of operations would be adversely affected.

Adverse safety events involving our marketed products may have a negative impact on our business.

Discovery of safety issues with our products could create product liability and could cause additional regulatory scrutiny and requirements for additional labeling, withdrawal of products from the market, and the imposition of fines or criminal penalties. Adverse safety events may also damage physician and patient confidence in our products and our reputation. Any of these could result in liabilities, loss of revenue, material write-offs of inventory, material impairments of intangible assets, goodwill and fixed assets, material restructuring charges and other adverse impacts on our results of operations. The reporting of adverse safety events involving our products or products similar to ours and public rumors about such events may increase claims against us and may also cause our product sales or stock price to decline or experience periods of volatility. Restrictions on use or significant safety warnings that may be required to be included in the label of our products — such as the risk of developing an allergic reaction to soy, stomach bleeding or Reyes syndrome, in the label for VAZALORE — may significantly reduce expected revenues for this product and require significant expense and management time.

Unexpected safety or efficacy concerns can arise with respect to marketed products, whether or not scientifically justified, leading to product recalls, withdrawals, or declining sales, as well as product liability, consumer fraud and/or other claims, including potential civil or criminal governmental actions.

Our business will be highly dependent on professional and public reputation and perception, which may change, leading to volatile sales.

Market perceptions of the Company are very important to our business, especially market perceptions of our company and brands and the safety and quality of our products. If we, our partners and suppliers, or our brands suffer from negative publicity, or if any of our products or similar products which other companies distribute are subject to market withdrawal or recall or are proven to be, or are claimed to be, ineffective or harmful to consumers, then this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and/or share price. Also, because we are dependent on market perceptions, negative publicity associated with product quality, patient illness, or other adverse effects resulting from, or perceived to be resulting from, our products, or our partners’ and suppliers’ manufacturing facilities, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, or share price.

We must be able to adapt to changed circumstances and quickly update product labels, which could be costly or harm our reputation.

We may be required by regulatory authorities to change the labeling for any pharmaceutical product, including after a product has been marketed for several years. These changes are often the result of additional data from post-marketing studies, head-to-head trials, adverse events reports, studies that identify biomarkers (objective characteristics that can indicate a particular response to a product or therapy) or other studies or post-marketing experience that produce important additional information about a product. New information added to a product’s label can affect its risk-benefit profile, leading to potential recalls, withdrawals, or declining revenue, as well as product liability claims. Sometimes additional information from these studies identifies a portion of the patient population that may be nonresponsive to a medicine or would be at higher risk of adverse reactions and labeling changes based on such studies may limit the patient population. The studies providing such additional information may be sponsored by us, but they could also be sponsored by competitors, insurance companies, government institutions, managed care organizations, scientists, investigators, or other interested parties. While additional safety and efficacy information from such studies can assist us and healthcare providers in identifying the best patient population for each product, it can also negatively impact our revenues due to inventory returns and a more limited patient population going forward. Additionally, certain study results, especially from head-to-head trials, could affect a product’s reimbursement status or priority with certain payors, which could also adversely affect revenues.

For many new product candidates, we will rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and all of our clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize any of our additional product candidates.

If we elect to pursue new product candidates, we will rely on medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract laboratories and other third parties, such as contract research organizations, to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials on our product candidates in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. These third parties are not our employees and, except for restrictions imposed by our contracts with such third parties, we have limited ability to control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our programs. Although we rely on these third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our preclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with its investigational plan and protocol and the applicable legal, regulatory, and scientific standards, and our reliance on these third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. The FDA and regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions require us to comply with regulations and standards, commonly referred to as cGCPs for conducting, monitoring, recording and reporting the results of clinical trials, in order to ensure that the data and results are scientifically credible and accurate and that the trial subjects are adequately informed of the potential risks of participating in clinical trials. If we or any of our third-party contractors fail to comply with applicable cGCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. In addition, we are required to report certain financial interests of our third-party investigators if these relationships exceed certain financial thresholds and meet other criteria. Our clinical trials must also generally be conducted with products produced under cGMP regulations. Our failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

Many of the third parties with whom we contract may also have relationships with other commercial entities, some of which may compete with us. If the third parties conducting our preclinical studies or our clinical trials do not perform their contractual duties or obligations or comply with regulatory requirements, we may need to enter into new arrangements with alternative third parties. This could be costly, and our preclinical studies or clinical trials may need to be extended, delayed, terminated or repeated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval in a timely fashion, or at all, for the applicable product candidate, or to commercialize such product candidate being tested in such studies or trials. If any of our relationships with these third parties terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative third-party contractors or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our contract research organizations, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.

Clinical trials for future products may be delayed or prevented.  

Clinical trials may be delayed or prevented for a broad range of reasons, including:

One or more of these difficulties could result in delayed or cancelled trials and have a significant negative impact on our earnings.

We may be subject to costly product liability claims related to our products and product candidates and, if we are unable to obtain adequate insurance or are required to pay for liabilities resulting from a claim excluded from, or beyond the limits of, our insurance coverage, a material liability claim could adversely affect our financial condition.

We face the risk that the use of our product candidates may result in adverse side effects and as a result may expose us to significant product liability claims. Although we currently have product liability insurance coverage in the amount of $5 million, our insurance may be insufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer, and we may be required to increase our product liability insurance coverage as we increase the size of our operations. We do not know whether we will be able to continue to obtain product liability coverage and obtain expanded coverage if we require it, on acceptable terms, if at all. We may not have sufficient resources to pay for any liabilities resulting from a claim excluded from, or beyond the limits of, our insurance coverage. To the extent that we are required to provide indemnities in favor of third parties, there is also a risk that these third parties could incur liability and bring a claim under such indemnities. An individual may bring a product liability claim against us alleging that one of our product candidates or products has caused an injury or is found to be unsuitable for consumer use. Any product liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could result in:

Product liability claims may subject us to the foregoing and other risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain sufficient intellectual property protection for VAZALORE or our future product candidates, or if the scope of the intellectual property protection is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates may be adversely affected.

We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our technologies. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, competitors may be able to use our technologies and erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could harm our business and ability to achieve profitability. In particular, our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our product candidates. However, we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. We may also fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development before it is too late to obtain patent protection. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in defending our existing and future patents against third party challenges, or that our pending patent applications will result in additional issued patents.

Further, the patentability of inventions, and the validity, enforceability and scope of patents in the pharmaceutical field involve complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. As a result, patent applications that we own or license may fail to result in issued patents in the United States or in other foreign countries for many reasons. For example, since patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file any patent application related to our product candidates. Even if patents have issued, or do successfully issue, from patent applications, third parties may challenge the validity, enforceability or scope thereof, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent others from designing around our claims. If the breadth or strength of protection provided by the patents and patent applications we hold, license or pursue with respect to our product candidates is threatened, it could threaten our ability to commercialize our product candidates. Further, if we encounter delays in our clinical trials, the period of time during which we could market any of our product candidates under patent protection, if approved, would be reduced. Changes to the patent laws in the United States and other jurisdictions could also diminish the value of our patents and patent applications or narrow the scope of our patent protection.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, the value of our technology could be materially adversely affected and our business would be harmed.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on confidential proprietary information — including trade secrets and know-how — to develop and maintain our competitive position. Any disclosure to or misappropriation by third parties of our confidential proprietary information could enable competitors to quickly duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in our market. We seek to protect our confidential proprietary information, in part, by confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees and confidentiality agreements with consultants, scientific advisors, contractors and collaborators. These agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information. However, we cannot be certain that such agreements have been entered into with all relevant parties, and we cannot be certain that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. For example, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our confidential proprietary information by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems, but it is possible that these security measures could be breached. If any of our confidential proprietary information were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position. If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, such litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent or delay us from developing or commercializing our product candidates.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our technology or product candidates, including post-grant or inter-partes proceedings, interference or derivation proceedings before the USPTO. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing or future intellectual property rights. The outcome of intellectual property litigation is subject to uncertainties that cannot be adequately quantified in advance. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have produced a significant number of patents, and it may not always be clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates, products or methods either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that the patent claims are invalid, and we may not be able to do this. Proving that a patent is invalid is difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in pursuing these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing or commercializing the infringing product candidate or product. Alternatively, we may be required to obtain a license from such third party in order to use the infringing technology and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing product candidate. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be nonexclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. We may also elect to enter into license agreements in order to settle patent infringement claims or to resolve disputes prior to litigation, and any such license agreements may require us to pay royalties and other fees that could be significant. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.

We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe or otherwise violate our patents, the patents of our licensors, or our other intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Any claims that we assert against perceived infringers could also provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their intellectual property rights. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is not valid or is unenforceable, in whole or in part, or may refuse to stop the other party in such infringement proceeding from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly, and could put any of our patent applications at risk of not yielding an issued patent.

Post-grant or inter-parte proceedings, interference or derivation proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by the USPTO or any foreign patent authority may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions or other matters of inventorship with respect to our patents or patent applications. We may also become involved in other proceedings, such as reexamination or opposition proceedings, before the USPTO or its foreign counterparts relating to our intellectual property or the intellectual property rights of others. An unfavorable outcome in any such proceedings could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party, or could cause us to lose valuable intellectual property rights. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms, if any license is offered at all. Litigation or other proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. We may also become involved in disputes with others regarding the ownership of intellectual property rights. For example, we jointly develop intellectual property with certain parties, and disagreements may therefore arise as to the ownership of the intellectual property developed pursuant to these relationships. If we are unable to resolve these disputes, we could lose valuable intellectual property rights.

We may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our trade secrets or confidential information, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses, and could distract our technical and/or management personnel from their normal responsibilities. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of intellectual property litigation or other proceedings could negatively affect our ability to compete in the marketplace.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on all of our product candidates throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection but where enforcement is not as strong, or where standards are different than they are in the United States. These products may compete with our products in jurisdictions where we do not have any issued patents and our patent claims or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from so competing. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biopharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial cost and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business.

If we breach any of the agreements under which we license the use, development and commercialization rights to our product candidates from third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

In addition to our own patents, an important patent family covering VAZALORE is owned by UT. Our commercialization of VAZALORE is subject to our UT License Agreement, which is in effect as to each of the licensed patents as long as the patents are valid. Under our UT License Agreement, we are subject to various obligations, including diligence obligations with respect to development and commercialization activities, payment obligations for achievement of certain milestones and royalties on product sales, as well as other material obligations. If we fail to comply with any of these obligations or otherwise breach the UT License Agreement, UT may have the right to terminate the applicable license in whole or in part. The patent coverage under the UT License Agreement includes three issued U.S. patents related to methods and compositions employing formulations of lecithin oils and NSAIDs for protecting the gastrointestinal tract, two of which expired on March 1, 2022, with one expiring on March 23, 2022.

The loss of our license agreement with UT could materially adversely affect our ability to further commercialize VAZALORE as currently planned, and affect our ability to proceed with any development or potential commercialization of future product candidates, including PL1200 Ibuprofen, PL1100 Ibuprofen, and other NSAID programs. The risks described elsewhere pertaining to our patents and other intellectual property rights also apply to the intellectual property rights that we license, and any failure by us or our licensors to obtain, maintain and enforce these rights could have a material adverse effect on our business. In some cases, we do not have control over the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of the patents that we license, and may not have sufficient ability to consult and input into the patent prosecution and maintenance process with respect to such patents, and our licensors may fail to take the steps that we believe are necessary or desirable in order to obtain, maintain and enforce the licensed patents.

Limitations on intellectual property rights may result in other threats to our competitive advantage.

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. The following examples are illustrative:

We may be subject to claims that our employees or consultants have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of former or other employers.

Some of our employees, consultants, advisors, and members of our Board of Directors, including our senior management, have been employed or retained by other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees and consultants do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individuals’ former or other employer. We are not aware of any material threatened or pending claims related to these matters, but in the future litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.

As is the case with other pharmaceutical product companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents involves both technological and legal complexity. Therefore, obtaining and enforcing patents is costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. In addition, the United States has recently enacted and implemented wide-ranging patent reform legislation. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce patents that we have or that we might obtain in the future.

Risks Related to Government Regulation

The regulatory approval process is expensive, time consuming and uncertain and may prevent us from obtaining, or cause delays in obtaining, approvals for the commercialization of future product candidates, which will materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

The design, development, research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, storage, recordkeeping, approval, selling, import, export, advertising, promotion, and distribution of drug products are subject to extensive and evolving regulation by federal, state and local governmental authorities in the United States, principally by the FDA, and foreign regulatory authorities, with regulations differing from country to country. Failure to obtain marketing approval for a product candidate will prevent us from commercializing the product candidate.

We have not obtained marketing approval for any product candidate other than VAZALORE anywhere in the world. An NDA must include extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to establish to the FDA’s satisfaction the product candidate’s safety and efficacy for each desired indication. The NDA must also include significant information regarding the chemistry, manufacturing and controls for the product candidate. Obtaining regulatory approval of an NDA can be a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process. In addition, failure to comply with FDA and other applicable U.S. and foreign regulatory requirements may subject us to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions, including:

These actions could result in, among other things, substantial modifications to our business practices and operations, refunds of our products, the inability to obtain future approvals or marketing authorizations, and withdrawals or suspensions of current products from the market. Any of these events could disrupt our business and have a material adverse effect on our revenues, profitability and financial condition.

Prior to receiving approval to commercialize any future product candidates in the United States or abroad, we and any applicable collaboration partners must demonstrate with substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical trials, and to the satisfaction of the FDA and other regulatory authorities abroad, that such product candidates are safe and effective for their intended uses. Preclinical testing and clinical trials are long, expensive and uncertain processes. We may spend several years completing our testing for any particular product candidate, and failure can occur at any stage. Negative or inconclusive results or adverse medical events during a clinical trial could also cause the FDA or us to terminate a clinical trial or require that we repeat it or conduct additional clinical trials. Additionally, data obtained from preclinical studies and clinical trials can be interpreted in different ways and the FDA or other regulatory authorities may interpret the results of our studies and trials less favorably than we do. Even if we believe the preclinical or clinical data for a product candidate is promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. Administering any product candidates to humans may produce undesirable side effects, which could interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials of such product candidates and result in the FDA or other regulatory authorities denying approval of such product candidates for any or all targeted indications. The FDA or other regulatory authorities may determine that any product candidate that we develop is not effective, or are only moderately effective, or have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities, safety profile or other characteristics that preclude marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use. In addition, any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable.

We are subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and subject us to restrictions, withdrawal from the market, or penalties if we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates, when and if approved.

An approved product and its manufacturer are subject to continual review by the FDA and, as applicable, non-U.S. regulatory authorities. Any regulatory approval that we receive for our product candidates may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing follow-up studies or surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product. In addition, if the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities approve any of our product candidates, we will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements by the FDA and other regulatory authorities with regard to labeling, packaging, adverse event reporting, storage, distribution, advertising, promotion, recordkeeping and submission of safety and other post-market information. Manufacturers of our products and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with cGMP regulations, which include requirements related to quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation. Further, regulatory authorities must approve these manufacturing facilities before they can be used to manufacture our products, and these facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP regulations. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control.

We, and our direct and indirect suppliers, remain subject to the periodic inspection of our plants and facilities, review of production processes, and testing of our products to confirm that we are in compliance with all applicable regulations. For example, the FDA conducts ongoing inspections to determine whether our record keeping, production processes and controls, personnel and quality control are in compliance with the cGMP regulations, and other FDA regulations. Adverse findings during regulatory inspections may result in the implementation of REMS programs, completion of government mandated post-marketing clinical studies, and government enforcement action relating to labeling, advertising, marketing and promotion, as well as regulations governing manufacturing controls noted above. The FDA has increased its enforcement activities related to the advertising and promotion of pharmaceutical, biological and medical device products. We will also be required to report certain adverse reactions and production problems, if any, to the FDA and to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. If we, any future collaboration partner or a regulatory authority discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory authority may impose restrictions on that product, the collaboration partner, the manufacturer or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing.

The FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs to ensure drugs are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling and regulatory requirements. The FDA also imposes stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use and if we do not restrict the promotion of our products only to their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label promotion. If we, our product candidates or the manufacturing facilities for our product candidates fail to comply with regulatory requirements of the FDA and/or other non-U.S. regulatory authorities, we could be subject to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions, including:

Widely publicized events concerning the safety risk of certain drug products have resulted in the withdrawal of drug products, revisions to drug labeling that further limit use of the drug products and the imposition by the FDA of REMS to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks. In addition, because of the serious public health risks of high profile adverse safety events with certain products, the FDA may require, as a condition of approval, costly REMS programs.

The regulatory requirements and policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted with which we may also be required to comply. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or in other countries. If we or any future collaboration partner are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we or such collaboration partner, as applicable, will not be permitted to market our future products and our business will suffer.

Failure to obtain regulatory approvals in foreign jurisdictions will prevent us from marketing our products internationally. 

We may seek a distribution and marketing collaborator for VAZALORE or other product candidates commercialized outside of the United States. In order to market our product candidates in the European Economic Area (which comprises the 28 member states of the European Union, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), and many other foreign jurisdictions, we or our collaboration partners must obtain separate regulatory approvals. We have had limited interactions with foreign regulatory authorities, and approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional clinical testing. In addition, the time required to obtain approval from foreign regulatory authorities may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. Clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries, and approval by one or more foreign regulatory authorities does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. However, a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on our ability to obtain approval in other countries. The foreign regulatory approval process generally includes all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. In addition, in many countries outside the United States, it is required that the product be approved for reimbursement before the product can be approved for sale in that country. We may or may not obtain foreign regulatory approvals on a timely basis, if at all. We may not be able to file for regulatory approvals and even if we file, we may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our product candidates in any market.

Healthcare reform measures could hinder or prevent our product candidates’ commercial success.

In the United States, there have been, and we expect there will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system that could affect our future revenue and profitability and the future revenue and profitability of our potential customers. Federal and state lawmakers regularly propose and, at times, enact legislation that results in significant changes to the healthcare system, some of which is intended to contain or reduce the costs of medical products and services. The ACA contained a number of provisions, including those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement changes and fraud and abuse measures that have impacted and will continue to impact existing government healthcare programs and will result in the development of new programs.

We are subject to healthcare laws, regulation and enforcement and our failure to comply with those laws could adversely affect our business, operations and financial condition.

Even though we do not and will not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients’ rights are and will be applicable to our business. We could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse and patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, without limitation:

In addition, recent healthcare reform legislation has strengthened these laws. For example, the ACA, among other things, amended the intent requirement of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and criminal healthcare fraud statutes. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it. In addition, the ACA provides that the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act.

These laws and regulations are broad in scope and they are subject to change and evolving interpretations, which could require us to incur substantial costs associated with compliance or to alter one or more of our sales or marketing practices. In addition, any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, the exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, imprisonment, or the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.

Failure to comply with domestic and international privacy and security laws can result in the imposition of significant civil and criminal penalties. The costs of compliance with these laws, including protecting electronically stored information from cyberattacks, and potential liability associated with failure to do so could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We are subject to various domestic and international privacy and security regulations, including but not limited to HIPAA. HIPAA mandates, among other things, the adoption of uniform standards for the electronic exchange of information in common healthcare transactions, as well as standards relating to the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information, which require the adoption of administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect such information. In addition, many states have enacted comparable laws addressing the privacy and security of health information, some of which are more stringent than HIPAA.

Our business involves the use of hazardous materials and we and our third-party manufacturers must comply with environmental laws and regulations, which may be expensive and restrict how we do business.

Our third-party manufacturers’ activities and our own activities may involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials, including the components of our pharmaceutical product candidates, test samples and reagents, biological materials and other hazardous compounds. We and our manufacturers are subject to various environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations governing the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials. We currently carry no insurance specifically covering environmental claims relating to the use of hazardous materials, with the exception of workers’ compensation coverage for our employees. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of these materials and waste products comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from the use, storage, handling or disposal of hazardous materials. In the event of an accident, state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of these materials and/or interrupt our business operations. In addition, if an accident or environmental discharge occurs, or if we discover contamination caused by prior operations, including by prior owners and operators of properties we acquire, we could be liable for cleanup obligations, damages and fines. If such unexpected costs are substantial, this could significantly harm our financial condition and results of operations.

Our employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements.

We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants and vendors may engage in fraudulent or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates:

Specifically, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation.

It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by our employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

Our international operations will be subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

As we pursue international licensing, sales and co-promotion arrangements outside the United States, we will be heavily regulated and expect to have significant interaction with foreign officials. Additionally, in many countries outside the United States, the healthcare providers who prescribe human pharmaceuticals are employed by the government and the purchasers of human pharmaceuticals are government entities; therefore, our interactions with these prescribers and purchasers would be subject to regulation under the FCPA, which prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering or authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business.

Compliance with these regulations may be costly, and may limit our ability to expand into certain markets. Further, we may inadvertently be found to be in violation of these and other regulations, which could result in material sanctions and penalties.

If we are not able to implement the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in a timely manner or with adequate compliance, we may be subject to sanctions by regulatory authorities. 

As a public company, we are required to comply with significant legal, accounting, and other requirements and as such, have incurred significant regulatory compliance-related expenses. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as well as rules implemented by the SEC and NASDAQ, impose various requirements on public companies, including those related to corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these requirements. Some members of management do not have significant experience in addressing these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased our legal and financial compliance costs relative to those of previous years and make some activities more time consuming and costly.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) provides a framework for companies to assess and improve their internal control systems. Our compliance with these requirements has required that we incur substantial accounting and related expenses and expend significant management efforts. Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, are unable to assert that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective, or identify deficiencies that are deemed to be material weaknesses, investors could lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by NASDAQ, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, and operating results.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations, Growth Strategies and Industry

The extent to which COVID-19 may impact our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.

Though we have not experienced a significant disruption or delay in the development, manufacturing or sale of VAZALORE as a result of COVID-19, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact our business moving forward will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions and social distancing in the United States and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and treat the pandemic. We may also experience disruptions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that could impact our supply chain. For example, COVID-19 has resulted in increased travel restrictions, labor shortages, and the shutdown or delay of business activities in various regions. To the extent our suppliers and contract manufacturer are unable to comply with their obligations under our agreements with them, our ability to continue advancing the manufacturing of VAZALORE may become impaired. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole. However, these effects could have a material impact on our operations, and we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely.

If we are unable to maintain our relationship with Amazon, our business will be significantly disrupted.

Amazon acts as one of the primary distribution, marketing and promotion platforms for VAZALORE. We expect to generate a substantial portion of our revenue through this ecommerce platform for the foreseeable future. Any deterioration in our relationship with Amazon could harm our business and adversely affect the value of our stock.

We are subject to Amazon’s standard terms and conditions for product sellers, which govern the promotion, distribution and operation of VAZALORE and other like products on their platform. Amazon has the right to terminate or suspend VAZALORE from its platform for any reason, including failure to adhere to its terms and conditions. Our business would be harmed if Amazon discontinues or limits access to its platform or otherwise removes VAZALORE from its platform. During the first quarter of 2022 Amazon suppressed VAZALORE from its platform for nearly two weeks pending verification of compliance with certain packaging requirements, with such suppression resulting in VAZALORE becoming unavailable on Amazon’s platform. While VAZALORE is available on the Amazon platform, there can be no assurance that Amazon will become and remain satisfied that VAZALORE meets Amazon’s packaging or other requirements and consequently VAZALORE may continue to be at risk for suppression.  In addition, we may not be able to promptly resolve this or any other compliance issue, which could have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If Amazon loses their market position or otherwise falls out of favor with users, we would need to identify alternative channels for marketing, promoting and distributing VAZALORE, which would consume substantial resources and may not be effective. In addition, Amazon has broad discretion to change their terms of service and other policies with respect to us and other product sellers, and those changes may be unfavorable to us.

We may fail to innovate and be competitive.

We cannot state with certainty when or whether any of our products under development will be launched, whether we will be able to develop, license, or otherwise acquire compounds or products, or whether any products will be commercially successful. Failure to launch successful new products or new indications for existing products may cause our products to become obsolete, causing our revenues and operating results to suffer.

We expect to compete with a large number of multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and generic pharmaceutical companies. To successfully expand our product offerings, we must continue to deliver to the market innovative, cost-effective products that meet important medical needs. Our product revenues can be adversely affected by the introduction by competitors of branded products that are perceived as superior by the marketplace, by generic or biosimilar versions of our branded products, and by generic or biosimilar versions of other products in the same therapeutic class as our branded products. Our revenues can also be adversely affected by treatment innovations that eliminate or minimize the need for treatment with drugs.

We rely on third party manufacturers to produce commercial supplies of VAZALORE and any future products. The failure of third party manufacturers to provide us with adequate commercial supplies could result in a material adverse effect on our business.

Third party manufacturers produce commercial supplies of our products and product candidates. Reliance on third party manufacturers entails many risks including:

Any of these events could lead to stock outs, inability to successfully commercialize our products, clinical trial delays, or failure to obtain regulatory approval. Some of these events could be the basis for FDA action, including injunction, recall, seizure, or total or partial suspension of production.

We or the third parties upon whom we depend may be adversely affected by natural disasters. 

Changes to global climate, extreme weather and natural disasters could affect demand for our products and services, cause disruptions in manufacturing and distribution networks, alter the availability of goods and services within the supply chain, and affect the overall design and integrity of our operations.

Our corporate headquarters is located in Sparta, New Jersey, which in the past has experienced weather-related incidents. Natural disasters could severely disrupt our operations, and have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition and prospects. If a natural disaster, power outage or other event occurred that prevented us from using all or a significant portion of our headquarters, that damaged critical infrastructure, such as our information technology systems, or that otherwise disrupted operations, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time.

If such an event were to affect our supply chain, it could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We rely on limited sources of supply for the API and certain key excipients used in the manufacturing of VAZALORE, and any disruption in the chain of supply may cause a delay in supplying VAZALORE.

The API and certain of the key excipients used in the manufacturing of VAZALORE are available only from a single source or a limited number of sources, and we expect to continue to rely on such sources for the provision of such ingredients. Additionally, we may elect to develop relationships with a single or limited number of sources for ingredients that are otherwise generally available. Although we believe that alternative sources might be available to supply ingredients that could replace ingredients we use, any interruption in our supply from any supplier that serves currently as our sole source, including any such interruptions that may arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, trade sanctions and other similar events, could delay product shipments and adversely affect our financial performance and relationships with our customers. The failure for any reason of our suppliers to manufacture and/or supply us with such ingredients could result in shortages, cost overruns or other problems that could materially harm our business.

Failure in our information technology systems, including by cyber attacks or other data security incidents, could significantly disrupt our operations.

Our operations depend, in part, on the continued performance of our information technology systems. Our information technology systems are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, phishing attacks and other types of disruptions. We have and continue to experience cyber attacks of varying degrees. Our security measures may also be breached due to employee error, malfeasance, system errors or other vulnerabilities. Such breach or unauthorized access or attempts by outside parties to fraudulently induce employees or users to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data could result in significant legal and financial exposure, and damage to our reputation that could potentially have an adverse effect on our business. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, or sabotage systems change frequently, become more sophisticated, and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Additionally, cyber attacks could also compromise trade secrets and other sensitive information and result in such information being disclosed to others and becoming less valuable, which could negatively affect our business. Although we have information technology security systems, a successful cybersecurity attack or other data security incident could result in the misappropriation and/or loss of confidential or personal information, create system interruptions, deploy malicious software that attacks our systems, or result in financial losses. It is possible that a cybersecurity attack might not be noticed for some period of time.

The occurrence of a cyber security attack or incident could result in business interruptions from the disruption of our information technology systems, or negative publicity resulting in reputational damage with our shareholders and other stakeholders and/or increased costs to prevent, respond to or mitigate cybersecurity events. In addition, the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive personal information or proprietary or confidential information could expose us or other third-parties to regulatory fines or penalties, litigation and potential liability, or otherwise harm our business.

If we are not successful in identifying, licensing, developing and commercializing additional product candidates and products, our ability to expand our business and achieve our strategic objectives could be impaired.

Although a substantial amount of our efforts is focused on the commercial performance of VAZALORE, a key element of our strategy is to identify, develop and commercialize a portfolio of products using our PLx Guard drug delivery platform to serve the pharmaceutical market. In some instances, we may be unable to further develop these potential products because of perceived regulatory and commercial risks. Even if we successfully identify potential products, we may still fail to yield products for development and commercialization for many reasons, including the following:

While we are developing specific formulations, methods of administration, new patents and other strategies with respect to our current potential products, we may be unable to prevent competitors from developing substantially similar products and bringing those products to market earlier than we can. If such competing products achieve regulatory approval and commercialization prior to our potential products, our competitive position may be impaired. If we fail to develop and successfully commercialize other potential products, our business and future prospects may be harmed and we will be more vulnerable to any problems that we encounter in developing and commercializing our current potential products.

We may attempt to form collaborations in the future with respect to our products, but we may not be able to do so, which may cause us to alter our development and commercialization plans.

We may form strategic alliances, create joint ventures or collaborations or enter into licensing arrangements with third parties with respect to our programs that we believe will complement or augment our existing business. We may attempt to find strategic partners for the commercialization of VAZALORE in other geographic jurisdictions and we may also attempt to find one or more strategic partners for the development or commercialization of one or more of our other product candidates. We face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic partners, and the negotiation process to secure appropriate terms is time-consuming and complex. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish such a strategic partnership for any product candidates and programs on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all.

Any delays in identifying suitable collaborators and entering into agreements to develop or commercialize our product candidates could negatively impact the development or commercialization of our product candidates in geographic regions where we do not have development and commercialization infrastructure. Absent a collaboration partner, we would need to undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to fund and undertake development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional expertise and additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may not be able to develop our product candidates or bring them to market and our business may be materially and adversely affected.

We may be unable to realize the potential benefits of any collaboration.

Even if we are successful in entering into a collaboration with respect to the development or commercialization of one or more product candidates, there is no guarantee that the collaboration will be successful. Collaborations may pose a number of risks, including:

As a result, a collaboration may not result in the successful development or commercialization of our product candidates.

We will need to grow our organization, and we may experience difficulties in managing growth.

As of December 31, 2021, we had 19 employees, of which 16 are full time employees. We may need to further expand our managerial, operational, financial and other resources in order to manage our operations, continue our development activities, commercialize VAZALORE or other product candidates and comply with our obligations as a public reporting company. Our management and personnel, systems and facilities currently in place may not be adequate to support this future growth. Our need to effectively execute our business strategy requires that we:

If we are unable to expand our managerial, operational, financial, and other resources to the extent required to manage our development and commercialization activities, our business will be materially adversely affected.

Our future success depends on our ability to retain key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.

We are highly dependent on the services of our executive management team, and on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. We may not be able to attract or retain qualified management and scientific and clinical personnel in the future due to the intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses. We are highly dependent on the principal members of our management, particularly our Executive Chairman of the Board, Michael J. Valentino, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Natasha Giordano, and our Chief Financial Officer and Head of Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Rita O’Connor. If we are not able to retain Mr. Valentino, Ms. Giordano, or Ms. O’Connor, or are not able to attract, on acceptable terms, additional qualified personnel necessary for the continued development of our business, we may not be able to sustain our operations or grow. Although we have executed employment agreements with each member of our current executive management team, including Mr. Valentino, Ms. Giordano and Ms. O’Connor, we may not be able to retain their services as expected.

In addition, we have scientific and clinical advisors who assist us in formulating our product development and clinical strategies. These advisors are not our employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability to us, or may have arrangements with other companies to assist in the development of products that may compete with ours.

If we are not able to attract, retain and motivate necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience constraints that will significantly impede the achievement of our development objectives, our ability to raise additional capital and our ability to implement our business strategy.

Changes in our business strategy, including further entry into the pharmaceutical market or restructuring of our businesses, may increase our costs or otherwise affect the profitability of our businesses.

As changes in our business environment occur we may adjust our business strategies to meet these changes or we may otherwise decide to restructure our operations or businesses or assets. In addition, external events including changing technology, changing consumer patterns and changes in macroeconomic conditions may impair the value of our assets. When these changes or events occur, we may incur costs to change our business strategy and may need to write down the value of assets. In any of these events, our costs may increase, we may have significant charges associated with the write-down of assets or returns on new investments may be lower than prior to the change in strategy or restructuring. For example, if we are not successful in developing our business, our sales may decrease and our costs may increase.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The price of our common stock may be volatile.

The market price for the shares of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors including:

In addition, the stock markets in general, and the markets for pharmaceutical stocks in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of the issuer. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price or liquidity of our common stock. In the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the issuer. If any of our stockholders were to bring such a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit and the attention of our management would be diverted from the operation of our business.

Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.

As of December 31, 2021, our officers and directors, together with holders of 5% or more of our outstanding common stock and their respective affiliates, beneficially owned approximately 40.8% of our common stock. Accordingly, these stockholders have significant influence over the outcome of corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets or any other significant corporate transaction. The interests of these stockholders may not be the same as or may even conflict with your interests. For example, these large stockholders could delay or prevent a change of control of our company, even if such a change of control would benefit our other stockholders, which could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company or our assets and might affect the prevailing market price of our common stock. The significant concentration of stock ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock due to investors’ perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise.

We currently have Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock outstanding and our certificate of incorporation authorizes our Board to create new series of preferred stock without further approval by our stockholders, which could adversely affect the rights of the holders of our common stock.

Our Board has the authority to fix and determine the relative rights and preferences of preferred stock. Our Board also has the authority to issue preferred stock without further stockholder approval. We currently have 15,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock and 8,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock outstanding, which are convertible at the holder’s option at any time into shares of common stock with an initial conversion price of $2.60 and $3.10 per share, respectively, subject to certain adjustments. Each of the Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock Certificate of Designations provide for the payment of cash dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock at a rate of 8.00% per annum, provided that we may pay dividends in-kind through the issuance of additional shares to holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock. Our Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock give its holders the preferred right to our assets upon liquidation and the right to receive dividend payments before dividends are distributed to the holders of common stock, among other things. In addition, our Board could authorize the issuance of additional series of preferred stock with such rights preferential to the rights of our common stock, including the issuance of a series of preferred stock that has greater voting power than our common stock or that is convertible into our common stock, which could decrease the relative voting power of our common stock or result in dilution to our existing stockholders.

Future sales of our common stock or securities convertible or exchangeable for our common stock may depress our stock price.

If our existing stockholders or holders of our options or warrants sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline. The perception in the market that these sales may occur could also cause the trading price of our common stock to decline and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.

We may be at risk of securities class action litigation.

We may be at risk of securities class action litigation. This risk is especially relevant for us due to our dependence on positive clinical trial outcomes and regulatory approvals of each of our product candidates. In the past, pharmaceutical companies have experienced significant stock price volatility, particularly when associated with binary events such as clinical trials and product approvals. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business and result in a decline in the market price of our common stock.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders or involve the issuance of securities with rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock.

To raise capital, we may from time to time issue additional shares of common stock at a discount from the then-current trading price of our common stock. As a result, our common stockholders would experience immediate dilution upon the purchase of any shares of our common stock sold at such discount. In addition, as opportunities present themselves, we may enter into financing or similar arrangements in the future, including the issuance of debt securities, preferred stock or common stock. Whether or not we issue additional shares of common stock at a discount, any issuance of common stock will, and any issuance of other equity securities or of options, warrants or other rights to purchase common stock may, result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to decline. New investors could also gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline.

We may engage in future acquisitions that increase our capital requirements, dilute our stockholders, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities and subject us to other risks.

We may evaluate various strategic transactions, including licensing or acquiring complementary products, technologies or businesses. Any potential acquisitions may entail numerous risks, including increased operating expenses and cash requirements, assimilation of operations and products, retention of key employees, diversion of our management’s attention and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships of the acquired entities. In addition, if we undertake acquisitions, we may issue dilutive securities, assume or incur debt obligations, incur large one-time expenses and acquire intangible assets that could result in significant future amortization expense. Moreover, we may not be able to locate suitable acquisition opportunities and this inability could impair our ability to grow or obtain access to technology or products that may be important to the development of our business.

Our ability to utilize the Company’s or Dipexium’s net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards in the future is subject to substantial limitations and may be further limited as a result of the Merger and any new tax law changes. 

Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50 percent change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes to offset its post-change income may be limited. Further, if the historic business of Dipexium is not treated as being continued by us for the two- year period beginning on the date of the merger (referred to as the “continuity of business requirement”), the pre-Merger net operating loss carryforward deductions become substantially reduced or unavailable for use by the surviving corporation in the transaction. It is expected that the Merger resulted in an “ownership change” of Dipexium. Accordingly, our ability to utilize the Company’s and Dipexium’s net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards may be substantially limited. These limitations, in turn, could result in increased future tax payments for the combined organization, which could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of operations of the combined organization. In addition, since we will may need to raise additional funding to finance our operations, we may undergo further ownership changes in the future. In the future, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards to offset United States federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove management.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may delay or prevent an acquisition or a change in management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits stockholders owning in excess of 15% of the outstanding combined company voting stock from merging or combining with the combined company. Although we believe these provisions collectively will provide for an opportunity to receive higher bids by requiring potential acquirors to negotiate with our Board of Directors, they would apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove then current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of the Board of Directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of management.

Provisions of our charter documents limit the liability of our officers and directors, which could limit the ability of stockholders (and outside parties) to bring claims against such officers and directors.

Our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the liability of our current and former directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that directors of a corporation will not be personally liable for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:

Such limitation of liability does not apply to liabilities arising under federal securities laws and does not affect the availability of equitable remedies, such as injunctive relief or rescission.

Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our bylaws also provide that, upon satisfaction of certain conditions, we shall advance expenses incurred by a director in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide our Board of Directors with discretion to indemnify our officers and employees when determined appropriate by the Board. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers. With certain exceptions, these agreements provide for indemnification for related expenses including, among other things, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any action or proceeding. We believe that these bylaw provisions and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and officers. We also maintain customary directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers as required by these indemnification provisions. At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought, and we are not aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future; therefore capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be the sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. In addition, no dividends will be declared or paid or set apart for payment on our common stock unless all accumulated accrued and unpaid dividends in respect of our Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock have been paid or declared and set apart for payment to the holders of Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock.

You may not be able to resell our common stock when you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider attractive or satisfactory.

The listing of our common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market does not assure that a meaningful, consistent and liquid trading market exists. Although our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, trading volume in our common stock has been limited and an active trading market for our shares may never develop or be sustained. If an active market for our common stock does not develop, you may be unable to sell your shares when you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider attractive or satisfactory. The lack of an active market may also adversely affect our ability to raise capital by selling securities in the future, or impair our ability to license or acquire other product candidates, businesses or technologies using our shares as consideration.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline. 

The trading market for our common stock will depend, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts may never, publish research on us. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage, the trading price for our stock would likely be negatively impacted. In the event one or more of the security or industry analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. In addition, if our operating results fail to meet the forecast of analysts, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

Our principal facility consists of office space in Sparta, New Jersey under two operating leases. In Sparta, we occupy approximately 2,463 and 2,232 square feet of office space, with rent of $5,542 and an average of $4,408 per month, respectively, under leases that expire on September 30, 2023 and July 1, 2024, respectively. Management considers its facilities suitable and adequate for the current level of operations.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

We are parties to legal proceedings that we believe to be ordinary, routine litigation incidental to the business of present or former operations. It is management’s opinion, based on the advice of counsel, that the ultimate resolution of such litigation will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

PART II

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

Market Information

Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “PLXP.”

Stockholder Information

As of March 8, 2022, there were approximately 65 holders of record of our common stock, which does not include stockholders that beneficially own shares held in a “nominee” or in “street” name.

Dividends

We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends on our common stock is also restricted by our Certificates of Designations for each of our Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2021, with respect to the shares of our common stock that may be issued under our existing equity compensation plans.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities and Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities

Except as previously disclosed in the Company’s filings with the SEC, there were no sales of unregistered securities for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED].

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

Statements in this Form 10-K that are not strictly historical are forward-looking statements and include statements about products in development, results and analyses of pre-clinical studies, clinical trials and studies, research and development expenses, cash expenditures, and alliances and partnerships, among other matters. You can identify these forward-looking statements because they involve our expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans, projections, anticipations, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of any number of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks relating to our ability to conduct and obtain successful results from ongoing clinical trials, commercialize our technology, obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, contract with third parties to adequately test and manufacture our proposed therapeutic products, protect our intellectual property rights and obtain additional financing to continue our development efforts. Some of these factors are more fully discussed in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and in our consolidated financial statements and related notes, included elsewhere herein. We do not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements or to announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements except as required by law. For further information regarding forward-looking statements, please refer to the “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of Part I of this Form 10-K.

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

Overview

We are a commercial-stage drug delivery platform technology company focused on improving how and where APIs are absorbed in the GI tract via our clinically validated and patent protected PLxGuard™ technology.  We believe this platform has the potential to improve the absorption of many drugs currently on the market or in development and to reduce the risk of stomach injury associated with certain drugs.

VAZALORE is an FDA-approved liquid-filled aspirin capsule, available in 81 mg and 325 mg doses. VAZALORE delivers aspirin differently from plain and enteric coated aspirin products. The special complex inside the capsule allows for targeted release of aspirin, limiting its direct contact with the stomach lining. VAZALORE delivers fast, reliable absorption for pain relief plus the lifesaving benefits of aspirin.  

Our commercialization strategy targets the OTC market, taking advantage of the existing distribution channels for aspirin. We market VAZALORE to the healthcare professional and the consumer through several sales and marketing channels. Our product pipeline also includes other oral NSAIDs using the PLxGuard drug delivery platform that may be developed, including PL1200 Ibuprofen 200 mg and PL1100 Ibuprofen 400 mg, for pain and inflammation in Phase 1 clinical stage.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). 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 3 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere herein 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 U.S. GAAP 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 consolidated financial statements:

Use of Estimates

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP 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 consolidated financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. In the accompanying consolidated financial statements, estimates are used for, but not limited to, the fair value of warrant liability, the fair value of stock-based compensation, trade promotional allowances, and deferred taxes and associated valuation allowance. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received in the sale of an asset or that would be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Company has categorized all investments recorded at fair value based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair value.

Hierarchical levels, directly related to the amount of subjectivity associated with the inputs to fair valuation of these assets and liabilities, are as follows:

The Company’s financial instruments (cash and cash equivalents, receivables, and accounts payable) are carried in the consolidated balance sheet at cost, which reasonably approximates fair value based on their short-term nature. The Company’s warrant liability is recorded at fair value, with changes in fair value being reflected in the statements of operations for the period of change.

Revenue Recognition

The Company analyzes contracts to determine the appropriate revenue recognition using the following steps: (i) identification of contracts with customers; (ii) identification of distinct performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determination of contract transaction price; (iv) allocation of contract transaction price to the performance obligations; and (v) determination of revenue recognition based on timing of satisfaction of the performance obligation. The Company recognizes revenues upon the satisfaction of its performance obligations (upon transfer of control of promised goods or services to customers) in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Deferred revenue results from cash receipts from or amounts billed to customers in advance of the transfer of control of the promised services to the customer and is recognized as performance obligations are satisfied. When sales commissions or other costs to obtain contracts with customers are considered incremental and recoverable, those costs are deferred and then amortized as selling and marketing expenses on a straight-line basis over an estimated period of benefit.

Through June 30, 2021, the Company’s sole revenue was generated from a cost-reimbursable federal grant with the National Institutes of Health, which grant was completed in the second quarter of 2020. The Company recognized revenue on this grant as grant-related expenses were incurred by the Company or its subcontractors. The Company recognized $0 and $30 thousand of revenue under this arrangement during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The Company began generating revenue in the U.S. from its sales of VAZALORE in 81 mg and 325 mg doses in the third quarter of 2021 and recognizes revenue when control of a promised good is transferred to a customer in an amount that reflects consideration that the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for that good. This occurs either when the finished goods are delivered to the customer or when a product is picked up by the customer or the customer’s carrier.  The Company recognized total revenue from sales of VAZALORE of $8.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Nature of Goods and Services

The Company generates revenue from the sale of its VAZALORE products through a broad distribution platform that includes drugstores, mass merchandisers, grocery stores, and e-commerce channels, all of which sell its products to consumers. Finished goods products are typically shipped FOB destination and accordingly, the Company recognizes revenue upon delivery to the customer or pick-up by the customer’s carrier.

Satisfaction of Performance Obligations

The Company recognizes revenue upon the satisfaction of its performance obligations (upon transfer of control of promised goods or services to customers) in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The Company had no unsatisfied performance obligations or deferred revenue as of December 31, 2021.

Variable Consideration

Provisions for certain customer promotional programs, product returns and discounts to customers are accounted for as variable consideration and recorded as a reduction in sales, based on an estimate of future returns, and customer prompt payment discounts, redemption of coupons by consumers and trade promotional allowances paid to customers. These allowances cover extensive promotional activities, primarily comprised of cooperative advertising, slotting, coupons, periodic price reduction arrangements, and other in-store displays.

The reserves for sales returns and consumer and trade promotion obligations are established based on the Company’s best estimate of the amounts necessary to settle future and existing obligations for products sold as of the balance sheet date.  The Company uses trend experience and coupon redemption inputs in arriving at coupon reserve requirements and uses forecasted customer and sales organization inputs, and historical trend analysis for consumer brands in determining the reserves for other promotional activities and sales returns. The balance of reserves for sales returns and consumer and trade promotion obligations, reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, was $1.3 million as of December 31, 2021 (none as of December 31, 2020).

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales includes costs related to the manufacture and packaging of the Company’s products charged by our contract manufacturer and packagers. Cost of sales also includes inbound and outbound shipping and warehousing costs, quality assurance and royalties.

Selling, Marketing and Administrative

Selling, marketing and administrative (“SM&A”) expenses include costs related to functions such as sales, marketing, corporate management, insurance, and legal costs. Broker commissions are incurred and expensed as SM&A costs in the underlying consolidated statements of income when the underlying sales take place. SM&A expenses also include costs for advertising (excluding the costs of cooperative advertising programs, which are reflected in net sales), contract field force, and consumer promotion costs (such as on-shelf advertisements and displays). SM&A costs are expensed as incurred.

The Company has not incurred incremental costs to obtain contracts with customers or material costs to fulfill contracts with customers and did not have any contract assets or liabilities as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Advertising

Advertising costs are expensed as they are incurred.  The Company incurred advertising costs of $13.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, which are included in SM&A expense in the consolidated statements of operations, and did not have any advertising costs during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Research and Development Expenses

Costs incurred in connection with research and development activities are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses consist of direct and indirect costs associated with specific projects, manufacturing activities, and include fees paid to various entities that perform research related services for the Company.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company recognizes expense in the consolidated statements of operations for the fair value of all stock-based compensation to key employees, nonemployee directors and advisors, generally in the form of stock options and stock awards. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option valuation model to estimate the fair value of stock options on the grant date. Compensation cost is amortized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period for each respective award. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.

Adopted Accounting Guidance

For a discussion of significant accounting guidance recently adopted or unadopted accounting guidance that has the potential of being significant, see Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere herein.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We prepare and publicly release annual audited and quarterly unaudited financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). We also disclose and discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures in our public releases, investor conference calls and filings with the SEC. The non-GAAP financial measures that we disclose include adjusted non-GAAP loss attributable to common stockholders and adjusted non-GAAP net loss per common share.  Non-GAAP net loss per common share is defined as net loss per common share excluding the change in the fair value of warrant liability and dividends and beneficial conversion feature related to our preferred stock. 

We consider adjusted non-GAAP net loss and adjusted non-GAAP net loss per diluted common share to be an important financial indicator of our operating performance, providing investors and analysts with a useful measure of operating results unaffected by the impact on the financial statements of the volatility of the change in the fair value of the warrant liability and non-cash and non-recurring dividends and beneficial conversion features on our preferred stock.  Management uses adjusted non-GAAP net loss and adjusted non-GAAP net loss per common share when analyzing our performance.  Adjusted non-GAAP net loss and adjusted non-GAAP net loss per common share should be considered in addition to, but not in lieu of, net loss or net loss per common share reported under GAAP.

A reconciliation of adjusted non-GAAP net loss per common share to the most directly comparable GAAP finance measure is provided below.

Results of Operations

Revenue

Total revenues were $8.2 million and $0.03 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Revenue for 2021 reflected the launch of VAZALORE with $5.6 million or 68% of net sales for the 81 mg dose and $2.6 million or 32% of net sales for the 325 mg dose. The revenue recognized in 2020 is attributable to work performed under a federal grant from the National Institutes of Health which came to an end in the second quarter of 2020.

Gross Profit

Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $3.4 million reflected VAZALORE’s initial distribution. Gross margin of 41% includes outsourced manufacturing and packaging costs combined with costs related to shipping, quality assurance and royalty payments. Gross profit from our 325 mg dose is lower than our 81 mg dose due to the proportionally higher use of raw materials and the manufacturing of smaller batch sizes, notwithstanding a list price that is equal to the 81 mg 30 count bottle. We are working on expanding our manufacturing capacity by the end of 2022 which we expect will improve gross margin.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses were $44.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, a 228% increase from operating expenses of $13.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. Operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were as follows:

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expense consists of expenses incurred while performing research and development activities to discover, develop, or improve potential product candidates we seek to develop. This includes conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, manufacturing and other development efforts, and activities related to regulatory filings for product candidates. We recognize research and development expenses as they are incurred. Our research and development expenses primarily consist of (i) direct and indirect costs associated with specific projects and manufacturing activities, and (ii) fees paid to various entities that perform research related services for us.

Research and development expenses totaled $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $4.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, reflecting the 81 mg clinical trial and scale-up manufacturing activities for VAZALORE during the year ended December 31, 2021. Expenses during the year ended December 31, 2020 were driven by the 325 mg bioequivalence study and validation work to support the sNDA filings. We expect research and development costs to be lower in 2022 as manufacturing activities will move to VAZALORE-related process improvement work.

Selling, Marketing and Administrative Expenses

SM&A expenses include costs related to functions such as sales, marketing, corporate management, insurance, and legal costs. Broker commissions are incurred and expensed as SM&A costs in the underlying consolidated statements of operations when the underlying sales take place. SM&A expenses also include costs for advertising (excluding the costs of cooperative advertising programs, which are reflected in net sales), contract field force, and consumer promotion costs (such as on-shelf advertisements and displays). SM&A costs are expensed as incurred.

SM&A expenses totaled $40.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $9.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase primarily reflects higher sales and marketing expenses related to the VAZALORE launch and increased non-cash stock-based compensation. In the third quarter of 2021, a cardiovascular specialty field force and a national media television campaign were launched to raise awareness amongst healthcare professionals and consumers. For further information, see Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. We anticipate that SM&A expenses will increase in 2022 reflecting a full year of promotional activities for VAZALORE.

Other expense

Other expense totaled $5.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The variance is largely attributable to the non-cash change in fair value of warrant liability primarily due to the fluctuation of the price of the Company’s common stock offset by lower net interest due to the payoff of the Term Loan (as defined in Note 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements).

Liquidity and Capital Resources 

As of December 31, 2021, we had working capital of $61.6 million, including cash and cash equivalents of $69.4 million. The primary sources of our liquidity have thus far included: (i) the Series A Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which we issued 15,000 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock to certain investors for gross proceeds of $15.0 million, (ii) the Series B Private Placement, pursuant to which we issued 8,000 shares of our Series B Preferred Stock to certain investors for gross proceeds of $8.0 million, (iii) the Securities Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which we issued an aggregate of 4,755,373 Units for gross proceeds of approximately $18 million, (iv) the Offering, pursuant to which we issued and sold 9,056,250 shares of our common stock for net proceeds of $66.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by us, and taking into account the exercise of the underwriter’s overallotment option, and (v) the ATM Offering, pursuant to which we may sell from time to time, at our option, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $75.0 million. Under the ATM Offering, we have sold 450,368 shares and raised gross proceeds of $8 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, $67.0 million remained available under the ATM Offering. For further information, see Note 6 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

We did not generate any revenue from the sale of products prior to the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and have incurred operating losses in each year since we commenced operations. We began generating revenue in the U.S. from sales of VAZALORE, but we expect to continue to incur significant operating expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we continue the commercialization of VAZALORE. For further information, see Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The following table summarizes the primary uses and sources of cash for the periods indicated:

Net Cash Used In Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities was $32.1 million and $12.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increase was due to higher sales, marketing and inventory costs due to the launch of VAZALORE.

Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Investing Activities

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities totaled $0.1 million and ($0.1) million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and reflects the sale or purchase of manufacturing equipment for VAZALORE.

Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities totaled $79.0 million and $20.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The current period reflects net proceeds of $74.5 million from a public offering and the ATM Offering (as defined in Note 6. of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements) along with exercises of various stock purchase warrants of $5.1 million, offset by two months of payments of the Term Loan of $0.6 million as this was paid off in February 2021. The 2020 period includes $16.8 million of net proceeds from the issuance of common stock and $7.7 million net proceeds from the issuance of Series B Preferred Stock offset by principal payments of $3.8 million on the Term Loan.

Future Liquidity and Capital Needs

Even though we are generating revenue, we may never achieve profitability, and even if we do achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital. If we are unable to achieve and sustain profitability, the market value of our common stock will likely decline. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing biopharmaceutical products, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when, if ever, we will become profitable. Although the achievement of future profitable operations and the ability to generate sufficient cash from operations is uncertain at this time, based on the Company's plans, the Company has adequate cash on hand at December 31, 2021 to fund its obligations for at least one year from the date these financial statements were issued, which mitigates the substantial doubt consideration.

Our future capital requirements will remain dependent upon a variety of factors, including cash flow from operations, the ability to increase sales, increasing our gross profits from current levels, reducing sales and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales, continued development of customer relationships, and our ability to market our new products successfully. However, based on our results from operations, we may determine that we need to obtain additional financing in the future to further our commercialization plan. We may obtain additional financing through public or private equity offerings, debt financings (including related-party financings), a credit facility or strategic collaborations. Additional financing may not be available to us when we need it or it may not be available to us on favorable terms, if at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed could have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategies. We currently have no understandings, commitments or agreements relating to any of these types of transactions. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we may be required to sell or license our technologies or clinical product candidates or programs that we would prefer to develop and commercialize ourselves.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Financial Statements

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a “pandemic”, or a worldwide spread of a new disease. Many countries imposed and continue to enforce quarantines and restrictions on travel and mass gatherings to slow the spread of the virus and have closed non-essential businesses.

In response to COVID-19, the Company has not experienced a significant disruption or delay in the development, manufacturing or sale of VAZALORE, and has not otherwise experienced any significant negative impact on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. However, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions and social distancing in the United States and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and treat the pandemic. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of uncertainty.

The Company has not experienced any significant negative impact on the December 31, 2021 audited consolidated financial statements related to COVID-19. For more discussion on our risks related to COVID-19, please see risk factors included under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” herein.

Inflation

The Company believes that the rates of inflation in recent years have not had a significant impact on its operations.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

The Company did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2021 or 2020.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

Our consolidated financial statements and supplementary data required to be filed pursuant to this Item 8 are listed in Item 15 of this Form 10-K beginning on page F-1 and are incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company (collectively, the “Certifying Officers”), the Company conducted an evaluation of its disclosure controls and procedures. As defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, the term “disclosure controls and procedures” means controls and other procedures of an issuer that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Certifying Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on this evaluation, our Certifying Officers have concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective. 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over our financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, a company’s principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by a company’s board of directors, management and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

Because of its 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 risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management, including the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, does not expect that the Company’s internal controls will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, 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. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of internal controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. Also, any evaluation of the effectiveness of controls with respect to future periods is subject to the risk that those internal controls may become inadequate because of changes in business conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Based on its evaluation of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, using the criteria set forth by COSO in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013), our management has concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our internal control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.

This Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Pursuant to Item 308(b) of Regulation S-K, management’s report is not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm because the Company is neither an “accelerated filer” nor a “large accelerated filer” as those terms are defined by the SEC.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

During 2021, we designed and established internal controls over our revenue and inventory process in response to additional inventory activity and our first material sales generated from sales of our product.  Consistent with any process change that we implement, the design of these internal controls has been and will continue to be evaluated for effectiveness as part of our overall assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

Other than the implementation of new internal controls over our inventory and revenue processes noted above, there have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during our most recent quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. We have not experienced any material impact to our internal controls over financial reporting despite the fact that many of our employees are working remotely. We are continually monitoring and assessing the COVID-19 pandemic situation on our internal controls to minimize the impact on their design and operating effectiveness. 

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION. 

None.

ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS. 

Not applicable.

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

Information required by this Item 10 will be set forth in our definitive proxy statement for our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A no later than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year, and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.

Information required by this Item 11 will be set forth in our definitive proxy statement for our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A no later than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year, and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.

Information required by this Item 12 will be set forth in our definitive proxy statement for our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A no later than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year, and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.

Information required by this Item 13 will be set forth in our definitive proxy statement for our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A no later than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year, and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

Information required by this Item 14 will be set forth in our definitive proxy statement for our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A no later than 120 days after the close of our fiscal year, and is incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

Documents filed as part of this Form 10-K:

1. Financial Statements:

The consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in temporary equity and stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the footnotes thereto, and the reports of Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firms, are set forth on pages F-1 through F-21 of this Form 10-K.

2. Financial Statement Schedules:

All schedules have been omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

3. Exhibits:

Exhibit Index

The representations and warranties contained in the agreements listed in this Exhibit Index are not for the benefit of any party other than the parties to such agreement and are not intended as a document for investors or the public generally to obtain factual information about the Company or its shares of common stock. 

ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY.

None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of 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.

Date: March 11, 2022

Date: March 11, 2022

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose individual signature appears below hereby authorizes and appoints Natasha Giordano and Rita O’Connor, and each of them, with full power of substitution and resubstitution and full power to act without the other, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent to act in his or her name, place and stead and to execute in the name and on behalf of each person, individually and in each capacity stated below, and to file any and all amendments to this annual report on Form 10-K and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing, ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or their or his substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

Pursuant to the requirements the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

PLx Pharma Inc.

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

PLx Pharma Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of PLx Pharma Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in series A and series B convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Evaluation of Warrant Liability

As discussed in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s warrant liability is determined using a binomial asset pricing model that consisted of a conditional probability weighted expected return method that values the Company’s equity securities assuming various possible future outcomes to estimate the allocation of value within one or more of the scenarios. Using this method, unobservable assumptions included the Company’s equity value, expected timing of possible outcomes, risk free interest rates and stock price volatility. As of December 31, 2021, the stock price volatility used to determine the warrant liability is 84%.

We identified the evaluation of the stock price volatility used to determine the Company’s warrant liability as a critical audit matter. Evaluating the Company’s stock price volatility relating to its warrant liability is highly subjective and requires a higher degree of auditor judgment as the Company’s stock price volatility was determined by using comparable peer companies. Further, specialized valuation skills were needed to assess the Company’s process and evaluate the stock price volatility used in the determination of the warrant liability and the impact of the stock price volatility on the binomial asset pricing model.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included the following:

/s/ Marcum LLP

Marcum LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2015.

New York, NY
March 11, 2022

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.