PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. - Quarter Report: 2023 September (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2023

or

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 001-36457

PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

866-594-5999

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address, and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

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

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

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

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

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

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

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, as of November 13, 2023, was 419,522,119.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. These statements reflect management’s current knowledge, assumptions, beliefs, estimates, and expectations. These statements also express management’s current views of future performance, results, and trends and may be identified by their use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strategy,” “will,” and other similar terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Such statements are made as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements after this date, unless otherwise required by law.

Risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to materially differ from those described in forward-looking statements include those discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) (including those described in Item 1A of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022), and:

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

(Unaudited)

FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

 FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

PROVECTUS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

1. Business Organization, Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “Provectus” or “the Company”), is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing immunotherapy medicines for different diseases that are based on a class of synthetic small molecule immuno-catalysts called halogenated xanthenes (“HXs”). Our lead HX molecule is named rose bengal sodium (“RBS”).

The Company’s proprietary, patented, pharmaceutical-grade RBS is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in the drug product candidates of our current clinical development programs and the preclinical formulations of our current drug discovery programs. Importantly, our pharmaceutical-grade RBS displays different therapeutic effects at different concentrations and can be formulated for delivery by different routes of administration.

The Company believes that RBS targets disease in a bifunctional manner. First, direct contact may lead to cell death or repair, depending on the disease being treated and the concentration of the RBS utilized in the treatment. Second, multivariate immune signaling, activation, and response may follow that may manifest as stimulatory, inhibitory, or both.

The Company believes that it is the first entity to advance an RBS formulation into clinical trials for the treatment of a disease, such as those trials reported on the clinical trials registry at ClinicalTrials.gov.

The Company believes that it is the first and only entity to date to make pharmaceutical-grade RBS successfully, reproducibly, and consistently at a purity of nearly 100%.

The Company’s small molecule HX medical science platform comprises several different drug product candidates and preclinical pharmaceutical-grade RBS formulations using different concentrations delivered by different routes of administration specific to each disease area and/or indication. The Company’s HX medical science platform includes clinical development programs in oncology, dermatology, and ophthalmology; in vivo proof-of-concept programs in oncology, hematology, wound healing, and animal health; and in vitro drug discovery programs in infectious diseases and tissue regeneration and repair.

Risks and Uncertainties

The Company’s activities are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including failing to successfully develop and license or commercialize the Company’s prescription drug candidates.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information pursuant to Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements and should be reviewed in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 30, 2023. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2023.

2. Liquidity and Going Concern

To date, the Company has not generated any revenues or profits from planned principal operations.

The Company’s cash and restricted cash were $1,410,207 at September 30, 2023 which includes $1,042,957 of restricted cash resulting from a grant received from the State of Tennessee. The Company’s working capital deficit was $7,579,249 and $6,293,198 as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 was $2,438,355 and $2,822,030, respectively, and cash used in operations was $2,010,767 and $2,286,682 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022, respectively. The Company continues to incur significant operating losses. Management expects that significant on-going operating expenditures will be necessary to successfully implement the Company’s business plan and develop and market its products. These circumstances raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are issued. Implementation of the Company’s plans and its ability to continue as a going concern will depend upon the Company’s ability to develop PV-10, PH-10, and/or any other halogenated xanthene-based drug products, and to raise additional capital.

The Company plans to access capital resources through possible public or private equity offerings, including the 2022 financing (see Note 5), exchange offers, debt financings, corporate collaborations, or other means. In addition, the Company continues to explore opportunities to strategically monetize its lead drug candidates, PV-10 and PH-10, through potential co-development and licensing transactions, although there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful with such plans. The Company has historically been able to raise capital through equity offerings, although there can be no assurance that it will continue to be successful in the future. If the Company is unable to raise sufficient capital, it will not be able to pay its obligations as they become due.

The primary business objective of management is to build the Company into a commercial-stage biotechnology company; however, there can be no assurance that it will be successful in co-developing, licensing, and/or commercializing PV-10, PH-10, and/or any other halogenated xanthene-based drug candidate developed by the Company or entering into any financial transaction. Moreover, even if the Company is successful in improving its current cash flow position, the Company nonetheless plans to seek additional funds to meet its long-term requirements in 2023 and beyond. The Company anticipates that these funds will otherwise come from the proceeds of private placement transactions, the exercise of existing warrants and outstanding stock options, or public offerings of debt or equity securities. While the Company believes that it has a reasonable basis for its expectation that it will be able to raise additional funds, there can be no assurance that it will be able to complete additional financing in a timely manner. Any such financing may result in significant dilution to stockholders.

3. Significant Accounting Policies

Since the date the Company’s December 31, 2022 consolidated financial statements were issued in its 2022 Annual Report on March 30, 2023, there have been no material changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies.

Principles of Consolidation

Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company’s significant estimates and assumptions include the recoverability and useful lives of long-lived assets, stock-based compensation, accrued liabilities, and the valuation allowance related to the Company’s deferred tax assets.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of a grant award received from the State of Tennessee. Restricted cash available as of September 30, 2023 is $1,042,957. See Note 10, Grants.

Cash Concentrations

Cash and restricted cash are maintained at financial institutions and, at times, balances may exceed federally insured limits of $250,000, although the Company seeks to minimize this through treasury management. The Company has never experienced any losses related to these balances although there can be no assurance that it will not experience any losses in the future. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had cash and restricted cash balances in excess of FDIC insurance limits of $1,160,207 and $1,181,707, respectively.

Basic and Diluted Loss Per Common Share

Basic loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of vested common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other instruments to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. The following securities are excluded from the calculation of weighted average dilutive common shares because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive:

 Schedule of Securities Excluded from Calculation of Weighted Average Dilutive Common Shares

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging— Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, to clarify the accounting for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity. The amendments in this update reduce the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock by removing the cash conversion model and the beneficial conversion feature model. Limiting the accounting models will result in fewer embedded conversion features being separately recognized from the host contract. Convertible instruments that continue to be subject to separation models are (1) those with embedded conversion features that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract, that meet the definition of a derivative, and that do not qualify for a scope exception from derivative accounting and (2) convertible debt instruments issued with substantial premiums for which the premiums are recorded as paid-in-capital. In addition, this ASU improves disclosure requirements for convertible instruments and earnings-per-share guidance. The ASU also revises the derivative scope exception guidance to reduce form-over-substance-based accounting conclusions driven by remote contingent events. The amendments in this update are effective for our fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption will be permitted, but no earlier than for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company early adopted ASU 2020-06 effective January 1, 2023 which eliminated the need to assess whether a beneficial conversion feature needs to be recognized upon the issuance of new convertible instruments.

4. Other Accrued Expenses

The following table summarizes the other accrued expenses at September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022:

 Schedule of Other Accrued Expenses

5. Convertible Notes Payable

2021 Financing

Schedule of Convertible Notes Payable

Through September 30, 2023, the Company issued 2021 Notes with aggregate proceeds of $1,075,000 of which $525,000 was from related party investors (an officer and a director of the Company).

2022 Financing

Through September 30, 2023, the Company issued 2022 Notes with aggregate proceeds of $2,977,500 of which $2,202,500 is from a related party investor (a director of the Company) in connection with the 2022 Financing.

For further details on the terms of the 2021 and 2022 Notes, refer to our Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on March 30, 2023.

2023 Conversions of 2021 Notes into Preferred Stock

The following summarizes the conversion activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2023:

Schedule of Conversion of Notes into Preferred Stock

During the three months ended September 30, 2023, principal and interest in the aggregate amount of $351,239, owed in connection with the 2021 Notes were converted into 122,725 shares of Series D-1 Preferred Stock at the Conversion Price of $2.862.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, principal and interest in the aggregate amount of $945,466, owed in connection with the 2021 Notes were converted into 330,354 shares of Series D-1 Preferred Stock at the Conversion Price of $2.862. Any fractional shares issuable pursuant to the formula were rounded up to the next whole share of Series D-1 Preferred Stock. See Note 8, Stockholders’ Deficit for additional information on the Series D-1 Preferred Stock.

2023 Conversions of 2022 Notes into Preferred Stock

The following summarizes the conversion activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2023:

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, principal and interest in the aggregate amount of $199,875, owed in connection with the 2022 Notes were converted into 69,838 shares of Series D-1 Preferred Stock at the Conversion Price of $2.862. Any fractional shares issuable pursuant to the formula were rounded up to the next whole share of Series D-1 Preferred Stock. See Note 8, Stockholders’ Deficit for additional information on the Series D-1 Preferred Stock.

6. Notes Payable

The Company obtained short-term financing from AFCO Insurance Premium Finance for our commercial insurance policies. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the balance of the note payable was $78,066 and $239,394, respectively.

7. Related Party Transactions

During the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company had consulting fees of $63,600 each to Mr. Bruce Horowitz (Capital Strategists) for services rendered. Director fees for Mr. Horowitz for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 were $18,750 each.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company had consulting fees of $190,800 each to Mr. Bruce Horowitz (Capital Strategists) for services rendered. Director fees for Mr. Horowitz for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 were $56,250 each.

Accrued director fees for Mr. Bruce Horowitz as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 were $412,500 and $356,250, respectively. Total amounts owed to Capital Strategists for consulting fees as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 were $381,600 and $212,000, respectively. Mr. Horowitz serves as both Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) and a Company director.

See Note 5 for details of other related party transactions.

Director fees during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 were $96,250 and $288,750, respectively. Accrued directors’ fees as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 were $2,234,339 and $1,945,589, respectively.

8. Stockholders’ Deficit

Preferred Stock

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company issued 330,354 shares of Series D-1 Convertible Preferred Stock upon the conversion of $875,000 of principal and $70,466 accrued interest outstanding on the 2021 Notes.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company issued 69,838 shares of Series D-1 Convertible Preferred Stock upon the conversion of $185,000 of principal and $14,875 accrued interest outstanding on the 2022 Notes.

Options

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not have any issuances, grants, or exercises of options.

The following table summarizes option activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2023:

Schedule of Option Activity 

The following table summarizes information about options outstanding and exercisable at September 30, 2023:

 Summary of Stock Options Outstanding

Warrants

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not have any issuances, grants, or exercises of warrants.

The following table summarizes warrant activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2023:

Schedule of Warrant Activity 

The following table summarizes information about warrants outstanding and exercisable at September 30, 2023:

 Summary of Warrants Outstanding

Holders of the outstanding warrants are not entitled to vote and the exercise prices of such warrants are subject to customary anti-dilution provisions.

Annual Stockholder Meeting Proposals

The Company held its annual meeting of stockholders on June 21, 2023. Stockholders authorized the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) to amend the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended by the Certificate of Designation of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock and Certificate of Designation of Series D-1 Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Certificates of Designation”), to effect a reverse stock split of the Company’s common stock, Series D Convertible Preferred Stock, and Series D-1 Convertible Preferred Stock at a ratio of between 1-for-10 and 1-for-50, where the ratio would be determined by the Board at its discretion, and to make corresponding amendments to the Certificates of Designation to provide for the proportional adjustment of certain terms upon a reverse stock split, consistent with the Board’s recommendation. The Company’s stockholders also authorized the Board to amend the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended by the Certificates of Designation, to decrease the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock and preferred stock by the same reverse stock split ratio determined by the Board, consistent with the Board’s recommendation. The Board has not acted on these stockholder authorizations as of the filing date.

9. Leases

The Company leased 4,500 square feet of corporate office space in Knoxville, Tennessee through an operating lease agreement for a term of five years ending on June 30, 2022. Payments were approximately $6,100 per month due to the Company negotiating a continued reduced rent from January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022.

On June 30, 2022, the lease expired and was not renewed. On June 18, 2022, the company leased 2,700 square feet of corporate office space in Knoxville, Tennessee through an operating lease agreement for a term of three years ending on June 30, 2025. The monthly base rent ranges from $4,053 to $4,278 over the term of the lease.

Total operating lease expense for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was $12,560, of which, $8,373 was included within research and development and $4,187 was included within general and administrative expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Total operating lease expense for the three months ended September 30, 2022 was $12,497 of which, $8,331 was included within research and development and $4,166 was included within general and administrative expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Total operating lease expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 was $38,739, of which, $25,826 was included within research and development and $12,913 was included within general and administrative expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Total operating lease expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 was $50,548, of which, $33,698 was included within research and development and $16,850 was included within general and administrative expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

A summary of the Company’s right-of-use assets and liabilities is as follows:

Schedule of Right-of-use Assets and Liabilities

Future minimum payments under the Company’s non-cancellable lease obligations as of September 30, 2023 were as follows:

Future Minimum Payments

Schedule of Future Minimum Payments Under Non-cancellable Lease

10. Grants

On October 25, 2021, the Company received a grant award of $2,500,000 from the State of Tennessee for the study of animal cancers and dermatological disorders for the period October 15, 2021 to June 30, 2022 (the “Tennessee Grant” or “Grant”). The Tennessee Grant was pre-funded; therefore, the funds do not need to be used in full by June 30, 2022. The Tennessee Grant was provided as reimbursement of research and development expenses related to the development of animal health drug products. The Company has elected gross presentation of the Tennessee Grant income whereby grant revenue is recognized as qualifying costs are incurred and there is reasonable assurance that the conditions of the grant have been met. Qualifying costs are presented as research and development expenses included in the Company’s statement of operations, in the period that such costs are incurred.

As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, $1,074,358 and $1,510,958 has been recorded as unearned Grant revenue liability on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets, respectively. The Company recorded grant revenue of $69,733 and $436,600 during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively, and $314,890 and $824,205 during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, respectively.

11. License Transactions

On February 16, 2022, and later amended on May 11, 2022, the Company entered into an option agreement with the University of Miami (“UM”) for an exclusive worldwide license of intellectual property (“IP”) developed by the Ophthalmic Biophysics Center (“OBC”) of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (“BPEI”) that included the use of OBC’s ophthalmic photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (“PDAT”) medical device in combination with formulations of the Company’s pharmaceutical-grade RBS for the treatment of bacterial, fungal, and viral infections of the eye. The Company completed the arrangements of this collaboration during the third quarter of 2022, whereby the Company (i) paid $5,000 for the option to obtain an exclusive worldwide, royalty-bearing license that had an option expiration date of May 31, 2023, (ii) agreed to pay up to $10,000 of new UM patent expenses for this IP during the period of the option, (iii) agreed to pay up to $25,000 of past UM patent expenses for this IP, and (iv) entered into a sponsored research agreement with UM on September 16, 2022 to study the combination of OBC’s PDAT and TOP PV-305, a formulation of the Company’s pharmaceutical-grade RBS, for the treatment of infectious keratitis. The Company exercised the option to negotiate a license agreement with a negotiating period that ended on November 2, 2023, when negotiating exclusivity and right of first refusal no longer apply. UM’s Office of Technology Transfer and the Company are currently in negotiations to potentially finalize a full license agreement. If UM and the Company are unable to reach an agreement, UM may offer its patent rights to any third party.

12. Commitments, Contingencies and Litigation

The Company may, from time to time, be involved in litigation arising from the ordinary course of business. The Company is not aware of any pending or threatened litigation that, if resolved against the Company, would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

13. Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated events that have occurred after the balance sheet and through the date the financial statements were issued. Based upon the evaluation, the Company did not identify any recognized or non-recognized subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements, except as disclosed below.

Convertible Notes Payable

Subsequent to September 30, 2023, the Company entered into a 2022 Note with a non-related party investor in the aggregate principal amount of $50,000 in connection with 2022 Loans received by the Company for the same amount.

Series D-1 Preferred Stock

Subsequent to September 30, 2023, principal and interest in the aggregate amount of $289,101, owed in connection with 2022 Notes was converted into 101,061 shares of Series D-1 Preferred Stock at the Conversion Price of $2.862. Any fractional shares issuable pursuant to the formula were rounded up to the next whole share of Series D-1 Preferred Stock.

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

The following discussion is intended to assist in the understanding and assessment of significant changes and trends related to our results of operations and our financial condition together with our consolidated subsidiaries. This discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 30, 2023 (“2022 Form 10-K”), which includes additional information about our critical accounting policies and practices and risk factors. Historical results and percentage relationships set forth in the consolidated statement of operations, including trends which might appear, are not necessarily indicative of future operations.

Clinical Development and Drug Discovery

The Company’s small molecule HX medical science platform, which comprises several different drug product candidates and preclinical formulations made from pharmaceutical-grade RBS using different concentrations and delivered by different routes of administration specific to each disease area and/or indication, includes:

Clinical Development Programs

Preclinical In Vivo Proof-of-Concept Programs

Preclinical In Vitro Drug Discovery Programs

Business Strategy

The Company is selectively continuing ongoing and planning to initiate new monotherapy and combination therapy ITU PV-10 clinical trials in melanoma and liver cancer indications to generate more and/or new clinical data and appropriately utilizing clinical data from historical ITU PV-10 trials, EAPs, and/or QOL study of these oncology indications. Our goals are to pursue drug approval pathways and/or co-development relationships with commercial pharmaceutical companies for ITU PV-10 based on these indications and data.

The Company is developing a systemically administered formulation of pharmaceutical-grade RBS for the treatment of cancer. Our goals, when this work is complete, are to file an investigational new drug application (“IND”) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), take an initial systemic drug product candidate into an early-stage clinic trial for an initial oncology or hematology indication, and/or pursue a co-development collaboration or out-license arrangement for this route of administration and disease area.

The Company is developing different formulations of pharmaceutical-grade RBS using different concentrations and different routes of administration (e.g., PO, IV, IN) for other disease areas by endeavoring to show preclinical activity and lack of toxicity. Our goals, when each task of this work is completed, are to file an IND with the FDA, take an initial drug product candidate into an early-stage clinic trial for an initial indication, and/or pursue a co-development collaboration or out-license arrangement for the respective disease area and route of administration.

The Company is endeavoring to fully elucidate the traits and characteristics of the RBS molecule using different academic medical centers under sponsored research and testing agreements. Our goal is to gain and communicate additional knowledge of the RBS molecule’s targeting, mechanism, signaling, immune response, and other features that are common to and/or different from each disease area and indication under research.

The Company is doing rigorous, chemical analytical comparisons of non-pharmaceutical grades of rose bengal from specialty chemical suppliers against the Company’s pharmaceutical-grade RBS. Our goal is to demonstrate the proprietary nature of the Company’s pharmaceutical-grade RBS and that our pharmaceutical-grade RBS meets the necessary uniformity and purity requirements for commercial pharmaceutical use.

RBS Drug Substance and Drug Product Candidate Manufacturing

Our pharmaceutical-grade RBS resulted from the Company’s innovation of a proprietary, patented, commercial-scale process to synthesize and utilize the RBS molecule into a viable active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) for commercial pharmaceutical use; the development of unique chemistry, manufacturing, and control (“CMC”) specifications for drug substance and drug product candidate manufacturing processes; the production and multi-year stability testing of multiple drug substance and drug product candidate lots; the comprehensive documentation of lot composition and reproducibility; and the review and acceptance of CMC data from these lots by seven different national drug regulatory agencies for use in a prior, multi-country, multi-center Phase 3 randomized control trial of the Company.

The Company’s drug substance and drug product candidate manufacturing processes employ Quality-by-Design principles, current good manufacturing practice (“cGMP”) regulations, and the guidelines of The International Council for Harmonization (ICH) of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. These processes utilize controls that eliminate the formation of historical impurities and avoid the introduction of potentially hazardous impurities that the Company believes may have been and could be present in uncontrolled and unreported amounts in non-pharmaceutical grades of rose bengal.

The Company’s processes of synthesizing the RBS molecule into pharmaceutical-grade RBS and manufacturing RBS drug substance and ITU PV-10 drug product candidate, the processes’ CMC specifications, and the CMC data from the production of stability lots of drug substance and drug product candidate have been reviewed by multiple national drug regulatory agencies prior to granting clinical trial authorizations for the Company to commence a historical Phase 3 study of ITU PV-10 for the treatment of locally advanced cutaneous melanoma, including the U.S. FDA, Germany’s Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM), Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) under a clinical trial notification, France’s Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé (ANSM), Italy’s Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco (AIFA), Mexico’s Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS), and Argentina’s Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica (ANMAT).

RBS Nonproprietary Name

The RBS name for the Company’s pharmaceutical-grade API was selected by and passed the review of the World Health Organization (“WHO”) Expert Advisory Panel on the International Pharmacopoeia and Pharmaceutical Preparations after the Company applied for the non-proprietary name in the third quarter of 2020 and reached the status of recommended International Nonproprietary Names (“INN”). INN Recommended List 88, which includes the RBS name, was published with the No. 3 issue of the WHO Drug Information, Volume 36 in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Non-Pharmaceutical Grades of Rose Bengal

Commercial-Grade

This material may be purchased from specialty chemical suppliers in the U.S. and from other parts of the world; however, the Company believes that the material itself is almost exclusively made in China and India under non-cGMP conditions. Commercial grade rose bengal appears to have reported purity that may vary between approximately 80% and 95%, and that may contain substantial amounts of unreported impurities and/or gross contaminants. Commercial grade rose bengal is typically used by researchers unaffiliated with the Company for preclinical study of the rose bengal molecule for potential biomedical therapeutic applications.

We believe that commercial grade rose bengal is still manufactured using the historical process (or a variant thereof) that was developed by the synthetic molecule’s Swiss creator Rudolph Gnehm in 1881. Some manufacturers may, however, apply purification techniques that the Company believes still result in material that may possess questionable purity and contaminants and may also be subject to substantial lot-to-lot manufacturing variability.

Diagnostic-Grade

The Company coined this phrase to describe non-approved rose bengal that is used as an ingredient in historical or current ophthalmic solutions and strips, has been historically or is presently compounded by pharmacists for ophthalmic use, and has been or is in other non-ophthalmic diagnostic tests such as the rose bengal test in human brucellosis.

We presume, but have not yet confirmed, that diagnostic-grade rose bengal is derived from commercial-grade rose bengal that may have undergone a form of purification and/or may have been compounded under cGMP regulations by a pharmacist, academic medical researcher, or commercial entity. Here too, the Company believes that purification may not sufficiently improve the amounts and accuracy of rose bengal purity and lot contents and may not adequately reduce or eliminate lot-to-lot manufacturing variability.

Chemical Analytical Comparison

In the first quarter of 2022, the Company began work with a U.S. contract development and manufacturing organization to assess rigorously and methodically three lots of commercial-grade rose bengal, one each from three different specialty chemical suppliers, and compare and contrast these non-pharmaceutical grade materials with the Company’s pharmaceutical-grade RBS. This chemical analytical work was substantially completed by the end of the third quarter of 2022. The Company believes that the preliminary results of these analyses indicate that all three lots of commercial grade rose bengal had rose bengal purity that was drastically different from what was represented on their respective certificates of analysis (“CofAs”), and that one of the three lots contained gross contaminants that were not represented on its CofA.

Potential Barriers to Entry

The Company believes that the Company’s proprietary, patented, pharmaceutical-grade RBS possesses several competitive advantages over non-pharmaceutical-grades of rose bengal that researchers, clinicians, and academic, business, and/or governmental competitors have used, are using, and/or may attempt to use for potential biomedical applications. The Company believes that non-pharmaceutical-grades of rose bengal may suffer from the uncontrolled presence of substance-related impurities and/or gross contaminants, substantial lot-to-lot manufacturing variability, inaccurately reported and/or misrepresented purity and contents, and the lack of reproducible, consistent, and fulsome CMC specifications and documentation.

The Company believes that historical and potentially hazardous impurities and other manufacturing and handling issues facing non-pharmaceutical grades of rose bengal may pose significant scientific, technological, and economic challenges to overcome and validate for compliance with modern drug regulatory standards.

Components of Operating Results

Grant Revenue

Grant revenue is recognized when qualifying costs are incurred and there is reasonable assurance that the conditions of the grant have been met. Cash received from grants in advance of incurring qualifying costs is recorded as unearned grant revenue and recognized as grant revenue when qualifying costs are incurred.

Research and Development Expenses

A large component of our total operating expenses is the Company’s investment in research and development activities, including the clinical development of our product candidates. Research and development expenses represent costs incurred to conduct research and undertake clinical trials to develop our drug product candidates. These expenses consist primarily of:

We expense research and development costs as incurred.

Research and development activities are central to our business model. We expect our research and development expenses to increase in the future as we advance our existing product candidates through clinical trials and pursue their regulatory approval. Undertaking clinical development and pursuing regulatory approval are both costly and time-consuming activities. As a result of known and unknown uncertainties, we are unable to determine the duration and completion costs of our research and development activities, or if, when, and to what extent we will generate revenue from any subsequent commercialization and sale of our drug product candidates.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expense consists primarily of salaries, stock-based compensation expense and other related costs for personnel in executive, finance, accounting, business development, legal, information technology and corporate communication functions. Other costs include facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expense, insurance, and professional fees for legal, patent and accounting services.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Three Months Ended September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022

Overview

Grant revenue was $69,733 for the three months ended September 30, 2023, a decrease of $245,157 or 77.9% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022. Total operating expenses were $783,881 for the three months ended September 30, 2023, a decrease of $197,198 or 20.1% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022. The decrease was driven primarily by (i) decreased clinical trial costs, partially offset by (ii) higher payroll and taxes, (iii) higher legal costs related to patents, and (iv) higher professional fees related to the start of year-end audit work. Net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was $775,839, an increase of $62,572 or 8.8% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022. The increase is primarily attributable to lower grant revenue recognized in the current quarter.

Grant Revenue

For the three months ended September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022, there was $69,733 and $314,890, respectively, of grant revenue recognized related to qualifying expenses that were incurred and included within research and development expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses were $350,792 for the three months ended September 30, 2023, a decrease of $229,598 or 39.6% compared to $580,390 for the three months ended September 30, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to (i) lower costs of clinical trials, partially offset by (ii) higher payroll and taxes.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were $433,089 for the three months ended September 30, 2023, an increase of $32,400 or 8.1% compared to $400,689 for the three months ended September 30, 2022. The increase was primarily due to (i) higher legal fees related to patents and (ii) higher professional fees related to the start of year-end audit work.