U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

U.S. STEM CELL, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1560 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy

4th Floor, Sunrise, FL 33323

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(954) 835-1500

(Issuer’s telephone number)

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. 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 if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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.

(Check one):

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 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

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

As of June 28, 2019, the last trading day of registrant’s second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock, $0.001 par value, held by non-affiliates, computed by reference to the closing sale price of the common stock reported on the OTC Markets, Inc., for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, was approximately $3,730,263. For purposes of the above statement only, all directors, executive officers and 10% shareholders are assumed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes. 

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value, as of July 15, 2021 was 452,413,153.

Transitional Small Business Disclosure Format Yes ☐  No ☒

Documents Incorporated By Reference            None

U.S. STEM CELL, INC.

INDEX TO ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2019

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as well as historical information. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, statements that are not statements of current or historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “plan,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “could,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” or “continue” or similar expressions or other variations or comparable terminology are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. We remind readers that forward-looking statements are merely predictions and therefore inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors and involve known and unknown risks that could cause the actual results, performance, levels of activity or our achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance levels of activity or our achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward looking statements appear in Item 1- “Business” and Item 7-“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” as well as elsewhere in this Annual Report. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from anticipated results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, among others:

• our ability to manage our business despite operating losses and cash outflows;

• our ability to obtain sufficient capital or strategic business arrangements to fund our operations and expansion plans, including meeting our financial obligations under various licensing and other strategic arrangements and the funding of our development programs;

• our ability to build and maintain the management and human resources infrastructure necessary to support the growth of our business;

• whether a large global market is established for our cellular-based products and services and our ability to capture a meaningful share of this market;

• the effect of any U.S. Food and Drug Administration rulings, rules and regulations;

• scientific and medical developments beyond our control;

• our ability to obtain and maintain, as applicable, appropriate governmental licenses, accreditations or certifications or comply with healthcare laws and regulations or any other adverse effect, actions,  or limitations caused by government regulation of our business;

• whether any of our current or future patent applications result in issued patents, the scope of those patents and our ability to obtain and maintain other rights to technology required or desirable for the conduct of our business;

• our ability to bring our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission current and maintain current filings;

• the economic effects of the pandemic, the promptness of distribution of vaccines, domestically and internationally to limit the impact of COVID-19, the effect of new variants of COVID-19, and the short and long term economic impact of COVID-19 on the marketplace

The factors discussed herein, including those selected risks described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the Company’s other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) which are available for review at www.sec.gov under “Search for Company Filings” could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these and other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, all references in this Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company,” “U.S. Stem Cell” or the “Company” refer to U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

PART I

Item 1. BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

We are a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of disease and injury. We are also a regenerative medicine company specializing in physician/veterinary training and certification and stem cell products. Our lead cardiac product candidate is MyoCell™, an innovative clinical therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient’s heart with autologous muscle cells, or cells from a patient’s body, for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients.  Our lead product for in clinic use was Adipocell, a proprietary kit for the isolation of adipose derived stem cells which, as of the date of this filing, is currently on hold.

Biotechnology Product Candidates

We are an enterprise in the regenerative medicine/cellular therapy industry. Our prior focus was on the discovery, development, and commercialization of cell based therapeutics. Our business included the development of proprietary cell therapy products, distribution of regenerative medicine products, as well as revenue generating physician and patient based regenerative medicine/cell therapy training services,

US Stem Cell Training, Inc. (“SCT”), an operating division of our company, is a content developer of regenerative medicine/cell therapy informational and training materials for physicians and patients. SCT also provides in-person and online training courses which are delivered through in-person presentations at SCT’s state of the art facilities and globally at university, hospital and physician’s office locations as well as through online webinars. Additionally, SCT provides hands-on clinical application training for physicians and health care professionals interested in providing regenerative medicine / cell therapy procedures.

Vet biologics, (“VBI”), an operating division of our company, is a veterinary regenerative medicine company committed to providing veterinarians with the ability to deliver the highest quality regenerative medicine therapies to dogs, cats and horses. VBI provides veterinarians with extensive regenerative medicine capabilities including the ability to isolate regenerative stem cells from a patient’s own adipose (fat) tissue directly on-site within their own clinic or stall-side.

During fiscal 2019, we had interests in US Stem Cell Clinic, LLC, (“SCC”), Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC, and US Stem Cell Clinic of the Villages, LLC as partially owned investments of our company (in which we had a 49.9%, 49.9% and 49% respectively member interests), which were physician run regenerative medicine/cell therapy clinics providing cellular treatments for patients afflicted with neurological, autoimmune, orthopedic and degenerative diseases. During the last quarter of 2019 (and in early 2021 in the case of SCC), we divested ourselves of our Member Interests in SCC and Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC , while and US Stem Cell Clinic of the Villages, LLC is currently dormant. .

U.S. Stem Cell’s comprehensive map of products and services:

U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. was incorporated in the State of Florida in August 1999 as Bioheart, Inc. In 2015, we changed our name to U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. Our principal executive offices are located at 1560 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway 4^th FL, Sunrise FL 33323 and our telephone number is (954) 835-1500. Information about us is available on our corporate websites at www. us-stemcell.com. We include our website addresses in the Annual Report on Form 10-K only as an interactive textual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our website. The information on our websites is expressly not incorporated by reference in the Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Annual Report includes the following trademarks, service marks and trade names owned by the Company: U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. ™, US Stem Cell Training, Vetbiologics, MyoCell ™ and Adipocell ™. These trademarks, service marks and trade names are the property of U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. and its affiliates.

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE / CELL THERAPY INDUSTRY

Regenerative medicine is defined as the process of replacing or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore normal function. Among the categories of therapeutic technology platforms within this field are cell therapy; tissue engineering; tools, devices and diagnostics; and aesthetic medicine. U.S. Stem Cell’s business model is focused on two of these areas. First, cell therapy, in which we introduce cells (adult, donor or patient, stem cell or differentiated) into the body to prevent and treat disease; and second, we are a provider of services and products to physicians and veterinaries who provide or seek to provide cellular therapies and direct patient care for individuals and animals who may benefit from cellular therapy.

All living complex organisms start as a single cell that replicates, differentiates (matures) and perpetuates in an adult organism through its lifetime. Cellular therapy is the process that uses cells to prevent, treat or cure disease, or regenerate damaged or aged tissue. To date, the most common type of cell therapy has been the replacement of mature, functioning cells such as through blood and platelet transfusions. Since the 1970s, first bone marrow and then blood and umbilical cord-derived stem cells have been used to restore bone marrow, as well as blood and immune system cells damaged by the chemotherapy and radiation that are used to treat many cancers. These types of cell therapies are standard practice world-wide and are typically reimbursed by insurance.    

Within the field of cell therapy, research and development using stem cells to treat a host of diseases and conditions has greatly expanded. Stem cells (in either embryonic or adult forms) are primitive and undifferentiated cells that have the unique ability to transform into or otherwise affect many different cells, such as white blood cells, nerve cells or heart muscle cells. U.S. Stem Cell’s cell therapy development efforts are focused on the use of adult stem cells; those cells which are found in the muscle, fat tissue and peripheral blood.

There are two general classes of cell therapies: Patient Specific Cell Therapies (“PSCTs”) and Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapies (“OSCTs”). In PSCTs, cells collected from a person (“donor”) are transplanted, with or without modification, to a patient (“recipient”). In cases where the donor and the recipient are the same individual, these procedures are referred to as “autologous”. In cases in which the donor and the recipient are not the same individual, these procedures are referred to as “allogeneic.” Autologous cells offer a low likelihood of rejection by the patient and we believe the long-term benefits of these PSCTs can best be achieved with an autologous product. In the case of OSCT, donor cells are expanded many fold in tissue culture, and large banks of cells are frozen in individual aliquots that may result in treatments, in our observation, for as many as 10,000 people from a single donor tissue. By definition, OSCTs are always allogeneic in nature.

CELLULAR THERAPY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE

Specific to cellular therapy, we are focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage as well as vascular and autoimmune diseases.

In our pipeline, subject to development based on future financing, we have multiple product candidates for the treatment of heart damage, including MyoCell™ and Myocell SDF-1. MyoCell and MyoCell SDF-1 are autologous muscle-derived cellular therapies designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient’s heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. 

MyoCell SDF-1 is intended to be an improvement to MyoCell™. MyoCell SDF-1 is similar to MyoCell but the myoblast cells to be injected for use in MyoCell SDF-1 are modified prior to injection by an adenovirus vector or non-viral vector so that they will release extra quantities of the SDF-1 protein, which expresses angiogenic factors.

At present, our development pipeline is on hold.

STATUS OF CELLULAR THERAPY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CLINICAL TRIALS.

MyoCell/MyoCell SDF-1

MyoCell™ is a regenerative, cellular therapy intended to improve cardiac function for those with congestive heart failure and is designed to be utilized months or even years after a patient has suffered severe heart damage due to a heart attack or other cause. We believe that MyoCell has the potential to become a leading treatment for severe, chronic damage to the heart due to its perceived ability to satisfy, at least in part, what we believe to be an unmet demand for more effective and/or more affordable therapies for chronic heart damage. MyoCell™  uses myoblasts, cells that are precursors to muscle cells, from the patient’s own body. The myoblasts are removed from a patient’s thigh muscle, isolated, grown through our proprietary cell culturing process, and injected directly in the scar tissue of a patient’s heart. A qualified physician performs this minimally invasive procedure using an endoventricular catheter. We entered into an agreement with Biosense Webster (a Johnson & Johnson company) to use its NOGA® Cardiac Navigation System along with its MyoStar™ injection catheter for the delivery of MyoCell™ in the MARVEL Trial.

When injected into scar tissue within the heart wall, myoblasts have been shown to be capable of engrafting in the damaged tissue and differentiating into mature skeletal muscle cells. In a number of clinical and animal studies, the engrafted skeletal muscle cells have been shown to express various proteins that are important components of contractile function. By using myoblasts obtained from a patient’s own body, we believe MyoCell™ is able to avoid certain challenges currently faced by other types of cell-based clinical therapies including tissue rejection and instances of the cells differentiating into cells other than muscle. Although a number of therapies have proven to improve the cardiac function of a damaged heart, no currently available competing treatment, to our knowledge, has demonstrated an ability to generate new muscle tissue within the scarred regions of a heart as MyoCell™ has demonstrated.

Our completed clinical trials of MyoCell™ were primarily targeted to patients with severe, chronic damage to the heart, who are in Class II or Class III heart failure according to the New York Heart Association, or NYHA, heart failure classification system. The NYHA system classifies patients in one of four categories based on how limited they are during physical activity. NYHA Class II heart failure patients have a mild limitation of activity and are generally comfortable at rest or with mild exertion while NYHA Class III heart failure patients suffer from a marked limitation of activity and are generally comfortable only at rest.

We believe the market for treating patients in NYHA Class II or NYHA Class III heart failure is significant. According to the American Heart Association (“AHA”) Statistics and the European Society of Cardiology Task Force for the Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure, in the United States and Europe there are approximately 5.2 million and 9.6 million, respectively, patients with heart failure. The AHA Statistics further indicate that, after heart failure is diagnosed, the one-year mortality rate is high, with one in five dying and that 80% of men and 70% of women under age 65 who have heart failure will die within eight years.

We believe that approximately 60% of heart failure patients are in either NYHA Class II or NYHA Class III heart failure based upon a 1999 study entitled “Congestive Heart Failure Due to Diastolic or Systolic Dysfunction – Frequency and Patient Characteristics in an Ambulatory Setting” by Diller, PM, et. al.

MyoCell™ SDF-1 is intended to be an improvement to MyoCell™. MyoCell™ SDF-1 is similar to MyoCell™ except that the myoblast cells to be injected for use in MyoCell™ SDF-1 will be modified prior to injection by an adenovirus vector or non-viral vector so that they will release extra quantities of the SDF-1 protein, which expresses angiogenic factors. Adipocell is a patient-derived cell therapy proposed for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, chronic heart ischemia, and lower limb ischemia. We hope to demonstrate that these product candidates are safe and effective complements to existing therapies for chronic and acute heart damage.

We have completed various clinical trials for MyoCell™ including the SEISMIC Trial, a 40-patient, randomized, multicenter, controlled, Phase II-a study conducted in Europe and the MYOHEART Trial, a 20-patient, multicenter, Phase I dose-escalation trial conducted in the United States. We were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the “FDA”, to proceed with a 330-patient, multicenter Phase II/III trial of MyoCell™ in North America and Europe, or the “MARVEL Trial”. We completed the MyoCell™ implantation procedure on the first patient in the MARVEL Trial on October 24, 2007. Thus far, 20 patients, including 6 control patients, have been treated. Initial results for the 20 patients were released at the Heart Failure Society of American meeting in September, 2009, showing a significant (35%) improvement in the 6 minute walk for those patients who were treated, and no improvement for those who received a placebo. On the basis of these results, we have applied for and received approval from the FDA to reduce the number of additional patients in the trial to 134, for a total of 154 patients.

Advancement of the MyoCell™ and MyoCell™ SDF-1 clinical development programs is contingent, among many factors, upon the Company obtaining access to sufficient funding to execute the necessary clinical trials to achieve proof of efficacy and regulatory authorization to market such products.. No assurances can be provided that such development programs will be realized. 

Adipocell

Adipocell, a proprietary kit for the isolation of adipose derived stem cells which, as of the date of this filing, is currently on hold.

Business Strategy

U.S. Stem Cell’s mission is to advance to market novel regenerative medicine and cellular therapy products that substantially benefit humankind. Our business strategy is, to the extent possible, finance our clinical development pipeline through revenue (cash in-flows) generated through the marketing and sales of unique educational and training services, animal health products and distribution of products in the industry.

A fundamental shift in venture capital investment strategies where, management believes, financial sponsorship is now directed toward commercial or near commercial enterprises has required U.S. Stem Cell to adapt its mission combining immediate revenue generating opportunities with longer-term development programs. Accordingly, U.S. Stem Cell developed a multifaceted portfolio of revenue generating products and services in its US Stem Cell Training and Vetbiologics, operating divisions that will, if successful, financially support its clinical development programs. Our goal is to maximize shareholder value through the generation of short-term profits that increase cash in-flows and decrease the need venture financings – a modern biotechnology company development strategy. On May 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an injunctive action, specifically United States of America v. U.S. Stem Clinic, LLC, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., Kristin C. Comella, and Theodore Gradel. The Complaint was filed at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and alleges that the respective defendants manufacture “stromal vascular fraction” (SVF) products from patient adipose (fat) tissue, which the companies then market as stem cell-based treatments without first obtaining what the government alleges are necessary FDA approvals. The Company has retained counsel to defend in this action. On June 25, 2019, the federal court for the Southern District of Florida ruled in favor of the government, enjoining the Company and the other defendants from certain product sales and processes. The Company filed an appeal on August 23, 2019 and attended oral argument on January 13, 2021. On June 2, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court ruled to affirm lower courts’ judgement. The Company did not challenge the district court’s judgment upon any other ground. The Company is not able to predict the duration, scope, results, or consequences of the U.S. Department of Justice actions and final rulings and management is assessing its options on a going forward basis.

We will continue to evaluate and act upon opportunities to increase our top line revenue position and that correspondingly increase cash in-flows. These opportunities include but are not limited to the development and marketing of new products and services, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing deals and more.

Further, if the opportunity presents itself whereby the Company can raise additional capital at a reasonable fair market value, the Company will do so. Accordingly, we plan to continue in our efforts to restructure, equitize or eliminate legacy balance sheet issues that are obstacles to market capitalization appreciation and capital fund raising.

US STEM CELL TRAINING

US Stem Cell Training offers a variety of courses for physicians and other health care professionals. These courses include didactic lecture series and hands-on clinical techniques in the field of regenerative medicine. We are currently hosting these courses throughout the United States and in multiple countries. These courses are also available in an online format. Pricing currently ranges from $500-$7,500 depending on the location and modules.

U.S. STEM CELL, INC.

U.S. Stem Cell markets several products to physicians for in clinic regenerative medicine use. These products include equipment (centrifuges, heating block, laminar hood, autoclave) for laboratory use. We are also providing a variety of materials necessary to obtain bone marrow including, trocars, syringes and other supplies.

VETBIOLOGICS

Vetbiologics is focused on providing regenerative medicine therapies to veterinarians for use in both small and large animals. We provide a complete regenerative medicine package which includes training, equipment and supplies necessary for in clinic cell therapy. We sell kits for isolating stem cells from bone marrow and fat. We also provide kits for isolating platelet rich plasma. The kits include all of the disposables and reagents necessary. Vetbiologics is also working on several off the shelf type products including an allogeneic stem cell source.

GENERAL AMERICAN CAPITAL PARTNERS

On March 3, 2017, we entered into an asset sale and lease agreement (sale/leaseback transaction; “Asset Sale and Lease Agreement”), with GACP (General American Capital Partners) Stem Cell Bank LLC, a Florida limited liability company (“GACP) whereby we sold certain lab, medical and other equipment relating to the cell banking business for $400,000 and leased back the sold equipment over a three year term.  The lease includes a base monthly rental payment of $20,000, due the first day of each calendar month.  In addition, we are required to pay 2.3%, 22.5% and 31.6% of revenues collected on deposits arising from cell banking business for years 1, 2 and 3, respectively.  At the expiration of the lease, we returned all leased equipment and along with any maintenance records, logs, etc. in our  possession to the lessor with no right of repurchase. Further, as a consequence of the Court Order , the Company resolved to divest itself of certain equipment and other assets (the “Equipment Assets”) used in connection with the Company’s human tissue banking business, but consistent however with the requirements of the Court Order, and to adjust the business plan and operations to accommodate this potential divesture. The divestiture became effective October 10^th, 2019.

Royalty Agreement/Middle East

On November 9, 2016, the Company entered into an Intellectual Property License Agreement whereby the Company granted High Rise Group Company the exclusive right to the Company’s intellectual property (as defined) for the licensed use and development in Kuwait and other GCC/Middle East countries for 25 years in exchange for a payment of $75,000 and a 5% royalty generated under the agreement.  The royalty payment is recorded as deferred revenue and amortized over the term of the agreement.  The carrying balance as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $65,500 and $68,500, respectively.

The intent is for U.S. Stem Cell Middle East to offer regenerative treatment options to patients, based on U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. products and technologies like MyoCell™. To date, the first clinic in Kuwait City has been completed but has not begun operations as High Rising Group has not yet been able to secure regulatory approvals to operate.

Historic Subsidiaries:

During fiscal 2019, we had interests in US Stem Cell Clinic, LLC, (“SCC”), Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC, and US Stem Cell Clinic of the Villages, LLC as partially owned investment of our company (in which we had a 49.9%, 49.9% and 49% respectively member interests), which were physician run regenerative medicine/cell therapy clinics providing cellular treatments for patients afflicted with neurological, autoimmune, orthopedic and degenerative diseases. . During the last quarter of 2019 (and in early 2021 in the case of SCC), we divested ourselves of our Member Interests in SCC and Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC , while and US Stem Cell Clinic of the Villages, LLC is currently dormant.

The following is a description of such subsidiaries when they were subsidiaries of our company is fiscal 2019 (the Company is not providing any update since divesting itself of the Member Interests in such subsidiaries; all information provided is limited to their relevance to the business of the Company in fiscal 2019:

U.S. STEM CELL, INC.

U.S. Stem Cell markets several products to physicians for in clinic regenerative medicine use. These products include equipment (centrifuges, heating block, laminar hood, autoclave) necessary to separate and obtain cellular medicine therapies. We are also providing a variety of materials necessary to obtain fat and/or bone marrow including cannulas, trocars, syringes and other supplies. U.S. Stem Cell also supplies laboratory kits for processing adipose and bone marrow tissue to obtain a mixture of cells for use in clinic. These kits include disposables and reagents. U.S. Stem Cell also provides banking services to patients interested in storing their fat or bone marrow and the cells from this tissue. U.S. Stem Cell is a registered FDA tissue bank in good standing.

US STEM CELL CLINIC, LLC, REGENERATIVE WELLNESS CLINIC, LLC and US STEM CELL OF THE VILLAGES, LLC

US Stem Cell Clinic LLC, Regenerative Wellness Clinic LLC and US Stem Cell of the Villages LLC, partly owned investments, are offering in-clinic regenerative medicine treatments to patients suffering from degenerative diseases. Adipose stem cells can be obtained from the patient easily, abundantly, and with minimal patient discomfort. Clinical applications for patients can be performed in an office setting using autologous adipose-derived stem cells. Current applications include orthopedic conditions (tendon/ligament injuries, osteoarthritis, etc.), degenerative conditions (COPD, diabetes), neurological (MS, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries, autism, etc.) and auto-immune (RA, Crohn’s, colitis, lupus). Pricing depends on application and ranges from $5,000 to $12,000. We will provide operating assistance as well as management services to US Stem Cell of the Villages LLC, the latter to be compensated at fee of five percent (5%) of the LLC gross revenues. During the last quarter of 2019 (and in early 2021 in the case of SCC), we divested ourselves of our Member Interests in SCC and Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC , while and US Stem Cell Clinic of the Villages, LLC is currently dormant.

Patents and Proprietary Rights

We own or hold licenses or sublicenses to an intellectual property portfolio consisting of numerous patents and patent applications in the United States, and in foreign countries, for use in the field of heart muscle regeneration. References in this report to “our” patents and patent applications and other similar references include the patents and patent applications that are owned by us, and references to patents and patent applications that are “licensed” to us and other similar references refer to patents, patent applications and other intellectual property that are licensed or sublicensed to us.

Patent life determination depends on the date of filing of the application or the date of patent issuance and other factors as promulgated under the patent laws. Under the U.S. Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, as amended, a patent which claims a product, use or method of manufacture covering drugs and certain other products, including biologic products, may be extended for up to five years to compensate the patent holder for a portion of the time required for research and FDA review of the product. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug or biologic product is eligible for a patent term extension. This law also establishes a period of time following approval of a drug or biologic product during which the FDA may not accept or approve applications for certain similar or identical drugs or biologic products from other sponsors unless those sponsors provide their own safety and efficacy data.

MyoCell™ is no longer protected by patents, which means that competitors will be free to sell products that incorporate the same or similar technologies that are used in MyoCell™ without infringing our patent rights. As a result, MyoCell, if approved for use, may be vulnerable to competition. In addition, many of the patent and patent applications that have been licensed to us that pertain to our other product candidates do not cover certain countries within Europe.

Our commercial success will depend to a significant degree on our ability to:

In addition to patented intellectual property, we also rely on our own trade secrets and proprietary know-how to protect our technology and maintain our competitive position, since patent protection may not be available or applicable to our technology.  Our policy is to require each of our employees, consultants and advisors to execute a confidentiality and inventions assignment agreement before beginning their employment, consulting or advisory relationship with us. The agreements generally provide that the individual must keep confidential and not disclose to other parties any confidential information developed or learned by the individual during the course of the individual’s relationship with us except in limited circumstances. These agreements generally also provide that we shall own all inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us. Moreover, some of our academic institution licensors, collaborators and scientific advisors have rights to publish data and information to which we have rights, which may impair our ability to protect our proprietary information or obtain patent protection in the future.

We work with others in our research and development activities and one of our strategies is to enter into collaborative agreements with third parties to develop our proposed products. Disputes may arise about inventorship and corresponding rights in know-how and inventions resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by us and our licensors, collaborators, consultants and others. In addition, other parties may circumvent any proprietary protection we do have. As a result, we may not be able to maintain our proprietary position.

We are not currently a party to any litigation or other adverse proceeding challenging our patents, patent licenses or intellectual property rights. However, if we become involved in litigation or any other adverse intellectual property proceeding, for example, as a result of an alleged infringement, or a third party alleging an earlier date of invention, we may have to spend significant amounts of money and time and, in the event of an adverse ruling, we could be subject to liability for damages, including treble damages, invalidation of our intellectual property and injunctive relief that could prevent us from using technologies or developing products, any of which could have a significant adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.

In addition, any claims relating to the infringement of third party proprietary rights, or earlier date of invention, even if not meritorious, could result in costly litigation, lengthy governmental proceedings, divert management’s attention and resources and require us to enter royalty or license agreements which are not advantageous, if available at all.

See Item 1A. “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property” for a discussion of additional risks we face with respect to our intellectual property rights.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the website at http://www.sec.gov. The public may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, on official business days during the hours of 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The risk factors required pursuant to Regulation S-K, Item 503(c) are not required for smaller reporting companies. Accordingly, the Company has determined to provide particular risk factors at this time. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Other events that we do not currently anticipate or that we currently deem immaterial also may affect our results of operations and financial condition. If any events described in the risk factors actually occur, our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition could be materially harmed. In connection with the forward looking statements that appear elsewhere in this annual report, you should also carefully review the cautionary statement referred to under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements.”

SHOULD ONE OR MORE OF THE FOREGOING RISKS OR UNCERTAINTIES MATERIALIZE, OR SHOULD THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS OF OUR BUSINESS PROVE INCORRECT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED, BELIEVED, ESTIMATED, EXPECTED, INTENDED OR PLANNED.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Financing

We will need to secure additional financing in 2019 in order to continue to finance our operations. If we are unable to secure additional financing on acceptable terms, or at all, we may be forced to curtail or cease our operations.

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had a bank overdraft of $1,520 and a working capital deficit (current liabilities in excess of current assets) of $8,684,422. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the net loss was $3,835,337 and net cash used in operating activities was $1,210,994. As such, our existing cash resources are insufficient to finance even our immediate operations. Accordingly, we will need to secure additional sources of capital to develop our business and product candidates as planned. We are seeking substantial additional financing through public and/or private financing, which may include equity and/or debt financings, research grants and through other arrangements, including collaborative arrangements.

As part of such efforts, we may seek loans from certain of our executive officers, directors and/or current shareholders. We may also seek to satisfy some of our obligations to the guarantors of our loan with Seaside National Bank & Trust, or the Guarantors, through the issuance of various forms of securities or debt on negotiated terms. On January 3, 2018, the Company renewed the loan with Seaside National Bank and Trust extends the maturity date to May 18, 2020, all other terms and conditions remain unchanged. On May 18, 2020, the Seaside loan was turned into a Demand Note with no fixed maturity date but with a redocumentation requirement every four years. The new redocumentation deadline is May 2022. However, financing and/or alternative arrangements with the Guarantors may not be available when we need it, or may not be available on acceptable terms.

If we are unable to secure additional financing in the near term, we may be forced to:

If we are forced to take any of these steps, any investment in our common stock may be worthless.

If we raise additional capital and/or secure alternative arrangements, with the Guarantors or otherwise, by issuing equity, equity-related or convertible securities, the economic, voting and other rights of our existing shareholders may be diluted, and those newly issued securities may be issued at prices that are a significant discount to current and/or then prevailing market prices. In addition, any such newly issued securities may have rights superior to those of our common stock. If we obtain additional capital through collaborative arrangements, we may be required to relinquish greater rights to our technologies or product candidates than we might otherwise have or become subject to restrictive covenants that may affect our business.

Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our independent registered public accounting firm issued its report dated July 15^th, 2021 in connection with the audit of our financial statements as of December 31, 2019, which included an explanatory paragraph describing the existence of conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. In addition, the notes to our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 included an explanatory paragraph describing the existence of conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time. If we are not able to continue as a going concern, it is likely that holders of our common stock will lose all of their investment. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

We are a development stage life sciences company with a limited operating history and a history of net losses and negative cash flows from operations. We may never be profitable, and if we incur operating losses and generate negative cash flows from operations for longer than expected, we may be unable to continue operations.

We are a development stage life sciences company and have a limited operating history, limited capital, limited sources of revenue, and have incurred losses since inception. Our operations to date have been limited to organizing our company, developing and engaging in clinical trials of our MyoCell™ product candidate, expanding our pipeline of complementary product candidates through internal development and third party licenses, expanding and strengthening our intellectual property position through internal programs and third party licenses and recruiting management, research and clinical personnel. Consequently, it may be difficult to predict our future success or viability due to our lack of operating history. As of December 31, 2018, we have accumulated a deficit of approximately $133.6 million. Our MyoCell™ product candidate has not received regulatory approval or generated any material revenues and is not expected to generate any material revenues until commercialization of MyoCell, if ever.

Our ability to continue generating revenues from any of our product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to successfully complete clinical trials, obtain necessary regulatory approvals and implement our commercialization strategy. In addition, even if we are successful in obtaining necessary regulatory approvals and bringing one or more product candidates to market, we will be subject to the risk that the marketplace will not accept those products. We may, and anticipate that we will need to, transition from a company with a research and development focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities and we may not succeed in such a transition.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with our product development and commercialization efforts, we are unable to predict the extent of our future losses or when or if we will become profitable. Our failure to successfully commercialize our product candidates or to become and remain profitable could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our product offerings and continue our operations.

Risks Related to Product Development

All of our product candidates are in an early stage of development and we may never succeed in developing and/or commercializing them. We depended heavily on the success of our MyoCell™ product candidate. If we are unable to commercialize any of our other product candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business may fail.

Our approach of using cell-based therapy for the treatment of heart damage is risky and unproven and no products using this approach have received regulatory approval in the United States or Europe.

No company, to our knowledge, has yet been successful in its efforts to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or Europe of a cell-based therapy product for the treatment of heart damage. Cell-based therapy products, in general, may be susceptible to various risks, including undesirable and unintended side effects, unintended immune system responses, inadequate therapeutic efficacy or other characteristics that may prevent or limit their approval by regulators or commercial use. Many companies in the industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, despite promising results in earlier trials.

One of our competitors exploring the use of skeletal myoblasts ceased enrolling new patients in its European Phase II clinical trial based on the determination of its monitoring committee that there was a low likelihood that the trial would result in the hypothesized improvement in heart function. Although our clinical research to date suggests that MyoCell™ may improve the contractile function of the heart, we have not yet been able to demonstrate a mechanism of action and additional research is needed to precisely identify such mechanism.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration injunction has curtailed our business.

On May 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an injunctive action, specifically United States of America v. U.S. Stem Clinic, LLC, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., Kristin C. Comella, and Theodore Gradel. The Complaint was filed at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and alleges that the respective defendants manufacture “stromal vascular fraction” (SVF) products from patient adipose (fat) tissue, which the companies then market as stem cell-based treatments without first obtaining what the government alleges are necessary FDA approvals. The Company  retained counsel to defend in this action. On June 25, 2019, the federal court for the Southern District of Florida ruled in favor of the government, enjoining the Company and the other defendants from certain product sales and processes. The Company filed an appeal on August 23, 2019 and attended oral argument on January 13, 2021. On June 2, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court ruled to affirm lower courts’ judgement. The Company did not challenge the district court’s judgment upon any other ground. The Company is not able to predict the duration, scope, results, or consequences of the U.S. Department of Justice actions and final rulings and management is assessing its options on a going forward basis.

Healthcare reform could substantially reduce our revenues, earnings and cash flows.

We cannot predict how employers, private payors or persons buying insurance might react to the changes brought on by broad U.S. healthcare reform legislation or what form many of these regulations will take before implementation. The healthcare reform legislation, enacted in 2010, introduced healthcare insurance exchanges which provide a marketplace for eligible individuals and small employers to purchase healthcare insurance. While patients have begun receiving insurance coverage through these exchanges, the business and regulatory environment for these exchanges continues to evolve as the exchanges mature. Additionally, there is uncertainty about how the applicable state and federal agencies will enforce regulations relating to the exchanges. There is also a considerable amount of uncertainty as to the prospective implementation of the federal healthcare reform legislation and what similar measures might be enacted at the state level. There have been multiple attempts through legislative action and legal challenges to repeal or amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as modified by the Health Reform Acts, including the case that was recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, King v. Burwell. Although the Supreme Court upheld the provision by the federal government of subsidies to individuals in federally facilitated healthcare exchanges in Burwell, which ultimately did not disrupt significantly the implementation of the healthcare reform legislation, we cannot predict whether other current or future efforts to repeal or amend these laws will be successful, nor can we predict the impact that such a repeal or amendment would have on our business and operations, or on our revenues and earnings. In addition, in the last year, the executive branch and Congress have taken actions to weaken or modify the Affordable Care Act. The enacted reforms,  future legislative changes, as well as current ongoing uncertainty in matters related to the Affordable Care Act, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Our common stock may be considered a “penny stock,” and thereby be subject to additional sale and trading regulations that may make it more difficult to sell.

Our common stock is considered to be a “penny stock.” It does not qualify for one of the exemptions from the definition of “penny stock” under Section 3a51-1 of the Exchange Act. Our common stock is a “penny stock” because it meets one or more of the following conditions (i) the stock trades at a price less than $5.00 per share; (ii) it is not traded on a “recognized” national exchange or (iii) it is not quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market, or has a price less than $5.00 per share. The principal result or effect of being designated a “penny stock” is that securities broker-dealers participating in sales of our common stock are subject to the “penny stock” regulations set forth in Rules 15-2 through 15g-9 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act. For example, Rule 15g-2 requires broker-dealers dealing in penny stocks to provide potential investors with a document disclosing the risks of penny stocks and to obtain a manually signed and dated written receipt of the document at least two business days before effecting any transaction in a penny stock for the investor’s account. Moreover, Rule 15g-9 requires broker-dealers in penny stocks to approve the account of any investor for transactions in such stocks before selling any penny stock to that investor. This procedure requires the broker-dealer to (i) obtain from the investor information concerning his or her financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives; (ii) reasonably determine, based on that information, that transactions in penny stocks are suitable for the investor and that the investor has sufficient knowledge and experience as to be reasonably capable of evaluating the risks of penny stock transactions; (iii) provide the investor with a written statement setting forth the basis on which the broker-dealer made the determination in (ii) above; and (iv) receive a signed and dated copy of such statement from the investor, confirming that it accurately reflects the investor’s financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives. Compliance with these requirements may make it more difficult and time consuming for holders of our common stock to resell their shares to third parties or to otherwise dispose of them in the market or otherwise.

FINRA sales practice requirements may limit a shareholder’s ability to buy and sell our common shares.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, FINRA has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common shares, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our stock and have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.  In addition, there are a limited number of clearing houses that clear “penny stocks” and those that will clear such stocks may enforce internal time consuming administrative requirements and may arbitrarily determine to refuse to clear any stock.

Rule 144 sales in the future may have a depressive effect on the company’s stock price as an increase in supply of shares for sale, with no corresponding increase in demand will cause prices to fall.

All of the outstanding shares of common stock held by the present officers, directors, and affiliate stockholders are “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. As restricted shares, these shares may be resold only pursuant to an effective registration statement or under the requirements of Rule 144 or other applicable exemptions from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 and as required under applicable state securities laws. Rule 144 provides in essence that a person who is an affiliate or officer or director who has held restricted securities for six months may, under certain conditions, sell every three months, in brokerage transactions, a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of 1.0% of a Company’s issued and outstanding common stock. There is no limit on the amount of restricted securities that may be sold by a non-affiliate after the owner has held the restricted securities for a period of six months if the Company is a current reporting company under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company, as of the date of this report, not current in its filings but is making efforts to bring the filings current. A sale under Rule 144 or under any other exemption from the Securities Act of 1933, if available, or pursuant to subsequent registration of shares of common stock of present stockholders, may have a depressive effect upon the price of the common stock in any market that may develop. In addition, if we are deemed a shell company pursuant to Section 12(b)-2 of the Act, our “restricted securities”, whether held by affiliates or non-affiliates, may not be re-sold for a period of 12 months following the filing of a Form 10 level disclosure or registration pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933. Currently, we are not current in our report and the exemption to registration required pursuant to Rule 144 is unavailable to our shareholders. While we intend to bring our filings current to permit the use of the exemption to registration required pursuant to Rule 144, there can be no assurances as to timing and subsequent continued filings.

Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and effective disclosure controls and procedures are necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements. As discussed in Item 9A – “Controls and Procedures” of this Form 10-K, we have evaluated our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures and concluded that they were not effective as of December 31, 2019.

A material weakness is defined as a deficiency or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weaknesses we identified is that we do not have sufficient segregation of duties within accounting functions, which is a basic internal control, although the Board of Directors has a separately-designated standing Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a) (58) (A) of the Exchange Act. The members of our Audit Committee are Mr. Borman, who serves as Chairperson of the Audit Committee, Dr. Murphy, and Mr. Anderson. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Borman qualifies as a “financial expert” as that term is defined in the rules of the SEC implementing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  Due to our size and nature, segregation of all conflicting duties may not always be possible and may not be economically feasible. However, to the extent possible, the initiation of transactions, the custody of assets and the recording of transactions should be performed by separate individuals. Management evaluated the impact of our failure to have segregation of duties on our assessment of our disclosure controls and procedures and has concluded that the control deficiency that resulted represented a material weakness.

The Company is committed to remediating its material weaknesses as promptly as possible. Implementation of the Company’s remediation plans has commenced and is being overseen by the board. However, there can be no assurance as to when these material weaknesses will be remediated or that additional material weaknesses will not arise in the future. Even effective internal control can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. Any failure to remediate the material weaknesses, or the development of new material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, could result in material misstatements in our financial statements, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and the trading price of our common stock and we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligations. We have identified weaknesses in our internal controls, and we cannot provide assurances that these weaknesses will be effectively remediated or that additional material weaknesses will not occur in the future.

If not remediated, our failure to establish and maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and a failure to meet our reporting and financial obligations, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and the trading price of our common stock.

Public disclosure requirements and compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance pose challenges for our management team and result in additional expenses and costs which may reduce the focus of management and the profitability of our company.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and SEC regulations, have created uncertainty for public companies and significantly increased the costs and risks associated with accessing the U.S. public markets. Our management team will need to devote significant time and financial resources to comply with both existing and evolving standards for public companies, which will lead to increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue generating activities to compliance activities.

COVID-19.

We cannot, at this point, determine the extent to which COVID-19 outbreak will impact business or the economy as both are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

THE OUTBREAK OF THE CORONAVIRUS MAY NEGATIVELY IMPACT SOURCING AND MANUFACTURING OF THE PRODUCTS THAT WE SELL AS WELL AS CONSUMER SPENDING, WHICH COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS, RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout China and other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic”. The significant outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

THE OUTBREAK OF THE COVID-19 MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR MARKET.

Further, such risks as described above could also adversely affect our market, resulting in reduced spending in non-COVID-19 health care. Risks related to an epidemic, pandemic or other health crisis, such as COVID-19, could also lead to the complete or partial interruption of our operations. The ultimate extent of the impact of any epidemic, pandemic or other health crisis on our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning the severity of such epidemic, pandemic or other health crisis and actions taken to contain or prevent their further spread, among others. These and other potential impacts of an epidemic, pandemic or other health crisis, such as COVID-19, could therefore materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

An economic recession had set in from the pandemic in 2020 and into 2021. This outbreak could decrease spending, adversely affect demand for our products, and harm our business and results of operations. It is not possible for us to predict the duration or magnitude of the adverse results of the outbreak or the timing and the degree to which economic recovery will be realized post-pandemic and, consequently, its effects on our business or results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity, at this time. We cannot anticipate the effect that the impairments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or the degree to which the economy rebounds post-pandemic will have on our fiscal 2021 results, or the effectiveness and distributions of recently announced vaccines and changes to mask mandate policies. We will continue to evaluate the nature and extent of COVID-19’s impact to our business, consolidated results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and our results presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for future years.

THE OUTBREAK OF COVID-19 HAS RESULTED IN A WIDESPREAD HEALTH CRISIS THAT COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE ECONOMIES AND FINANCIAL MARKETS WORLDWIDE AND COULD EXPONENTIALLY INCREASE THE RISK FACTORS DESCRIBED HEREIN AND IN OUR PRIOR FILINGS.

SHOULD ONE OR MORE OF THE FOREGOING RISKS OR UNCERTAINTIES MATERIALIZE, OR SHOULD THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS PROVE INCORRECT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED, BELIEVED, ESTIMATED, EXPECTED, INTENDED OR PLANNED

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

This Item is not applicable to us as we are not an accelerated filer, a large accelerated filer, or a well-seasoned issuer.

Item 2. Properties

Our headquarters are located in Sunrise, Florida which we currently lease on a month-to-month basis at a monthly lease rate of $99.00.

We believe the space available at our headquarters will be sufficient to meet the needs of our operations for the foreseeable future.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

On December 12, 2017, a product liability lawsuit was filed in Broward County, specifically Jeannine Mallard v. U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., US Stem Cell Clinics LLC., Regenestem, LLC., Regenestem Network, LLC., and Kristin C. Comella. The Company will continue to defend it vigorously. On December 6, 2019, the Company was one of the parties to a Settlement Agreement and General Release (the “Agreement”) related to certain medical procedures. Without admitting any liability, and as part of that Agreement, the Company agreed to provide a five-year non-interest bearing unsecured promissory note, dated December 6, 2019, in the principal amount of $250,000, payable in monthly increments of $750 per month, with a final balloon payment of $205,000 due on January 1, 2025.

On September 17, 2015, a product liability lawsuit was filed in Broward County, specifically Patsy Bade v. Bioheart, Inc. US Stem Cell Clinics LLC, Alejandro Perez, ARNP, and Shareen Greenbaum, M.D., and on November 30, 2015, a product liability lawsuit was filed in Broward County, specifically Elizabeth Noble v. Bioheart, Inc. US Stem Cell Clinics LLC, Alejandro Perez, ARNP, and Shareen Greenbaum, M.D. During the year ended December 31, 2016, both matters settled by the Company’s insurance policy with no additional cost to the Company, excluding the Company payment of the $100,000 insurance company deductible of which $11,000 was paid in fiscal 2017. As a result of the final settlement and determination of insurance coverage, the Company recognized $100,000 of expense due to litigation for the year ended December 31, 2017. The remaining amount due under this settlement is $30,050 and $48,500 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

On June 3, 2019, the Company was one of the parties to a Settlement Agreement and General Release (the “Agreement”) related to certain medical procedures. Without admitting any liability, and as part of that Agreement, the Company agreed to provide a five-year 5.25% Promissory Note, dated June 15, 2019, in the principal amount of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000), payable in monthly increments of Five Thousand ($5,000) per month.

The Company is subject at times to other legal proceedings and claims, which arise in the ordinary course of its business.  Although occasional adverse decisions or settlements may occur, the Company believes that the final disposition of such matters should not have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations or liquidity.  There was no outstanding litigation as of December 31, 2019 or subsequent to December 31, 2019 other than that described above.

Government Claim

On May 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an injunctive action, specifically United States of America v. U.S. Stem Clinic, LLC, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., Kristin C. Comella, and Theodore Gradel. The Complaint was filed at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and alleges that the respective defendants manufacture “stromal vascular fraction” (SVF) products from patient adipose (fat) tissue, which the companies then market as stem cell-based treatments without first obtaining what the government alleges are necessary FDA approvals. The Company has retained counsel to defend in this action. . On June 25, 2019, the federal court for the Southern District of Florida ruled in favor of the government, enjoining the Company and the other defendants from certain product sales and processes. The Company filed an appeal on August 23, 2019 and attended oral argument on January 13, 2021. On June 2, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court ruled to affirm lower courts’judgement. The Company did not challenge the district court’s judgment upon any other ground. The Company is not able to predict the duration, scope, results, or consequences of the U.S. Department of Justice actions and final rulings and management is assessing its options on a going forward basis.

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 is listed on the OTC Markets, Inc. (OTC) under the symbol “USRM”. For the periods indicated, the following table sets forth the high and low bid prices per share of common stock, as reported by the OTC Markets. These prices represent inter-dealer quotations without retail markup, markdown, or commission and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.

Holders

As of December 31, 2019, there were approximately 479 shareholders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock or other securities and do not currently anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The declaration and payment of dividends by us are subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors and the restrictions specified in our articles of incorporation, any contractual limitations, and by applicable law. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.

Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table provides certain information regarding our existing equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2019:

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

In fiscal 2019, we issued an aggregate of 22,371,084 shares of our common stock, having a fair value of $348,460, in settlement of outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses. In connection with the issuance, we issued an aggregate of 4,000,000 shares of our common stock, having a fair value of $89,250, for services and we sold an aggregate of 13,276,707 shares of our common stock for gross cash proceeds of $50,000. The issuance of such shares of our common stock was effected in reliance on the exemptions for sales of securities not involving a public offering, as set forth in Rule 506(b) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as mended (the “Securities Act”) and in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act, based on the following: the investors confirmed to us that they were “accredited investors,” as defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act and had such background, education and experience in financial and business matters as to be able to evaluate the merits and risks of an investment in the securities; (b) there was no public offering or general solicitation with respect to the offering; (c) the investors were provided with certain disclosure materials and all other information requested with respect to our company; (d) the investors acknowledged that all securities being purchased were “restricted securities” for purposes of the Securities Act, and agreed to transfer such securities only in a transaction registered under the Securities Act or exempt from registration under the Securities Act; and (e) a legend was placed on the certificates representing each such security stating that it was restricted and could only be transferred if subsequent registered under the Securities Act or transferred in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act. We filed a Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities on Form D on May 4, 2018.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

Transfer Agent: Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, One State Street, 30^th Floor, New York, NY 10004 acts as transfer agent for our common stock.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Not required under Regulation S-K for “smaller reporting companies.”

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following is management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) of certain significant factors that have affected our financial position and operating results during the periods included in the accompanying financial statements, as well as information relating to the plans of our current management. This report includes forward-looking statements. Generally, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “continue,” and similar expressions or the negative thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the matters set forth in this report or other reports or documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those projected. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes thereto and other financial information contained elsewhere in this Form 10-K

The Company’s MD&A is comprised of significant accounting estimates made in the normal course of its operations, overview of the Company’s business conditions, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources and contractual obligations. The Company did not have any off balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2019 or 2018.

The discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations is based upon its financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (or “GAAP”). The preparation of those financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities at the date of its financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our Ability To Continue as a Going Concern

The Company’s management has evaluated whether there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern and has determined that substantial doubt existed as of the date of the end of the period covered by this Yearly Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”).This determination was based on the following factors, as of December 31, 2019, the Company had a bank overdraft of $1,520 and a working capital deficit (current liabilities in excess of current assets) of $8,684,422. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the net loss was $3,835,337 and net cash used in operating activities was $1,210,994. In the opinion of management, these factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.  As part of its long term goal, management of the Company will refocus on its animal health division while it evaluates its future opportunities for its human division and subsidiary.

Overview

We are a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage. Our lead product candidates are MyoCell™ and Adipocell. MyoCell™ is an innovative clinical therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient’s heart with autologous muscle cells, or cells from a patient’s body, for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. Adipocell is an innovative cell therapy kit with multiple possible treatment applications using autologous adipose cells. We are presently investigating the use of adipose cells in a variety of clinical applications.

Biotechnology Product Candidates

We are focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage. In our pipeline, we have multiple product Candidates for the treatment of heart damage, including MyoCell, MyoCell™ SDF-1 and Adipocell. MyoCell™ and MyoCell™ SDF-1 are clinical muscle-derived cell therapies designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient’s heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients.

MyoCell™ SDF-1 is intended to be an improvement to MyoCell™. MyoCell™ SDF-1 is similar to MyoCell™ except that the myoblast cells to be injected for use in MyoCell™ SDF-1 will be modified prior to injection by an adenovirus vector or non-viral vector so that they will release extra quantities of the SDF-1 protein, which expresses angiogenic factors. Adipocell is a kit to obtain patient-derived cells proposed for various in clinic procedures. We hope to demonstrate that these product candidates are safe and effective complements to existing therapies for various indications.

MyoCath Product Candidate

The MyoCath is a deflecting tip needle injection catheter that has a larger (25 gauge) needle to allow for better flow rates and less leakage than systems that are 27 gauge. This larger needle allows for thicker compositions to be injected, which helps with cell retention in the heart. Also, the MyoCath needle has more fluoroscopic brightness than the normally used nitinol needle, enabling superior visualization during the procedure. Seeing the needle well during injections enables the physician who is operating the catheter to pinpoint targeted areas more precisely.

The MyoCath is used to inject cells into cardiac tissue in therapeutic procedures to treat chronic heart ischemia and congestive heart failure. Investigators in our MARVEL Trial may use either our MyoCath catheters or Biosense Webster’s (a Johnson & Johnson company) NOGA® Cardiac Navigation System along with the MyoStar™ injection catheter for the delivery of MyoCell™ to patients enrolled in the trial. We are currently producing Myocath catheters with a contract manufacturer on an as needed basis.

We conduct operations in one business segment. We may organize our business into more discrete business units when and if we generate significant revenue from the sale of our product candidates. Our revenue since inception has been generated inside and outside the United States, and the majority of our long-lived assets are located in the United States.

GENERAL AMERICAN CAPITAL PARTNERS

On March 3, 2017, we entered into an asset sale and lease agreement (sale/leaseback transaction; “Asset Sale and Lease Agreement”), with GACP (General American Capital Partners) Stem Cell Bank LLC, a Florida limited liability company (“GACP) whereby we sold certain lab, medical and other equipment relating to the cell banking business for $400,000 and leased back the sold equipment over a three year term.  The lease includes a base monthly rental payment of $20,000, due the first day of each calendar month.  In addition, we are required to pay 2.3%, 22.5% and 31.6% of revenues collected on deposits arising from cell banking business for years 1, 2 and 3, respectively.  At the expiration of the lease, we are required to return all leased equipment and along with any maintenance records, logs, etc. in our  possession to the lessor with no right of repurchase. As a consequence of the Court Order dated June 4, 2019 (see Note 12 “Government Claim”), the Company resolved to terminate its relationship with GACP and divest itself of certain equipment and other assets (the “Equipment Assets”) used in connection with the Company’s human tissue banking business, but consistent however with the requirements of the Court Order, and to adjust the business plan and operations to accommodate this potential divesture.

Subsequent events

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of 10,354,560 shares of its common stock, having a fair value of $51,914, in settlement of outstanding accounts payable. In connection with the issuances, the Company incurred a $3,586 net gain on settlement.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company issued 3,481,467 shares of its common stock, having a fair value of $21,744, in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $18,340, resulting in a loss on settlement of $3,404.

On February 10, 2021, as part of a settlement agreement, the Company transferred its entire member interest in U.S. Stem Cell, LLC to Dr. Kristen Comella as settlement for $100,000 of accrued interest owed to Dr. Comella.

Results of Operations Overview

Revenues

Our primary source of revenue is from the sale of test kits and equipment, training services, patient treatments and laboratory services, and cell banking. Our revenue may vary substantially from quarter to quarter and from year to year. We believe that period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations are not meaningful and should not be relied upon as indicative of our future performance. We do not expect to generate substantial revenues until we obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our product candidates.

We recognized revenues of $3,072,293 in 2019 compared to revenues of $6,700,888 in 2018. Our revenue in 2019 was generated from the sale of test kits and equipment, training services, patient treatments and laboratory services, and cell banking. Our revenues for 2018 were generated from the sale, test kits and equipment, training services, patient treatments and laboratory services, and cell banking. 

As a consequence of the Court Order (see Note 12) the Company resolved to divest itself of certain equipment and other assets (the “Equipment Assets”) used in connection with the Company’s human tissue banking business, but consistent however with the requirements of the Court Order, and to adjust the business plan and operations to accommodate this potential divesture.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales consists of the costs associated with the production of MyoCath and test kits, product costs, labor for production and training and lab and banking costs consistent with products and services provided.

Cost of sales was $1,335,237 in the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $2,110,532 in the year ended December 31, 2018.  The decrease is due to the decrease in revenues. 

Research and Development

Our research and development expenses consist of costs incurred in identifying, developing and testing our product candidates. These expenses consist primarily of costs related to our clinical trials, the acquisition of intellectual property licenses and preclinical studies. We expense research and development costs as incurred.

Marketing, General and Administrative

Our marketing, general and administrative expenses primarily consist of the costs associated with our general management and clinical marketing and trade programs, including, but not limited to, salaries and related expenses for executive, administrative and marketing personnel, rent, insurance, legal and accounting fees, consulting fees, travel and entertainment expenses, conference costs and other clinical marketing and trade program expenses.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation which is included in the Marketing, General and Administrative above, reflects our recognition as an expense of the value of stock options and other equity instruments issued to our employees and non-employees over the vesting period of the options and other equity instruments. We have granted to our employees options to purchase shares of common stock at exercise prices as determined by our Board of Directors, with input from management.

In valuing our common stock, our Board of Directors considered a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

On April 1, 2013, our Board of Directors approved, subject to subsequently received shareholder approval, the establishment of the Bioheart 2013 Omnibus Equity Compensation Plan, or the “2013 Omnibus Plan” (replacing the 1999 Officers and Employees Stock Option Plan, or the Employee Plan, and the 1999 Directors and Consultants Stock Option Plan). The 2013 Omnibus Plan initially reserved up to fifty thousand (50,000) shares of common stock for issuance. On August 4, 2014, the Board of Directors approved to set the reserve to one hundred thousand (100,000) shares of common stock for issuance and to close the 1999 Officers and Employees Stock Option Plan. On February 2, 2015, at the annual meeting of shareholders, the majority of shareholders approved the 2013 Omnibus Equity Compensation Plan. On November 2, 2015, the Board of Directors approved the increase of the reserve under the 2013 Omnibus Plan to five hundred million (500,000,000) shares of common stock for issuance, effective September 16, 2016, approved an addition of twenty five million (25,000,000) shares of common stock to the reserve, effective April 21, 2017, approved an addition of twenty five million (25,000,000) shares of common stock to the reserve, effective August 7, 2017, approved an addition of thirty million (30,000,000) shares of common stock to the reserve and effective May 7, 2018, approved an addition of one hundred million (100,000,000) shares of common stock to reserve.

A summary of options at December 31, 2019 and activity during the year then ended is presented below:

A summary of stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2019 is as follows:

On May 7, 2018, we granted an aggregate 30,000,000 options to purchase the Company’s common stock at $0.0536 per share to key employees, vesting over 4 years, at grant date anniversary and exercisable over 10 years. The aggregate fair value of $1,438,473, determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: Dividend yield: 0%; Volatility: 261.13% and Risk free rate: 2.90%.

On August 8, 2018, we granted an aggregate 2,340,000 options to purchase our company’s common stock at $0.02576 per share to key employees, vesting over 4 years, at grant date anniversary and exercisable over 10 years. The aggregate fair value of $91,988, determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: Dividend yield: 0%; Volatility: 217.72% and Risk free rate: 2.83%.

On December 3, 2018, we granted an aggregate 9,000,000 options to purchase our company’s common stock at $0.02511 per share to board members, vesting immediately exercisable over 10 years. The aggregate fair value of $195,722, determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: Dividend yield: 0%; Volatility: 215.29% and Risk free rate: 2.83%.

On September 1, 2019, the Company granted an aggregate 33,400,000 options to purchase the Company’s common stock at $0.0056 per share to key employees, vesting over 4 years, at grant date anniversary and exercisable over 10 years. The aggregate fair value of $192,189, was determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: Dividend yield: 0%; Volatility: 215.10% and Risk-free rate: 1.45%.

On November 18, 2019, the Company granted to its directors an aggregate of 7,500,000 options to purchase the Company’s common stock at $0.0049 per share that vested immediately and are exercisable for 10 years. The aggregate fair value of $34,477, was determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: Dividend yield: 0%; Volatility: 213.97% and Risk-free rate: 1.81%.

The aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding stock options was $0, based on options with an exercise price less than the Company’s stock price of $0.0035 as of December 31, 2019, which would have been received by the option holders had those option holders exercised their options as of that date.

The fair value of all options that vested during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $735,176 and $753,007, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had $1,415,552 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested awards granted under the 2013 Omnibus Plan, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted average period of 1.24 years.

Warrants

A summary of common stock purchase warrants for the year ended December 31, 2019 is presented below:

The following information applies to common stock purchase warrants outstanding and exercisable at December 31, 2019:

On August 27, 2018, we issued 1,000,000 warrants to purchase our company’s common stock at $0.02713 per share for services rendered, vesting 6 months from issuance and exercisable over 10 years. The aggregate fair value of $24,986, determined using the Black Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: Dividend yield: 0%; Volatility: 217.01% and Risk free rate: 2.85%.

Interest Expense

Interest expense during the year ended December 31, 2019 was $981,001 compared to $1,444,807 for the year ended December 31, 2018. Interest expense primarily consists of interest incurred on the principal amount of the Northstar loan,  the Seaside National Bank loan, the Capital Lease with GACP, accrued fees and interest payable to the Guarantors, imputed interest on non-interest bearing debt,  the amortization of debt discounts and non-cash interest incurred relating to our issued convertible notes payable.

The debt discounts amortization and non-cash interest incurred during the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $198,355 and $195,967, respectively. There was nominal change in interest year over year.

On January 3, 2018, we  renewed the loan with Seaside National Bank and Trust extend the maturity date to May 18, 2020 all other terms and conditions remain unchanged. On May 18, 2020, the Seaside loan was turned into a Demand Note with no fixed maturity date but with a redocumentation requirement every four years. The new redocumentation deadline is May 2022.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. While our critical accounting policies are described in Note 1 to our financial statements appearing elsewhere in this report, we believe the following policies are important to understanding and evaluating our reported financial results:

Revenue Recognition

Effective January 1, 2018, we recognize revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Topic 605, Revenue Recognition, and most industry-specific revenue recognition guidance throughout the Industry Topics of the Accounting Standards Codification. The updated guidance states that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance also provides for additional disclosures with respect to revenues and cash flows arising from contracts with customers.

At the time of each transaction, management assesses whether the fee associated with the transaction is fixed or determinable and whether or not collection is reasonably assured. The assessment of whether the fee is fixed or determinable is based upon the payment terms of the transaction. Collectability is assessed based on a number of factors, including past transaction history with the client and the creditworthiness of the client.

Our primary sources of revenue are from the sale of test kits and equipment, training services, patient treatments, laboratory services and cell banking. 

Revenues for kits and equipment sold are not recorded until kits and equipment are received by the customer. Revenues from in-person trainings are recognized when the training occurs and revenues from on demand online trainings are recognized when the customer purchases the rights to the training course. Any cash received as a deposit for trainings are recorded by the Company as a liability.

Patient treatments and laboratory services revenue are recognized when those services have been completed or satisfied.

Revenues for cell banking sales are accounted for as multiple performance obligations as described in 606 and addresses accounting for arrangements that may involve the delivery or performance of multiple products, services and/or rights to use assets. Because the Company sells its services separately, on more than a limited basis and at a price within a narrow range, our company was able to allocate revenue based on stand-alone pricing. The multiple performance obligations include stem cell banking, dose retrieval and yearly storage fees. Revenues for stem cell banking and dose retrieval is recognized at the point of service and revenues for the yearly storage fees is recognized over the term of the banking contract, which is typically one year with annual renewals.

Stock-based compensation

We measure the cost of services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the fair value of the award. For employees and directors, the fair value of the award is measured on the grant date and for non-employees, the fair value of the award is generally re-measured on vesting dates and interim financial reporting dates until the service period is complete. The fair value amount is then recognized over the period during which services are required to be provided in exchange for the award, usually the vesting period. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded by our company in the same expense classifications in the statements of operations, as if such amounts were paid in cash.

Income taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss carry forwards that are available to be carried forward to future years for tax purposes.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.  The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.  When it is not considered to be more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will be realized, a valuation allowance is provided for the excess.  Although we have significant loss carry forwards available to reduce future income for tax purposes, no amount has been reflected on the balance sheet for deferred income taxes as any deferred tax asset has been fully offset by a valuation allowance.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, 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. Significant estimates include stock-based compensation,  debt discounts and the valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Research and Development Costs

We account for research and development costs in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification subtopic 730-10, Research and Development (“ASC 730-10”). Under ASC 730-10, all research and development costs must be charged to expense as incurred. Accordingly, internal research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Third-party research and development costs are expensed when the contracted work has been performed or as milestone results have been achieved as defined under the applicable agreement. Company-sponsored research and development costs related to both present and future products are expensed in the period incurred.

Depreciation

Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the assets’ expected useful lives or the term of the lease, for assets under capital leases.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, deposits in banks with maturities of three months or less, and all highly liquid investments which are unrestricted as to withdrawal or use, and which have original maturities of three months or less.

Options and warrants issued

We allocate the proceeds received from equity financing and the attached options and warrants issued, based on their relative fair values, at the time of issuance.  The amount allocated to the options and warrants is recorded as additional paid in capital.

Related Parties

For the purposes of these financial statements, parties are considered to be related if one party has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the party or exercise significant influence over the party in making financial and operating decisions, or vice versa, or where our company  and the party are subject to common control or common significant influence. Related parties may be individuals or other entities.

Results of Operations

We are a research and development stage company and our MyoCell™ product candidate has not received regulatory approval or generated any material revenues and is not expected to until late 2019, if ever. We have generated substantial net losses and negative cash flow from operations since inception and anticipate incurring significant net losses and negative cash flows from operations for the foreseeable future as we continue clinical trials, undertake new clinical trials, apply for regulatory approvals, make capital expenditures, add information systems and personnel, make payments pursuant to our license agreements upon our achievement of certain milestones, continue development of additional product candidates using our technology, establish sales and marketing capabilities and incur the additional cost of operating as a public company.

Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018

Revenues

We recognized revenues of $3,072,093 in 2019, revenues generated from the sale of, kits and equipment, services, and laboratory services.  In 2018, we recognized revenues of $6,700,888, revenues generated from the sales of kits and laboratory services. Variance year over year was due to increased competition and saturated market.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales was $1,335,237 in 2019 and $2,110,532 in 2018. Variance was due to increased cost of service materials for the tissue bank.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses were $263 in 2019, a decrease of $5,176 from research and development expenses of $5,439in 2018. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in the amount of available funds.

The timing and amount of our planned research and development expenditures is dependent on our ability to obtain additional financing.

Marketing, General and Administrative

Marketing, general and administrative expenses were $4,454,711 in 2019, a decrease of $1,227,585 from marketing, general and administrative expenses of $5,682,296 in 2018. The decrease is due to reduced operations due to the Court order.

Gain (loss) on settlement of debt

During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized a net gain of $214,883 primarily related to the dissolved GACP transaction and divestiture of assets. In 2018, we recognized a gain of $5,625 primarily related to the settlement of accounts payable and accrued interest.

Gain on sale of equipment

In March 2017, we entered a sale/leaseback transaction whereby we sold our lab and other medical equipment and re-leased the equipment back for 36 months.  In connection with the sale/leaseback, we realized a gain on sale of equipment of $128,845 which is recognized as of the divestiture of the assets in October 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized $128,845 in current period operations as compared to $107,371 for the previous year.

Income from equity investment

Our investment of 33% member interest ownerships of U.S. Stem Cell Clinic, LLC and Regenerative Wellness Clinic, LLC (subsequently increased after December 31, 2018) and well as our 49% member interest ownership in U.S. Stem Cell of the Villages LLC are accounted for using the equity method of accounting.  As such, we report our pro rata share of its income or loss for the period.  For the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, our pro rata share of its income was $247,813 and $192,383, respectively.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $981,001 in 2019 compared to interest expense of $1,444,807 in 2018. Non-cash interest comprised of amortization of debt discounts and totaled $198,355 in 2019 as compared to $195,967 in 2018.  Variance in interest due to amortization of capitalized expenses.

Inflation

Our opinion is that inflation has not had, and is not expected to have, a material effect on our operations.

Climate Change

Our opinion is that neither climate change, nor governmental regulations related to climate change, have had, or are expected to have, any material effect on our operations.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

In 2019, we continued to finance our operational cash needs with cash generated from financing activities.

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2019 was $1,210,994 and consisted primarily of a net loss of $3,835,337, a decrease in deferred revenue of $272,865, gain on settlement of notes payable and accrued interest of $214,883, gain on sale of equipment of $128,845 and income on equity investments of $117,318, partially offset by related party notes payable issued for services rendered of $978,077, stock-based compensation of $824,426, notes payable issued in pre-trial settlements of $698,937, an increase in accounts payable of $344,536, depreciation and amortization expense of $242,615 and amortization of debt discount of $198,335.

Net provided by operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2018 was $602,467 and consisted primarily of stock-based compensation of $1,227,924, related party notes payable issued for services rendered of $800,000, an increase in accounts payable of $426,263, an increase in accrued expenses of $226,673, depreciation and amortization expense of $207,132 and amortization of debt discount of $195,967, partially offset by a net loss of $2,160,427, income on equity investments of $247,813 and gain on sale of equipment of $128,845.

Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $166,834 and consisted of proceeds from equity investments.

Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $311,700 and consisted of proceeds from equity investments.

Financing Activities

Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $312,986 and consisted primarily of repayments of notes payable of $512,486 and repayments of related party notes of $321,607, partially offset by proceeds from related party advances of $276,843 and proceeds from related party notes of $107,868.

Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $543,820 and consisted primarily of repayments of related party notes of $708,422 and repayments of notes payable of $656,468, partially offset by proceeds from sale of common stock of $367,700, proceeds from notes payable of $220,211, proceeds from related party advances of $130,000 and equity contribution by related party of $103,159.

Existing Capital Resources and Future Capital Requirements

Our MyoCell™ product candidate has not received regulatory approval or generated any material revenues. We do not expect to generate any material revenues or cash from sales of our MyoCell™ product candidate until commercialization of MyoCell, if ever. We have generated substantial net losses and negative cash flow from operations since inception and anticipate incurring significant net losses and negative cash flows from operations for the foreseeable future. Historically, we have relied on proceeds from the sale of our common stock and our incurrence of debt to provide the funds necessary to conduct our research and development activities and to meet our other cash needs.

At December 31, 2019, we had cash and cash equivalents totaling $0; our working capital deficit as of such date was $8,684,422. Our independent registered public accounting firm has issued its report dated July 15^th 2021 in connection with the audit of our financial statements as of December 31, 2019 that included an explanatory paragraph describing the existence of conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

As of December 31, 2019, we had $6,691,144 in outstanding debt, net of debt discount of $79,744.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that are material to investors.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to Note 1. Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the notes to our financial statements for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Not required for smaller reporting companies.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Our Financial Statements begin on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K 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

(a) Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures. Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.

Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of our disclosure control system are met. Because of inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues, if any, within a company have been detected. Our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have concluded, based on their evaluation as of the end of the period covered by this report, that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined In Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). The term “internal control over financial reporting” is defined as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the registrant’s board of directors, management and other personnel,

Our internal control system is designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements. All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. 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. In addition, because of changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal control may vary over time.

We carried out an evaluation, with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) who also acts as our Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the effectiveness our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2019. Based upon that evaluation, our CEO/ CFO concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are not effective at the reasonable assurance level due to the following material weaknesses:

We do not have sufficient segregation of duties within accounting functions, which is a basic internal control.  Due to our size and nature, segregation of all conflicting duties may not always be possible and may not be economically feasible.  However, to the extent possible, the initiation of transactions, the custody of assets and the recording of transactions should be performed by separate individuals.  Management evaluated the impact of our failure to have segregation of duties on our assessment of our disclosure controls and procedures and has concluded that the control deficiency that resulted represented a material weakness.

To address these material weaknesses, management performed additional analyses and other procedures to ensure that the financial statements included herein fairly present, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented.

Remediation of Material Weaknesses

We intend to remediate the material weaknesses in our disclosure controls and procedures identified above by hiring a full-time CFO with SEC reporting experience in the future and expanding accounting staff when working capital permits and by working with our independent registered public accounting firm to refine our internal procedures. We currently address the limitations through a separately-designated standing Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a) (58) (A) of the Exchange Act. The members of our Audit Committee are Mr. Borman, who serves as Chairperson of the Audit Committee, Dr. Murphy, and Mr. Anderson. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Borman qualifies as a “financial expert” as that term is defined in the rules of the SEC implementing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

The Company is a smaller reporting company and is not subject to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Accordingly, this Annual Report does not contain an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting, since the rules for smaller reporting companies provide for this exemption.

(b) Changes in internal control over financial reporting. There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Executive Officers and Directors

Set forth below is information regarding our current executive officers and directors

Our Bylaws provide that we shall have that number of directors determined by the majority vote of the board of directors. Currently we have six directors.  Each director will serve until our next annual shareholder meeting. Directors are elected for one-year terms. Our Board of Directors elects our officers at the regular annual meeting of the Board of Directors following the annual meeting of shareholders. Vacancies may be filled by a majority vote of the remaining directors then in office. Our directors and executive officers are as follows:

Executive Officers and Directors

Mike Tomas. Mike Tomas, President & CEO of U.S. Stem Cell Inc, is considered by many in the industry as one of the most experienced marketers and operating executives for IT/Communications and Biotech/Life Sciences private equity and venture groups portfolio companies. The son of a serial entrepreneur, he spent nearly 20 years driving the evolution of telecommunications technology in the U.S. and Mexico in leadership roles ranging from sales, marketing, customer service, telemarketing, engineering, and operations. Upon retiring as Chief Marketing Officer of Avantel, MCI/Worldcom’s Global Ventures $1B investment with Banamex (at the time, the largest bank in Latin America), Mr. Tomás joined other former-MCI executives (including MCI CEO Jerry Taylor) and helped form an integrated customer communications software solution that was named on Red Herring magazine’s “Top Ten to Watch” list.

Upon the successful sale of that company in 2001, Mr. Tomas helped launch The ASTRI Group, an early-stage private equity investment company providing capital, business development and strategic marketing support to emerging private companies. Mr. Tomas sits on the board of U.S. Stem Cell Inc. (adult stem cell development and applications) and has sat on the boards of The IDEA Center (Miami Dade College’s entrepreneurial institute), Career Source Florida (appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott to his statewide workforce investment board) and is the past chairman of Florida International University’s Global Entrepreneurship Center. Mr. Tomas is an inductee into the Miami-Dade College and WACE Halls of Fame for business, an FIU Torch Award winner--and winner of top communications, medical innovations, education and entrepreneurial awards. An avid athlete, Mr. Tomas was also a Miami-Dade County Sports Commissioner.

William P. Murphy, Jr., M.D. Dr. Murphy has served as a member of our Board of Directors since June 2003. Dr. Murphy founded Small Parts, Inc., a supplier of high quality mechanical components for design engineers, in 1964 and served as its Chairman until his retirement in April 2005. Small Parts, Inc. was acquired by Amazon.com, Inc. in March 2005. From October 1999 until October 2004, Dr. Murphy served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hyperion, Inc., a medical diagnosis company which had an involuntary bankruptcy filed against it in December 2003. Dr. Murphy is the founder of Cordis Corporation (now Cordis Johnson & Johnson) which he led as President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at various times during his 28 years at Cordis until his retirement in October 1985. Cordis Johnson & Johnson is a leading firm in cardiovascular instrumentation.

Dr. Murphy received an M.D. in 1947 from the University of Illinois and a B.S. in pre-medicine from Harvard College in 1946. He also studied physiologic instrumentation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT. After a two year rotating internship at St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu, he became a Research Fellow in Medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston where he was the dialysis engineer on the first clinical dialysis team in the United States. He continued as an Instructor in Medicine and then a research associate in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Murphy is the author of numerous papers and owns 17 patents.

He is the recipient of a number of honors, including the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award, the MIT Corporate Leadership Award, the Distinguished Service Award from North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology, and the Jay Malina Award from the Beacon Council of Miami, Florida. He is also a member of the Inventors Hall of Fame.

Mark P. Borman. Mr. Borman has served as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since May 2009. He is a seasoned financial officer with more than 30 years of broad-based financial and investor relations experience. Mr. Borman brings small-company entrepreneurial passion and larger-company disciplines. In addition to the valuable experience he gained working with entrepreneurs and their startups from 2009 to present, Mr. Borman has experience with global, NASDAQ- and NYSE-listed companies in various executive and financial roles. He is currently a board member with public and private technology companies and  serves on advisory and non-profit boards. During his career, Mr. Borman has held positions with ADC Telecommunications, General Instrument Corporation, First Chicago Corporation, FMC Corporation, Price Waterhouse, and KPMG. Mr. Borman received his B.A. in Accounting from Michigan State University and his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth  School of Business. He is an Audit Committee Financial Expert under SEC rules, a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst. Mr. Borman is a Board Leadership Fellow and member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Sheldon T. Anderson. Mr. Anderson is Chairman of the Florida Advisory Board of Northern Trust Corporation. From 1992 through December 31, 2012, Mr. Anderson served in a variety of executive capacities with Northern Trust Corporation, including his most recent position as Chairman and Chief executive Officer Southeast Region of Northern Trust Corporation. Mr. Anderson is the Chair-elect of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s economic development agency. He is a Board member of the Miami-Dade College Foundation, Inc.; Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA); the New World Symphony; Baptist Health Systems Governing Board and Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. He is Past Chair and a member of the Advisory Council of the United Way of Miami-Dade County. Anderson is President of the Board of Cleveland Orchestra Miami / Miami Music Association and also serves on the Advisory Board of the University of Miami School of Law for Ethics& Public Service.  He is a member of the Orange Bowl Committee and the President’s Council of Florida International University. A Miami native, Sheldon holds a degree in International Studies from Ohio State University.

Greg Knutson. Mr. Knutson founded Concrete Specialists, Inc. in 1985 and continues to serve as its President. Mr. Knutson founded Sunwood Properties in 2009 and continues to serve as its President. Mr. Knutson founded G&G Land Development, LLC and continues to serve as its Managing Partner. Mr. Knutson, a holder of Member Interests in Northstar, was appointed as a Manager of Northstar Biotech Group, LLC in late 2014.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among our executive officers and directors.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive officers, and persons who own more than ten percent (10%) of our outstanding Common Stock, or the Reporting Persons, to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership on Form 3 and reports of changes in ownership of Common Stock on Forms 4 or 5. Such persons are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all such reports they file. Based solely on a review of Forms 3 and 4 furnished to us by the Reporting Persons or prepared on behalf of the Reporting Persons by the Company and on written representations from certain Reporting Persons that no Forms 5 was required, the Company believes that the Reporting Persons have complied with reporting requirements applicable to them.

Conflicts of Interest

Members of our management are associated with other firms involved in a range of business activities.  Consequently, there are potential inherent conflicts of interest in their acting as officers and directors of our company.  Although the officers and directors are engaged in other business activities, we anticipate they will devote an important amount of time to our affairs.

Our officers and directors are now and may in the future become shareholders, officers or directors of other companies, which may be formed for the purpose of engaging in business activities similar to ours.  Accordingly, additional direct conflicts of interest may arise in the future with respect to such individuals acting on behalf of us or other entities.  Moreover, additional conflicts of interest may arise with respect to opportunities which come to the attention of such individuals in the performance of their duties or otherwise.  Currently, we do not have a right of first refusal pertaining to opportunities that come to their attention and may relate to our business operations.

Our officers and directors are, so long as they are our officers or directors, subject to the restriction that all opportunities contemplated by our plan of operation which come to their attention, either in the performance of their duties or in any other manner, will be considered opportunities of, and be made available to us and the companies that they are affiliated with on an equal basis.  A breach of this requirement will be a breach of the fiduciary duties of the officer or director.  If we or the companies with which the officers and directors are affiliated both desire to take advantage of an opportunity, then said officers and directors would abstain from negotiating and voting upon the opportunity.  However, all directors may still individually take advantage of opportunities if we should decline to do so.  Except as set forth above, we have not adopted any other conflict of interest policy with respect to such transactions.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

None of the following events have occurred during the past ten years and are material to an evaluation of the ability or integrity of any director or officer of the Company:

Code of Ethics

As part of our system of corporate governance, our Board of Directors has adopted a code of ethics that is specifically applicable to our Chief Executive Officer and senior financial officers. This Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers, as well as our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, applicable to all directors, officers and employees. If we make substantive amendments to the Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers or the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website or in a report on Form 8-K within four days of such amendment or waiver.

Shareholder Recommendations for Board Nominees

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to the Company’s Board of Directors.

Audit Committee

The Board of Directors has a separately-designated standing Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a) (58) (A) of the Exchange Act. The members of our Audit Committee are Mr. Borman, who serves as Chairperson of the Audit Committee, Dr. Murphy, and Mr. Anderson. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Borman qualifies as a “financial expert” as that term is defined in the rules of the SEC implementing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the aggregate compensation awarded to/earned by or paid to our Chief Executive Officer and our two most highly compensated officers (other than the Chief Executive Officer), who were serving as executive officers as of December 31, 2019, or the Named Executive Officers.

*Kristin Comella ceased to be a member of the Board of Director or an officer as of September 1, 2019.

Our Stock Option Plans

On April 1, 2013, the Board of Directors approved, subject to subsequently received shareholder approval, the establishment of the Bioheart 2013 Omnibus Equity Compensation Plan, or the “2013 Omnibus Plan” (replacing the 1999 Officers and Employees Stock Option Plan, or the Employee Plan, and the 1999 Directors and Consultants Stock Option Plan).. The 2013 Omnibus Plan initially reserved up to fifty thousand (50,000) shares of common stock for issuance. On August 4, 2014, the Board of Directors approved to set the reserve to one hundred thousand (100,000) shares of common stock for issuance and to close the 1999 Officers and Employees Stock Option Plan. On February 2, 2015, at the annual meeting of shareholders, the majority of shareholders approved the 2013 Omnibus Equity Compensation Plan. On November 2, 2015, the Board of Directors approved the increase of the reserve under the 2013 Omnibus Plan to five hundred million (500,000,000) shares of common stock for issuance, effective September 16, 2016, approved an addition of twenty five million (25,000,000) shares of common stock to the reserve, effective April 21, 2017, approved an addition of twenty five million (25,000,000) shares of common stock to the reserve, effective August 7, 2017, approved an addition of thirty million (30,000,000) shares of common stock to the reserve and effective May 7, 2018, approved an addition of one hundred million (100,000,000) shares of common stock to reserve.

Employment Agreements

Employment Agreements

On July 1, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the 2019/2020 salary for Mike Tomas, Chief Executive Officer, for $750,000 per year, beginning July 1, 2019 with an incentive bonus ranging from $150,000 to $500,000. In addition, the Board of Directors approved a bonus of $500,000 and options to acquire 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for ten years with four-year vesting and a cashless exercise provision. The cash bonus may be paid in the form a six-month promissory note bearing interest at 5% per annum. On May 7, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the 2018/2019 salary for Mike Tomas, Chief Executive Officer, for $750,000 per year, beginning July 1, 2018 with an incentive bonus ranging from $150,000 to $500,000. In addition, the Board of Directors approved a bonus of $500,000 and options to acquire 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for ten years with four-year vesting and a cashless exercise provision. The cash bonus may be paid in the form a six-month promissory note bearing interest at 5% per annum.

On July 1, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the 2019/2020 salary for Kristin Comella, Chief Scientific Officer, for $400,000 per year, beginning July 1, 2018 with an incentive bonus ranging from $100,000 to $300,000. In addition, the Board of Directors approved a bonus of $300,000 and options to acquire 10,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for ten years with four-year vesting and a cashless exercise provision. The cash bonus may be paid in the form a six-month promissory note. On May 7, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the 2018/2019 salary for Kristin Comella, Chief Scientific Officer, for $400,000 per year, beginning July 1, 2018 with an incentive bonus ranging from $100,000 to $300,000. In addition, the Board of Directors approved a bonus of $300,000 and options to acquire 10,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for ten years with four-year vesting and a cashless exercise provision. The cash bonus may be paid in the form a six-month promissory note. Effective September 1, 2019, Dr. Comella resigned from the Company.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

The following table sets forth outstanding equity awards held by our Named Executive Officers as of December 31, 2019:

*Kristin Comella ceased to be a member of the Board of Director or an officer as of September 1, 2019.

Options Exercises and Stocks Vested

Options exercised and stocks vested as at December 31, 2018 are as follows:

*Kristin Comella ceased to be a member of the Board of Director or an officer as of September 1, 2019.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

Grants of plan-based awards as at December 31, 2018 are as follows:

Reference – Grant Date - n/a = not applicable.

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation

As at December 31, 2018 the Company had no formalized deferred compensation plan.

*Kristin Comella ceased to be a member of the Board of Director or an officer as of September 1, 2019.

Golden Parachute Compensation

As at December 31, 2019, the Company had no arrangements in place relating to the termination of employees.

*Kristin Comella ceased to be a member of the Board of Director or an officer as of September 1, 2019.

Compensation of Directors

The following table sets forth summary information concerning the total compensation paid to our non-employee directors during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 for services to our company.

Pension Benefits

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had no pension or retirement plans.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table sets forth information as of December 31, 2019 for all compensation plans under the Company’s Stock Option Plan:

Director Compensation

As of December 31, 2019, we had five directors that qualified for compensation. Our non-employee directors do not receive cash compensation for their services as directors. However, it is generally our policy to annually grant each non-employee director options to purchase shares of our common stock provided that he or she has served as a member of our Board of Directors for at least six months and one day of the twelve month period immediately preceding the date of grant. Our two employee directors, Mike Tomas and Kristin Comella, also are granted director options to purchase shares of our common stock In addition, we reimburse non-employee directors for actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership (1) of our common stock as of July 15^th, 2021, based on an aggregate of 452,413,153common shares issued, for each of our greater than 5% shareholders, directors, named executive officers that continue to serve as executive officers of U.S. Stem Cell and by all of our directors and named executive officers as a group as of December 31, 2019. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each of the individuals and entities named below is: c/o U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., 1560 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway, 4^th FL Sunrise FL 33323. Except as noted below, to our knowledge, each person named in the table has sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our common stock beneficially owned by them.

* less than 1%

** Excludes Northstar Biotechnology Group, LLC (“Northstar”), owned partly by certain directors and existing shareholders of the Company, including Dr. William P. Murphy Jr. and controlled by Gregory Knutson, a member of the Board of Directors appointed on March 5, 2017.

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

The following statements relating to the capital stock set forth the material terms of our securities; however, reference is made to the more detailed provisions of, and such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to, the Certificate of Incorporation, amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation and the By-laws, copies of which are filed as exhibits to this registration statement.

COMMON STOCK

The holders of our Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted on by our stockholders, including the election of directors. Our stockholders are not entitled to cumulative voting rights, and, accordingly, the holders of a majority of the shares voting for the election of directors can elect the entire board of directors if they choose to do so and, in that event, the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any person to our board of directors.

On February 4, 2013, effective with the filing of the amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation with the Florida Secretary of State (confirmed as filed on February 11, 2013), the Company amended its Articles of Incorporation to increase the authorized shares of capital stock of the Company to nine hundred and seventy million (970,000,000) shares of capital stock consisting of nine hundred and fifty million (950,000,000) shares of common stock and twenty million (20,000,000) shares of preferred stock, both $.001 par value respectively.

Effective May 22, 2014, the Company amended its articles of incorporation to increase the authorized shares of capital stock of the Company from nine hundred and fifty million (950,000,000) shares of common stock and twenty million (20,000,000) shares of preferred stock, both $.001 par value respectively, to two billion (2,000,000,000) shares of shares of common stock and twenty million (20,000,000) shares of preferred stock, both $.001 par value respectively.

On October 12, 2015, the Company filed an amendment to its Articles of Incorporation and affected a 1-for-1,000 reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, and effective November 19, 2015. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) declared the ex-dividend date for the dividend date as November 4, 2015 (the “2015 Reverse Split”).  

The holders of the Company’s Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors, in its discretion, from funds legally available there for and subject to prior dividend rights of holders of any shares of our Preferred Stock which may be outstanding and any contractual limitations. Upon the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up, subject to prior liquidation rights of the holders of our Preferred Stock, if any, the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to receive on a pro rata basis our remaining assets available for distribution. Holders of the Company’s Common Stock have no preemptive or other subscription rights, and there are no conversion rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions with respect to such shares. All outstanding shares of the Company’s Common Stock are, fully paid and not liable to further calls or assessment by the Company.

Preferred Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001. The designations, rights, and preferences of such preferred stock are to be determined by the Board of Directors. Subsequently and prior to the 2015 “Reverse Split”, 20,000,000 shares were designated as Series A Preferred Stock.

The Series A Preferred Stock collectively has voting rights equal to 25 votes on all matters presented to be voted by the holders of common stock per share of preferred stock and the right to convert to one share of common stock for each share of preferred stock. Northstar Biotechnology Group, LLC was issued, prior to the 2015 “Reverse Split” , an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock which were converted to common stock pursuant to a Settlement Agreement dated March 1, 2017. As of the date of this  report, no shares of preferred stock are issued and outstanding.

DIVIDENDS

Dividends, if any, will be contingent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and financial conditions. The payment of dividends, if any, will be within the discretion of our Board of Directors. We presently intend to retain all earnings, if any, for use in its business operations and accordingly, the Board of Directors does not anticipate declaring any dividends prior to a business combination.

INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

We are incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida. Our articles of incorporation require us to indemnify and limit the liability of directors to the fullest extent permitted by the Florida Business Corporation Act, or the “FBCA”, as it currently exists or as it may be amended in the future.

Pursuant to the FBCA, a Florida corporation may indemnify any person who may be a party to any third party proceeding by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another entity, against liability incurred in connection with such proceeding (including any appeal thereof) if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

In addition, in accordance with the FBCA, a Florida corporation is permitted to indemnify any person who may be a party to a derivative action if such person acted in any of the capacities set forth in the preceding paragraph, against expenses and amounts paid in settlement not exceeding, in the judgment of the board of directors, the estimated expenses of litigating the proceeding to conclusion, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such proceeding (including appeals), provided that the person acted under the standards set forth in the preceding paragraph. However, no indemnification shall be made for any claim, issue, or matter for which such person is found to be liable unless, and only to the extent that, the court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability, but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification for such expenses which the court deems proper.

Any indemnification made under the above provisions, unless pursuant to a court’s determination, may be made only after a determination that the person to be indemnified has met the standard of conduct described above. This determination is to be made by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of the disinterested directors of the board of directors, by duly selected independent legal counsel, or by a majority vote of the disinterested shareholders. The board of directors also may designate a special committee of disinterested directors to make this determination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Florida corporation must indemnify any director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation who has been successful in the defense of any proceeding referred to above.

Generally, pursuant to the FBCA, a director of a Florida corporation is not personally liable for monetary damages to our company or any other person for any statement, vote, decision, or failure to act, regarding corporate management or policy, unless: (a) the director breached or failed to perform his duties as a director; and (b) the director’s breach of, or failure to perform, those duties constitutes (i) a violation of criminal law, unless the director had reasonable cause to believe his conduct was lawful or had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful, (ii) a transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit, either directly or indirectly, (iii) an approval of an unlawful distribution, (iv) with respect to a proceeding by or in the right of the company to procure a judgment in its favor or by or in the right of a shareholder, conscious disregard for the best interest of the company, or willful misconduct, or (v) with respect to a proceeding by or in the right of someone other than the company or a shareholder, recklessness or an act or omission which was committed in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property. The term “recklessness,” as used above, means the action, or omission to act, in conscious disregard of a risk: (a) known, or so obvious that it should have been known, to the directors; and (b) known to the director, or so obvious that it should have been known, to be so great as to make it highly probable that harm would follow from such action or omission.

Furthermore, under the FBCA, a Florida corporation is authorized to make any other further indemnification or advancement of expenses of any of its directors, officers, employees or agents under any bylaw, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise, both for actions taken in an official capacity and for actions taken in other capacities while holding such office. However, a corporation cannot indemnify or advance expenses if a judgment or other final adjudication establishes that the actions of the director, officer, employee, or agent were material to the adjudicated cause of action and the director, officer, employee, or agent (a) violated criminal law, unless the director, officer, employee, or agent had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful, (b) derived an improper personal benefit from a transaction, (c) was or is a director in a circumstance where the liability for unlawful distributions applies, or (d) engaged in willful misconduct or conscious disregard for the best interests of the corporation in a proceeding by or in right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor.

At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors or executive officers as to which indemnification is required or permitted and we are not aware of any threatened litigation or proceeding that may result in a claim for indemnification.

We maintain a liability insurance policy, pursuant to which our directors and officers may be insured against liability they incur for serving in their capacities as directors and officers of our company, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act or otherwise.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed hereby in the Securities Act and we will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Amendment of our Bylaws

Our bylaws may be adopted, amended or repealed by the affirmative vote of a majority of our outstanding shares. Subject to applicable law, our bylaws also may be adopted, amended or repealed by our Board of Directors.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence.

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

Advances

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, our officers and directors have provided advances in the aggregate of $511,744 and $234,901, for working capital purposes, respectively. The advances are unsecured, due on demand and non-interest bearing.

Northstar Biotechnology Group, LLC-Preferred stock

On March 1, 2017, the Series A Preferred share were converted to common stock pursuant to a Settlement Agreement dated March 1, 2017. In addition, and separate and apart from the conversion, Northstar will receive Ten Million (10,000,000) shares of common stock. Northstar will receive ten percent (10%) of all Company international sales (based on a gross sales basis). Furthermore, a Northstar designee, Greg Knutson, was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company (see Item 5.02).  The parties agreed to a mutual release and Northstar agreed to terminate any UCC lien on the Company assets previously filed for the benefit of Northstar.

Notes payable-related party

Northstar Biotechnology Group, LLC

On February 29, 2012, a promissory note issued to BlueCrest Master Fund Limited was assigned to Northstar Biotechnology Group, LLC (“Northstar”), owned partly by certain directors and existing shareholders of the Company at the time, including Dr. William P. Murphy Jr., Dr. Samuel Ahn and Charles Hart. At the date of the assignment, the principal amount of the BlueCrest note was $544,267 the (“Note”).

On March 30, 2012, the Company and Northstar agreed to extend until May 1, 2012 the initial payment date for any and all required monthly under the Note, such that the first of the four monthly payments required under the Note will be due and payable on May, 2012 and all subsequent payments will be due on a monthly basis thereafter commencing on June 1, 2012, and to waive any and all defaults and/or events of default under the Note with respect to such payments. The Company did not make the required payment, and as a result, was in default of the revised agreement. The Company renegotiated the terms of the Note and Northstar agreed to suspend the requirement of principal payments by the Company and allow payment of interest-only in common stock.

On September 21, 2012, the Company issued 5,000 common stock purchase warrants to Northstar that was treated as additional interest expense upon issuance.

On October 1, 2012, the Company and Northstar entered into a limited waiver and forbearance agreement providing a recapitalized new note balance comprised of all sums due Northstar with a maturity date extended perpetually. The Company agreed to issue 5,000,000 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 10,000 shares of common stock in exchange for $210,000 as payment towards outstanding debt, default interest, penalties, professional fees outstanding and due Northstar. In addition, the Company executed a security agreement granting Northstar a lien on all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, copyrights and intellectual property rights of any nature, as well as the results of all clinical trials, know-how for preparing Myoblasts, old and new clinical data, existing approved trials, all right and title to Myoblasts, clinical trial protocols and other property rights.

In addition, the Company granted Northstar a perpetual license on products as described for resale, relicensing, and commercialization outside the United States. In connection with the granted license, Northstar shall pay the Company a royalty of up to 8% on revenues generated.

Effective October 1, 2012, the effective interest rate was 12.85% per annum. The parties agreed, as of February 28, 2013, to reduce the interest rate to 7% per annum.

In connection with the consideration paid, Northstar waived, from the effective date through the earlier of termination or expiration of the agreement, satisfaction of the obligations as described in the forbearance agreement.

In 2012, 5,000,000 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock were approved to be issued, which was subsequently increased to 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock as Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. In addition, the Company was obligated to issue additional preferred stock equal in lieu of payment of cash of accrued and unpaid interest on each six month anniversary of the effective date (October 1, 2012). In lieu of the initial two payments in preferred stock, the parties agreed to modify the voting rights of the subsequently cancelled Series A Convertible Preferred Stock from 20 votes per share on matters to be voted on by the common stock holders to 25 votes per share on matters to be voted on by the common stock holders and all prior and subsequent payments of interest will be in common stock. The Company is required to issue additional shares of its common stock (as amended), in lieu of cash, each six month anniversary of the effective date for any accrued and unpaid interest.

On March 1, 2017, Northstar and the Company entered into a settlement agreement (“Settlement Agreement “) related to then pending litigation (See Note 11). Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement, Northstar converted its outstanding Series A Convertible preferred stock, into twenty million (20,000,000) shares of common stock according to the original conversion terms. In addition, and separate and apart from the conversion, Northstar received Eleven Million (11,000,000) shares of the Company’s common stock. Northstar will receive ten percent (10%) of all Company international sales (based on a gross sales basis). There was no effect of the 10% obligation as there were no international sales in 2017 or, to date, in 2018 Furthermore, a Northstar designee, Greg Knutson, was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company and two Company directors, Michael Tomas and Kristin Comella, each exercised their prior Northstar options to each receive a Five percent (5%) Member Interest in Northstar.  The parties agreed to a mutual release and Northstar agreed to terminate any UCC lien on the Company assets previously filed for the benefit of Northstar. On March 9, 2017 and April 1, 2017, the Company issued 30,000,000 and 1,000,000 shares of its common stock, respectively, as described above. In connection with the settlement, the Company recorded a loss on litigation settlement of $316,800.

On September 30, 2013, the Company issued 8,772 shares of its common stock as payment of $100,000 towards cash advances.

On December 24, 2013, the Company issued 3,916 shares of its common stock as payment of accrued interest through June 30, 2013 of $85,447.

On April 2, 2014, the Company issued 275 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,635 due April 1, 2014 per the forbearance agreement.

On September 17, 2014, the limited waiver and forbearance agreement entered into on October 1, 2012 to provide that the perpetual license on products as described for resale, relicensing and commercialization outside the United States was amended as such on the condition that Northstar provide certain financing, which financing the Company, in its sole discretion, could decline and retain the license.

On October 3, 2014, the Company issued 515 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,705 due October 1, 2014 per the forbearance agreement.

On April 3, 2015, the Company issued 1,363 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,635 due April 1, 2015 per the forbearance agreement.

On October 2, 2015, the Company issued 4,156 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,705 due October 1, 2015 per the forbearance agreement.

On October 7, 2015, the Company issued 34,522 shares of its common stock in settlement of $100,000 principal payment towards the outstanding debt.

On April 7, 2016, the Company issued 57,778 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,705 due April 1, 2016 per the forbearance agreement.

On October 6, 2016, the Company issued 848,490 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,705 due October 1, 2016 per the forbearance agreement.

On April 1, 2017, the Company issued 286,315 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,703 due October 1, 2016 per the forbearance agreement.

On October 2, 2017, the Company issued 559,187 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $12,705 due October 1, 2016 per the forbearance agreement.

On October 19, 2018, the Company issued 164,523 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $9,195 due October 1, 2016 per the forbearance agreement.

On April 1, 2019, the Company issued 379,141 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $9,145.

On October 2, 2019, the Company issued 1,692,353 shares of its common stock in lieu of payment in cash of accrued and unpaid interest of $9,195.

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the remaining carrying value of this note was $262,000.

Officer and Director Notes

* Kristin Comella ceased to be a member of the Board of Director or an officer as of September 1, 2019.

Notes payable, Mr. Tomas

On July 1, 2014, the Company issued a $500,000 promissory note in settlement of compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and was due on January 1, 2015. During the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company paid off $101,729 and $398,271 the outstanding promissory note. The principal outstanding balance of this note as of December 31, 2019 is $0.

On September 6, 2016, the Company issued a $500,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due upon demand. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company paid off $500,000 of the outstanding promissory note. The principal outstanding balance of this note as of December 31, 2019 is $0 .

On August 7, 2017, the Company issued a $500,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due one year from date of issuance. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company paid off $321,607 of the outstanding promissory note.. The principal outstanding balance of this note as of December 31, 2019 is $161,786.

On May 7, 2018, the Company issued a $500,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due six months from date of issuance. The principal outstanding balance of this note as of December 31, 2019 is $500,000.

On July 1, 2019, the Company issued a $500,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due November 7, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining carrying value of the note was $500,000.

On December 31, 2019, the Company issued a $178,077 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due on demand. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining carrying value of the note was $178,077.

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, accrued interest on the notes was $389,695 and $340,009, respectively, and is included in accrued expenses on the accompanying balance sheet.

Notes payable, Dr. Comella*

On September 6, 2016, the Company issued a $300,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and was due upon demand. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company increased the balance to $255,579 of the outstanding promissory note. The principal outstanding balance of this note as of December 31, 2019 is 255,579.

On August 7, 2017, the Company issued a $300,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due one year from date of issuance. The principal outstanding balance of this note as of December 31, 2019 is $300,000.

On May 7, 2018, the Company issued a $300,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due six months from date of issuance. The principal outstanding balance of this note as of December 31, 2019 is $300,000.

On July 1, 2019, the Company issued a $300,000 promissory note in exchange for compensation earned. The promissory note bears interest of 5% per annum and is due November 7, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, the remaining carrying value of the note was $300,000.

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, accrued interest on the notes was $150,708 and $102,974, respectively, and is included in accrued expenses on the accompanying balance sheet.

*Kristin Comella ceased to be a member of the Board of Director or an officer as of September 1, 2019.

Transactions with Pavillion

On May 1, 2016, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Pavillion, Inc., whose owner is related to an officer of the Company.  The agreement is for 12 months and renewable for 6 month periods.  Compensation is at $250 per hour or, at the Company’s discretion, in shares of the Company’s common stock. For the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company has incurred $120,000 and $120,000 of expense under the agreement, respectively. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had $64,909 and $187,409, respectively, in accounts payable owed to Pavillion. On June 1, 2018, effective June 30, 2018, the Company terminated the agreement in accordance with its terms and no further compensation was derived by Pavillion.

Transactions with GACP

On March 3, 2017, the Company entered into an asset sale and lease agreement (sale/leaseback transaction, the “Asset Sale and Lease Agreement”) with GACP, whereby the Company sold certain lab, medical and other equipment relating to the cell banking business for $400,000 and leased back the sold equipment over a three year term (See “Lab and Medical Equipment Capitalized Lease” below). The Company determined that the transaction was a capitalized lease and accordingly recorded the leased assets and liability based on the estimated present value of the minimum lease payments (see Notes 4 and 6).

In connection with the asset sale and lease agreement, the Company is obligated to accrue 10% of banking revenue as for marketing, offset by any incurred costs of the Company.  At December 31, 2018 and 2017, the outstanding accrued marketing obligation is $179,352 and $141,560, respectively (see Note 5).

On March 3, 2017, the Company also entered into a customer purchase agreement with GACP, whereby the Company agreed to sell, for $50,000, the first 5,000 customers of the cell banking business after the effective date of the equipment sale/leaseback agreement with rights to purchase additional customers at a price of $20 per customer.  There is no reduction in the selling price should the new customers be fewer than 5,000.  The effective date of the sale is upon the expiry or early termination of the related equipment lease transaction.

On March 3, 2017, the Company also entered into an asset purchase agreement of intellectual property with GACP whereby the Company agreed to sell all of the Company’s worldwide rights, title or interest in certain intellectual and other property (as defined) associated with the cell banking business for $50,000. The effective date of the sale is upon the expiry or early termination of the related equipment lease transaction.

In connection with the March 3, 2017 asset purchase agreement, the CEO of U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. has been retained as CEO of American Stem Cell Centers of Excellence, which is owned by General American Capital Partners (GACP), to help with scientific and successful operational deployment of clinics. 

On April 3, 2017, U.S. Stem Cell received a commitment to invest up to $5,000,000 from GACP with the intent for GACP to receive up to 63,873,275 shares of common stock.  To date, GACP has invested, pursuant to this commitment, $250,000 in return for 858,281 shares. Subsequent to this investment, GACP has informed the Company that they will make no further investments pursuant to this agreement and has entered into a new agreement to invest $3,000,000 to open their own clinics (branded American Stem Cell) using the US Stem Cell Inc. protocols, procedures, products and technologies. As of September 30, 2018 (effective May 9, 2018), pursuant to an Amendment to Asset Sale and Lease Agreement, dated June 18, 2018, GACP has suspended their obligation to open additional clinics (tolling such obligation to a mutually agreeable date in the future) and has suspended the monthly aggregate number of stem cell kits set forth for purchase in a given month arising from such clinics. All other terms and conditions of the agreements between U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. and GACP remain in full force and effect. On October 10^th, 2019 U.S. Stem Cell terminated it’s transactions with GACP.

Item 14.  Principal Accounting Fees and Services. Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees

We engaged RBSM LLP ("RBSM") as our independent registered public accounting firm for the audit of our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018 commencing April 23, 2018. Prior to the engagement of RBSM, Fiondella, Milone, LaSaracina LLP (FML) served as our independent registered public accounting firm.

Aggregate fees billed to us for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 by our independent registered public accounting firms are as follows:

Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policy

Consistent with policies of the SEC regarding auditor independence, the Audit Committee has responsibility for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor. As part of this responsibility, the Audit Committee has adopted, and our Board has ratified, an Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy pursuant to which the Audit Committee is required to pre-approve the audit and non-audit services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm in order to assure that these services do not impair the auditor’s independence from us.

Prior to engagement of the independent auditor for the next year’s audit, the independent auditor and the Audit Committee will review a list of services and related fees expected to be rendered during that year within each of four categories of services to the Audit Committee for approval:

(i) Audit Services: Audit services include the annual financial statement audit (including required quarterly reviews), equity investment audits and other procedures required to be performed by the independent auditor to be able to form an opinion on our financial statements. Audit Services also include information systems and procedural reviews and testing performed in order to understand and place reliance on the systems of internal control, and consultations relating to the audit or quarterly review as well as the attestation engagement for the independent auditor’s report on management’s report on internal controls for financial reporting.

(ii) Audit-Related Services: Audit-related services are assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements, including due diligence related to potential business acquisitions/dispositions, accounting consultations related to accounting, financial reporting or disclosure matters not classified as “Audit Services,” assistance with understanding and implementing new accounting and financial reporting guidance from rulemaking authorities, financial audits of employee benefit plans, agreed-upon or expanded audit procedures related to accounting and/or billing records required to respond to or comply with financial, accounting or regulatory reporting matters and assistance with internal control reporting requirements.

(iii) Tax Services: Tax services include services such as tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice; however, the Audit Committee will not permit the retention of the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with a transaction initially recommended by the independent registered public accounting firm, the sole business purpose of which may be tax avoidance and treatment which may not be supported in the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations.

(iv) All Other Services: All other services are those permissible non-audit services that the Audit Committee believes are routine and recurring and would not impair the independence of the auditor and are consistent with the SEC’s rules on auditor independence.

Prior to engagement, the Audit Committee pre-approves the services and fees of the independent auditor within each of the above categories. During the year, it may become necessary to engage the independent auditor for additional services not previously contemplated as part of the engagement. In those instances, the Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy requires that the Audit Committee specifically approve the services prior to the independent auditor’s commencement of those additional services. Under the Audit and Non-Audit Services Pre-Approval Policy, the Audit Committee may delegate the ability to pre-approve audit and non-audit services to one or more of its members provided the delegate reports any pre-approval decision to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. As of the date hereof, the Audit Committee has not delegated its ability to pre-approve audit.

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

(a)(1) Financial Statements

See Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for Financial Statements included with this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules

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

(a)(3) Exhibits

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.

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

Each person whose signature appears below, hereby authorizes Mike Tomas, as attorney in fact to sign on his or her behalf, individually, in each capacity stated below, and to file all amendments or supplements to this annual report on Form 10-K.

FORM 10-K—ITEM 8

U.S. STEM CELL, INC.

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and

Stockholders of U.S Stem Cell, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of U.S Stem Cell, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the related statements of operations, stockholders’ deficit, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2019, 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, 2019 and 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. 

The Company's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations, generated negative cash flows from operating activities, will require additional capital to fund its current operating plan, and has stated that substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management's evaluation of the events and conditions and management’s plans in regarding these matters are also described in Note 2. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has changed its method of accounting for leases as of January 1, 2019 due to the adoption of the Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these 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 audit 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.

/s/ RBSM LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2018.

New York, NY 

July 15, 2021