HJLI Hancock Jaffe Laboratories Inc

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained in this Annual Report, before deciding to invest in our securities. If any of the following risks materialize, our business, financial condition, results of operation and prospects will likely be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Summary

The risk factors described below are a summary of the principal risk factors associated with an investment in us. These are not the only risks we face. You should carefully consider these risk factors and the other reports and documents filed by us with the SEC.

Risks Related to Our Business and Strategy

We have incurred significant losses since our inception, expect to incur significant losses in the future and may never achieve or sustain profitability.

We have historically incurred substantial net losses, including net losses of $9,135,486, $7,625,397, $13,042,709, $7,791,469 and $3,387,490 for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. As a result of our historical losses, we had an accumulated deficit of $65,323,411 as of December 31, 2020. Our losses have resulted primarily from costs related to general and administrative expenses relating to our operations, as well as our research programs and the development of our product candidates. Currently, we are not generating revenue from operations, and we expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future as we seek to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates. Additionally, we expect that our general and administrative expenses will increase due to the additional operational and reporting costs associated with being a public company as well as the projected expansion of our operations. We do not expect to generate significant revenue until any of our product candidates are licensed or sold, if ever. We may never generate significant revenue or become profitable. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may be unable to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to achieve and subsequently sustain profitability could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We currently depend entirely on the successful and timely regulatory approval and commercialization of our two product candidates, which may not receive regulatory approval or, if any of our product candidates do receive regulatory approval, we may not be able to successfully commercialize them.

We currently have two product candidates (the CoreoGraft and the VenoValve) and our business presently depends entirely on our success with our product candidates. In order for our product candidates to succeed the products need to be approved by regulatory authorities, which may never happen. Our product candidates are based on technologies that have not been used previously in the manner we propose. Market acceptance of our product candidates will largely depend on our ability to demonstrate their relative safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness and ease of use. We may not be able to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates. If we fail to do so, we will not be able to generate substantial revenues, if any.

We are subject to rigorous and extensive regulation by the FDA in the United States and by comparable agencies in other jurisdictions, including the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in the European Union, or EU. Our product candidates are currently in development and we have not received FDA approval for our product candidates. Our product candidates may not be marketed in the United States until they have been approved by the FDA and may not be marketed in other jurisdictions until they have received approval from the appropriate foreign regulatory agencies. Each product candidate requires significant research, development, preclinical testing and extensive clinical investigation before submission of any regulatory application for marketing approval.

Obtaining regulatory approval requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and we may not be able to obtain approval of any of our product candidates on a timely basis, or at all. The number, size, design and focus of preclinical and clinical trials that will be required for approval by the FDA, the EMA or any other foreign regulatory agency varies depending on the device, the disease or condition that the product candidates are designed to address and the regulations applicable to any particular products. Preclinical and clinical data can be interpreted in different ways, which could delay, limit or preclude regulatory approval. The FDA, the EMA and other foreign regulatory agencies can delay, limit or deny approval of a product for many reasons, including, but not limited to:

If our product candidates are not approved at all or quickly enough to provide net revenues to defray our operating expenses, our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects could be harmed.

If we are unable to successfully raise additional capital, our future clinical trials and product development could be limited and our long-term viability may be threatened.

We have experienced negative operating cash flows since our inception and have funded our operations primarily from proceeds received from sales of our capital stock, the issuance of the convertible and non-convertible notes, and the sale of our products to larger medical device companies. We will need to seek additional funds in the future through equity or debt financings, or strategic alliances with third parties, either alone or in combination with equity financings to complete our product development initiatives. These financings could result in substantial dilution to the holders of our common stock, or require contractual or other restrictions on our operations or on alternatives that may be available to us. If we raise additional funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities could impose significant restrictions on our operations. Any such required financing may not be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, and the failure to procure such required financing could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, or threaten our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our present and future capital requirements will be significant and will depend on many factors, including:

We may not be able to acquire additional funds on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise adequate funds, we may have to liquidate some or all of our assets or delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate some or all of our development programs.

If we do not have, or are not able to obtain, sufficient funds, we may be required to delay development or commercialization of our product candidates. We also may have to reduce the resources devoted to our product candidates or cease operations. Any of these factors could harm our operating results.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly negatively impacted our business.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global economy and has negatively impacted large populations including people and businesses that may be directly or indirectly involved with the operation of our Company and the manufacturing, development, and testing of our product candidates. The full scope and economic impact of COVID-19 is still unknown and there are many risks from COVID-19 that could generally and negatively impact economies and healthcare providers in the countries where we do business, the medical device industry as a whole, and development stage, pre-revenue companies such as HJLI. The primary impacts of COVID-19 to our operations were stay-at-home work requirements, travel restrictions limiting our ability to initiate and continue animal studies and patient trials and disruptions to scheduled meetings with regulatory agencies such as the FDA. Notwithstanding these impacts, we were able to use remote work tools, communications solutions, and other methods to continue our trials and regulatory submissions with minimal impact to our overall development timeline. While many of these restrictions are currently relaxed, there can be no assurance we will be able similarly adjust if they are put back in place in the future. At this time, we have identified the following COVID-19 related risks that we believe have a greater likelihood of negatively impacting our company specific, including, but not limited to:

We may engage in future acquisitions or strategic transactions which may require us to seek additional financing or financial commitments, increase our expenses and/or present significant distractions to our management.

In the event we engage in an acquisition or strategic transaction, we may need to acquire additional financing (particularly, if the acquired entity is not cash flow positive or does not have significant cash on hand). Obtaining financing through the issuance or sale of additional equity and/or debt securities, if possible, may not be at favorable terms and may result in additional dilution to our current stockholders. Additionally, any such transaction may require us to incur non-recurring or other charges, may increase our near and long-term expenditures and may pose significant integration challenges or disrupt our management or business, which could adversely affect our operations and financial results. For example, an acquisition or strategic transaction may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including the risks outlined above and additionally:

Accordingly, although there can be no assurance that we will undertake or successfully complete any transactions of the nature described above, and any transactions that we do complete could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report financial results or prevent fraud. If we identify a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, our ability to meet our reporting obligations and the trading price of our stock could be negatively affected.

As described in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2020, in connection with our issuance of warrants in a private placement offering in February 2020, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting with regard to our failure to record an associated derivative liability on a timely basis. This deficiency did not result in the revision of any of our issued financial statements.

Effective internal controls are necessary to provide reliable financial reports and to assist in the effective prevention of fraud. Any inability to provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud could harm our business. We regularly review and update our internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies. In addition, we are required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to report annually on our internal control over financial reporting. Any system of internal controls, however well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met. A material weakness is 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. Accordingly, a material weakness increases the risk that the financial information we report contains material errors.

To remediate this weakness, we devoted resources, and will continue to devote resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting, in particular over handling of complex financial accounting issues. As the Company enters into transactions that involve complex accounting issues, it will consult with third party professionals with expertise in these matters as necessary to ensure appropriate accounting treatment for such transactions. Based on this assessment and our remediation plan, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting were not effective as of December 31, 2020.

If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations or may lose confidence in our reported financial information. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis as required by the SEC and The Nasdaq Stock Market, we could face severe consequences from those authorities. In either case, it could result in a material adverse effect on our business or have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. Further, if we fail to remedy this deficiency (or any other future deficiencies) or maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, civil or criminal penalties or shareholder litigation. We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of those controls.

Further, in the future, if we cannot conclude that we have effective internal control over our financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could lead to a decline in our stock price. Failure to comply with reporting requirements could also subject us to sanctions and/or investigations by the SEC, The Nasdaq Stock Market or other regulatory authorities.

We may never be able to generate sufficient revenue from the commercialization of our product candidates to achieve and maintain profitability.

Our ability to operate profitably in the future will depend upon, among other items, our ability to (i) fully develop our product candidates, (ii) scale up our business and operational structure, (iii) obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates from the FDA, (iv) market and sell our product candidates to larger medical device companies, (v) successfully gain market acceptance of our product candidates, and (vi) obtain sufficient and on-time supply of components from our third-party suppliers. If our product candidates are never successfully commercialized, we may never receive a return on our investments in product development, regulatory compliance, manufacturing and quality assurance, which may cause us to fail to generate revenue and gain economies of scale from such investments.

We only utilize a few suppliers for porcine and bovine tissue for our two product candidates and the loss of a supplier could have an adverse impact on our business.

We rely on one domestic and one international third-party vendors to supply porcine and bovine tissue for our two product candidates. Our ability to supply our current and future product candidates, if approved, commercially depends, in part, on our ability to obtain this porcine and bovine tissue in accordance with our specifications and with regulatory requirements and in sufficient quantities to meet demand. Our ability to obtain porcine and bovine tissue may be affected by matters outside our control, including that these suppliers may cancel our arrangements on short notice or have disruptions to their operations.

If we are required to establish additional or replacement suppliers for the porcine and bovine tissue, it may not be accomplished quickly and our operations could be disrupted. Even if we are able to find replacement suppliers, the replacement suppliers may need to be qualified and may require additional regulatory authority approval, which could result in further delay. In the event of a supply disruption, our product inventories may be insufficient to supply our customers and the development of any future product candidates would be delayed, limited or prevented, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

We depend upon third-party suppliers for certain components of our product candidates, making us vulnerable to supply problems and price fluctuations, which could harm our business.

We rely on a number of third-party suppliers to provide certain components of our product candidates. We do not have long-term supply agreements with most of our suppliers, and, in many cases, we purchase goods on a purchase order basis. Our suppliers may encounter problems for a variety of reasons, including unanticipated demand from larger customers, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, failure to comply with applicable regulations, equipment malfunction, quality or yield problems and environmental factors, any of which could delay or impede their ability to meet our demand. Our reliance on these third-party suppliers also subjects us to other risks that could harm our business, including:

In addition, there are a limited number of suppliers and third-party manufacturers that operate under the FDA’s Quality System Regulation, or QSR, requirements, maintain certifications from the International Organization for Standardization that are recognized as harmonized standards in the European Economic Area, or EEA, and that have the necessary expertise and capacity to supply components for our product candidates. As a result, it may be difficult for us to locate manufacturers for our anticipated future needs, and our anticipated growth may strain the ability of our current suppliers to deliver products, materials and components to us. If we are unable to arrange for third-party manufacturing of components for our product candidates, or to do so on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to complete development of, market and sell our current or new product candidates. Further, any supply interruption from our suppliers or failure to obtain additional suppliers for any of the components used in our product candidates would limit our ability to manufacture our product candidates. Failure to meet these commitments could result in legal action by our customers, loss of customers or harm to our ability to attract new customers, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth.

If we successfully develop our product candidates and are unable to sell or license them to larger medical device companies, we may have to commercialize our products on our own, in which case we would have to demonstrate the efficacy and financial viability of our products to doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and other stakeholders.

There are multiple stakeholders that determine the success of a medical device, including doctors, hospitals, medical insurance companies, and others. Educating these stakeholders on the benefits of our product candidates will require a significant commitment by a marketing team and sales organization. Surgeons and hospitals may be slow to change their practices because of familiarity with existing devices and/or treatments, perceived risks arising from the use of new devices, lack of experience using new devices, lack of clinical data supporting the benefits of such devices or the cost of new devices. There may never be widespread adoption of our product candidates by surgeons and hospitals. In addition, medical insurance companies would need to understand the costs and benefits of our product candidates compared to the existing standards of care, if they are to provide reimbursement for the cost of our product candidates and the procedures to implant our product candidates. We may have difficulty and may never achieve the market acceptance that we need from doctors, hospitals, medical insurance companies and others that are necessary for a successful product.

If larger medical device companies purchase or license any of our product candidates and they are unable to convince hospital facilities to approve the use of our product candidates, we may be unable to generate a substantial royalty income from our products.

In the United States, in order for surgeons to use our product candidates, the hospital facilities where these surgeons treat patients will typically require that the product candidates receive approval from the facility’s VAC. VACs typically review the comparative effectiveness and cost of medical devices used in the facility. The makeup and evaluation processes for VACs vary considerably, and it can be a lengthy, costly and time-consuming effort to obtain approval by the relevant VAC. For example, even if the purchasers or licensees of our product candidates have an agreement with a hospital system for purchase of our products, in most cases, they must obtain VAC approval by each hospital within the system to sell at that particular hospital. Additionally, hospitals typically require separate VAC approval for each specialty in which our product is used, which may result in multiple VAC approval processes within the same hospital even if such product has already been approved for use by a different specialty group. VAC approval is often needed for each different product to be used by the surgeons in that specialty. In addition, hospital facilities and group purchasing organizations, or GPOs, which manage purchasing for multiple facilities, may also require the purchasers of licensees of our products to enter into a purchasing agreement and satisfy numerous elements of their administrative procurement process, which can also be a lengthy, costly and time-consuming effort. If our purchasers/licensees do not receive access to hospital facilities in a timely manner, or at all, via these VAC and purchasing contract processes, or otherwise, or if they are unable to secure contracts on commercially reasonable terms in a timely manner, or at all, their operating costs will increase, their sales may decrease and their operating results may be harmed.

Our long-term growth depends on our ability to develop and commercialize additional product candidates.

The medical device industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid change and technological advancements. Therefore, it is important to our business that we continue to enhance our product candidate offerings and introduce new product candidates. Developing new product candidates is expensive and time-consuming. Even if we are successful in developing additional product candidates, the success of any new product candidates or enhancements to existing product candidates will depend on several factors, including our ability to:

If we are unsuccessful in developing and commercializing additional devices in other areas, our ability to increase our revenue may be impaired.

New technologies, techniques or products could emerge that might offer better combinations of price and performance than the products and services that we plan to offer. Existing markets for surgical devices are characterized by rapid technological change and innovation. It is critical to our success that we anticipate changes in technology and customer requirements and physician, hospital and healthcare provider practices. It is also important that we successfully introduce new, enhanced and competitive product candidates to meet our prospective customers’ needs on a timely and cost-effective basis. At the same time, however, we must carefully manage our introduction of new product candidates. If potential customers believe that such product candidates will offer enhanced features or be sold for a more attractive price, they may delay purchases until such product candidates are available. We may also continue to offer older obsolete products as we transition to new product candidates, and we may not have sufficient experience managing transitions. If we do not successfully innovate and introduce new technology into our anticipated product lines or successfully manage the transitions of our technology to new product offerings, our revenue, results of operations and business could be adversely impacted.

Our competitors may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, industry standards, distribution reach or customer requirements. We anticipate that we will face strong competition in the future as current or future competitors develop new or improved product candidates and as new companies enter the market with novel technologies.

If we are unable to produce an adequate supply of our product candidates for use in our current and planned clinical trials or for commercialization because of our limited manufacturing resources or our facility is damaged or becomes inoperable, our regulatory, development and commercialization efforts may be delayed.

Our manufacturing resources for our product candidates are limited. We currently manufacture our product candidates for our research and development purposes at our manufacturing facility in Irvine, California. If our existing manufacturing facility experiences a disruption, we would have no other means of manufacturing our product candidates until we are able to restore the manufacturing capability at our current facility or develop alternative manufacturing facilities. Additionally, any damage to or destruction of our facilities or our equipment, prolonged power outage or contamination at our facilities would significantly impair our ability to produce our product candidates and prepare our product candidates for clinical trials.

Additionally, in order to produce our product candidates in the quantities that will be required for commercialization, we will have to increase or “scale up” our production process over the current level of production. We may encounter difficulties in scaling up our production, including issues involving yields, controlling and anticipating costs, quality control and assurance, supply and shortages of qualified personnel. If our scaled-up production process is not efficient or results in a product that does not meet quality or other standards, we may be unable to meet market demand and our revenues, business and financial prospects would be adversely affected. Further, third parties with whom we may develop relationships may not have the ability to produce the quantities of the materials we may require for clinical trials or commercial sales or may be unable to do so at prices that allow us to price our products competitively.

Our facility and equipment would be costly to replace and could require substantial lead time to repair or replace. The facility may be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including earthquakes, flooding, fire, vandalism and power outages, which may render it difficult to operate our business for some period of time. While we have taken precautions to safeguard our facilities, any inability to operate our business during such periods could lead to the loss of customers or harm to our reputation. We also possess insurance for damage to our property and the disruption of our business, but this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses and this insurance may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

We currently have no sales and marketing infrastructure and if we are unable to successfully sell and/or license our product candidates to larger medical device companies, we may need to commercialize our product candidates on our own, if approved, and may be unable to do so or may never generate sufficient revenue to achieve or sustain profitability.

In order to commercialize products that are approved by regulatory agencies, our current business model is to license or sell our product candidates to large medical device companies. We may not be able to enter into license or sale agreements on acceptable terms or at all, which would leave us unable to progress our current business plan. Our ability to reach a definitive agreement for collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. If we are unable to maintain or reach agreements with suitable collaborators on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all, we may have to curtail the development of our product candidates, reduce or delay development programs, delay potential commercialization of our product candidates or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense.

Moreover, even if we are able to maintain and/or enter into such collaborations, such collaborations may pose a number of risks, including the following:

Our business would be materially or perhaps significantly harmed if any of the foregoing or similar risks comes to pass with respect to our key collaborations.

If it becomes necessary for us to establish a sales and marketing infrastructure, we may not be able to do so or we may not realize a positive return on this investment. We would have to compete with established and well-funded medical device companies to recruit, hire, train and retain sales and marketing personnel. Once hired, the training process is lengthy because it requires significant education of new sales representatives to achieve the level of clinical competency with our products expected by specialists. Upon completion of the training, we expect our sales representatives would typically require lead time in the field to grow their network of accounts and achieve the productivity levels we expect them to reach in any individual territory. If we are unable to attract, motivate, develop and retain a sufficient number of qualified sales personnel, or if our sales representatives do not achieve the productivity levels in the time period we expect them to reach, our revenue will not grow at the rate we expect and our business, results of operations and financial condition will suffer. Also, to the extent we hire sales personnel from our competitors, we may be required to wait until applicable non-competition provisions have expired before deploying such personnel in restricted territories or incur costs to relocate personnel outside of such territories. Any of these risks may adversely affect our ability to increase sales of our product candidates. If we are unable to expand our sales and marketing capabilities, we may not be able to effectively commercialize our product candidates, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities, limit sales of our existing product candidates and limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.

Our business exposes us to the risk of product liability claims that are inherent in the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of medical devices. This risk exists even if a device is cleared or approved for commercial sale by the FDA and manufactured in facilities licensed and regulated by the FDA or an applicable foreign regulatory authority. Manufacturing and marketing of our commercial devices and clinical testing of our product candidates under development, may expose us to product liability and other tort claims. Furthermore, surgeons may misuse our product candidates or use improper techniques if they are not adequately trained, potentially leading to injury and an increased risk of product liability. If our product candidates are misused or used with improper technique, we may become subject to costly litigation by our customers or their patients. Regardless of the merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

Although we intend to maintain liability insurance, the coverage limits of our insurance policies may not be adequate, and one or more successful claims brought against us may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. If we are unable to obtain insurance in the future at an acceptable cost or on acceptable terms with adequate coverage, we will be exposed to significant liabilities.

The loss of our executive officers or our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel may adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

Our business and operations depend to a significant degree on the skills, efforts and continued services of our executive officers who have critical industry experience and relationships. Although we have entered into employment agreements with our executive officers, they may terminate their employment with us at any time. Accordingly, these executive officers may not remain associated with us. The efforts of these persons will be critical to us as we continue to develop our product candidates and business. We do not carry key person life insurance on any of our management, which would leave our company uncompensated for the loss of any of our executive officers.

Further, competition for highly-skilled and qualified personnel is intense. As such, our future viability and ability to achieve sales and profit will also depend on our ability to attract, train, retain and motivate highly qualified personnel in the diverse areas required for continuing our operations. If we were to lose the services one or more of our current executive officers or if we are unable to attract, hire and retain qualified personnel, we may experience difficulties in competing effectively, developing and commercializing our products and implementing our business strategies, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial condition.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carry-forwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had available federal net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, of approximately $35.0 and $26.1 million. Pre-2018 federal NOLs carryovers of $12.0 million may be carried forward for twenty years and begin to expire in 2029. Under the Tax Act, post-2017 federal NOLs can be carried forward indefinitely and the annual limit of deduction equals 80% of taxable income. However, to the extent the Company utilizes its NOL carryforwards in the future, the tax years in which the attribute was generated may still be adjusted upon examination by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities of the future period tax return in which the attribute is used. As of December 31, 2020, and 2019, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards for state income tax purposes of approximately $35.0 million and $26.1 million, respectively, which can be carried forward for twenty years and begin to expire in 2028.

As of December 31, 2020, we also had federal research and development tax credit carryforwards of approximately $0.2 million which begin to expire in 2027. In general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a cumulative change in equity ownership by “5% shareholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period) may be subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its NOLs and certain credit carryforwards to offset future taxable income and taxes. We are currently analyzing the tax impacts of any potential ownership changes on our federal NOLs and credit carryforwards. Future changes in our stock ownership, as well as other changes that may be outside of our control, could result in ownership changes. Our NOLs and credit carryforwards may also be limited under similar provisions of state law. We have recorded a full valuation allowance related to our NOLs and other deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of the ultimate realization of the future tax benefits of such assets.

Risks Related to Regulatory Approval and Other Governmental Regulations

Our business and product candidates are subject to extensive governmental regulation and oversight, and our failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could harm our business.

Our product candidates and operations are subject to extensive regulation in the United States by the FDA and by regulatory agencies in other countries where we anticipate conducting business activities. The FDA regulates the development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, storage, record-keeping, promotion, marketing, sales, distribution and post-market support and reporting of medical devices in the United States. The regulations to which we are subject are complex and may become more stringent over time. Regulatory changes could result in restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations, higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated sales.

In order to conduct a clinical investigation involving human subjects for the purpose of demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of a medical device, a company must, among other things, apply for and obtain Institutional Review Board, or IRB, approval of the proposed investigation. In addition, if the clinical study involves a “significant risk” (as defined by the FDA) to human health, the sponsor of the investigation must also submit and obtain FDA approval of an IDE application. Our product candidates are considered significant risk devices requiring IDE approval prior to investigational use. We may not be able to obtain FDA and/or IRB approval to undertake clinical trials in the United States for any new devices we intend to market in the United States in the future. If we obtain such approvals, we may not be able to conduct studies which comply with the IDE and other regulations governing clinical investigations or the data from any such trials may not support clearance or approval of the investigational device. Failure to obtain such approvals or to comply with such regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. It is uncertain whether clinical trials will meet desired endpoints, produce meaningful or useful data and be free of unexpected adverse effects, or that the FDA will accept the validity of foreign clinical study data, and such uncertainty could preclude or delay market clearance or authorizations resulting in significant financial costs and reduced revenue.

Our product candidates will be subject to extensive governmental regulation in foreign jurisdictions, such as the EEA, and our failure to comply with applicable requirements could cause our business, results of operations and financial condition to suffer.

In the EEA, our product candidates will need to comply with the Essential Requirements set forth in Medical Device Regulation. Compliance with these requirements is a prerequisite to be able to affix a CE mark to a product, without which a product cannot be marketed or sold in the EEA. To demonstrate compliance with the Essential Requirements and obtain the right to affix the CE mark to our product candidates, we must undergo a conformity assessment procedure, which varies according to the type of medical device and its classification. The conformity assessment procedure requires the involvement of a Notified Body, which is an organization designated by a competent authority of an EEA country to conduct conformity assessments. The Notified Body would audit and examine the Technical File and the quality system for the manufacture, design and final inspection of our products. The Notified Body issues a CE Certificate of Conformity following successful completion of a conformity assessment procedure and quality management system audit conducted in relation to the medical device and its manufacturer and their conformity with the Essential Requirements. This Certificate entitles the manufacturer to affix the CE mark to its medical products after having prepared and signed a related EC Declaration of Conformity.

As a general rule, demonstration of conformity of medical products and their manufacturers with the Essential Requirements must be based, among other things, on the evaluation of clinical data supporting the safety and performance of the products during normal conditions of use. Specifically, a manufacturer must demonstrate that the device achieves its intended performance during normal conditions of use and that the known and foreseeable risks, and any adverse events, are minimized and acceptable when weighed against the benefits of its intended performance, and that any claims made about the performance and safety of the device (e.g., product labeling and instructions for use) are supported by suitable evidence. This assessment must be based on clinical data, which can be obtained from (1) clinical studies conducted on the devices being assessed, (2) scientific literature from similar devices whose equivalence with the assessed device can be demonstrated or (3) both clinical studies and scientific literature. However, the pre-approval and post-market clinical requirements are much more rigorous. The conduct of clinical studies in the EEA is governed by detailed regulatory obligations. These may include the requirement of prior authorization by the competent authorities of the country in which the study takes place and the requirement to obtain a positive opinion from a competent Ethics Committee. This process can be expensive and time-consuming.

The FDA regulatory approval, clearance and license process is complex, time-consuming and unpredictable.

In the United States, our product candidates are expected to be regulated as medical devices. Before our medical device product candidates may be marketed in the United States, we must submit, and the FDA must approve a PMA application. For the PMA approval process, the FDA must determine that a proposed device is safe and effective for its intended use based, in part, on extensive data, including, but not limited to, technical, pre-clinical, clinical trial, manufacturing and labeling data. In addition, modifications to products that are approved through a PMA application generally require FDA approval. The time required to obtain approval, clearance or license by the FDA to market a new therapy is unpredictable but typically takes many years and depends upon many factors, including the substantial discretion of the FDA.

Our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval, clearance or license for many reasons, including the following:

Even if we were to obtain approval, clearance or license, the FDA may grant approval, clearance or license contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials or may approve our product candidates with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for successful commercialization of our product candidates. Any of the above could materially harm our product candidates’ commercial prospects.

Even if our product candidates are approved by regulatory authorities, if we fail to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements, or if we experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates, our product candidates could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market.

The manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data and promotional activities of any product candidate for which we or our collaborators obtain marketing approval will be subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory bodies. Even if regulatory approval of our product candidates is granted in the United States, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product candidates may be marketed or contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or effectiveness of the product. Later discovery of previously unknown and unanticipated problems with our product candidates, including but not limited to unanticipated severity or frequency of adverse events, delays or problems with the manufacturer or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in restrictions on such product candidates or manufacturing processes, withdrawal of the product candidates from the market, voluntary or mandatory recall, fines, suspension of regulatory approvals, product seizures, injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

We are required to report certain malfunctions, deaths and serious injuries associated with our product once approved by regulatory bodies, which can result in voluntary corrective actions or agency enforcement actions.

All manufacturers marketing medical devices in the EEA are legally bound to report incidents involving devices they produce or sell to the regulatory agency, or competent authority, in whose jurisdiction the incident occurred. Under the EU Medical Devices Directive (Directive 93/42/EEC), an incident is defined as any malfunction or deterioration in the characteristics and/or performance of a device, as well as any inadequacy in the labeling or the instructions for use which, directly or indirectly, might lead to or might have led to the death of a patient, or user or of other persons or to a serious deterioration in their state of health. In addition, under the EU MDR, the manufacturers are obligated to publish Periodic Safety Update Report (annually for high risk devices) which will be uploaded to EUDAMED and require conformity assessment by Notified Bodies.

Malfunction or misuse of our product candidates could result in future voluntary corrective actions, such as recalls, including corrections (e.g., customer notifications), or agency action, such as inspection or enforcement actions. If malfunctions or misuse do occur, we may be unable to correct the malfunctions adequately or prevent further malfunctions or misuse, in which case we may need to cease manufacture and distribution of the affected products, initiate voluntary recalls, and redesign the products or the instructions for use for those products. Regulatory authorities may also take actions against us, such as ordering recalls, imposing fines, or seizing the affected products. Any corrective action, whether voluntary or involuntary, will require the dedication of our time and capital, may distract management from operating our business, and may harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Legislative or regulatory reforms in the United States or the EU may make it more difficult and costly for us to obtain regulatory clearances or approvals for our product candidates or to manufacture, market or distribute our product candidates after clearance or approval is obtained.

From time to time, legislation is drafted and introduced in the U.S. Congress that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the regulation of medical devices or the reimbursement thereof. In addition, the FDA regulations and guidance are often revised or reinterpreted by the FDA in ways that may significantly affect our business and our product candidates. For example, as part of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, or FDASIA, Congress reauthorized the Medical Device User Fee Amendments with various FDA performance goal commitments and enacted several “Medical Device Regulatory Improvements” and miscellaneous reforms, which are further intended to clarify and improve medical device regulation both pre- and post-clearance or approval. Any new statutes, regulations or revisions or reinterpretations of existing regulations may impose additional costs or lengthen review times of any future products or make it more difficult to manufacture, market or distribute our product candidates or future products. We cannot determine what effect changes in regulations, statutes, legal interpretation or policies, when and if promulgated, enacted or adopted may have on our business in the future. Such changes could, among other things, require:

Any of these changes could require substantial time and cost and could harm our business and our financial results.

The highly publicized PIP scandal (use of non-medical grade silicone in breast implants) in 2010 led to publishing the first version of EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) by European Commission in 2012. After 347 amendments by European Parliament in 2014, followed by various versions, the final version of the new EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR 2017/745) was published on May 5, 2017. The official entry to force of the MDR started on May 26, 2017 with the transition period of 3 years. The date of application of all existing and new medical devices under MDR is May 26, 2020; however, Notified Bodies are currently not accepted any new CE Mark applications under MDD (Medical Device Directives). All existing MDD CE certificates become void on May 26, 2024. EU requires that all existing and new medical device undergo assessment under MDR as if they are new product application.

The changes from EU Medical Device Directives (MDD) to Medical Device Regulation (MDR) are significant, with stricter clinical requirements and post-market surveillance, shift from pre-approval to Life-cycle approach, centralized EUDAMED database for public transparency (e.g. Periodic Safety Update Reports) and device registration, more device specific requirements (e.g. Common Specifications), legal liability for defective devices, etc. The QMS audit under MDR will be much more rigorous, including audits and assessment of suppliers and device testing. In addition, EU MDR introduces new stakeholders participating during the application review process, which will result in a longer and more burdensome assessment of our new products. The new stakeholders will include Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) established by Member States and Expert Panels appointed by European Union. 

Further, under the FDA’s Medical Device Reporting or MDR regulations, we are required to report to the FDA any incident in which our product candidates may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or in which our product malfunctioned and, if the malfunction were to recur, would likely cause or contribute to death or serious injury. Any adverse event involving our products could result in future voluntary corrective actions, such as product actions or customer notifications, or regulatory authority actions, such as inspection, mandatory recall or other enforcement action. Repeated product malfunctions may result in a voluntary or involuntary product recall, which could divert managerial and financial resources, impair our ability to manufacture our product candidates in a cost-effective and timely manner and have an adverse effect on our reputation, financial condition and operating results.

Moreover, depending on the corrective action we take to redress a product’s deficiencies or defects, the FDA may require, or we may decide, that we will need to obtain new approvals or clearances for the device before we may market or distribute the corrected device. Seeking such approvals or clearances may delay our ability to replace the recalled devices in a timely manner. Moreover, if we do not adequately address problems associated with our product candidates, we may face additional regulatory enforcement action, including FDA warning letters, product seizure, injunctions, administrative penalties, withdrawals or clearances or approvals or civil or criminal fines. We may also be required to bear other costs or take other actions that may have a negative impact on our sales as well as face significant adverse publicity or regulatory consequences, which could harm our business, including our ability to market our product candidates in the future.

We are subject to federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations, and a finding of failure to comply with such laws and regulations could have a material and adverse effect on our business.

Our operations are, and will continue to be, directly and indirectly affected by various federal, state or foreign healthcare laws, including, but not limited to, those described below. These laws include:

The risk of our being found in violation of these laws is increased by the fact that many of them have not been fully interpreted by the regulatory authorities or the courts, and their provisions are open to a variety of interpretations. Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available under such laws, it is possible that some of our business activities, including our relationships with surgeons and other healthcare providers, some of whom recommend, purchase and/or prescribe our product candidates, and our distributors, could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws.

If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us now or in the future, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from governmental health care programs and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business.

Regulatory healthcare reform measures and other legislative changes may have a material and adverse effect on business, results of operations and financial condition.

FDA regulations and guidance are often revised or reinterpreted by FDA and such actions may significantly affect our business and our product candidates. Any new regulations or revisions or reinterpretations of existing regulations may impose additional costs or lengthen review times for our product candidates. Delays in receipt of, or failure to receive, regulatory approvals for our product candidates would have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In March 2010, the PPACA was signed into law, which includes a deductible 2.3% excise tax on any entity that manufactures or imports medical devices offered for sale in the United States, with limited exceptions, that began on January 1, 2013. Although a two year moratorium was placed on the medical device excise tax in 2016 and extended through December 31, 2019, it was permanently repealed on December 20, 2019. Other elements of the PPACA, including comparative effectiveness research, an independent payment advisory board and payment system reforms, including shared savings pilots and other provisions, may significantly affect the payment for, and the availability of, healthcare services and result in fundamental changes to federal healthcare reimbursement programs, any of which may materially affect numerous aspects of our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the PPACA was enacted. On August 2, 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011 created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers up to 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect on April 1, 2013, and will remain in effect through 2024 unless additional Congressional action is taken. On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, or the ATRA, was signed into law which further reduced Medicare payments to certain providers, including hospitals.

We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product candidates, if approved, and services or additional pricing pressures.

Our relationships with physician consultants, owners and investors could be subject to additional scrutiny from regulatory enforcement authorities and could subject us to possible administrative, civil or criminal sanctions.

Federal and state laws and regulations impose restrictions on our relationships with physicians who are consultants, owners and investors. We may enter into consulting agreements, license agreements and other agreements with physicians in which we provide cash as compensation. We have or may have other written and oral arrangements with physicians, including for research and development grants and for other purposes as well.

We could be adversely affected if regulatory agencies were to interpret our financial relationships with these physicians, who may be in a position to influence the ordering of and use of our product candidates for which governmental reimbursement may be available, as being in violation of applicable laws. If our relationships with physicians are found to be in violation of the laws and regulations that apply to us, we may be required to restructure the arrangements and could be subject to administrative, civil and criminal penalties, including exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, imprisonment, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could negatively impact our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

Our company and many of our collaborators and potential collaborators are required to comply with the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act and implementing regulation affecting the transmission, security and privacy of health information, and failure to comply could result in significant penalties.

Numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or the HITECH Act, govern the collection, dissemination, security, use and confidentiality of health information that identifies specific patients. HIPAA and the HITECH Act require our surgeon and hospital customers and potential customers to comply with certain standards for the use and disclosure of health information within their companies and with third parties. The Privacy Standards and Security Standards under HIPAA establish a set of standards for the protection of individually identifiable health information by health plans, health care clearinghouses and certain health care providers, referred to as Covered Entities, and the business associates with whom Covered Entities enter into service relationships pursuant to which individually identifiable health information may be exchanged. Notably, whereas HIPAA previously directly regulated only these Covered Entities, the HITECH Act makes certain of HIPAA’s privacy and security standards also directly applicable to Covered Entities’ business associates. As a result, both Covered Entities and business associates are now subject to significant civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply with Privacy Standards and Security Standards.

HIPAA requires Covered Entities (like many of our customers and potential customers) and business associates to develop and maintain policies and procedures with respect to protected health information that is used or disclosed, including the adoption of administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect such information. The HITECH Act expands the notification requirement for breaches of patient-identifiable health information, restricts certain disclosures and sales of patient-identifiable health information and provides for civil monetary penalties for HIPAA violations. The HITECH Act also increased the civil and criminal penalties that may be imposed against Covered Entities and business associates and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorney fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. Additionally, certain states have adopted comparable privacy and security laws and regulations, some of which may be more stringent than HIPAA.

Any new legislation or regulation in the area of privacy and security of personal information, including personal health information, could also adversely affect our business operations. If we do not comply with existing or new applicable federal or state laws and regulations related to patient health information, we could be subject to criminal or civil sanctions and any resulting liability could adversely affect our financial condition.

In addition, countries around the world have passed or are considering legislation that would impose data breach notification requirements and/or require that companies adopt specific data security requirements. If we experience a data breach that triggers one or more of these laws, we may be subject to breach notification obligations, civil liability and litigation, all of which could also generate negative publicity and have a negative impact on our business.

We are currently, and in the future may be, subject to various governmental regulations related to the manufacturing of our product candidates, and we may incur significant expenses to comply with, experience delays in our product commercialization as a result of, and be subject to material sanctions if we or our contract manufacturers violate these regulations.

Our manufacturing processes and facility are required to comply with the FDA’s QSR, which covers the procedures and documentation of the design, testing, production, control, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, sterilization, storage, and shipping of our product candidates. Although we believe we are compliant with the QSRs, the FDA enforces the QSR through periodic announced or unannounced inspections of manufacturing facilities. We have been, and anticipate in the future being, subject to such inspections, as well as to inspections by other federal and state regulatory agencies. We are required to register our manufacturing facility with the FDA and list all devices that are manufactured. We also operate an International Organization for Standards, or ISO, 13485 certified facility and annual audits are required to maintain that certification. The suppliers of our components are also required to comply with the QSR and are subject to inspections. We have limited ability to ensure that any such third-party manufacturers will take the necessary steps to comply with applicable regulations, which could cause delays in the delivery of our products. Failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements, or later discovery of previously unknown problems with our products or manufacturing processes, including our failure or the failure of one of our third-party manufacturers to take satisfactory corrective action in response to an adverse QSR inspection, can result in, among other things:

Any of these actions, in combination or alone, could prevent us from marketing, distributing, or selling our products and would likely harm our business. In addition, a product defect or regulatory violation could lead to a government-mandated or voluntary recall by us. Regulatory agencies in other countries have similar authority to recall devices because of material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture that could endanger health. Any recall would divert management attention and financial resources, could expose us to product liability or other claims, including contractual claims from parties to whom we sold products and harm our reputation with customers. A recall involving any of our product candidates would be particularly harmful to our business and financial results and, even if we remedied a particular problem, would have a lasting negative effect on our reputation and demand for our products.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are unable to adequately protect our proprietary technology or maintain issued patents that are sufficient to protect our product candidates, others could compete against us more directly, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our success may depend in part on our success in obtaining and maintaining issued patents and other intellectual property rights in the United States and elsewhere and protecting our proprietary technologies. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies, competitors may be able to use our technologies and erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could harm our business and ability to achieve profitability.

We have filed patent applications for our VenoValve product and Implantable Vein Frame Two product with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office but there are no assurances that patents will be issued. We also are working on new developments for our CoreoGraft product and expect to be filing for patent protection on that product as well.

Our patents may not have, or our pending patent applications that mature into issued patents may not include, claims with a scope sufficient to protect our products, any additional features we develop for our current products or any new products. Other parties may have developed technologies that may be related or competitive to our products, may have filed or may file patent applications and may have received or may receive patents that overlap or conflict with our patent applications, either by claiming the same methods or devices or by claiming subject matter that could dominate our patent position. The patent positions of medical device companies, including our patent position, may involve complex legal and factual questions, and, therefore, the scope, validity and enforceability of any patent claims that we may obtain cannot be predicted with certainty. Patents, if issued, may be challenged, deemed unenforceable, invalidated or circumvented. Proceedings challenging our patents could result in either loss of the patent or denial of the patent application or loss or reduction in the scope of one or more of the claims of the patent or patent application. In addition, such proceedings may be costly. Thus, any patents that we may own may not provide any protection against competitors. Furthermore, an adverse decision in an interference proceeding can result in a third party receiving the patent right sought by us, which in turn could affect our ability to commercialize our implant systems.

Furthermore, though an issued patent is presumed valid and enforceable, its issuance is not conclusive as to its validity or its enforceability and it may not provide us with adequate proprietary protection or competitive advantages against competitors with similar products. Competitors may also be able to design around our patents. Other parties may develop and obtain patent protection for more effective technologies, designs or methods. We may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge or trade secrets by consultants, suppliers, vendors, former employees and current employees. The laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and we may encounter significant problems in protecting our proprietary rights in these countries. If any of these developments were to occur, they each could have a negative impact on our business and competitive position.

Our ability to enforce our patent rights depends on our ability to detect infringement. It may be difficult to detect infringers who do not advertise the components that are used in their products. Moreover, it may be difficult or impossible to obtain evidence of infringement in a competitor’s or potential competitor’s product. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded if we were to prevail may not be commercially meaningful.

In addition, proceedings to enforce or defend our patents could put our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly. Such proceedings could also provoke third parties to assert claims against us, including that some or all of the claims in one or more of our patents are invalid or otherwise unenforceable. If any of our patents covering our products are invalidated or found unenforceable, our financial position and results of operations could be negatively impacted. In addition, if a court found that valid, enforceable patents held by third parties covered one or more of our products, our financial position and results of operations could be harmed.

We rely upon unpatented trade secrets, unpatented know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position, which we will seek to protect, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees and our collaborators and consultants. We also have agreements with our employees and selected consultants that obligate them to assign their inventions to us and have non-compete agreements with some, but not all, of our consultants. It is possible that technology relevant to our business will be independently developed by a person that is not a party to such an agreement. Furthermore, if the employees and consultants who are parties to these agreements breach or violate the terms of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach or violation, and we could lose our trade secrets through such breaches or violations. Further, our trade secrets could otherwise become known or be independently discovered by our competitors.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedures, document submission requirements, fee payments and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payments such as maintenance and annuity fee payments and other provisions during the patent procurement process as well as over the life span of an issued patent. There are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, competitors might be able to enter the market earlier than would otherwise have been the case.

We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights and we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use, our technology.

Our success will depend in part on our ability to operate without infringing the intellectual property and proprietary rights of third parties. Our business, product candidates and methods could infringe the patents or other intellectual property rights of third parties.

The medical device industry is characterized by frequent and extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Many medical device companies with substantially greater resources than us have employed intellectual property litigation as a way to gain a competitive advantage. We may become involved in litigation, interference proceedings, oppositions, reexamination, protest or other potentially adverse intellectual property proceedings as a result of alleged infringement by us of the rights of others or as a result of priority of invention disputes with third parties, either in the United States or internationally. We may also become a party to patent infringement claims and litigation or interference proceedings declared by the USPTO to determine the priority of inventions. Third parties may also challenge the validity of any of our issued patents and we may initiate proceedings to enforce our patent rights and prevent others from infringing on our intellectual property rights. Any claims relating to the infringement of third-party proprietary rights or proprietary determinations, even if not meritorious, could result in costly litigation, lengthy governmental proceedings, diversion of our management’s attention and resources, or entrance into royalty or license agreements that are not advantageous to us. In any of these circumstances, we may need to spend significant amounts of money, time and effort defending our position. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations.

Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and divert management time and attention in pursuing these proceedings, which could have a material and adverse effect on us. If we are unable to avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of others, we may be required to seek a license, defend an infringement action or challenge the validity of intellectual property in court or redesign our product candidates.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities

The trading price of our securities is likely to be volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors.

The trading price of our securities is likely to be volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, which include:

In addition, the stock market in general, and the stock of medical device companies like ours, in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the issuer. These market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.

We have issued a significant number of options and warrants and may continue to do so in the future. The vesting and, if applicable, exercise of these securities and the sale of the shares of common stock issuable thereunder may dilute your percentage ownership interest and may also result in downward pressure on the price of our common stock.

As of the date of this Annual Report, we have issued and outstanding options to purchase 2,128,181 shares of our common stock with a weighted average exercise price of $10.51 (including 1,888,000 options that may only become exercisable following receipt by the Company of stockholder approval to increase the size of the 2016 Plan sufficiently to permit the exercise in full of such stock options under the 2016 Plan (if the Company’s stockholders do not approve an increase in the size of the 2016 Plan, the options will be void)), 4,942 restricted stock units subject to vesting, and warrants to purchase 4,405,659 shares of our common stock with a weighted average exercise price of $12.39. Further, we have 342,013 shares available for issuance under our Amended and Restated 2016 Omnibus Incentive Plan, the number of shares available under the plan will be increased January 1^st (and each January 1^st thereafter) by an amount equal to 3% of the total issued and outstanding shares of our common stock as of such anniversary (or such lesser number of shares as may be approved by our Board of Directors). Because the market for our common stock is thinly traded, the sales and/or the perception that those sales may occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Furthermore, the mere existence of a significant number of shares of common stock issuable upon vesting and, if applicable, exercise of these securities may be perceived by the market as having a potential dilutive effect, which could lead to a decrease in the price of our common stock.

We will need to raise additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future, and such capital raising may be costly or difficult to obtain and can be expected to dilute current stockholders’ ownership interests.

Notwithstanding that we have raised approximately $50,400,000 in aggregate net proceeds since January 1, 2020, we will need to raise additional capital in the future. Such additional capital may not be available on reasonable terms or at all. Any future issuance of our equity or equity-backed securities may dilute then-current stockholders’ ownership percentages. If we are unable to obtain required additional capital, we may have to curtail our growth plans or cut back on existing business.

We may incur substantial costs in pursuing future capital financing, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, securities law compliance fees, printing and distribution expenses and other costs. We may also be required to recognize non-cash expenses in connection with certain securities we may issue, such as convertible notes, restricted stock, stock options and warrants, which may adversely impact our financial condition.

Future sales or issuances of substantial amounts of our common stock could result in significant dilution.

Any future issuance of our equity or equity-backed securities, including, potentially, the issuance of securities in connection with a merger transaction, may dilute then-current stockholders’ ownership percentages and could also result in a decrease in the fair market value of our equity securities, because our assets would be owned by a larger pool of outstanding equity. As stated above, we intend to conduct additional rounds of financing in the future and we may need to raise additional capital through public or private offerings of our common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our common stock. We may also issue securities in connection with hiring or retaining employees and consultants (including stock options issued under an equity incentive plan), as payment to providers of goods and services, in connection with future acquisitions or for other business purposes. Our Board of Directors may at any time authorize the issuance of additional common stock without stockholder approval, subject only to the total number of authorized shares of common stock set forth in our articles of incorporation. The terms of equity securities issued by us in future transactions may be more favorable to new investors, and may include dividend and/or liquidation preferences, superior voting rights and the issuance of warrants or other derivative securities, which may have a further dilutive effect. Also, the future issuance of any such additional shares of common stock or other securities may create downward pressure on the trading price of the common stock. There can be no assurance that any such future issuances will not be at a price (or exercise prices) below the price at which shares of the common stock are then traded on Nasdaq or other then-applicable over-the-counter quotation system or exchange.

Our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq could result in a de-listing of our Common Stock.

While we are currently in compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, we have received deficiency notices in the past and there is no guarantee that we will be able to continue to meet the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq. In the event we are unable to do so, our securities may be delisted from The Nasdaq Stock Market. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of our Common Stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our Common Stock when you wish to do so. In the event of a delisting, we would expect to take actions to restore our compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rules, but our common stock may not be listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our common stock, prevent our common stock from dropping below the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules.

We are an “emerging growth company” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We may remain an emerging growth company until as late as December 2023 (the fiscal year-end following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering), though we may cease to be an emerging growth company earlier under certain circumstances, including (1) if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30, in which case we would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31, or (2) if our gross revenue exceeds $1.07 billion in any fiscal year. Emerging growth companies may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Investors could find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 102 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, for complying with new or revised accounting standards. An emerging growth company can therefore delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

Provisions of our charter documents or Delaware law could delay or prevent an acquisition of us, even if the acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, which could make it more difficult for you to change management.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempt by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult to replace or remove our board of directors. These provisions include, but are not limited to:

In addition, the Delaware General Corporate Law, or DGCL, prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder, generally a person who, together with its affiliates, owns, or within the last three years has owned, 15% or more of our voting stock, for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. Accordingly, the DGCL may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company.

Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation specifies that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for most legal actions involving actions brought against us by stockholders. We believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of the DGCL by chancellors particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. However, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

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

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. In addition, and any future loan arrangements we enter into may contain, terms prohibiting or limiting the amount of dividends that may be declared or paid on our common stock. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.