Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
Summary of our Risks:
Our ability to implement our business strategy is subject to numerous risks that you should be aware of before making an investment decision. These risks are described more fully in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this Form 10-K. These risks include, among others:
39
Table of Contents
Risks Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Continuing concerns resulting from the pandemic of COVID-19 and the future outbreak of other highly infectious or contagious diseases, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials.
Continuing concerns resulting from the pandemic caused by the novel strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV 2 (COVID-19) disease, including the emergence of new variants, has currently impacted and may continue to adversely impact our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials. In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, surfaced in Wuhan, China. Since then, COVID-19 has spread worldwide, significantly impacting the United States, Europe and Israel, where the Company conducts its operations, as well as its clinical trials for NurOwn®. In response to the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure safety of employees and continuity of business operations, we closed our offices, with our administrative employees continuing their work remotely and limited the number of staff in any given research and development laboratory. Our research and development laboratory in Israel and manufacturing sites in U.S. and in Israel remain open. The full extent to which the COVID 19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted at this time, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID 19, the actions taken to contain it or treat its impact and the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets. Our management team is actively monitoring this situation and the possible effects on our financial condition, liquidity, operations, suppliers, industry, and workforce.
We completed dosing of all participants in our Phase 3 ALS trial in July 2020, and we announced top-line data from this trial on November 17, 2020. Results from the trial showed that NurOwn® was generally well tolerated in the population of rapidly progressing ALS patients. While showing a numerical improvement in the treated group compared to placebo across the primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints, the trial did not reach statistically significant results. In an important, pre-specified subgroup with early disease based on ALS Functional Rating Score (“ALSFRS-R”) baseline score 35, NurOwn® demonstrated a clinically meaningful treatment response across the primary and key secondary endpoints and remained consistent with our pre-trial, data-derived assumption. In this subgroup, there were 34.6% responders who met the primary endpoint definition on NurOwn® and 15.6% on Placebo (p=0.288), and the average change from baseline to week 28 in ALSFRS-R total score was -1.77 on NurOwn ® and -3.78 on Placebo (p=0.198), an improvement of 2.01 ALSFRS-R points favoring NurOwn ®. When following the SAP to implement sensitivity to the primary endpoint, there is a slight change in the percentage of responders but no P value change. No new safety concerns were identified. Following the completion of our phase 3 ALS trial, we are diligently pursuing next steps, including active discussions with the FDA to identify regulatory pathways that may support NurOwn®’s approval in ALS. We are also in active dialog with the FDA around our Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) plans for registration, and completed a successful meeting in December 2020.
The U.S. Phase 2 PMS trial faced slight delays in enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as of June 2020, all the trial sites were back on track to continue with the trial. On December 18, 2020, we announced the completion of all dosing in the study participants in the trial and positive top-line clinical trial results were announced on March 24,2021.
We recently announced a new clinical program focused on the development of NurOwn® as a treatment for AD. Following the recent approval of Aduhelm, we are reviewing scientific, regulatory and payer insights to determine the optimal path forward in AD.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, three vaccines for COVID-19 were granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA and two of those later received marketing approval. Additional vaccines may be authorized in the future. The resultant demand for vaccines and potential for manufacturing facilities and materials to be commandeered under the Defense Production Act of 1950, or equivalent foreign legislation, may make it more difficult to obtain materials or manufacturing slots for the products needed for our clinical trials, which could lead to delays in these trials.
As of May 26, 2021, the FDA noted it is continuing to ensure timely reviews of applications for medical products during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in line with its user fee performance goals and conducting mission critical domestic and foreign inspections to ensure compliance of manufacturing facilities with FDA quality standards. However, the FDA may not be able to continue its current pace and approval timelines could be extended, including where a pre-approval inspection or an inspection of clinical sites is required and due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions FDA is unable to complete such required inspections during the review period. In 2020 and 2021, a number of companies announced receipt of complete response letters due to the FDA's inability to complete required inspections for their applications.
40
Table of Contents
Risks Related to our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements
We need to raise additional capital. If we are unable to raise additional capital in favorable terms and a timely manner, we will not be able to execute our business plan and we could be forced to restrict or cease our operations.
Although we have sufficient cash to continue with our operations for at least the next twelve months, we may need to raise additional funds to meet our anticipated expenses so that we can execute our business plan. We expect to incur substantial and increasing net losses for the foreseeable future as we increase our spending to execute our development and commercial programs.
The amount of financing required will depend on many factors including our financial requirements to fund any additional research and clinical trials, our ability to secure partnerships and achieve partnership milestones and our ability to establish manufacturing and delivery processes for our NurOwn® stem cell therapy as well as to fund other working capital requirements. Our ability to access the capital markets or to enlist partners is mainly dependent on the progress of our research and development and regulatory approval of our products.
To date, the Company has not generated revenues from its activities and has incurred substantial operating losses. Management expects the Company to continue to generate substantial operating losses and to continue to fund its operations primarily through utilization of its current financial resources and through additional raises of capital.
Management’s plan includes raising funds from outside potential investors, including under the ATM Program. However, there is no assurance such funding will be available to the Company or that it will be obtained on terms favorable to the Company or will provide the Company with sufficient funds to meet its objectives. Should we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-related or debt securities, these securities may have rights, preferences or privileges (including registrations rights) senior to those of the rights of our Common Stock and our stockholders will experience additional dilution.
Our Company has a history of losses and we expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future.
As a development stage pre-revenue company, we are in the early stages of executing our business plan. We had no operational revenues for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019, December 31, 2020 or December 31, 2021. We are currently in the process of introducing the Company to strategic partners. In the upcoming three years, the Company will focus on completing its ongoing clinical trials and commercialization of NurOwn® for ALS, if approved. We are unable, at this time, to foresee when we will generate operational revenues from strategic partnerships. If NurOwn® is approved by the FDA for ALS, we hope to commercialize and start generating revenues shortly thereafter., We expect to incur substantial and increasing operating losses for the next several years as we increase our spending to execute our development programs and commercialization efforts. These losses are expected to have an adverse impact on our working capital, total assets and stockholders’ equity.
We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
A significant portion of our business, particularly our research and development, is conducted outside the United States. Therefore, we are exposed to currency exchange fluctuations in other currencies such as the New Israeli Shekels (“NIS”) and the Euro. Moreover, a portion of our expenses in Israel and Europe are paid in NIS and Euros, respectively, which subjects us to the risks of foreign currency fluctuations. Our primary expenses paid in NIS are employee salaries, fees for consultants and subcontractors and lease payments on our Israeli facilities.
41
Table of Contents
The dollar cost of our operations in Israel will increase to the extent increases in the rate of inflation in Israel are not offset by a devaluation of the NIS in relation to the dollar, which would harm our results of operations.
Since a considerable portion of our expenses such as employees' salaries are linked to an extent to the rate of inflation in Israel, the dollar cost of our operations is influenced by the extent to which any increase in the rate of inflation in Israel is or is not offset by the devaluation of the NIS in relation to the dollar. As a result, we are exposed to the risk that the NIS, after adjustment for inflation in Israel, will appreciate in relation to the dollar. In that event, the dollar cost of our operations in Israel will increase and our dollar-measured results of operations will be adversely affected. During the past few years inflation-adjusted NIS appreciated against the dollar, which raised the dollar cost of our Israeli operations. We cannot predict whether the NIS will appreciate against the dollar or vice versa in the future. Any increase in the rate of inflation in Israel, unless the increase is offset on a timely basis by a devaluation of the NIS in relation to the dollar, will increase labor and other costs, which will increase the dollar cost of our operations in Israel and harm our results of operations.
Risks Related to our Cell Therapy Product Development Efforts
If our NurOwn® stem cell therapy does not demonstrate safety and efficacy sufficient to obtain regulatory approval, it may not receive regulatory approval and we will be unable to market it.
The therapeutic treatment development and regulatory approval process is expensive, uncertain and time-consuming. As part of the regulatory process, we are conducting clinical trials, for our NurOwn® stem cell therapy to demonstrate safety and efficacy in humans to meet the requirements of the FDA and regulatory authorities in other countries. We have completed our Phase 3 ALS trial and announced on February 2021 that the FDA concluded from their initial review that the current level of clinical data does not provide the threshold of substantial evidence that FDA is seeking to support a BLA. We are in active consultation with principal investigators, ALS experts, expert statisticians, regulatory advisors, and ALS advocacy groups to assess potential pathways for approval of NurOwn® for ALS. If we fail to obtain regulatory approval for our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, we will be unable to market and sell it and we may never be profitable.
A failure of one or more of our clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. Results of later stage clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy despite acceptable results in earlier clinical trials. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their treatments.
Specifically, we are currently comparing NurOwn® stem cell therapy against placebo. Comparisons of outcomes of other reported clinical trials may provide some insight into the efficacy of NurOwn® stem cell therapy, however, these studies may be of limited comparative value due to the many factors that affect the outcome of clinical trials, some of which are not apparent in published reports.
Additionally, several of our past, planned and ongoing clinical trials utilize an “open-label” trial design. An “open-label” clinical trial is one where both the patient and investigator know whether the patient is receiving the investigational product candidate or either an existing approved drug or placebo. Most typically, open-label clinical trials test only the investigational product candidate and sometimes may do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as patients in open-label clinical trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. Open-label clinical trials may be subject to a “patient bias” where patients perceive their symptoms to have improved merely due to their awareness of receiving an experimental treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may be subject to an “investigator bias” where those assessing and reviewing the physiological outcomes of the clinical trials are aware of which patients have received treatment and may interpret the information of the treated group more favorably given this knowledge. The results from an open-label trial may not be predictive of future clinical trial results with any of our product candidates for which we include an open-label clinical trial when studied in a controlled environment with a placebo or active control.
42
Table of Contents
Our product development programs are based on novel technologies and are inherently risky.
We are subject to the risks of failure inherent in the development of products based on new technologies. The novel nature of our stem cell therapy creates significant challenges with regard to product development and optimization, manufacturing, government regulations, and market acceptance. For example, the FDA has relatively limited experience with stem cell therapies. None have been approved by them for commercial sale, and the pathway to regulatory approval for our stem cell therapies may accordingly be more complex and lengthy. As a result, the development and commercialization pathway for our therapies may be subject to increased uncertainty, as compared to the pathway for new conventional drugs.
If serious or unexpected adverse side effects are identified during the development of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, we may need to abandon or limit its development.
Results of our clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or unexpected characteristics. Undesirable side effects caused by NurOwn® could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. If patients treated with our NurOwn® stem cell therapy suffer serious or unexpected adverse effects, we may need to abandon its development or limit development to certain uses or subpopulations in which these effects are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
Despite our experience conducting and managing clinicals, we may not be able to be conduct and manage future trials successfully and have limited experience in the application process necessary to obtain regulatory approvals.
Despite our prior experience in conducting and managing clinicals, we may not be able to be conduct and manage future trials successfully. We have limited experience in the application process to obtain regulatory approvals. If our clinical trials are unsuccessful, or if we do not complete our clinical trials, we may not receive regulatory approval for or be able to commercialize our stem cell therapies.
If we do not succeed in conducting and managing our preclinical development activities or clinical trials, or in obtaining regulatory approvals, we might not be able to commercialize our stem cell therapies, or might be significantly delayed in doing so, which will materially harm our business.
Our ability to generate revenues from any of our stem cell therapies will depend on a number of factors, including our ability to successfully complete clinical trials, obtain necessary regulatory approvals and implement our commercialization strategy. 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.
We may not be able to secure and maintain research institutions to conduct our clinical trials.
We rely on research institutions to conduct our clinical trials. Our reliance upon research institutions, including hospitals and clinics, provides us with less control over the timing and cost of clinical trials and the ability to recruit subjects. If we are unable to reach agreements with suitable research institutions on acceptable terms, or if any resulting agreement is terminated, we may be unable to quickly replace the research institution with another qualified institution on acceptable terms. Furthermore, we may not be able to secure and maintain suitable research institutions to conduct our clinical trials.
43
Table of Contents
Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Commercialization of Stem Cell Therapies
The field of stem cell therapy is relatively new and our development efforts may not yield an effective treatment of human diseases.
Our intended cell therapeutic treatment NurOwn® for ALS involves a new approach using stem cells to treat ALS. Cell therapy is still a developing area of research, with few cell therapy products approved for clinical use. Many of the existing cellular therapy candidates are based on novel cell technologies that are inherently risky and may not be understood or accepted by the marketplace. The novel nature of our cell therapy technology creates significant challenges with respect to product development and optimization, manufacturing, government regulation and approval, third-party reimbursement.
Our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, even if approved, may not be accepted in the marketplace; therefore, we may not be able to generate significant revenue, if any.
Even if our NurOwn® stem cell therapy is approved for sale, physicians and the medical community may not ultimately use it or may use it only in applications more restricted than we anticipate. Our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, if successfully developed, will compete with a number of traditional products manufactured and marketed by major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Our NurOwn® stem cell therapy may also compete with new products currently under development by such companies and others. Physicians will prescribe a treatment only if they determine, based on experience, clinical data, side effect profiles and other factors, that it is beneficial as compared to other products currently available and in use. Physicians also will prescribe a product based on their traditional preferences. Many other factors influence the adoption of new products, including patient perceptions and preferences, marketing and distribution restrictions, adverse publicity, product pricing, views of thought leaders in the medical community and reimbursement by government and private payors. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Adoption of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy for the treatment of patients with ALS, PMS, AD or other neurodegenerative diseases, even if approved, may be slow or limited. If our NurOwn® stem cell therapy does not achieve broad acceptance as a treatment option for ALS, PMS, AD or other neurodegenerative diseases, our business would be negatively impact our revenue forecast.
If approved, the rate of adoption of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy as a treatment for ALS, PMS, AD or other neurodegenerative diseases, and the ultimate sales volume for our treatment, will depend on several factors, including educating treating physicians on how to use our NurOwn® stem cell therapy. Our NurOwn® stem cell therapy utilizes individualized stem cell therapy, which is significantly different from the pharmacological approach currently used to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Acceptance of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy by physicians may require us to provide them with extensive education regarding the mechanism of action of our treatment, the method of delivery of the treatment, expected side effects and the method of monitoring patients for efficacy and follow-up. In addition, the manufacturing and delivery processes associated with our treatment will require physicians to adjust their current treatment of patients, which may delay or prevent market adoption of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy as a preferred therapy, even if approved.
Our success will depend in part on establishing and maintaining effective strategic partnerships and collaborations, which may impose restrictions on our business and subject us to additional regulation.
A key aspect of our business strategy is to establish strategic relationships to expand or complement our research and development or commercialization capabilities, and to reduce the cost of such activities. There can be no assurance that we will enter into such relationships, that the arrangements will be on favorable terms or that such relationships will be successful. If we are ultimately successful in executing our strategy of securing collaborations with companies that would undertake advanced clinical development and commercialization of our products, we may not have day-to-day control over their activities. Potential collaborators may have significant discretion in determining the efforts and amount of resources that they dedicate to our collaborations or may be unwilling or unable to fulfill their obligations to us, including their development and commercialization. Potential collaborators may underfund or not commit sufficient resources to the testing, marketing, distribution or other development of our products. They may also not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or they may utilize our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or potentially invalidate our proprietary information or expose us to potential liability. Potential collaboration partners may have the right to terminate the collaboration on relatively short notice and if they do so or if they fail to perform or satisfy their obligations to us, the development or commercialization of products may be delayed and our ability to realize any potential milestone payments and royalty revenue would be adversely affected.
44
Table of Contents
We will need to develop or acquire additional capabilities in order to commercialize our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, if approved for sale, and we may encounter unexpected costs or difficulties in doing so.
We will need to acquire additional capabilities and effectively manage our operations and facilities to successfully pursue and complete future research, development and, if our NurOwn® stem cell therapy receives regulatory approval, commercialization efforts. Currently, we have no experience in preparing applications for marketing approval, commercial-scale manufacturing, managing of large-scale information technology systems or managing a large-scale distribution system. We will need to add personnel and expand our capabilities, which may strain our existing managerial, operational, regulatory compliance, financial and other resources. To do this effectively, we must:
* train, manage and motivate a growing employee base;
* accurately forecast demand for our treatment; and
* expand existing operational, financial and management information systems.
We expect to expand our development, regulatory, manufacturing and sales and marketing capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.
We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of product development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and sales and marketing. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources and our limited experience in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The physical expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.
We have never manufactured our NurOwn® stem cell therapy at commercial scale and there can be no assurance that it can be manufactured in compliance with regulations at a cost or in quantities necessary to make it commercially viable.
Although, several members of our management team have experience in commercial scale cell therapy manufacturing, we have no experience in commercial-scale stem cell therapy manufacturing. We may develop our manufacturing capacity in part by expanding our current facilities and/or by setting up additional facilities in other regions of the country. These activities would require substantial additional funds and we would need to hire and train significant numbers of qualified employees to staff these facilities.
To this end, we are working with Catalent, a third party manufacturer for producing commercial quantities of NurOwn® to treat patients with Neurodegenerative disease. We are also working with RR&D, to help us establish in-house manufacturing capabilities. Our current dependence on others for the manufacture of our drug candidates may adversely affect our ability to develop and deliver such drug candidates on a timely and competitive basis. Any performance failure on the part of a third-party manufacturer could delay clinical development, regulatory approval or, ultimately, sales of our NurOwn®. Our third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties involving production yields, regulatory compliance, lot release, quality control and quality assurance, as well as shortages of qualified personnel. Approval of our NurOwn® could be delayed, limited or denied if the FDA does not approve our or a third-party manufacturer’s processes or facilities.
If any CMO with whom we contract fails to perform its obligations, we may be forced to manufacture the materials ourselves, for which we may not have the capabilities or resources, or enter into an agreement with a different CMO, which we may not be able to do on reasonable terms, if at all. In either scenario, our clinical trials supply could be delayed significantly as we establish alternative supply sources. In some cases, the technical skills required to manufacture our products or product candidates may be unique or proprietary to the original CMO and we may have difficulty, or there may be contractual restrictions prohibiting us from, transferring such skills to a back-up or alternate supplier, or we may be unable to transfer such skills at all. In addition, if we are required to change CMOs for any reason, we will be required to verify that the new CMO maintains facilities and procedures that comply with quality standards and with all applicable regulations. We will also need to verify, such as through a manufacturing comparability study, that any new manufacturing process will produce our product candidate according to the specifications previously submitted to the FDA or another regulatory authority. The delays associated with the verification of a new CMO could negatively affect our ability to develop product candidates
45
Table of Contents
or commercialize our products in a timely manner or within budget. Furthermore, a CMO may possess technology related to the manufacture of our product candidate that such CMO owns independently. This would increase our reliance on such CMO or require us to obtain a license from such CMO in order to have another CMO manufacture our product candidates. In addition, changes in manufacturers often involve changes in manufacturing procedures and processes, which could require that we conduct bridging studies between our prior clinical supply used in our clinical trials and that of any new manufacturer. We may be unsuccessful in demonstrating the comparability of clinical supplies which could require the conduct of additional clinical trials.
In addition, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 10, 2020 the FDA announced its intention to postpone most inspections of foreign manufacturing facilities while local, national and international conditions warrant. Since March 2020 when foreign and domestic inspections of facilities were largely placed on hold, the FDA has been working to resume routine surveillance, bioresearch monitoring and pre-approval inspections on a prioritized basis. Since April 2021, the FDA has conducted limited inspections and employed remote interactive evaluations, using risk management methods, to meet user fee commitments and goal dates. Ongoing travel restrictions and other uncertainties continue to impact oversight operations both domestic and abroad and it is unclear when standard operational levels will resume. The FDA is continuing to complete mission-critical work, prioritize other higher-tiered inspectional needs (e.g., for-cause inspections), and carry out surveillance inspections using risk-based approaches for evaluating public health. Should FDA determine that an inspection is necessary for approval and an inspection cannot be completed during the review cycle due to restrictions on travel, and the FDA does not determine a remote interactive evaluation to be adequate, the agency has stated that it generally intends to issue, depending on the circumstances, a complete response letter or defer action on the application until an inspection can be completed. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, a number of companies announced receipt of complete response letters due to the FDA's inability to complete required inspections for their applications. Regulatory authorities outside the U.S. may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and may experience delays in their regulatory activities. If we are not successful in establishing regulatory compliant, scaled manufacturing capabilities, our commercialization could be delayed, which would further delay the period when we would be able to generate revenues from the sale of such of our products.
Furthermore, we must supply all necessary documentation, including product characterization and process validation, to regulatory authorities in support of our BLA on a timely basis and must adhere to cGMP regulations and current Good Tissue Practices (“GTP”) enforced by the regulatory authority through its facilities inspection program. If the FDA determines that the products used in our clinical trials are not sufficiently characterized, we may be required to repeat all or a portion of our clinical trials. If our facilities cannot pass a pre-approval plant inspection, the regulatory approval of the stem cell therapies will not be granted.
Lack of coordination internally among our employees and externally with physicians, hospitals and third-party suppliers and carriers, could cause manufacturing difficulties, disruptions or delays and cause us to not meet our expected clinical trial requirements or potential commercial requirements.
Manufacturing our NurOwn® stem cell therapy requires coordination internally among our employees and externally with physicians, hospitals and third-party suppliers and carriers. For example, a patient’s physician or clinical site will need to coordinate with us for the shipping of a patient’s bone marrow to our manufacturing facility, and we will need to coordinate with them for the shipping of the treatment components to them. Such coordination involves a number of risks that may lead to failures or delays in manufacturing our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, including:
46
Table of Contents
If we are unable to coordinate appropriately, we may encounter delays or additional costs in achieving our clinical and commercialization objectives, including in obtaining regulatory approvals of our stem cell therapies and supplying products, which could materially damage our business and financial position.
We face competition in our efforts to develop cell therapies for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.
We face competition in our efforts to develop cell therapies and other treatment or procedures to cure or slow the effects of ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Among our competitors are companies that are involved in the fetal-derived cell transplants or embryonic stem cell derived cell therapy and companies developing adult stem cells. Other companies are developing traditional chemical compounds, new biological drugs, cloned human proteins and other treatments, which are likely to impact the markets that we intend to target. Some of our competitors possess longer operating histories and greater financial, managerial, scientific and technical resources than we do, and some possess greater name recognition and established customer bases. Some also have significantly more experience in preclinical testing, human clinical trials, product manufacturing, the regulatory approval process and marketing and distribution than we do.
The trend towards consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may adversely affect us.
There is a trend towards consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. This consolidation trend may result in the remaining companies having greater financial resources and discovery technological capabilities, thus intensifying competition in these industries. This trend may also result in fewer potential collaborators or licensees for our stem cell therapies. Also, if a consolidating company is already doing business with our competitors, we may lose existing licensees or collaborators as a result of such consolidation.
There is a scarcity of experienced professionals in the field of cell therapy and we may not be able to retain key personnel or hire new key personnel needed to implement our business strategy and develop our products and businesses. If we are unable to retain or hire key personnel, we may be unable to continue to grow our business or to implement our business strategy, and our business may be materially and adversely affected.
Given the specialized nature of cell therapy and the fact that it is a young field, there is an inherent scarcity of experienced personnel in the field. Our success depends on a significant extent to the continued services of certain highly qualified scientific and management personnel. We face competition for qualified personnel from numerous industry sources, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel on acceptable terms. The loss of service of any of our key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our operations or financial condition. In the event of the loss of services of such personnel, no assurance can be given that we will be able to obtain the services of adequate replacement personnel. The future success of the Company also depends upon our ability to attract and retain additional qualified personnel (including medical, scientific, technical, commercial, business and administrative personnel) necessary to support our anticipated growth, develop our business, and maintain appropriate licensure, on acceptable terms. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in attracting or retaining personnel required by us to continue and grow our operations. The loss of a key employee, the failure of a key employee to perform in his or her current position or our inability to attract and retain skilled employees, as needed, could result in our inability to continue to grow our business or to implement our business strategy, or may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
47
Table of Contents
Technological and medical developments or improvements in conventional therapies could render the use of stem cells and our services and planned products obsolete.
The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapidly changing markets, technology, emerging industry standards and frequent introduction of new products. The introduction of new products embodying new technologies, including new manufacturing processes, and the emergence of new industry standards may render our technologies obsolete, less competitive or less marketable. Advances in other treatment methods or in disease prevention techniques could significantly reduce or entirely eliminate the need for our stem cell services, planned products and therapeutic efforts. Additionally, technological or medical developments may materially alter the commercial viability of our technology or services, and require us to incur significant costs to replace or modify equipment in which we have a substantial investment. In either event, we may experience a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. To date, approved conventional therapies have not shown significant clinical benefit as disease modifying therapies in the indications that we are currently working on.
We may expend our limited resources to pursue our NurOwn® stem cell therapy or a specific indication for its use and fail to capitalize on stem cell therapies or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we have focused development of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy for use in patients with ALS, PMS and AD. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other stem cell therapies or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions also may cause us to fail to capitalize on a viable commercial treatment, a more viable indication or profitable market opportunities.
We have based our research and development efforts on our NurOwn® stem cell therapy. Notwithstanding our large investment to date and anticipated future expenditures in our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, we have not yet developed, and may never successfully develop, any marketed treatments using this approach. As a result of pursuing the development of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, we may fail to develop stem cell therapies or address indications based on other scientific approaches that may offer greater commercial potential or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
Our NurOwn® stem cell therapy is based on a novel technology, which may raise development issues that we may not be able to resolve, regulatory issues that could delay or prevent approval or personnel issues that may keep us from being able to develop our treatments.
Regulatory approval of stem cell therapies that utilize novel technology such as ours can be more expensive and take longer than for other treatments that are based on more well-known or more extensively studied technology. This may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, including clinical trials, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of these stem cell therapies or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. For example, the differentiated cell component of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy is a complex biologic product that is manufactured from the patient’s own bone marrow that must be appropriately harvested, isolated, expanded and differentiated so that its identity, strength, quality, purity and potency may be characterized prior to release for treatment. No differentiated cell treatment for ALS has yet been approved for marketing by the FDA or any other regulatory agency.
The novel nature of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy also means that fewer people are trained in or experienced with treatments of this type, which may make it difficult to recruit, hire and retain capable personnel for the research, development and manufacturing positions that will be required to continue our development and commercialization efforts.
We may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws health information privacy and security laws, and other health care laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.
If we obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates and begin commercializing those products in the United States, our operations will be directly, or indirectly through our prescribers, customers and purchasers, subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the federal Health Care Program Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal civil and criminal False Claims Act and Physician Payments Sunshine Act and regulations. These laws will impact, among other things, our
48
Table of Contents
proposed sales, marketing and educational programs. In addition, we may be subject to patient privacy laws by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The laws that will affect our operations include, but are not limited to:
49
Table of Contents
In addition to the above, on November 20, 2020, the Office of Inspector General, or OIG finalized further modifications to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Under the final rules, OIG added safe harbor protections under the Anti-Kickback Statute for certain coordinated care and value-based arrangements among clinicians, providers, and others, yet removed safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsors under Part D, either directly or through pharmacy benefit managers, unless the price reduction is required by law. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers. This rule (with exceptions) became effective January 19, 2021. We continue to evaluate what effect, if any, these rules will have on our business.
Additionally, we are subject to state and foreign equivalents of each of the healthcare laws and regulations described above, among others, some of which may be broader in scope and may apply regardless of the payor. Many U.S. states have adopted laws similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act, and may apply to our business practices, including, but not limited to, research, distribution, sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental payors, including private insurers. In addition, some states have passed laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the April 2003 Office of Inspector General Compliance Program Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and/or the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals. Several states also impose other marketing
50
Table of Contents
restrictions or require pharmaceutical companies to make marketing or price disclosures to the state and require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives. State and foreign laws, including for example the GDPR in the EEA, also govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts. There are ambiguities as to what is required to comply with these state requirements and if we fail to comply with an applicable state law requirement we could be subject to penalties. Finally, there are state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge and may not comply under one or more of such laws, regulations, and guidance. Law enforcement authorities are increasingly focused on enforcing fraud and abuse laws, and it is possible that some of our practices may be challenged under these laws. Efforts to ensure that our current and future business arrangements with third parties, and our business generally, will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. If our operations, including our arrangements with physicians and other healthcare providers, some of whom receive share options as compensation for services provided, are found to be in violation of any of such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs (such as Medicare and Medicaid), and imprisonment, as well as additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
It is uncertain to what extent the government, private health insurers and third-party payors will approve coverage or provide reimbursement for the therapies and products to which our services relate. Availability for such reimbursement may be further limited by an increasing uninsured population and reductions in Medicare and Medicaid funding in the United States.
In the United States and markets in other countries, patients generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Our ability to successfully commercialize our human therapeutic products will depend significantly on our ability to obtain acceptable prices and the availability of reimbursement to the patient from third-party payors, such as government and private insurance plans. Although we have commenced initial discussions with such parties, pricing for our product, if approved, is yet to determined. Sales of our product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be covered and paid by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government health administration authorities, private health coverage insurers and other payors. If coverage and adequate reimbursement are not available, or are available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our investment. We may not be able to provide data sufficient to gain acceptance with respect to coverage and reimbursement. If reimbursement is not available, or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates, if approved. The process for determining whether a payor will provide coverage for a product may be separate from the process for setting the reimbursement rate that the payor will pay for the product. Payors may limit coverage to specific products on an approved list, or formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved products for a particular indication. A decision by a payor not to cover our gene therapies could reduce physician utilization of our products once approved, and have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations and financial condition.
There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, the principal decisions about coverage and reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, as CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare. Private payors tend to follow the CMS to a substantial degree. It is difficult to predict what CMS will decide with respect to reimbursement for fundamentally novel products such as ours, as there is no body of established practices and precedents for these new products. Factors payors consider in determining reimbursement are based on whether the product is:
* a covered benefit under its health plan;
* safe, effective and medically necessary;
51
Table of Contents
* appropriate for the specific patient;
* cost-effective; and
* neither experimental nor investigational.
These third-party payors frequently require companies to provide predetermined discounts from list prices, and they are increasingly challenging the prices charged for pharmaceuticals and other medical products. Our human therapeutic products may not be considered cost-effective, and reimbursement to the patient may not be available or sufficient to allow us to sell our products on a competitive basis.
Further, as cost containment pressures are increasing in the health care industry, government and private payors adopt strategies designed to limit the amount of reimbursement paid to health care providers. Such cost containment measures may include:
* Reducing reimbursement rates;
* Challenging the prices charged for medical products and services;
* Limiting services covered;
* Decreasing utilization of services;
* Negotiating prospective or discounted contract pricing;
* Adopting capitation strategies; and
* Seeking competitive bids.
Similarly, the trend toward managed health care and bundled pricing for health care services in the United States could significantly influence the purchase of healthcare services and products, resulting in lower prices and reduced demand for our therapies.
We may not be able to negotiate favorable reimbursement rates for our human therapeutic products. If we fail to obtain acceptable prices or an adequate level of reimbursement for our products, the sales of our products would be adversely affected or there may be no commercially viable market for our products.
Unintended consequences of recently adopted health reform legislation in the U.S. may adversely affect our business.
The healthcare industry is undergoing fundamental changes resulting from political, economic and regulatory influences. In the U.S., comprehensive programs are under consideration that seek to, among other things, increase access to healthcare for the uninsured and control the escalation of healthcare expenditures within the economy. Payors, whether domestic or foreign, or governmental or private, are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs and those methods are not always specifically adapted for new technologies such as gene therapy and therapies addressing rare diseases such as those we are developing. In both the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the health care system that could impact our ability to sell our products profitably. In particular, in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively, the ACA, was enacted, which, among other things, subjected biologic products to potential competition by lower-cost biosimilars; addressed a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected; increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by most manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program; extended the Medicaid Drug Rebate program to utilization of prescriptions of individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations; subjected manufacturers to new annual fees and taxes for certain branded prescription drugs; created a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% (increased to 70% pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, effective as of January 1, 2019) point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D; and provided incentives to programs that increase the federal government’s comparative effectiveness research.
52
Table of Contents
Since its enactment, there have been numerous judicial, administrative, executive, and legislative challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. Various portions of the ACA are currently undergoing legal and constitutional challenges in the United States Supreme Court; the former Trump Administration issued various Executive Orders which eliminated cost sharing subsidies and various provisions that would impose a fiscal burden on states or a cost, fee, tax, penalty or regulatory burden on individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices; and Congress has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at significantly revising or repealing the ACA. The United States Supreme Court is expected to rule on a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the ACA in early 2021. The implementation of the ACA is ongoing, the law appears likely to continue the downward pressure on pharmaceutical pricing, especially under the Medicare program, and may also increase our regulatory burdens and operating costs. Litigation and legislation related to the ACA are likely to continue, with unpredictable and uncertain results. It is unclear whether the ACA will be overturned, repealed, replaced, or further amended. We cannot predict what affect further changes to the ACA would have on our business.
In addition, other legislative and regulatory changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted:
53
Table of Contents
Additionally, there has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to drug pricing practices. Specifically, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, and review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs. At a federal level, President Biden signed an Executive Order on July 9, 2021 affirming the administration’s policy to (i) support legislative reforms that would lower the prices of prescription drug and biologics, including by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, by imposing inflation caps, and, by supporting the development and market entry of lower-cost generic drugs and biosimilars; and (ii) support the enactment of a public health insurance option. Among other things, the Executive Order also directs HHS to provide a report on actions to combat excessive pricing of prescription drugs, enhance the domestic drug supply chain, reduce the price that the Federal government pays for drugs, and address price gouging in the industry; and directs the FDA to work with states and Indian Tribes that propose to develop section 804 Importation Programs in accordance with the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, and the FDA’s implementing regulations. FDA released such implementing regulations on September 24, 2020, which went into effect on November 30, 2020, providing guidance for states to build and submit importation plans for drugs from Canada. On September 25, 2020, CMS stated drugs imported by states under this rule will not be eligible for federal rebates under Section 1927 of the Social Security Act and manufacturers would not report these drugs for “best price” or Average Manufacturer Price purposes. Since these drugs are not considered covered outpatient drugs, CMS further stated it will not publish a National Average Drug Acquisition Cost for these drugs. If implemented, importation of drugs from Canada may materially and adversely affect the price we receive for any of our product candidates. Further, on November 20, 2020 CMS issued an Interim Final Rule implementing the Most Favored Nation, or MFN, Model under which Medicare Part B reimbursement rates would have been be calculated for certain drugs and biologicals based on the lowest price drug manufacturers receive in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries with a similar gross domestic product per capita. However, on December 29, 2021 CMS rescinded the Most Favored Nations rule. Additionally, on November 30, 2020, HHS published a regulation removing safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsors under Part D, either directly or through pharmacy benefit managers, unless the price reduction is required by law. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers. Pursuant to court order, the removal and addition of the aforementioned safe harbors were delayed and recent legislation imposed a moratorium on implementation of the rule until January 1, 2026. Although a number of these and other proposed measures may require authorization through additional legislation to become effective, and the Biden administration may reverse or otherwise change these measures, both the Biden administration and Congress have indicated that they will continue to seek new legislative measures to control drug costs.
At the state level, legislatures are increasingly passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, or restrictions on certain product access, and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, which, in some cases, are designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.
There have been, and likely will continue to be, legislative and regulatory proposals at the foreign, federal and state levels directed at broadening the availability of healthcare and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. We cannot predict the initiatives that may be adopted in the future. The continuing efforts of the government, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of healthcare services to contain or reduce costs of healthcare and/or impose price controls may adversely affect:
* the demand for our product candidates, if we obtain regulatory approval;
* our ability to set a price that we believe is fair for our products;
* our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability;
* the level of taxes that we are required to pay; and
* the availability of capital.
Any denial in coverage or reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar denial or reduction in payments from private payors, which may adversely affect our future profitability.
54
Table of Contents
Ethical and other concerns surrounding the use of stem cell therapy may negatively impact the public perception of our stem cell services, thereby suppressing demand for our services.
Although our stem cell business pertains to adult stem cells only and does not involve the more controversial use of embryonic stem cells, the use of adult human stem cells for therapy could give rise to similar ethical, legal and social issues as those associated with embryonic stem cells, which could adversely affect its acceptance by consumers and medical practitioners. Additionally, it is possible that our business could be negatively impacted by any stigma associated with the use of embryonic stem cells if the public fails to appreciate the distinction between adult and embryonic stem cells. Delays in achieving public acceptance may materially and adversely affect the results of our operations and profitability.
We may be subject to significant product liability claims and litigation which could adversely affect our future earnings and financial condition.
Our business exposes us to potential product liability risks inherent in the testing, processing and marketing of stem cell therapy products. Specifically, the conduct of clinical trials in humans involves the potential risk that the use of our stem cell therapy products will result in adverse effects. Such liability claims may be expensive to defend and result in large judgments against us. We currently maintain liability insurance for our clinical trials; however, such liability insurance may not be adequate to fully cover any liabilities that arise from clinical trials of our stem cell therapy products. We also maintain errors and omissions, directors and officers, workers’ compensation and other insurance appropriate to our business activities. If we were to be subject to a claim in excess of this coverage or to a claim not covered by our insurance and the claim succeeded, we would be required to pay the claim from our own limited resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and business. Additionally, liability or alleged liability could harm our business by diverting the attention and resources of our management and damaging our reputation and that of our subsidiaries.
Political, economic and military instability in Israel may impede our ability to execute our plan of operations.
Our principal operations and the research and development facilities of the scientific team funded by us under the Second Ramot Agreement are located in Israel. Accordingly, political, economic and military conditions in Israel may affect our business. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have occurred between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Acts of random terrorism periodically occur which could affect our operations or personnel. Ongoing or revived hostilities or other factors related to Israel could harm our operations and research and development process and could impede our ability to execute our plan of operations.
In addition, Israeli-based companies and companies doing business with Israel have been the subject of an economic boycott by members of the Arab League and certain other predominantly Muslim countries since Israel's establishment. Although Israel has entered into various agreements with certain Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority, and various declarations have been signed in connection with efforts to resolve some of the economic and political problems in the Middle East, we cannot predict whether or in what manner these problems will be resolved. Wars and acts of terrorism have resulted in damage to the Israeli economy, including reducing the level of foreign and local investment.
Furthermore, certain of our officers and employees may be obligated to perform annual reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces and are subject to being called up for active military duty at any time. Israeli citizens who have served in the army may be subject to an obligation to perform reserve duty until they are between 40 and 49 years old, depending upon the nature of their military service.
55
Table of Contents
Man-Made Problems Such as Computer Viruses or Terrorism May Disrupt Our Operations and Harm Our Operating Results
Despite our implementation of network security measures our servers are vulnerable to computer viruses, break-ins, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our computer systems. Any such event could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. Efforts to limit the ability of malicious third parties to disrupt the operations of the internet or undermine our own security efforts may meet with resistance. In addition, the continued threat of terrorism and heightened security and military action in response to this threat, or any future acts of terrorism, may cause further disruptions to the economies of the United States, Israel and other countries and create further uncertainties or otherwise materially harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. Likewise, events such as widespread blackouts could have similar negative impacts. To the extent that such disruptions or uncertainties result in delays or access to data or personal information, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Changes in Tax Law may Adversely Affect our Business and Financial Condition
The laws and rules dealing with U.S. federal, state and local income taxation are routinely being reviewed and modified by governmental bodies, officials and regulatory agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department. Since inception, many such changes have been made and changes are likely to continue to occur in the future. It cannot be predicted whether, when, in what form, or with what effective dates, tax laws, regulations and rulings may be enacted, promulgated or issued, that could result in an increase in our or our stockholders’ tax liability.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
We are subject to a strict regulatory environment. If we fail to obtain and maintain required regulatory approvals for our potential cell therapy products, our ability to commercialize our potential cell therapy products will be severely limited.
None of our stem cell therapies have received regulatory approval for commercial sale yet.
Numerous statutes and regulations govern human testing and the manufacture and sale of human therapeutic products in the United States and other countries where we intend to market our products. Such legislation and regulation bears upon, among other things, the approval of protocols and human testing, the approval of manufacturing facilities, testing procedures and controlled research, review and approval of manufacturing, preclinical and clinical data prior to marketing approval including adherence to cGMP during production and storage as well as regulation of marketing activities including advertising and labeling.
The completion of the clinical testing of our stem cell therapies and the obtaining of required approvals are expected to require the expenditure of substantial resources. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, the clinical trial process that could delay or prevent regulatory approval and/or commercialization of our stem cell therapies, including the following:
56
Table of Contents
Investors should be aware of the risks, problems, delays, expenses and difficulties which may be encountered by us in light of the extensive regulatory environment in which our business operates. In particular, our development costs will increase if we have material delays in our clinical trials, or if we are required to modify, suspend, terminate or repeat a clinical trial. If we are unable to conduct our clinical trials properly and on schedule, marketing approval may be delayed or denied by the Israeli MoH or the FDA. On February 22, 2021, we announced high-level FDA feedback on NurOwn(R) ALS Clinical Development Program. The FDA concluded from their initial review that the current level of clinical data does not provide the threshold of substantial evidence that FDA is seeking to support a BLA. On March 2, 2021, the FDA issued a public statement that the data from the Phase 3 ALS study do not support the proposed clinical benefit of NurOwn(R) and that the FDA would continue to provide advice to us on our development program.
Even if a stem cell therapy is approved by the Israeli MoH, the FDA or any other regulatory authority, we may not obtain approval for an indication whose market is large enough to recoup our investment in that stem cell therapy. We may never obtain the required regulatory approvals for any of our stem cell therapies. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, manufacturer or facility may result in restrictions on the product or manufacturer, including a withdrawal of the product from the market.
Even if regulatory approvals are obtained for our stem cell therapies, we will be subject to ongoing government regulation. If we or one or more of our partners or collaborators fail to comply with applicable current and future laws and government regulations, our business and financial results could be adversely affected.
The healthcare industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States. The federal government, individual state and local governments and private accreditation organizations all oversee and monitor the activities of individuals and businesses engaged in the delivery of health care products and services. Even if regulatory authorities approve any of our human stem cell therapies, current laws, rules and regulations that could directly or indirectly affect our ability and the ability of our strategic partners and customers to operate each of their businesses could include, without limitation, the following:
* The federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act and amendments of 1988;
* The Public Health Service Act and related laws and regulations;
* State laws and regulations governing human subject research;
* Occupational Safety and Health requirements; and
57
Table of Contents
Compliance with such regulation may be expensive and consume substantial financial and management resources. If we, or any future marketing collaborators or contract manufacturers, fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we may be subject to sanctions including fines, product recalls or seizures, injunctions, total or partial suspension of production, civil penalties, withdrawal of regulatory approvals and criminal prosecution. Any of these sanctions could delay or prevent the promotion, marketing or sale of our products.
We are subject to environmental, health and safety laws.
We are subject to various laws and regulations relating to safe working conditions, laboratory and manufacturing practices, the experimental use of animals and humans, emissions and wastewater discharges, and the use and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances used in connection with our research. We also cannot accurately predict the extent of regulations that might result from any future legislative or administrative action. Any of these laws or regulations could cause us to incur additional expense or restrict our operations.
Compliance with environmental laws and regulations may be expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts.
We are subject to significant regulation with respect to manufacturing of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy.
All entities involved in the preparation of a therapeutic biological for clinical trials or commercial sale are subject to extensive regulation. Our NurOwn® stem cell therapy must be manufactured in accordance with cGMP and GTP before it can be used in our clinical trials or approved for commercial sale. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational stem cell therapies and treatments, including treatment component characterization and process validation, approved for sale. Our facilities and quality systems and the facilities and quality systems of some or all of our third party suppliers must pass a pre-approval inspection for compliance with the applicable regulations as a condition of regulatory approval of our NurOwn® stem cell therapy. If any inspection or audit of our manufacturing facilities identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations, or if a violation of applicable regulations occurs independent of an inspection or audit, we or the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time consuming for us or a third party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed on us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business.
For certain commercial prescription biologic products, manufacturers and other parties involved in the supply chain must also meet chain of distribution requirements and build electronic, interoperable systems for product tracking and tracing and for notifying the FDA of counterfeit, diverted, stolen and intentionally adulterated products or other products that are otherwise unfit for distribution in the United States.
Our long-term business plan is to develop our NurOwn® stem cell therapy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS, PMS and AD. Even if we successfully develop our NurOwn® stem cell therapy for use in one indication, we may not be successful in our efforts to identify or discover additional indications for it. Clinical programs to develop new indications for our NurOwn® stem cell therapy will require substantial technical, financial and human resources. These development programs may initially show promise in identifying potential treatment indications, yet fail to obtain regulatory approval for commercial sale.
If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for our NurOwn® stem cell therapy, we may relinquish valuable rights to that treatment through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights.
58
Table of Contents
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
Part of our business in the foreseeable future will be based on technology licensed from Ramot and if this license were to be terminated upon failure to make required royalty payments in the future, we would need to change our business strategy and we may be forced to cease our operations.
Agreements we and our Israeli Subsidiary have with Ramot impose on us royalty payment obligations. If we fail to comply with these obligations, Ramot may have the right to terminate the license under certain circumstances. If Ramot elects to terminate our license, we would need to change our business strategy and we may be forced to cease our operations. We currently do not owe Ramot any overdue payments. Royalties are due upon commencement of revenues by the Company.
If Ramot is unable to obtain patents on the patent applications and technology licensed to our Israeli Subsidiary or if patents are obtained but do not provide meaningful protection, we may not be able to successfully market our proposed products.
We rely upon the patent applications filed by Ramot, the technology licensing company of Tel Aviv University, and the license granted to us by Ramot, all in accordance with the Second Ramot Agreement dated as of July 26, 2007. We further agreed under the Second Ramot Agreement that Ramot, in consultation with us, is responsible for obtaining patent protection for technology owned by Ramot and licensed to us. No assurance can be given that any of our pending or future patent applications will be approved, that the scope of any patent protection granted will exclude competitors or provide us with competitive advantages, that any of the patents that may be issued to us will be held valid if subsequently challenged, or that other parties will not claim rights to or ownership of our patents or other proprietary rights that we hold license to. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that others have not developed or will not develop similar products, duplicate any of our technology or products or design around any patents that have been or may be issued to us or any future licensors. Since patent applications in the United States and in Europe are not disclosed until applications are published, there can be no assurance that others did not first file applications for products covered by our pending patent applications, nor can we be certain that we will not infringe any patents that may be issued to others. Also, we have abandoned our rights to certain patents of Ramot in certain countries in connection with the Letter Agreement by and between us and Ramot dated December 24, 2009, which may limit our ability to fully market our proposed products. All granted patents related to NurOwn® (MSC-NTF cells) manufacturing process are fully assigned to or owned by BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Ltd.
We also rely upon unpatented proprietary technology, know-how and trade secrets and seek to protect them through confidentiality agreements with employees, consultants and advisors. If these confidentiality agreements are breached, we may not have adequate remedies for the breach. In addition, others may independently develop or otherwise acquire substantially the same proprietary technology as our technology and trade secrets.
We may be unable to protect our intellectual property from infringement by third parties.
Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property. Our competitors may also independently develop similar technology, duplicate our processes or services or design around our intellectual property rights. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights to determine their scope, validity or enforceability. Intellectual property litigation is costly, time-consuming, diverts the attention of management and technical personnel and could result in substantial uncertainty regarding our future viability. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce intellectual property protection would limit our ability to develop or market our services in the future. This would also likely have an adverse effect on the revenues generated by any sale or license of such intellectual property. Furthermore, any public announcements related to such litigation or regulatory proceedings could adversely affect the price of our Common Stock.
59
Table of Contents
Third parties may claim that we infringe on their intellectual property.
We may be subject to costly litigation in the event our technology is claimed to infringe upon the proprietary rights of others. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that would be infringed by our technology. Any of these third parties could make a claim of infringement against us with respect to our technology. We may also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark or license usage rights. Litigation and patent interference proceedings could result in substantial expense to us and significant diversion of efforts by our technical and management personnel. An adverse determination in any such proceeding or in patent litigation could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties or require us to seek licenses from third parties. Such licenses may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. Adverse determinations in a judicial or administrative proceeding or failure to obtain necessary licenses could prevent us from commercializing our products, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
As a result of our reliance on consultants, we may not be able to protect the confidentiality of our technology, which, if disseminated, could negatively impact our plan of operations.
We currently have relationships with academic and industry consultants and subcontractors who are not directly employed by us, and we may enter into additional relationships of such nature in the future. We have limited control over the activities of these consultants and can expect only limited amounts of their time to be dedicated to our activities. These persons may have consulting, employment or advisory arrangements with other entities that may conflict with or compete with their obligations to us. Our consultants typically sign agreements that provide for confidentiality of our proprietary information and results of studies. However, in connection with every relationship, we may not be able to maintain the confidentiality of our technology, the dissemination of which could hurt our competitive position and results of operations. To the extent that our scientific consultants develop inventions or processes independently that may be applicable to our proposed products, disputes may arise as to the ownership of the proprietary rights to such information, we may expend significant resources in such disputes and we may not win those disputes.
We received grants from the Israel Innovation Authority, or IIA, we are subject to on-going restrictions.
We have received royalty-bearing grants from the IIA, for research and development programs that meet specified criteria. The terms of the IIA’s grants may limit various technology transfer know-how developed under an approved research and development program outside of Israel.
Risks related to our Common Stock
The price and trading volume of our stock is expected to be volatile.
The market price and trading volume of our Common Stock has fluctuated significantly over time, and is likely to continue to be highly volatile. To date, the trading volume and price of our stock has seen significant fluctuations. We expect such fluctuations could occur in the future. Investors should be aware of the risks of trading in our Common Stock due to such volatility.
Your percentage ownership will be diluted by future issuances of our securities.
In order to meet our financing needs, we may issue additional significant amounts of our Common Stock and warrants to purchase shares of our Common Stock. The precise terms of any future financings will be determined by us and potential investors and such future financings may also significantly dilute your percentage ownership in the Company.
ACCBT holds equity participation rights and other rights that could affect our ability to raise funds.
Pursuant to the Subscription Agreement with ACCBT Corp. (“ACCBT”), a company under the control of Mr. Chaim Lebovits, our President and Chief Executive Officer, we granted ACCBT the right to acquire additional shares of our Common Stock whenever we issue additional shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company, or options or rights to purchase shares of the Company or other securities directly or indirectly convertible into or exercisable for shares of the Company (including shares of any newly created class or series). This participation right could limit our ability to enter into equity financings and to raise funds from third parties. ACCBT is entitled to purchase its pro rata share of any additional securities we offer, so that its percentage ownership of the Company remains the same after any such issuance of additional securities. Such additional securities will be offered to ACCBT at the same price
60
Table of Contents
and on the same terms as the other investors in the transaction. ACCBT will have 30 days from the date of our notice to ACCBT of any intended transaction, to decide whether it wishes to exercise its participation rights in the transaction. We also are prohibited from taking certain corporate actions without the consent of ACCBT, including entering into transactions greater than $500,000. Further, ACCBT also has the right to appoint 30% of our Board. In connection with the Subscription Agreement, we entered into a registration rights agreement with ACCBT pursuant to which we granted piggyback registration rights to ACCBT. In addition, we issued ACCBT warrants to purchase up to 2,016,666 shares of Common Stock, of which 2,016,666 warrants are presently outstanding. The outstanding warrants contain cashless exercise provisions, which permit the cashless exercise of up to 50% of the underlying shares of Common Stock. 672,222 of such warrants have an exercise price of $3.00 and the remainder have an exercise price of $4.35. We registered 1,920,461 shares of Common Stock and 2,016,666 shares of Common Stock underlying the ACCBT Warrants on registration statement No. 333-201705 dated January 26, 2015 pursuant to ACCBT’s registration rights. ACCBT has waived its participation rights and anti-dilution rights with respect to issuances that were made on or prior to November 2, 2017. In March 2014, we entered into an agreement with ACCBT according to which ACCBT waived certain anti-dilution rights. On November 2, 2017, the Company entered into a Warrant Amendment Agreement with ACCBT, pursuant to which the expiration date of each Warrant held by ACCBT was extended until November 5, 2022, in consideration of ACCBT having provided a series of waivers of their rights and reduction of rights.
You may experience difficulties in attempting to enforce liabilities based upon U.S. federal securities laws against us and our non-U.S. resident directors and officers.
Our principal operations are located through our subsidiary in Israel and our principal assets are located outside the U.S. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Business Officer and some of our directors are foreign citizens and do not reside in the U.S. It may be difficult for courts in the U.S. to obtain jurisdiction over our foreign assets or these persons and as a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to enforce judgments rendered against us or our directors or executive officers in U.S. courts. Thus, should any situation arise in the future in which you have a cause of action against these persons or entities, you are at greater risk in investing in our Company rather than a domestic company because of greater potential difficulties in bringing lawsuits or, if successful, collecting judgments against these persons or entities as opposed to domestic persons or entities.
If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our Common Stock may be materially and adversely affected.
As a public company in the United States, we are subject to the reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. The SEC, as required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, has adopted rules requiring every public company to include a report of management on the effectiveness of such company’s internal control over financial reporting in its annual report. In prior years, management has identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If any of our prior material weaknesses recurs, or if we identify additional weaknesses or fail to timely and successfully implement new or improved controls, our ability to assure timely and accurate financial reporting may be adversely affected, and we could suffer a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which in turn could negatively impact the trading price of our shares of Common Stock, result in lawsuits being filed against us by our stockholders, or otherwise harm our reputation. If material weaknesses are identified in the future, it could be costly to remediate such material weaknesses, which may adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, our auditor is not required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting due to our status of qualifying as a smaller reporting company. As a result, current and potential investors could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which could harm our business and have an adverse effect on our share price.
Delaware law could discourage a change in control, or an acquisition of us by a third party, even if the acquisition would be favorable to you, and thereby adversely affect existing stockholders.
The Delaware General Corporation Law contain provisions that may have the effect of making more difficult or delaying attempts by others to obtain control of our Company, even when these attempts may be in the best interests of stockholders. Delaware law imposes conditions on certain business combination transactions with “interested stockholders.” These provisions and others that could be adopted in the future could deter unsolicited takeovers or delay or prevent changes in our control or management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over then current market prices. These provisions may also limit the ability of stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in their best interests.
61
Table of Contents
We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, and accordingly you must rely on stock appreciation for any return on your investment.
We have paid no cash dividends on our Common Stock to date, and we currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the continued development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, any payment of cash dividends will also depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and other factors, including contractual restrictions to which we may be subject, and will be at the discretion of our Board.
Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
Item 2. PROPERTIES
Corporate Headquarters and other office space
Our United States corporate headquarters are located at 1325 Avenue of Americas, 28th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Our Israeli Subsidiary is party to a lease agreement for the lease of premises in 12 Basel Street, Petach Tikva, Israel, which include approximately 600 square meters of office and laboratory space, including an animal research facility.
In addition, we lease a GMP certified manufacturing facility with two cleanrooms in Jerusalem, Israel, and have recently leased a new GMP certified facility, which includes three state-of-the-art cleanrooms, at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
We believe that the current office, laboratory space, and cleanrooms are adequate to meet our needs for research and development, clinicals trials and administrative operations.
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we may become involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of operations in the normal course of business, which we consider routine and incidental to our business. We currently are not a party to any legal proceedings the adverse outcome of which, in management’s opinion, would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation or financial condition.
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not required.
62
Table of Contents
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 currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “BCLI”.
Record Holders
As of March 21, 2022, there were approximately 30 holders of record of our Common Stock.
Dividends
We have not paid or declared any cash or other dividends on our Common Stock within the last two fiscal years. Any future determination as to the payment of dividends will depend upon our results of operations, and on our capital requirements, financial condition and other factors relevant at the time.
Equity Compensation Plans
Information regarding our equity compensation plans and the securities authorized under the plans is included in Item 12 below.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
Exercises of 2018 Amended Warrants:
On June 6, 2018, the Company entered into Warrant Exercise Agreements with certain holders (“2018 Warrant Holders”), pursuant to which holders were issued warrants to purchase an aggregate 2,458,201 unregistered shares of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $9 per share, with an expiration date of December 31, 2020 (the “2018 Warrants”). In connection with the issuance of the 2019 Warrants (described below), certain 2018 Warrants were amended on August 2, 2019 to reduce the exercise price to $7.00 per share and to extend the expiration date to December 31, 2021 (the “Amended 2018 Warrants”).
Between July 20, 2020 and July 24, 2020, 2018 Warrant Holders exercised an aggregate of 280,000 shares of the Amended 2018 Warrants (the “2018 Exercised Shares”), which exercises generated gross cash proceeds to the Company of $1.96 million.
The 2018 Warrants have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or state securities laws. The 2018 Exercised Shares have been registered for resale on the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-225995). The issuance of the 2018 Exercised Shares and 2018 Warrants was exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to the exemption for transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act. The Company made this determination based on the representations that each party is an “accredited investor” within the meaning of Rule 501 of Regulation D. The Company expects to use cash received from exercises for general corporate and working capital purposes.
Exercises of 2019 Warrants:
On August 2, 2019, the Company entered into Warrant Exercise Agreements with certain 2018 Warrant Holders (“2019 Warrant Holders”), pursuant to which holders were issued warrants to purchase an aggregate 842,000 shares of Common Stock (the “2019 Warrants”), at an exercise price of $7.00, with an expiration date of December 31, 2021 (the “2019 Warrants”).
Between July 15, 2020 and July 24, 2020, 2019 Warrant Holders exercised an aggregate of 620,000 shares of the 2019 Warrants (the “2019 Exercised Shares”), which exercises generated gross cash proceeds to the Company of $4.34 million.
63
Table of Contents
The 2019 Warrants have not been registered under the Securities Act, or state securities laws. The 2019 Exercised Shares have been registered for resale on the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-233349). The issuance of the 2019 Exercised Shares and 2019 Warrants is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to the exemption for transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act. The Company made this determination based on the representations that each party is an “accredited investor” within the meaning of Rule 501 of Regulation D. The Company expects to use cash received from exercises for general corporate and working capital purposes.
Item 6. RESERVED
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements reflecting our current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For further information regarding forward-looking statements, please refer to the “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Company Overview
We are a leading biotechnology company engaged in the development of best-in-class autologous cellular therapies derived from a patient’s own bone marrow cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We hold the rights to clinical development and commercialization of the NurOwn® technology platform through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement (see details herein). NurOwn® has received Fast Track designation from the FDA in ALS and has additionally been granted Orphan Drug Status by the FDA and the EMA. For more information, visit our website at www.brainstorm-cell.com.
We are committed to bring innovative central nervous system (“CNS”) adult stem cell therapies to the market to improve the lives of patients with debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. As a leader in CNS regenerative cellular medicines, we are leveraging NurOwn®, its proprietary autologous mesenchymal stem cell platform technology, a strong and expanded intellectual property portfolio, as well as manufacturing and commercialization capabilities, to address growing unmet medical needs across a broad range of neurodegenerative disorders, such as ALS, PMS, AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. NurOwn® uses proprietary cell culture conditions to induce MSCs to secrete high levels of multiple neurotrophic factors to modulate neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease processes, promote neuronal survival and improve neurological function.
Results of Operations
For the period from inception (September 22, 2000) until December 31, 2021, we did not generate any revenues from operations. In addition, we incurred operating costs and expenses of approximately $24,457,000 during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Research and Development, net
Our business model calls for significant investments in research and development. Our research and development expenditures, net in the year ended December 31, 2021 were $15,235,000, a decrease of $7,094,000 compared to $22,329,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020.
This decrease is due to: (i) a decrease of $9,878,000 in connection with costs related to the Phase 3 and Phase 2 Clinical Trials and (ii) a decrease of $738,000 in connection with materials, patents, payroll and stock-based compensation expenses and other activities. This decrease was partially offset by (i) a decrease of $1,972,000 in participation of the Israel Innovation Authority (“IIA”), CIRM and under various awarded grants in 2021 and (ii) an increase of $1,550,000 for costs related to preclinical R&D activities, travel, consultants, depreciation, rent and other costs. Excluding participation from IIA and other grants and proceeds received under the hospital exemption regulatory pathway, research and development expenses decreased by $8,724,000 from $24,608,000 in 2020 to $15,884,000 in 2021.
64
Table of Contents
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were $9,304,000 and $9,355,000, respectively. The decrease of $51,000 in general and administrative expenses is mainly due to: (i) a decrease of $437,000 in payroll and stock-based compensation expenses; (ii) a decrease of $331,000 in the travel costs, costs of our stock costs, consultants, costs of our investor relations and public relations activities. This decrease was partially offset by an increase of $717,000 in our rent and various other expenses.
Financial Expenses
Financial income for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $82,000 as compared to financial expense of $127,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 due to interest earned on our cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits.
Net Loss
Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $24,457,000, as compared to a net loss of $31,811,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020. Net loss per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was $0.68 and $1.07, respectively.
The weighted average number of shares of Common Stock used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 was 36,181,753 compared to 29,848,217 for the year ended December 31, 2020.
The increase in the weighted average number of shares of Common Stock used in computing basic loss per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 was due to: (i) the issuance of shares to employees and directors, (ii) issuance and sale of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Distribution Agreement and (iii) the exercise of options.
Since its inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to research and development. The Company is still in its development and clinical stage and has not yet generated revenues. The extent of the Company's future operating losses and the timing of becoming profitable are uncertain.
Additional funding will be required to begin the commercialization efforts and to achieve a level of sales adequate to support the Company's cost structure.
To meet its capital needs, the Company is considering multiple alternatives, including, but not limited to, additional public and private sales of its Common Stock and warrants, the exercise of warrants, the issuance of convertible promissory notes, sales of Common Stock via its August 9, 2021 ATM program and other funding transactions. While the Company has been successful in raising financing recently and in the past, there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so in the future on a timely basis on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all.
Continuing concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the emergence of new variants, may continue to adversely disrupt the Company's operations, including the ability to complete the ongoing clinical trials and may have other adverse effects on Company's business and operations. In addition, this pandemic has caused substantial disruption in the financial markets and may adversely impact economies worldwide, both of which could result in adverse effects on Company's business, operations and ability to raise capital.
Management expects that the Company will continue to generate losses from the clinical development and regulatory activities, which will result in a negative cash flow from operating activity. The Company has recently completed its Phase 3 ALS clinical trial. The Company currently has sufficient cash to complete its ongoing activities. Over the longer term, if the Company is granted a BLA approval, additional capital raise will be needed in connection with strategic partnerships and to commercialize NurOwn® for ALS, and to conduct additional trials for other indications. If the Company is not able to raise additional capital for these purposes, management may need to slow the pace of commercialization or the Company may not be able to continue to function as a going concern. The Company's consolidated financial statements do not reflect any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
65
Table of Contents
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception, the Company has financed its operations primarily through public and private sales of its Common Stock and warrants, the exercise of warrants, the issuance of convertible promissory notes, sales via the ATM programs and through various grants. At December 31, 2021 cash, cash equivalents and short-term bank deposits amounted to $22,094,000.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $26,265,000. Cash used for operating activities was primarily attributed to cost of clinical trials, rent of clean rooms and materials for clinical trials, payroll costs, rent, outside legal fee expenses and public relations expenses.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $323,000 representing primarily a net decrease in short-term deposits and purchase of property and equipment.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $ 6,969,000 from the exercises of options during the year, sales of common stock under ring and sales of common stock under the September 25, 2020 ATM programs.
On August 9, 2021, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement (the "New Distribution Agreement") with the Agents pursuant to which the Company may sell from time to time, through the Agents, shares of Common Stock, having an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000 (the "August 9, 2021, ATM"). Sales under the August 9, 2021, ATM are to be made by any method permitted by law that is deemed to be an "at the market" offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including, without limitation, sales made directly on the Nasdaq Capital Market, on any other existing trading market for the Shares, through a market maker or as otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agents. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, the Company did not sell any shares of its Common Stock pursuant to the August 9, 2021, ATM.
At-the-market (ATM) Offerings:
On June 11, 2019, the Company entered into a distribution agreement with Raymond James & Associates, Inc. ("Raymond James"), pursuant to which the Company sold, through the Raymond James, shares of Common Stock having an aggregate offering amount of $20,000,000 (the “June 11, 2019 ATM”) in an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including, without limitation, by sales made directly on the Nasdaq Capital Market, on any other existing trading market for the Shares, through a market maker or as otherwise agreed by the Company and Raymond James.
On March 6, 2020, the Company entered into a new distribution agreement with Raymond James (the “Agent”), pursuant to which the Company was able to sell from time to time, through the Agent, shares of Common Stock, having an aggregate offering price of up to $50,000,000 (the “March 6, 2020, ATM”). Sales under the March 6, 2020. ATM were made by any method permitted by law that is deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including, without limitation, sales made directly on the Nasdaq Capital Market, on any other existing trading market for the Shares, through a market maker or as otherwise agreed by the Company and Raymond James. Under the March 6, 2020, ATM, the Company sold an aggregate of 2,446,641 shares of Common Stock at an average price of $9.45 per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately $23.11 million.
On September 25, 2020, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with SVB Leerink LLC (“Leerink”) and Raymond James & Associates (together with Leerink, the “Agents”) pursuant to which the Company may sell from time to time, through the Agents, shares of Common Stock, having an aggregate offering price of up to $45,000,000, which aggregate amount includes amount unsold pursuant to the March 6, 2020, ATM (the “September 25, 2020, ATM”). Sales under the September 25, 2020, ATM are to be made by any method permitted by law that is deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including, without limitation, sales made directly on the Nasdaq Capital Market, on any other existing trading market for the Shares, through a market maker or as otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agents. The Distribution Agreement amends and restates in its entirety the Company’s prior agreement with Raymond James entered into on March 6, 2020 (the “March 6, 2020, ATM”). The Company previously sold 2,446,641 shares of Common Stock for gross proceeds of approximately $23.11 million of Common Stock under the March 6, 2020, ATM. During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, the Company did not sell any additional shares of its Common Stock pursuant to the September 25, 2020, ATM. Since inception and as of September 30, 2021, the Company has sold 4,721,282 shares of Common Stock for gross proceeds of approximately $29.1 million under the September 25, 2020, ATM.
66
Table of Contents
The Company has no obligation under the September 25, 2020, ATM to sell any shares and may at any time suspend sales or terminate the September 25, 2020, ATM in accordance with its terms. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Distribution Agreement, the Agents will use their commercially reasonable efforts to sell on the Company’s behalf, from time to time consistent with its normal sales and trading practices, such Shares based upon instructions from the Company (including any price, time or size limits or other customary parameters or conditions the Company may impose). The Company has provided the Agents with customary indemnification rights, and the Agents will be entitled to a fixed commission of 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from the Shares sold. The Distribution Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, and the Company is required to deliver customary closing documents and certificates in connection with sales of the Shares. Shares sold under the ATMs are issued pursuant to the Company’s existing Shelf Registration Statement, and the Prospectus Supplement to the Registration Statements filed June 11, 2019, March 6, 2020, and September 25, 2020, respectively.
On August 9, 2021, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement (the “New Distribution Agreement”) with the Agents pursuant to which the Company may sell from time to time, through the Agents, shares of Common Stock, having an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000 (the “August 9, 2021, ATM”). Sales under the August 9, 2021, ATM are to be made by any method permitted by law that is deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including, without limitation, sales made directly on the Nasdaq Capital Market, on any other existing trading market for the Shares, through a market maker or as otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agents. In connection with the New Distribution Agreement, the Company terminated the previous Distribution Agreement and the September 25, 2020, ATM. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company did not sell any shares of its Common Stock pursuant to the August 9, 2021, ATM.
Registered Direct Offering:
On March 6, 2020, the Company entered into and closed a $10.0 million registered direct offering of 1,250,000 shares of Common Stock at a per share purchase price equal to $8.00. Purchaser also received a three-year warrant to purchase up to 250,000 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $15.00 per share.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities:
Exercises of 2018 Amended Warrants: On June 6, 2018 the Company entered into Warrant Exercise Agreements with certain holders (“2018 Warrant Holders”), pursuant to which holders were issued warrants to purchase an aggregate 2,458,201 unregistered shares of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $9 per share, with an expiration date of December 31, 2020 (the “2018 Warrants”). In connection with the issuance of the 2019 Warrants (described below), certain 2018 Warrants were amended on August 2, 2019 to reduce the exercise price to $7.00 per share and to extend the expiration date to December 31, 2021 (the “Amended 2018 Warrants”).
Between July 20, 2020 and July 24, 2020, 2018 Warrant Holders exercised an aggregate of 280,000 shares of the Amended 2018 Warrants (the “2018 Exercised Shares”), which exercises generated gross cash proceeds to the Company of $1.96 million.
The 2018 Warrants have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or state securities laws. The 2018 Exercised Shares have been registered for resale on the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-225995). The issuance of the 2018 Exercised Shares and 2018 Warrants was exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to the exemption for transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act. The Company made this determination based on the representations that each party is an “accredited investor” within the meaning of Rule 501 of Regulation D. The Company expects to use cash received from exercises for general corporate and working capital purposes.
Exercises of 2019 Warrants: On August 2, 2019, the Company entered into Warrant Exercise Agreements with certain 2018 Warrant Holders (“2019 Warrant Holders”), pursuant to which holders were issued warrants to purchase an aggregate 842,000 shares of Common Stock (the “2019 Warrants”), at an exercise price of $7.00, with an expiration date of December 31, 2021 (the “2019 Warrants”).
Between July 15, 2020 and July 24, 2020, 2019 Warrant Holders exercised an aggregate of 620,000 shares of the 2019 Warrants (the “2019 Exercised Shares”), which exercises generated gross cash proceeds to the Company of $4.34 million.
67
Table of Contents
The 2019 Warrants have not been registered under the Securities Act, or state securities laws. The 2019 Exercised Shares have been registered for resale on the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-233349). The issuance of the 2019 Exercised Shares and 2019 Warrants is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to the exemption for transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act. The Company made this determination based on the representations that each party is an “accredited investor” within the meaning of Rule 501 of Regulation D. The Company expects to use cash received from exercises for general corporate and working capital purposes.
With the recent warrant exercises in July 2020, the Company has reduced its outstanding warrants shares to non-affiliates by approximately 37% and reduced its overall warrants shares outstanding by approximately 19%. In total, 900,000 of the 4,724,868 Company warrant shares outstanding were exercised between July 15 and July 24, 2020. 2,266,667 of the remaining 3,824,868 outstanding warrants shares are owned by affiliates of the Company.
Our material cash needs for the next 12 months, assuming we do not expand our clinical trials beyond our completed Phase 2 PMS trial in the United States, will include (i) costs of the clinical trial in the U.S. and Europe, (ii) employee salaries, (iii) payments for rent and operation of the GMP facilities and manufacturing of NurOwn®, and (iv) fees to our consultants and legal advisors, patents, and fees for facilities to be used in our research and development.
We believe our existing cash will be sufficient to fund our anticipated operating cash requirements for at least twelve months following the date of this filing. We currently have sufficient cash to execute on our operating activities. We expect that we will continue to generate losses from the clinical development and regulatory activities, which will result in a negative cash flow from operating activity. If we are granted a BLA approval, additional capital raise will be needed to commercialize NurOwn® for ALS, and to conduct additional trials that may be needed for other indications. The actual amount of cash that the Company will need to operate is subject to many factors, including, but not limited to, the timing, design and conduct of clinical trials for our product candidates along with cost to commercialize these product candidates.
We anticipate that we will need to raise substantial additional financing in the future to fund our operations. In order to meet these additional cash requirements, we may incur debt, license certain intellectual property, and seek to sell additional equity or convertible securities that may result in dilution to our stockholders. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible securities, these securities could have rights or preferences senior to those of our common stock and could contain covenants that restrict our operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional equity or debt financing on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
* the time and costs required to gain regulatory approvals;
* any product liability or other lawsuits related to our product candidates;
* the expenses needed to attract and retain skilled personnel;
68
Table of Contents
* the general and administrative expenses related to being a public company;
* the effect of competition and market developments; and
* future pre-clinical and clinical trial results.
The full extent to which continuing concerns resulting from the COVID 19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and capital resources will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted at this time, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID 19, the actions taken to contain it or treat its impact and the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets. Our management team is actively monitoring this situation and the possible effects on our financial condition and liquidity.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and disclosures requires us to make judgments, estimates, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors 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. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.
While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in the notes to our audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K we believe that the following accounting policies are those most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Accounting for stock-based compensation:
We grant equity-based awards under share-based compensation plans. We estimate the fair value of share-based payment awards using the Black-Scholes option valuation model. This fair value is then amortized over the requisite service periods of the awards. The Black-Scholes option valuation model requires the input of subjective assumptions, including price volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate, dividend yield, and expected life of the option. Share-based compensation expense is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, and therefore is reduced by expected forfeitures. Changes in assumptions used under the Black-Scholes option valuation model could materially affect our net loss and net loss per share.
Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not required.
69
Table of Contents
Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2021
U.S. DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS
(Except share data and exercise prices)
70
Table of Contents
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2021
U.S. DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS
(Except share data and exercise prices)
INDEX
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 72
Consolidated Balance Sheets 74
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss 75
Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity 76
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 78
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 80
71
Table of Contents
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the 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.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Stock-Based Compensation to Employees and Directors – Stock Options — Refer to Note 10 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company issues various types of equity awards, including stock options. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company issued stock options for 127,332 shares and recorded stock option related compensation expense of $0.8 million. The Company estimated the fair value of these stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The option pricing model required the Company to make a number of assumptions, of which the most significant are expected stock price volatility and the expected option term. Expected volatility was calculated based upon actual historical stock price movements over the period equal to the expected option term, which was calculated using the simplified method.
72
Table of Contents
Auditing the Company's accounting for stock options required auditor judgment due to the subjectivity of assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options granted.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to the stock-based compensation included the following, among others:
/s/ Brightman Almagor Zohar & Co.
Brightman Almagor Zohar & Co.
Certified Public Accountants
A Firm in the Deloitte Global Network
Tel Aviv, Israel
March 28, 2022
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2008.
73
Table of Contents
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
U.S. dollars in thousands
(Except share data)
December 31,
U.S. $ in thousands
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Other accounts receivable (Note 4) 86 304
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (Note 5) 1,100 1,002
Long-Term Assets:
Prepaid expenses and other long-term assets $ 27 $ 26
Operating lease right of use asset (Note 6) 4,781 6,872
Property and Equipment, Net (Note 7) 1,189 1,119
Total Long-Term Assets $ 5,997 $ 8,017
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Operating lease liability (Note 6) 1,461 2,655
Total current liabilities $ 6,317 $ 11,233
Long-Term Liabilities:
Operating lease liability (Note 6) 3,618 4,562
Total long-term liabilities $ 3,618 $ 4,562
Stockholders’ Equity:
Stock capital: (Note 10) 12 12
Treasury stocks (116) (116)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 29,277 $ 51,259
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
74
Table of Contents
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
U.S. dollars in thousands
(Except share data)
Year ended
December 31,
U.S. $ in thousands
Operating expenses:
Research and development, net (Note 11) $ 15,235 $ 22,329
General and administrative 9,304 9,355
Financial expenses (income), net (82) 127
Basic and diluted net loss per share $ (0.68) $ (1.07)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
75
Table of Contents
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
U.S. dollars in thousands
(Except share data)
Additional Total
Common stock paid-in Treasury Accumulated stockholders’
Number Amount capital stocks deficit equity (deficit)
Treasury stocks (25,000) * — (116) — (116)
Exercise of options 23,646 * 68 — — 68
* Represents an amount less than $1.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
76
Table of Contents
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
U.S. dollars in thousands
(Except share data)
Additional Total
Common stock paid-in Treasury Accumulated stockholders’
Number Amount capital stocks deficit equity
Exercise of options 1,687 * 5 — — 5
* Represents an amount less than $1.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
77
Table of Contents
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
U.S. dollars in thousands
December 31,
U.S. $ in thousands
Cash flows from operating activities:
Change in operating lease liability (47) 161
Decrease in other accounts receivable and prepaid expenses 335 1,491
Decrease in accounts payables (1,717) (9,260)
Total net cash used in operating activities $ (26,265) $ (35,193)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
78
Table of Contents
BRAINSTORM CELL THERAPEUTICS INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
U.S. dollars in thousands
Year ended
December 31,
U.S. $ in thousands
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of property and equipment (330) (378)
Proceeds from (Investment in) short-term deposit 653 (4,074)
Total net cash provided by (used in) investing activities $ 323 $ (4,452)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from exercise of options 5 68
Purchase of treasury stock — (116)
Proceeds from exercise of warrants — 6,300
Total net cash provided by financing activities $ 6,969 $ 76,938
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (18,973) 37,293
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period $ 37,829 $ 536