Item 1A. Risk Factors

The risk factors described below, as well as statements described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our audited Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations”, or in other SEC filings, describe risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, which could also cause the trading price of our equity securities to decline. These risks are not the only risks that we face. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could also be affected by additional factors that are not presently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial to our operations.

Risks Related to our Financial Position and Capital Requirements

We have incurred losses since inception, we expect to incur significant net losses in the foreseeable future and we may never become profitable.

We generated negative cash flows from operations and have incurred net operating losses each year since we started business. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we incurred net losses of $8.2 million and our net cash used in operating activities was $8.4 million. As of December 31, 2020, our accumulated deficit was $433.5 million. We expect to continue to incur net losses and negative cash flow from operating activities for at least the next twelve months. As our focus on development of nanomedicine and the development of therapeutic applications has increased, losses have resulted primarily from expenses associated with research and development and clinical trial-related activities, as well as general and administrative expenses. While we have implemented and continue to implement cost reduction measures where possible, we nonetheless expect to continue operating in a loss position on a consolidated basis and expect that recurring operating expenses will be at higher levels for the year ended December 31, 2021 as we prepare for and perform clinical trial and other development activities for our nanomedicine product candidates.

Our ability to generate sufficient revenue from any of our products, product candidates or technologies to achieve profitability will depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to:

• the degree to which our approved products are accepted in the marketplace.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with our commercialization and product development efforts, we are unable to predict the extent of our future losses or when or if we will become profitable and it is possible we will never become profitable. If we do not generate significant sales from any of our product candidates that may receive regulatory approval, there would be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, which in turn could result in our inability to continue operations.

We will need substantial additional funding to develop our product candidates and conduct our future operations and to repay our outstanding debt obligations. If we are unable to obtain the funds necessary to do so, we may be required to delay, scale back or eliminate our product development activities or may be unable to continue our business operations.

We have had, and we will continue to have, an ongoing need to raise additional cash from outside sources to continue funding our operations, including our continuing substantial research and development expenses. We do not currently believe that our cash balance will be sufficient to fund the development and marketing efforts required to reach profitability without raising additional capital from accessible sources of financing in the near future. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

• costs associated with operating at our San Antonio, Texas facility;

• competing technological and market developments; and

• our ability to introduce and sell new products.

We will continue to require substantial additional capital to continue our clinical development and potential commercialization activities. Accordingly, we will need to raise substantial additional capital to continue to fund our operations. Our financing plans include seeking to raise additional cash through the use of debt and/or equity offering programs, strategic corporate partnerships, state and federal development programs, licensing, and sales of assets and equity. The amount and timing of our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including the pace and results of its clinical development efforts.

We have secured capital historically from grant revenue, collaboration proceeds, and debt and equity offerings. To obtain additional capital, we may pursue debt and/or equity offering programs, strategic corporate partnerships, state and federal development programs, licensing arrangements, and sales of assets or debt or equity securities. We cannot be certain that additional capital will be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. If we are unsuccessful in our efforts to raise any such additional capital, we may be required to take actions that could materially and adversely harm our business, including a possible significant reduction in our research, development and administrative operations (including reduction of our employee base), the surrender of our rights to some technologies or product opportunities, delay of our clinical trials or regulatory and reimbursement efforts, or curtailment or cessation of operations.

In connection with the purchase agreement (the “2020 Purchase Agreement”) and registration rights agreement, dated September 30, 2020, we entered into with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (“Lincoln Park”) we may direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to $25.0 million worth of shares of our common stock under the 2020 Purchase Agreement over a 36-month period generally in amounts up to 50,000 shares of our common stock, which may be increased to up to 100,000 shares of our common stock depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of sale, provided that Lincoln Park’s committed obligation under such single regular purchase shall not exceed $500,000. Through December 31, 2020, we have sold a total of 353,113 shares, excluding 180,701 shares issued for commitment fee, under the 2020 Purchase Agreement for net proceeds of $0.7 million. During 2021 and through the date of filing of this Form 10-K, we issued 985,186 shares of our common stock under the 2020 Purchase Agreement for total proceeds of $2.9 million.

The extent we rely on Lincoln Park as a source of funding will depend on a number of factors including the prevailing market price of our common stock and the extent to which we are able to secure working capital from other sources. If obtaining sufficient funding from Lincoln Park were to prove unavailable or prohibitively dilutive, we will need to secure another source of funding in order to satisfy our working capital needs. Even if we sell all $25.0 million of shares of our common stock under the 2020 Purchase Agreement to Lincoln Park, we may still need additional capital to finance our future production plans and working capital needs, and we may have to raise funds through the issuance of equity or debt securities. Depending on the type and the terms of any financing we pursue, stockholders’ rights and the value of their investment in our common stock could be reduced. A financing could involve one or more types of securities including common stock, convertible debt or warrants to acquire common stock. These securities could be issued at or below the then prevailing market price for our common stock. In addition, if we issue secured debt securities, the holders of the debt would have a claim to our assets that would be prior to the rights of stockholders until the debt is paid. Interest on these debt securities would increase costs and negatively impact operating results. If the issuance of new securities results in diminished rights to holders of our common stock, the market price of our common stock could be negatively impacted.

In addition, on October 23, 2020, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with Canaccord Genuity LLC (“Canaccord”), pursuant to which we may issue and sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock

having an aggregate offering price of up to $10,000,000 (the “ATM Shares”), depending on market demand, with Canaccord acting as an agent for sales. Sales of the ATM Shares may be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including, without limitation, sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Capital Market. Canaccord will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell the ATM Shares we request to be sold on our behalf, consistent with Canaccord’s normal trading and sales practices, under the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Distribution Agreement. We have no obligation to sell any of the ATM Shares. We may instruct Canaccord not to sell the ATM Shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price we designate from time to time and we may at any time suspend sales pursuant to the Distribution Agreement.

Failure to raise capital as and when needed, on favorable terms or at all, would have a significant negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to develop our product candidates.

The disruption and volatility in the global capital markets may negatively impact our ability to obtain additional debt financings and modify our existing debt facilities and may increase the risk of non-compliance with covenants under our existing loan agreement.

Under the Loan and Security Agreement, dated May 29, 2015 (the “Loan and Security Agreement”), as amended, with Oxford Finance, LLC (“Oxford”), Oxford made a term loan to us in an aggregate principal amount of $17.7 million (the “Term Loan”) subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein. As of December 31, 2020, the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loan was $4.3 million subsequent to a repayment of $5.0 million on April 1, 2020 pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Loan and Security Agreement. In addition, we are obligated to pay a final payment fee of $3.2 million at the earlier of the maturity date, acceleration, or payment of the Term Loan.

The Term Loan accrues interest at a floating rate equal to the three-month LIBOR rate (with a floor of 1.00%) plus 7.95% per annum. On March 29, 2020, we and Oxford amended the Loan and Security Agreement to extend the interest-only period. Beginning May 1, 2021, we will be required to make payments of principal and accrued interest in equal monthly installments to amortize the Term Loan through September 1, 2024, the new maturity date.

As security for our obligations under the Loan and Security Agreement, we granted a security interest in substantially all of our existing and after-acquired assets, excluding our intellectual property assets, subject to certain exceptions set forth in the Loan and Security Agreement. If we are unable to discharge these obligations, Oxford could foreclose on these assets, which would, at a minimum, have a severe material adverse effect on our ability to operate our business.

Our indebtedness to Oxford could adversely affect our operations and liquidity, by, among other things:

The Loan and Security Agreement, as amended, requires us to maintain at least $2.0 million in unrestricted cash and/or cash equivalents and includes certain reporting and other covenants, that, among other things, restrict our ability to (i) dispose of assets, (ii) change the business we conduct, (iii) make acquisitions, (iv) engage in mergers or consolidations, (v) incur additional indebtedness, (vi) create liens on assets, (vii) maintain any collateral account, (viii) pay dividends, (ix) make investments, loans or advances, (x) engage in certain transactions with affiliates, and (xi) prepay certain other indebtedness or amend other financing arrangements. If we fail to comply with any of these covenants or restrictions, such failure may result in an event of default, which if not cured or waived, could result in Oxford causing the outstanding loan amount to become immediately due and payable. If the maturity of our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not have, or be able to timely procure, sufficient cash resources to satisfy our debt obligations, and such acceleration would adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the global economic activity and caused significant volatility and negative pressure in the financial markets. This volatility and downturn may affect our business, liquidity position, and financial results. This in turn may negatively impact our ability to remain in compliance with the financial and operating covenants under the Loan and Security Agreement and may restrict our ability to obtain covenant waivers, restructure or amend the terms of our existing debt, or obtain additional debt financing. If the maturity of our indebtedness is accelerated or if we are unable to amend the terms or obtain any necessary waivers under our debt facilities or obtain additional debt or other financing, it would materially and adversely affect our liquidity position and ability to fund our operations. This in turn would materially harm our business and financial conditions.

The report of our independent registered public accounting firm contains an emphasis paragraph regarding the substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

The audit report of our independent registered public accounting firm covering the December 31, 2020 consolidated financial statements contains an explanatory paragraph that states that our recurring losses from operations, liquidity position, and debt service requirements raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. This going concern opinion could materially limit our ability to raise additional funds through the issuance of new debt or equity securities or otherwise. Future reports on our financial statements may also include an explanatory paragraph with respect to our ability to continue as a going concern. To date, our operating losses have been funded primarily from outside sources of invested capital and gross profits. We have had, and we will likely continue to have, an ongoing need to raise additional cash from outside sources to fund our future operations. However, no assurance can be given that additional capital will be available when required or on terms acceptable to us. If we are unsuccessful in our efforts to raise any such additional capital, we may be required to take actions that could materially and adversely harm our business, including a possible significant reduction in our research, development and administrative operations (including reduction of our employee base), the surrender of our rights to some technologies or product opportunities, delay of our clinical trials or regulatory and reimbursement efforts, or the curtailment or cessation of operations. We also cannot give assurance that we will achieve sufficient revenue in the future to achieve profitability and cash flow positive operations to allow us to continue as a going concern. The perception that we may not be able to continue as a going concern may cause third parties to choose not to deal with us due to concerns about our ability to meet our contractual obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our operating results have been and will likely continue to be volatile.

Our prospects must be evaluated in light of the risks and difficulties frequently encountered by emerging companies and particularly by such companies in rapidly evolving and technologically advanced biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device fields. Our visibility as to our future operating results and our clinical development timeline may be further limited by the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, our budgeted expense levels are based in part on our expectations concerning future research and development activities. We may be unable to reduce our expenditures in a timely manner to compensate for any unexpected events. Accordingly, unexpected events could have an immediate and material impact on our business and financial condition. From time to time, we have tried to update our investors’ expectations as to our operating results. If we revise any timelines we may give with respect to our clinical trials, it could materially harm our reputation and the market’s perception of us and could cause our stock price to decline.

Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

We do not expect to make profits in the near future. Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50% change, by value, in its equity ownership over a three year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes to offset its post-change taxable income and taxes may be limited. We may have experienced, or may in the future experience, “ownership changes” as a result of shifts in stock ownership. Any such ownership changes could limit our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes. Furthermore, under 2017 U.S. tax legislation, although the treatment of tax losses generated before December 31, 2017 has generally not changed, tax losses generated in calendar year 2018 and beyond may be used to offset only 80% of taxable income. This change may require us to pay federal income taxes in future years despite generating a loss for federal income tax purposes in prior years.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our future success is in large part dependent upon our ability to successfully integrate and develop our nanomedicine platform and commercialize RNL and any failure to do so could significantly harm our business and prospects.

Our ability to successfully integrate, develop and commercialize RNL is subject to a number of risks, including the following:

• we are not experienced in acquiring and integrating new businesses.

If we are unable to successfully partner with other companies to commercialize our product candidates, our business could materially suffer.

A key part of our business strategy is to leverage strategic partnerships/collaborations to commercialize our product candidates. We do not have the financial, human or other resources necessary to develop, commercialize, launch or sell our therapeutic offerings in all of the geographies that we are targeting, and thus it is important that we identify and partner with third parties who possess the necessary resources to bring our product candidates to market. We expect that any such partners will provide regulatory and reimbursement/pricing expertise, sales and marketing resources, and other expertise and resources vital to the success of our product offerings in their territories. We further expect, but cannot guarantee, that any such partnering arrangements will include upfront cash payments to us in return for the rights to develop, manufacture, and/or sell our product candidates in specified territories, as well as downstream revenue in the form of milestone payments and royalties.

Our current business strategy is high-risk and may not be successful.

Our current business strategy is to aggressively develop our nanomedicine platforms, while simultaneously controlling expenses, which is a high-risk strategy for a number of reasons including the following:

• we are not experienced in acquiring and integrating new assets;

• our product candidates may never become commercially viable; and

We face intense competition, and if our competitors market or develop products that are marketed more effectively, approved more quickly than our product candidates, or demonstrated to be safer or more effective than our product candidates, our commercial opportunities could be reduced or eliminated.

The life science industry is characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition, and a strong emphasis on proprietary therapeutics. We face competition from a number of sources, some of which may target the same indications as our products or product candidates, including small and large, domestic and multinational, medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, government agencies, and private and public research institutions, many of which have greater financial resources, sales and marketing capabilities, including larger, well-established sales forces, manufacturing capabilities, experience in obtaining regulatory approvals for product candidates, and other resources than we do.

We expect that product candidates in our pipeline, if approved, to compete on the basis of, among other things, product efficacy and safety, time to market, price, coverage, and reimbursement by third-party payers, extent of adverse side effects, and convenience of treatment procedures. One or more of our competitors may develop other products that compete with ours, obtain necessary approvals for such products from the FDA, EMA, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare or other agencies, if required, more rapidly than we do or develop alternative products or therapies that are safer, more effective and/or more cost effective than any products developed by us. The competition that we encounter with respect to any of our product candidates that receive the requisite regulatory approval and classification and are marketed may have an effect on our product prices, market share, and results of operations. We may not be able to differentiate any products that we are able to market from those of our competitors, successfully develop or introduce new products that are less costly or offer better results than those of our competitors, or offer purchasers of our products payment and other commercial terms as favorable as those offered by our competitors. In addition, competitors may seek to

develop alternative formulations of or technological approaches to our product candidates and/or drug delivery technologies that address our targeted indications.

We may face competition for our RNL product candidate (which is intended for the treatment of glioblastoma) from multiple drug classes.

Competition for RNLTM in the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma may come from a single or combination therapy in the future. Bayer, VBL Therapeutics, Kintara Therapeutics, Istari Oncology, Medicenna, MediciNova, Oncoceutics, PharmAbcine, VBI Vaccines, Ziopharm Oncology, Bristol Myers Squibb, ImmunoCellular, Novartis, EnGeneIC, Berg, Bexion, and others have reported drug development programs at various clinical stages for recurrent glioblastoma and we continue to monitor their progress.

Competitors may have greater experience in developing drugs, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory clearances or approvals, manufacturing and commercialization. It is possible that competitors may obtain patent protection, approval, or clearance from the FDA or achieve commercialization earlier than we can, any of which could have a substantial negative effect on our business. Many of our potential competitors have substantially greater:

• capital resources;

• product development, clinical trial and regulatory resources and experience;

• sales and marketing resources and experience;

• manufacturing and distribution resources and experience;

• name, brand and product recognition; and

As a result of these factors, our competitors may obtain regulatory approval of their products more quickly than we are able to or may obtain patent protection or other intellectual property rights that limit or block us from developing or commercializing our product candidates. Our competitors may also develop products that are more effective, more useful, better tolerated, subject to fewer or less severe side effects, more widely prescribed or accepted, or less costly than ours and may also be more successful than we are in manufacturing and marketing their products. If we are unable to compete effectively with the marketed therapeutics of our competitors or if such competitors are successful in developing products that compete with any of our product candidates that are approved, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects may be materially adversely affected.

Our current and future clinical trials may fail to demonstrate acceptable levels of safety and efficacy for our product candidates, which could prevent or significantly delay their regulatory approval and commercialization, which would have a material and adverse impact on our business.

Clinical testing of our product candidates is a long, expensive and uncertain process, and the failure or delay of a clinical trial can occur at any stage. Many factors, currently known and unknown, can adversely affect clinical trials and the ability to evaluate a product candidate’s efficacy. During the course of treatment, patients can die or suffer other adverse events for reasons that may or may not be related to the proposed product being tested. Even if initial results of preclinical and nonclinical studies or clinical trial results are promising, we may obtain different results in subsequent trials or studies that fail to show the desired levels of safety and efficacy, or we may not obtain applicable regulatory approval for a variety of other reasons.

Further, with respect to the conduct and results of clinical trials generally, in the United States, Europe, Japan, and other jurisdictions, the conduct and results of clinical trials can be delayed, limited suspended, or otherwise adversely affected for many reasons, including, among others:

• inability to design appropriate clinical trial protocols;

We also face clinical trial-related risks with regard to our reliance on other third parties in the performance of many of the clinical trial functions, including contract research organizations, that help execute our clinical trials, the hospitals and clinics at which our trials are conducted, the clinical investigators at the trial sites, and other third-party service providers. Failure of any third-party service provider to adhere to applicable trial protocols, laws and regulations in the conduct of one of our clinical trials could adversely affect the conduct and results of such trial (including possible data integrity issues), which could seriously harm our business.

We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, manufacture our product candidates, and perform other services. If these parties are not able to successfully perform due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, we may not be able to successfully complete clinical development, obtain regulatory approval or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.

We rely on third parties in the performance of many of the clinical trial functions, including contract research organizations, that help execute our clinical trials, the hospitals and clinics at which our trials are conducted, the clinical investigators at the trial sites, and other third-party service providers. Failure of any third-party service provider to adhere to applicable trial protocols, laws and regulations in the conduct of one of our clinical trials could adversely affect the conduct and results of such trial (including possible data integrity issues), which could seriously harm our business. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a strain on hospitals and clinics, contract research organizations, and other providers of clinical and medical supplies and equipment. This in turn could impact the ability of third parties such as hospitals to support our clinical trials or perform other services in support of our clinical programs. In addition, third parties may not prioritize our clinical trials relative to those of other customers due to resource or other constraints as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We may experience enrollment at a slower pace at certain of our clinical trial sites than initially anticipated. Further, our clinical trial sites may be required to suspend enrollment due to travel restrictions, workplace safety concerns, quarantine, facility closures, and other governmental restrictions. Some of our clinical trial sites have imposed limited accessibility to conduct clinical monitoring and training on-site. As a result, results from our clinical trials may be delayed, which in turn would have a material adverse impact on our clinical trial plans and timelines and impair our ability to successfully complete clinical development, obtain regulatory approval, or commercialize our product candidates. This in turn would substantially harm our business and operations.

We may have difficulty enrolling, or fail to enroll patients, in our clinical trials, which could delay or prevent clinical trials of our drug candidates.

Identifying and enrolling patients to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates is essential to our success. The timing of our clinical trials depends in part on the rate at which we can recruit patients to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates, and we may experience delays in our clinical trials if we encounter difficulties in enrollment. The eligibility criteria of our planned clinical trials may further limit the available eligible trial participants as we require that patients have specific characteristics that we can measure or meet the criteria to assure their conditions are appropriate for inclusion in our clinical trials. We may not be able to identify, recruit and enroll a sufficient number of patients to complete our clinical trials in a timely manner because of the perceived risks and benefits of the drug candidate under study, the availability and efficacy of competing therapies and clinical trials, and the willingness of physicians to participate in our planned clinical trials. If patients are unwilling to participate in our clinical trials for any reason, the timeline for conducting trials and obtaining regulatory approval of our drug candidates may be delayed.

If we experience delays in the completion of, or termination of, any clinical trials of our drug candidates, the commercial prospects of our product candidates could be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenue from any of these product candidates could be delayed or prevented. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials would likely increase our overall costs, impair product candidate development and jeopardize our ability to obtain regulatory approval relative to our current plans. Any of these occurrences may materially and adversely harm our business, financial condition, and prospects.

Our success depends in substantial part on our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for our RNL product candidate. However, we cannot be certain that we will receive regulatory approval for this product candidate or our other product candidates.

We have only a limited number of product candidates in development, and our business depends substantially on their successful development and commercialization. Our product candidates will require development, regulatory review and approval in multiple jurisdictions, substantial investment, access to sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity and significant marketing efforts before we can generate any revenue from sales of our product candidates. The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, sale, marketing and distribution of products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States and other countries, whose regulations differ from country to country.

We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the United States until we receive approval from the FDA, or in any foreign countries until we receive the requisite approval from the regulatory authorities of such countries (including centralized marketing authorization from EMA), and we may never receive such regulatory approvals. Obtaining regulatory approval for a product candidate is a lengthy, expensive and uncertain process, and may not be obtained. Any failure to obtain regulatory approval of any of our product candidates would limit our ability to generate future revenue (and any failure to obtain such approval for all of the indications and labeling claims we deem desirable could reduce our potential revenue), would potentially harm the development prospects of our product candidates and would have a material and adverse impact on our business.

Even if we successfully obtain regulatory approvals to market our product candidates, our revenue will be dependent, in part, on our ability to commercialize such products as well as the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval. If the markets for our product candidates are not as significant as we estimate, our business and prospects will be harmed.

If a product candidate is not approved in a timely fashion on commercially viable terms, or if development of any product candidate is terminated due to difficulties or delays encountered in the regulatory approval process, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, and we may become more dependent on the development of other proprietary products and/or our ability to successfully acquire other products and technologies. There can be no assurance that any product candidate will receive regulatory approval in a timely manner, or at all.

If our product candidates and technologies receive regulatory approval but do not achieve broad market acceptance, especially by physicians, the revenue that we generate will be limited.

The commercial success of any of our approved products or technologies will depend upon the acceptance of these products and technologies by physicians, patients and the medical community. The degree of market acceptance of these products and technologies will depend on a number of factors, including, among others:

• the relative convenience and ease of administration;

• the prevalence and severity of adverse side effects;

• demonstration to authorities of the pharmacoeconomic benefits;

• demonstration to authorities of the improvement in burden of illness;

• limitations or warnings contained in a product’s approved labeling;

• payers’ level of restrictions and/or barriers to coverage;

• the clinical indications for which a product is approved;

• availability and perceived advantages of alternative treatments;

• pricing and cost effectiveness.

We expect physicians’ inertia and skepticism to also be a significant barrier as we attempt to gain market penetration with our future products. We believe we will continue to need to finance lengthy time-consuming clinical studies to provide evidence of the medical benefit of our products and resulting therapies in order to overcome this inertia and skepticism.

Overall, our efforts to educate the medical community on the benefits of any of our products or technologies for which we obtain marketing approval from the FDA or other regulatory authorities and gain broad market acceptance may require significant resources and may never be successful. If our products and technologies do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, pharmacists and patients, we may not generate sufficient revenue from these products to become or remain profitable.

All potential applications of our product candidates are pre-commercial, which subjects us to development and marketing risks.

Our product candidates are at various stages of development. Successful development and market acceptance of our products is subject to developmental risks, including risk of negative clinical data from current and anticipated trials, failure of inventive imagination, ineffectiveness, lack of safety, unreliability, manufacturing hurdles, failure to receive necessary regulatory clearances or approvals, high commercial cost, preclusion or obsolescence resulting from third parties’ proprietary rights or superior or equivalent products, competition from copycat products and general economic conditions affecting purchasing patterns. There can be no assurance that we or our partners will successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates, or that our competitors will not develop competing technologies that are superior or less expensive. Failure to successfully develop and market our product candidates would have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition. If we are unable to establish or sustain coverage and adequate reimbursement for any future product candidates from third-party payors, the adoption of those products and sales revenue will be adversely affected, which, in turn, could adversely affect the ability to market or sell those product candidates, if approved.

If we or any party to a key collaboration, licensing, development, acquisition or similar arrangement fails to perform material obligations, or commit a breach, under such arrangement, or any arrangement is terminated for any reason, there could be an adverse effect on our business.

We are currently party to certain licensing, collaboration and acquisition agreements under which we may make or receive future payments in the form of milestone payments, maintenance fees, royalties and/or minimum product purchases. Our collaborators may not devote the attention and resources to such efforts to be successful. The termination of a key collaboration agreement by one of our collaborators could materially impact our ability to enter into additional collaboration agreements with new collaborators on favorable terms.

In February 2017, we acquired substantially all of the assets of Azaya Therapeutics Inc (“Azaya”), including DoxoPLUS and DocePLUS, and related manufacturing equipment and inventory pursuant to an asset purchase agreement (the “Azaya Purchase Agreement”). Under the Azaya Purchase Agreement, we are required to use commercial reasonable efforts to develop our DoxoPLUS and DocePLUS product candidates. Further, we are subject to future milestone, earn-out and other payments to Azaya all of which are tied to our commercialization and sale activities for these product candidates. If we are unsuccessful in our efforts to develop our DoxoPLUS and DocePLUS drug assets, or if Azaya and we were to enter into a dispute over the terms of our agreement, then our business could be seriously harmed.

On March 29, 2020, we entered into an exclusive license agreement with NanoTx for the global rights to develop and commercialize NanoTx’s glioblastoma treatment, RNL. Under the license agreement with NanoTx, we are required to use commercial reasonable efforts to develop the RNL product candidate acquired under the license agreement. Further, we are subject to future milestone, earn-out and other payments to NanoTx all of which are tied to our commercialization and sale activities for product candidates. If we are unsuccessful in our efforts to develop these assets, or if NanoTx and we were to enter into a dispute over the terms of our agreement, then our business could be seriously harmed.

If we breach any of the agreements under which we license the use, development and commercialization rights to our product candidates or technology from third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business. Licensing of intellectual property is of critical importance to our business and involves complex legal, business and scientific issues. Disputes may arise between us and our licensors regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including:

If disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms or at all, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates. In addition, if disputes arise as to ownership of licensed intellectual property, our ability to pursue or enforce the licensed

patent rights may be jeopardized. If we or our licensors fail to adequately protect this intellectual property, our ability to commercialize our products could suffer.

If we or collaborators fail to comply with regulatory requirements applicable to the development, manufacturing, and marketing of our product candidates, regulatory agencies may take action against us or them, which could significantly harm our business.

Our product candidates, along with the clinical development process, the manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data, labeling, advertising, and promotional activities for these products, are subject to continual requirements and review by the FDA and state and foreign regulatory bodies. Regulatory authorities subject a marketed product, its manufacturer, and the manufacturing facilities to continual review and periodic inspections. We, our collaborators, and our and their respective contractors, suppliers and vendors, will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements, including complying with regulations and laws regarding advertising, promotion and sales of products (including applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other health care laws and regulations), required submissions of safety and other post-market information and reports, registration requirements, Clinical Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) regulations (including requirements relating to quality control and quality assurance, as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation), and the requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping requirements. Regulatory agencies may change existing requirements or adopt new requirements or policies. We, our collaborators, and our and their respective contractors, suppliers, and vendors, may be slow to adapt or may not be able to adapt to these changes or new requirements.

Failure to comply with regulatory requirements may result in any of the following:

• restrictions on our product candidates or manufacturing processes;

• warning letters;

• withdrawal of the products from the market;

• voluntary or mandatory recall;

• fines;

• suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals;

• suspension or termination of any of our ongoing clinical trials;

• refusal to permit the import or export of our product candidates;

• product seizure;

• injunctions; or

• imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

We and our product candidates are subject to extensive regulation, and the requirements to obtain regulatory approvals in the United States and other jurisdictions can be costly, time-consuming and unpredictable. If we or our partners are unable to obtain timely regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business may be substantially harmed.

The worldwide regulatory process for our nanomedicine drug candidates can be lengthy and expensive, with no guarantee of approval.

Before any new drugs may be introduced to the U.S. market, the manufacturer generally must obtain FDA approval through either an ANDA process for generic drugs off patent that allow for bioequivalence to an existing RLD or the lengthier NDA process, which typically requires multiple successful and successive clinical trials to generate clinical data supportive of safety and efficacy along with extensive pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic preclinical testing to demonstrate safety. RNL is subject to the FDA’s 505(b)(1) NDA process. NDA drugs can take significant time due to the preclinical and clinical trial requirements.

There are numerous risks arising out of the regulation of our nanomedicine product candidates include the following:

Changing, new and/or emerging government regulations, including healthcare legislative reform measures, may adversely affect us.

Any regulatory review committees and advisory groups and any contemplated new guidelines may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As we advance our product candidates, we may be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups and comply with applicable guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of our product candidates. Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a product candidate to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient revenue to maintain our business. Divergence in regulatory criteria for different regulatory agencies in international jurisdictions could result in the repeat of clinical studies and/or preclinical studies to satisfy local territory requirements, resulting in the repeating of studies and/or delays in the regulatory process. Some territories may require clinical data in their indigenous population, resulting in the repeat of clinical studies in whole or in part. Some territories may object to the formulation ingredients in the final finished product and may require reformulation to modify or remove objectionable components; resulting in delays in regulatory approvals. Such objectionable reformulations include, but are not limited to, human or animal components, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and/or Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy risks, banned packaging components, prohibited chemicals, and banned substances. There can be no assurances that the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities will accept our pre-clinical and/or clinical data.

Anticipated or unanticipated changes in the way or manner in which the FDA or other regulators regulate products or classes/groups of products can delay, further burden, or alleviate regulatory pathways that were once available to other products. There are no guarantees that such changes in the FDA’s or other regulators’ approach to the regulatory process will not deleteriously affect some or all of our product candidates or product applications.

Our nanoparticle technology and pipeline oncology products, such as RNL and DocePLUS, are being developed under existing government criteria, which are subject to change in the future. Clinical and/or pre-clinical criteria in addition to cGMP manufacturing requirements may change and impose additional regulatory burdens. Clinical requirements are subject to change which may result in delays in completing the regulatory process. Divergence in regulatory criteria for different regulatory agencies around the globe could result in the repeat of clinical studies and/or preclinical studies to satisfy local jurisdictional requirements, which would significantly lengthen the regulatory process and increase uncertainty of outcome. Some jurisdictions may require clinical data in their indigenous population, resulting in the repeat of clinical studies in whole or in part. Some jurisdictions may object to the formulation ingredients in the final finished product and may require reformulation to modify or remove objectionable components; resulting in delays in regulatory approvals. Such objectionable reformulations include, but are not limited to, human or animal components, bovine spongiform encephalopathy/ transmissible spongiform encephalopathy risks, banned packaging components, prohibited chemicals, banned substances, etc. There can be no assurance that the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities will accept our pre-clinical and/or clinical data.

In the United States and in some other jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the health care system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our drug candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities, or affect our ability to profitably sell any drug candidates for which we obtain marketing approval, if any. Further, any increased scrutiny of the FDA’s approval process for drugs and biological products may significantly delay or prevent marketing approval, as well as subject us to more stringent product labeling and post-marketing testing and other requirements. There also are a number of state and local legislative and regulatory efforts related to drug pricing, including drug price transparency laws that apply to pharmaceutical manufacturers, which may have an impact on our business.

In addition, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act enacted in 2013 imposes new obligations on manufacturers of pharmaceutical products related to product tracking and tracing, and that law is expected to be fully implemented over a ten-year period. Most recently, in December 2019, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2020 was signed into law (P.L. 116-94) that includes a piece of bipartisan legislation called the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act of 2019 or the “CREATES Act.” The CREATES Act aims to address the concern articulated by both the FDA and others in the industry that some brand manufacturers have improperly restricted the distribution of their products, including by invoking the existence of a REMS for certain products, to deny generic and biosimilar product developers access to samples of brand products. The CREATES Act establishes a private cause of action that permits a generic or biosimilar product developer to sue the brand manufacturer to compel it to furnish the necessary samples on “commercially reasonable, market-based terms.” Whether and how generic and biosimilar product developments will use this new pathway, as well as the likely outcome of any legal challenges to provisions of the CREATES Act, remain highly uncertain and its potential effects on our future commercial products are unknown. Other legislative and regulatory proposals have been made to expand post-approval requirements and restrict sales and promotional activities for pharmaceutical products. We cannot be sure whether additional legislative changes will be enacted, or whether FDA regulations, guidance or interpretations will be changed, or what the impact of such changes on the marketing approvals, if any, of our drug candidates, may be or whether such changes will have any other impacts on our business. In addition, increased scrutiny by the U.S. Congress of the

FDA’s approval process may significantly delay or prevent marketing approval, as well as subject us to more stringent product labeling and post-marketing conditions and other requirements.

In the European Union, similar political, economic and regulatory developments may affect our ability to profitably commercialize our product candidates. In addition to continuing pressure on prices and cost containment measures, legislative developments at the European Union or EU member state level may result in significant additional requirements or obstacles that may increase our operating costs.

We expect that other legislative or healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria, lower reimbursement, and additional downward pressure on the price that we will receive for any approved product. Any reduction in payments from Medicare or other government-funded programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our product candidates.

Some intellectual property that we have in-licensed may have been discovered through government funded programs and thus may be subject to federal regulations such as "march-in" rights, certain reporting requirements and a preference for U.S.-based companies. Compliance with such regulations may limit our exclusive rights, and limit our ability to contract with non-U.S. manufacturers.

Some of the intellectual property rights we have licensed are generated through the use of U.S. government funding and are therefore subject to certain federal regulations. As a result, the U.S. government may have certain rights to intellectual property embodied in our current or future product candidates pursuant to the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, or Bayh-Dole Act, and implementing regulations. These U.S. government rights in certain inventions developed under a government-funded program include a non-exclusive, non-transferable, irrevocable worldwide license to use inventions for any governmental purpose. In addition, the U.S. government has the right to require us or our licensors to grant exclusive, partially exclusive, or non-exclusive licenses to any of these inventions to a third party if it determines that: (i) adequate steps have not been taken to commercialize the invention; (ii) government action is necessary to meet public health or safety needs; or (iii) government action is necessary to meet requirements for public use under federal regulations (also referred to as "march-in rights"). The U.S. government also has the right to take title to these inventions if we, or the applicable licensor, fail to disclose the invention to the government and fail to file an application to register the intellectual property within specified time limits. These time limits have recently been changed by regulation, and may change in the future. Intellectual property generated under a government funded program is also subject to certain reporting requirements, compliance with which may require us or the applicable licensor to expend substantial resources. In addition, the U.S. government requires that any products embodying the subject invention or produced through the use of the subject invention be manufactured substantially in the United States. The manufacturing preference requirement can be waived if the owner of the intellectual property can show that reasonable but unsuccessful efforts have been made to grant licenses on similar terms to potential licensees that would be likely to manufacture substantially in the United States or that under the circumstances domestic manufacture is not commercially feasible. This preference for U.S. manufacturers may limit our ability to contract with non-U.S. product manufacturers for products covered by such intellectual property. To the extent any of our current or future intellectual property is generated through the use of U.S. government funding, the provisions of the Bayh-Dole Act may similarly apply.

Orphan drug designation may not ensure that we will enjoy market exclusivity in a particular market, and if we fail to obtain or maintain orphan drug designation or other regulatory exclusivity for some of our product candidates, our competitive position would be harmed.

A product candidate that receives orphan drug designation can benefit from potential commercial benefits following approval. Under the U.S. Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product candidate as an orphan drug if it is intended to treat a rare disease or condition, defined as affecting a patient population of fewer than 200,000 in the United States, or a patient population greater than 200,000 in the United States where there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the drug will be recovered from sales in the United States. In the European Union, the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, grants orphan drug designation to promote the development of products that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition affecting not more than 10,000 persons in the European Union. Currently, this designation provides market exclusivity in the U.S. and the European Union for seven years and ten years, respectively, if a product is the first such product approved for such orphan indication. This market exclusivity does not, however, pertain to indications other than those for which the drug was specifically designated in the approval, nor does it prevent other types of drugs from receiving orphan designations or approvals in these same indications. Further, even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve a drug with similar chemical structure for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the new drug is clinically superior to the orphan product or a market shortage occurs. In the European Union, orphan exclusivity may be reduced to six years if the drug no longer satisfies the original designation criteria or can be lost altogether if the marketing authorization holder consents to a second orphan drug application or cannot supply enough drug, or when a second applicant demonstrates its drug is “clinically superior” to the

original orphan drug.In September 2020, the FDA granted both Orphan Drug designation and Fast Track designation to RNL for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma.

If we experience an interruption in supply from a material sole source supplier, our business may be harmed

We acquire some of our components and other raw materials from sole source suppliers. If there is an interruption in supply of our raw materials from a sole source supplier, for any reason, including due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain adequate quantities of the raw materials within a reasonable time or at commercially reasonable prices. Interruptions in supplies due to pricing, timing, availability, or other issues with our sole source suppliers could have a negative impact on our ability to manufacture products and product candidates, which in turn could adversely affect the development and commercialization of our nanomedicine product candidates and cause us to potentially breach our supply or other obligations under our agreements with certain other counterparties.

We are dependent on sole source suppliers to manufacture the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and certain other components of our nanomedicine product candidates. There is no assurance that these sole source suppliers will enter into supply agreements with us to provide contractual assurance to us around supply and pricing. Regardless of whether a sole source supplier enters into a written supply arrangement with us, such supplier could still delay, suspend, or terminate supply of raw materials to us for a number of reasons, including manufacturing or quality issues, payment disputes with us, bankruptcy or insolvency, or other occurrences.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant strain on the pharmaceutical and medical industries, manufacturers of clinical supplies, and healthcare-related supplies and resources in general. For instance, we have experienced increased difficulties in obtaining certain materials for manufacturing that are also components of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the risks to which we are subject due to our reliance on third-party (and in some cases, sole source) suppliers. Additionally, our suppliers may experience operational difficulties, and resource constraints due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. If our third-party suppliers were to encounter any of these difficulties, or otherwise fail to comply with their contractual obligations, our ability to provide our product candidates to patients in clinical trials would be jeopardized. Any delay or interruption in the procurement of clinical trial supplies could delay the completion of clinical trials, increase the costs associated with maintaining clinical trial programs and, depending upon the period of delay, require us to commence new clinical trials at additional expense or terminate clinical trials completely.

If a sole source supplier ceases supply of raw materials necessary there is no guarantee that we will find an alternative supplier for the necessary raw materials on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Further the qualification process for a new vendor could take months or years, and any such day in qualification could significantly harm our business.

We may engage in strategic transactions that could impact our liquidity, increase our expenses, and present significant distractions to our management.

From time to time we may consider strategic transactions, such as acquisitions of companies, asset purchases and out-licensing or in-licensing of products, product candidates or technologies. Growth of the nanomedicine business will require significant management time and attention. Further, the future growth of our business will depend in part on our ability to in-license or otherwise acquire the rights to additional product candidates or technologies. We cannot assure you that we will be able to in-license or acquire the rights to any product candidates or technologies from third parties on acceptable terms or at all.

Additional potential transactions that we may consider include a variety of different business arrangements, including spin-offs, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, divestitures, business combinations and investments. Any such transaction may require us to incur non-recurring or other charges, may increase our near and long-term expenditures and may pose significant integration challenges or disrupt our management or business, which could adversely affect our operations and financial results. For example, these transactions may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including:

• exposure to unknown liabilities;

• higher than expected acquisition and integration costs;

• write-downs of assets or goodwill or impairment charges;

• increased amortization expenses;

• inability to retain key employees of any acquired businesses.

In addition, strategic transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, may expose us to litigation risks. To this point, we are currently engaged in a dispute with a third party arising out of our sale of certain assets pursuant to an asset and equity purchase agreement entered into in 2019 (the "APA"). In October 2020, we received correspondence from such third party informing us of an alleged breach of certain representations and warranties in the APA and asserting indemnification claims. In December 2020, we responded to the third party and asserted that its improper use of our intellectual property constituted a breach of the APA and further asserted an indemnification claim against the third party for our losses in connection therewith. While we believe the claims asserted against us to be spurious and without merit, this dispute remains ongoing and there can be no assurance that it will not result in litigation. Resolution of this matter or any resulting litigation would be expensive and time-consuming and the outcome is uncertain.

The in-licensing and acquisition of these technologies is a competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing strategies to license or acquire product candidates or technologies that we may consider attractive. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to license rights to us. Furthermore, we may be unable to identify suitable product candidates or technologies within our area of focus. If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to suitable product candidates or technologies undertake or to successfully complete any additional transactions of the nature described above, our business, financial condition and prospects could suffer. In addition, even if we are able to successfully complete any additional transactions of the nature described above, any additional transactions that we do complete could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.

We must maintain quality assurance certification and manufacturing approvals.

The manufacture of our product candidates is, and the manufacture of any future drug and/or cell-related therapeutic products would be, subject to periodic inspection by regulatory authorities and distribution partners. The manufacture of drug and device products for human use is subject to regulation and inspection from time to time by the FDA for compliance with the FDA’s cGMP, Quality System Regulations (“QSRs”), as well as equivalent requirements and inspections by state and non-U.S. regulatory authorities. There can be no assurance that the FDA or other authorities will not, during the course of an inspection of existing or new facilities, identify what they consider to be deficiencies in our compliance with QSRs or other requirements and request, or seek remedial action.

Failure to comply with such regulations or a potential delay in attaining compliance may adversely affect our manufacturing activities and could result in, among other things, injunctions, civil penalties, FDA refusal to grant pre- market approvals or clearances of future or pending product submissions, fines, recalls or seizures of products, total or partial suspensions of production and criminal prosecution. There can be no assurance that after such occurrences that we will be able to obtain additional necessary regulatory approvals or clearances on a timely basis, if at all. Delays in receipt of or failure to receive such approvals or clearances, or the loss of previously received approvals or clearances could have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

If we are unable to identify, hire and/or retain key personnel, or if any of our personnel were to test positive for COVID-19, we may not be able to sustain or grow our business.

We maintain a very small executive team. Our ability to operate successfully and manage our potential future growth depends significantly upon our ability to attract, retain, and motivate highly skilled and qualified research, technical, clinical, regulatory, sales, marketing, managerial and financial personnel. We compete for talent with numerous companies, as well as universities and non-profit research organizations. In the future, we may hire a significant number of scientists, quality and regulatory personnel, and other technical staff with the requisite expertise to support and expand our nanomedicine business. The manufacturing of our oncology drug assets is a highly complex process that requires significant experience and know-how. If we are unable to attract personnel with the necessary skills and experience to reestablish and expand our nanomedicine business, which is currently conducted out of our San Antonio, Texas facility, our business could suffer.

Our future success also depends on the personal efforts and abilities of the principal members of our senior management and scientific staff to provide strategic direction, manage our operations, and maintain a cohesive and stable environment. In particular, we are highly dependent on our executive officers, especially Marc Hedrick, M.D., our Chief Executive Officer. Given his leadership, extensive technical, scientific, and financial expertise and management and operational experience, if we were unable to retain the services of Dr. Hedrick for any reason, it would materially and adversely impact our business and operations. Further,the loss of services of Dr. Hedrick or any other executive officer could result in product development delays or the failure of our collaborations with current and future collaborators, which, in turn, may hurt our ability to develop and commercialize products and generate revenue. We do not maintain key man life insurance on the lives of any of the members of our senior management. The loss of key personnel for any reason or our inability to hire, retain, and motivate additional qualified personnel in the future could prevent us from sustaining or growing our business.In addition, if any of our personnel were to test positive for COVID-19, it would likely significantly impair our operations. The loss of services of any of our personnel, including Dr. Hedrick, particularly for an extended period due to COVID-19 or otherwise, would likely result in product development delays or the failure of our collaborations with current and future collaborators, which, in turn, may impede or delay our ability to develop and commercialize products and generate revenue. In addition, it could also result in difficulty to obtain additional funding for our development of products and our future operations.

We face potential product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability if our insurance coverage for those claims is inadequate.

The clinical use of our product candidates exposes us to the risk of product liability claims. This risk exists even if a product or product candidate is approved for commercial sale by applicable regulatory authorities and manufactured in facilities regulated by such authorities. Our product candidates are designed to affect important bodily functions and processes. Any side effects, manufacturing defects, misuse, or abuse associated with our product candidates could result in injury to a patient or even death. For example, RNL is cytotoxic, or toxic to living cells, and, if incorrectly or defectively manufactured or labeled, or incorrectly dosed or otherwise used in a manner not contemplated by its label, could result in patient harm and even death. In addition, a liability claim may be brought against us even if our product candidates merely appear to have caused an injury.

Product liability claims may be brought against us by consumers, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products or product candidates, if approved, among others. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we will incur substantial liabilities. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

• the inability to commercialize our product candidates;

• decreased demand for our product candidates, if approved;

• impairment of our business reputation;

• product recall or withdrawal from the market;

• withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

• costs of related litigation;

• distraction of management’s attention from our primary business;

• substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants; or

• loss of revenue.

We have obtained product liability insurance coverage for clinical trials with a $10 million per occurrence and annual aggregate coverage limit. Our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all of our product liability related expenses or losses and may not cover us for any expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive, and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost, in sufficient amounts or upon adequate terms to protect us against losses due to product liability. If we determine that it is prudent to increase our product liability coverage, we may be unable to obtain this increased product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Large judgments have been awarded in class action or individual lawsuits based on drugs that had unanticipated side effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

A failure to adequately protect private health information could result in severe harm to our reputation and subject us to significant liabilities, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Throughout the clinical trial process, we may obtain the private health information of our trial subjects. There are a number of state, federal and international laws protecting the privacy and security of health information and personal data. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 (“ARRA”), Congress amended the privacy and security provisions of the Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). HIPAA imposes limitations on the use and disclosure of an individual’s healthcare information by healthcare providers conducting certain electronic transactions, healthcare clearinghouses, and health insurance plans, collectively referred to as covered entities. The HIPAA amendments also impose compliance obligations and corresponding penalties for non-compliance on certain individuals and entities that provide services to or perform certain functions on behalf of healthcare providers and other covered entities involving the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information,

collectively referred to as business associates. ARRA also made significant increases in the penalties for improper use or disclosure of an individual’s health information under HIPAA and extended enforcement authority to state attorneys general. The amendments also create notification requirements to federal regulators, and in some cases local and national media, for individuals whose health information has been inappropriately accessed or disclosed. Notification is not required under HIPAA if the health information that is improperly used or disclosed is deemed secured in accordance with certain encryption or other standards developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”). Most states have laws requiring notification of affected individuals and state regulators in the event of a breach of personal information, which is a broader class of information than the health information protected by HIPAA. Many state laws impose significant data security requirements, such as encryption or mandatory contractual terms to ensure ongoing protection of personal information. Activities outside of the U.S. implicate local and national data protection standards, impose additional compliance requirements and generate additional risks of enforcement for non-compliance. The European Union’s Data Protection Directive, Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and other data protection, privacy and similar national, state/provincial and local laws may also restrict the access, use and disclosure of patient health information abroad. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable privacy and data security laws, to protect against security breaches and hackers, or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches.

We and our collaborators must comply with environmental laws and regulations, including those pertaining to use of hazardous and biological materials in our business, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could expose us to significant liabilities.

We and our collaborators are subject to various federal, state, and local environmental laws, rules and regulations, including those relating to discharge of materials into the air, water and ground, those relating to manufacturing, storage, use, transportation and disposal of hazardous and biological materials, and those relating to the health and safety of employees with respect to laboratory activities required for the development of our products and activities. In particular, our nanomedicine products and processes involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of certain cytotoxic, or toxic to living cells, materials. Even if we and these suppliers and collaborators comply with the standards prescribed by law and regulation, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from hazardous materials, or other violations of applicable environmental laws, rules or regulations cannot be completely eliminated. In the event of any violation of such laws, rules or regulations, we could be held liable for any damages that result, and any liability could exceed the limits or fall outside the coverage of any insurance we may obtain and could exceed our financial resources. We may not be able to maintain insurance on acceptable terms, or at all. We may incur significant costs in complying with environmental laws, rules and regulations.

Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property

Our success depends in part on our ability to protect our intellectual property.

Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent, trademark, and trade secret protection of our platform technology and current product candidates, including but not limited to our nanomedicine product candidates, including RNL, as well as successfully defending our intellectual property against third-party challenges. Our ability to stop unauthorized third parties from making using selling, offering to sell, or importing our platform technology and/or our product candidates is dependent upon the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities.

The degree of future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain because legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep our competitive advantage. For example:

• it is possible that others may circumvent our patents;

• the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.

The patent positions of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical device companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in patents in these fields has emerged to date in the United States. There have been recent changes regarding how patent laws are interpreted, and both the USPTO and Congress have recently made significant changes to the patent system. There have been three U.S. Supreme Court decisions that now show a trend of the Supreme Court which is distinctly negative on patents. The trend of these decisions along with resulting changes in patentability requirements being implemented by the USPTO could make it increasingly difficult for us to obtain and maintain patents on our product candidates. We cannot accurately predict future changes in the interpretation of patent laws or changes to patent laws which might be enacted into law. Those changes may materially affect our patents, our ability to obtain patents and/or the patents and applications of our collaborators and licensors. The patent situation in these fields outside the United States is even more uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection. Accordingly, we cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be allowed or enforced in the patents we own or to which we have a license or third-party patents.

Intellectual property law outside the United States is uncertain and in many countries is currently undergoing review and revisions. The laws of some countries do not protect our patent and other intellectual property rights to the same extent as United States laws. Third parties may attempt to oppose the issuance of patents to us in foreign countries by initiating opposition proceedings. Opposition proceedings against any of our patent filings in a foreign country could have an adverse effect on our corresponding patents that are issued or pending in the United States. It may be necessary or useful for us to participate in proceedings to determine the validity of our patents or our competitors’ patents that have been issued in countries other than the United States. This could result in substantial costs, divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Failure to obtain or maintain patent protection or protect trade secrets, for any reason (or third-party claims against our patents, trade secrets, or proprietary rights, or our involvement in disputes over our patents, trade secrets, or proprietary rights, including involvement in litigation), could have a substantial negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We may not be able to protect our trade secrets.

We may rely on trade secrets to protect our technology, especially with respect to the nanomedicine products, as well as in areas where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. Trade secrets are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our collaborators and suppliers. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators, and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our information to competitors. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained and is using any of our trade secrets is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, state laws in the Unites States vary, and their courts as well as courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods, and know-how. If our confidential or proprietary information is divulged to or acquired by third parties, including our competitors, our competitive position in the marketplace will be harmed and our ability to successfully penetrate our target markets could be severely compromised.

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

As is common in the device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other device, biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although no claims against us are currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these employees or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management, which would adversely affect our financial condition.

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

Litigation may be necessary to enforce or confirm the ownership of any patents issued or licensed to us, or to determine the scope and validity of third-party proprietary rights, which would result in substantial costs to us and diversion of effort on our part. If our competitors claim technology also claimed by us and prepare and file patent applications in the United States, we may have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the USPTO or a foreign patent office to determine priority of invention, which could result in substantial costs to and diversion of effort, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. Any such litigation or interference proceeding, regardless of outcome, could be expensive and time-consuming.

Successful challenges to our patents through oppositions, reexamination proceedings or interference proceedings could result in a loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. If we are unsuccessful in actions we bring against the patents of other parties, and

it is determined that we infringe the patents of third-parties, we may be subject to litigation, prevented from commercializing potential products in the relevant jurisdiction and/or may be required to obtain licenses to those patents or develop or obtain alternative technologies, any of which could harm our business. Furthermore, if such challenges to our patent rights are not resolved in our favor, we could be delayed or prevented from entering into new collaborations or from commercializing certain products, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Competitors or third parties may infringe on or upon our patents. We may be required to file patent infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is not valid or is unenforceable or that the third party’s technology does not in fact infringe upon our patents. An adverse determination of any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our related pending patent applications at risk of not issuing.

Litigation may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our management. We may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our proprietary rights, particularly in countries outside the United States where patent rights may be more difficult to enforce. Further, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential or sensitive information could be compromised by disclosure in the event of litigation. In addition, during the course of litigation there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock.

Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.

If we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, it will be costly and time consuming, and an unfavorable outcome in that litigation would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our commercial success will also depend, in part, on our ability to avoid infringing on patents issued by others. There may be issued patents of third parties of which we are currently unaware, that are infringed or are alleged to be infringed by our product candidate or proprietary technologies. Because some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until eighteen months after filing, and publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our owned and in-licensed issued patents or our pending applications, or that we or, if applicable, a licensor were the first to invent the technology. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering our product candidates or technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications or patents, which could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies.

We may be exposed to, or threatened with, future litigation by third parties having patent or other intellectual property rights alleging that our product candidates and/or proprietary technologies infringe their intellectual property rights. These lawsuits are costly and could adversely affect our results of operations and divert the attention of managerial and technical personnel. There is a risk that a court would decide that we or our commercialization partners are infringing the third party’s patents and would order us or our partners to stop the activities covered by the patents. In addition, there is a risk that a court will order us or our partners to pay the other party damages for having violated the other party’s patents.

If a third-party’s patent were found to cover our product candidates, proprietary technologies or their uses, we could be enjoined by a court and required to pay damages and could be unable to commercialize our product candidates or use our proprietary technologies unless we or they obtained a license to the patent. A license may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, during litigation, the patent holder could obtain a preliminary injunction or other equitable relief which could prohibit us from making, using or selling our product candidates, technologies or methods pending a trial on the merits, which could be years away.

Risks Relating to the Securities Markets and an Investment in our Common Stock

Our stockholders may experience substantial dilution in the value of their investment if we issue additional shares of our capital stock, including in connection withthe sale or issuance of our common stock to Lincoln Park and the sale of the shares of common stock acquired by Lincoln Park and the sale of our common stock by Canaccord.

Our charter allows us to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of our common stock and to issue and designate the rights of, without stockholder approval, up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock. To raise additional capital, we may in the future sell additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock at prices that are lower than the prices

paid by existing stockholders, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders, which could result in substantial dilution to the interests of existing stockholders.

On September 30, 2020, we entered into the 2020 Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park, pursuant to which Lincoln Park committed to purchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock, subject to certain limitations. Upon the execution of the 2020 Purchase Agreement, we issued 180,701 shares of common stock as commitment shares to Lincoln Park in consideration for itscommitment to purchase additional shares of our common stock under the 2020 Purchase Agreement. The remaining shares of our common stock that may be issued under the 2020 Purchase Agreement may be sold by us to Lincoln Park at our discretion from time to time over a 36-month period commencing November 6, 2020, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions. The purchase price for the shares that we may sell to Lincoln Park under the 2020 Purchase Agreement will fluctuate based on the price of our common stock. Depending on market liquidity at the time, sales of such shares may cause the trading price of our common stock to fall.

We generally have the right to control the timing and amount of any future sales of our shares to Lincoln Park. Additional sales of our common stock, if any, to Lincoln Park will depend upon market conditions and other factors to be determined by us. We may ultimately decide to sell to Lincoln Park all, some, or none of the additional shares of our common stock that may be available for us to sell pursuant to the 2020 Purchase Agreement. If and when we do sell shares to Lincoln Park, after Lincoln Park has acquired the shares, Lincoln Park may resell all or some of those shares at any time or from time to time in its discretion. Therefore, sales to Lincoln Park by us could result in substantial dilution to the interests of other holders of our common stock. Additionally, the sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park, or the anticipation of such sales, could make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect sales.

We also may issue and sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $10,000,000, depending on market demand, with Canaccord acting as an agent for sales. Sales of the ATM Shares may be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, including, without limitation, sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Capital Market. Canaccord will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell the ATM Shares we request to be sold on our behalf, consistent with Canaccord’s normal trading and sales practices, under the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Distribution Agreement. We have no obligation to sell any of the ATM Shares. We may instruct Canaccord not to sell the ATM Shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price we designate from time to time and we may at any time suspend sales pursuant to the Distribution Agreement.

Future sales of our common stock may depress our share price.

As of December 31, 2020, we had 6,749,028 shares of our common stock outstanding. Sales of a number of shares of common stock in the public market could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. We may also sell additional common stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock in subsequent public or private offerings or other transactions, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate significantly, which could result in substantial losses for stockholders.

The market price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, subject to significant fluctuations. Among the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate are the risks described in this “Risk Factors” section and other factors, including:

• changes in the estimates of the future size and growth rate of our markets;

• changes in general economic, industry and market conditions;

• success of competitive products and services;

• changes in market valuations or earnings of our competitors;

• the trading volume of our common stock.

In addition, the financial markets may experience a loss of investor confidence or otherwise experience continued volatility and deterioration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A loss of investor confidence may result in extreme price and volume fluctuations in our common stock that are unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of our business, our financial condition or results of operations, which may materially harm the market price of our common stock and result in substantial losses for stockholders. Further, although our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market, there is currently a limited market for our common stock and an active market may never develop. An active trading market in our common stock may not develop.

We may be or become the target of securities litigation, which is costly and time-consuming to defend.

In the past, following periods of market volatility in the price of a company’s securities, the reporting of unfavorable news or continued decline in a company’s stock price, security holders have often instituted class action litigation. The market value of our securities has steadily declined over the past several years for a variety of reasons discussed elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, which heightens our litigation risk. If we face such litigation, we could incur substantial legal costs and our management’s attention could be diverted from the operation of our business, causing our business to suffer. Any adverse determination in any such litigation or any amounts paid to settle any such actual or threatened litigation could require that we make significant payments.

We may issue debt and equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, any of which may be senior to our common stock as to distributions and in liquidation, which could negatively affect the value of our common stock.

In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by entering into debt or debt-like financing that is unsecured or secured by up to all of our assets, or by issuing additional debt or equity securities, which could include issuances of secured or unsecured commercial paper, medium-term notes, senior notes, subordinated notes, guarantees, preferred stock, hybrid securities, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity securities. In the event of our liquidation, our lenders and holders of our debt and preferred securities would receive distributions of our available assets before distributions to the holders of our common stock. Because our decision to incur debt and issue securities in future offerings may be influenced by market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings or debt financings. Further, market conditions could require us to accept less favorable terms for the issuance of our securities in the future.

We could be delisted from Nasdaq, which would seriously harm the liquidity of our stock and our ability to raise capital.

The Nasdaq Stock Market has experienced significant volatility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also impacted our stock price. In addition, we have a limited public float and our stock price has experienced a significant decline since our corporate restructuring in 2019. Between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, our closing stock price has fluctuated from a high of $3.14 at September 16, 2020 to a low of $1.05 at March 23, 2020.

On August 19, 2019, we received a written notice from Nasdaq staff indicating that we no longer met the alternative compliance standards of market value of listed securities or net income from continuing operations for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) (the “Nasdaq Rule”). On August 12, 2020, we received a written notice from Nasdaq that we had regained compliance with the Nasdaq Rule. Based on our stockholders’ equity of $3.1million as of December 31, 2020, we continue to meet the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the Nasdaq Rule. However, if we fail to meet such requirement in the future, there is a risk that our common stock may be delisted from Nasdaq, which would adversely impact liquidity of our common stock and potentially result in even lower bid prices for our common stock.

If, for any reason, Nasdaq were to delist our securities from trading on its exchange and we are unable to obtain listing on another reputable national securities exchange, a reduction in some or all of the following may occur, each of which could materially adversely affect our stockholders:

• the liquidity and marketability of our common stock;

• the market price of our common stock;

• our ability to obtain financing for the continuation of our operations;

• the number of market makers in our common stock;

In addition, if we cease to be eligible to trade on Nasdaq, we may have to pursue trading on a less recognized or accepted market, such as the over the counter markets, our stock may be traded as a “penny stock” which would make transactions in our stock would be more difficult and cumbersome, and we may be unable to access capital on favorable terms or at all, as companies trading on alternative markets may be viewed as less attractive investments with higher associated risks, such that existing or prospective institutional investors may be less interested in, or prohibited from, investing in our common stock. This may also cause the market price of our common stock to further decline.

Our charter documents contain anti-takeover provisions.

Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change of control that stockholders may consider favorable. These provisions could also prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove members of our Board of Directors. Stockholders who wish to participate in these transactions may not have the opportunity to do so. These provisions:

• limit who may call stockholder meetings.

We are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may, unless certain criteria are met, prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of the voting rights on our common stock, from merging or combining with us for a prescribed period of time.

We presently do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock.

We have never paid cash dividends in the past, and we currently anticipate that no cash dividends will be paid on the common stock in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, our Loan and Security Agreement with Oxford currently prohibits our issuance of cash dividends. This could make an investment in our common stock inappropriate for some investors, and may serve to narrow our potential sources of additional capital. While our dividend policy will be based on the operating results and capital needs of the business, it is anticipated that all earnings, if any, will be retained to finance the future expansion of our business.

If securities and/or industry analysts fail to continue publishing research about our business, if they change their recommendations adversely, or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock may be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. In addition, it is likely that in some future period our operating results will be below the expectations of securities analysts or investors. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock, or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.

General Risk Factors

The COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant downturn in the worldwide economy, the severity, magnitude, and duration of which is uncertain. In addition, the deterioration in credit markets and financial markets could limit our ability to obtain external financing to fund our operations and capital expenditures. The downturn in the worldwide economy could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business continue to evolve and are difficult to predict. To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly and negatively impacted the global economy, and the magnitude, severity, and duration of this impact is unclear and difficult to assess. To combat the spread of COVID-19, the United States and other locations in which we operate have imposed measures such as quarantines and “shelter-in-place” orders that are restricting business operations and travel and requiring individuals to work from home (“WFH”), which has impacted all aspects of our business as well as those of the third-parties with

which we collaborate or upon which we rely for certain supplies and services. The continuation of WFH and other restrictions for an extended period of time may negatively impact our productivity, research and development, operations, preclinical studies, clinical trials, business and financial results. Among other things, the COVID-19 pandemic may result in:

• disruptions to our third-party manufacturers and suppliers;

The continued disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively and materially impact our operating and financial operating results, including our cash flows. The resumption of normal business operations may be delayed and a resurgence of COVID-19 could occur, which would result in continued disruption to us or third parties with whom we do business. As a result, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition for the foreseeable future.

We may face business disruption and related risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the invocation of the Defense Production Act, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our development programs could be disrupted and materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of measures imposed by the governments in affected regions, many commercial activities, businesses and schools have been suspended as part of quarantines and other measures intended to contain this outbreak. The spread of COVID-19 worldwide has resulted in the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declaring the outbreak of COVID-19 as a “public health emergency of international concern,” and the World Health Organization characterizing COVID-19 as a pandemic. International stock markets have also been significantly impacted and their volatility reflect the uncertainty associated with the potential economic impact of the outbreak. The volatility in the Dow Industrial Average since the end of February 2020 has been largely attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we have not experienced any significant impact on our business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to assess the potential impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our ability to effectively conduct our commercialization efforts and development programs and otherwise conduct our business operations as planned. There can be no assurance that we will not be further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or by any action taken by the federal government under the Defense Production Act, including downturns in business sentiment generally or in our industry and business in particular.

Increased information technology security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime could pose a risk to our systems, networks, and products.

Increased global information technology security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data and communications. While we attempt to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including employee refreshers, monitoring of our networks and systems, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, our systems, networks and products remain potentially vulnerable to advanced persistent threats. Depending on their nature and scope, such threats could potentially lead to the compromising of confidential information and communications, improper use of our systems and networks, manipulation and destruction of data, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions, which in turn could adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness and results of operations.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 2. Properties

We have two lease agreements for our San Antonio, Texas locations. We pay an aggregate of approximately $12,000 in rent per month for these properties. The leases for these properties will expire in June 2022 or in 2028.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Refer to Note 7 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Prices

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “PSTV”. As of February 2, 2021, we had approximately thirteen record holders of our common stock. Because many of our shares are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of individual stockholders represented by these record holders.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table gives information as of December 31, 2020 about shares of our common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, and shares remaining available for issuance under all of our equity compensation plans:

(a) (b) (c)

Material Features of the Amended and Restated 2015 New Employment Incentive Plan and the 2020 Stock Incentive Plan

The 2015 Plan was adopted by the Company on December 29, 2015 pursuant to Rule 5653(c)(4) of the Nasdaq Global Market. The 2015 Plan was subsequently amended by the Board in May 2016 and January 2020.

Awards granted under the 2015 Plan were intended to constitute “employment inducement awards” under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and, therefore, the 2015 Plan was intended to be exempt from the Nasdaq Listing Rules regarding stockholder approval of stock option and stock purchase plans. The 2015 Plan provides for issuance of 133 shares. In January 2017, the Company amended the 2015 Plan to add 500 shares to its share pool. In February 2020, the Company amended the 2015 Plan to add 250,000 shares of stock to its share pool. The 2015 Plan provided for the grant of restricted stock unit awards, restricted stock awards, performance awards, unrestricted securities, stock-equivalent units, stock appreciation units, securities or debentures convertible into common stock or other forms. These awards may have been granted to individuals who were then new employees, or were commencing employment with us or one of our subsidiaries following a bona fide period of non-employment with us, and for whom such awards were granted as a material inducement to commencing employment with us or one of our subsidiaries.

The 2015 Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee. The plan administrator has discretion to take action under the 2015 Plan, such as determining the purchase price, performance measures, any repurchase rights, as well as make adjustment to the terms of any Award to reflect, or related to, such changes in the capital structure of the Company or distributions as it deems appropriate, including modification of performance goals, performance award formulas, and performance periods.

On June 16, 2020, the stockholders of the Company approved the Company’s 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”), which replaced the Company’s 2014 Equity Incentive Plan. The 2020 Plan provides for the issuance of up to 550,000 shares of common stock, and the number of shares available for issuance will be increased to the extent that awards granted under the 2020 Plan and the Company’s 2014 Equity Incentive Plan are forfeited or expire (except as otherwise provided in the 2020 Plan).

The 2020 Plan provides for the direct award or sale of shares of common stock (including restricted stock), the award of stock units and stock appreciation rights, and the grant of both incentive stock options to purchase common stock intended to qualify for preferential tax treatment under Section 422 of the Code and nonstatutory stock options to purchase common stock that do not qualify for such treatment under the Code. All employees (including officers) and directors of the Company or any subsidiary and any consultant who performs services for the Company or a subsidiary are eligible to purchase shares of common stock and to receive awards of shares or grants of nonstatutory stock options, stock units and stock appreciation rights. Only employees are eligible to receive grants of incentive stock options.

The 2020 Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee. Subject to the limitations set forth in the 2020 Plan, the Compensation Committee has the authority to determine, among other things, to whom awards will be granted, the number of shares subject to awards, the term during which an option, stock unit or stock appreciation right may be exercised and the rate at which the awards may vest or be earned, including any performance criteria to which they may be subject. The Compensation Committee also has the authority to determine the consideration and methodology of payment for awards.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Not required.

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

Our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations includes the following sections:

• Overview that discusses our business and some of the relevant trends.

Overview

Plus Therapeutics is committed to developing and delivering innovative treatments for rare and difficult to treat cancers, with a focus on cancers of the central nervous system. Plus Therapeutics’ mission is to transform the clinical care of cancer patients through its innovative drugs that have the potential to improve survival and quality of life.

Plus has a nanoscale drug development platform and the requisite expertise to innovate and produce new and better therapeutics for rare cancers. We believe that this approach will produce investigational drugs that provide unique benefits such as improved mechanism of action, better tumor targeting, improved pharmacokinetics and higher treatment doses to the tumor. Benefits such as these may then improve the overall efficacy of drugs while reducing the side effects associated with more traditional drug delivery methods. To support this goal, Plus Therapeutics has an established, GMP-validated nanoscale drug R&D and commercial scale manufacturing facility in San Antonio, TX. This facility is ideally suited to produce nanoliposomal drug candidates for research, development, clinical and commercial use.

As part of our strategy to leverage our nanotechnology platform and expertise, we use a simple multi-step model that management believes allows Plus to best address unmet market needs or underserved medical conditions while managing risks and minimizing development costs. This model includes: (1) market landscape mapping, (2) internal drug redesign, (3) in house drug manufacturing, (4) performance of critical non-clinical (i.e. bench, animal) analyses, (5) scale-up manufacturing for commercial purposes and performance of early-stage clinical trials, and (6) partnering for late-stage clinical trials, regulatory approval, and, ultimately, commercial launch.

Pipeline

Plus Therapeutics currently has four investigational drugs, three of which are at the clinical stage for rare and difficult to treat cancers. The three clinical stage drugs in our pipeline are:

In addition, Plus has an early preclinical investigational drug which is a proprietary combination of Rhenium Nanpoliposomes and liposomal doxorubicin. Theoretically, this combination could provide a synergistic combination of both chemotherapy and radiation in a single treatment.

Current business activities related to both DocePLUS and DoxoPLUS are focused on identification of potential partners for these two drugs.

Plus’ RNLTM technology was a key part of the licensed radiotherapeutic portfolio that we acquired from NanoTx, Corp. (“NanoTx”) on May 7, 2020. The licensed radiolabeled nanoliposome platform can be applied toward several cancer targets and was developed by a multi-institutional consortium based in Texas at the Mays Cancer Center / UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center now led by Dr. Andrew Brenner, MD, PhD, who is the Kolitz Chair in Neuro-Oncology Research and Co-Leader of the Experimental and Developmental Therapeutics Program. The licensed technology was previously funded by both the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Dr.

Brenner’s RNL research program has an active $3M award from NIH/NCI which will financially support the continued clinical development of RNL for recurrent glioblastoma through the completion of a Phase 2 clinical trial and enrollment of up to 55 patients.

Plus Therapeutics’ lead investigational drug, RNLTM, is a novel injectable radiotherapy designed to deliver targeted high dose radiation directly into a brain tumor in a safe, effective, and convenient manner to optimize patient outcomes. RNLTM, which is composed of radionuclide Rhenium-186 (186Re) and a nanoliposomal carrier, is infused directly into the brain tumor via precision brain mapping and convection enhanced delivery. The RNL radiation dose delivered to patients may be up to 15-20x greater than what is possible with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Some additional potential benefits of RNL compared to EBRT include:

Recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) affects approximately 12,000 patients annually in the U.S. and is the most common and lethal form of brain cancer. The average life expectancy with glioblastoma is less than 24 months, with a one-year survival rate of 40.8% and a five-year survival rate of only 6.8%. GBM can cause headaches, seizures, vision changes and other neurological complications. Despite the best available medical treatments to eliminate the initial brain tumor, some microscopic disease frequently remains, with tumor regrowth within months. In fact, approximately 90% of patients experience tumor recurrence. This tumor type is incredibly difficult to remove completely, and often is resistant or quickly develops resistance to most available therapies. The treatment of GBM remains a significant challenge and it has been nearly a decade since the FDA approved a new therapy for this disease. There is no clear standard of care for recurrent GBM and even the few currently approved treatments, in aggregate, provide only marginal survival benefit. Current approved therapies are associated with significant side effects, which limit dosing and prolonged use.

By infusing the RNLTM drug directly into the tumor, bypassing the blood-brain barrier, normal brain and external tissues may be spared from radiation damage. We believe that radiation in the form of high energy electrons may be effective against glioblastoma if an adequate dose can be effectively delivered. For comparison, current EBRT protocols for recurrent glioblastoma typically recommend a total maximum dose of about 35 Gy. In contrast, the most recently dosed patient with RNL in our clinical trial received over 500 Gy without significant adverse effects to-date.

RNL is currently being evaluated for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma in the Phase 1 multi-center ReSPECTTM dose-finding clinical trial. ReSPECT is evaluating the safety, tolerability, and distribution of RNL for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Thus far, RNL has demonstrated early potential efficacy signals in patients with adequate dosing and tumor coverage with two patients surviving more than 30 months, compared to a median survival of approximately 9 months with the current standard of care. The sixth dose escalation cohort of this trial has been completed, which increased the RNL drug volume to 8.8 milliliters and radiation dose to 22.3 millicuries. The increased treatment volume in the sixth cohort will allow treatment of tumors up to approximately 4.5 cm in size, which may include the majority of glioblastoma tumors that appear in the recurrent setting. No treatment-related SAEs have been observed thus far. ReSPECT is supported by an award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In September 2020, the FDA granted both Orphan Drug designation and Fast Track designation to RNL for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma.

Based on substantial preclinical work completed and published, RNL is thought to have potential clinical benefits in other difficult to treat cancers such as leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, peritoneal carcinomatosis, recurrent head and neck cancer, and pediatric brain cancer.

Recent Developments

Piramal Master Services Agreement

On January 8, 2021, we entered into a Master Services Agreement (the “MSA”) with Piramal Pharma Solutions, Inc. (“Piramal”), for Piramal to perform certain services related to the development, manufacture, and supply of our RNL-Liposome Intermediate Drug Product. The MSA includes the transfer of analytical methods, development of microbiological methods, process transfer and optimization, intermediate drug product manufacturing, and stability studies for us. The transfer will be performed at

Piramal’s facility located in Lexington, Kentucky. The parties contemplate that the MSA will lead to clinical and commercial supply agreements between us and Piramal.

The MSA has a term of five years and will automatically renew for successive one-year terms unless either party notifies the other no later than six months prior to the original term or any additional terms of its intention to not renew the MSA. We have the right to terminate the MSA for convenience upon thirty days’ prior written notice. Either party may terminate the MSA upon an uncured material breach by the other party or upon the bankruptcy or insolvency of the other party.

Clinical Trials

In December 2020, we completed the sixth cohort of our National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported, multi-center ReSPECTTM Phase 1 dose-finding clinical trial evaluating Rhenium NanoLiposomes (RNLTM) for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma (GBM). The sixth cohort of the ReSPECT trial included an increase in both the RNL drug volume and radiation dose to 8.8 milliliters and 22.3 millicuries, respectively. RNL is designed to safely, effectively and conveniently deliver a very high dose of radiation, with a dose that is up to 25 times greater than currently used external beam radiation therapy, directly into the brain tumor for maximum effect. In addition, in December 2020, we started using University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as an active clinical trial site in our ongoing ReSPECTTM Phase 1 clinical trial, currently supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Recent Financings

At-the-Market Transaction

On October 23, 2020, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with Canaccord Genuity LLC (“Canaccord”), pursuant to which we may issue and sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $10,000,000 (the “ATM Shares”), depending on market demand, with Canaccord acting as an agent for sales. Sales of the ATM Shares may be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including, without limitation, sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Capital Market. Canaccord will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell the ATM Shares we request to be sold on our behalf, consistent with Canaccord’s normal trading and sales practices, under the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Distribution Agreement. We have no obligation to sell any of the ATM Shares. We may instruct Canaccord not to sell the ATM Shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price we designate from time to time and we may at any time suspend sales pursuant to the Distribution Agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued 1,616,331 shares under the Distribution Agreement for net proceeds of approximately $3.2 million. During 2021 and through the date of filing of this Form 10-K, the Company issued 536,070 shares under the Distribution Agreement for net proceeds of $1.5 million.

Lincoln Park Purchase Agreement

On September 30, 2020, we entered into a purchase agreement (the “2020 Purchase Agreement”) and registration rights agreement pursuant to which Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (“Lincoln Park”) has committed to purchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock. Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the 2020 Purchase Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to sell to Lincoln Park, and Lincoln Park is obligated to purchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock. Such sales of common stock by us, if any, will be subject to certain limitations, and may occur from time to time, at our sole discretion, over the 36-month period commencing November 6, 2020, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The number of shares we may sell to Lincoln Park on any single business day in a regular purchase is 50,000, but that amount may be increased up to 100,000 shares, depending upon the market price of our common stock at the time of sale and subject to a maximum limit of $500,000 per regular purchase. The purchase price per share for each such regular purchase will be based on prevailing market prices of our common stock immediately preceding the time of sale as computed under the 2020 Purchase Agreement. In addition to regular purchases, we may also direct Lincoln Park to purchase other amounts as accelerated purchases or as additional accelerated purchases if the closing sale price of the common stock exceeds certain threshold prices as set forth in the 2020 Purchase Agreement. We issued 180,701 shares of common stock to Lincoln Park as a commitment fee in connection with entering into the 2020 Purchase Agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued 353,113 shares, excluding 180,701 shares issued as commitment fee, under the 2020 Purchase Agreement for net proceeds of approximately $0.7 million. During 2021 and through the date of filing of this Form 10-K, we issued 985,186 shares of our common stock under the 2020 Purchase Agreement for total proceeds of $2.9 million.

Recent Exercise of Warrants

In February 2021, certain warrant holders exercised warrants to purchase 896,500 shares of our common stock for total exercise proceeds of $2.0 million.

COVID-19 Impact

A novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has presented substantial public health and economic challenges and is affecting economies, financial markets, and business operations around the world. International and U.S. governmental authorities in impacted regions have taken action in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, including issuing varying forms of “stay-at-home” orders, and restricting business functions outside of one’s home. In response, we have put restrictions on employee travel and working from our executive offices with many employees continuing their work remotely. While we have implemented additional health and safety precautions and protocols in response to the pandemic and government guidelines, we have not experienced a significant impact on our business and operations. However, we may experience disruptions that could adversely impact our business operations as well as our preclinical studies and clinical trials. We are currently continuing the clinical trials we have underway in sites across the U.S., and we expect that COVID-19 precautions may directly or indirectly impact the timeline for some of our clinical trials. Some of our clinical trial sites, including those located in areas severely impacted by the pandemic, have placed new patient enrollment into clinical trials on hold or, for patients traveling from out-of-state, have implemented a 14-day self-quarantine before appointments. In addition, some clinical trial sites have imposed limited accessibility to conduct clinical monitoring and training on-site. We considered the impacts of COVID-19 on the assumptions and estimates used to prepare our financial statements and determined that there were no material adverse impacts on our results of operations and financial position at December 31, 2020.

The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve as of the date of this report. For example, as certain states and regions across the United States have relaxed various restrictions on businesses and other activities, it is uncertain whether and to what extent federal, state, or local governments may reinstate additional restrictions and safety protocols in response to any increases in COVID-19 cases. Although there are vaccines available, the ability to obtain a vaccine or know when herd immunity will be met, is difficult to anticipate As such, it is uncertain as to the full magnitude that the pandemic will have on our operations, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, financial condition, liquidity, and future results of operations. Management is actively monitoring the global situation and its impact on our clinical program and timeline, financial condition, liquidity, operations, suppliers, industry, and workforce. We continue to evaluate the extent to which delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our ability to manufacture our product candidates for our clinical trials and conduct other research and development operations and maintain applicable timelines. Given the daily evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak and the global responses to curb its spread, we are not able to estimate the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on our results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity for fiscal year 2020.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act, among other things, includes tax provisions relating to refundable payroll tax credits, deferment of employer’s social security payments, net operating loss utilization and carryback periods, modifications to the net interest deduction limitations and technical corrections to tax depreciation methods for qualified improvement property (QIP). The CARES Act had no material impact on our income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2020. We continue to evaluate the impact of the CARES Act on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

Results of Operations

Development revenue

We recognized a total of $0.3 million in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020, as well as $0.3 million in qualified expenditures for those periods. Our BARDA contract was terminated in December 2019 and the contract close out process was completed during 2020, and we do not expect additional BARDA revenue in the future.

Development revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $7.0 million, which included $4.6 million of revenue recognized under the BARDA contract based on finalization of the indirect cost rates during fiscal years 2012 through 2019.

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses include costs associated with the design, development, testing, and enhancement of our product candidates, payment of regulatory fees, laboratory supplies, pre-clinical studies, and clinical studies.

The following table summarizes the components of our research and development expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

Years ended December 31,

Share-based compensation 32 40

Total research and development expenses $ 2,700 $ 5,365

The decrease in research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019 is due primarily to decreased professional services as a result of discontinuing manufacturing subsequent to sale of our former cell therapy business, as well as reduction in research and development expenses related to Doceplus and Doxoplus.

We expect aggregate research and development expenditures to increase in absolute dollars during 2021 due to the expected costs of development of the RNLTM therapy acquired from NanoTx.

In process research and development acquired from NanoTx

In process research and development acquired from NanoTx in the amount of $781,000 represents the upfront cash payment and fair value of 230,769 shares of common stock, with fair value of $1.65 per share, issued to NanoTx in accordance with the terms of the License Agreement.

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses include costs for administrative personnel, legal and other professional expenses, and general corporate expenses. The following table summarizes the general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

Years ended December 31,

General and administrative $ 6,191 $ 5,203

Share-based compensation 215 87

Total general and administrative expenses $ 6,406 $ 5,290

General and administrative expenses increased by $1.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019 due to increase of legal and professional fees in the year ended December 31, 2020.

We expect general and administrative expenditures to remain generally consistent in 2021 as compared with the year ended December 31, 2020.

Share-based compensation expenses

Share-based compensation expenses include charges related to options and restricted stock awards issued to employees, directors and non-employees. We measure stock-based compensation expenses based on the grant-date fair value of any awards granted to our employees. Such expense is recognized over the requisite service period.

The following table summarizes the components of our share-based compensation expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

Years ended December 31,

Research and development $ 32 $ 40

General and administrative 215 87

Total share-based compensation $ 247 $ 127

On June 16, 2020, our stockholders approved the 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”). The 2020 Plan replaced our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan. Pursuant to the 2020 Plan, we reserved for issuance 550,000 shares of our common stock for future awards, and granted 444,000 options to our employees, directors, and, as appropriate, to non-employee service providers. In addition, previously-granted options will continue to vest in accordance with their original terms. As of December 31, 2020, the total

compensation cost related to non-vested stock options and stock awards not yet recognized for all our plans is approximately $704,000 which is expected to be recognized as a result of vesting under service conditions over a weighted average period of 2.81 years.

Financing items

The following table summarizes interest income, interest expense, and other income and expense for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

Years ended December 31,

Interest income 50 55

Change in fair value of liability instruments 2,400 3,407

Issuance cost of warrants — (1,233 )

The decrease in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019 was primarily due to the repayments of debt principal of $3.1 million 2019 and $5.0 million in 2020. The changes in fair value of our warrant liabilities are primarily due to fluctuations in the valuation inputs for the warrants. See Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein for disclosure and discussion of our warrant liabilities.

We expect interest expense in 2021 to decrease as compared with 2020 due to principal repayment of $5.0 million on April 1, 2020. In April, June, July and September 2020, we entered into revised warrant agreements with the holders of 3,447,500 Series U warrants and in September 2020, we entered into revised warrant agreements for 75,000 of Representative Warrants (defined below). In return for reducing the strike price of the warrants, the warrant holders agreed to amend the settlement provisions upon fundamental transactions. The amended Series U warrants meet the requirements for equity classification under authoritative accounting guidance and are no longer subject to fair value accounting post amendment.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Short-term and long-term liquidity

The following is a summary of our key liquidity measures (for continuing operations) at December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

As of December 31,

To date, these operating losses have been funded primarily from outside sources of invested capital in our common stock, proceeds raised from the Loan and Security Agreement, and gross profits. We have had, and we will continue to have, an ongoing need to raise additional cash from outside sources to fund our future clinical development programs and other operations. Our inability to raise additional cash would have a material and adverse impact on operations and would cause us to default on our loan.

On October 23, 2020, we entered into the Distribution Agreement with Canaccord, pursuant to which we may issue and sell, from time to time, ATM Shares, depending on market demand, with Canaccord acting as an agent for sales. Sales of the ATM Shares may be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including, without limitation, sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Capital Market. Canaccord will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell the ATM Shares we request to be sold on our behalf, consistent with Canaccord’s normal trading and sales practices, under the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Distribution Agreement. We have no obligation to sell any of the ATM Shares. We may instruct Canaccord not to sell the ATM Shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price we designate from time to time and we may at any time suspend sales pursuant to the Distribution Agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued 1,616,331 shares under the Distribution Agreement for net proceeds of approximately $3.2 million. During 2021 and through the date of filing of this Form 10-K, the Company issued 536,070 shares under the Distribution Agreement for net proceeds of $1.5 million.

On September 30, 2020, we entered into the 2020 Purchase Agreement and a registration rights agreement with Lincoln Park, pursuant to which Lincoln Park committed to purchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock. Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the 2020 Purchase Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to sell to Lincoln Park, and Lincoln Park is obligated to purchase up to $25.0 million of our common stock. Such sales of common stock by us, if any, will be subject to certain limitations, and may occur from time to time, at our sole discretion, over the 36-month period commencing November 6, 2020, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions. The net proceeds under the 2020 Purchase Agreement will depend on the frequency and prices at which we sell shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park. We expect that any proceeds received from such sales to Lincoln Park will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued 353,113 shares, excluding 180,701 shares issued as commitment fee, under the 2020 Purchase Agreement for net proceeds of approximately $0.7 million. During 2021 and through the date of filing of this Form 10-K, we issued 985,186 shares of our common stock under the 2020 Purchase Agreement for total proceeds of $2.9 million.

On March 29, 2020, we entered into the Ninth Amendment, pursuant to which, among other things, Oxford agreed to defer the start date of principal repayment from May 1, 2020 to May 1, 2021. In addition, on April 1, 2020, we made a $5.0 million paydown of principal upon execution of the Ninth Amendment. As a result of this Ninth Amendment, the term of the Term Loan has been extended from September 1, 2021 to September 1, 2024, with all other major terms remained consistent.

In September 2019, we finalized the indirect cost rate under the BARDA Agreement for indirect costs incurred during the years 2012 through 2019, which resulted in approximately $4.6 million of revenue recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019. The BARDA contract was terminated in December 2019 and the contract close out process was completed during the year ended December 31, 2020.

In September 2019, we entered into an underwriting agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC (the “Representative”), as representative of the underwriters (the “Underwriters”), pursuant to which we sold in an underwritten public offering an aggregate of (i) 289,000 Class A Units, each consisting of one share of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and one Series U warrant to purchase one share of common stock, and (ii) 2,711,000 Class B Units, each consisting of one pre-funded Series V warrant to purchase one share of common stock and one Series U warrant to purchase one share of common stock at a public offering price of $5.00 per Class A Unit and $4.9999 per Class B Unit (the “September 2019 Offering”). In addition, we granted the Underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 450,000 shares of our common stock and/or Series U warrants at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The Underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 450,000 Series U warrants. We also issued to the Representative warrants (in the form of the Series U warrants) to purchase 75,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $6.25 per share of common stock (the “Representative Warrants”). In September 2020, we entered into revised warrant agreements for the Representative Warrants that reduced the strike price of the warrants to $2.82 per share.

On April 24, 2019, we received $3.3 million of net cash proceeds related to the sale of the UK subsidiary and our cell therapy assets (excluding such assets used in Japan or relating to our contract with BARDA), of which $1.7 million was used to pay down principal, interest and fees on the Loan and Security Agreement, and on April 25, 2019, we received $2.4 million of net cash proceeds related to the sale of our Japanese subsidiary, Cytori Therapeutics, K.K., and substantially all of our cell therapy assets used in Japan, of which $1.4 million was used to pay down principal, interests and fees on the Loan and Security Agreement.

In August 2019, we consummated a 1-for-50 reverse stock split pursuant to which the minimum bid price of our common stock rose above $1.00. On August 29, 2019, the Company received written notice from Nasdaq staff that the Company had regained compliance with the Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) concerning our minimum bid price per share of its common stock.

On August 16, 2019, we received written notice from the Nasdaq indicating that the Company no longer meets the requirements for continued listing under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(4) due to the our failure to meet the minimum 500,000 publicly held shares requirement for continued listing. On September 11, 2019, we received written notice from Nasdaq staff that, based on having 786,807 publicly held shares outstanding as of August 31, 2019, we had regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(4).

On August 19, 2019, we received written notice from Nasdaq indicating that, based on our stockholders’ deficit of $6.3 million as of June 30, 2019, as reported in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, we were no longer in compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), which requires listed companies to maintain stockholders’ equity of at least $2.5 million.

We continue to seek additional capital through strategic transactions and other financing alternatives. Without additional capital, current working capital and cash generated from sales will not provide adequate funding for research and product development activities at their current levels. If sufficient capital is not raised, we will at a minimum need to significantly reduce or curtail our research and development and other operations, and this would negatively affect our ability to achieve corporate growth goals. Although the stock markets and our stock price have recovered to some extent in recent weeks, there may likely be continued market volatility due to the pandemic or other events, which could cause our stock price to decline. This in turn will likely negatively impact our ability to raise funds through equity-related financings. Further, a continued global economic downturn may impair our ability to obtain additional financing through other means, such as strategic transactions or debt financing. The overall deterioration

of the credit and financial markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic will likely generally reduce our ability to obtain additional financing to fund our operations.

Should we be unable to raise additional cash from outside sources or if we are unable to do so in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, it would have a material adverse impact on our operations.

Cash (used in) provided by operating, investing and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is summarized as follows (in thousands):

Years Ended December 31,

Net cash used in operating activities $ (8,434 ) $ (5,906 )

Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (493 ) 5,570

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (319 ) 12,631

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents — (4 )

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents $ (9,246 ) $ 12,291

Operating activities

Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $8.4 million compared to $5.9 million in the same period of 2019. Overall, our operational cash use increased during the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019, due primarily to timing of cash payments made for operating assets and liabilities.

Investing activities

Net cash used in investing activities for year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily related to cash payments of $0.4 million made for in process research and development assets from NanoTx, and $0.1 million for purchases of fixed assets. Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 were related to the sale of the cell therapy business for gross proceeds of $5.6 million.

Financing Activities

Net cash used for financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was related to repayment of $5.0 million of the Term Loan in April 2020, and cash payments of $0.1 million for our finance leases, offset by cash proceeds received from issuance of common stock of $4.0 million and warrant exercises of $1.1 million. Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily related to net proceeds of $16 million received from the September 2019 Offering, and the sale of common stock under the purchase agreement dated September 21, 2018 with Lincoln Park, proceeds from the exercise of warrants of $0.5 million, partially offset by the principal payment of long-term obligations of $3.7 million.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements (as defined by applicable regulations of the SEC) that are reasonably likely to have a current or future material effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses, and that affect our recognition and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities.

While our estimates are based on assumptions we consider reasonable at the time they were made, our actual results may differ from our estimates, perhaps significantly. If results differ materially from our estimates, we will make adjustments to our financial statements prospectively as we become aware of the necessity for an adjustment.

We believe it is important for you to understand our most critical accounting policies. These are our policies that require us to make our most significant judgments and, as a result, could have the greatest impact on our future financial results.

Impairment

PSTV US Equity

PSTV · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2. Properties

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

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

PSTV US Equity☆

PSTV · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2. Properties

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

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

PSTV US Equity