Item 1A. Risk Factors.
An investment in our securities has a high degree of risk. Before you invest you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and the other information in this Annual Report. Any of the risks and uncertainties set forth herein could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, which in turn could materially and adversely affect the trading price or value of our securities. Additional risks not currently known to us or which we consider immaterial based on information currently available to us may also materially adversely affect us. As a result, you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to Our Business
The COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to contain it have significantly adversely affected, and are likely to continue to significantly adversely affect, our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, liquidity and stock price.
We face risks related to health pandemics and outbreaks of communicable diseases, and in particular, the recent outbreak around the world of the highly transmissible and pathogenic COVID-19 coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic and other outbreaks have resulted in and may continue to result in delays in or the suspension of our product development activities, our regulatory work streams, our research and development activities and other important commercial functions. We are also dependent upon third parties for the production and growth of our proprietary algae strains.
Further, in our operations as a public company, prolonged government disruptions, global pandemics and other natural disasters or geopolitical actions, including related to the COVID-19 pandemic, could affect our ability to access the public markets and obtain necessary capital in order to properly capitalize and continue our operations. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our expectation was that we would move forward with the production of our algal biomass, validation and purification. However, these were temporarily suspended and/or delayed, and many continue in diminished capacity.
In addition to the risks specifically described above, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and precipitated the other risks described herein, and may continue to do so, in ways that we are not currently able to predict, any of which could significantly adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, liquidity or stock price.
Worldwide economic and social instability could adversely affect our revenue, financial condition, or results of operations.
The health of the global economy, and the credit markets and the financial services industry in particular, as well as the stability of the social fabric of our society, affects our business and operating results. For example, the credit and financial markets may be adversely affected by the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine and measures taken in response thereto. If the credit markets are not favorable, we may be unable to raise additional financing when needed or on favorable terms. Our customers may experience financial difficulties or be unable to borrow money to fund their operations, which may adversely impact their ability to purchase our products or to pay for our products on a timely basis, if at all. In addition, adverse economic conditions, such as recent supply chain disruptions and labor shortages and persistent inflation, have impacted, and may continue to adversely impact our suppliers’ ability to provide our manufacturer with materials and components, which may negatively impact our business. These economic conditions make it more difficult for us to accurately forecast and plan our future business activities.
We have incurred, and may continue to incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of being a public company.
As a public company in the United States, listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we incur significant legal, accounting and other costs. These additional costs could negatively affect our financial results. In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including regulations implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq, may increase legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If, notwithstanding our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards, we fail to comply, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.
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Failure to comply with these rules might also make it more difficult for us to obtain some types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we might be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. The impact of these events could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board, on committees of our Board or as members of senior management.
We have a history of operating losses, and we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability. In addition, we may be unable to continue as a going concern.
We have incurred net losses during each of our fiscal years since our inception. Our net loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $9,163,366 and our accumulated deficit totaled approximately $108 million as of December 31, 2021. We do not know whether or when we will become profitable, if ever. We currently expect operating losses and negative cash flows to continue for at least the next several years.
Our ability to generate sufficient revenue to achieve profitability depends on our ability, either alone or with strategic collaboration partners, to successfully complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commercialize our product candidates.
Our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 have been prepared on the basis that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. Our auditor’s report for the year ended December 31, 2021 contains an explanatory paragraph that we have incurred significant losses since our inception and we expect that we will continue to incur losses as we aim to successfully execute our business plan and will be dependent on additional public or private financings, collaborations or licensing arrangements with strategic partners, or additional credit lines or other debt financing sources to fund continuing operations. Based on our cash balances, recurring losses since inception and our existing capital resources to fund our planned operations for a twelve-month period, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. As noted below, we will need to obtain additional funding from equity or debt financings, which may require us to agree to burdensome covenants, grant security interests in our assets, enter into collaboration and licensing arrangements that require us to relinquish commercial rights, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable. No assurance can be given at this time as to whether we will be able to achieve our fundraising objectives, regardless of the terms. If adequate funds are not available, the Company may be required to reduce operating expenses, delay or reduce the scope of its product development programs, obtain funds through arrangements with others that may require the Company to relinquish rights to certain of its technologies or products that the Company would otherwise seek to develop or commercialize itself, or cease operations.
We will require substantial additional financing to achieve our goals, and our failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development efforts.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future in connection with our planned research, development and product commercialization efforts. In addition, we will require additional financing to achieve our goals and our failure to do so could adversely affect our commercialization efforts. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:
· continue our development process for our product candidates;
· seek to maintain, protect and expand our intellectual property portfolio; and
· seek to attract and retain skilled personnel.
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If we were to experience any delays or encounter issues with any of the above, it could further increase the costs associated with the above. Further, the net operating losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year, such that a period-to-period comparison of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance.
Our production of algae involves an agricultural process, subject to such risks as weather, disease, contamination and water availability.
The production of our proprietary algae strain involves complex agricultural systems with inherent risks including weather, disease and contamination. These risks are unpredictable, and the efficient and effective cultivation of algae requires consistent light, warm temperatures, low rainfall and proper chemical balance in a very nutrient rich environment.
If the chemical composition of a pond changes from its required balance, unusually high levels of contamination due to the growth of unwanted organisms or other biological problems may occur and would result in a loss of harvestable output. These often arise without warning and sometimes there are few or no clear indicators as to appropriate remediation or corrective measures. However, environmental factors cannot be controlled in an open-air environment, therefore, we cannot, and do not attempt to, provide any form of assurance with regard to our systems, processes, location, or cost-effectiveness. In the event that our growers need to take steps to correct any chemical imbalance or contamination of their ponds, including by re-inoculating the ponds, such measures may not be effective and could interrupt production. To the extent that our production is negatively impacted by environmental factors, we may be unable to fill large orders for one or more months until such time that production improves.
We rely on third parties to grow our proprietary algae strains and conduct research, and preclinical and clinical testing, and these third parties may not perform satisfactorily.
We do not currently, and do not expect to in the future, independently conduct any aspects of the growth of our proprietary algae strains, research and monitoring and management of our ongoing preclinical and clinical programs. We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties with respect to these items, and control only certain aspects of their activities.
Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us at any time unless otherwise stated in contractual agreements. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements, our commercialization activities or our therapeutic candidate or companion diagnostic development activities may be delayed or suspended. Our reliance on these third parties for research and development activities, reduces our control over these activities but does not relieve us of our responsibility to ensure compliance with all required legal, regulatory and scientific standards and any applicable trial protocols.
Any of these events could lead to delays in the development of our product candidates, including delays in our trials, or failure to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, or it could impact our ability to successfully commercialize our current product candidates.
Because our ZIVO algae is currently produced by only one grower, the loss of this grower would have a material adverse impact on our operating results and cash flows.
Currently only one facility grows our ZIVO algae. Any termination of a business relationship with, or a significant sustained reduction in business received from this grower could delay our production efforts and could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and cash flows. We must materially increase the number of our growers and if we cannot, it will adversely impact our financial condition and our business.
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If we fail to attract and keep our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, senior management and key scientific personnel, we may be unable to successfully develop our therapeutic candidates, conduct our clinical trials and commercialize our therapeutic candidates.
We are highly dependent on the members of our executive team, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the loss of whose services may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives. Any of our executive officers could leave our employment at any time, as all of our employees are “at will” employees. Recruiting and retaining other qualified employees, consultants and advisors for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will also be critical to our success.
Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing, sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success. We may not be able to attract and retain these personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us.
If we are unable to enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our product candidates, if approved, we may be unable to generate any revenues.
We currently do not have internal sales, marketing and distribution capability for our products and the cost of establishing and maintaining such an organization may exceed the cost-effectiveness of doing so. In order to market any products that may be eligible for commercialization, we must build our sales, distribution, marketing, managerial and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services. We have limited prior experience in the marketing, sale or distribution of approved products and there are significant risks involved in building and managing a sales organization, including our ability to hire, retain, and incentivize qualified individuals, generate sufficient sales leads, provide adequate training to sales and marketing personnel, and effectively manage a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of our therapeutic candidates.
Because the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results, we can provide no assurances that our other product candidates will have favorable results in future studies or trials.
Positive results from preclinical studies or clinical trials should not be relied on as evidence that later or larger-scale studies or trials will succeed. Even if our product candidates achieve positive results in early-stage preclinical studies or clinical trials, there is no guarantee that the efficacy of any product candidate shown in early studies will be replicated or maintained in future studies and/or larger populations. Similarly, favorable safety and tolerability data seen in short-term studies might not be replicated in studies of longer duration and/or larger populations. If any product candidate demonstrates insufficient safety or efficacy in any preclinical study or clinical trial, we would experience potentially significant delays in, or be required to abandon, development of that product candidate.
Further, data obtained from clinical trials are susceptible to varying interpretations. If we delay or abandon our efforts to develop any of our product candidates, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenues to become profitable, and our reputation in the industry and in the investment community would likely be significantly damaged, each of which would cause our stock price to decrease significantly.
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Development of certain of our products involves a lengthy and expensive process, with uncertain outcomes. We may, and our current or future licensees may, incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of any product.
We may, and our current or future licensees may, experience numerous unforeseen events during or as a result of clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize our products, including:
· the cost of clinical trials of our products may be greater than we anticipate;
If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our biotech product candidates under development or algal biomass beyond those that we contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates under development or algal biomass or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not favorable or if there are safety concerns, we may, or our existing or future licensees may:
· not obtain marketing approval at all;
· be delayed in obtaining marketing approvals in a jurisdiction; or
· be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements.
Increased regulatory scrutiny of nutritional supplements as well as new regulations that are being adopted in some of our markets with respect to nutritional supplements could result in more restrictive regulations and harm our results if our supplements or advertising activities are found to violate existing or new regulations or if we are not able to effect necessary changes to our products in a timely and efficient manner to respond to new regulations.
There has been an increasing movement in the United States and other markets to increase the regulation of dietary supplements, which could impose additional restrictions or requirements on us and increase the cost of doing business. On February 11, 2019, the FDA issued a statement from FDA Commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, regarding the agency’s efforts to strengthen the regulation of dietary supplements. The FDA will be prioritizing and focusing resources on misbranded products bearing unproven claims to treat, cure, or mitigate disease. Commissioner Gottlieb established a Dietary Supplement Working Group tasked with reviewing the agency’s organizational structure, process, procedures, and practices to identify opportunities to modernize the oversight of dietary supplements. Additionally, on December 21, 2015, the FDA created the Office of Dietary Supplements (“ODSP”). The creation of this new office elevates the FDA’s program from its previous status as a division under the Office of Nutrition and Dietary Supplements. ODSP will continue to monitor the safety of dietary supplements.
In August 2016, the FDA published its revised draft guidance on Dietary Supplements: New Dietary Ingredient Notifications and Related Issues. If a company sells a dietary supplement containing an ingredient that FDA considers either not a dietary ingredient or a new dietary ingredient (“NDI”) that needs an NDI notification, the agency may threaten or initiate enforcement against such company. For example, it might send a warning letter that can trigger consumer lawsuits, demand a product recall, or even work with the Department of Justice to bring a criminal action. Our operations could be harmed if new guidance or regulations require us to reformulate products or effect new registrations, if regulatory authorities make determinations that any of our products do not comply with applicable regulatory requirements, if the cost of complying with regulatory requirements increases materially, or if we are not able to effect necessary changes to our products in a timely and efficient manner to respond to new regulations. In addition, our operations could be harmed if governmental laws or regulations are enacted that restrict the ability of companies to market or distribute nutritional supplements or impose additional burdens or requirements on nutritional supplement companies.
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The growth of our agtech sector depends in part on market acceptance of products that contain our algae.
The success of our agtech business involves the use of our algal biomass in various animal and human products. There can be no assurance regarding the successful distribution and market acceptance of products containing our algae. The expenses or losses associated with lack of market acceptance of our products could harm our ability to find or maintain new licensees for these products.
If our computer systems are hacked, or we experience any other cybersecurity incident, we may face adisruption to our operations, a compromise or corruption of our confidential information and/or damage to our business relationships, all of which could negatively impact our business, results of operations or financial condition
We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities. Additionally, we collect and store certain data, including proprietary business information, and may have access to confidential or personal information in certain of our businesses that is subject to privacy and security laws and regulations. These technology networks and systems may be susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to failures during the process of upgrading or replacing software, databases or components; power outages; telecommunications or system failures; terrorist attacks; natural disasters; employee error or malfeasance; server or cloud provider breaches; and computer viruses or cyberattacks. Cybersecurity threats and incidents can range from uncoordinated individual attempts to gain unauthorized access to information technology networks and systems to more sophisticated and targeted measures, known as advanced persistent threats, directed at us, our products, customers and/or our third-party service providers. It is possible a security breach could result in theft of trade secrets or other intellectual property or disclosure of confidential customer, supplier or employee information. Should we be unable to prevent security breaches or other damage to our information technology systems, disruptions could have an adverse effect on our operations, as well as expose us to costly litigation, liability or penalties under privacy laws, increased cybersecurity protection costs, reputational damage and product failure.
The animal health industry is highly competitive.
The animal health industry is highly competitive. Our competitors include standalone animal health businesses, the animal health businesses of large pharmaceutical companies, specialty animal health businesses and companies that mainly produce generic products. We believe many of our competitors are conducting R&D activities in areas served by our products and in areas in which we are developing products. Several new start-up companies also compete in the animal health industry. We also face competition from manufacturers of drugs globally, as well as producers of nutritional health products. These competitors may have access to greater financial, marketing, technical and other resources. As a result, they may be able to devote more resources to developing, manufacturing, marketing and selling their products, initiating or withstanding substantial price competition or more readily taking advantage of acquisitions or other opportunities.
Competitive pressure could arise from, among other things, more favorable safety and efficacy product profiles, limited demand growth or a significant number of additional competitive products being introduced into a particular market, price reductions by competitors, the ability of competitors to capitalize on their economies of scale, the ability of competitors to produce or otherwise procure animal health products at lower costs than us and the ability of competitors to access more or newer technology than us.
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Our R&D relies on evaluations of animals, which may become subject to bans, additional restrictive regulations or increased attention from activism movements.
We are required to evaluate the effect of our product candidates in animals. Animal testing in certain industries has been the subject of controversy and adverse publicity. Some organizations and individuals have attempted to ban animal testing or encourage the adoption of new regulations applicable to animal testing. To the extent that the activities of such organizations and individuals are successful, our R&D, and by extension our business, financial condition and results of operations, could be materially adversely affected. In addition, negative publicity about us or our industry could harm our reputation. For example, farm animal producers may experience decreased demand for their products or reputational harm as a result of evolving consumer views of animal rights, nutrition, health-related or other concerns. Any reputational harm to the farm animal industry may also extend to companies in related industries, including our Company. Adverse consumer views related to the use of one or more of our product candidates in farm animals also may result in a decrease in the use of such products and could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
Risks Relating to Our Intellectual Property
We may not be able to protect our proprietary algae cultures and bioactive compounds in the marketplace.
Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain patents, protect our trade secrets and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection, and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property of our products. Patents might not be issued or granted with respect to our patent applications that are currently pending, and issued or granted patents might later be found to be invalid or unenforceable, be interpreted in a manner that does not adequately protect our products or any future products, or fail to otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. As such, we do not know the degree of future protection that we will have on our products, if any, and a failure to obtain adequate intellectual property protection with respect to our products could have a material adverse impact on our business.
Patent protection may not be available for some of the therapeutic candidates or products we are developing. If we must spend significant time and money protecting or enforcing our patents, designing around patents held by others or licensing, potentially for large fees, patents or other proprietary rights held by others, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be harmed.
Claims of intellectual property infringement by or against us could seriously harm our businesses.
From time to time, we may be forced to respond to or prosecute intellectual property infringement claims to defend or protect our rights. These claims, regardless of merit, may consume valuable management time, result in costly litigation or cause product shipment delays. Any of these factors could seriously harm our business and operating results. We may have to enter into royalty or licensing agreements with third parties who claim infringement. These royalty or licensing agreements, if available, may be costly to us. If we are unable to enter into royalty or licensing agreements with satisfactory terms, our business could suffer.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with Nasdaq’s continued listing standards, a failure of which could result in a de-listing of our common stock.
There is no assurance that we will continue to comply with the applicable Nasdaq listing standards. In order to maintain the listing of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “common stock”) and warrants on Nasdaq, Nasdaq requires that the trading price of a company’s listed stock on Nasdaq remain above one dollar in order for such stock to remain listed. If a listed stock trades below one dollar for more than 30 consecutive trading days, then it is subject to delisting from Nasdaq, together with any related warrants listed on Nasdaq. In addition, to maintain a listing on Nasdaq, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders’ equity, and certain corporate governance requirements. If we are unable to satisfy these requirements or standards, we could be subject to delisting, which would have a negative effect on the price of our common stock and warrants and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock and warrants when you wish to do so. In the event of a delisting, we would expect to take actions to restore our compliance with the listing requirements, but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us would allow our common stock and/or warrants to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our common stock, prevent our common stock from dropping below the minimum bid price requirement, or prevent future non-compliance with the listing requirements.
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The market price and trading volume of our securities may be volatile and may be affected by economic conditions beyond our control.
The market price of our securities is likely to be volatile. Some specific factors that could negatively affect the price of our securities or result in fluctuations in its price and trading volume include:
· results of trials of our product candidates;
· results of trials of our competitors’ products;
· issuances by us of debt or equity securities;
· trading volume of our common stock;
· announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts;
· terrorist acts, acts of war or periods of widespread civil unrest;
· natural disasters and other calamities;
· changes in market conditions for biotech or agtech stocks;
Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.
As of December 31, 2021, our largest shareholder, HEP Investments, LLC (“HEP” or “HEP Investments”), beneficially owns approximately 24.3% of our common stock. Therefore, HEP Investments will have the ability to influence us through this ownership position. This stockholder may be able to determine all matters requiring stockholder approval, including elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets, or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that you may believe are in your best interest as one of our stockholders.
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Our management has identified certain internal control deficiencies, which management believes constitute material weaknesses. Our failure to establish and maintain an effective system of internal controls could result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or fail to prevent fraud in which case, our stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and could negatively impact the price of our common stock.
We review and update our internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies as our Company continues to evolve. In addition, we are required to comply with the internal control evaluation and certification requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) and management is required to report annually on our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of SOX until the date we are no longer a “smaller reporting company” as defined by applicable SEC rules.
Our management’s evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 concluded that our controls were not effective, due to material weaknesses resulting from an ineffective overall control environment. The material weaknesses stem primarily from our small size and include the inability to (i) maintain appropriately designed information technology general controls in the areas of user access, vendor management controls, and segregation of duties, including controls over the recording of journal entries, related to certain information technology systems that support the Company’s financial reporting process; and (ii) design and maintain effective controls over complex accounting areas and related disclosures including income tax and deferred revenue accounting. Specifically, management did not identify controls over the review of the tax provision, including the valuation analysis relating to deferred tax assets, considerations for uncertain tax positions, the preparation of income tax footnote and required disclosures and selecting and applying accounting policies, proper review of the financial statements and the application of GAAP relating to the accounting and classification of deferred revenue – participation agreements.
The effects of the accounting errors related to deferred revenue resulted in a restatement of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021, as management determined that the effect of the error was material to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for such quarter. Please see “Item 9A - Control and Procedures” for more information about identified material weaknesses.
Such shortcomings could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results. Any system of internal controls, however well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met. Any failure or circumvention of the controls and procedures or failure to comply with regulation concerning control and procedures could have a material effect on our business, results of operation and financial condition. Any of these events could result in an adverse reaction in the financial marketplace due to a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which ultimately could negatively affect the market price of our shares, increase the volatility of our stock price and adversely affect our ability to raise additional funding. The effect of these events could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board and as executive officers.
Subject to limitations on liquidity, the Company is planning to take steps to remediate these material weaknesses. However, we cannot assure you that any of the measures we implement to remedy any such deficiencies will effectively mitigate or remedy such deficiencies.
As a smaller reporting company, we are subject to scaled disclosure requirements that may make it more challenging for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.
Currently, we are a “smaller reporting company,” as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. As a “smaller reporting company,” we are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosures in our filings and have certain other decreased disclosure obligations in our filings with the SEC, including being required to provide only two years of audited financial statements in annual reports. Consequently, it may be more challenging for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.
Furthermore, we are a non-accelerated filer as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, and, as such, are not required to provide an auditor attestation of management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting, which is generally required for SEC reporting companies under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Because we are not required to, and have not, had our auditor’s provide an attestation of our management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting, a material weakness in internal controls may remain undetected for a longer period.
Our annual and quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly or may fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, each of which may cause our stock price to fluctuate or decline.
We expect our operating results to be subject to annual and quarterly fluctuations. Our net loss and other operating results will be affected by numerous factors, including:
· addition or termination of trials or funding support;
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· regulatory developments affecting our products or those of our competitors;
· our ability to attract, hire and retain qualified personnel;
· future accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies; and
If our annual or quarterly operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our securities could decline substantially. Furthermore, any annual or quarterly fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate substantially. We believe that annual and quarterly comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of our future performance.
Raising additional funds through debt or equity financing could be dilutive and may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a stockholder. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take certain actions, such as incurring debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic collaborations or partnerships, or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may be required to limit valuable rights to our intellectual property, technologies, therapeutic candidates or future revenue streams, or grant licenses or other rights on terms that are not favorable to us. Furthermore, any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our therapeutic candidates.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.
Future sales and issuances of our common stock or rights to purchase our common stock, including pursuant to our equity incentive plans, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to fall.
We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may sell our common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell our common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. These sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to our existing stockholders.
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We are at risk of litigation.
As described in “Item 3 – Legal Proceedings,” we are party to an arbitration dispute with AEGLE Partners, 2 LLC. Additionally, in the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.
Additionally, we terminated our former Chief Executive Officer for cause, and do not believe that we owe him any severance payments. However, we have not yet reached an agreement with him related to his departure.
Even if we successfully defend against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs place a significant strain on our financial resources, divert the attention of management from our core business and harm our reputation.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not required for smaller reporting companies.
Item 2. Properties.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s primary office was located at 2804 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 202, Keego Harbor, MI 48320, under a facility lease on a month-to-month basis. On February 28, 2022, the Company moved its principal executive office to 21 East Long Lake Road, Suite 100, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 to a facility where we lease roughly 4,800 square feet. We believe that our existing facilities are adequate for our current needs. If we determine that additional or new facilities are needed in the future, we believe that sufficient options would be available to us on commercially reasonable terms. We also lease a laboratory and office (roughly 2,700 square feet) at 608 Danley Drive, Unit #1, Fort Myers, FL 33907.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
On April 13, 2022, AEGLE Partners, 2 LLC (“AEGLE”) initiated an arbitration in Michigan against the Company with the American Arbitration Association. AEGLE asserted claims related to a certain Supply Chain Consulting Agreement entered into between AEGLE and the Company in 2019 (as amended from time to time, the “Agreement”), and a disagreement between AEGLE and the Company regarding whether AEGLE is entitled to payment of certain fees and warrants pursuant to the Agreement. AEGLE’s complaint seeks, among other things, three times the payment of such alleged fees and warrants and recovery of AEGLE’s costs and expenses. We believe that the claims made by AEGLE in its complaint are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against them.
Additionally, the Company may be subject to various claims, complaints, and legal actions that arise from time to time in the normal course of business. There can be no assurance that existing or future legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business or otherwise will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our shares of common stock and our warrants trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ZIVO” and “ZIVOW”, respectively.
Holders
As of April 20, 2022, there were approximately 235 holders of record of our common stock. The number of holders of record is based on the actual number of holders registered on the books of our transfer agent and does not reflect holders of shares in “street name” or persons, partnerships, associations, corporations, or other entities identified in security position listings maintained by depository trust companies.
Dividend Policy
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock since our inception and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We plan to retain our earnings, if any, to provide funds for the expansion of our business.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those set forth under the section titled “Risk Factors,” and other documents we file with the SEC. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Overview
We have put in place a business model in which we may derive future income from licensing and selling natural bioactive ingredients including algal biomass and products that may be derived from or are initially based on the algal biomass. We expect that these planned new products will likely be sold or licensed to much larger, better-financed human and animal pharma companies, and to food, dietary supplement, and skin care manufacturers. The anticipated income streams are to be generated from a) sales of algal biomass or extracts thereof, and b) license payments in the form of royalties and / or other contractual payments for licensed natural bioactive ingredients. Our manufacturing strategy is to create contract manufacturers for our non-licensed products which products will be sold by us to animal food, dietary supplement, and medical food processors and/or name-brand marketers. Further, we expect to license our bioactive molecules as lead compounds or templates for synthetic variants intended for therapeutic applications.
For our Wellmetrix, subsidiary, the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) and management agreed to halt active product development and instead focus on prospective out-licensing of the existing IP, consisting of a patent and several patents pending. An ongoing commitment to patent prosecution and maintenance of the existing patent portfolio has been approved by the Board.
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Recent Developments
June 2021 Underwritten Public Offering
On May 27, 2021, we entered into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Maxim Group LLC, as underwriter (the “Underwriter”), relating to the issuance and sale of 2,760,000 units (“Units”), each consisting of one share of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “common stock”) together with one warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $5.50 per share (each a “2021 Warrant”), at a price to the public of $5.00 per Unit. In addition, under the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, we granted the Underwriter an option, exercisable for 45 days, to purchase up to an additional 414,000 shares of common stock and/or 414,000 2021 Warrants, in any combination thereof, on the same terms. The base offering closed on June 2, 2021, and the sale of 150,000 shares of common stock subject to the Underwriter’s overallotment option closed on July 2, 2021.
The gross proceeds from this offering were approximately $14.5 million prior to deducting underwriting discounts and other offering expenses payable by us.
Change of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for Fiscal 2021
On November 30, 2021, Wolinetz, Lafazan & Company, P.C., notified the Company of its resignation as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. On February 10, 2022, the Audit Committee of the Board engaged BDO USA, LLP (“BDO”) to serve as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the Company’s fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.
Nasdaq Capital Market
The Company’s common stock and 2021 Warrants commenced trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on May 28, 2021 under the ticker symbol “ZIVO” and “ZIVOW”, respectively. Previously, the Company’s common stock was traded on the OTC Markets quotation system on the OTCQB.
Reverse Stock Split
Effective at 12:01 a.m., Eastern Time, on May 28, 2021, the Company completed a 1-for-80 reverse stock split of its common stock. All share and per share amounts in this Report have been reflected on a post-split basis.
COVID-19
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has experienced, and will likely continue to experience, delays and disruptions in our pre-clinical and clinical trials, as well as interruptions in our manufacturing, supply chain, shipping and research and development operations.
The effects of COVID-19 on the Company have been generally related to our ability to complete scientific research and laboratory experiments on our planned timetables. We do much of our research with universities and third party laboratories, and the scientific work, experimentation and clinical trials require in person activities working on laboratory equipment. COVID-19 caused several shutdowns to the labs of our research partners. These shutdown and stay at home orders interrupted work in some cases, and postponed work in other cases. The net effect to the Company was our continued spending on overhead costs without the progression of our scientific discovery and experimental plan. We do not believe that the quality of any scientific or experimentation work was sacrificed due to COVID-19.
The Company’s plans for further testing or clinical trials may be further impacted by the continuing effects of COVID-19. The global outbreak of COVID-19 continues to rapidly evolve. In May 2020, given the impact of COVID-19 on the Company, the Company applied for and received loan funding of $121,700 under the Paycheck Protection Program, which was forgiven by the U.S. Small Business Administration on September 9, 2021.
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The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may further impact our business and pre-clinical and clinical trials and the launch or products will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the effect of the pandemic on our suppliers and distributors and the global supply chain, the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions and social distancing in the U.S. and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the U.S. and other countries to contain and treat the disease. The COVID-19 pandemic may also continue to impact our business as a result of employee illness, school closures, and other community response measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic may also impact our ability to secure additional financing. Although the Company cannot estimate the length or gravity of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak at this time, if the pandemic continues, it may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of future operations, financial position, and liquidity in for fiscal year 2022 and beyond.
See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—The COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to contain it have significantly adversely affected, and are likely to continue to significantly adversely affect, our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, liquidity and stock price.”
Financial Overview
Service Revenue
The Company recorded service revenue for certain work related to the development of a testing methodology as part of our ongoing scientific experimentation. A third-party research partner was interested in utilizing our newly developed procedures. The Company and the research partner negotiated a one-time payment. The Company does not believe this will be an ongoing source of income.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs for personnel in functions not directly associated with research and development activities, professional fees and consultant expenses, and other overhead spending. Personnel related costs include cash compensation, benefits, and stock-based compensation expenses. Professional fees and consultant expenses consist primarily of legal fees relating to corporate matters, intellectual property costs, professional fees for consultants assisting with regulatory, and financial matters. Other overhead spending includes cost to support information technology, rent, insurances, public company listing, and supplies.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will significantly increase in the future to support our continued research and development activities, potential commercialization of our product candidates, hiring of additional personnel, legal and professional services, and other public company related costs.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses are incurred in developing our product candidates, compensation and benefits for research and development employees, including stock-based compensation, research related overhead expenses, cost of laboratory supplies, clinical trial and related clinical manufacturing expenses, costs related to regulatory operations, fees paid to research consultants and other outside expenses. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and costs incurred by third parties are expensed as the contracted work is performed.
We expect our research and development expenses to significantly increase over the next several years as we continue to develop product candidates targeting additional pharma and algal biomass applications. These additional activities will increase the need to conduct preclinical testing and clinical trials and will depend on the duration, costs and timing to complete our preclinical programs and clinical trials.
Interest Expense
Interest expense primarily consists of interest costs related to our convertible notes, as discussed in detail below.
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Other Income
Other income consists of proceeds derived from activity outside of normal operating activity, including the forgiveness of the paycheck protection program loan.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Year Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
Year ended December 31,
Costs and expenses:
Other income (expense):
(Gain) on forgiveness of debt and accrued interest (122,520 ) -
Net Sales
We had no product or licensing revenue during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. However, we had $0 and $20,000 of service revenue during the 12 months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Wellmetrix service revenue related to a study design for a pre-clinical trial.
Cost of Sales
We had no cost of sales during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses were $6.9 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2021, as compared to approximately $4.8 million for the comparable prior period. The approximate $2.1 million increase in general and administrative expense during 2021 is due primarily to the following: an increase of $2.7 million in salary expense ($2.4 million non-cash increase due to stock options issued to employees and roughly $300,000 increase in cash compensation from an increase in bonus accruals and severance payments to the Company’s former chief financial officer), and an increase in overhead expense of $160,000 ($80,000 increase in insurance, $30,000 increase in travel and entertainment, and $55,000 increase in exchange listing expenses); these increases were partially offset by a reduction in professional services of $800,000 (lower legal of $100,000, lower consulting of $240,000, higher investor relations of $155,000, and lower board of director fees of $570,000 which was fully explained by lower non-cash equity compensation expense.
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Research and Development Expenses
For the 12 months ended December 31, 2021, we incurred $2.1 million in R&D expenses, as compared to $3.7 million for the comparable period in 2020.
Of these expenses, all $2.1 million for 2021 and roughly $3.5 million for 2020 are costs associated with research relating to our biotech and agtech businesses. Of these costs in 2021, $1.0 million is for salary related cost, a decrease of approximately $1.0 million from the prior year. The decrease is fully explained by lower stock related compensation costs. Third party research and development spending of $1.7 million was essentially unchanged from the prior year. For the year ending December 31, 2021, the Company recognized a reduction in gross research and development spending to account for the amortization of the spending obligation created through the complete funding of the Participation Agreements. (See Note 9: Deferred R&D Obligations - Participation Agreements)
December 31, December 31,
Subject to the availability of funding, we expect our R&D costs to grow as we work to complete the research in the development of natural bioactive compounds for use as dietary supplements and food ingredients, as well as biologics for medicinal and pharmaceutical applications in humans and animals. The Company’s scientific efforts are focused on the metabolic aspects of oxidation and inflammation, with a parallel program to validate and license products for healthy immune response.
With respect to our Wellmetrix business, we incurred $-0- and $146,000 in R&D expenses for the 12 months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decrease of $146,000 from the prior period is due to terminating of all Wellmetrix projects for R&D. As noted above, the Company has halted active product development and instead is focusing on prospective out-licensing of the existing IP, consisting of a patent and several patents pending
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Historical Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, our principal source of liquidity consisted of cash deposits of $8.9 million. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating and net losses for the foreseeable future until and unless we generate an adequate level of revenue from potential commercial sales to cover expenses.
We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially as we develop and seek to commercialize our product candidates and continue to pursue pre-clinical and clinical trials, seek regulatory approvals, manufacture product candidates, hire additional staff, add operational, financial and management systems and continue to operate as a public company.
Our source of cash to date has been proceeds from the issuances of notes, common stock with and without warrants and unsecured loans, and the entry into Participation Agreements, the terms of which are further described below. See also “—Funding Requirements and Outlook” below.
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June 2021 Underwritten Public Offering
On May 27, 2021, we entered into an Underwriting Agreement relating to the issuance and sale of 2,760,000 Units, at a price to the public of $5.00 per Unit. In addition, under the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, we granted the Underwriter an option, exercisable for 45 days, to purchase up to an additional 414,000 shares of common stock and/or 414,000 2021 Warrants, in any combination thereof, on the same terms. The base offering closed on June 2, 2021, and the sale of 150,000 shares of common stock subject to the Underwriter’s overallotment option closed on July 2, 2021. The gross proceeds from this offering were approximately $14.5 million prior to deducting underwriting discounts and other offering expenses payable by us.
Convertible Notes
On June 2, 2021, pursuant to the terms of several Debt Extension and Conversion Agreements with holders of our 11% convertible debt, a total of $7,538,556 comprised of outstanding principal of $4,940,342 and interest of $2,598,214 of our convertible notes were automatically converted into 942,322 shares of common stock at $8.00 per share.
Participation Agreements
From April 13, 2020, through May 14, 2021, the Company entered into twenty-one License Co-Development Participation Agreements (the “Participation Agreements”) with certain accredited investors (“Participants”) for an aggregate of $2,985,000. The Participation Agreements provide for the issuance of warrants to such Participants and allows the Participants to participate in the fees (the “Fees”) from licensing or selling bioactive ingredients or molecules derived from ZIVO’s algae cultures. Specifically, ZIVO has agreed to provide to the Participants a 44.775% “Revenue Share” of all license fees generated by ZIVO from any licensee.
The Participation Agreements allow the Company the option to buy back the right, title and interest in the Revenue Share for an amount equal to the amount funded plus a forty percent (40%) premium, if the option is exercised less than 18 months following execution, and for either forty (40%) or fifty percent (50%) if the option is exercised more than 18 months following execution. Pursuant to the terms of twelve of the Participation Agreements, the Company may not exercise its option until it has paid the Participants a revenue share equal to a minimum of thirty percent (30%) of the amount such Participant’s total payment amount. Pursuant to the terms of the one of the Participation Agreements, the Company may not exercise its option until it has paid the Participant a revenue share equal to a minimum of one hundred forty percent (140%) of the amount such Participant’s total payment amount. Five of the Participation Agreements have no minimum threshold payment. Once this minimum threshold is met, the Company may exercise its option by delivering written notice to a Participant of its intent to exercise the option, along with repayment terms of the amount funded, which may be paid, in the Company’s sole discretion, in one lump sum or in four (4) equal quarterly payments. If the Company does not make such quarterly payments timely for any quarter, then the Company shall pay the prorate Revenue Share amount, retroactive on the entire remaining balance owed, that would have been earned during such quarter until the default payments have been made and the payment schedule is no longer in default.
Cash Exercise of Warrants
From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021, the Company received gross proceeds from the cash exercise of outstanding warrants for common stock in the amount of $830,400.
Unsecured Loans
From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021, the Company received gross proceeds of $312,200 in unsecured loans. As of December 31, 2021, no principal and accrued interest remained outstanding under such loans.
Private Placements
Between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, we entered into Subscription Agreements with accredited investors pursuant to which we, in private placements, issued and sold an aggregate of 190,647 shares of common stock for gross proceeds in the amount of $1,965,836.
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Paycheck Protection Program Loan
In connection with the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES Act”), the Company received loan funding of approximately $ 121,700 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which was forgiven by the U.S. Small Business Administration on September 9, 2021.
Funding Requirements and Outlook
At December 31, 2021, we had approximately $8.9 million in cash deposits.
Management has noted the existence of substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Additionally, our independent registered public accounting firm and our former independent registered public accounting firm included explanatory paragraphs in the reports on our financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, noting the existence of substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our existing cash may not be sufficient to fund our operating expenses through at least twelve months from the date of this filing. To continue to fund operations, we will need to secure additional funding through public or private equity or debt financings, through collaborations or partnerships with other companies or other sources. We may not be able to raise additional capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Any failure to raise capital when needed could compromise our ability to execute on our business plan. If we are unable to raise additional funds, or if our anticipated operating results are not achieved, we believe planned expenditures may need to be reduced in order to extend the time period that existing resources can fund our operations. If we are unable to obtain the necessary capital, it may have a material adverse effect on our operations and the development of our technology, or we may have to cease operations altogether.
Our material cash requirements relate to the funding of our ongoing product development. See “Item 1—Business—Clinical Development and Regulatory Pathway—Clinical Experience, Future Development and Clinical Trial Plans” in this Report for a discussion of design, development, pre-clinical and clinical activities that we may conduct in the future, including expected cash expenditures required for some of those activities, to the extent we are able to estimate such costs.
The development of our product candidates is subject to numerous uncertainties, and we could use our cash resources sooner than we expect. Additionally, the process of development is costly, and the timing of progress in pre-clinical tests and clinical trials is uncertain. Our ability to successfully transition to profitability will be dependent upon achieving further regulatory approvals and achieving a level of product sales adequate to support our cost structure. We cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.
Cash Flows
Cash Flows from Operating Activities. During the 12 months ended December 31, 2021, our operating activities used $6.8 million in cash, an increase of cash used of roughly $4.2 million from the comparable prior period. The approximate $4.2 million increase in cash used by operating activities was primarily attributable to the following (all of which are approximated): a $60,000 increase in net loss, a decrease in non-cash expenses of $550,000 (a decrease of stock and warrants issued for services of $450,000, a decrease in of gain on forgiveness of debt of $122,000, and an increase in amortization of lease liability of $22,000), and $3.1 million of cash used for changes in assets and liabilities (a decrease in deferred R&D obligations of $1.8 million, $560,000 of amortization of deferred R&D obligations, a decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $1.3 million, and lower lease related liabilities and prepaid expenses of $50,000.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities. During the 12 months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were no investing activities.
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Cash Flows from Financing Activities. During the 12 months ended December 31, 2021, our financing activities generated approximately $15.6 million, an increase of approximately $13.2 million from the comparable prior period. The increase in cash provided by financing activities was more than explained due to an increase in net proceeds of approximately $14.0 million from the public offering of common stock and warrants on June 2, 2021 (the “June 2021 Offering”), and a $401,000 increase in direct sales of common stock, partially offset by lower cash exercise of warrants of $830,000, lower proceeds of $843,000 from the sale of common stock warrants as part of License Co-Development Participation Agreements (see “Note 9 - Deferred R&D Obligations - Participation Agreements”), $122,000 from the net proceeds of loans payable, and $129,000 from proceeds of loans payable from a related party.
We estimate that we would require approximately $4 million in cash over the next 12 months in order to fund our basic operations, excluding our R&D initiatives. Based on this cash requirement, we have a near term need for additional funding to continue to develop our products and intellectual property. Historically, we have had substantial difficulty raising funds from external sources. If we are unable to raise the required capital, we will be forced to curtail our business operations, including our R&D activities. The following table shows a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands):
Twelve months ended December 31,
Net cash provided by (used in):
Investing activities - -
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $ 8,764,013 $ (208,249 )
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Critical Accounting Policies
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the dates of the balance sheets and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. In accordance with GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances at the time such estimates are made. Actual results may differ materially from our estimates and judgments under different assumptions or conditions. We periodically review our estimates in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience. The effects of material revisions in estimates are reflected in our financial statements prospectively from the date of the change in estimate.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in the notes to our financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Report, we believe the following are the critical accounting policies used in the preparation of our financial statements that require significant estimates and judgments.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
We account for fair value measurements of assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring or nonrecurring basis adhering to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to measurements involving significant unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:
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As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, fair values of cash, prepaid, other assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximated their carrying values because of the short-term nature of these assets or liabilities. We elected to account for the convertible notes while they were outstanding on a fair value basis under ASC 825 to comprehensively value and streamline the accounting for the embedded conversion options. The fair value of these convertible notes were based on both the fair value of our common stock, discount associated with the embedded redemption features, and cash flow models discounted at current implied market rates evidenced in recent arms-length transactions representing expected returns by market participants for similar instruments and are based on Level 3 inputs.
Premium Conversion Derivatives
We evaluate all conversion and redemption features contained in a debt instrument to determine if there are any embedded derivatives that require separation from the host debt instrument. An embedded derivative that requires separation is bifurcated from its host debt instrument and a corresponding discount to the host debt instrument is recorded. The discount is amortized and recorded to interest expense over the term of the host debt instrument using the straight-line method which approximates the effective interest method. The separated embedded derivative is accounted for separately on a fair market value basis. We record the fair value changes of a separated embedded derivative at each reporting period in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss as a fair value change in derivative and warrant liabilities.
Stock-Based Compensation
We account for share‐based compensation in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC 718), Compensation — Stock Compensation. Accordingly, compensation costs related to equity instruments granted are recognized at the grant‐date fair value. The Company records forfeitures when they occur. Share‐based compensation arrangements to non‐employees are accounted for in accordance with the applicable provisions of ASC 718.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See “Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in this Report regarding the impact of certain recent accounting pronouncements on our financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.
Not required for smaller reporting companies.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Reference is made to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Reports thereon, and the Notes thereto, commencing on page F-1 of this report, which Consolidated Financial Statements, Reports, Notes and data are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
Incorporated by reference to “Proposal No. 2 – Ratification of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in the Registrant’s 2022 Proxy Statement to be filed within 120 days after the Registrant’s fiscal year end.
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Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) or 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission and to ensure that information required to be disclosed is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive and financial officers, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure. The Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, as our principal financial and accounting officer, have reviewed the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K and, based on their evaluation, have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of such date due to material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, described below.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not detect or prevent misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness to future periods are subject to risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management utilized the criteria established in the Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) to conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. In connection with this assessment and the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company identified material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, described below.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Material Weaknesses in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management has determined that the Company had the following material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting:
Control Environment, Risk Assessment, and Monitoring
Management did not maintain appropriately designed entity-level controls impacting the control environment, risk assessment procedures, and effective monitoring controls to prevent or detect material misstatements to the consolidated financial statements. These deficiencies were attributed to: (i) lack of structure and responsibility, insufficient number of qualified resources, and inadequate oversight and accountability over the performance of controls, (ii) ineffective identification and assessment or risks impacting internal control over financial reporting, and (iii) ineffective evaluation and determination as to whether the components of internal control were present and functioning.
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Control Activities and Information and Communication
These material weaknesses contributed to the following additional material weaknesses with certain business processes and the information technology environment:
Based on the assessment and identification of the material weaknesses described above, management has concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective and could lead to a material misstatement of account balances or disclosures. Accordingly, management has concluded that these control deficiencies constitute material weaknesses.
However, after giving full consideration to these material weaknesses, and the additional analyses and other procedures that we performed to ensure that our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K were prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, our management has concluded that our consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods disclosed in conformity with U.S. GAAP.
Remediation
Management has been implementing and continues to implement measures designed to ensure that control deficiencies contributing to the material weaknesses are remediated, such that these controls are designed, implemented, and operating effectively. The remediation actions include:
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· Engaging outside resources for complex accounting matters;
· Draft position papers for all complex, non-recurring transactions.
While there can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful, we believe that these actions will remediate the material weaknesses identified. The material weaknesses will not be considered remediated, however, until the applicable controls operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through assessment and monitoring, that these controls are operating effectively.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Except for the material weaknesses discussed above, there was no other change in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the quarter, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information.
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Incorporated by reference to “Proposal No. 1 – Election of Directors – Management,” “Information with Respect to the Board of Directors,” and “Management” in the Registrant’s 2022 Proxy Statement to be filed within 120 days after the Registrant’s fiscal year end.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Incorporated by reference to “Executive Compensation” in the Registrant’s 2022 Proxy Statement to be filed within 120 days after the Registrant’s fiscal year end.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
Incorporated by reference to “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters” in the Registrant’s 2022 Proxy Statement to be filed within 120 days after the Registrant’s fiscal year end.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Incorporated by reference to “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Proposal No. 1 – Election of Directors” in the Registrant’s 2022 Proxy Statement to be filed within 120 days after the Registrant’s fiscal year end.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Incorporated by reference to “Proposal No. 2 – Ratification of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in the Registrant’s 2022 Proxy Statement to be filed within 120 days after the Registrant’s fiscal year end. Information about aggregate fees billed to us by our principal accountant, BDO USA, LLP (PCAOB ID No. 243) will be included under the caption “Independent Auditor Fees” in the 2022 Proxy Statement, and that information is incorporated by reference herein.
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) (1) (2) Financial Statements.
Financial Statements begin on page F-1 of this report.
All schedules have been omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements or Notes thereto.
(3) Exhibits.
EXHIBIT
NUMBER DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT
4.1* Description of Securities
4.2* Form of Warrant
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10.8* Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy
21.1* Subsidiaries of the Registrant
101.INS* Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH* Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL* Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.LAB* Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE* Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
101.DEF* Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
* Filed herewith.
**Furnished herewith.
+ Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan.
†Certain schedules and exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. A copy of any omitted schedule and/or exhibit will be furnished to the SEC upon request.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC.
By: /s/ Keith R. Marchiando
Keith R. Marchiando
Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By: /s/ John B. Payne
John B. Payne,
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
By: /s/ Keith R. Marchiando
Keith R. Marchiando
Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary
By: /s/ Christopher D. Maggiore
Christopher D. Maggiore,
Director
By: /s/ Nola E. Masterson
Nola E. Masterson,
Director
By: /s/ Alison A. Cornell
Alison A. Cornell,
Director
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
Zivo Bioscience, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Zivo Bioscience, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ deficiency, and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has incurred significant operating losses for the year ended December 31, 2020 and, as of December 31, 2020, has a significant working capital and stockholders’ deficiency. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding those matters are also described in Note 2. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there were no critical audit matters.
WOLINETZ, LAFAZAN & COMPANY, P.C.
We have served as the Company's auditor from 2004 to 2021.
Rockville Centre, NY
February 25, 2021 (except for the effect of the recapitalization - reverse stock split described in Note 10, as to which the date is April 22, 2022)
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Shareholders and Board of Directors
Zivo Bioscience, Inc.
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Zivo Bioscience, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity (deficiency), and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year in ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern Uncertainty
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and losses are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. These circumstances raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
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Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Participation Agreements
As described in Note 9 to the Company’s consolidated financial statement, the Company entered into twenty-one (21) License Co-Development Participation Agreements (the “Participation Agreements”) with certain investors for aggregate proceeds of $2,985,000. The Participation Agreements provide for the issuance of warrants to such investors and allows the investors to participate in the fees from licensing or selling bioactive ingredients or molecules derived from ZIVO’s algae cultures.
We identified the assessment of the accounting for the Participation Agreements as a research and development arrangement as a critical audit matter due to the complexity in assessing agreement features and the impact of those features on the overall accounting of the Participation Agreements as research and development arrangements, including the allocation of proceeds to the features. Auditing the accounting for the Participation Agreements required complex auditor judgment to analyze the features and increased audit effort involving the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in evaluating the features.
The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included utilizing personnel with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in assessing management’s analysis over the accounting for the Participation Agreements by evaluating the underlying terms of the agreements that affect the recognition with the consolidated financial statements and assessing the appropriateness of conclusions reached by management.
Registered Common Stock Warrants
As described in Note 10 to the Company’s consolidated financial statement, the Company issued registered common stock warrants in connection with the public offering transaction. The warrants are classified within stockholders’ equity.
We identified the assessment of the classification of these warrants as equity or liability as a critical audit matter due to the complexity in assessing warrant features, and the impact of those features on the accounting of the warrants as equity or liability. Auditing the classification of these warrants required challenging and complex auditor judgment to analyze the warrant features and increased audit effort involving the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in evaluating warrant features.
To test the accounting and determine proper classification of these warrants, our audit procedures included, among others, inspecting the agreements and evaluating the completeness and accuracy of the Company’s technical accounting analyses, and application of the relevant accounting guidance. Our audit procedures also included the involvement of subject matter resources to assist in evaluating management’s conclusion on the interpretation and application of the relevant accounting literature.
/s/ BDO USA, LLP
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2022.
Troy, Michigan
April 22, 2022
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, December 31,
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET - -
OTHER ASSETS:
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT):
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Loans payable, related parties - 9,000
Current portion of long-term operating lease 15,178 29,172
Deferred R&D obligations - participation agreements 1,106,320 1,482,885
Accrued liabilities – payroll and directors fees 467,215 214,250
LONG TERM LIABILITIES:
Long-term operating lease, net of current portion - 15,178
Total long-term liabilities - 136,878
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT):
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) $ 8,990,178 $ 220,179
(a) Prior period results have been adjusted to reflect the 1 for 80 Reverse Stock Split in May 2021. See "Note 10 - Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)”, for details regarding stock split and public offerings.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the year endedDecember 31,2021 For the year endedDecember 31,2020
REVENUE:
Service Revenue $ - $ 20,000
COSTS AND EXPENSES:
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE):
Gain of forgiveness of debt and accrued interest 122,520 -
BASIC AND DILUTED LOSS PER SHARE (a) $ (1.20 ) $ (1.79 )
WEIGHTED AVERAGE
(a) Prior period results have been adjusted to reflect the 1 for 80 Reverse Stock Split in May 2021. See Note 10, ”Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)”, for details regarding stock split and public offerings.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIENCY)
FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 1, 2020 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Additional
Common Stock Paid in Accumulated
Shares (a) Amount (a) Capital (a) Deficit Total
Issuance of options for services – related party 297,248 297,248
Cashless exercise of Warrants 28,841 29 (29 ) -
Issuance of warrants for participation agreements 898,200 898,200
Additional
Common Stock Paid in Accumulated
Shares (a) Amount (a) Capital Deficit Total
Issuance of warrants pursuant to the participation agreements 55,697 55,697
Common stock issued on cashless warrant exercise 54,361 54 (54 ) -
Fractional Shares from Split (99 ) -
Underwriting and other expenses for public offering (1,697,828 ) (1,697,828 )
Warrants sold as part of the public offering 4,240 4,240
(a) Prior period results have been adjusted to reflect the 1 for 80 Reverse Stock Split in May 2021. See “Note 10 - “Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)”, for details regarding the Reverse Stock Split and public offering.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the Year Ended For the Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
Cash flows from operating activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Warrants and options issued for services – related parties - 297,248
Gain on forgiveness of debt and accrued interest (122,520 ) -
Employee and director equity-based compensation expense 3,377,512 1,248,615
Amortization of deferred R&D obligations – participation agreements (555,745 ) -
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Security deposits - (3,000 )
Lease liabilities (29,171 ) -
Cash flows from investing activities:
Net cash (used) in investing activities - -
Cash Flow from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from loans payable, related parties - 129,000
Payment of loans payable, other (190,500 ) -
Proceeds from exercise of common stock warrants - 830,400
Proceeds from public sale of common stock 15,644,507 -
Expenses related to public offering (1,697,828 ) -
Proceeds from sale of common stock, related party 50,000 -
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash paid during the period for:
Income taxes $ - $ -
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (Continued)
Supplemental Schedule of Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities:
For the Year Ended December 31, 2021:
During the year ended December 31, 2021, a related party applied the proceeds of a Loan Payable in the principal amount of $9,000, against an investment in a Participation Agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, warrants to purchase 139,100 shares of the Company’s common stock were exercised on a “cashless” basis resulting in the issuance of 54,361 shares of common stock.
On June 2, 2021, pursuant to the terms of several Debt Extension and Conversion Agreements with holders of our 11% convertible debt, a total of $7,538,557 comprised of outstanding principal of $4,940,342 and interest of $2,598,215 of our convertible notes were automatically converted into 942,322 shares of common stock at $8.00 per share. See “Note 7 – Convertible Debt” for additional information.
On September 9, 2021, the Company received a Notification of Paycheck Protection Program Forgiveness Payment letter from the SBA confirming that the full amount of the principal, $121,700, and accrued interest, $1,653, were forgiven by the SBA. The Company recognized the forgiveness of debt principal of $121,700 and the 2020 accrued interest of $820 as an Other Income of $122,520.
For the Year Ended December 31, 2020:
During the year ended December 31, 2020, $100,000 of 11% convertible notes, as well as $36,225 in related accrued interest were converted at $8.00 per share into 17,028 shares of the Company’s common stock.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, a principal shareholder and related party assigned warrants to purchase 46,875 shares of the Company’s common stock to third party investors and such warrants were exercised in 2020 at $8.00 per share resulting in the issuance of 46,875 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $375,000. The Company considered the warrants to be contributed capital from a principal shareholder and recorded equity related finance charges. The warrants were valued at $453,441 using the Black Scholes pricing model relying on the following assumptions: volatilities ranging from 128.20% to 142.46%; annual rate of dividends 0%; and discount rates ranging from 0.66% to 1.65%.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, a principal shareholder and related party assigned a warrant to purchase 6,250 shares of the Company’s common stock to a third-party investor and such warrant was exercised in the second quarter of 2020 at $8.00 per share resulting in the issuance of 6,250 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $50,000. The Company considered the warrant to be contributed capital from a principal shareholder and recorded equity related finance charges. The warrants were valued at $42,090 using the Black Scholes pricing model relying on the following assumptions: volatility of 133.44%; annual rate of dividends 0%; discount rate of 0.41%.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, warrants to purchase 70,625 shares of the Company’s common stock were exercised on a “cashless” basis resulting in the issuance of 28,841 shares of common stock.
During the year ended December 31, 2020 the Company entered into a lease for a facility located in Fort Myers, Florida. The lease is for two years in length and has an option to renew. We have accounted for this pursuant to ASC 842 and have recorded an operating lease asset in the amount of $49,984, and lease liabilities of $49,984.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, 20,000 of Loan Payable, Related Parties were converted at $8.00 per share into 2,500 shares of the Company’s commons stock, and $1,254 of accrued interest on Loan Payable, Related Parties was converted at $8.00 per share into 156 shares of the Company’s common stock.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 – DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
The business model of Zivo Bioscience, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Health Enhancement Corporation, HEPI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Zivo Bioscience, LLC, Wellmetrix, LLC, WellMetris, LLC, Zivo Biologic, Inc., and Zivo Zoologic, Inc. (collectively the “Company”)) is to derive future income from licensing and selling natural bioactive ingredients derived from their proprietary algae cultures to animal, human and dietary supplement and medical food manufacturers.
NOTE 2 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Going Concern
The Company incurred net losses since inception, experienced negative cash flows from operations for the year ended December 31, 2021, and has an accumulated deficit of $108,227,041. The Company has historically financed its operations primarily through the issuance of common stock, warrants, and debt.
During the year ended December 31, 2021 and prior to the June 2021 Offering, the Company raised $1,564,970 from the issuance of common stock and exercise of common stock warrants and $150,000 from the proceeds from the sale of Participation Agreements and related warrants. On June 2, 2021, the Company completed the June 2021 Offering from which the Company netted proceeds of $12,181,602 after related underwriting and other costs. In the third and fourth quarters of 2021, the Company received net proceeds from the sale of an overallotment of the June 2021 Offering in the amount of $673,159, and received $1,091,767 from the exercise of warrants. The Company expects to continue to incur operating losses and net cash outflows until such time as it generates a level of revenue to support its cost structure. There can be no assurance that the Company will achieve profitable operations, and, if achieved, whether it will be sustained on a continued basis.
The Company intends to fund ongoing activities by utilizing its current cash on hand and by raising additional capital through equity or debt financings. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in raising that additional capital or that such capital, if available, will be on terms that are acceptable to the Company. If the Company is unable to raise sufficient additional capital, the Company may be compelled to reduce the scope of its operations and planned capital expenditures.
These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued. The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of continuity of operations, realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the ordinary course of business; no adjustments have been made relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company not continue as a going concern.
NOTE 3 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Zivo Bioscience, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Health Enhancement Corporation, HEPI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Wellmetrix, LLC, Wellmetris, LLC, Zivo Bioscience, LLC, Zivo Biologic, Inc., and Zivo Zoologic, Inc. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation.
Accounting Estimates
The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the financial statements and reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results could differ from those estimates. Management uses its best judgment in valuing these estimates and may, as warranted, solicit external professional advice and other assumptions believed to be reasonable.
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 3 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
Cash
For the purpose of the statements of cash flows, cash equivalents include time deposits, certificates of deposit and all highly liquid debt instruments with original maturities of three months or less. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents balances at financial institutions and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to $250,000. At times, balances in certain bank accounts may exceed the FDIC insured limits. Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased. At December 31, 2021, the Company did not have any cash equivalents.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment consist of furniture and office equipment and are carried at cost less allowances for depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are determined by using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Repair and maintenance costs that do not improve service potential or extend the economic life of an existing fixed asset are expensed as incurred.
Leases
ASC 842, Leases, requires the recognition of a right-of-use (“ROU”) and a corresponding lease liability on the balance sheet. ROU assets represent the right to use an underlying asset over the lease term and lease liabilities represent the obligation to make lease payments resulting from the lease agreement. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized on commencement of the lease agreement.
ROU assets are included within operating lease right-of-use assets, and the corresponding operating lease liabilities are recorded as current portion of long-term operating lease, and within long-term liabilities as long-term operating lease, net of current portion on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
Lease assets and lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. Because the Company’s lease does not provide an implicit rate of return, the Company used its incremental borrowing rate in determining the present value of lease payments.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue is recognized in accordance with ASC 606, which utilizes five steps to determine whether revenue can be recognized and to what extent: (i) identify the contract with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligation(s); (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) determine the recognition period. The Company only applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 3 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
Revenue Recognition (continued)
Significant judgments exercised by management include the identification of performance obligations, and whether such promised goods or services are considered distinct. The Company evaluates promised goods or services on a contract-by-contract basis to determine whether each promise represents a good or service that is distinct or has the same pattern of transfer as other promises. A promised good or service is considered distinct if the customer can benefit from the good or service independently of other goods/services either in the contract or that can be obtained elsewhere, without regard to contract exclusivity, and the entity’s promise to transfer the good or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contact. If the good or service is not considered distinct, the Company combines such promises and accounts for them as a single combined performance obligation.
For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had $-0- and $20,000 of service revenue, respectively.
Research and Development
Research and development (“R&D”) costs are expensed as incurred. The Company’s R&D costs, including internal expenses, consist of clinical study expenses as it relates to the biotech business and the development and growing of algae as it relates to the agtech business. These consist of fees, charges, and related expenses incurred in the conduct business with Company development by independent outside contractors. External clinical studies expenses were approximately $1.6 million and $1.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Internal expenses, composed of staff salaries compose approximately $1.0 million and $2.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. These costs were offset by the amortization of the R&D obligation of $555,746 and $0 for the years ending December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively; $150,805 of the year ended 2021 amortization amount was attributable to related parties (see “Note 9 – Deferred R&D Obligations – Participation Agreements”).
Income Taxes
The Company follows the authoritative guidance for accounting for income taxes. Deferred income taxes are determined using the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carry-forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.
The tax effects of temporary differences that gave rise to the deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities at December 31, 2021 and 2020 were primarily attributable to net operating loss carry forwards. Since the Company has a history of losses, and it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a full valuation allowance has been established. In addition, utilization of net operating loss carry-forwards is subject to a substantial annual limitation due to the “change in ownership” provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The annual limitation may result in the expiration of net operating loss carry-forwards before utilization.
Stock Based Compensation
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with FASB ASC 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation. Under the provisions of FASB ASC 718, stock-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the award’s fair value and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The Company, from time to time, issues common stock or grants common stock options and warrants to its employees, consultants and board members. At the date of grant, the Company determines the fair value of the stock option award and recognizes compensation expense over the requisite service period. Issuances of common stock are valued at the closing market price on the date of issuance and the fair value of any stock option or warrant awards is calculated using the Black Scholes option pricing model.
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 3 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
Stock Based Compensation (continued)
During 2021 and 2020, options and warrants were granted to employees, directors and consultants of the Company. As a result of these grants, the Company recorded expenses of $3.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, approximately $500,000 of this expense was for R&D and $2.9 million was attributed to SG&A. During the year ending December 31, 2020 the Company recorded stock based compensation of $3.8 million, approximately $800,000 attributed to R&D and $3.0 million for SG&A.
The fair value of options and warrants were estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model based on the following weighted average assumptions:
Year Ended December 31,
Expected dividends 0% 0%
Expected term 10 years 5-10 years
The Black-Scholes option-pricing model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options that have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable. In addition, option-pricing models require the input of highly subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility.
Income (Loss) Per Share
Basic loss per share is computed by dividing the Company’s net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period presented. Diluted loss per share is based on the treasury stock method and includes the effect from potential issuance of common stock such as shares issuable pursuant to the exercise of options and warrants and conversions of debentures. Potentially dilutive securities as of December 31, 2021, consisted of 53,076 shares of common stock from convertible debentures and related accrued interest and 7,250,206 shares of common stock underlying outstanding options and warrants. Potentially dilutive securities as of December 31, 2020 consisted of 974,449 shares of common stock underlying convertible debentures and related accrued interest and 3,120,962 shares of common stock from outstanding options and warrants. For 2021 and 2020, diluted and basic weighted average shares were the same, as potentially dilutive shares are anti-dilutive.
Segment Reporting
The Company’s Chief Executive Officer, who is considered to be the chief operating decision maker (CODM), reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by information about operating segments for purposes of making operating decisions and assessing financial performance. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the CODM in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance.
The Company operates solely in the United States.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
We account for fair value measurements of assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring or nonrecurring basis adhering to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to measurements involving significant unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:
· Level 1 Inputs: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities accessible to the Company at the measurement date.
· Level 2 Inputs: Other than quoted prices included in Level 1 inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.
· Level 3 Inputs: Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not available, thereby allowing for situations in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability at measurement date.
Concentrations of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents. The Company has historically maintained cash balances at financial institutions which exceed the current FDIC limit of $250,000 at times during the year.
The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Immaterial Revision
Subsequent to the issuance of the Company's 2020 consolidated financial statements, an error was identified due to the Company omitting certain income tax related disclosures specific to the Company's deferred tax assets and liabilities and rate reconciliation for 2020. Additionally, as of December 31, 2020, the Company originally disclosed gross deferred tax assets of $19,860,000 in error. The gross deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2020 should have been disclosed as $21,164,000.
The Company evaluated the materiality of the error, considering both quantitative and qualitative factors, and determined that the related impact was not material to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020. The 2020 disclosures have been included within Note 13 - Income Taxes.
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 3 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
Recently Enacted Accounting Standards
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires companies to measure credit losses utilizing a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires a consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted. The Company expects to adopt this ASU beginning January 1, 2023. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this standard on its financial statements.
In May 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-04, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt—Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718), and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40):Issuer’s Accounting for Certain Modifications or Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options. This update provides guidance for a modification or an exchange of a freestanding equity-classified written call option that is not within the scope of another Topic. This update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. The Company is evaluating the potential impact of this standard on its financial statements.
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06 ("ASU 2020-06"), Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”). ASU 2020-06 eliminates the beneficial conversion and cash conversion accounting models for convertible instruments. It also amends the accounting for certain contracts in an entity’s own equity that are currently accounted for as derivatives because of specific settlement provisions. In addition, ASU 2020-06 modifies how particular convertible instruments and certain contracts that may be settled in cash or shares impact the diluted EPS computation. The amendments in this update are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 (or December 15, 2023 for companies who meet the SEC definition of Smaller Reporting Companies), and interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendment is to be adopted through either a fully retrospective or modified retrospective method of transition. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on its financial statements and related disclosures.
NOTE 4 – PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
Property and equipment at December 31, 2021 and 2020 consist of the following:
December 31, December 31,
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (100,000 ) (100,000 )
$ - $ -
There were no depreciation and amortization expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
NOTE5 – LEASES
On December 17, 2020, the Company entered into a 25 1⁄2 month lease agreement for a facility that contains office, warehouse, lab and R&D space in Ft. Myer, Florida. The lease agreement commenced on December 17, 2020 and ends on January 31, 2023. The lease agreement provided for a total rent of $54,993 over the period. Occupancy of the property commenced on December 17, 2020, and there was a 6-week rent holiday and a commencement date of February 1, 2021. Lease expense for operating lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Rent is $3,291 per month from January 15, 2021 to January 31, 2022 and $1,154 from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023.
The balances for our operating lease where we are the lessee are presented as follows within our condensed consolidated balance sheet:
Operating leases:
Operating lease right-of-use asset $ 27,225 $ 49,364
Liabilities:
Current portion of long-term operating lease $ 15,178 $ 29,172
Long-term operating lease, net of current portion - 15,178
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ZIVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE5 – LEASES(CONTINUED)
The components of lease expense are as follows within our condensed consolidated statement of operations:
For the Year ended
Other information related to leases where we are the lessee is as follows:
For the Year ended
Weighted-average remaining lease term:
Operating leases 1.08 Years 2.08 Years
Discount rate:
Supplemental cash flow information related to leases where we are the lessee is as follows:
For the Year ended
As of December 31, 2021, the maturities of our operating lease liability are as follows:
Year Ended: Operating Lease
Total minimum lease payments 15,989
Less: Interest 811
Present value of lease obligations 15,178
Less: Current portion 15,178
Long-term portion of lease obligations $ -
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