crmd_424b5.htm
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-185737
Prospectus Supplement
(To prospectus dated January 10, 2013)
2,960,000 Units
Each Unit Consisting of One Share of Common Stock
and
0.35 of One Warrant, Each to Purchase One Share of Common Stock
We are offering up to 2,960,000 units, each of which consists of one share of our common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 0.35 of a warrant to purchase one share of our common stock (and the shares of common stock issuable from time to time upon exercise of these warrants) pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Each warrant is exercisable on the six month anniversary of its issuance, has a term of five years after its exercisability and has an exercise price of $3.10 per share of common stock. The shares of common stock and warrants will be issued separately.
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE MKT under the symbol “CRMD.” On March 4, 2014, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NYSE MKT was $2.89 per share. There is no established public trading market for the warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to list the warrants on the NYSE MKT, any other national securities exchange or any other nationally recognized trading system.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. These risks are described under the caption “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-7 of this prospectus supplement and in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference therein.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
We have engaged Roth Capital Partners, LLC, or the placement agent, as our exclusive placement agent in connection with this offering. The placement agent has no obligation to buy any of the units from us or to arrange for the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of units. We have agreed to pay the placement agent the placement agent fees set forth in the table below, which assumes that we sell all of the units we are offering. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-38 of this prospectus supplement for more information regarding these arrangements.
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Per Unit |
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Total |
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Public offering price |
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$ |
2.500 |
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$ |
7,400,000 |
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Placement agent fees (1) |
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$ |
0.175 |
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$ |
518,000 |
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Proceeds to us, before expenses, to us (2) |
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$ |
2.325 |
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$ |
6,882,000 |
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(1) In addition, we have agreed to reimburse the placement agent for certain out-of-pocket expenses. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-38 of this prospectus supplement.
(2) The amount of the offering proceeds to us presented in this table does not give effect to any exercise of the warrants being issued in this offering.
Delivery of the shares of common stock and warrants is expected to be made on or about March 10, 2014, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, in no event will we sell our common stock in a public primary offering with a value exceeding more than one-third of our public float in any 12-month period so long as our public float remains below $75.0 million. During the 12 calendar months prior to and including the date of this prospectus supplement, we have offered an aggregate of $6,458,315 of securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3.
Roth Capital Partners
The date of this prospectus supplement is March 5, 2014.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page |
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About this Prospectus Supplement
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S-1
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Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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S-2
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Prospectus Supplement Summary
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S-3
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The Offering
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S-5
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Risk Factors
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S-7
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Use of Proceeds
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S-26
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Dilution
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S-27
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Description of Securities We Are Offering
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S-30
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Description of Our Other Capital Stock
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S-31
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Plan of Distribution
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S-38
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Legal Matters
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S-42
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Experts
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S-42
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Where You Can Find Additional Information About Us
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S-42
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Incorporation of Documents by Reference
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S-43
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About This Prospectus
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1
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Prospectus Summary
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2
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Risk Factors
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6
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Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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22
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Use of Proceeds
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23
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Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
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23
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Plan of Distribution
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23
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Description of Common Stock
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25
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Description of Preferred Stock
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25
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Description of Debt Securities
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27
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Description of Warrants
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29
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Description of Units
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30
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Certain Provisions of Delaware Law and of Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Our Amended and Restated Bylaws
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30
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Executive Compensation
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31
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Legal Matters
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38
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Experts
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38
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Where You Can Find More Information
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38
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Incorporation of Documents by Reference
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39
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You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction where it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of the applicable document. Neither the delivery of this prospectus supplement nor any distribution of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement shall, under any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the information set forth or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or in our affairs since the date of this prospectus supplement. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This prospectus supplement is part of a registration statement (No. 333-185737) that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under the registration statement, we registered the offering by us of our common stock and preferred stock, various series of debt securities and/or warrants to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in units, from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus supplement provides specific information about the offering by us of the units under the shelf registration statement.
This document is in two parts. The first part is the prospectus supplement, which adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus. The second part, the accompanying prospectus dated January 10, 2013, provides more general information, some of which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer to this prospectus, we are referring to both parts of this document combined. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement, on the one hand, and the information contained in the accompanying prospectus, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement. If any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date—for example, a document incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus—the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreement, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.
In making your investment decision, you should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any other information. If you receive any information not authorized by us, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell the securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than its respective date.
It is important for you to read and consider all of the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in making your investment decision. We include cross-references in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus to captions in these materials where you can find additional related discussions. The table of contents in this prospectus supplement provides the pages on which these captions are located.
We are offering to sell, and seeking an offer to buy, the units only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the offering of the units in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the units and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus outside the United States. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offer or solicitation.
This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and the information incorporated herein and therein by reference, include trademarks, service marks and trade names owned by us or other companies. All trademarks, service marks and trade names included or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus are the property of their respective owners.
Unless the context otherwise requires, “CorMedix,” the “company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar names refer to CorMedix Inc.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The SEC encourages companies to disclose forward-looking information so that investors can better understand a company’s future prospects and make informed investment decisions. This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated herein and therein by reference contain such “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Words such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes” and words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance, identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements represent management’s current judgment regarding future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: our ability to obtain FDA and foreign approval of our product candidates, especially Neutrolin®; our need to obtain additional funding and our ability to obtain future funding on acceptable terms, or at all; our ability to maintain the listing of our common stock on the NYSE MKT; the unpredictability of the market acceptance of any of our products, including Neutrolin; our ability to sell any approved products and the prices we are able to realize; our ability to retain and hire necessary employees and to staff our operations appropriately; our ability to compete in our industry and innovation by our competitors; and our ability to stay abreast of and comply with new or modified laws and regulations that currently apply or become applicable to our business. Please also see the discussion of risks and uncertainties under “Risk Factors” below, and contained in the accompanying prospectus and otherwise incorporated by reference herein, and in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as revised or supplemented by our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as any amendments thereto, as filed with the SEC and which are incorporated herein by reference.
In light of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties, the results and events discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in any document incorporated herein or therein by reference might not occur. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the respective dates of this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the date of the document incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by federal securities laws.
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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY
The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read together with, the more detailed information and financial statements and related notes thereto appearing elsewhere or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Before you decide to invest in our securities, you should read the entire prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus carefully, including the risk factors and the financial statements and related notes incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Overview
We are a development stage pharmaceutical and medical device company that seeks to in-license, develop and commercialize therapeutic products for the treatment of cardiac and renal dysfunction, specifically in the dialysis and non-dialysis areas. Specifically, our goal is to treat kidney disease by reducing the commonly associated cardiovascular and metabolic complications - in effect, “treating the kidney to treat the heart.” As of the date of this report, we have in-licensed all of the product candidates in our pipeline.
We have the worldwide rights to develop and commercialize our product candidates, CRMD003 (Neutrolin®) and CRMD004, which we believe address potentially large market opportunities in the instances in which a central venous catheter is used, such as hemodialysis, intensive care units, oncology and total parenteral nutrition patients.
Our primary product is Neutrolin for the prevention of catheter-related infections in the dialysis and non-dialysis markets, which we believe addresses a medical need and a potentially large market opportunity. Neutrolin is a liquid formulation designed to prevent central venous catheter infection as well as catheter obstruction, also referred to as maintenance of catheter patency, in central venous catheters, which we initially plan for use in hemodialysis catheters. There are approximately 780,000 hemodialysis patients in the United States and the European Union, or EU. We believe the patients undergoing hemodialysis using a tunneled central vein catheter will be our initial target market. We project 91,000 patients in the European Union and 104,000 patients in the United States. These patients represent nearly 30 million hemodialysis sessions per year, which we believe represents a market potential of approximately $300 - $400 million.
During the third quarter of 2011, we received a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, that Neutrolin had been assigned to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, or CDER, for review as a drug rather than a device. As a result of this, and given our limited resources, we decided to change our business strategy and focus the majority of our resources on the research and development of Neutrolin rather than CRMD004 and to seek regulatory and commercialization approval for Neutrolin in Europe through a CE Mark application rather than pursue FDA approval at this time. During the first half of 2011, we submitted our design dossier to TÜV SÜD, the European notified body managing our CE Mark application. In the fourth quarter of 2011, we successfully completed our stage 1 audit with TÜV SÜD and we successfully completed the stage 2 audit in the third quarter of 2012.
On October 10, 2012, we received ISO 13485:2003 certification from TÜV SÜD. This certification, which is a stand-alone standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization, is the globally recognized standard that outlines consistent international processes for the design and manufacturing of medical devices, including many supply chain functions such as assembly, packaging, warehousing and distribution. Compliance with ISO 13485 is often seen as a step towards achieving compliance with European regulatory requirements. The conformity of medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic medical devices according to applicable EU standards must be assessed before sale is permitted. The preferred method to prove conformity is the certification by a notified body of the quality management system according to ISO 9001 and/or ISO 13485 and ISO 14971. The result of a positive assessment is the issuance of a certificate of conformity allowing the CE Mark and the permission to sell the medical device in the European Union.
On July 5, 2013, we received CE Mark approval for Neutrolin. As a result, we began the commercial launch of Neutrolin for the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infections, or CRBI, and maintenance of catheter patency in hemodialysis patients in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2013.
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We have four pillars to our Neutrolin strategy: (i) successfully launch the product in Germany; (ii) expand the product into additional applications; (iii) expand sales into other foreign countries; and (iv) apply for and receive marketing approval and launch the product in the United States.
In anticipation of receiving CE Mark approval, on January 10, 2013, we entered into an agreement with MKM Co-Pharma GmbH, or MKM, regarding Neutrolin, pursuant to which, MKM hired a national sales manager to market Neutrolin in Germany according to a negotiated work plan. While the plan may be revised, it currently provides that the sales manager will market Neutrolin in three phases. In the first phase, which began in January 2013, the sales manager visited hemodialysis centers and doctors to, among other things, provide them information. The sales manager also produced a market review of our product, negotiated wholesaler relationships for initial stocking of our product, and worked on determining sales projections for launching Neutrolin. We transferred this work from MKM to human4farma GmbH, or human4farma, which hired the same sales manager who continued, after the receipt of CE Mark approval, with the launch Neutrolin in the fourth quarter of 2013 in Germany. human4farma will be responsible for growing Neutrolin sales and expanding the promotional plans.
In late 2013, we met with the FDA to determine the pathway for U.S. approval of Neutrolin, which we expect will entail a Phase 3 trial.
Corporate History and Information
We were organized as a Delaware corporation on July 28, 2006 under the name “Picton Holding Company, Inc.” and we changed our corporate name to “CorMedix Inc.” on January 18, 2007. Our operations to date have been primarily limited to organizing and staffing, licensing product candidates, developing clinical trials for our product candidates, establishing manufacturing for our product candidates and maintaining and improving our patent portfolio.
Our executive offices are located at 745 Route 202-206, Suite 303, Bridgewater, NJ 08807. Our telephone number is (908) 517-9500. Our website address is www.cormedix.com. Information contained in, or accessible through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus
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THE OFFERING
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Securities offered by us
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2,960,000 units, each of which consists of one share of our common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 0.35 of a warrant, each to purchase one share of our common stock (and the shares of common stock issuable from time to time upon exercise of these warrants). Each warrant is exercisable on the six month anniversary of its issuance, has a term of five years after its exercisability and has an exercise price of $3.10 per share of common stock.
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Common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering
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21,894,165 shares, or 22,930,165 shares of our common stock if the warrants offered pursuant to this offering are exercised in full.(1)
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Use of proceeds
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We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering, after deducting offering expenses, will be approximately $6,632,000. We intend to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including the development and commercialization of Neutrolin, research and development of other product candidates, potential product acquisitions and/or potential acquisitions of complementary businesses, and working capital and capital expenditures. Pending the application of the net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds generally in short-term, investment grade, interest bearing securities. See “Use of Proceeds” on page S-26 of this prospectus supplement.
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Risk Factors
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Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risks Factors” beginning on page S-7 of this prospectus supplement or otherwise incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our securities.
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NYSE MKT listing
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Our common stock is listed on the NYSE MKT under the symbol “CRMD.” There is no established public trading market for the warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the warrants on any national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system.
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(1) |
The number of shares of our common stock that will be issued and outstanding immediately after this offering as shown above is based on 18,934,165 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of February 28, 2014 and excludes the following:
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227,273 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of a warrant issued in July 2013 with an exercise price of $1.50 that expire on July 30, 2018;
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454,546 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series B Preferred Stock;
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1,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in May 2013 with an exercise price of $1.00 per share that expire on May 30, 2019;
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warrants for 125,000 shares issued to ND Partners in April 2013 in connection with the amendment to the license and assignment agreement with an exercise price of $1.50 per share that expire on April 11, 2018;
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warrants for 4,043,569 shares of our common stock issued in connection with our IPO with an exercise price of $3.4375 per share that expire on March 24, 2015;
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a warrant to purchase 2,406 units with an exercise price of $7.80 per unit issued to the underwriters of our IPO that, if exercised, would result in the issuance of an additional 4,812 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 2,406 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $3.90 that expire on March 24, 2015;
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warrants for 503,034 shares of our common stock issued in our 2009 private placement, which warrants have an exercise price of $3.4375 per share and expire on October 29, 2014;
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warrants for 18,250 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $7.84 per share issued to co-placement agents in connection with our previous convertible note financings;
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options to purchase an aggregate of 1,594,630 shares of our common stock issued to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants under our Amended and Restated 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, or the 2006 Stock Plan, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.27 per share;
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options to purchase an aggregate of 2,484,000 shares of our common stock issued to our officers, directors and non-employee consultants under our 2013 Stock Plan, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.29 per share;
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warrants issued to investors in our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 1,750,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share, of which 1,725,000 expire on September 20, 2017 and 25,000 expire on November 13, 2017;
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warrants issued to the placement agent for our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 43,087 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share, of which 7,920 expire on September 20, 2017 and 35,167 expire on November 13, 2017;
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400,000 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant issued on February 19, 2013 with an exercise price of $1.50 that expire on February 19, 2018;
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1,500,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants with an exercise price of $1.25 that expire on October 22, 2019;
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1,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants with an exercise price of $1.25 that expire on January 8, 2020;
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1,500,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C-2 Preferred Stock;
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2,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C-3 Preferred Stock;
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1,148,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series D Preferred Stock; and
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1,104,280 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series E Preferred Stock.
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as revised or supplemented by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the first, second and third quarters of 2013, all of which are on file with the SEC and are incorporated herein by reference, and which may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future. You should also consider the risks described below and all of the other information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes, before investing in our securities. If any of the possible events described in those sections actually occur, our business, business prospects, cash flow, results of operations or financial condition could be harmed. In this case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you might lose all or part of your investment in our securities.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital
Our independent registered public accounting firm expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern in its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2012 and may do so again in the future.
In their report accompanying our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2012, our independent registered public accounting firm expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going a concern and could do so for the year ended December 31, 2013. A “going concern” opinion could impair our ability to finance our operations through the sale of debt or equity securities or through bank financing. We believe our decision to focus the majority of our resources, including our research and development efforts, primarily on the commercialization of Neutrolin in Europe will result in our currently available capital resources being sufficient to meet our operating needs through a break even sales run rate, which we believe will occur in the fourth quarter of 2014, after giving effect to the $2.0 million in gross proceeds we received in our private placement financing in January 2014. Our ability to continue as a going concern will depend on our ability to obtain additional financing. Thereafter, our ability to generate positive cash flow from operations will depend on our ability to successfully launch Neutrolin in Europe. None of these undertakings are certain. Additional capital may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all. If adequate financing is not available, we would be required to terminate or significantly curtail our operations, or enter into arrangements with collaborative partners or others that may require us to relinquish rights to certain aspects of our technologies, or potential markets that we would not otherwise relinquish. If we are unable to achieve these goals, our business would be jeopardized and we may not be able to continue operations.
We have a limited operating history and a history of operating losses, and expect to incur significant additional operating losses.
We were established in July 2006 and have only a limited operating history. Therefore, there is limited historical financial information upon which to base an evaluation of our performance. Our prospects must be considered in light of the uncertainties, risks, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in the early stages of operation. We incurred a net loss of approximately $5.7 million and $3.4 for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and for the year ended December 31, 2012, respectively. As of September 30, 2013, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $52.3 million. We expect to incur substantial additional operating expenses over the next several years as our research, development, pre-clinical testing, clinical trial and commercialization activities increase. The amount of future losses and when, if ever, we will achieve profitability are uncertain. Having only launched Neutrolin in December 2013, we have no products that have generated any significant commercial revenue, do not expect to generate significant revenues from Neutrolin until at least the third quarter of 2014, and might never generate significant revenues from the sale of Neutrolin or any other products. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability will depend on, among other things, the following: successfully marketing Neutrolin in Germany; obtaining necessary regulatory approvals for Neutrolin from the other applicable European agencies, other foreign agencies and the FDA and from the FDA and international regulatory agencies for any other products; successful completion of the development of our other product candidates; establishing manufacturing, sales, and marketing arrangements, either alone or with third parties; and raising sufficient funds to finance our activities. We might not succeed at any of these undertakings. If we are unsuccessful at some or all of these undertakings, our business, prospects, and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
We are not currently profitable and may never become profitable.
We have a history of losses and expect to incur substantial losses and negative operating cash flow for the foreseeable future, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we succeed in commercializing Neutrolin or other product candidates, we expect to incur substantial losses for the foreseeable future and may never become profitable. We also expect to continue to incur significant operating and capital expenditures as we pursue the U.S. development of Neutrolin and anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we continue to undertake development and commercialization of Neutrolin and our other product candidates, undertake clinical trials of our product candidates, seek regulatory approvals for product candidates, implement additional internal systems and infrastructure, and hire additional personnel.
We also expect to experience negative cash flow for the foreseeable future as we fund our operating losses and capital expenditures. As a result, we will need to generate significant revenues in order to achieve and maintain profitability. We may not be able to generate these revenues or achieve profitability in the future. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability would negatively impact the value of our securities.
We will need to finance our future cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings or corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements. Any additional funds that we obtain may not be on terms favorable to us or our stockholders and may require us to relinquish valuable rights.
We launched Neutrolin in Germany in the fourth quarter of 2013, but to date have no other approved product on the market and have not generated significant product revenue from Neutrolin to date. Unless and until we receive applicable regulatory approval Neutrolin in the U.S. and for any other product candidates, we cannot sell those products in the U.S. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, we will have to fund all of our operations and capital expenditures from Neutrolin sales in Europe and other foreign markets, if approved, cash on hand, licensing fees and grants.
We believe that existing cash will be sufficient to enable us to fund our projected operating requirements through to a break even sales run, which we believe will occur in the fourth quarter of 2014, based on the funds we have raised through January 31, 2014. However, we may need to raise additional funds more quickly if one or more of our assumptions prove to be incorrect or if we choose to expand our product development efforts more rapidly than we presently anticipate, and we may decide to raise additional funds even before we need them if the conditions for raising capital are favorable.
We may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities, obtain a bank credit facility, or enter into a corporate collaboration or licensing arrangement. The sale of additional equity or debt securities, if convertible, could result in dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could also result in covenants that would restrict our operations. Raising additional funds through collaboration or licensing arrangements with third parties may require us to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates, or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us or our stockholders.
Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of Our Product Candidates
Our product candidates are still in development.
We are a pharmaceutical and medical device company with one commercially available product and another product candidate in various stages of development. In late 2011, we changed our strategy to primarily focus on the commercialization of Neutrolin in Europe through the CE Marking process and had elected to delay our other product candidates’ development until we had obtained CE Marking approval in Europe for Neutrolin. Our product candidates are currently at the following stages:
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CRMD003 (Neutrolin) - received CE Mark approval in Europe on July 5, 2013, with launch is begun in Germany late in the fourth quarter of 2013;
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CRMD003 (Neutrolin) – pre-IND meeting with the FDA held in November 2013; and
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CRMD004 - currently in the pre-clinical phase.
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Our product development efforts may not lead to commercially viable products for any of several reasons. For example, our product candidates may fail to be proven safe and effective in clinical trials, or we may have inadequate financial or other resources to pursue development efforts for our product candidates. Even if approved, our products may not be accepted in the marketplace. Neutrolin will require significant additional development, clinical trials, regulatory clearances and/or investment by us or our collaborators as we continue its commercialization, as will any of our other products. Specifically, we plan to expand marketing of Neutrolin in other foreign countries and to develop Neutrolin for sale in the U.S., which will take time and capital.
We have entered into an agreement with human4farma to market Neutrolin in Germany, which launched in Germany in the fourth quarter of 2013. Consequently, we will be dependent on human4farma for the marketing success in Germany and Austria. If human4farma does not perform for whatever reason, our business, prospects and results of operations will me materially adversely affected. Finding a replacement organization could be difficult, which would further harm our business, prospects and results of operations.
Successful development and commercialization of our products is uncertain.
Our development and commercialization of current and future product candidates is subject to the risks of failure and delay inherent in the development of new pharmaceutical products, including but not limited to the following:
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inability to produce positive data in pre-clinical and clinical trials;
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delays in product development, pre-clinical and clinical testing, or manufacturing;
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unplanned expenditures in product development, clinical testing, or manufacturing;
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failure to receive regulatory approvals;
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emergence of superior or equivalent products;
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inability to manufacture our product candidates on a commercial scale on our own, or in collaboration with third parties; and
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failure to achieve market acceptance.
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Because of these risks, our development efforts may not result in any commercially viable products. If a significant portion of these development efforts are not successfully completed, required regulatory approvals are not obtained or any approved products are not commercialized successfully, our business, financial condition, and results of operations will be materially harmed.
Clinical trials required for our product candidates are expensive and time-consuming, and their outcome is uncertain.
In order to obtain FDA or foreign approval to market a new drug or device product, we must demonstrate proof of safety and effectiveness in humans. Foreign regulations and requirements are similar to those of the FDA. To meet FDA requirements, we must conduct “adequate and well-controlled” clinical trials. Conducting clinical trials is a lengthy, time-consuming, and expensive process. The length of time may vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty, and intended use of the product candidate, and often can be several years or more per trial. Delays associated with products for which we are directly conducting clinical trials may cause us to incur additional operating expenses. The commencement and rate of completion of clinical trials may be delayed by many factors, including, for example:
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inability to manufacture sufficient quantities of qualified materials under the FDA’s cGMP requirements for use in clinical trials;
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slower than expected rates of patient recruitment;
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failure to recruit a sufficient number of patients;
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modification of clinical trial protocols;
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changes in regulatory requirements for clinical trials;
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lack of effectiveness during clinical trials;
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emergence of unforeseen safety issues;
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delays, suspension, or termination of clinical trials due to the institutional review board responsible for overseeing the study at a particular study site; and
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government or regulatory delays or “clinical holds” requiring suspension or termination of the trials.
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The results from early pre-clinical and clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of results to be obtained in later clinical trials. Accordingly, even if we obtain positive results from early pre-clinical or clinical trials, we may not achieve the same success in later clinical trials.
Our clinical trials may be conducted in patients with serious or life-threatening diseases for whom conventional treatments have been unsuccessful or for whom no conventional treatment exists, and in some cases, our product is expected to be used in combination with approved therapies that themselves have significant adverse event profiles. During the course of treatment, these patients could suffer adverse medical events or die for reasons that may or may not be related to our products. We cannot ensure that safety issues will not arise with respect to our products in clinical development.
Clinical trials may not demonstrate statistically significant safety and effectiveness to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals for product candidates. As an example, in late 2011, we terminated development of CRMD001 due to disappointing data from our Phase 2 study. The failure of clinical trials to demonstrate safety and effectiveness for the desired indications could harm the development of our product candidates. Such a failure could cause us to abandon a product candidate and could delay development of other product candidates. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials would delay the filing of any NDA or any Premarket Approval Application, or PMA, with the FDA and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate product revenues. Any change in, or termination of, our clinical trials could materially harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If we fail to comply with international regulatory requirements we could be subject to regulatory delays, fines or other penalties.
Regulatory requirements in foreign countries for international sales of medical devices often vary from country to country. The occurrence and related impact of the following factors would harm our business:
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delays in receipt of, or failure to receive, foreign regulatory approvals or clearances;
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the loss of previously obtained approvals or clearances; or
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the failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements.
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The CE Mark is a mandatory conformity mark for products to be sold in the European Economic Area. Currently, 28 countries in Europe require products to bear CE Marking. To market in Europe, a product must first obtain the certifications necessary to affix the CE Mark. The CE Mark is an international symbol of adherence to the Medical Device Directives and the manufacturer’s declaration that the product complies with essential requirements. Compliance with these requirements is ascertained within a certified Quality Management System (QMS) pursuant to ISO 13485. In order to obtain and to maintain a CE Mark, a product must be in compliance with the applicable quality assurance provisions of the aforementioned ISO and obtain certification of its quality assurance systems by a recognized European Union notified body. We received CE Mark approval for Neutrolin on July 5, 2013. However, certain individual countries within the European Union require further approval by their national regulatory agencies. Failure to receive or maintain these other requisite approvals could prohibit us from marketing and selling Neutrolin in the entire European Economic Area or elsewhere.
We do not have, and may never obtain, the regulatory approvals we need to market our product candidates outside of the European Union.
While we have received the CE Mark approval for Neutrolin in Europe, certain individual countries within the European Union require further approval by their national regulatory agencies. Failure to receive or maintain these other requisite approvals could prohibit us from marketing and selling Neutrolin in the entire European Economic Area. In addition, we will need regulatory approval to market and sell Neutrolin in foreign countries outside of Europe.
In the United States, we have no current application for, and have not received the regulatory approvals required for, the commercial sale of any of our products. None of our product candidates has been determined to be safe and effective in the United States, and we have not submitted an NDA or PMA to the FDA for any product.
It is possible that Neutrolin will not receive any further approval or that any of our other product candidates will be approved for marketing. Failure to obtain regulatory approvals, or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, would adversely affect the successful commercialization of Neutrolin or any other drugs or products that we or our partners develop, impose additional costs on us or our collaborators, diminish any competitive advantages that we or our partners may attain, and/or adversely affect our cash flow.
Even if approved, our products will be subject to extensive post-approval regulation.
Once a product is approved, numerous post-approval requirements apply in the United States and abroad. Depending on the circumstances, failure to meet these post-approval requirements can result in criminal prosecution, fines, injunctions, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of pre-marketing product approvals, or refusal to allow us to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts. In addition, even if we comply with FDA, foreign and other requirements, new information regarding the safety or effectiveness of a product could lead the FDA or a foreign regulatory body to modify or withdraw product approval.
The successful commercialization of our products will depend on obtaining coverage and reimbursement for use of these products from third-party payors.
Sales of pharmaceutical products largely depend on the reimbursement of patients’ medical expenses by government health care programs and/or private health insurers, both in the U.S. and abroad. Without the financial support of these government or private third-party payors, the market for our products will be limited. These third-party payors are increasingly challenging the price and examining the cost effectiveness of medical products and services. Recent proposals to change the health care system in the United States have included measures that would limit or eliminate payments for medical products and services or subject the pricing of medical treatment products to government control. Significant uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly approved health care products. Third-party payors may not reimburse sales of our products or enable our collaborators to sell them at profitable prices. The failure to obtain or maintain reimbursement coverage for any of our products could materially harm our operations.
Physicians and patients may not accept and use our products.
Even with the CE Mark approval of Neutrolin, and even if we receive FDA or other foreign regulatory approval for Neutrolin or other product candidates, physicians and patients may not accept and use our products. Acceptance and use of our products will depend upon a number of factors including the following:
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perceptions by members of the health care community, including physicians, about the safety and effectiveness of our drug or device product;
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cost-effectiveness of our product relative to competing products;
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availability of reimbursement for our product from government or other healthcare payors; and
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effectiveness of marketing and distribution efforts by us and our licensees and distributors, if any.
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Because we expect sales of Neutrolin to generate substantially all of our product revenues for the foreseeable future, the failure of Neutrolin to find market acceptance would harm our business and would require us to seek additional financing.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Competition and technological change may make our product candidates and technologies less attractive or obsolete.
We compete with established pharmaceutical and medical device companies that are pursuing other forms of treatment for the same indications we are pursuing and that have greater financial and other resources. Other companies may succeed in developing products earlier than we do, obtaining FDA or any other regulatory agency approval for products more rapidly, or developing products that are more effective than our product candidates. Research and development by others may render our technology or product candidates obsolete or noncompetitive, or result in processes, treatments or cures superior to any therapy we develop. We face competition from companies that internally develop competing technology or acquire competing technology from universities and other research institutions. As these companies develop their technologies, they may develop competitive positions that may prevent, make futile, or limit our product commercialization efforts, which would result in a decrease in the revenue we would be able to derive from the sale of any products.
There can be no assurance that any of our product candidates will be accepted by the marketplace as readily as these or other competing treatments. Furthermore, if our competitors’ products are approved before ours, it could be more difficult for us to obtain approval from the FDA or any other regulatory agency. Even if our products are successfully developed and approved for use by all governing regulatory bodies, there can be no assurance that physicians and patients will accept any of our products as a treatment of choice.
Furthermore, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry is diverse, complex, and rapidly changing. By its nature, the business risks associated with the industry are numerous and significant. The effects of competition, intellectual property disputes, market acceptance, and FDA or other regulatory agency regulations preclude us from forecasting revenues or income with certainty or even confidence.
We face the risk of product liability claims and the amount of insurance coverage we hold now or in the future may not be adequate to cover all liabilities we might incur.
Our business exposes us to the risk of product liability claims that are inherent in the development of drugs. If the use of one or more of our or our collaborators’ drugs or devices harms people, we may be subject to costly and damaging product liability claims brought against us by clinical trial participants, consumers, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling our products.
We currently carry product liability insurance that covers our clinical trials. We cannot predict all of the possible harms or side effects that may result and, therefore, the amount of insurance coverage we hold may not be adequate to cover all liabilities we might incur. Our insurance covers bodily injury and property damage arising from our clinical trials, subject to industry-standard terms, conditions and exclusions. This coverage includes the sale of commercial products. We have expanded our insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products due to the receipt of the CE Mark approval, but we may be unable to maintain such coverage or obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance for any other products approved for marketing.
If we are unable to obtain insurance at an acceptable cost or otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, we may be exposed to significant liabilities, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial position. If we are sued for any injury allegedly caused by our or our collaborators’ products and do not have sufficient insurance coverage, our liability could exceed our total assets and our ability to pay the liability. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us would decrease our cash and could cause the value of our capital stock to decrease.
We may be exposed to liability claims associated with the use of hazardous materials and chemicals.
Our research, development and manufacturing activities and/or those of our third-party contractors may involve the controlled use of hazardous materials and chemicals. Although we believe that our safety procedures for using, storing, handling and disposing of these materials comply with federal, state and local, as well as foreign, laws and regulations, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from these materials. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for any resulting damages and any liability could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the federal, state and local, as well as foreign, laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of hazardous or radioactive materials and waste products may require us to incur substantial compliance costs that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Healthcare policy changes, including reimbursement policies for drugs and medical devices, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Market acceptance and sales of Neutrolin or any other product candidates that we develop will depend on reimbursement policies and may be affected by health care reform measures in the United States and abroad. Government authorities and other third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. We cannot be sure that reimbursement will be available for Neutrolin or any other product candidates that we develop. Also, we cannot be sure that the amount of reimbursement available, if any, will not reduce the demand for, or the price of, our products. If reimbursement is not available or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize Neutrolin or any other product candidates that we develop.
In the United States, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the health care system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our products profitably. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively, the Healthcare Reform Act, substantially changes the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacts the pharmaceutical industry. The Healthcare Reform Act contains a number of provisions, including those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement changes and fraud and abuse, which will impact existing government healthcare programs and will result in the development of new programs, including Medicare payment for performance initiatives and improvements to the physician quality reporting system and feedback program. We anticipate that if we obtain approval for our products, some of our revenue may be derived from U.S. government healthcare programs, including Medicare. Furthermore, beginning in 2011, the Healthcare Reform Act imposed a non-deductible excise tax on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell “branded prescription drugs,” which includes innovator drugs and biologics (excluding orphan drugs or generics) to U.S. government programs. We expect that the Healthcare Reform Act and other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future could have an adverse effect on our industry generally and our products specifically.
In addition to the Healthcare Reform Act, we expect that there will continue to be proposals by legislators at both the federal and state levels, regulators and third-party payors to keep healthcare costs down while expanding individual healthcare benefits. Certain of these changes could impose limitations on the prices we will be able to charge for any products that are approved or the amounts of reimbursement available for these products from governmental agencies or other third-party payors or may increase the tax requirements for life sciences companies such as ours. While it is too early to predict what effect the Healthcare Reform Act or any future legislation or regulation will have on us, such laws could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Health administration authorities in countries other than the United States may not provide reimbursement for Neutrolin or any of our other product candidates at rates sufficient for us to achieve profitability, or at all. Like the United States, these countries could adopt health care reform proposals and could materially alter their government-sponsored health care programs by reducing reimbursement rates.
Any reduction in reimbursement rates under Medicare or private insurers or foreign health care programs could negatively affect the pricing of our products. If we are not able to charge a sufficient amount for our products, then our margins and our profitability will be adversely affected.
If we lose key management or scientific personnel, cannot recruit qualified employees, directors, officers, or other personnel or experience increases in compensation costs, our business may materially suffer.
We are highly dependent on the principal members of our management and scientific staff, specifically, Randy Milby, our former Chief Operating Officer and, effective January 1, 2013, our Chief Executive Officer, Steven Lefkowitz, a director and, effective August 15, 2013, our Interim Chief Financial Officer, and Dr. Antony Pfaffle, a director and, effective January 1, 2013, our Acting Chief Scientific Officer. We do not have any employment agreements with any of our officers. Even if we were to enter into an employment agreement, such an agreement cannot ensure our retention of any person covered by such agreement. Furthermore, our future success will also depend in part on our ability to identify, hire, and retain additional personnel. We experience intense competition for qualified personnel and may be unable to attract and retain the personnel necessary for the development of our business. Moreover, our work force is located in the New Jersey metropolitan area, where competition for personnel with the scientific and technical skills that we seek is extremely high and is likely to remain high. Because of this competition, our compensation costs may increase significantly. In addition, we have only limited ability to prevent former employees from competing with us.
Recent changes in our management may lead to instability and may negatively affect our business.
In September 2011, John Houghton, our former President and Chief Executive Officer, left the Company and, in April 2012, Brian Lenz, our former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer resigned. In May 2012, our board of directors appointed then director Richard Cohen to serve as our Interim Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Cohen resigned all positions on August 14, 2013, and the board of directors appointed director Steven Lefkowitz to serve as our Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective August 15, 2013. In May 2012, the board of directors also engaged Randy Milby to serve as our Chief Operating Officer. On December 21, 2012, we appointed Mr. Milby as our Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2013. At that time, Mr. Milby’s responsibilities as our Chief Operating Officer terminated. Effective January 1, 2013, we also appointed our director Dr. Antony Pfaffle as our Acting Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Mark Klausner, our former part-time Chief Medical Officer, ceased employment on February 28, 2013. We cannot be certain that the changes in management will not negatively affect our business in the future or that additional changes in management and in the composition of our board of directors will not occur. Additionally, we may be negatively impacted by a lack of accounting expertise, lack of internal control processes (which include lack of segregation of duties for cash disbursements and cash reconciliations), lack of accuracy and timeliness of financial reporting as a result of the changes in our Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and other positions.
If we are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our ability to grow our business may be harmed.
Over time, we expect to hire additional qualified personnel with expertise in clinical testing, clinical research and testing, government regulation, formulation and manufacturing, and sales and marketing. We compete for qualified individuals with numerous pharmaceutical companies, universities and other research institutions. Competition for such individuals is intense, and we cannot be certain that our search for such personnel will be successful. Attracting and retaining such qualified personnel will be critical to our success.
We may not successfully manage our growth.
Our success will depend upon the expansion of our operations to commercialize Neutrolin and the effective management of any growth, which could place a significant strain on our management and our administrative, operational and financial resources. To manage this growth, we may need to expand our facilities, augment our operational, financial and management systems and hire and train additional qualified personnel. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our business may be materially harmed.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we materially breach or default under any of our license agreements, the licensor party to such agreement will have the right to terminate the license agreement, which termination may materially harm our business.
Our commercial success will depend in part on the maintenance of our license agreements. Each of our license agreements provides the licensor with a right to terminate the license agreement for our material breach or default under the agreement, including the failure to make any required milestone or other payments. Additionally, our license agreement with Dr. Hans-Dietrich Polaschegg (referred to herein as the Polaschegg License Agreement) provides for a right of termination for, among other things, our failure to make a product with respect to either of the licensed technologies available to the market within eight years after (i) the effective date of the Polaschegg License Agreement, which was January 20, 2008, or (ii) the priority date of any new patent, whichever is later. Our intellectual property licensed under the Polaschegg License Agreement serves as a basis for CRMD004, the gel formation of Neutrolin. Should the licensor under any of our license agreements exercise such a termination right, we would lose our right to the intellectual property under the respective license agreement, which loss may materially harm our business.
If we and our licensors do not obtain protection for and successfully defend our respective intellectual property rights, our competitors may be able to take advantage of our research and development efforts to develop competing products.
Our commercial success will depend in part on obtaining further patent protection for our products and other technologies and successfully defending any patents that we currently have or will obtain against third-party challenges. The patents most material to our business are as follows:
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U.S. Registration No. 7,696,182 (expiring in May 2025) - use of Neutrolin for preventing infection and maintenance of catheter patency in hemodialysis catheters (for CRMD003);
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U.S. Registration No. 6,166,007 (expiring May 2019) - a method of inhibiting or preventing infection and blood coagulation at a medical prosthetic device (for CRMD003);
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European Registration No. 1442753 (expiring February 2023) - use of a thixotropic gel as a catheter locking composition, and method of locking a catheter (for CRMD004); and
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European Patent EP 1 814 562 B1 (expiring October 12, 2025), a low heparin catheter lock solution for maintaining and preventing infection in a hemodialysis catheter.
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We are currently seeking further patent protection for our compounds and methods of treating diseases. However, the patent process is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in protecting our products by obtaining and defending patents. These risks and uncertainties include the following:
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patents that may be issued or licensed may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or otherwise may not provide any competitive advantage;
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our competitors, many of which have substantially greater resources than we have and many of which have made significant investments in competing technologies, may seek, or may already have obtained, patents that will limit, interfere with, or eliminate our ability to make, use, and sell our potential products either in the United States or in international markets;
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there may be significant pressure on the United States government and other international governmental bodies to limit the scope of patent protection both inside and outside the United States for treatments that prove successful as a matter of public policy regarding worldwide health concerns; and
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countries other than the United States may have less restrictive patent laws than those upheld by United States courts, allowing foreign competitors the ability to exploit these laws to create, develop, and market competing products.
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In addition, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or PTO, and patent offices in other jurisdictions have often required that patent applications concerning pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology-related inventions be limited or narrowed substantially to cover only the specific innovations exemplified in the patent application, thereby limiting the scope of protection against competitive challenges. Thus, even if we or our licensors are able to obtain patents, the patents may be substantially narrower than anticipated.
The patent applications in our patent portfolio are exclusively licensed to us. To support our patent strategy, we have engaged in a review of patentability and freedom to operate issues, including performing certain searches. However, patentability and freedom to operate issues are inherently complex, and we cannot provide assurances that a relevant patent office and/or relevant court will agree with our conclusions regarding patentability issues or with our conclusions regarding freedom to operate issues, which can involve subtle issues of claim interpretation and/or claim liability. Furthermore, we may not be aware of all patents, published applications or published literature that may affect our business either by blocking our ability to commercialize our product candidates, preventing the patentability of our product candidates to us or our licensors, or covering the same or similar technologies that may invalidate our patents, limit the scope of our future patent claims or adversely affect our ability to market our product candidates.
In addition to patents, we also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how. Although we take measures to protect this information by entering into confidentiality and inventions agreements with our employees, scientific advisors, consultants, and collaborators, we cannot provide any assurances that these agreements will not be breached, that we will be able to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of disclosure if they are breached, or that our trade secrets will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. If any of these events occurs, or we otherwise lose protection for our trade secrets or proprietary know-how, the value of our intellectual property may be greatly reduced.
Intellectual property disputes could require us to spend time and money to address such disputes and could limit our intellectual property rights.
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have been characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights, and companies have employed intellectual property litigation to gain a competitive advantage. We may become subject to infringement or invalidity claims or litigation arising out of patents and pending applications of our competitors, or additional proceedings initiated by third parties or the PTO or applicable foreign bodies to reexamine the patentability of our licensed or owned patents. The defense and prosecution of intellectual property suits, PTO or foreign proceedings, and related legal and administrative proceedings are costly and time-consuming to pursue, and their outcome is uncertain. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our issued patents, to protect our trade secrets and know-how, or to determine the enforceability, scope, and validity of the proprietary rights of others. An adverse determination in litigation or PTO or foreign proceedings to which we may become a party could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to obtain licenses from third parties, restrict or prevent us from selling our products in certain markets, or invalidate or render unenforceable our licensed or owned patents. Although patent and intellectual property disputes might be settled through licensing or similar arrangements, the costs associated with such arrangements may be substantial and could include our paying large fixed payments and ongoing royalties. Furthermore, the necessary licenses may not be available on satisfactory terms or at all.
In February 2007, Geistlich Söhne AG für Chemische Industrie, Switzerland, or Geistlich, brought an action against the Sodemann patent covering our Neutrolin® product candidate which is owned by ND Partners, LLC and licensed to us pursuant to the License and Assignment Agreement between us and ND Partners LLC. The action that was brought against the Sodemann patent in Germany at the Board of the European Patent Office opposition division was for lack of inventiveness in the use of citric acid and a pH value in the range of 4.5 to 6.5 with having the aim to provide an alternative lock solution through having improved anticoagulant characteristics compared to the lock solutions described in the Lehner patent. The Board of the European Patent Office opposition division rejected the opposition by Geistlich. On August 27, 2008, Geistlich appealed the court's ruling, alleging the same arguments as presented during the opposition proceedings. We filed a response to the appeal of Geistlich on March 25, 2009 where we requested a dismissal of the appeal and to maintain the patent as granted. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, no further petitions have been filed by ND Partners or Geistlich. On October 10, 2012, we became aware that the Board of Appeals of the European Patent Office issued, on September 4, 2012, a summons for oral proceedings. On November 28, 2012, the Board of Appeals of the European Patent Office held oral proceedings and verbally upheld the Sodemann patent covering Neutrolin®, but remanded the proceeding to the lower court to consider restricting certain of the Sodemann patent claims. We received the Appeals Board final written decision on March 28, 2013 which was consistent with the oral proceedings. In a letter dated September 30, 2013, we were notified that the opposition division of the European Patent Office reopened the proceedings before the first instance again, and has given their preliminary non-binding opinion that the patent as amended during the appeal proceedings fulfils the requirements of Clarity, Novelty, and Inventive Step, and invited the parties to provide their comments and/or requests by February 10, 2014. We intend to continue to vigorously defend the patent in a restricted form. However, we can provide no assurances regarding the outcome of this matter.
If we infringe the rights of third parties we could be prevented from selling products and forced to pay damages and defend against litigation.
If our products, methods, processes and other technologies infringe the proprietary rights of other parties, we could incur substantial costs and we may have to do one or more of the following:
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obtain licenses, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all;
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abandon an infringing product candidate;
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redesign our products or processes to avoid infringement;
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stop using the subject matter claimed in the patents held by others;
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defend litigation or administrative proceedings, which may be costly whether we win or lose, and which could result in a substantial diversion of our financial and management resources.
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Risks Related to Dependence on Third Parties
If we are not able to develop and maintain collaborative marketing relationships with licensees or partners, or create an effective sales, marketing, and distribution capability, we may be unable to market our products or market them successfully.
Our business strategy for Neutrolin relies on collaborating with larger firms with experience in marketing and selling medical devices and pharmaceutical products; for other products we may also rely on such marketing collaborations or out-licensing or our product candidates. Specifically, for Neutrolin, we have entered into an agreement with human4farma to market Neutrolin, initially in Germany. Assuming we receive applicable regulatory approval for other markets, we plan to enter into distribution agreements with one or more third parties for the sale of Neutrolin in various European and other markets. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully establish marketing, sales, or distribution relationships, that such relationships, if established, such as with human4farma, will be maintained and/or be successful, or that we will be successful in gaining market acceptance for our products. To the extent that we enter into any marketing, sales, or distribution arrangements with third parties, our product revenues will be lower than if we marketed and sold our products directly, and any revenues we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third-parties.
If we are unable to establish and maintain such third-party sales and marketing relationships, or choose not to do so, we will have to establish our own in-house capabilities. We currently have no sales, marketing, or distribution infrastructure. To market any of our products directly, we would need to develop a marketing, sales, and distribution force that has both technical expertise and the ability to support a distribution capability. The establishment of a marketing, sales, and distribution capability would take time and significantly increase our costs, possibly requiring substantial additional capital. In addition, there is intense competition for proficient sales and marketing personnel, and we may not be able to attract individuals who have the qualifications necessary to market, sell, and distribute our products. There can be no assurance that we will be able to establish internal marketing, sales, or distribution capabilities. If we are unable to, or choose not to establish these capabilities, or if the capabilities we establish are not sufficient to meet our needs, we will be required to establish collaborative marketing, sales, or distribution relationships with third parties, which we might not be able to do on acceptable terms or at all.
We currently have no internal marketing and sales organization and have no experience as a company in marketing medical devices or drug products. If we are unable to establish our own marketing and sales capabilities, or enter into agreements with third parties, to market and sell our products after they are approved, we may not be able to generate product revenues.
We do not have an internal sales organization for the marketing, sales and distribution of any drug products. In order to commercialize any products, we must develop these capabilities on our own or make arrangements with third parties for the marketing, sales and distribution of our products. The establishment and development of our own sales force would be expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch, and we cannot be certain that we would be able to successfully develop this capability. As a result, we may seek one or more third party organizations to handle some or all of the sales and marketing of Neutrolin, which we have done with human4farma for the initial launch in Germany. However, we may not be able to enter into or maintain arrangements with third parties to sell Neutrolin on favorable terms or at all. In the event we are unable to develop our own marketing and sales force or collaborate with a third-party marketing and sales organization, we would not be able to commercialize Neutrolin or any other product candidates that we develop, which would negatively impact our ability to generate product revenues. Further, whether we commercialize products on our own or rely on a third party to do so, our ability to generate revenue will be dependent on the effectiveness of the sales force. In addition, to the extent we rely on third parties to commercialize our approved products, we will likely receive less revenues than if we commercialized these products ourselves.
We have entered into an agreement with human4farma to market Neutrolin in Germany. Consequently, we will be dependent on human4farma for the success of the launch in Germany and any continued success of the marketing and sales of Neutrolin in Germany. If human4farma does not perform for whatever reason, our business, prospects and results of operations will me materially adversely affected. Finding a replacement organization could be difficult, which would further harm our business, prospects and results of operations.
If we or our collaborators are unable to manufacture our products in sufficient quantities or are unable to obtain regulatory approvals for a manufacturing facility, we may be unable to meet demand for our products and we may lose potential revenues.
Completion of our clinical trials and commercialization of our product candidates require access to, or development of, facilities to manufacture a sufficient supply of our product candidates. All of our manufacturing processes currently are, and we expect them to continue to be, outsourced to third parties. Specifically, we will rely on one or more manufacturers to supply us and/or our distribution partners with commercial quantities of Neutrolin. If, for any reason, we become unable to rely on our current sources for the manufacture of Neutrolin or any other product candidates or for active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, either for clinical trials or for commercial quantities, then we would need to identify and contract with additional or replacement third-party manufacturers to manufacture compounds for pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial purposes. We may not be successful in identifying such additional or replacement third-party manufacturers, or in negotiating acceptable terms with any that we do identify. Such third-party manufacturers must receive FDA or applicable foreign approval before they can produce clinical material or commercial product, and any that are identified may not receive such approval or may fail to maintain such approval. In addition, we may be in competition with other companies for access to these manufacturers’ facilities and may be subject to delays in manufacturing if the manufacturers give other clients higher priority than they give to us. If we are unable to secure and maintain third-party manufacturing capacity, the development and sales of our products and our financial performance may be materially affected.
Before we could begin to commercially manufacture our product candidates on our own, we must obtain regulatory approval of the manufacturing facility and process. The manufacture of drugs for clinical and commercial purposes must comply with cGMP and applicable non-U.S. regulatory requirements. The cGMP requirements govern quality control and documentation policies and procedures. Complying with cGMP and non-U.S. regulatory requirements would require that we expend time, money, and effort in production, recordkeeping, and quality control to assure that the product meets applicable specifications and other requirements. We would also have to pass a pre-approval inspection prior to FDA or non-U.S. regulatory agency approval. Failure to pass a pre-approval inspection may significantly delay regulatory approval of our products. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we would be subject to possible regulatory action and may be limited in the jurisdictions in which we are permitted to sell our products. As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Corporate and academic collaborators may take actions that delay, prevent, or undermine the success of our products.
Our operating and financial strategy for the development, clinical testing, manufacture, and commercialization of our product candidates is heavily dependent on our entering into collaborations with corporations, academic institutions, licensors, licensees, and other parties. Our current strategy assumes that we will successfully establish and maintain these collaborations or similar relationships. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful establishing or maintaining such collaborations. Some of our existing collaborations, such as our licensing agreements, are, and future collaborations may be, terminable at the sole discretion of the collaborator in certain circumstances. Replacement collaborators might not be available on attractive terms, or at all.
In addition, the activities of any collaborator will not be within our control and may not be within our power to influence. There can be no assurance that any collaborator will perform its obligations to our satisfaction or at all, that we will derive any revenue or profits from such collaborations, or that any collaborator will not compete with us. If any collaboration is not pursued, we may require substantially greater capital to undertake on our own the development and marketing of our product candidates and may not be able to develop and market such products successfully, if at all. In addition, a lack of development and marketing collaborations may lead to significant delays in introducing product candidates into certain markets and/or reduced sales of products in such markets.
Data provided by collaborators and others upon which we rely that has not been independently verified could turn out to be false, misleading, or incomplete.
We rely on third-party vendors, scientists, and collaborators to provide us with significant data and other information related to our projects, clinical trials, and business. If such third parties provide inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete data, our business, prospects, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Risks Related to our Common Stock
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, and our internal control over financial accounting and our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent all possible errors that could occur.
In the quarter ended March 31, 2013, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting process with respect to lack of accounting expertise related to non-routine, complex accounting matters. This material weakness did not have any impact on our financial statements for the three month period ended March 31, 2013 but did result in a restatement of the financial statements in our September 30, 2012 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In the fourth quarter of 2013, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting with respect to a spreadsheet formula error which was not detected in the ordinary course of business through existing internal controls over financial reporting. This material weakness resulted in a restatement of the financial statements in our March 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013 Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
In the preparation of our Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2013, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting with respect to the inadvertent over-accrual of a royalty under a license agreement which was not detected in the ordinary course of business through existing internal controls over financial reporting. This material weakness resulted in a restatement of the financial statements in our December 31, 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K and of the financial statements in our March 31, 2013 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as amended by our amended March 31, 2013 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A filed on November 19, 2013, and in our June 30, 2013 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as amended by our amended June 30, 2013 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A filed on November 19, 2013, and in our September 30, 2013 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be satisfied. Internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures are designed to give a reasonable assurance that they are effective to achieve their objectives. We cannot provide absolute assurance that all of our possible future control issues will be detected. These inherent limitations include the possibility that judgments in our decision making can be faulty, and that isolated breakdowns can occur because of simple human error or mistake. The design of our system of controls is based in part upon assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed absolutely in achieving our stated goals under all potential future or unforeseeable conditions. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost effective control system, misstatements due to error could occur and not be detected. This and any future failures could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative impact on our financial condition and stock price.
Our stock price has fluctuated considerably and is likely to remain volatile, in part due to the limited market for our common stock and you could lose all or a part of your investment.
During the period from the completion of our initial public offering, or IPO, on March 30, 2010 through February 28, 2014, the high and low sales prices for our common stock were $4.00 and $0.15, respectively. There is a limited public market for our common stock and we cannot provide assurances that an active trading market will develop. As a result of low trading volume in our common stock, the purchase or sale of a relatively small number of shares could result in significant share price fluctuations.
Additionally, the market price of our common stock may continue to fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the following:
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our need for additional capital;
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the receipt of additional regulatory approvals for Neutrolin;
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results of clinical trials of our product candidates or those of our competitors;
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our entry into or the loss of a significant collaboration;
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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries, including changes in the healthcare payment systems;
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changes in financial estimates or investment recommendations by securities analysts relating to our common stock;
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announcements by our competitors of significant developments, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;
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changes in key personnel;
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variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
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market conditions in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors and issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
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general economic, industry and market conditions;
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developments or disputes concerning patents or other proprietary rights;
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future sales or anticipated sales of our securities by us or our stockholders; and
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any other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
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In addition, the stock markets in general, and the stock of pharmaceutical and medical device companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
For these reasons and others, you should consider an investment in our securities as risky and invest only if you can withstand a significant loss and wide fluctuations in the value of your investment.
A significant number of additional shares of our common stock may be issued at a later date, and their sale could depress the market price of our common stock.
As of February 28, 2014, we had outstanding the following securities that are convertible into or exercisable for shares of our common stock:
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227,273 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of a warrant issued in July 2013 with an exercise price of $1.50 that expire on July 30, 2018;
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454,546 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series B Preferred Stock;
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1,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in May 2013 with an exercise price of $1.00 per share that expire on May 30, 2019;
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warrants for 125,000 shares issued to ND Partners in April 2013 in connection with the amendment to the license and assignment agreement with an exercise price of $1.50 per share that expire on April 11, 2018;
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warrants for 4,043,569 shares of our common stock issued in connection with our IPO with an exercise price of $3.4375 per share that expire on March 24, 2015;
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a warrant to purchase 2,406 units with an exercise price of $7.80 per unit issued to the underwriters of our IPO that, if exercised, would result in the issuance of an additional 4,812 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 2,406 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $3.90 that expire on March 24, 2015;
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warrants for 503,034 shares of our common stock issued in our 2009 private placement, which warrants have an exercise price of $3.4375 per share and expire on October 29, 2014;
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warrants for 18,250 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $7.84 per share issued to co-placement agents in connection with our previous convertible note financings;
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options to purchase an aggregate of 1,594,630 shares of our common stock issued to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants under our Amended and Restated 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, or the 2006 Stock Plan, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.27 per share;
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options to purchase an aggregate of 2,484,000 shares of our common stock issued to our officers, directors and non-employee consultants under our 2013 Stock Plan, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.29 per share;
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warrants issued to investors in our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 1,750,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share, of which 1,725,000 expire on September 20, 2017 and 25,000 expire on November 13, 2017;
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warrants issued to the placement agent for our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 43,087 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share, of which 7,920 expire on September 20, 2017 and 35,167 expire on November 13, 2017;
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400,000 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant issued on February 19, 2013 with an exercise price of $1.50 that expire on February 19, 2018;
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1,500,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants with an exercise price of $1.25 that expire on October 22, 2019;
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1,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants with an exercise price of $1.25 that expire on January 8, 2020;
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1,500,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C-2 Preferred Stock;
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2,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C-3 Preferred Stock;
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1,148,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series D Preferred Stock; and
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1,104,280 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series E Preferred Stock.
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The possibility of the issuance of these shares, as well as the actual sale of such shares, could substantially reduce the market price for our common stock and impede our ability to obtain future financing.
We will need additional financing to fund our activities in the future, which likely will dilute our stockholders.
We anticipate that we will incur operating losses for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we believe we will require substantial funds in the future to support our operations. We expect to seek equity or debt financings in the future to fund our operations. The issuance of additional equity securities, or convertible debt or other derivative securities, likely will dilute some if not all of our then existing stockholders, depending on the financing terms.
Future sales and issuances of our equity securities or rights to purchase our equity securities, including pursuant to equity incentive plans, would result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to fall.
To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may sell 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 common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be further diluted by subsequent sales. Such sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to existing stockholders.
Pursuant to our 2006 Stock Plan, our Board of Directors is authorized to award up to a total of 2,300,000 shares of common stock or options to purchase shares of common stock to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants. As of February 28, 2014, options to purchase 1,594,630 shares of common stock issued under our 2006 Stock Plan at a weighted average exercise price of $1.27 per share, and options to purchase 2,484,000 shares of common stock issued under our 2013 Stock Plan at a weighted average exercise price of $0.68 per share were outstanding. In addition, at February 28, 2014, there were outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 10,615,025 shares of our common stock at prices ranging from $0.40 to $7.84, and shares of our outstanding Series B, C-2, C-3, D and E preferred stock convertible into an aggregate of 6,206,826 shares of our common stock. Stockholders will experience dilution in the event that additional shares of common stock are issued under our 2006 Stock Plan or 2013 Stock Plan, or options issued under our 2006 Stock Plan or 2013 Stock Plan are exercised, or any warrants are exercised for, or preferred stock shares are converted to, common stock.
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult.
Provisions in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and our Amended and Restated Bylaws, as well as provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or DGCL, may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of our company, even if such a change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders. These provisions include the following:
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authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval;
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prohibiting our stockholders from fixing the number of our directors; and
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establishing advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings and nominations to our Board of Directors.
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These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless such transactions are approved by the board of directors. This provision could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing someone from acquiring us or merging with us, whether or not it is desired by, or beneficial to, our stockholders. Any provision of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, or Amended and Restated Bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
If we fail to comply with the continued listing standards of the NYSE MKT, it may result in a delisting of our common stock from the exchange.
Our common stock is currently listed for trading on the NYSE MKT, and the continued listing of our common stock on the NYSE MKT is subject to our compliance with a number of listing standards. These listing standards include the requirement for avoiding sustained losses and maintaining a minimum level of stockholders’ equity. On April 20, 2012, and April 5, 2013, the NYSE MKT notified us that we were not in compliance with certain listing standards relating to our financial condition and stockholders’ equity, respectively, and we had to submit a plan to regain compliance with the listing standards, which required and received several extensions. We regained compliance on October 20, 2013. We will need to satisfy NYSE MKT Rule 1003(a)(ii) by having a minimum of $4.0 million in stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2013 and maintain that amount during 2014. There can be no assurance that we will meet the continued listing standards of the NYSE MKT.
If our common stock were no longer listed on the NYSE MKT, investors might only be able to trade on the OTC Bulletin Board ® or in the Pink Sheets ® (a quotation medium operated by Pink Sheets LLC). This would impair the liquidity of our common stock not only in the number of shares that could be bought and sold at a given price, which might be depressed by the relative illiquidity, but also through delays in the timing of transactions and reduction in media coverage.
Because the average daily trading volume of our common stock has been low historically, the ability to sell our shares in the secondary trading market may be limited.
Because the average daily trading volume of our common stock on the NYSE MKT has been low historically, the liquidity of our common stock may be impaired. As a result, prices for shares of our common stock may be lower than might otherwise prevail if the average daily trading volume of our common stock was higher. The average daily trading volume of our common stock may be low relative to the stocks of other exchange-listed companies, which could limit investors’ ability to sell shares in the secondary trading market.
Penny stock regulations may impose certain restrictions on marketability of our securities.
The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define a “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. As a result, our common stock is subject to rules that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell such securities to persons other than established customers and accredited investors (generally those with assets in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouse). For transactions covered by such rules, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchase of such securities and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to the purchase. Additionally, for any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require the delivery, prior to the transaction, of a risk disclosure document mandated by the SEC relating to the penny stock market. The broker-dealer must also disclose the commission payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and, if the broker-dealer is the sole market maker, the broker-dealer must disclose this fact and the broker-dealer’s presumed control over the market. Finally, monthly statements must be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks. Broker-dealers must wait two business days after providing buyers with disclosure materials regarding a security before effecting a transaction in such security. Consequently, the “penny stock” rules restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and affect the ability of investors to sell our securities in the secondary market and the price at which such purchasers can sell any such securities, thereby affecting the liquidity of the market for our common stock.
Stockholders should be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for penny stocks has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include:
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control of the market for the security by one or more broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer;
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manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases;
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“boiler room” practices involving high pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons;
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excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and
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the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, along with the inevitable collapse of those prices with consequent investor losses.
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Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns on our common stock will be limited to the value of our common stock.
We have never declared dividends on our common stock, and currently do not plan to declare dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Pursuant to the terms of our Series D and E Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, we may not declare or pay any dividends or make any distributions on any of our shares or other equity securities as long as any of those preferred shares remain outstanding. We currently expect to retain future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and expansion of our business. The payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon such factors as earnings levels, capital requirements, our overall financial condition and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Any return to holders of our common stock will be limited to the value of their common stock.
Risks Related To This Offering
The substantial number of shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants included in the units being offered in this offering, could cause the price of our common stock to decline.
In this offering we are selling up to 2,960,000 units, each of which includes 0.35 of a warrant, each to purchase one share of our common stock. If we sell all units being offered, the warrants issued will be exercisable for an aggregate of 1,036,000 shares of our common stock, or approximately 5.5% of our outstanding common stock as of February 28, 2014. This sale and any future sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales may occur, and the possible issuance of shares of our common stock upon exercise of the warrants included in the units being offered could adversely affect the price of our common stock. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that market sales of those shares of common stock or the availability of those shares of common stock for sale will have on the market price of our common stock.
If you purchase units in this offering you will experience immediate dilution in your investment.
Because the price per unit, each of which includes one share of our common stock, being offered is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock, you will suffer substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of the common stock included in the units you purchase in this offering. Based on a public offering price of $2.50 per unit, a net tangible book value (deficit) per share of our common stock of $ (0.17) as of September 30, 2013, and after deducting the estimated placement agent fees and other offering expenses and attributing no value to the warrants, if you purchase units in this offering, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of $2.29 per share of common stock with respect to the net tangible book value of each the common stock included in each unit. The shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants have not been included in this calculation. See “Dilution” beginning on page S-27 of this prospectus supplement for a more detailed discussion of the dilution you will incur if you purchase units in this offering.
There is no public market for the warrants to purchase shares of our common stock included in the units being offered in this offering.
There is no established public trading market for the warrants included in the units being offered in this offering, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply to list the warrants on any national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system, including the NYSE MKT. Without an active market, the liquidity of the warrants will be limited.
Holders of our warrants will have no rights as a common stockholder until such holders exercise their warrants and acquire our common stock.
Until holders of warrants acquire shares of our common stock upon exercise of the warrants, holders of warrants will have no rights with respect to the shares of our common stock underlying such warrants. Upon exercise of the warrants, the holders thereof will be entitled to exercise the rights of a common stockholder only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.
The warrants included in this offering may not have any value.
The warrants have an exercise price of $3.10 per share and will be exercisable for a five-year period beginning on the six month anniversary of its issuance. In the event our common stock price does not exceed the exercise price of the warrants during the period when the warrants are exercisable, the warrants may not have any value.
Management will have broad discretion as to the use of the proceeds from this offering, and we may not use the proceeds effectively.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common stock. Our failure to apply these funds effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, delay the development of our product candidates and cause the price of our common stock to decline.
There is no minimum offering amount required to consummate this offering.
There is no minimum offering amount which must be raised in order for us to consummate this offering. Accordingly, the amount of money raised may not be sufficient for us to meet our business objectives. Moreover, if only a small amount of money is raised, all or substantially all of the offering proceeds may be applied to cover the offering expenses and we will not otherwise benefit from the offering. In addition, because there is no minimum offering amount required, investors will not be entitled to a return of their investment if we are unable to raise sufficient proceeds to meet our business objectives.
If our common stock is not listed on a national securities exchange, U.S. holders of warrants may not be able to exercise their warrants without compliance with applicable state securities laws and the value of your warrants may be significantly reduced.
If our common stock is delisted from The NYSE MKT and is not eligible to be listed on another national securities exchange, the exercise of the warrants by U.S. holders may not be exempt from state securities laws. As a result, depending on the state of residence of a holder of the warrants, a U.S. holder may not be able to exercise its warrants unless we comply with any state securities law requirements necessary to permit such exercise or an exemption applies. Although we plan to use our reasonable efforts to assure that U.S. holders will be able to exercise their warrants under applicable state securities laws if no exemption exists, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so. As a result, in the event that our common stock is delisted from The NYSE MKT and is not eligible to be listed on another securities exchange, your ability to exercise your warrants may be limited. The value of the warrants may be significantly reduced if U.S. holders are not able to exercise their warrants under applicable state securities laws.
If our common stock is not listed on a national securities exchange, compliance with applicable state securities laws may be required for subsequent offers, transfers and sales of the shares of common stock and warrants offered hereby.
The shares of our common stock and the warrants are being offered pursuant to one or more exemptions from registration and qualification under applicable state securities laws. Because our common stock is listed on The NYSE MKT, we are not required to register or qualify in any state the subsequent offer, transfer or sale of the common stock or warrants. If our common stock is delisted from The NYSE MKT and is not eligible to be listed on another national securities exchange, subsequent transfers of the shares of our common stock and warrants offered hereby by U.S. holders may not be exempt from state securities laws. In such event, it will be the responsibility of the holder of shares or warrants to register or qualify the shares or the warrants for any subsequent offer, transfer or sale in the United States or to determine that any such offer, transfer or sale is exempt under applicable state securities laws.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $6,632,000, excluding the proceeds, if any, from the exercise of the warrants, and after deducting the placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses of $250,000 payable by us. If the warrants are purchased and fully exercised for cash, we would receive additional proceeds of $3,211,600.
We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of our securities by us under this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus for general corporate purposes, including the development and commercialization of Neutrolin, research and development of other product candidates, potential product acquisitions and/or potential acquisitions of complementary businesses, and working capital and capital expenditures. Pending the application of the net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds generally in short-term, investment grade, interest bearing securities.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have never declared dividends on our common stock, and currently do not plan to declare dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Pursuant to the terms of our Series D and E Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, we may not declare or pay any dividends or make any distributions on any of our shares or other equity securities as long as any of those preferred shares remain outstanding. We currently expect to retain future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and expansion of our business. The payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon such factors as earnings levels, capital requirements, our overall financial condition and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Any return to holders of our common stock will be limited to the value of their common stock.
DILUTION
Our net tangible book value (deficit) on September 30, 2013 was $(2,738,604), or $(0.17) per share. “Net tangible book value” is total assets minus the sum of liabilities and intangible assets. “Net tangible book value per share” is net tangible book value divided by the total number of shares outstanding. Dilution with respect to net tangible book value per share represents the difference between the public offering price per unit paid by you in this offering and net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units. For purposes of this calculation, the shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants have not been included.
After giving effect to the sale of 2,960,000 units at an offering price of $2.50 per share and the issuance of 2,960,000 shares of common stock in this offering, and after deducting the placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses of $250,000 payable by us, our pro forma net tangible book value as of September 30, 2013 would have been approximately $3,893,396, or $0.21 per share of common stock. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.38 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $2.29 per share to the investors participating in this offering. The following table illustrates this dilution per share to the investors participating in this offering:
Offering price per unit
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|
|
|
|
|
$ |
2.50 |
|
Net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2013
|
|
$ |
(0.17 |
) |
|
|
|
|
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors purchasing units in this offering
|
|
|
0.38 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pro forma net tangible book value per share after giving effect to the offering
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(0.21 |
) |
Dilution per share to new investors purchasing units in this offering
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
2.29 |
|
The above discussion and table are based on 15,959,088 shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013 and excludes the following securities outstanding on September 30, 2013:
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227,273 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrant issued in July 2013;
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●
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454,546 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series B Preferred Stock;
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●
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1,363,636 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Senior Secured Convertible Notes issued in May 2013 with a conversion price of $1.10 per share (which will decrease to $1.00 if this offering closes) (and not including any shares issuable upon the conversion of any interest that is capitalized or any shares issuable upon conversion of these notes and any capitalized interest as a result of any decrease in the exercise price of the notes due to anti-dilution protection) of which 542,293 shares were issued upon conversion between April 1 and September 30, 2013;
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●
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1,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in May 2013 with an exercise price of $1.10 per share (which will decrease to $1.00 if this offering closes) (and not including any shares issuable upon the exercise of these warrants as a result of any decrease in the exercise price of the warrants due to anti-dilution protection);
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●
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400,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrant issued in February 2013, which warrant has an exercise price of $1.50 per share;
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●
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warrants for 125,000 shares issued to ND Partners in April 2013 in connection with the amendment to the license and assignment agreement with an exercise price of $1.50 per share;
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warrants for 4,043,569 shares of our common stock issued in connection with our IPO with an exercise price of $3.4375 per share and that expire on March 24, 2015;
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●
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a warrant to purchase 2,406 units with an exercise price of $7.80 per unit issued to the underwriters of our IPO that, if exercised, would result in the issuance of an additional 4,812 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 2,406 shares of common stock;
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●
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warrants for 503,034 shares of our common stock issued in our 2009 private placement, which warrants have an exercise price of $3.4375 per share and expire on October 29, 2014;
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warrants for 18,250 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $7.84 per share issued to co-placement agents in connection with our previous convertible note financings;
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options to purchase an aggregate of 1,779,630 shares of our common stock issued to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants under our 2006 Stock Plan, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.19 per share (which had decreased to 1,594,630 shares as of February 24, 2014);
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●
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options to purchase an aggregate of 1,400,000 shares of our common stock issued to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants under our 2013 Stock, with a weighted average exercise price of $0.90 per share (which had increased to 2,484,000 shares as of February 24, 2014);
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●
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outstanding Senior Convertible Notes issued in our 2012 private placement with an aggregate face value of $860,000, convertible into an aggregate of 2,457,141 shares of our common stock ($460,000 of which had converted into 1,314,286 shares of our common stock and $400,000 of which (plus interest) had converted into 57,400 shares of Series D Preferred Stock as of February 28, 2014);
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●
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warrants issued to investors in our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 2,562,500 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share (of which 812,500 had been exercised as of February 28, 2014); and
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●
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warrants issued to the placement agent for our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 100,587 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share (of which 57,500 had been exercised as of February 28, 2014);
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and further excludes the following securities that we had issued subsequent to September 30, 2013 and that were outstanding on February 28, 2014:
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1,500,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series C-1 Preferred Stock (all of which had converted to common stock by February 28, 2014);
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●
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750,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants issued with the Series C-1 Preferred Stock;
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●
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1,500,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series C-2 Preferred Stock;
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750,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants issued with the Series C-2 Preferred Stock;
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2,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series C-3 Preferred Stock;
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1,000,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants issued with the Series C-3 Preferred Stock;
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1,148,000 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the 57,400 shares of Series D Preferred Stock; and
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●
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1,104,280 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of the 55,214 shares of Series E Preferred Stock.
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Investors that acquire additional shares of common stock through the exercise of the warrants offered hereby may experience additional dilution depending on our net tangible book value at the time of exercise.
The above illustration of dilution per share to the investors participating in this offering assumes no exercise of outstanding preferred shares or options or warrants to purchase shares of our common stock. To the extent that options, warrants or preferred shares outstanding as of September 30, 2013 or issued thereafter have been or may be exercised or converted or other shares issued, the investors purchasing units (including shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants included in the units) in this offering may experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES WE ARE OFFERING
In this offering, we are offering up to 2,960,000 units, each of which consists of one share of our common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 0.35 of a warrant, each to purchase one share of our common stock. Each warrant is exercisable on the six month anniversary of its issuance, has a term of five years after its exercisability and has an exercise price of $3.10 per share of common stock. The shares of common stock and warrants will be issued separately. This prospectus also relates to the offering of shares of our common stock upon exercise, if any, of the warrants.
Common Stock
The material terms and provisions of our common stock and each other class of our securities which qualifies or limits our common stock are described under the caption “Description of Common Stock” beginning on page 25 of the accompanying prospectus and under the caption “Description of Our Other Capital Stock” beginning on page S-31 of this prospectus supplement.
Warrants
The following is a brief summary of certain terms and conditions of the warrants and is subject in all respects to the provisions contained in the warrants.
Form. The warrants will be issued as individual warrant agreements to the investors. You should review a copy of the form of warrant, which has been filed with the SEC by us as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K in connection with this offering, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
Duration and Exercise Price. The warrants offered hereby will entitle the holders thereof to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,036,000 shares of our common stock at an initial exercise price per share of $3.10. The warrants are exercisable beginning on the six month anniverary of its issuance and will expire on the fifth anniversary of the date they first become exercisable. Warrants will be issued in certificated form only.
Exercisability. The warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part, by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice accompanied by payment in full for the number of shares of our common stock purchased upon such exercise (except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below).
Exercise Limitation. A holder may not exercise its warrants if, after giving effect to the exercise, the holder and certain related parties would beneficially own more than 3.9% or 4.99%, at the election of the holder of our common stock. A holder may increase or decrease that limitation up to a maximum of 9.99% of our common stock upon not less than 61 days’ prior notice to us.
Cashless Exercise. If, at the time a holder exercises its warrant, there is no effective registration statement registering, or the prospectus contained therein is not available for an issuance of the shares underlying the warrant to the holder, then, to the extent an exemption from registration is not available for such issuance, in lieu of making the cash payment otherwise contemplated to be made to us upon such exercise in payment of the aggregate exercise price, the holder may elect instead to receive upon such exercise (either in whole or in part) the net number of shares of common stock determined according to a formula set forth in the warrants.
Transferability. Subject to applicable laws, warrants may be transferred at the option of the holder upon surrender of the warrants to us together with the appropriate instruments of transfer.
Adjustments. The exercise price of the warrants and the number of shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants are subject to adjustment in the event of stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, or reclassifications affecting our common stock.
Rights Upon Distribution of Assets. If we declare or make any dividend or other distribution of our assets to holders of shares of our common stock, the exercise price in effect immediately prior to the record date fixed for determination of holders entitled to receive the distribution shall be reduced pursuant to a formula set forth in the warrants and the number of warrant shares shall be adjusted accordingly.
Listing. There is no established public trading market for the warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the warrants on any national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system.
Fundamental Transactions. In the event of any fundamental transaction, as described in the warrants and generally including any merger with or into another entity, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, tender offer or exchange offer, or reclassification of our common stock, we shall make appropriate provision so that the warrants shall thereafter be exercisable for shares of the successor entity based upon the conversion ratio or other consideration payable in the fundamental transaction. In connection with a fundamental transaction that is (i) an all-cash transaction, (ii) a “Rule 13e-3 transaction” as defined in Rule 13e-3 under the Exchange Act or (iii) a fundamental transaction involving a person or entity not traded on certain specified trading markets, at the request of the holders delivered before the 90th day after such fundamental transaction, we (or the successor entity) shall purchase the warrants from the holders by paying to the holders, within five (5) trading days after such request (or, if later, on the effective date of the fundamental transaction), cash equal to the value of the warrant as determined in accordance with the Black Scholes option pricing model.
Right as a Stockholder. Except as otherwise provided in the warrants or by virtue of such holder’s ownership of shares of our common stock, the holders of the warrants do not have the rights or privileges of holders of our common stock, including any voting rights, until they exercise their warrants.
Waivers and Amendments. Subject to certain exceptions, any term of the warrants may be amended or waived with our written consent and the written consent of the holders of at least a majority of the then-outstanding warrants.
Purchase Rights. In the event we issue any options, convertible securities or rights to purchase stock or other securities pro rata to the holders of common stock, then the a holder of Series E Preferred Stock will be entitled to acquire, upon the same terms a pro rata amount of such stock or securities as if the Series E Preferred Stock had been converted to common stock.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is VStock Transfer, LLC. The transfer agent’s address is 77 Spruce Street, Suite 201, Cedarhurst, New York 11516 and its telephone number is (212) 828-8436.
DESCRIPTION OF OUR OTHER CAPITAL STOCK
Under the terms of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, our board of directors is authorized to issue up to 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Our board of directors has the discretion to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock. Of the 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock authorized, our board of directors has designated (all with par value of $0.001 per share): 454,546 shares as Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; 150,000 shares as Series C-2 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; 200,000 shares as Series C-3 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; 57,400 shares as Series D Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; and 55,214 shares as Series E Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. The Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and Series C-1 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock that was previously designated have all been converted to shares of common stock.
Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
Rank. The Series B Preferred Stock ranks:
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senior to our common stock;
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senior to any class or series of our capital stock hereafter created specifically ranking by its terms junior to the Series B Preferred Stock; and
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on parity with the Series C-1 Preferred Stock, the Series C-2 Preferred Stock and the Series C-3 Preferred Stock and any class or series of our capital stock hereafter created specifically ranking by its terms on parity with the Series B Preferred Stock,
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junior to any class or series of our capital stock hereafter created specifically ranking by its terms senior to the Series B Preferred Stock,
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in each case, as to dividends or distributions of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
Conversion. Each share of Series B Preferred Stock is convertible into one share of our common stock (subject to adjustment as provided in the certificate of designation for the Series B Preferred Stock) at a per share price of $1.10 at any time at the option of the holder, except that a holder will be prohibited from converting shares of Series B Preferred Stock into shares of common stock if, as a result of such conversion, such holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own more than 3.99% of the total number of shares of our common stock then issued and outstanding.
Liquidation Preference. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of Series B Preferred Stock will receive a payment equal to $0.001 per share of Series B Preferred Stock before any proceeds are distributed to the holders of our common stock. After the payment of this preferential amount, and subject to the rights of holders of any class or series of our capital stock hereafter created specifically ranking by its terms senior to the Series B Preferred Stock and holders of Series B Preferred Stock will participate ratably in the distribution of any remaining assets with the common stock and any other class or series of our capital stock hereafter created that participates with the common stock in such distributions.
Voting Rights. Shares of Series B Preferred Stock will generally have no voting rights, except as required by law and except that the consent of holders of a majority of the outstanding Series B Preferred Stock will be required to amend the terms of the Series B Preferred Stock or the certificate of designation for the Series B Preferred Stock.
Dividends. Holders of Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to receive, and we are required to pay, dividends on shares of the Series B Preferred Stock equal (on an as-if-converted-to-common-stock basis) to and in the same form as dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) actually paid on shares of the common stock when, as and if such dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) are paid on shares of the common stock.
Redemption. We are not obligated to redeem or repurchase any shares of Series B Preferred Stock. Shares of Series B Preferred Stock are not otherwise entitled to any redemption rights, or mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions.
Listing. There is no established public trading market for the Series B Preferred Stock, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the Series B Preferred Stock on any national securities exchange or trading system.
Fundamental Transactions. If, at any time that shares of Series B Preferred Stock are outstanding, we effect a merger or other change of control transaction, as described in the certificate of designation and referred to as a fundamental transaction, then a holder will have the right to receive, upon any subsequent conversion of a share of Series B Preferred Stock (in lieu of conversion shares) for each issuable conversion share, the same kind and amount of securities, cash or property as such holder would have been entitled to receive upon the occurrence of such fundamental transaction if such holder had been, immediately prior to such fundamental transaction, the holder of a share of common stock.
Series C-2 and C-3 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
The Series C-2 and C-3 Preferred Stock, referred to collectively as the Series C Preferred Stock, have identical rights, privileges and terms, as described below.
Rank. The Series C Preferred Stock ranks:
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senior to our common stock;
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senior to any class or series of capital stock created after the issuance of the Series C Preferred Stock;
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on parity with the Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; and
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junior to the Series D Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and Series E Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
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in each case, as to dividends or distributions of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
Conversion. Each share of Series C Preferred Stock is convertible into 10 shares of our common stock (subject to adjustment as provided in the certificates of designation for the Series C Preferred Stock) at a per share price of $1.00 at any time at the option of the holder, except that a holder will be prohibited from converting shares of Series C Preferred Stock into shares of common stock if, as a result of such conversion, such holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own more than 9.99% of the total number of shares of our common stock then issued and outstanding.
Liquidation Preference. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of Series C Preferred Stock will receive a payment equal to $10.00 per share of Series C Preferred Stock before any proceeds are distributed to the holders of our common stock. After the payment of this preferential amount, and subject to the rights of holders of any class or series of our capital stock hereafter created specifically ranking by its terms senior to the Series C Preferred Stock and holders of Series C Preferred Stock will participate ratably in the distribution of any remaining assets with the common stock and any other class or series of our capital stock hereafter created that participates with the common stock in such distributions.
Voting Rights. Shares of Series C Preferred Stock will generally have no voting rights, except as required by law and except that the consent of holders of two thirds of the outstanding Series C-2 and Series C-3 Preferred Stock, respectively, will be required to amend the terms of the Series C-2 and C-3 Preferred Stock or the certificate of designation for the Series C-2 and C-3 Preferred Stock, respectively.
Dividends. Holders of Series C Preferred Stock are entitled to receive, and we are required to pay, dividends on shares of the Series C Preferred Stock equal (on an as-if-converted-to-common-stock basis) to and in the same form as dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) actually paid on shares of the common stock when, as and if such dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) are paid on shares of the common stock.
Redemption. We are not obligated to redeem or repurchase any shares of Series C Preferred Stock. Shares of Series C Preferred Stock are not otherwise entitled to any redemption rights, or mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions.
Listing. There is no established public trading market for the Series C Preferred Stock, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the Series C Preferred Stock on any national securities exchange or trading system.
Fundamental Transactions. If, at any time that shares of Series C Preferred Stock are outstanding, we effect a merger or other change of control transaction, as described in the certificate of designation and referred to as a fundamental transaction, then a holder will have the right to receive, upon any subsequent conversion of a share of Series C Preferred Stock (in lieu of conversion shares) for each issuable conversion share, the same kind and amount of securities, cash or property as such holder would have been entitled to receive upon the occurrence of such fundamental transaction if such holder had been, immediately prior to such fundamental transaction, the holder of a share of common stock.
Anti-Dilution. The Series C Preferred Stock contains full-ratchet anti-dilution protection such that, if we issue shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock at a price per share lower than the conversion price then in effect, the conversion price will be automatically lowered to such issuance price.
The anti-dilution provisions of the Series C Preferred Stock will terminate at such time as (i) we raise gross proceeds of at least $8.0 million through the sale of shares of common stock at a price per share of at least $1.50 by April 22, 2014, or (ii) the closing sale price of our common stock is greater than $2.00 or a period of 20 trading days in any consecutive 30 trading day period.
Debt Restriction. As long as any the Series C-2 Preferred Stock is outstanding, we cannot incur any indebtedness other than indebtedness existing prior to October 17, 2013, trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and letters of credit incurred in an aggregate amount of $3.0 million at any point in time.
NYSE Required Stockholder Approval. The Series C Preferred Stock contains a prohibition on its conversion if, as a result of such conversion, including the related warrants, we would have issued shares of our common stock in an aggregate amount equal to 3,190,221 shares, which is 20% of our shares of common stock outstanding on October 17, 2013, unless we have received the approval of our stockholders for such overage. We received stockholder approval on February 28, 2014.
Series D Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
Rank. The Series D Preferred Stock ranks:
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senior to our common stock;
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senior to any class or series of capital stock created after the issuance of the Series D Preferred Stock;
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senior to the Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, the Series C-2 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and the Series C-3 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; and
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on parity with the Series E Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
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in each case, as to dividends or distributions of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
Conversion. Each share of Series D Preferred Stock is convertible into 20 shares of our common stock (subject to adjustment as provided in the certificates of designation for the Series D Preferred Stock) at a per share price of $0.35 at any time at the option of the holder, except that a holder will be prohibited from converting shares of Series D Preferred Stock into shares of common stock if, as a result of such conversion, such holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own more than 9.99% of the total number of shares of our common stock then issued and outstanding.
Liquidation Preference. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of Series D Preferred Stock will receive a payment equal to $7.00 per share of Series D Preferred Stock on parity with the payment of the liquidation preference due the Series E Preferred Stock, but before any proceeds are distributed to the holders of common stock, Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, the Series C-2 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and the Series C-3 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. After the payment of this preferential amount, holders of Series D Preferred Stock will participate ratably in the distribution of any remaining assets with the common stock and any other class or series of our capital stock that participates with the common stock in such distributions.
Voting Rights. Shares of Series D Preferred Stock will generally have no voting rights, except as required by law and except that the consent of holders of a majority of the outstanding Series D Preferred Stock will be required to amend the terms of the Series D Preferred Stock or the certificate of designation for the Series D Preferred Stock.
Dividends. Holders of Series D Preferred Stock will receive a dividend of 8% per annum, accruing from the issuance date and payable quarterly. For the first seven years, the dividend will be paid on the respective dividend payment date by adding the amount of the dividend to the respective then-current stated value; thereafter, dividends will be paid in cash. Holders of Series D Preferred Stock are entitled to receive, and we are required to pay, dividends on shares of the Series D Preferred Stock equal (on an as-if-converted-to-common-stock basis) to and in the same form as dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) actually paid on shares of the common stock when, as and if such dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) are paid on shares of the common stock.
Redemption. We are not obligated to redeem or repurchase any shares of Series D Preferred Stock. Shares of Series D Preferred Stock are not otherwise entitled to any redemption rights, or mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions.
In the event that shares issuable upon the conversion of the Series D Preferred Stock are freely tradable and our common stock is still listed on the NYSE MKT or another stock exchange, and (i) the daily volume weighted average price per share for 10 consecutive trading days is equal to or greater than the then conversion price multiplied by 120%, and (ii) the dollar value of the average daily trading volume for each trading day in such 10 consecutive trading day period is not less than $100,000, then we have the right to convert all then outstanding Series D Preferred Stock and accrued but unpaid dividends thereon into common stock
Listing. There is no established public trading market for the Series D Preferred Stock, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the Series D Preferred Stock on any national securities exchange or trading system.
Fundamental Transactions. If, at any time that shares of Series D Preferred Stock are outstanding, we effect a merger or other change of control transaction, as described in the certificate of designation and referred to as a fundamental transaction, then a holder will have the right to receive, upon any subsequent conversion of a share of Series D Preferred Stock (in lieu of conversion shares) for each issuable conversion share, the same kind and amount of securities, cash or property as such holder would have been entitled to receive upon the occurrence of such fundamental transaction if such holder had been, immediately prior to such fundamental transaction, the holder of a share of common stock.
Anti-Dilution. The Series D Preferred Stock contains anti-dilution protection only in the event of stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, or reclassifications affecting our common stock.
Debt Restriction. As long as any the Series D Preferred Stock is outstanding, we cannot incur any indebtedness other than indebtedness existing prior to October 17, 2013, trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and letters of credit incurred in an aggregate amount of $3.0 million at any point in time.
NYSE Required Stockholder Approval. The Series D Preferred Stock contains a prohibition on its conversion if, as a result of such conversion, we would have issued shares of our common stock in an aggregate amount equal to 3,190,221 shares, which is 20% of our shares of common stock outstanding on October 17, 2013, unless we have received the approval of our stockholders for such overage. We received stockholder approval on February 28, 2014.
Series E Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
Rank. The Series E Preferred Stock ranks:
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senior to our common stock;
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senior to any class or series of capital stock created after the issuance of the Series E Preferred Stock;
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senior to the Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, the Series C-2 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and the Series C-3 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; and
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●
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on parity with the Series D Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
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in each case, as to dividends or distributions of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
Conversion. Each share of Series E Preferred Stock is convertible into 20 shares of our common stock (subject to adjustment as provided in the certificates of designation for the Series E Preferred Stock) at a per share price of $0.82 at any time at the option of the holder, except that a holder will be prohibited from converting shares of Series E Preferred Stock into shares of common stock if, as a result of such conversion, such holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own more than 9.99% of the total number of shares of our common stock then issued and outstanding.
Liquidation Preference. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of Series E Preferred Stock will receive a payment equal to $16.40 per share of Series E Preferred Stock on parity with the payment of the liquidation preference due the Series D Preferred Stock, but before any proceeds are distributed to the holders of common stock, Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, the Series C-2 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and the Series C-3 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. After the payment of this preferential amount, holders of Series E Preferred Stock will participate ratably in the distribution of any remaining assets with the common stock and any other class or series of our capital stock that participates with the common stock in such distributions.
Voting Rights. Shares of Series E Preferred Stock will generally have no voting rights, except as required by law and except that the consent of holders of a majority of the outstanding Series E Preferred Stock will be required to amend the terms of the Series E Preferred Stock or the certificate of designation for the Series E Preferred Stock.
Dividends. Holders of Series E Preferred Stock will receive a dividend of 8% per annum, accruing from the issuance date and payable quarterly. For the first seven years, the dividend will be paid on the respective dividend payment date by adding the amount of the dividend to the respective then-current stated value; thereafter, dividends will be paid in cash. Holders of Series E Preferred Stock are entitled to receive, and we are required to pay, dividends on shares of the Series E Preferred Stock equal (on an as-if-converted-to-common-stock basis) to and in the same form as dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) actually paid on shares of the common stock when, as and if such dividends (other than dividends in the form of common stock) are paid on shares of the common stock.
Redemption. We are not obligated to redeem or repurchase any shares of Series E Preferred Stock. Shares of Series E Preferred Stock are not otherwise entitled to any redemption rights, or mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions.
Listing. There is no established public trading market for the Series E Preferred Stock, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the Series E Preferred Stock on any national securities exchange or trading system.
Fundamental Transactions. If, at any time that shares of Series E Preferred Stock are outstanding, we effect a merger or other change of control transaction, as described in the certificate of designation and referred to as a fundamental transaction, then a holder will have the right to receive, upon any subsequent conversion of a share of Series E Preferred Stock (in lieu of conversion shares) for each issuable conversion share, the same kind and amount of securities, cash or property as such holder would have been entitled to receive upon the occurrence of such fundamental transaction if such holder had been, immediately prior to such fundamental transaction, the holder of a share of common stock.
Anti-Dilution. The Series E Preferred Stock contains full-ratchet anti-dilution protection such that, if we issue shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock at a price per share lower than the conversion price then in effect, the conversion price will be automatically lowered to such issuance price.
Debt Restriction. As long as any the Series E Preferred Stock is outstanding, we cannot incur any indebtedness other than indebtedness existing prior to October 17, 2013, trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and letters of credit incurred in an aggregate amount of $3.0 million at any point in time.
Other Covenants. In addition to the debt restrictions above, as long as any the Series E Preferred Stock is outstanding , we cannot, among others things: create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any encumbrances on any of our assets or property; redeem, repurchase or pay any cash dividend or distribution on any of our capital stock (other than as permitted, which includes the dividends on the Series D Preferred Stock and the Series E Preferred Stock); redeem, repurchase or prepay any indebtedness; or engage in any material line of business substantially different from our current lines of business.
NYSE Required Stockholder Approval. The Series E Preferred Stock contains a prohibition on its conversion if, as a result of such conversion, we would have issued shares of our common stock in an aggregate amount equal to 3,190,221 shares, which is 20% of our shares of common stock outstanding on October 17, 2013, unless we have received the approval of our stockholders for such overage. We received stockholder approval on February 28, 2014.
Purchase Rights. In the event we issue any options, convertible securities or rights to purchase stock or other securities pro rata to the holders of common stock, then the holders of Series E Preferred Stock will be entitled to acquire, upon the same terms, a pro rata amount of such stock or securities as if the Series E Preferred Stock had been converted to common stock.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
We act as our own transfer agent and registrar for the Series B, C-2, C-3, D and E Preferred Stock.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Roth Capital Partners, LLC, which we refer to as the placement agent, has agreed to act as the exclusive placement agent in connection with this offering subject to the terms and conditions of a placement agent agreement, dated March 4, 2014. The placement agent may engage selected dealers to assist in the placement of the units. The placement agent is not purchasing or selling any units offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, nor is it required to arrange the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of the units, but has agreed to use its reasonable efforts to arrange for the sale of all of the units offered hereby. We will enter into subscription agreements directly with investors in connection with this offering and we may not sell the entire amount of units offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The price per unit has been determined based upon arm’s-length negotiations between the purchasers and us.
The placement agent proposes to arrange for the sale to one or more purchasers of the units offered pursuant to this prospectus through direct subscription agreements between the purchasers and us.
Commissions and Expenses
We have agreed to pay the placement agent an aggregate cash placement fee equal to 7% of the gross proceeds in this offering.
The following table shows the per unit and total cash placement agent’s fees we will pay to the placement agent in connection with the sale of the units offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus assuming the purchase of all of the units offered hereby:
Per Unit
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$0.175
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Total
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$518,000
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Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to closing in this offering, the actual total offering commissions, if any, are not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the maximum amount set forth above. We have also agreed to reimburse the placement agent for its out-of-pocket expenses in an aggregate amount not to exceed $50,000 without our prior approval, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld. In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, in no event may the maximum compensation payable to FINRA members and independent broker-dealers exceed 8.0% of the gross proceeds of this offering.
Our obligation to issue and sell units to the purchasers is subject to the conditions set forth in the subscription agreements, which may be waived by us at our discretion. A purchaser’s obligation to purchase units is subject to the conditions set forth in his or her subscription agreement as well, which may also be waived.
We currently anticipate that the sale of the units will be completed on or about March 10, 2014. We estimate the total offering expenses of this offering that will be payable by us, excluding the placement agent’s fee, will be approximately $250,000, which includes legal and printing costs, various other fees and reimbursement of the placements agent’s expenses. At the closing, The Depository Trust Company will credit the shares of common stock to the respective accounts of the investors. We will mail warrants directly to the investors at the respective addresses set forth in their subscription agreement with us.
Indemnification
We have agreed to indemnify the placement agent against liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. We have also agreed to contribute to payments the placement agent may be required to make in respect of such liabilities.
Lock-up Agreements
We and our officers and directors have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, for a period of 30 days after the date of this prospectus, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly any common shares or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common shares either owned as of the date hereof or thereafter acquired (in our case only at a price less than the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement) without the prior written consent of the placement agent. This 30-day period may be extended if (1) during the last 17 days of the 30-day period, we issue an earnings release or material news or a material event regarding us occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of the 30-day period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 30-day period, then the period of such extension will be 18-days, beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event. If after any announcement described in clause (2) of the preceding sentence, we announce that we will not release earnings results during the 16-day period, the lock-up period shall expire the later of the expiration of the 30-day period and the end of any extension of such period made pursuant to clause (1) of the preceding sentence. The placement agent may, in its sole discretion and at any time or from time to time before the termination of the lock-up period, without notice, release all or any portion of the securities subject to lock-up agreements.
Electronic Distribution
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be made available in electronic format on websites or through other online services maintained by the placement agent, or by an affiliate. Other than this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in electronic format, the information on the placement agent’s website and any information contained in any other website maintained by the placement agent is not part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus form a part, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the placement agent, and should not be relied upon by investors.
The foregoing does not purport to be a complete statement of the terms and conditions of the placement agent agreement and subscription agreements. A copy of the placement agent agreement and the form of subscription agreement with the investors are included as exhibits to our current report on Form 8-K that was filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement of which this prospectus supplement forms a part. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information About Us” on page S-42.
Regulation M Restrictions
The placement agent may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act, and any commissions received by it and any profit realized on the resale of the units sold by it while acting as a principal might be deemed to be underwriting discounts or commissions under the Securities Act. As an underwriter, the placement agent would be required to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, without limitation, Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act and Rule 10b-5 and Regulation M under the Exchange Act. These rules and regulations may limit the timing of purchases and sales of units by the placement agent acting as a principal. Under these rules and regulations, the placement agent:
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must not engage in any stabilization activity in connection with our securities; and
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must not bid for or purchase any of our securities or attempt to induce any person to purchase any of our securities, other than as permitted under the Exchange Act, until it has completed its participation in the distribution.
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Other
From time to time, the placement agent and its affiliates may in the future provide various investment banking, financial advisory and other services to us and our affiliates for which services they may receive customary fees. In the course of their businesses, the placement agent and its affiliates may actively trade our securities or loans for their own account or for the accounts of customers, and, accordingly, the placement agent and its affiliates may at any time hold long or short positions in such securities or loans. Except for services provided in connection with this offering, the placement agent has not provided any investment banking or other financial services during the 180-day period preceding the date of this prospectus supplement and we do not expect to retain the placement agent to perform any investment banking or other financial services for at least 90 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.
NOTICE TO INVESTORS
Notice to Investors in the United Kingdom
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) an offer to the public of any securities which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may not be made in that Relevant Member State except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any such securities may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:
(a) to legal entities which are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;
(b) to any legal entity which has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000 and (3) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000, as shown in its last annual or consolidated accounts;
(c) by the underwriter to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive); or
(d) in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of these securities shall result in a requirement for the publication by the issuer or the underwriter of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any of the securities in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any such securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any such securities, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.
The placement agent has represented, warranted and agreed that:
(a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the FSMA)) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of any of the securities in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the issuer; and
(b) it has complied with and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
European Economic Area
In particular, this document does not constitute an approved prospectus in accordance with European Commission’s Regulation on Prospectuses no. 809/2004 and no such prospectus is to be prepared and approved in connection with this offering. Accordingly, in relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (being the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 2003/71/EC and including any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State) (each, a Relevant Member State), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State (the Relevant Implementation Date) an offer of securities to the public may not be made in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to such securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that it may, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, make an offer of securities to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:
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to legal entities which are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;
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to any legal entity which has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000; and (3) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000, as shown in the last annual or consolidated accounts; or
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in any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the Issuer of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.
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For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of securities to the public” in relation to any of the securities in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the securities, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State. For these purposes the units offered hereby
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters with respect to the shares of common stock (including the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the common stock) offered hereby have been passed upon by Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina. Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Roseland, New Jersey, is counsel for the placement agent in connection with this offering.
EXPERTS
The balance sheets of CorMedix Inc. as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficiency), and cash flows for the years then ended and for the period from July 28, 2006 (inception) to December 31, 2012 have been audited by CohnReznick LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which includes explanatory paragraphs relating to a restatement of our financial statements and our ability to continue as a going concern, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein by reference in reliance on the report of CohnReznick LLP given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT US
We have filed a registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC for the securities we are offering by this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement does not include all of the information contained in the registration statement. You should refer to the registration statement and its exhibits for additional information. We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus supplement is delivered, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement but not delivered with the prospectus supplement. We will provide this information upon oral or written request, free of charge. Any requests for this information should be made by calling or sending a letter to the Secretary of the Company, c/o CorMedix Inc., at our office located at 745 Route 202-206, Suite 303, Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807.
We are required to file annual and quarterly reports, current reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. We make these documents publicly available, free of charge, on our website at www.cormedix.com as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such documents with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You also may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its public reference facility at:
Public Reference Room
100 F Street N.E.
Washington, DC 20549.
Please call the SEC at 1-800-732-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference facilities.
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them. Incorporation by reference allows us to disclose important information to you by referring you to those other documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We filed a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with the SEC with respect to the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus omit certain information contained in the registration statement, as permitted by the SEC. You should refer to the registration statement, including the exhibits, for further information about us and the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Statements in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding the provisions of certain documents filed with, or incorporated by reference in, the registration statement are not necessarily complete and each statement is qualified in all respects by that reference. Copies of all or any part of the registration statement, including the documents incorporated by reference or the exhibits, may be obtained upon payment of the prescribed rates at the offices of the SEC listed above in “Where You Can Find Additional Information About Us.” The documents we are incorporating by reference into this prospectus supplement are:
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our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on March 27, 2013, and our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on March 4, 2014;
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our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on May 15, 2013, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on November 19, 2013, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on March 4, 2014;
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our Quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the six-month period ended June 30, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on August 14, 2013, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the six-month period ended June 30, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on November 19, 2013, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the six-month period ended June 30, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on March 4, 2014;
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our Quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on November 19, 2013, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on March 4, 2014;
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our Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 of the Exchange Act on January 16, February 7, February 19, March 6, March 22, April 11, April 22, May 24, May 31, June 10, July 1, July 9, July 15, July 26, July 30, August 15, August 26, September 5, October 18, October 23, December 3, December 12 and December 23, 2013, and January 9, January 10, February 25, February 28 and March 5, 2014;
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our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the 2013 annual meeting of stockholders, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act on June 20, 2013; and
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our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the special meeting of stockholders, filed with the SEC pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act on January 31, 2014.
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In addition, all documents subsequently filed by us pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, before the date our offering is terminated or completed are deemed to be incorporated by reference into, and to be a part of, this prospectus supplement.
Any statement contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or any other subsequently filed document that is deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus modifies or supersedes the statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
We will furnish without charge to you, on written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference, including exhibits to these documents. You should direct any requests for documents to CorMedix, Inc., Attention: Secretary, 745 Route 202-206, Suite 303, Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807, (908) 517-9500.
You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.
Prospectus
$30,000,000 of
Common Stock,
Preferred Stock,
Warrants,
Debt Securities and/or
Units
From time to time, we may offer up to $30,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, either individually or in units, in one or more offerings in amounts, at prices and on the terms that we will determine at the time of offering. We may also offer common stock or preferred stock upon conversion of debt securities, common stock upon conversion of preferred stock, or common stock, preferred stock or debt securities upon the exercise of warrants.
Each time we sell securities, we will provide specific terms of the securities offered in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. We will specify in any accompanying prospectus supplement the terms of any offering. You should read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, as well as any documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, carefully before you invest in any securities. This prospectus may not be used by us to consummate a sale of securities unless accompanied by the applicable prospectus supplement.
We will sell these securities directly to our stockholders or to other purchasers or through agents on our behalf or through underwriters or dealers as designated from time to time. If any agents or underwriters are involved in the sale of any of these securities, the applicable prospectus supplement will provide the names of the agents or underwriters and any applicable fees, commissions or discounts.
Our common stock trades on the NYSE MKT under the trading symbol “CRMD.” On January 7, 2013, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $0.93 per share. We recommend that you obtain current market quotations for our common stock prior to making an investment decision.
As of January 7, 2013, the aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates, or the public float, was approximately $9,587,095, which was calculated based on 10,308,704 shares of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates and on a price of $0.93 per share, the last reported sale price for our common stock on January 7, 2013. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, in no event will we sell our common stock in a public primary offering with a value exceeding one-third of our public float in any 12-month period unless our public float subsequently rises to $75.0 million or more. We have not offered any securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3 during the 12 calendar months prior to and including the date of this prospectus.
You should carefully read this prospectus, the prospectus supplement relating to any specific offering of securities and all information incorporated by reference herein and therein.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. These risks are discussed in this prospectus under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 6 and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is January 10, 2013.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About This Prospectus
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1
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Prospectus Summary
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2
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Risk Factors
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6
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Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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22
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Use of Proceeds
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23
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Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
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23
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Plan of Distribution
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23
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Description of Common Stock
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25
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Description of Preferred Stock
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25
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Description of Debt Securities
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27
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Description of Warrants
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29
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Description of Units
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30
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Certain Provisions of Delaware Law and of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated Bylaws
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30
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Executive Compensation
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31
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Legal Matters
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38
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Experts
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38
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Where You Can Find More Information
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38
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Incorporation of Documents by Reference
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39
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer shares of our common stock and preferred stock, various series of debt securities and/or warrants to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in units, in one or more offerings, up to a total dollar amount of $30,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering.
This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the offering of the securities, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits. Prospectus supplements may also add, update or change information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. However, no prospectus supplement will fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, includes all material information relating to this offering. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, the information and documents incorporated herein and therein by reference and the additional information under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” before making an investment decision.
You should rely only on the information we have provided or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representation. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated herein by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.
To the extent there are inconsistencies between any prospectus supplement, this prospectus and any documents incorporated by reference, the document with the most recent date will control.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of our securities, unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Unless the context otherwise requires, “CorMedix” the “company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar names refer to CorMedix Inc.
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. Because it is a summary, it might not contain all of the information that is important to you. Accordingly, you are urged to carefully review this prospectus in its entirety, including “Risk Factors” beginning on page 6 and our financial statements and related notes thereto incorporated by reference herein, before making an investment decision.
Overview
We are a development stage pharmaceutical and medical device company that seeks to in-license, develop and commercialize therapeutic products for the treatment of cardiac and renal dysfunction, specifically in the dialysis and non-dialysis areas. Specifically, our goal is to treat kidney disease by reducing the commonly associated cardiovascular and metabolic complications — in effect, “treating the kidney to treat the heart.” As of the date of this prospectus, we have licensed all of the product candidates in our pipeline.
We have the worldwide rights to develop and commercialize our product candidates, CRMD003 (Neutrolin®) and CRMD004, that we believe address potentially large market opportunities in the instances in which a central venous catheter is used, such as hemodialysis, intensive care units, oncology and total parenteral nutrition patients.
Our primary product candidate in development is Neutrolin for the prevention of catheter-related infections in the dialysis and non-dialysis markets, which we believe addresses a medical need and a potentially large market opportunity. Neutrolin is a liquid formulation designed to prevent central venous catheter infection as well as catheter obstruction, also referred to as maintenance of catheter patency, in central venous catheters, which we initially plan for use in hemodialysis catheters. There are approximately 780,000 hemodialysis patients in the United States and the European Union. We believe the patients undergoing hemodialysis using a tunneled central vein catheter will be our initial target market. We project 91,000 patients in the European Union and 104,000 patients in the United States. These patients represent nearly 30 million hemodialysis sessions per year, which we believe represents a market potential of approximately $300 - $400 million.
During the third quarter of 2011, we received a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, that Neutrolin had been assigned to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, or CDER. As a result of this, and given our limited resources, we decided to change our business strategy and focus the majority of our resources on the research and development of Neutrolin rather than CRMD004 and to seek regulatory and commercialization approval for Neutrolin in Europe through a CE Mark application rather than pursue FDA approval at this time. During the first half of 2011, we submitted our design dossier to TÜV SÜD, the European notified body managing our CE Mark application. In the fourth quarter of 2011, we successfully completed our stage 1 audit with TÜV SÜD.
On October 10, 2012, we received ISO 13485:2003 certification from TÜV SÜD. This certification, which is a stand-alone standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization, is the globally recognized standard that outlines consistent international processes for the design and manufacturing of medical devices, including many supply chain functions such as assembly, packaging, warehousing and distribution. Compliance with ISO 13485 is often seen as a step towards achieving compliance with European regulatory requirements. The conformity of medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic medical devices according to applicable EU standards must be assessed before sale is permitted. The preferred method to prove conformity is the certification by a notified body of the quality management system according to ISO 9001 and/or ISO 13485 and ISO 14971. The result of a positive assessment is the issuance of a certificate of conformity allowing the CE Mark and the permission to sell the medical device in the European Union.
We have successfully completed the stage 2 audit with TÜV SÜD . We anticipate receiving a CE Mark approval by the end of the fourth quarter of 2012 or in the first quarter of 2013 . If we obtain CE Mark approval in Europe, we intend to launch Neutrolin for the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infections, or CRBI, and maintenance of catheter patency in hemodialysis patients in Europe in the first half of 2013. However, we cannot be assured of CE Mark approval of Neutrolin or the planned commercialization timeline.
We are currently exploring the various means of launching Neutrolin in Europe, whether through a distributorship or partnership arrangement, or otherwise, and plan to initially launch in Germany. Assuming the receipt of a CE Mark and the launch of Neutrolin, we intend to meet with the FDA to determine the pathway for U.S. approval of Neutrolin, which we expect will entail a Phase 3 trial.
Recent Developments
On September 20, 2012, we completed an initial closing of our private placement of 850 Units, each Unit consisting of (i) a one-year $1,000 principal amount 9% Senior Convertible Note, convertible into shares of our common stock at a conversion price of $0.35 per Note, and (ii) a five-year redeemable Warrant, to purchase 2,500 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $0.40 per share. We received gross proceeds of $850,000 and net proceeds of approximately $689,000 in the September 20, 2012 initial closing. The maturity date of the Notes issued in the initial closing is September 20, 2013.
On November 13, 2012, we held the second and final closing of the private placement, and issued an additional 474 Units for a total gross amount of $474,000. The maturity date of the Notes issued in the final closing is November 13, 2013. Together with the sale of 850 Units at the initial closing, we issued and sold in the private placement an aggregate total of 1,324 Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,324,000. The total net proceeds (net of placement agent and legal fees) of the private placement to us were $1,095,600, including $689,000 net proceeds previously received by us at the initial closing and $406,600 net proceeds received by us in the final closing. We issued to the investors Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,310,000 shares of our common stock. We paid the placement agent for the private placement a total of $109,900 in fees and issued it warrants to purchase an aggregate of 331,000 shares. The placement agent warrants have the same terms as those issued to the investors.
We have agreed to file an initial registration statement with the SEC to register the resale of the shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of the Notes and the exercise of the Warrants within 60 days after the final closing, which is January 11, 2013. Also, we have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to have the registration statement declared effective within 120 days after the date of the final closing, which is March 13, 2013.
On December 24, 2012, we announced the following changes to our executive team.
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Randy Milby has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2013. Mr. Milby previously served as our Chief Operating Officer.
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Richard M. Cohen will serve as Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2013, and will continue as Executive Chairman and director of CorMedix. Mr. Cohen previously served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer.
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Antony E. Pfaffle, M.D., a director on our board, joins the executive team as Acting Chief Scientific Officer, effective January 1, 2013.
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Mark Klausner, M.D., our current Chief Medical Officer, will depart CorMedix effective February 28, 2013 upon expiration of his employment agreement with CorMedix.
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Mr. Milby will continue to work with the board and build the management team to drive our strategy forward with respect to the planned receipt of CE Mark approval for Neutrolin and subsequent commercial launch of Neutrolin in Europe and the planned expansion into countries beyond Europe. Dr. Pfaffle in this capacity will provide scientific support and will focus on the development of key opinion leader relationships throughout Europe.
Corporate History and Information
We were organized as a Delaware corporation on July 28, 2006 under the name “Picton Holding Company, Inc.” and we changed our corporate name to “CorMedix Inc.” on January 18, 2007. Our operations to date have been primarily limited to organizing and staffing, licensing product candidates, developing clinical trials for our product candidates, establishing manufacturing for our product candidates and maintaining and improving our patent portfolio.
Our executive offices are located at 745 Route 202-206, Suite 303, Bridgewater, NJ 08807. Our telephone number is (908) 517-9500. Our website address is www.cormedix.com. Information contained in, or accessible through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus.
Offerings Under This Prospectus
We may offer shares of our common stock and preferred stock, various series of debt securities and/or warrants to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in units, with a total value of up to $30,000,000 from time to time under this prospectus at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of any offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities.
The prospectus supplement also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. However, no prospectus supplement will fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of any securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
We may sell the securities directly to investors or to or through agents, underwriters or dealers. We, and our agents or underwriters, reserve the right to accept or reject all or part of any proposed purchase of securities. If we offer securities through agents or underwriters, we will include in the applicable prospectus supplement:
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the names of those agents or underwriters;
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applicable fees, discounts and commissions to be paid to them;
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details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and
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the net proceeds to us.
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We may issue shares of our common stock from time to time. The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted upon by stockholders. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any outstanding preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends that may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities, subject to prior distribution rights of any preferred stock then outstanding.
We may issue shares of our preferred stock from time to time, in one or more series. Our board of directors will determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of the preferred stock, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by stockholders. Convertible preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock or exchangeable for our other securities. Conversion may be mandatory or at your option or both and would be at prescribed conversion rates.
If we sell any series of preferred stock under this prospectus and applicable prospectus supplements, we will fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of the preferred stock of such series in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of any certificate of designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the issuance of the related series of preferred stock. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement related to the series of preferred stock being offered, as well as the complete certificate of designation that contains the terms of the applicable series of preferred stock.
We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities in one or more series. We may issue warrants independently or together with common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from these securities. We will evidence each series of warrants either by agreements with each investor or warrant certificates that we will issue under a separate agreement. If we issue warrant certificates, we expect to enter into warrant agreements with a bank or trust company that we select to be our warrant agent. We will indicate the name and address of the warrant agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants.
In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the warrants. We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement related to the particular series of warrants being offered, as well as the warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants. We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of warrant agreement or warrant certificate containing the terms of the warrants we are offering before the issuance of the warrants.
We may offer debt securities from time to time, in one or more series, as either senior or subordinated debt or as senior or subordinated convertible debt. The senior debt securities will rank equally with any other unsecured and unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in right of payment, to the extent and in the manner described in the instrument governing the debt, to all of our senior indebtedness. Convertible debt securities will be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or our other securities. Conversion may be mandatory or at your option or both and would be at prescribed conversion rates.
With respect to any debt securities that we issue, we will issue such debt securities under an indenture, which we would enter into with the trustee named in the indenture. Any indenture would be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
We may issue units consisting of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and/or warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities in one or more series. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the units. We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement related to the series of units being offered, as well as the unit agreements that contain the terms of the units. We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference reports that we file with the SEC, the form of unit agreement and any supplemental agreements that describe the terms of the series of units we are offering before the issuance of the related series of units.
Investing in our securities involves risk. The prospectus supplement applicable to each offering of our securities will contain a discussion of the risks applicable to an investment in our company. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed below and under the heading “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement or appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and 10-K/A, as revised or supplemented by our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, each of which are on file with the SEC and are incorporated herein by reference, and which may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital
We have a limited operating history and a history of operating losses, and expect to incur significant additional operating losses.
We were established in July 2006 and have only a limited operating history. Therefore, there is limited historical financial information upon which to base an evaluation of our performance. Our prospects must be considered in light of the uncertainties, risks, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in the early stages of operation. We incurred a net loss of approximately $2.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and approximately $6.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. As of September 30, 2012, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $45.2 million. We expect to incur substantial additional operating expenses over the next several years as our research, development, pre-clinical testing, clinical trial and commercialization activities increase. The amount of future losses and when, if ever, we will achieve profitability are uncertain. We have no products that have generated any commercial revenue, do not expect to generate revenues from the commercial sale of products unless and until we receive a CE Mark for and launch Neutrolin in Europe, and might never generate revenues from the sale of products. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability will depend on, among other things, the following: successful completion of the development of our product candidates, particularly Neutrolin; obtaining necessary regulatory approvals for Neutrolin from the applicable European agencies, other foreign agencies and the FDA and from the FDA and international regulatory agencies for any other products; establishing manufacturing, sales, and marketing arrangements, either alone or with third parties; and raising sufficient funds to finance our activities. We might not succeed at any of these undertakings. If we are unsuccessful at some or all of these undertakings, our business, prospects, and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Our independent registered public accounting firm expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern in its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011 and may do so again in the future.
In their report accompanying our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011, our independent registered public accounting firm expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going a concern. A “going concern” opinion could impair our ability to finance our operations through the sale of debt or equity securities or through bank financing. We believe our recent decision to focus the majority of our resources, including our research and development efforts, primarily on the CE Mark approval and commercialization of Neutrolin in Europe will result in our currently available capital resources being sufficient to meet our operating needs only into the first quarter of 2013, after giving effect to our receipt of approximately $1,324,000 in aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of our Senior Convertible Notes in September and November 2012. Our ability to continue as a going concern will depend, in large part, on our ability to obtain additional financing. Thereafter, our ability to generate positive cash flow from operation will depend on our ability to receive a CE Mark for and launch Neutrolin in Europe. None of these undertakings are certain. Additional capital may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all. If adequate financing is not available, we would be required to terminate or significantly curtail our operations, or enter into arrangements with collaborative partners or others that may require us to relinquish rights to certain aspects of our technologies, or potential markets that we would not otherwise relinquish. If we are unable to achieve these goals, our business would be jeopardized and we may not be able to continue operations.
We are not currently profitable and may never become profitable.
We have a history of losses and expect to incur substantial losses and negative operating cash flow for the foreseeable future, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we succeed in developing and commercializing Neutrolin or other product candidates, we expect to incur substantial losses for the foreseeable future and may never become profitable. We also expect to continue to incur significant operating and capital expenditures and anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we continue to undertake development of Neutrolin and our other product candidates, undertake clinical trials of our product candidates, seek regulatory approvals for product candidates, implement additional internal systems and infrastructure, and hire additional personnel.
We also expect to experience negative cash flow for the foreseeable future as we fund our operating losses and capital expenditures. As a result, we will need to generate significant revenues in order to achieve and maintain profitability. We may not be able to generate these revenues or achieve profitability in the future. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability would negatively impact the value of our securities.
We will need to finance our future cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings or corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements. Any additional funds that we obtain may not be on terms favorable to us or our stockholders and may require us to relinquish valuable rights.
We have no approved product on the market and have generated no product revenues. Unless and until we receive applicable regulatory approval for Neutrolin and any other product candidates, we cannot sell our products and will not have product revenues. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, we will have to fund all of our operations and capital expenditures from cash on hand, licensing fees and grants.
We believe that existing cash will be sufficient to enable us to fund our projected operating requirements only into the first quarter of 2013, based upon our recent decision to focus the majority of our resources, including our research and development efforts, primarily on the CE Marking approval and commercialization of Neutrolin in Europe. However, we may need to raise additional funds more quickly if one or more of our assumptions prove to be incorrect or if we choose to expand our product development efforts more rapidly than we presently anticipate, and we may decide to raise additional funds even before we need them if the conditions for raising capital are favorable.
We may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities, obtain a bank credit facility, or enter into a corporate collaboration or licensing arrangement. The sale of additional equity or debt securities, if convertible, could result in dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could also result in covenants that would restrict our operations. Raising additional funds through collaboration or licensing arrangements with third parties may require us to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates, or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us or our stockholders.
Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of Our Product Candidates
Our product candidates are still in development.
We are a development stage pharmaceutical and medical device company with product candidates in various stages of development. We have recently changed our strategy to primarily focus on the commercialization of Neutrolin in Europe through the CE Marking process and have elected to delay our other product candidates’ development until we have obtained CE Marking approval in Europe for Neutrolin. Our product candidates are currently at the following stages:
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CRMD003 (Neutrolin) - submitted a CE Mark application for approval in Europe; and
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CRMD004 - currently in the pre-clinical phase.
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Our product development efforts may not lead to commercially viable products for any of several reasons. For example, our product candidates may fail to be proven safe and effective in clinical trials, or we may have inadequate financial or other resources to pursue development efforts for our product candidates. Our product candidates will require significant additional development, clinical trials, regulatory clearances and/or investment by us or our collaborators before they can be commercialized. Specifically, if we receive a CE Mark for Neutrolin, we will need to commercially launch it in Europe either on our own or through a third party, which will take time and capital.
Successful development of our products is uncertain.
Our development of current and future product candidates is subject to the risks of failure and delay inherent in the development of new pharmaceutical products, including but not limited to the following:
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delays in product development, pre-clinical and clinical testing, or manufacturing;
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unplanned expenditures in product development, pre-clinical and clinical testing, or manufacturing;
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failure to receive regulatory approvals;
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emergence of superior or equivalent products;
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inability to manufacture our product candidates on a commercial scale on our own, or in collaboration with third parties; and
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failure to achieve market acceptance.
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Because of these risks, our development efforts may not result in any commercially viable products. If a significant portion of these development efforts are not successfully completed, required regulatory approvals are not obtained or any approved products are not commercialized successfully, our business, financial condition, and results of operations will be materially harmed.
Clinical trials required for our product candidates are expensive and time-consuming, and their outcome is uncertain.
In order to obtain FDA or foreign approval to market a new drug or device product, we must demonstrate proof of safety and effectiveness in humans. Foreign regulations and requirements are similar to those of the FDA. To meet FDA requirements, we must conduct “adequate and well-controlled” clinical trials. Conducting clinical trials is a lengthy, time-consuming, and expensive process. The length of time may vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty, and intended use of the product candidate, and often can be several years or more per trial. Delays associated with products for which we are directly conducting clinical trials may cause us to incur additional operating expenses. The commencement and rate of completion of clinical trials may be delayed by many factors, including, for example:
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inability to manufacture sufficient quantities of qualified materials under the FDA’s current Good Manufacturing Practices requirements, referred to as cGMP, for use in clinical trials;
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slower than expected rates of patient recruitment;
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failure to recruit a sufficient number of patients;
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modification of clinical trial protocols;
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changes in regulatory requirements for clinical trials;
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lack of effectiveness during clinical trials;
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emergence of unforeseen safety issues;
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delays, suspension, or termination of clinical trials due to the institutional review board responsible for overseeing the study at a particular study site; and
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government or regulatory delays or “clinical holds” requiring suspension or termination of the trials.
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The results from early pre-clinical and clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of results to be obtained in later clinical trials. Accordingly, even if we obtain positive results from early pre-clinical or clinical trials, we may not achieve the same success in later clinical trials.
Our clinical trials may be conducted in patients with serious or life-threatening diseases for whom conventional treatments have been unsuccessful or for whom no conventional treatment exists, and in some cases, our product is expected to be used in combination with approved therapies that themselves have significant adverse event profiles. During the course of treatment, these patients could suffer adverse medical events or die for reasons that may or may not be related to our products. We cannot ensure that safety issues will not arise with respect to our products in clinical development.
Clinical trials may not demonstrate statistically significant safety and effectiveness to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals for product candidates. The failure of clinical trials to demonstrate safety and effectiveness for the desired indications could harm the development of our product candidates. Such a failure could cause us to abandon a product candidate and could delay development of other product candidates. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials would delay the filing of any New Drug Application, or NDA, or any Premarket Approval Application, or PMA, with the FDA and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate product revenues. Any change in, or termination of, our clinical trials could materially harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If we fail to comply with international regulatory requirements we could be subject to regulatory delays, fines or other penalties.
Regulatory requirements in foreign countries for international sales of medical devices often vary from country to country. The occurrence and related impact of the following factors would harm our business:
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delays in receipt of, or failure to receive, foreign regulatory approvals or clearances;
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the loss of previously obtained approvals or clearances; or
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the failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements.
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The CE Mark is a mandatory conformity mark for products to be sold in the European Economic Area. Currently, 30 countries in Europe require products to bear CE Marking. To market in Europe, a product must first obtain the certifications necessary to affix the CE Mark. The CE Mark is an international symbol of adherence to the Medical Device Directives and the manufacturer’s declaration that the product complies with essential requirements. Compliance with these requirements is ascertained within a certified Quality Management System (QMS) pursuant to ISO 13485. In order to obtain and to maintain a CE Mark, a product must be in compliance with the applicable quality assurance provisions of the aforementioned ISO and obtain certification of its quality assurance systems by a recognized European Union notified body. We have contracted with TÜV SÜD , a European Union notified body, to handle the CE Marking process for Neutrolin. In October 2012 , TÜV SÜD awarded ISO 13485:2003 certification for Neutrolin, an important step in the CE Marking process. However, certain individual countries within the European Union require further approval by their national regulatory agencies. Failure to receive or maintain the right to affix the CE Mark or other requisite approvals could prohibit us from marketing and selling Neutrolin in the European Economic Area or elsewhere.
We do not have, and may never obtain, the regulatory approvals we need to market our product candidates.
We have filed a design dossier submission with TÜV SÜD , the European Union notified body, as part of the regulatory CE Marking approval process in Europe for Neutrolin and have received ISO 13485:2003 certification. However, there cannot be any assurance that Neutrolin will receive a CE Mark that would allow it to be sold in Europe.
In the United States, we have no current application for, and have not received the regulatory approvals required for, the commercial sale of any of our products. None of our product candidates has been determined to be safe and effective in the United States, and we have not submitted a NDA or PMA to the FDA for any product.
It is possible that none of our product candidates will be approved for marketing. Failure to obtain regulatory approvals, or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, especially for Neutrolin in Europe, would adversely affect the successful commercialization of it or any other drugs or biologics that we or our partners develop, impose additional costs on us or our collaborators, diminish any competitive advantages that we or our partners may attain, and/or adversely affect our cash flow.
Even if approved, our products will be subject to extensive post-approval regulation.
Once a product is approved, numerous post-approval requirements apply in the United States and abroad. Depending on the circumstances, failure to meet these post-approval requirements can result in criminal prosecution, fines, injunctions, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of pre-marketing product approvals, or refusal to allow us to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts. In addition, even if we comply with FDA, foreign and other requirements, new information regarding the safety or effectiveness of a product could lead the FDA or a foreign regulatory body to modify or withdraw product approval.
The successful commercialization of our products will depend on obtaining coverage and reimbursement for use of these products from third-party payors.
Sales of pharmaceutical products largely depend on the reimbursement of patients’ medical expenses by government health care programs and/or private health insurers, both in the U.S. and abroad. Without the financial support of these government or private third-party payors, the market for our products will be limited. These third-party payors are increasingly challenging the price and examining the cost effectiveness of medical products and services. Recent proposals to change the health care system in the United States have included measures that would limit or eliminate payments for medical products and services or subject the pricing of medical treatment products to government control. Significant uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly approved health care products. Third-party payors may not reimburse sales of our products or enable our collaborators to sell them at profitable prices.
Physicians and patients may not accept and use our products.
Even if we receive FDA or foreign regulatory approval for one or more of our product candidates, physicians and patients may not accept and use it. Acceptance and use of our products will depend upon a number of factors including the following:
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perceptions by members of the health care community, including physicians, about the safety and effectiveness of our drug or device product;
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cost-effectiveness of our product relative to competing products;
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availability of reimbursement for our product from government or other healthcare payors; and
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effectiveness of marketing and distribution efforts by us and our licensees and distributors, if any.
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Because we expect sales of our current product candidates, if approved, to generate substantially all of our product revenues for the foreseeable future, the failure of these products to find market acceptance would harm our business and would require us to seek additional financing.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Competition and technological change may make our product candidates and technologies less attractive or obsolete.
We compete with established pharmaceutical and medical device companies that are pursuing other forms of treatment for the same indications we are pursuing and that have greater financial and other resources. Other companies may succeed in developing products earlier than we do, obtaining FDA or any other regulatory agency approval for products more rapidly, or developing products that are more effective than our product candidates. Research and development by others may render our technology or product candidates obsolete or noncompetitive, or result in processes, treatments or cures superior to any therapy we develop. We face competition from companies that internally develop competing technology or acquire competing technology from universities and other research institutions. As these companies develop their technologies, they may develop competitive positions that may prevent, make futile, or limit our product commercialization efforts, which would result in a decrease in the revenue we would be able to derive from the sale of any products.
There can be no assurance that any of our product candidates will be accepted by the marketplace as readily as these or other competing treatments. Furthermore, if our competitors’ products are approved before ours, it could be more difficult for us to obtain approval from the FDA or any other regulatory agency. Even if our products are successfully developed and approved for use by all governing regulatory bodies, there can be no assurance that physicians and patients will accept any of our products as a treatment of choice.
Furthermore, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry is diverse, complex, and rapidly changing. By its nature, the business risks associated therewith are numerous and significant. The effects of competition, intellectual property disputes, market acceptance, and FDA or other regulatory agency regulations preclude us from forecasting revenues or income with certainty or even confidence.
We face the risk of product liability claims and the amount of insurance coverage we hold now or in the future may not be adequate to cover all liabilities we might incur.
Our business exposes us to the risk of product liability claims that are inherent in the development of drugs. If the use of one or more of our or our collaborators’ drugs or devices harms people, we may be subject to costly and damaging product liability claims brought against us by clinical trial participants, consumers, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling our products.
We currently carry product liability insurance that covers our clinical trials. We cannot predict all of the possible harms or side effects that may result and, therefore, the amount of insurance coverage we hold may not be adequate to cover all liabilities we might incur. Our insurance covers bodily injury and property damage arising from our clinical trials, subject to industry-standard terms, conditions and exclusions. This coverage does not include the sale of commercial products. We intend to expand our insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products if we obtain marketing approval for our product candidates in development, but we may be unable to obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance for any products approved for marketing.
If we are unable to obtain insurance at an acceptable cost or otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, we may be exposed to significant liabilities, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial position. If we are sued for any injury allegedly caused by our or our collaborators’ products and do not have sufficient insurance coverage, our liability could exceed our total assets and our ability to pay the liability. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us would decrease our cash and could cause the value of our capital stock to decrease.
We may be exposed to liability claims associated with the use of hazardous materials and chemicals.
Our research, development and manufacturing activities and/or those of our third-party contractors may involve the controlled use of hazardous materials and chemicals. Although we believe that our safety procedures for using, storing, handling and disposing of these materials comply with federal, state and local laws and regulations, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from these materials. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for any resulting damages and any liability could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of hazardous or radioactive materials and waste products may require us to incur substantial compliance costs that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Healthcare policy changes, including reimbursement policies for drugs and medical devices, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Market acceptance and sales of Neutrolin or any other product candidates that we develop will depend on reimbursement policies and may be affected by health care reform measures in the United States and abroad. Government authorities and other third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. We cannot be sure that reimbursement will be available for Neutrolin or any other product candidates that we develop. Also, we cannot be sure that the amount of reimbursement available, if any, will not reduce the demand for, or the price of, our products. If reimbursement is not available or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize Neutrolin or any other product candidates that we develop.
In the United States, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the health care system in ways that could affect our ability to sell our products profitably. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively, the Healthcare Reform Act, substantially changes the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacts the pharmaceutical industry. The Healthcare Reform Act contains a number of provisions, including those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement changes and fraud and abuse, which will impact existing government healthcare programs and will result in the development of new programs, including Medicare payment for performance initiatives and improvements to the physician quality reporting system and feedback program. We anticipate that if we obtain approval for our products, some of our revenue may be derived from U.S. government healthcare programs, including Medicare. Furthermore, beginning in 2011, the Healthcare Reform Act imposed a non-deductible excise tax on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell “branded prescription drugs,” which includes innovator drugs and biologics (excluding orphan drugs or generics) to U.S. government programs. We expect that the Healthcare Reform Act and other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future could have an adverse effect on our industry generally and our products specifically.
In addition to the Healthcare Reform Act, we expect that there will continue to be proposals by legislators at both the federal and state levels, regulators and third-party payors to keep healthcare costs down while expanding individual healthcare benefits. Certain of these changes could impose limitations on the prices we will be able to charge for any products that are approved or the amounts of reimbursement available for these products from governmental agencies or other third-party payors or may increase the tax requirements for life sciences companies such as ours. While it is too early to predict what effect the Healthcare Reform Act or any future legislation or regulation will have on us, such laws could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Health administration authorities in countries other than the United States may not provide reimbursement for Neutrolin or any of our other product candidates at rates sufficient for us to achieve profitability, or at all. Like the United States, these countries could adopt health care reform proposals and could materially alter their government-sponsored health care programs by reducing reimbursement rates.
Any reduction in reimbursement rates under Medicare or private insurers or foreign health care programs could negatively affect the pricing of our products. If we are not able to charge a sufficient amount for our products, then our margins and our profitability will be adversely affected.
If we lose key management or scientific personnel, cannot recruit qualified employees, directors, officers, or other personnel or experience increases in compensation costs, our business may materially suffer.
We are highly dependent on the principal members of our management and scientific staff, specifically, Richard Cohen (our former Interim Chief Executive Officer, former Interim Chief Financial Officer and, effective January 1, 2013, our Chief Financial Officer), Randy Milby (our former Chief Operating Officer and, effective January 1, 2013, our Chief Executive Officer) and Dr. Antony Pfaffle, our director and, effective January 1, 2013, our Acting Chief Scientific Officer. While we have a consulting agreement, as amended, with MW Bridges LLC, of which Randy Milby is Managing Partner, consulting and employment agreements cannot ensure our retention of the persons covered by such agreements. Furthermore, our future success will also depend in part on our ability to identify, hire, and retain additional personnel. We experience intense competition for qualified personnel and may be unable to attract and retain the personnel necessary for the development of our business. Moreover, our work force is located in the New Jersey metropolitan area, where competition for personnel with the scientific and technical skills that we seek is extremely high and is likely to remain high. Because of this competition, our compensation costs may increase significantly. In addition, we have only limited ability to prevent former employees from competing with us.
Recent changes in our management may lead to instability and may negatively affect our business.
In September 2011, John Houghton, our former President and Chief Executive Officer, left the Company and, in April 2012, Brian Lenz, our former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer resigned. In May 2012, our board of directors appointed director Richard Cohen to serve as our Interim Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer. In May 2012, the board of directors also engaged Randy Milby to serve as our Chief Operating Officer. On December 21, 2012, we appointed Mr. Milby as our Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2013. At that time, Mr. Milby’s responsibilities as our Chief Operating Officer terminated. Effective January 1, 2013, we also appointed Mr. Cohen as our Chief Financial Officer and one of our directors, Dr. Antony Pfaffle, as our Acting Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Mark Klausner, our current part-time Chief Medical Officer, will cease employment on February 28, 2013. We cannot be certain that the changes in management will not negatively affect our business in the future or that additional changes in management and in the composition of our board of directors will not occur. Additionally, we may be negatively impacted by a lack of accounting expertise, lack of internal control processes (which include lack of segregation of duties for cash disbursements and cash reconciliations), lack of accuracy and timeliness of financial reporting as a result of the resignation of our former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
If we are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our ability to grow our business may be harmed.
Over time, we expect to hire additional qualified personnel with expertise in clinical testing, clinical research and testing, government regulation, formulation and manufacturing, and sales and marketing. We compete for qualified individuals with numerous pharmaceutical companies, universities and other research institutions. Competition for such individuals is intense, and we cannot be certain that our search for such personnel will be successful. Attracting and retaining such qualified personnel will be critical to our success.
We may not successfully manage our growth.
If we receive CE Mark approval for Neutrolin, our success will depend upon the expansion of our operations to commercialize Neutrolin and the effective management of our growth, which could place a significant strain on our management and our administrative, operational and financial resources. To manage this growth, we may need to expand our facilities, augment our operational, financial and management systems and hire and train additional qualified personnel. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our business may be materially harmed.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we materially breach or default under any of our license agreements, the licensor party to such agreement will have the right to terminate the license agreement, which termination may materially harm our business.
Our commercial success will depend in part on the maintenance of our license agreements. Each of our license agreements provides the licensor with a right to terminate the license agreement for our material breach or default under the agreement. Additionally, our license agreement with Dr. Hans-Dietrich Polaschegg (referred to herein as the Polaschegg License Agreement) provides for a right of termination for, among other things, our failure to make a product with respect to either of the licensed technologies available to the market within eight years after (i) the effective date of the Polaschegg License Agreement or (ii) the priority date of any new patent, whichever is later. Our intellectual property licensed under the Polaschegg License Agreement serves as a basis for CRMD004. Should the licensor under any of our license agreements exercise such a termination right, we would lose our right to the intellectual property under the respective license agreement, which loss may materially harm our business.
If we and our licensors do not obtain protection for and successfully defend our respective intellectual property rights, our competitors may be able to take advantage of our research and development efforts to develop competing products .
Our commercial success will depend in part on obtaining further patent protection for our products and other technologies and successfully defending any patents that we currently have or will obtain against third-party challenges. The patents most material to our business are as follows:
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U.S. Registration No. 7,696,182 (expiring in May 2025) - use of Neutrolin for preventing infection and maintenance of catheter patency in hemodialysis catheters (for CRMD003);
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U.S. Registration No. 6,166,007 (expiring May 2019) - a method of inhibiting or preventing infection and blood coagulation at a medical prosthetic device (for CRMD003); and
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European Registration No. 1442753 (expiring February 2023) - use of a thixotropic gel as a catheter locking composition, and method of locking a catheter (for CRMD004).
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We are currently seeking further patent protection for our compounds and methods of treating diseases. However, the patent process is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in protecting our products by obtaining and defending patents. These risks and uncertainties include the following:
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patents that may be issued or licensed may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or otherwise may not provide any competitive advantage;
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our competitors, many of which have substantially greater resources than we have and many of which have made significant investments in competing technologies, may seek, or may already have obtained, patents that will limit, interfere with, or eliminate our ability to make, use, and sell our potential products either in the United States or in international markets;
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there may be significant pressure on the United States government and other international governmental bodies to limit the scope of patent protection both inside and outside the United States for treatments that prove successful as a matter of public policy regarding worldwide health concerns; and
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countries other than the United States may have less restrictive patent laws than those upheld by United States courts, allowing foreign competitors the ability to exploit these laws to create, develop, and market competing products.
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In addition, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or PTO, and patent offices in other jurisdictions have often required that patent applications concerning pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology-related inventions be limited or narrowed substantially to cover only the specific innovations exemplified in the patent application, thereby limiting the scope of protection against competitive challenges. Thus, even if we or our licensors are able to obtain patents, the patents may be substantially narrower than anticipated.
The patent applications in our patent portfolio are exclusively licensed to us. To support our patent strategy, we have engaged in a review of patentability and freedom to operate issues, including performing certain searches. However, patentability and freedom to operate issues are inherently complex, and we cannot provide assurances that a relevant patent office and/or relevant court will agree with our conclusions regarding patentability issues or with our conclusions regarding freedom to operate issues, which can involve subtle issues of claim interpretation and/or claim liability. Furthermore, we may not be aware of all patents, published applications or published literature that may affect our business either by blocking our ability to commercialize our product candidates, preventing the patentability of our product candidates to us or our licensors, or covering the same or similar technologies that may invalidate our patents, limit the scope of our future patent claims or adversely affect our ability to market our product candidates.
In addition to patents, we also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how. Although we take measures to protect this information by entering into confidentiality and inventions agreements with our employees, scientific advisors, consultants, and collaborators, we cannot provide any assurances that these agreements will not be breached, that we will be able to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of disclosure if they are breached, or that our trade secrets will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. If any of these events occurs, or we otherwise lose protection for our trade secrets or proprietary know-how, the value of our intellectual property may be greatly reduced.
Intellectual property disputes could require us to spend time and money to address such disputes and could limit our intellectual property rights.
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have been characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights, and companies have employed intellectual property litigation to gain a competitive advantage. We may become subject to infringement claims or litigation arising out of patents and pending applications of our competitors, or additional proceedings initiated by third parties or the PTO or applicable foreign bodies to reexamine the patentability of our licensed or owned patents. The defense and prosecution of intellectual property suits, PTO or foreign proceedings, and related legal and administrative proceedings are costly and time-consuming to pursue, and their outcome is uncertain. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our issued patents, to protect our trade secrets and know-how, or to determine the enforceability, scope, and validity of the proprietary rights of others. An adverse determination in litigation or PTO or foreign proceedings to which we may become a party could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to obtain licenses from third parties, restrict or prevent us from selling our products in certain markets, or invalidate or render unenforceable our licensed or owned patents. Although patent and intellectual property disputes might be settled through licensing or similar arrangements, the costs associated with such arrangements may be substantial and could include our paying large fixed payments and ongoing royalties. Furthermore, the necessary licenses may not be available on satisfactory terms or at all.
In February 2007, Geistlich Söhne AG für Chemische Industrie, Switzerland, or Geistlich, brought an action against the Sodemann patent covering our Neutrolin product candidate which is owned by ND Partners, LLC and licensed to us pursuant to the License and Assignment Agreement between us and ND Partners LLC. The action that was brought against the Sodemann patent in Germany at the Board of the European Patent Office opposition division was for lack of inventiveness in the use of citric acid and a pH value in the range of 4.5 to 6.5 with having the aim to provide an alternative lock solution through having improved anticoagulant characteristics compared to the lock solutions described in the Lehner patent. The Board of the European Patent Office opposition division rejected the opposition by Geistlich. On August 27, 2008, Geistlich appealed the court's ruling, alleging the same arguments as presented during the opposition proceedings. We filed a response to the appeal of Geistlich on March 25, 2009 where we requested a dismissal of the appeal and to maintain the patent as granted. As of the date of this Form S-3, no further petitions have been filed by ND Partners or Geistlich. On October 10, 2012, we became aware that the Board of Appeals of the European Patent Office issued, on September 4, 2012, a summons for oral proceedings. On November 28, 2012, the Board of Appeals of the European Patent Office held oral proceedings and verbally upheld the Sodemann patent covering Neutrolin, but remanded the proceeding to the lower court to consider restricting certain of the Sodemann’s patent’s claims. We believe we will receive the Appeals’ Board final written decision sometime in the first quarter of 2013. We intend to continue to vigorously defend the patent. However, we can provide no assurances regarding the outcome of this matter.
If we infringe the rights of third parties we could be prevented from selling products and forced to pay damages and defend against litigation .
If our products, methods, processes and other technologies infringe the proprietary rights of other parties, we could incur substantial costs and we may have to do one or more of the following:
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obtain licenses, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all;
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abandon an infringing product candidate;
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redesign our products or processes to avoid infringement;
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stop using the subject matter claimed in the patents held by others;
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defend litigation or administrative proceedings, which may be costly whether we win or lose, and which could result in a substantial diversion of our financial and management resources.
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Risks Related to Dependence on Third Parties
If we are not able to develop collaborative marketing relationships with licensees or partners, or create an effective sales, marketing, and distribution capability, we may be unable to market our products or market them successfully.
Our business strategy for Neutrolin relies on collaborating with larger firms with experience in marketing and selling pharmaceutical products; for other products we may also rely on such marketing collaborations or out-licensing or our product candidates. Specifically, for Neutrolin, assuming we receive applicable regulatory approval, we plan to enter into distribution agreements with one or more third parties for the sale of Neutrolin in various European and other markets. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully establish marketing, sales, or distribution relationships, that such relationships, if established, will be successful, or that we will be successful in gaining market acceptance for our products. To the extent that we enter into any marketing, sales, or distribution arrangements with third parties, our product revenues will be lower than if we marketed and sold our products directly, and any revenues we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third-parties.
If we are unable to establish such third-party sales and marketing relationships, or choose not to do so, we will have to establish our own in-house capabilities. We currently have no sales, marketing, or distribution infrastructure. To market any of our products directly, we would need to develop a marketing, sales, and distribution force that has both technical expertise and the ability to support a distribution capability. The establishment of a marketing, sales, and distribution capability would take time and significantly increase our costs, possibly requiring substantial additional capital. In addition, there is intense competition for proficient sales and marketing personnel, and we may not be able to attract individuals who have the qualifications necessary to market, sell, and distribute our products. There can be no assurance that we will be able to establish internal marketing, sales, or distribution capabilities. If we are unable to, or choose not to establish these capabilities, or if the capabilities we establish are not sufficient to meet our needs, we will be required to establish collaborative marketing, sales, or distribution relationships with third parties, which we might not be able to do on acceptable terms or at all.
If we or our collaborators are unable to manufacture our products in sufficient quantities or are unable to obtain regulatory approvals for a manufacturing facility, we may be unable to meet demand for our products and we may lose potential revenues.
Completion of our clinical trials and commercialization of our product candidates require access to, or development of, facilities to manufacture a sufficient supply of our product candidates. All of our manufacturing processes currently are, and we expect them to continue to be, outsourced to third parties. Specifically, we will rely on one or more manufacturers to supply us and/or our distribution partners with commercial qualities of Neutrolin. If, for any reason, we become unable to rely on our current sources for the manufacture of Neutrolin or any other product candidates, either for clinical trials or for commercial quantities, then we would need to identify and contract with additional or replacement third-party manufacturers to manufacture compounds for pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial purposes. We may not be successful in identifying such additional or replacement third-party manufacturers, or in negotiating acceptable terms with any that we do identify. Such third-party manufacturers must receive FDA or applicable foreign approval before they can produce clinical material or commercial product, and any that are identified may not receive such approval or may fail to maintain such approval. In addition, we may be in competition with other companies for access to these manufacturers’ facilities and may be subject to delays in manufacturing if the manufacturers give other clients higher priority than they give to us. If we are unable to secure and maintain third-party manufacturing capacity, the development and sales of our products and our financial performance may be materially affected.
Before we could begin to commercially manufacture our product candidates on our own, we must obtain regulatory approval of the manufacturing facility and process. The manufacture of drugs for clinical and commercial purposes must comply with cGMP and applicable non-U.S. regulatory requirements. The cGMP requirements govern quality control and documentation policies and procedures. Complying with cGMP and non-U.S. regulatory requirements would require that we expend time, money, and effort in production, recordkeeping, and quality control to assure that the product meets applicable specifications and other requirements. We would also have to pass a pre-approval inspection prior to FDA or non-U.S. regulatory agency approval. Failure to pass a pre-approval inspection may significantly delay regulatory approval of our products. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we would be subject to possible regulatory action and may be limited in the jurisdictions in which we are permitted to sell our products. As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Corporate and academic collaborators may take actions that delay, prevent, or undermine the success of our products.
Our operating and financial strategy for the development, clinical testing, manufacture, and commercialization of our product candidates is heavily dependent on our entering into collaborations with corporations, academic institutions, licensors, licensees, and other parties. Our current strategy assumes that we will successfully establish and maintain these collaborations or similar relationships. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful establishing or maintaining such collaborations. Some of our existing collaborations, such as our licensing agreements, are, and future collaborations may be, terminable at the sole discretion of the collaborator in certain circumstances. Replacement collaborators might not be available on attractive terms, or at all.
In addition, the activities of any collaborator will not be within our control and may not be within our power to influence. There can be no assurance that any collaborator will perform its obligations to our satisfaction or at all, that we will derive any revenue or profits from such collaborations, or that any collaborator will not compete with us. If any collaboration is not pursued, we may require substantially greater capital to undertake on our own the development and marketing of our product candidates and may not be able to develop and market such products successfully, if at all. In addition, a lack of development and marketing collaborations may lead to significant delays in introducing product candidates into certain markets and/or reduced sales of products in such markets.
Data provided by collaborators and others upon which we rely that has not been independently verified could turn out to be false, misleading, or incomplete.
We rely on third-party vendors, scientists, and collaborators to provide us with significant data and other information related to our projects, clinical trials, and business. If such third parties provide inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete data, our business, prospects, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Our stock price has fluctuated considerably and is likely to remain volatile, in part due to the limited market for our common stock and you could lose all or a part of your investment.
During the period from the completion of our initial public offering, or IPO, on March 30, 2010 through January 7, 2013, the high and low sales prices for our common stock were $4.00 and $0.15, respectively. There is a limited public market for our common stock and we cannot provide assurances that an active trading market will develop. As a result of low trading volume in our common stock, the purchase or sale of a relatively small number of shares could result in significant share price fluctuations.
Additionally, the market price of our common stock may continue to fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the following:
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our need for additional capital;
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the receipt of CE Mark approval for Neutrolin;
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results of clinical trials of our product candidates or those of our competitors;
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our entry into or the loss of a significant collaboration;
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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries, including changes in the healthcare payment systems;
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changes in financial estimates or investment recommendations by securities analysts relating to our common stock;
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announcements by our competitors of significant developments, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;
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changes in key personnel;
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variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
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market conditions in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors and issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
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general economic, industry and market conditions;
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developments or disputes concerning patents or other proprietary rights;
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future sales or anticipated sales of our securities by us or our stockholders; and
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any other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
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In addition, the stock markets in general, and the stock of pharmaceutical and medical device companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
For these reasons and others, you should consider an investment in our securities as risky and invest only if you can withstand a significant loss and wide fluctuations in the value of your investment.
A significant number of additional shares of our common stock may be issued at a later date, and their sale could depress the market price of our common stock.
As of January 7, 2013, we had outstanding the following securities that are convertible into or exercisable for shares of our common stock:
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warrants for 4,263,569 shares of our common stock issued in connection with our IPO with an exercise price of $3.4375 per share and that expire on March 24, 2015;
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a warrant to purchase 2,406 units with an exercise price of $7.80 per unit issued to the underwriters of our IPO that, if exercised, would result in the issuance of an additional 4,812 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 2,406 shares of common stock;
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warrants for 503,034 shares of our common stock issued in our 2009 private placement, which warrants have an exercise price of $3.4375 per share and expire on October 29, 2014;
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warrants for 17,869 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $10.66 per share and an expiration date of January 30, 2013 issued to consultants;
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warrants for 18,250 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $7.84 per share issued to co-placement agents in connection with our previous convertible note financings;
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options to purchase an aggregate of 2,135,630 shares of our common stock issued to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants under our Amended and Restated 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, or the 2006 Stock Plan, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.26 per share;
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outstanding Senior Convertible Notes issued in our 2012 private placement with an aggregate face value of $1,324,000, convertible into an aggregate of 3,782,858 shares of our common stock;
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warrants issued to investors in our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 3,310,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share; and
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warrants issued to the placement agent for our 2012 private placement to purchase an aggregate of 331,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.40 per share.
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The possibility of the issuance of these shares, as well as the actual sale of such shares, could substantially reduce the market price for our common stock and impede our ability to obtain future financing.
In addition, we have agreed to register the shares issuable upon the conversion of the Senior Convertible Notes and the exercise of the warrants issued in our 2012 private placement under the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act. If those shares are issued, registration of those shares under the Securities Act would result in the shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, except for shares held by our affiliates as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Sales of stock by these stockholders could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.
We will need additional financing to fund our activities in the future, which likely will dilute our stockholders.
We anticipate that we will incur operating losses for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we believe we will require substantial funds in the future to support our operations. We expect to seek equity or debt financings in the future to fund our operations. The issuance of additional equity securities, or convertible debt or other derivative securities, likely will dilute some if not all of our then existing stockholders, depending on the financing terms.
Future sales and issuances of our equity securities or rights to purchase our equity securities, including pursuant to equity incentive plans, would result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to fall.
To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may sell 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 common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be further diluted by subsequent sales. Such sales may also result in material dilution to our existing stockholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to existing stockholders.
Pursuant to our 2006 Stock Plan, our Board of Directors is authorized to award up to a total of 2,300,000 shares of common stock or options to purchase shares of common stock to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants. As of January 7, 2013, options to purchase 2,135,630 shares of common stock issued under our 2006 Stock Plan at a weighted average exercise price of $1.26 per share, were outstanding. Stockholders will experience dilution in the event that additional shares of common stock are issued under our 2006 Stock Plan, or options issued under our 2006 Stock Plan are exercised.
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult.
Provisions in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and our Amended and Restated Bylaws, as well as provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or DGCL, may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of our company, even if such a change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders. These provisions include the following:
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authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval;
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prohibiting our stockholders from fixing the number of our directors; and
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establishing advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings and nominations to our Board of Directors.
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These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless such transactions are approved by the board of directors. This provision could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing someone from acquiring us or merging with us, whether or not it is desired by, or beneficial to, our stockholders. Any provision of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, or Amended and Restated Bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock .
We received notice from the NYSE MKT that we fail to comply with certain of its continued listing standards, which may result in a delisting of our common stock from the exchange.
Our common stock is currently listed for trading on the NYSE MKT, and the continued listing of our common stock on the NYSE MKT is subject to our compliance with a number of listing standards. These listing standards include the requirement for avoiding sustained losses. We incurred a net loss of approximately $2.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and as of September 30, 2012 we had a deficit accumulated during the development stage of approximately $45.2 million. On April 20, 2012, the NYSE MKT notified us that we were not in compliance with certain listing standards and we had to submit a plan to regain compliance with the listing standards by August 22, 2012, which we submitted on May 17, 2012. On June 27, 2012, the NYSE MKT notified us that it had accepted our plan to regain compliance with the continued listing standards of NYSE MKT by August 22, 2012. On August 20, 2012, we requested an extension of the plan period. On September 21, 2012, NYSE MKT notified us that it was granting us an extension until January 31, 2013 to regain compliance with the continued listing standards of the NYSE MKT. The NYSE MKT determined that in accordance with Section 109 of the Company Guide, we made reasonable demonstration of our ability to regain compliance with Section 1003(a)(iv) of the Company Guide by the end of the extended plan period. We will be subject to periodic review by the NYSE MKT during the extended plan period. Although we believe that, to date, we are making progress with the plan and that we will be in compliance with the continued listing standards, unless we can raise capital through various potential sources, such as equity, debt financing, strategic relationships, out-licensing or distribution arrangements of our products, we may receive further notice from the NYSE MKT informing us that we are not in compliance with the listing standards. If we are not in compliance with the listing standards at the end of the extended plan period, or if we do not make progress consistent with the plan during the extended plan period, the NYSE MKT staff may initiate delisting proceedings. We may appeal a staff determination to initiate delisting proceedings in accordance with Section 1010 and Part 12 of the NYSE MKT Company Guide.
If our common stock were no longer listed on the NYSE MKT, investors might only be able to trade on the OTC Bulletin Board ® or in the Pink Sheets ® (a quotation medium operated by Pink Sheets LLC). This would impair the liquidity of our common stock not only in the number of shares that could be bought and sold at a given price, which might be depressed by the relative illiquidity, but also through delays in the timing of transactions and reduction in media coverage.
Because the average daily trading volume of our common stock is low, the ability to sell our shares in the secondary trading market may be limited.
Because the average daily trading volume of our common stock on the NYSE MKT is low, the liquidity of our common stock may be impaired. As a result, prices for shares of our common stock may be lower than might otherwise prevail if the average daily trading volume of our common stock was higher. The average daily trading volume of our common stock may be low relative to the stocks of other exchange-listed companies, which could limit investors’ ability to sell shares in the secondary trading market.
Penny stock regulation may impose certain restrictions on marketability of our securities.
The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define a “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. As a result, our common stock is subject to rules that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell such securities to persons other than established customers and accredited investors (generally those with assets in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouse). For transactions covered by such rules, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchase of such securities and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to the purchase. Additionally, for any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require the delivery, prior to the transaction, of a risk disclosure document mandated by the SEC relating to the penny stock market. The broker-dealer must also disclose the commission payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and, if the broker-dealer is the sole market maker, the broker-dealer must disclose this fact and the broker-dealer’s presumed control over the market. Finally, monthly statements must be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks. Broker-dealers must wait two business days after providing buyers with disclosure materials regarding a security before effecting a transaction in such security. Consequently, the “penny stock” rules restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and affect the ability of investors to sell our securities in the secondary market and the price at which such purchasers can sell any such securities, thereby affecting the liquidity of the market for our common stock.
Stockholders should be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for penny stocks has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include:
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control of the market for the security by one or more broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer;
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manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases;
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“boiler room” practices involving high pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons;
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excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and
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the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, along with the inevitable collapse of those prices with consequent investor losses.
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Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns on our common stock will be limited to the value of our common stock.
We have never declared dividends on our common stock, and currently do not plan to declare dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Pursuant to the terms of the subscription agreements executed with the investors in our 2012 convertible note private placement, we agreed not to declare or pay any dividends or make any distributions on any of our shares or other equity securities as long as any of the convertible notes remain unpaid or unconverted and outstanding. We currently expect to retain future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and expansion of our business. The payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon such factors as earnings levels, capital requirements, our overall financial condition and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Any return to holders of our common stock will be limited to the value of their common stock.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The SEC encourages companies to disclose forward-looking information so that investors can better understand a company’s future prospects and make informed investment decisions. This prospectus and the documents we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated herein by reference contain such “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Words such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes” and words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance, identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements represent management’s current judgment regarding future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: our ability to obtain FDA and foreign approval of our product candidates, especially Neutrolin; our need to obtain additional funding and our ability to obtain future funding on acceptable terms, or at all; the unpredictability of the market acceptance of any of our products, including Neutrolin; our ability to sell any approved products and the prices we are able to realize; our ability to retain and hire necessary employees and to staff our operations appropriately; our ability to compete in our industry and innovation by our competitors; and our ability to stay abreast of and comply with new or modified laws and regulations that currently apply or become applicable to our business. Please also see the discussion of risks and uncertainties under “Risk Factors” above and contained in any supplements to this prospectus, and in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and 10-K/A, as revised or supplemented by our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as any amendments thereto, as filed with the SEC and which are incorporated herein by reference.
In light of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties, the results and events discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus or in any document incorporated herein by reference might not occur. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this prospectus or the date of the document incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We are not under any obligation, and we expressly disclaim any obligation, to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All subsequent forward-looking statements attributable to us or to any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We cannot assure you that we will receive any proceeds in connection with securities offered by us pursuant to this prospectus. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of our securities by us under this prospectus for general corporate purposes, including the development and commercialization of Neutrolin, research and development of other product candidates, potential product acquisitions and/or potential acquisitions of complementary businesses, and working capital and capital expenditures. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of any securities by us. Pending the application of the net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds generally in short-term, investment grade, interest bearing securities.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
If we offer debt securities under this prospectus, then we will, if required at that time, provide a ratio of earnings to fixed charges in the applicable prospectus supplement for such offering
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell the securities from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We may sell the securities to or through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers. We may distribute securities from time to time in one or more transactions:
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at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;
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at market prices prevailing at the time of sale;
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at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or
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A prospectus supplement or supplements (and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) will describe the terms of the offering of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:
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the name or names of the underwriters, if any;
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the purchase price of the securities or other consideration therefor, and the proceeds, if any, we will receive from the sale;
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any over-allotment options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us;
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any agency fees or underwriting discounts and other items constituting agents’ or underwriters’ compensation;
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any public offering price;
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any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and
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any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed.
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Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement will be underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.
If underwriters are used in the sale, they will acquire the securities for their own account and may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. The obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to the conditions set forth in the applicable underwriting agreement. We may offer the securities to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate. Subject to certain conditions, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement, other than securities covered by any over-allotment option. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time. We may use underwriters with whom we have a material relationship. We will describe in the prospectus supplement, naming the underwriter, the nature of any such relationship.
We may sell securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities and we will describe any commissions we will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, our agent will act on a best-efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.
We may provide agents and underwriters with indemnification against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to these liabilities. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business.
All securities we may offer, other than common stock, will be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters may make a market in these securities, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for any securities.
Any underwriter may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, short-covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Over-allotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum price. Syndicate-covering or other short-covering transactions involve purchases of the securities, either through exercise of the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution is completed, to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by the dealer are purchased in a stabilizing or covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time.
Any underwriters that are qualified market makers on the NYSE MKT may engage in passive market making transactions in the common stock on the NYSE MKT in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act, during the business day prior to the pricing of the offering, before the commencement of offers or sales of the common stock. Passive market makers must comply with applicable volume and price limitations and must be identified as passive market makers. In general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid for such security; if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, however, the passive market maker’s bid must then be lowered when certain purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may stabilize the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
In compliance with guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, the maximum consideration or discount to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker-dealer may not exceed 8% of the aggregate amount of the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement.
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK
Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended we are authorized to issue 80,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share. As of January 7, 2013, we had 11,408,274 shares of common stock outstanding and 184 stockholders of record. In addition, we estimate that there were approximately 550 beneficial owners as of January 7, 2013.
The following summary of certain provisions of our common stock does not purport to be complete. You should refer to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended and our Amended and Restated Bylaws. We filed our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended as an exhibit to our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A with the SEC on October 17, 2012 and filed our Amended and Restated Bylaws as an exhibit to the registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on March 1, 2010. The summary below is also qualified by provisions of applicable law.
The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted on by the stockholders, and there are no cumulative voting rights. Generally, all matters to be voted on by stockholders must be approved by a majority (or, in the case of election of directors, by a plurality) of the votes entitled to be cast by all shares of common stock present in person or represented by proxy, subject to any voting rights granted to holders of any preferred stock.
The holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratable dividends, if any, payable in cash, in stock or otherwise if, as and when declared from time to time by our board of directors out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends, subject to any preferential rights that may be applicable to any outstanding preferred stock. Pursuant to the terms of the subscription agreements executed with the investors in our 2012 convertible note private placement, we agreed not to declare or pay any dividends or make any distributions on any of our shares or other equity securities as long as any of the convertible notes remain unpaid or unconverted and outstanding. In the event of a liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of our company, after payment in full of all outstanding debts and other liabilities, the holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all remaining assets, subject to prior distribution rights of preferred stock, if any, then outstanding. No shares of common stock have preemptive rights or other subscription rights to purchase additional shares of common stock. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable, and the shares of common stock included in this registration statement will be fully paid and nonassessable. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of our common stock will be subject to, and might be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of any preferred stock that we may issue in the future. All shares of common stock that are acquired by us shall be available for reissuance by us at any time.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is VStock Transfer, LLC. The transfer agent’s address is 77 Spruce Street, Suite 201, Cedarhurst, New York 11516 and its telephone number is (212) 828-8436.
Our common stock is listed for quotation on the NYSE MKT under the symbol “CRMD.” On January 7, 2013, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $0.93 per share.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK
Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. As of the date of this prospectus, no shares of preferred stock were outstanding. The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company.
We will fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of the preferred stock of each series in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of any certificate of designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the issuance of the related series of preferred stock. This description will include any or all of the following, as required:
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the title and stated value;
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the number of shares we are offering;
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the liquidation preference per share;
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the dividend rate, period and payment date and method of calculation for dividends;
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whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate;
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the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any;
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the provisions for a sinking fund, if any;
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the provisions for redemption or repurchase, if applicable, and any restrictions on our ability to exercise those redemption and repurchase rights;
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any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market;
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whether the preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock, and, if applicable, the conversion price, or how it will be calculated, and the conversion period;
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whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if applicable, the exchange price, or how it will be calculated, and the exchange period;
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voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock;
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preemptive rights, if any;
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restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any;
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whether interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary shares;
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a discussion of any material or special United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock;
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the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs;
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any limitations on issuance of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; and
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any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the preferred stock.
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If we issue shares of preferred stock under this prospectus, the shares will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, the state of our incorporation, provides that the holders of preferred stock will have the right to vote separately as a class on any proposal involving fundamental changes in the rights of holders of that preferred stock. This right is in addition to any voting rights that may be provided for in the applicable certificate of designation.
Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. Preferred stock could be issued quickly with terms designed to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock.
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the material terms and provisions of any debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any future debt securities we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any debt securities we may offer under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. For any debt securities that we may offer, an indenture (and any relevant supplemental indenture) will contain additional important terms and provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus, or as an exhibit to reports that we file with the SEC and incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
With respect to any debt securities that we issue, we will issue such debt securities under an indenture, which we would enter into with the trustee named in the indenture. Any indenture would be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
With respect to any debt securities that we issue, we will describe in each prospectus supplement the following terms relating to a series of debt securities:
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the principal amount being offered, and if a series, the total amount authorized and the total amount outstanding;
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any limit on the amount that may be issued;
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whether or not we will issue the series of debt securities in global form, and if so, the terms and who the depository will be;
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the principal amount due at maturity;
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whether and under what circumstances, if any, we will pay additional amounts on any debt securities held by a person who is not a United States person for tax purposes, and whether we can redeem the debt securities if we have to pay such additional amounts;
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the annual interest rate, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate and the date interest will begin to accrue, the dates interest will be payable and the regular record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates;
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whether or not the debt securities will be convertible into shares of our common stock or our preferred stock and, if so, the terms of such conversion;
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whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured by some or all of our assets, and the terms of any secured debt;
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the terms of the subordination of any series of subordinated debt;
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the place where payments will be payable;
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r estrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any;
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our right, if any, to defer payment or interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period;
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the date, if any, after which and the conditions upon which, and the price at which, we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional or provisional redemption provisions and the terms of those redemptions provisions;
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the date, if any, on which, and the price at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities and the currency or currency unit in which the debt securities are payable;
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whether the indenture will restrict our ability to pay dividends, or will require us to maintain any asset ratios or reserves;
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whether we will be restricted from incurring any additional indebtedness, issuing additional securities, or entering into a merger, consolidation or sale of our business;
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a discussion of any material or special United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the debt securities;
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information describing any book-entry features;
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any provisions for payment of additional amounts for taxes;
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whether the debt securities are to be offered at a price such that they will be deemed to be offered at an “original issue discount” as defined in paragraph (a) of Section 1273 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
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the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof;
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whether we and/or the debenture trustee may change an indenture without the consent of any holders;
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the form of debt security and how it may be exchanged and transferred;
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description of the debenture trustee and paying agent, and the method of payments; and
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any other specified terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities and any terms that may be required by us or advisable under applicable laws or regulations.
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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the material terms and provisions of any warrants that we may offer under this prospectus and the related warrant agreements and warrant certificates. While the terms summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. With respect to any warrants that we offer, specific warrant agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus or as an exhibit to reports that we file with the SEC and incorporated by reference in this prospectus:
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the specific designation and aggregate number of, and the price at which we will issue, the warrants;
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the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;
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if applicable, the exercise price for shares of our common stock or preferred stock and the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants;
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in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the principal amount of debt securities purchasable upon exercise of one warrant and the price at, and currency in which, this principal amount of debt securities may be purchased upon such exercise;
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the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will begin and the date on which that right will expire or, if you may not continuously exercise the warrants throughout that period, the specific date or dates on which you may exercise the warrants;
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whether the warrants will be issued in fully registered form or bearer form, in definitive or global form or in any combination of these forms, although, in any case, the form of a warrant included in a unit will correspond to the form of the unit and of any security included in that unit;
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any applicable material U.S. federal income tax consequences;
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the identity of the warrant agent for the warrants and of any other depositaries, execution or paying agents, transfer agents, registrars or other agents;
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the proposed listing, if any, of the warrants or the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants on any securities exchange;
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if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and the common stock will be separately transferable;
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if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time;
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information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any;
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the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, if any;
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any redemption or call provisions;
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whether the warrants are to be sold separately or with other securities as parts of units; and
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any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants.
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Before exercising their warrants, holders of warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the securities purchasable upon such exercise, including:
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in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the right to receive payments of principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities purchasable upon exercise or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture; or
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in the case of warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, the right to receive dividends, if any, or, payments upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up or to exercise voting rights, if any.
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Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for any warrants will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
We might issue units comprised of one or more debt securities, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock and warrants in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date. We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of unit agreement, warrant and any supplemental agreements that describe the terms of the series of units we are offering before the issuance of the related series of units.
We may choose to evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we would issue under a separate agreement. If we choose to evidence the units by unit certificates, we will enter into the unit agreements with a unit agent and will indicate the name and address of the unit agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to the particular series of units.
CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW AND OF OUR
AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS
Certain provisions of DGCL and our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended and Amended and Restated Bylaws discussed below may have the effect of making more difficult or discouraging a tender offer, proxy contest or other takeover attempt. These provisions are expected to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of our company to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increasing our ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure our company outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Delaware Anti-takeover Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an anti-takeover law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless:
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the board of directors approves the transaction in which the stockholder became an interested stockholder prior to the date the interested stockholder attained that status;
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when the stockholder became an interested stockholder, he or she owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers and certain shares owned by employee benefits plans; or
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on or subsequent to the date the business combination is approved by the board of directors, the business combination is authorized by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the voting stock of the corporation at an annual or special meeting of stockholders.
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Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock.
The existence of Section 203 of the DGCL would be expected to have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our board of directors, including discouraging attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of our common stock.
Charter Documents
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended and Amended and Restated Bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control or management of our company. First, our Amended and Restated Bylaws limit who may call special meetings of the stockholders, such meetings may only be called by the chairman of the board, the chief executive officer, the board of directors or holders of an aggregate of at least 15% of our outstanding entitled to vote. Second, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, does not include a provision for cumulative voting for directors. Under cumulative voting, a minority stockholder holding a sufficient percentage of a class of shares may be able to ensure the election of one or more directors. Third, our Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that the number of directors on our board, which may range from five to nine directors, shall be exclusively fixed by our board, which has set the number of directors at five. Fourth, newly created directorships resulting from any increase in our authorized number of directors and any vacancies in our board resulting from death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or other cause (including removal from office by a vote of the shareholders) will be filled by a majority of our board then in office. Finally, our Amended and Restated Bylaws establish procedures, including 90-day advance notice requirement, with regard to the nomination of candidates for election as directors and stockholder proposals. These and other provisions of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and Amended and Restated Bylaws and Delaware law could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control or management of our company.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth information with respect to compensation earned by our named executive officers in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012.
Name and Principal Position
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Year
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Salary
($)
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Bonus
($)
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Option
Awards (1)
($)
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All Other Compensation ($)
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Total
($)
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Richard M. Cohen (2)
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2012
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86,250
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-
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39,200
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-
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125,450
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Executive Chairman, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Interim
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2011
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22,500
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-
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50,900
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31,500
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104,900
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Chief Financial Officer
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Randy Milby (3)
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2012
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58,800
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-
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67,750
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-
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126,550
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Chief Operating Officer
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Mark A. Klausner, M.D. (4)
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2012
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180,833
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-
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-
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7,556
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188,389
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Chief Medical Officer
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2011
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258,333
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-
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453,000
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-
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711,333
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Brian Lenz (5)
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2012
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93,750
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-
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79,200
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17,966
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190,916
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Former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and
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2011
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250,000
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-
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-
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-
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250,000
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Secretary
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(1)
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The amounts included in this column are the dollar amounts representing the full grant date fair value of each stock option award, and in the case of Mr. Lenz, the incremental fair value of the modification to an outstanding option in 2012, calculated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 and do not represent the actual value that may be recognized by the named executive officers upon option exercise. For information on the valuation assumptions used in calculating this amount, see Note 2 to our audited financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, as filed with the SEC; for 2012, the assumed risk-free interest rate was 0.27%-1.22% and the assumed expected volatility was 98%-120%.
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(2)
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Mr. Cohen has been a director of CorMedix since December 2009, was appointed Executive Chairman in September 2011, our Interim Chief Executive Officer in November 2011 and our Interim Chief Financial Officer in May 2012. As compensation for serving as a director of CorMedix in 2011, Mr. Cohen received $31,500 in director fees, which is reflected in the “All Other Compensation” column in the table above, and was granted options to purchase 30,000 shares of our common stock, which is reflected in the “Option Awards” column in the table above. Effective upon his appointment as our Interim Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Cohen no longer received Board fees and Board stock options grants from the date thereof. On December 5, 2012, we granted Mr. Cohen options to purchase 70,000 shares of our common stock under our 2006 Stock Plan, which options vest (i) 50% on the date of issuance of a CE mark approval in Europe for Neutrolin® if the approval is received on or before March 31, 2013, and (ii) 50% on December 31, 2013. Effective January 1, 2013, the Board appointed Mr. Cohen as our Chief Financial Officer.
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(3)
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Mr. Milby became our Chief Operating Officer in May 2012, pursuant to a consulting agreement described below under “Employment Agreements and Arrangements.” On May 14, 2012, we granted Mr. Milby options to purchase 50,000 shares of our common stock under our 2006 Stock Plan, which options vest on the date of issuance of a CE mark approval in Europe for Neutrolin. On December 5, 2012, we granted Mr. Milby options to purchase 100,000 shares of our common stock under our 2006 Stock Plan, which options vest (i) 50% on the date of issuance of a CE mark approval in Europe for Neutrolin if the approval is received on or before March 31, 2013, and (ii) 50% on December 31, 2013. Effective January 1, 2013, the Board appointed Mr. Milby our Chief Executive Officer.
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Dr. Klausner became our Chief Medical Officer in March 2011. On March 1, 2011, we granted Dr. Klausner options to purchase 356,000 shares of our common stock under our 2006 Stock Plan with an exercise price of $1.61 per share. On February 29, 2012, we and Dr. Klausner agreed to amend Dr. Klausner’s employment agreement effective March 1, 2012 which provides for a 50% reduction in both Dr. Klausner’s services to our company and his compensation. The amount reflected in the “All Other Compensation” column represents life, long-term and short-term disability and health insurance premiums. Dr. Klausner will depart CorMedix effective February 28, 2013 upon expiration of his employment agreement.
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(5)
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Mr. Lenz became our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in February 2010, our Secretary in January 2011 and our Chief Operating Officer in January 2012. On March 20, 2012, we granted Mr. Lenz options to purchase 180,000 shares of our common stock under our 2006 Stock Plan with an exercise price of $0.49 per share. The amount reflected in the “All Other Compensation” column represents life, dental, long-term and short-term disability and health insurance premiums. In April 2012, Mr. Lenz resigned all positions. In connection with his resignation, Mr. Lenz and we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in May 2012, as described below under “Employment Agreements and Arrangements”.
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Compensation Objectives and Philosophy
The Compensation Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving the compensation payable to our named executive officers and other key employees. As part of such process, the Compensation Committee seeks to accomplish the following objectives with respect to our executive compensation programs:
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motivate, recruit and retain executives capable of meeting our strategic objectives;
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provide incentives to ensure superior executive performance and successful financial results for
CorMedix; and
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align the interests of the named executive officers with the long-term interests of our stockholders.
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The Compensation Committee seeks to achieve these objectives by:
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establishing a compensation structure that is both market competitive and internally fair;
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linking a substantial portion of compensation to our achievement of financial objectives and the
individual’s contribution to the attainment of those objectives;
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providing upward leverage for overachievement of goals; and
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providing long-term equity-based incentives.
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In order to achieve the above goals, our total compensation package includes base salary and annual bonus, all paid in cash, as well as long-term compensation in the form of stock options and/or restricted stock. We believe that appropriately balancing the total compensation package is necessary in order to provide market-competitive compensation.
Setting Executive Compensation
The Compensation Committee oversees the design, development and implementation of the compensation program for the Chief Executive Officer and the other named executive officers. The Compensation Committee evaluates the performance of the Chief Executive Officer and determines the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation in light of the goals and objectives of the compensation program. The Chief Executive Officer and the Compensation Committee together assess the performance of the other named executive officers employed by us as of December 31 and determine their compensation, based on initial recommendations from the Chief Executive Officer. Our Interim Chief Executive Officer provided the Compensation Committee with a detailed review of the performance of the other named executive officers and made recommendations to the Compensation Committee with respect to the compensation packages for those officers for 2012.
The other named executive officers do not play a role in their own compensation determination, other than discussing individual performance objectives and results with the Chief Executive Officer.
We did not use the services of any compensation consultant in matters affecting the compensation of named executive officers or directors during 2011 or 2012. In the future, we, or the Compensation Committee, may engage or seek the advice of a compensation consultant.
The Compensation Committee has structured our annual and long-term incentive-based cash and non-cash executive compensation to motivate executives to achieve the business goals set by the Board and reward the executives for achieving such goals. At the end of the year, the Compensation Committee reviews the performance of each named executive officer in achieving the established objectives. These results are included with the overall performance review provided by the Chief Executive Officer, after which the Compensation Committee votes upon any recommendations for salary adjustments, stock option grants and cash incentives. The Chief Executive Officer then executes the actions approved by the Compensation Committee with respect to such matters.
Components of Compensation
The key components of CorMedix’s executive compensation package are cash compensation (salary and annual bonuses), long-term equity incentive awards and change in control and other severance agreements. These components are administered with the goal of providing total compensation that recognizes meaningful differences in individual performance, is competitive, varies the opportunity based on individual and corporate performance, and is valued by our named executive officers.
Base Salary . It is the Compensation Committee’s objective to set a competitive rate of annual base salary for each named executive officer. The Compensation Committee believes competitive base salaries are necessary to attract and retain top quality executives, since it is common practice for public companies to provide their named executive officers with a guaranteed annual component of compensation that is not subject to performance risk. The Compensation Committee, on its own or with outside consultants, may establish salary ranges for the named executive officers, with minimum to maximum opportunities that cover the normal range of market variability. The actual base salary for each named executive officer is then derived from those salary ranges based on his responsibility, tenure and past performance and market comparability. Annual base salaries for the named executive officers are reviewed and approved by the Compensation Committee in the first quarter following the end of the previous performance year. Changes in base salary are based on the scope of an individual’s current job responsibilities, individual performance in the previous performance year, target pay position relative to the peer group, and our salary budget guidelines. The Compensation Committee reviews established goals and objectives, and determines an individual’s achievement of those goals and objectives and considers the recommendations provided by the Chief Executive Officer to assist it in determining appropriate salaries for the named executive officers other than the Chief Executive Officer. For any given performance year, actual salary increases may range from 0% to 10% of the salary guidelines based on individual performance. This broad range allows for meaningful differentiation on a pay for performance basis.
The base salary information for our named executive officers for 2012 is set forth in the table above. As a result of our financial condition, the Interim Chief Executive Officer and the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board that no merit increases be granted to our named executive officers for 2012 or for 2013 due to changes in our management effective January 1, 2013.
Annual Bonuses . As part of their compensation package, our named executive officers generally have the opportunity to earn annual bonuses. Annual bonuses are designed to reward superior executive performance while reinforcing our short-term strategic operating goals. The Compensation Committee establishes each year a target award for each named executive officer based on a percentage of base salary, and based on any applicable terms in any individual employment agreements. Annual bonus targets as a percentage of salary increase with executive rank so that for the more senior executives, a greater proportion of their total cash compensation is contingent upon annual performance.
At the beginning of the performance year, each named executive officer, in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer, establishes annual goals and objectives. Actual bonus awards are based on an assessment against the pre-established goals for each named executive officer’s individual performance, the performance of the business function for which he is responsible, and/or our overall performance for the year. For any given performance year, proposed annual bonuses may range from 0% to 100% of target, or higher under certain circumstances, based on corporate and individual performance. Corporate and individual performance has a significant impact on the annual bonus amounts because the Compensation Committee believes it is a precise measure of how the named executive officer contributed to business results.
As a result of our financial condition, our Interim Chief Executive Officer and the Compensation Committee determined not to grant bonuses to the named executive officers for 2011 or 2012.
Long-Term Incentive Equity Awards . We believe that long-term performance is achieved through an ownership culture that encourages high performance by our named executive officers through the use of stock-based awards. Our 2006 Stock Plan was established to provide our employees, including our named executive officers, with incentives to help align employees’ interests with the interests of our stockholders. The Compensation Committee believes that the use of stock-based awards offers the best approach to achieving our compensation goals. We have historically elected to use stock options as the primary long-term equity incentive vehicle; however, the Compensation Committee has used restricted stock in the past and may in the future utilize restricted stock as part of our long-term incentive program. We have selected the Black-Scholes method of valuation for share-based compensation effective July 28, 2006. Due to the early stage of our business and our desire to preserve cash, we expect to provide a greater portion of total compensation to our named executive officers through stock options and restricted stock grants than through cash-based compensation.
Stock Options . Our 2006 Stock Plan authorizes us to grant options to purchase shares of common stock to our employees, directors and consultants. The Compensation Committee generally oversees the administration of our 2006 Stock Plan.
The Compensation Committee reviews and approves stock option awards to named executive officers based upon a review of competitive compensation data, its assessment of individual performance, a review of each named executive officer’s existing long-term incentives, and retention considerations. Periodic stock option grants are made at the discretion of the Compensation Committee to eligible employees and, in appropriate circumstances, the Compensation Committee considers the recommendations of members of management, such as Richard M. Cohen, our Executive Chairman and former Interim Chief Executive Officer, and Randy Milby, our current Chief Executive Officer.
Stock options granted have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the day of grant, typically vest annually over a three-year period or upon the achievement of certain performance-based milestones and are based upon continued employment, and generally expire 10 years after the date of grant. The fair value of the options granted to the named executive officers in the Summary Compensation Table is determined in accordance with the Black-Scholes method of valuation for share-based compensation. Incentive stock options also include certain other terms necessary to ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
We expect to continue to use stock options as a long-term incentive vehicle because:
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Stock options align the interests of our named executive officers with those of our stockholders, supporting a pay-for performance culture, foster employee stock ownership, and focus the management team on increasing value for our stockholders.
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Stock options are performance-based. All of the value received by the recipient of a stock option is based on the growth of the stock price. In addition, stock options can be issued with vesting based on the achievement of specified milestones, such as options granted in December 2012, 50% of which vest if we receive a CE Mark for Neutrolin by March 31, 2013.
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Stock options help to provide balance to the overall executive compensation program as base salary and annual bonuses focus on short-term compensation, while the vesting of stock options increases stockholder value over the longer term.
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The vesting period of stock options encourages executive retention and the preservation of stockholder value. In determining the number of stock options to be granted to our named executive officers, we take into account the individual’s position, scope of responsibility, ability to affect profits and stockholder value and the individual’s historic and recent performance and the value of stock options in
relation to other elements of the individual named executive officer’s total compensation.
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Restricted Stock . Our 2006 Stock Plan authorizes us to grant restricted stock. No restricted stock grants were awarded during 2011 or 2012. In order to implement our long-term incentive goals, we may grant shares of restricted stock in the future.
Executive Benefits and Perquisites
Our named executive officers, some of whom may be parties to employment or consulting agreements, will continue to be parties to such agreements in their current form until the expiration or termination of the employment or consulting agreement or until such time as the Compensation Committee determines in its discretion that revisions to such agreements are advisable. In addition, consistent with our compensation philosophy, we intend to continue to maintain our current benefits for our named executive officers, including medical, dental and life insurance and the ability to contribute to a 401(k) plan; however, the Compensation Committee in its discretion may revise, amend or add to the officer’s executive benefits if it deems it advisable. We believe these benefits are currently comparable to benefit levels for comparable companies.
Employment Agreements and Arrangements
Mark A. Klausner
On February 25, 2011, we entered into an employment agreement with Mark A. Klausner, M.D., our Chief Medical Officer. Pursuant to his employment agreement, on March 1, 2011, we granted Dr. Klausner options to purchase 356,000 shares of our common stock under our 2006 Stock Plan with an exercise price of $1.61 per share. These options vest in equal installments on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant date.
On February 29, 2012, we and Dr. Klausner agreed to amend Dr. Klausner’s employment agreement in order to reduce our overhead expenditures and help achieve our strategic focus of achieving CE Mark approval for Neutrolin. The amendment to the employment agreement, effective as of March 1, 2012, provides for a 50% reduction in both Dr. Klausner’s services to our company and his compensation. Pursuant to the amendment, we pay Dr. Klausner an annual base salary equal to $155,000 and, at the sole discretion of the Board, we may pay Dr. Klausner a cash bonus each calendar year in an amount equal to up to 35% of the aggregate base salary. Dr. Klausner will depart our company on February 28, 2013 upon expiration of his employment agreement.
Brian Lenz
On March 20, 2012, the Compensation Committee awarded Brian Lenz, our former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, a cash bonus in the amount of $25,000. Payment of the bonus was contingent upon (i) the closing of a financing by us on or before December 31, 2012 with gross proceeds to us equal to or in excess $1.5 million, including the issuance by us of equity, debt or any combination thereof; and (ii) Mr. Lenz’s continued employment. On April 30, 2012, Mr. Lenz resigned as our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. As such, no bonus was paid to Mr. Lenz.
On May 2, 2012, in connection with Mr. Lenz's resignation as our Chief Operating Officer, Treasurer, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer effective April 30, 2012, we and Mr. Lenz entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, whereby Mr. Lenz provided certain transition services to us through May 31, 2012, and remained reasonably available to us from and after May 31, 2012. In exchange for providing such services to us, we agreed to compensate Mr. Lenz in the amount of $10,417, less applicable taxes and withholdings. Additionally, in consideration of Mr. Lenz's execution of the MOU and performance of the undertakings contained therein, on May 1, 2012, the Compensation Committee approved an extension of Mr. Lenz's right to exercise 45,000 of his vested stock options through and including May 31, 2014, which options had been granted to Mr. Lenz on March 20, 2012 and have an exercise price of $0.49. Mr. Lenz had 90 days from April 30, 2012 to exercise any other remaining vested options, all of which have expired. All unvested options were forfeited and cancelled on April 30, 2012.
Randy Milby
On May 2, 2012, we appointed Mr. Milby as Chief Operating Officer pursuant to a three-month consulting agreement with MW Bridges LLC, of which Mr. Milby is Managing Partner. As our Chief Operating Officer, in 2012 Mr. Milby rendered services to us as directed by Richard Cohen, our Executive Chairman, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer. MW Bridges LLC receives a consulting fee of $6,400 per month for Mr. Milby’s services. Additionally, MW Bridges LLC was granted stock options to purchase 50,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.29 per share. Such stock options will vest upon CE Mark approval for Neutrolin. On October 31, 2012, we and MW Bridges LLC entered into an amendment to the consulting agreement, which, among other things, (i) extended the then-current term for an additional three months, and (ii) increased Mr. Milby’s monthly retainer to $12,000, effective October 1, 2012. In addition, either party may terminate the consulting agreement, as amended, upon 30 days’ prior written notice.
Effective January 1, 2013, Mr. Milby was appointed our Chief Executive Officer.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End