UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
DC 20549
FORM
10-K
☒
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2025
OR
☐
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from to
Commission
File No. 001-41245
CDT
EQUITY INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
87-3272543
(State
or other jurisdiction
of
incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
Number)
4581
Tamiami Trail North , Suite 200
Naples ,
Florida
34103
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(Zip
Code)
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code:
(646) - 491-9132
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title
of each class
Trading
Symbol
Name
of each exchange on which registered
Common
Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
CDT
The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Redeemable
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Common Stock
CDTTW
The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐
No ☒
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting
company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,”
“smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large
accelerated filer ☐
Accelerated
filer ☐
Non-accelerated
filer ☒
Smaller
reporting company ☒
Emerging
growth company ☒
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If
securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant
included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation
received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As
of April 15, 2026, there were 4,858,417 shares
of common stock, $ 0.0001 par
value (the “Common Stock”) of the Registrant issued and outstanding. The aggregate market value of the common stock held
by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2025, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed
second fiscal quarter, was $ 552.00 based upon the closing
price reported for such date on The Nasdaq Capital Market.
On
January 24, 2025, May 19, 2025, October 10, 2025 and March 26, 2026, the Registrant effected 1-for-100, 1-for-15, 1-for-8 and
1-for-25 reverse stock splits of its authorized shares of common stock, respectively. Each reverse stock split was accompanied by a corresponding decrease
in its issued and outstanding shares of common stock. All references to numbers of shares of common stock and per-share information
in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been adjusted retroactively, as appropriate, to reflect the reverse stock splits.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
PART I
Item
1.
Business
1
Item
1A.
Risk Factors
26
Item
1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
51
Item
IC.
Cybersecurity
51
Item
2.
Properties
52
Item
3.
Legal Proceedings
52
Item
4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
52
PART II
Item
5.
Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
53
Item
6.
Reserved
53
Item
7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
54
Item
7A.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
62
Item
8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
62
Item
9.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
62
Item
9A.
Controls and Procedures
63
Item
9B.
Other Information
64
Item
9C.
Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
64
PART III
Item
10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
65
Item
11.
Executive Compensation
70
Item
12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
73
Item
13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
75
Item
14.
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
80
PART IV
Item
15.
Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
81
Item
16.
Form 10-K Summary.
85
Signatures.
86
i
CAUTIONARY
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This
Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) and the information incorporated herein by reference contain forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only
on the Company’s current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies,
projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy, and other future conditions. This includes, without limitation, statements regarding
the financial position and the plans and objectives of management for our future operations. Such statements can be identified by the
fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this Annual Report, words such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,”
“may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,”
“should,” “strive,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but
the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report and
in any document incorporated by reference in this Annual Report may include, for example, statements about:
●
the
ability to maintain the listing of our securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market
LLC (“Nasdaq”), and the potential liquidity and trading of our securities;
●
the
risk of disruption to our current plans and operations;
●
the
ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of our business and the business combination completed in September 2023 (the “Business
Combination”), which may be affected by, among other things, competition and the ability to grow, manage growth profitably,
and retain key employees;
●
costs
related to our business;
●
changes
in applicable laws or regulations;
●
our
ability to meet future capital requirements to fund our operations, which may involve debt and/or equity financing, and to obtain
such debt and/or equity financing on favorable terms, and our sources and uses of cash;
●
our
ability to execute our plans to develop and commercialize our current clinical assets, as well as any future clinical assets that
we license, and the timing of any such commercialization;
●
our
ability to maintain existing license agreements;
●
our
estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements, and needs for additional financing;
●
our
ability to use artificial intelligence and our relationship with Sarborg Limited to enhance our decision-making processes and
maximize the value of our pharmaceutical asset portfolio;
●
the
occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances, including the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against
us; and
●
other
factors disclosed under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report.
These
forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this Annual Report and current expectations, forecasts,
and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks, and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied
upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise,
except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
ii
TRADEMARKS
This
document contains references to trademarks and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade
names referred to in this Annual Report may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate,
in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks
and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks, or service marks to imply a relationship
with, or endorsement or sponsorship of it by, any other companies.
SUMMARY
OF RISK FACTORS
The
following is a summary of the principal risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, cash
flows and/or stock price. Discussion of the risks listed below, and other risks that we face, are discussed in the section titled “Risk
Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report.
Risks
Related to Our Business and Industry
●
Our
business is dependent on the successful development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of our clinical assets, in particular
a glucokinase activator which we believe is active in a range of autoimmune disorders, which we refer to as AZD1656, and a potent,
irreversible inhibitor of human Myeloperoxidase that has the potential to treat idiopathic male infertility, which we refer to as
AZD5904.
●
Preclinical
drug development for our clinical assets is expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain. Our preclinical trials may fail to adequately
demonstrate pharmacologic activity in therapeutic areas of interest; cause unintended short- or long-term effects in other bodily
systems; or produce unexpected toxicity that may alter or risk benefit assessment.
●
We
may not be successful in our efforts to use and expand our research and development platform to build a pipeline of clinical assets.
●
Clinical
drug development for our clinical assets is very expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design and implement, and uncertain. Our
clinical trials may fail to adequately demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our clinical assets, which could prevent or delay regulatory
approval and commercialization.
●
We
may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for our early-stage clinical assets under applicable regulatory requirements. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) and foreign regulatory bodies have substantial discretion in the approval process,
including the ability to delay, limit, or deny approval of clinical assets. The delay, limitation, or denial of any regulatory approval
would adversely impact commercialization, our potential to generate revenue, our business, and our operating results.
●
We
may face product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability if our insurance
coverage for those claims is inadequate.
●
We
currently rely on, and expect to continue to rely on, third-party contract research organizations (“CROs”) and other
third parties to conduct and oversee our clinical trials and other aspects of product development. If these third parties do not
meet our requirements or otherwise conduct the trials as required, we may not be able to satisfy our contractual obligations or obtain
regulatory approval for, or commercialize, our clinical assets when expected or at all.
●
Manufacturing
and supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”) and other substances and materials used in our clinical
assets is a complex and technically challenging undertaking, and there is potential for failure at many points in the manufacturing,
testing, quality assurance, and distribution supply chain, as well as the potential for latent defects after products have been manufactured
and distributed.
Risks
Related to Intellectual Property
●
Failure
to adequately protect our intellectual property could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
●
We
may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
●
Our
intellectual property rights throughout the world may be challenged by third parties, on prospectively a correct or incorrect basis
Risks
Related to Securities Markets and Investment in Our Stock
●
Claims
for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against
us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.
Risks
Related to Finances and Capital Requirements
●
There
is substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. We will need to raise additional funding, which may not
be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or
terminate our commercial programs, product development efforts or other operations, all of which could have a material adverse effect
on the Company and its financial results.
●
We
may issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock, including issuances upon exercise of outstanding pre-funded warrants, in connection
with capital raising transactions and under an employee incentive plan, which issuances would significantly dilute the
interest of our stockholders.
iii
PART
I
Item
1. Business
Overview
CDT
Equity Inc., formerly Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Delaware corporation (“CDT”, “CDT Equity” or the “Company”),
is a data-driven pharmaceutical development, focused on identifying, enhancing, and advancing
high-potential therapeutic assets through scientific innovation and strategic partnerships. The Company has evolved into a broader, more
agile platform that leverages artificial intelligence, solid-form chemistry, and efficient asset repositioning to accelerate the development
of novel treatments.
The
Company’s strategy is centered on unlocking the untapped value of clinical-stage compounds, particularly those deprioritized by
larger pharmaceutical companies with strong, supporting Phase I safety data. Through advanced co-crystallization and solid-form technologies
developed at our Cambridge facilities, the Company improves drug properties and extends patent life by up to 20 years. In partnership
with Sarborg Limited (“Sarborg”), the Company also applies AI-powered signature analysis to rapidly identify new therapeutic
applications and combinations for existing compounds.
The
Company’s pipeline includes candidates that target autoimmune disorders, as well as idiopathic male infertility, oncology,
dermatology, rare disease and animal health. Ongoing in vitro and in vivo studies, guided by AI insights, are designed to support
licensing and commercialization partnerships. The Company will seek an exit through third-party license deals following successful
in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical trials, by entering into agreements with third-parties to pursue further development, FDA
approval, commercialization and marketing of the Company’s assets.
Operating
with a lean, asset-agnostic model, the Company prioritizes speed, adaptability, and capital efficiency. We avoid the cost burden of
early and late-stage clinical trials, focusing instead on high-leverage development strategies.
Our
current pipeline includes candidates targeting inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, as well as idiopathic male infertility, dermatology,
and animal health. The intellectual property portfolio comprises pending patent applications in several international jurisdictions describing
a solid-form compound, including the AZD1656 Cocrystal (a HK-4 Glucokinase Activator). Our pipeline research includes a number of compounds
that serve as promising alternatives to existing clinical assets currently marketed and sold by large pharmaceutical companies, which
we have identified as potential opportunities to develop further intellectual property positions through solid-form technology.
On
December 12, 2024, Sarborg and the Company entered into an agreement (the “Sarborg Agreement”) designed to address longstanding
challenges in the pharmaceutical sector, in particular by reducing human error in critical decision-making processes in both clinical
development and asset identification. By integrating Sarborg’s signature intelligence technology, the Company aims to enhance
efficiency, lower costs, and accelerate timelines by minimizing human intervention, ultimately optimizing the drug development cycle
and giving the Company a competitive advantage in the sector. Through this relationship, the Company will gain access to cutting-edge
predictive models and dashboards, enabling the Company to evaluate drug candidates, streamline clinical trials, and optimize asset management
with real-time data. These tools will drive faster, more accurate decisions, improving efficiency and reducing costs. By leveraging these
insights, the Company can differentiate itself in a competitive sector and gain unique data-driven insights that position the Company
for success across both its current and future asset portfolio. Our collaboration with Sarborg enables us to apply proprietary algorithms
utilizing AI-powered disease mapping to identify novel re-purposing opportunities across a database of more than 3,000 disease signatures.
Sarborg’s insights have directly informed two new combination patent filings, strengthening our intellectual property portfolio.
In addition, the Company has initiated pre-clinical in-vitro models to explore new indications, guided by AI-insights without human intervention.
We will seek an exit through third-party license deals following successful in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical trials, entering into agreements
with third parties to pursue further development, FDA approval, commercialization, and marketing of our assets. We continue to evaluate
novel artificial intelligence and cybernetics approaches to drug re-purposing, intellectual property, and asset selection to give the
Company a competitive advantage. Sarborg is considered to be a related party of CDT, as Dr. Andrew Regan, Chief Executive Officer
of CDT, also sits on the board of directors of Sarborg, and Chele Chiavacci Farley, a director of CDT is also a shareholder of
Sarborg. Refer to Note 16 and Note 20 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual
Report for additional details on the relationship between CDT and Sarborg.
A
further partnership with Manoira Corporation (“Manoira”) (as described more in this Annual Report) enables the Company to
expand the scope of its drug portfolio into the animal health market in a cost-efficient manner. This collaboration allows us to accelerate
the understanding of the mechanism of action, safety, and potential efficacy of its portfolio across multiple species, while retaining
100% ownership of all data and intellectual property generated relating to human applications. This is expected to enhance the core human
therapeutic pipeline but also opens potential new revenue streams in the high-growth veterinary market.
1
Repositioning
the Company enables us to explore multiple opportunities in the healthcare, biotech and broader technology innovation. Operating
with a lean disease-agnostic model, the Company prioritizes speed, adaptability, and capital efficiency. We avoid the cost burden of
late-stage clinical trials, focusing instead on high-leverage development strategies. Led by highly experienced executives: Dr.
Freda Lewis-Hall, former Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer Inc., the Chair of the Company’s Board; Dr. Andrew Regan, CEO and
James Bligh, CFO; our management team includes active senior executives who also have an extensive understanding of the
pharmaceutical market, supporting our strategy of developing clinical assets in a cost-efficient manner focused on therapeutic
efficacy.
Simultaneously,
CDT leverages the capabilities of our Cambridge laboratory facility and highly experienced team of solid-form experts to extend or develop
proprietary solid-form intellectual property for our existing and future clinical assets. Our own intellectual property portfolio comprises
pending patent applications in several international jurisdictions describing a solid-form compound, including the AZD1656 Cocrystal
(a HK-4 Glucokinase Activator), targeting a wide range of autoimmune disorders. Our pipeline research includes a number of compounds
that serve as promising alternatives to existing clinical assets currently marketed and sold by large pharmaceutical companies, which
we have identified as having an opportunity to develop further intellectual property positions through solid-form technology.
We
believe that successful pre-clinical trials of the assets in our pipeline
will increase the value of our assets. There is no assurance that any pre-clinical trials on the assets owned or licensed by us will be
successful, however, following a successful pre-clinical trial, we would look to licensing opportunities with large biotech or pharmaceutical
companies, typically for up-front milestone payments and royalty income streams for the life of the asset patent. We anticipate using
any future royalty income stream to develop our asset portfolio in combination with other potential sources of financing, including debt
or equity financing.
Our
Initial Pipeline: HK-4 Glucokinase Activator Cocrystal, AZD1656, and its metabolite AZD5658 and AZD5904
In
August 2024, AstraZeneca granted a license to the Company under certain intellectual property rights controlled by AstraZeneca related
to HK-4 Glucokinase activators AZD1656 and AZD5658 in all indications and myeloperoxidase inhibitor AZD5904 for the treatment, prevention,
and prophylaxis of idiopathic male infertility. The Company will be responsible for development and commercialization of the Licensed
Products under the related License Agreement. The Company is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize
the Licensed Products.
AstraZeneca
has conducted initial pre-clinical and, in some instances, clinical trials on these assets, but has decided to license them for further
development. As the clinical assets have undergone initial pre-clinical and clinical testing conducted by AstraZeneca, we are able to
use the safety data generated in these clinical trials to assess which clinical assets to further develop and re-purpose.
On
June 3, 2025, the Company entered into a joint development agreement (the “Joint Development Agreement”) with Manoira for
a term of one year, which will be automatically renewed for successive one-year terms unless advance termination notice is provided in
accordance with the terms of the Joint Development Agreement. Manoira is an entity controlled by Dr. Andrew Regan, of which he is sole
director, and is therefore considered a related party of the Company.
Pursuant
to the Joint Development Agreement, the Company granted Manoira a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, fully paid-up,
royalty-free license to the intellectual property rights related to the pharmaceutical compounds known individually and together as AZD1656
and AZD5658 (the “CDT Assets”). Manoira will evaluate the CDT Assets’ applicability in animal health, explore
veterinary market opportunities, and provide data from the evaluations to inform the Company’s human clinical programs. The license
does not grant Manoira the right to distribute, market, promote or sell the products or services that are related to or incorporate the
CDT Assets.
2
In
addition, we currently have the exclusive rights to develop clinical assets, AZD1656 and AZD5658 in all human indications and AZD5904
in idiopathic male infertility which are licensed to us by AstraZeneca.
Pursuant
to the various programs, AZD1656 underwent Phase I and Phase II clinical trials consisting of 23 studies in 526 subjects, 446 of whom
were dosed with AZD1656. Other than for the intended effect of lowering glucose, there were no difference identified between the AZD1656-treated
and placebo-treated subjects relating to adverse events. All of the cases where low glucose levels were identified were managed by the
patients and resolved. Based on these clinical trials, no safety signals were identified regarding vital signs, safety laboratory values
or electrocardiogram data. No deaths occurred in any studies with healthy volunteers or patients. AZD1656 was also subject to Phase II
clinical trials consisting of two studies where AZD1656 was given to patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus for four months or longer.
In total, there were 754 randomized patients, 516 of whom were exposed to AZD1656 (316 men and 200 women). There were no clinically important
differences in the adverse effects profile between the AZD1656 treatment group and the AZD1656 placebo group and there were no deaths
in either of the Phase II studies. The efficacy of AZD1656 as a potential treatment for diabetes was also assessed during the Phase II
clinical trials, including whether the efficacy was statistically significant. Clinically relevant and statistically significant reductions
in HbA1c were seen after four months; however, the initial improvement in glucose control deteriorated over time and the change in HbA1c
levels after four months were not statistically different than the placebo. This decreasing efficacy over time was seen in both Phase
II studies.
AZD5658
was subject to a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, single-center, Phase I study to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics and the effect of fasting after single ascending oral doses of AZD5658 in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients. There were
six dose levels with eight patients in each cohort, six receiving AZD5658 and two receiving placebo. The effect of fasting on the pharmacokinetics
of AZD5658 was also studied for two dose levels. Each patient treated with metformin received a maximum of two single oral suspension
doses (one on a low dose of AZD5658/placebo and one on a high dose of AZD5658/placebo under fed conditions), except for patients participating
in the evaluation of the effect of fasting, who received a maximum of three single oral suspension doses. For each patient, the study
included a pre-entry visit (Visit 1), two or three clinic-based treatment visits (Visit 2, 3, and 4) and a follow-up visit (Visit 5).
Hence, the total duration of the study for each patient was approximately two and one-half months, assuming three weeks between dose
levels. There were no deaths, serious adverse events, discontinuations due to adverse events, or adverse events of severe intensity during
the study. Overall, there were 13 (61.9%) AZD5658-treated patients with adverse events compared to 2 (28.6%) patients who received placebo.
There were no trends noted with increasing dose in the number of adverse events overall or within any preferred term. The most frequently
occurring adverse events were hypoglycemia and diarrhea, each occurring in three AZD5658-treated patients. One adverse event of ear pain
(30 mg AZD5658 fed) was assessed by the study investigator as moderate in intensity; all other adverse events were of mild intensity.
Five adverse events in AZD5658- treated patients were assessed by the investigator as causally related to investigational product, including
hypoglycemia in three patients (100 mg, 200 mg fasted, and 400 mg AZD5658), diarrhea in one patient (200 mg AZD5658 fasted), and headache
in one patient (30 mg AZD5658). No adverse events in placebo-treated patients were assessed as causally related to investigational product.
The three patients who experienced hypoglycemia adverse events were treated with intake of food or orange juice and the episodes resolved
in less than one hour.
AZD5904
was subject to five Phase I clinical studies, with a total of 1,181 subjects being exposed to AZD5904. Single doses of up to 1200 mg
and multiple doses of up to 325 mg for up to three times per day for 21 days have been administered as an oral solution in the completed
clinical studies. In addition, single doses of up to 1,400 mg and multiple doses of up to 600 mg for 10 days have been administered as
an “extended release” formulation. The data from these studies did not identify any expected adverse drug reactions for AZD5904
and no adverse effects were reported as related to AZD5904. In addition, the data revealed no clinically significant changes in blood
pressure or pulse rate related to AZD5904 and electrocardiogram data was within the physiological range for the population studied. The
effect of AZD5904 on human myeloperoxidase, which we refer to as MPO, activity was evaluated by determination in an ex vivo assay of
MPO activity in plasma. The correlation between MPO activity and plasma concentrations was assessed for single and multiple doses of
AZD5904. A relationship between plasma concentrations of AZD5904 and MPO activity was demonstrated, which indicates that AZD5904 may
be an effective inhibitor of MPO activity in humans. However, Phase I trials do not assess statistical significance so additional Phase
II trials are necessary to determine if the inhibition of MPO activity as a result of AZD5904 is statistically significant.
Our
Development Strategy
The
Company’s strategy is centered on unlocking the untapped value of clinical-stage compounds, particularly those deprioritized by
larger pharmaceutical companies with strong, supporting Phase I safety data. Through advanced co-crystallization and solid-form technologies
developed at our Cambridge facilities, the Company improves drug properties and extends patent life by up to 20 years. In partnership
with Sarborg Limited, the Company also applies AI-powered disease mapping to rapidly identify new therapeutic applications for existing
compounds.
To
enable us to monetize our clinical assets, we, in partnership with CROs
and KOLs, intend to conduct additional pre-clinical trials on our assets in order to generate clinical data to support the further development
of our assets beyond the Phase I stage. In the event successful pre-clinical trial data is generated for an asset with a particular indication,
at that point, we will seek to enter into a license, royalty, or other transaction with a third party whereby the third party would continue
to pursue the development of the clinical asset in clinical trials, including Phase I, where necessary, and beyond. There is no assurance
that any pre-clinical trials on the assets owned or licensed by us will be successful. We intend to use the income received from licensing
assets in our pipeline to fund the development of additional assets, which will allow us to use the existing income stream from assets
that have been licensed to fund our on-going operations, including the development and commercialization of additional assets, without
having to rely solely on debt and/or equity financing.
3
Principal
Strategic Partnerships
Services
Agreement – CDT Equity and Sarborg Limited
On
December 12, 2024, the Company entered into a Services Agreement (the “Sarborg Agreement”) with Sarborg, a Cayman Islands
company and related party of the Company. Under the terms of the Sarborg Agreement, Sarborg agreed to provide algorithmic and cybernetic technology
services to CDT, including the development of decision-support tools and advanced cybernetic systems tailored to enhance CDT’s
decision-making processes and maximize the value of its pharmaceutical asset portfolio.
Sarborg
agreed to perform the services to CDT comprised of three phases: the Initial Phase (0-24 weeks) focuses on establishing a foundation for
collaboration and aligning Sarborg’s services with CDT’s strategic goals; the Development Phase (24-36 weeks) involves
building technological infrastructure, including dashboards and predictive models; and the Ongoing Services Phase (36-52 weeks) ensures
the sustained functionality and relevance of Sarborg’s deliverables while supporting CDT’s growth through iterative improvements
and updates. Sarborg will create specific deliverables, including reports, computer programs, software applications, APIs, mobile applications,
source code, written technical specifications and designs, operating and maintenance manuals, and other recorded data and information
arising from or relating to the services. Sarborg will provide all necessary resources to perform the services and deliver the deliverables
in accordance with the Sarborg Agreement. To date, Sarborg has successfully completed all phases and has achieved all milestones provided for pursuant to the
Sarborg Agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company
incurred costs under the Sarborg Service Agreement, including $1.8 million of milestone payments related to the Services Agreement and
$0.4 million of expense to be capitalized related to the delivery and ongoing use of a diagnostic dashboard. Of the total costs incurred,
$0.4 million was capitalized as a diagnostic asset associated with the dashboard, of which $0.2 million was amortized during the year
and recorded within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. The remaining
$2.2 million, consisting of milestone payments and related services (including signature mapping reports), was expensed as incurred within
research and development expenses. As of December 31, 2025, there were no outstanding payables under the Sarborg Service Agreement.
SARBORG
Additional Agreement
Effective March 31, 2025, the Company entered
into an additional license and use agreement (the “Sarborg Additional Agreement”) with Sarborg, a related party, for analysis
of acquired AstraZeneca assets. The agreement provides for $2.0 million in total consideration, payable in cash or stock. On March 31,
2025, the Company prepaid $1.65 million through the issuance of 617 shares of Common Stock, recorded at fair value of $2,670 per share.
The term was extended from six to 12 months on May 2, 2025 at no additional cost. Effective October 1, 2025, the term was extended to
be 12 months from the previous extension to extend the term of the license to March 31, 2027 at no additional cost to the Company. The
Company recorded the fair value of $1.5 million as prepaid within the consolidated balance sheets. During the year ended December 31,
2025, the Company recorded research and development expense of $1.3 million within the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive
loss related to the Sarborg Additional Agreement. As of December 31, 2025, $0.6 million of the prepaid balance remains within the consolidated
balance sheet.
4
First
Addendum to the SARBORG Additional Agreement
Effective
July 1, 2025 the Company entered into an Addendum (the “First Addendum”) to the Additional Agreement with Sarborg, to expand
the scope to include third-party pharma asset analysis for drug re-purposing using Sarborg’s machine learning platform. The scope
of work was expected to be completed in four weeks, with options for renewal by mutual agreement. The Company paid $0.3 million during
the year ended December 31, 2025 and included the total in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.
Second
Addendum to the SARBORG Additional Agreement
Effective
August 11, 2025 the Company entered into Addendum 2 (the “Second Addendum”) to the Additional Agreement with Sarborg to integrate
a Cryptocurrency AI Agent for identifying, forecasting, and recommending digital currencies into CDT Equity’s treasury operations.
The term is a minimum of four months, renewable by mutual agreement. The Company paid $0.3 million during the year ended December 31,
2025 and included the total in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.
Consulting
Agreement with NJS Foresight Bio-Advisory, LLC
On
January 2, 2026, the Company entered into a Consulting Agreement, dated December 29, 2025 (the “NJS Agreement”) with NJS
Foresight Bio Advisory, LLC (“NJS”) pursuant to which NJS agreed to provide advisory and business development services
to the Company focused on identification, introduction and support of potential licensing partners in connection with the
out-licensing of the Company’s asset portfolio. Work under the NJS Agreement commenced on December 30, 2025. On February 23,
2026 (the “NJS Effective Date”), the Company and NJS entered into Addendum No. 1 to the NJS Agreement (the “NJS
Addendum”) to extend the term of the NJS Agreement an additional twelve months from its initial termination date, December 29,
2026, to December 29, 2027, unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms. As consideration for entering into the NJS
Addendum, on the NJS Effective Date, the Company paid an additional one-time fixed retainer of $150,000 (the “NJS Extension
Retainer”) in the form of 7,989 shares of Common Stock (the “NJS Shares”) issued to NJS, valued at $18.77 per share,
the closing price of the Common Stock on February 20, 2026, the trading day prior to the NJS Effective Date. All other terms and
conditions contained in the NJS Agreement remain the same. The Company recorded the $0.2 million consideration to NJS as a prepaid
expense on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2025.
Master
Service Agreement – CDT and Charles River Laboratories
On
February 7, 2025, CDT and Charles River Laboratories (“Charles River”) entered into a Master Services Agreement (the
“Charles River MSA”). Under the Charles River MSA, Charles River agreed to provide preclinical testing and research services
to CDT, including the evaluation of compounds in animal models and other related services. The services are defined in individual
Statements of Work (“SOWs”) or Protocols, which outline the specific scope, design, and timelines for each study. To date, all services provided for pursuant to the Charle s River MSA have
been completed. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recognized $0.2 million in research and development expense in
the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss related to the Charles River MSA.
Thesprogen
Consulting Agreement
Effective March 25, 2025, the Company entered
into a Consulting Agreement (the “Consulting Agreement”) with Thesprogen PC (“Thesprogen”), an expert in advising
clients on strategies for pharmaceutical and biotech development. Consulting fees were settled through the issuance of fully vested unregistered
Common Stock shares, valued at the fair value of the shares based on the closing share price of the shares at issuance. The Company recorded
the transaction as prepaid and recognized research and development expense through amortization during the periods ended December 31,
2025. On February 24, 2026 (the “Thesprogen Effective Date”), the Company and Thesprogen entered into Addendum No. 1 to the
Thesprogen Agreement (the “Thesprogen Addendum”) to extend the term of the Thesprogen Agreement an additional twelve months
from its initial termination date, June 28, 2026, to June 28, 2027, unless terminated in accordance with its terms. As consideration for
entering into the Thesprogen Addendum, on the Thesprogen Effective Date, the Company paid an additional one-time fixed retainer of $245,000
(the “Thesprogen Extension Retainer”) in the form of 13,668 shares of Common Stock (the “Thesprogen Shares”) issued
to Thesprogen, valued at $17.93 per share, the closing price of the Common Stock on February 23, 2026, the trading day prior to the Thesprogen
Effective Date. All other terms and conditions contained in the Thesprogen Agreement remain the same. During the year ended December 31,
2025, the Company recorded research and development expense of $0.3 million within the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive
loss related to the amortization of the prepaid expense.
5
Manoira
Joint Development Agreement
On
June 3, 2025, the Company entered into the Joint Development Agreement with Manoira for a term of one year, which will be automatically
renewed for successive one-year terms unless advance termination notice is provided in accordance with the terms of the Joint Development
Agreement. Manoira is an entity controlled by Dr. Andrew Regan, of which he is sole director, and is therefore considered a related party
of the Company. See Note 16 for additional details.
Under
the agreement, the Company granted Manoira a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to intellectual property rights related
to pharmaceutical compounds AZD1656 and AZD5658. Manoira will evaluate the compounds for animal health applications, explore veterinary
market opportunities, and provide data to inform the Company’s human clinical programs. The license does not permit distribution,
marketing, promotion, or sale of related products.
Consideration was settled through the issuance
of Common Stock shares, valued at fair value based on the closing price of the shares. The Company recorded the fair value of $0.4 million
as prepaid within the consolidated balance sheets. During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recorded $0.1 million amortization
expense for research and development activities provided to date.
Market
Overview
Global
Biotechnology Industry
The
global biotechnology industry comprises a large range of companies engaged in diverse activities, such as biopharmaceutical development.
The industry companies also span across a wide spectrum of operational models. Some small, dedicated biotechnology companies are research
and development (“R&D”) intensive and operate primarily with venture capital, grants, initial public offerings and collaborative
agreements. Conversely, large, diversified companies hold significant in-house R&D resources and well-established production, commercialization,
and distribution processes.
Management
believes that the global biotechnology market was valued at $1.77 trillion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth
rate (“CAGR”) of 13.9% from 2025 to 2033. 1 The market is driven by strong government support through initiatives
aimed at the modernization of regulatory framework, improvements in approval processes and reimbursement policies, as well as standardization
of clinical studies.
Global
investor confidence has fallen during the period, which served to somewhat subdue revenue growth. However, global investment in R&D
has grown strongly and consistently in recent years, with much of this funding funneled into medical biotechnology development, aimed
at providing better care for the aging global population, thus bolstering industry revenue.
Global
Pharmaceutical Industry
Over
the previous five years, pharmaceutical companies have benefited from an aging population in developed economies and a growing middle
class in emerging economies. Many companies have also tapped into regional demand for pharmaceuticals that may differ from developed
markets and have expanded their global presence to tap into regional market needs.
Patent
cliffs have continued to hamper industry revenue during the current period. When drugs lose patent exclusivity, the market is inundated
with low-cost generic drugs. As manufacturers contend with more price-based competition from generics, many operators respond by lowering
their R&D expenditures, which limits the industry’s drug pipelines. Additionally, many governments and health insurance organizations
have reduced their drug reimbursements to control healthcare costs, such as implementing incentives for patients to use generic drugs.
Industry revenue has expanded at a compound annual
growth rate of approximately 5.4% over the past five years to $857.1 billion, with continued growth of approximately 3.4% expected in
2025, supported by sustained global demand for biotechnology products. However, growth remains dependent on clinical success, regulatory
approvals, manufacturing execution and access to capital, as companies increasingly prioritize capital efficiency, differentiated pipelines
and strategic partnerships in a more selective funding environment. 2
1 (2026,
January 02). Biotechnology Market Size, Share, and Trends 2026 to 2035. Precedenceresearch.com
https://www.precedenceresearch.com/biotechnology-market.
2
IBISWorld Industry Report L6724-GL – Global Biotechnology, January 2026
6
Manufacturing
The
Company has a lease agreement for approximately 2,100 square feet of space in Cambridge, England, with a term from March 2024 to January
2027. At the Cambridge facility aforementioned, we are developing advanced co-crystallization and solid-form technologies.
We
otherwise do not currently own or operate any facilities to formulate, manufacture, test, store, package, or distribute any of the clinical
assets that we are developing or may seek to develop and do not currently have the capabilities to conduct such activities. We currently
rely on third parties to manufacture, store, and test the clinical assets that we seek to develop. We will depend on third-party suppliers
and manufacturing organizations for all our required raw materials and drug substance and to formulate, manufacture, test, store, package,
and distribute clinical trial quantities of clinical assets that we may seek to develop. We plan to continue to use third-party suppliers
and manufacturing organizations and we anticipate expanding our network of third-party suppliers and manufacturing organizations as our
operations expand.
We
have internal personnel and utilize consultants with extensive technical, manufacturing, analytical, and quality experience to oversee
our contract manufacturing and testing activities. Manufacturing is subject to extensive regulations that impose procedural and documentation
requirements, including, but not limited to, record-keeping, manufacturing processes and controls, personnel, quality control, and quality
assurance. Our systems, procedures, and contractors are required to be in compliance with these regulations and are assessed through
regular monitoring and formal audits.
Research
and Development
Our
research and development activities have included developing co-crystals of AZD1656, and other products, to increase patent life. Most of this work is conducted
in our laboratories based in Cambridge, UK, but parts of this work is completed by third-party CROs but all intellectual property is
retained by us. The successful completion of clinical trials increases the value of clinical assets and may lead to the commercialization
and/or licensing of such assets to other pharmaceutical companies. There is no assurance that any clinical trials on the assets owned
or licensed by us will be successful or any assurance our co-crystal development will be successful.
We
do not intend to further fund the research and development of the use of AZD1656 in Covid; however, we retain an economic interest in
the AZD1656 in the indication of Covid and if AZD1656 is further developed in Covid through funding provided by other third parties,
then we may be entitled to receive compensation from those development activities conducted by third parties due to its economic interest
in AZD1656 in Covid.
Sales
and Marketing
We
do not currently have marketing, sales, or distribution capabilities. In order to commercialize any clinical asset that is approved for
commercial sale, we must either develop our own sales, marketing, and distribution infrastructure or collaborate with third parties that
have such commercial infrastructure and relevant marketing and sales experience. We anticipate relying on licensing, co-sale, co-promotion,
and distribution agreements with strategic partners for the commercialization of our products. We do not currently anticipate that we
would develop our own internal sales force organization.
7
Competition
We
operate in the highly competitive pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Our competitors may include public and private companies,
universities, governmental agencies, and other research organizations actively engaged in the research and development of clinical assets
and biopharmaceutical products. Our competitors may have greater financial, technical, and human resources than we currently have and/or
may be better equipped to develop, manufacture, and market their products. Our competitors may be developing clinical assets for products
for similar indications. However, we believe that we have an unprecedented advantage in novelty. As discussed above, AZD1656 is an activator
(not an inhibitor) of a metabolic process. We anticipate that the number of companies seeking to develop clinical assets, biopharmaceutical
products, and therapies will continue to increase. As a result, the competition we face may also increase. However, both in the treatment
of autoimmune disease and idiopathic male infertility the competition is currently expected to come in years, even if biopharmaceutical
products that we develop and/or commercialize were not to compete with products of our competitors based on the product efficacy, safety,
ease of use, price, demonstrated cost-effectiveness, marketing effectiveness, service, reputation, and access to technical information.
However, we believe that our ability to focus on clinical assets that have been deprioritized by larger pharmaceutical companies is a
competitive advantage.
Intellectual
Property
We
hold exclusive rights to develop AZD1656, AZD5658, and AZD5904 through our License Agreement with AstraZeneca and we also own the intellectual
property and the rights to further develop co-crystals resulting from our prior research and development work on AZD1656.
On
December 18, 2024, Conduit UK Management Limited (“Conduit UK”) received a notification from the UK Intellectual Property
Office (“UK IPO”) notifying the company that St George Street Capital had initiated patent entitlement proceedings with
respect to patent application PCT/IB2022/00775 (“Patent Application”). Conduit UK refutes the claims made by St George
Street Capital and filed a counterstatement on February 26, 2025 with the UK IPO. In addition, each of the three inventors named in
the Patent Application filed simultaneous counterstatements fully supporting Conduit UK’s position, and assertions that the
claims are without merit. Further updates will be made following notification by the UK IPO.
We
currently have eight pending patent applications in several international jurisdictions. Even though we have filed patent applications,
there is no guarantee that the validity of the patents will be upheld if challenged by a third party, that patents will be granted on
the applications filed in the respective jurisdictions, or that once granted, the patents will contain claims that encompass our commercial
products. There can be no assurance that any of our intellectual property rights will afford us any protection from competition.
8
The
following patent applications are relevant to the operation of our business:
Related
Clinical Asset
Mechanism
of Action
Patent
Information and Number
Patent
Ownership/Licensing
Status;
Patent Status
Jurisdictions
Protected
Expiration
AZD1656
Glucokinase
Activator
Composition
of Matter Patent; 101901 (family number)
Licensed
to CDT from AstraZeneca for use in all human indications. Granted and in force.
Brazil,
Canada, Switzerland, China, Germany, European Procedure, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico,
Netherlands, Russian Federation, Sweden, Turkey, United States. Granted in Australia
Expires
July 3, 2026.
AZD1656
Glucokinase
Activator
Polymorph
Patent; 103631 (family number)
Licensed
to CDT from AstraZeneca for use in human applications. Granted and in force.
China
and United States
Expires
February 2030.
AZD1656
Glucokinase
Activator
Co-crystal
PCT/IB2022/00075
Owned
by CDT.
Filed
September 2, 2022.
Global
Filing
date September 2, 2022. If granted, will expire September 2, 2042.
AZD1656
Glucokinase
Activator
Co-crystal
JP2022-176753
Owned
by CDT.
Filed
November 2, 2022.
Granted:
Japan
Expires
November 2, 2042.
AZD5904
MPO
Inhibitor
Idiopathic
Male Infertility; AZD5904 use patent; 200644 (family number)
[WO/2019/016074]
Licensed
to CDT from AstraZeneca.
International
Description
Expires
July 12, 2038.
AZD5658
Glucokinase
Activator
Composition
of Matter Patent; 101901 (family number)
Licensed
to CDT from AstraZeneca for use in all human indications. Granted and in force.
Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, China, Germany, European Procedure, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea,
Mexico, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Sweden, Turkey, United States
Expires
July 3, 2026
We
have not filed any applications for trademark protection of any names or logos for products or technologies in development. We plan to
seek trademark protection inside and outside of the United States where and when appropriate and if available. We intend to use these
registered marks in connection with our pharmaceutical research and development, including proprietary technologies, as well as our clinical
assets.
We
expect to protect our products and technologies through a combination of patents, regulatory exclusivity, and potentially confidential
and proprietary know-how. We intend to actively seek to obtain, where appropriate, the broadest commercially reasonable intellectual
property protection possible for our clinical assets and technologies, including any future clinical assets and technologies under development,
our proprietary information, and our proprietary technology through a combination of contractual arrangements and patents, in the United
States and abroad. However, we cannot guarantee that patent protection will provide complete protection against competitors who seek
to circumvent our patents.
9
Government
Regulation and Product Approval
Government
authorities in the United States, at the federal, state, and local level, and in other countries, extensively regulate, among other things,
the research, development, clinical trials, testing, manufacture, including any manufacturing changes, authorization, pharmacovigilance,
adverse event reporting, recalls, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution, marketing, import
and export of pharmaceutical products and clinical assets, including clinical assets such as those we are developing. The processes for
obtaining regulatory approvals in the United States and in foreign countries, along with subsequent compliance with applicable statutes
and regulations have no guaranteed outcomes and require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.
Our
development plan for AZD5904 is to conduct clinical trials and if those trials are successful, we will then seek to enter into a transaction
with a third party with respect to AZD5904, as applicable, for the particular indication. Pursuant to the Joint Development Agreement,
the Company granted Manoira a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to intellectual property rights related to pharmaceutical
compounds AZD1656 and AZD5658. Manoira will evaluate the compounds for animal health applications, explore veterinary market opportunities,
and provide data to inform the Company’s human clinical programs. The license does not permit distribution, marketing, promotion,
or sale of related products.
We
anticipate developing clinical assets, which we own or license from third parties, that have undergone pre-clinical and clinical trials
through the Phase II stage and then monetizing such clinical assets through a license, royalty, or other transaction. We do not expect
that we will commercialize any clinical assets or seek marketing approval from the FDA (or similar organizations) as we intend to enter
into agreements with third parties following Phase II clinical trials for each such clinical asset that would provide that such third
party would pursue the further development, commercialization, and marketing of such assets.
The
following description of the process relating to obtaining regulatory approvals in the United States and in foreign countries is intended
for informational purposes only as we do not expect to continue the development of any of the clinical assets beyond the Phase II stage.
There is no assurance that any clinical trials on the assets owned or licensed by us will be successful.
United
States Government Regulation
In
the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) and implementing regulations.
Failure to comply with the applicable United States requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process
or after approval, may subject an applicant to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as the FDA’s refusal to
approve pending New Drug Applications (“NDAs”), withdrawal of an approval, imposition of a clinical hold, issuance of warning
letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of
government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil and/or criminal penalties.
The
process required by the FDA before a drug may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following steps, each of which
requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources:
●
completion
of preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies in compliance with good laboratory practices (“GLPs”)
and other applicable regulations;
●
submission
to the FDA of an Investigational New Drug Application (“IND”), which must become effective before human clinical trials
may begin;
●
approval
by an independent institutional review board (“IRB”) at each clinical site before each trial may be initiated;
●
performance
of well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with good clinical practices (“GCPs”), which may include placebo
controls, to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug product for each indication;
●
submission
to the FDA of an NDA and payment of fees;
●
satisfactory
completion of an FDA advisory committee review, if applicable;
●
satisfactory
completion of an FDA pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the product is produced to assess
compliance with current good manufacturing practices (“cGMPs”) and to assure that the facilities, methods and controls
are adequate to preserve the drug’s identity, strength, quality and purity;
●
satisfactory
completion of audits of clinical trial sites conducted by FDA to assure compliance with GCPs and the integrity of clinical data;
and
●
FDA
review and approval of the NDA.
10
Preclinical
Studies
Preclinical
studies include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, toxicity, and formulation, as well as animal studies to assess potential
safety and efficacy. Preclinical tests intended for submission to the FDA to support the safety of a clinical asset must be conducted
in compliance with GLP regulations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Act. A drug sponsor must submit the
results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data and any available ex-U.S. clinical data or
relevant literature, among other things, to the FDA as part of an IND. Some nonclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted.
An IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions
related to one or more proposed clinical trials and places the clinical trial on a clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and
the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. As a result, submission of an IND may not result in
the FDA allowing clinical trials to commence. A clinical hold may occur at any time during the life of an IND and may affect one or more
specific studies or all studies conducted under the IND.
Furthermore,
the FDA or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research
subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at
its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug candidate
has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.
Clinical
Trials
Clinical
trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators
in accordance with GCP requirements, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent in writing
for their participation in any clinical trial along with the requirement to ensure that the data and results reported from the clinical
trials are credible and accurate. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the
trial, the criteria for determining subject eligibility, the dosing plan, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety, the procedure
for timely reporting of adverse events, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. A protocol for each clinical trial and any subsequent
protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. In addition, an IRB at each institution participating in the clinical
trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial before it commences at that institution.
Information
about certain clinical trials and clinical trial results must be submitted within specific timeframes to the National Institutes of Health
for public dissemination on the Clinicaltrials.gov registry. Failure to timely register a covered clinical study or to submit study results
as provided for in the law can give rise to civil monetary penalties and prevent the non-compliant party from receiving future grant
funds from the federal government. The government has begun enforcing these registration and results reporting requirements against non-compliant
clinical trial sponsors.
Human
clinical trials are typically conducted in at least three sequential phases and occasionally four or more, which may require repetition,
or overlap or be combined:
Phase
I : The drug candidate is initially introduced into healthy human subjects or patients with the target disease or condition and
tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution, excretion and, if possible, to gain an early indication of
its effectiveness. During Phase I clinical trials, sufficient information about the investigational drug’s pharmacokinetics and
pharmacological effects may be obtained to permit the design of well-controlled and scientifically valid Phase II clinical trials.
Phase
II : The drug candidate is administered to a larger, but still limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects
and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted indications and to determine dosage tolerance
and optimal dosage. Phase II clinical trials are typically well-controlled and closely monitored.
Phase
III : The drug candidate is administered to an expanded patient population, generally at geographically dispersed clinical trial
sites, in well-controlled clinical trials to generate enough data to statistically evaluate the efficacy and safety of the product for
approval, to establish the overall risk-benefit profile of the product, and to provide adequate information for the labeling of the product.
Phase III clinical trials usually involve a larger number of participants than a Phase II clinical trial.
There
is no guarantee that a clinical asset will successfully complete any such clinical trials. There is no assurance that any clinical trials
on the assets owned or licensed by CDT will be successful.
11
Interactions
with FDA During the Clinical Development Program
Following
the clearance of an IND and the commencement of clinical trials, the sponsor of such trial will continue to have interactions with the
FDA. Progress reports detailing the results of clinical trials must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and more frequently if
serious adverse events occur. In addition, IND safety reports must be submitted to the FDA for any of the following: serious and unexpected
suspected adverse reactions; findings from other studies or animal or in vitro testing that suggest a significant risk in humans exposed
to the product; and any clinically important increase in the occurrence of a serious suspected adverse reaction over that listed in the
protocol or investigator brochure.
In
addition, sponsors are given opportunities to meet with the FDA at certain points in the clinical development program. Specifically,
sponsors may meet with the FDA prior to the submission of an IND (“pre-IND meeting”), at the end of Phase II clinical trial
(“EOP2” meeting) and before an NDA is submitted (“pre-NDA meeting”). Meetings at other times may also be requested.
These meetings provide an opportunity for the sponsor to share information about the data gathered to date with the FDA and for the FDA
to provide advice on the next phase of development. For example, at an EOP2, a sponsor may discuss its Phase II clinical results and
present its plans for the pivotal Phase III clinical trial(s) that it believes will support the approval of the new product. Such meetings
may be conducted in person, via teleconference/videoconference or written response only with minutes reflecting the questions that the
sponsor posed to the FDA and the agency’s responses. The FDA has indicated that its responses, as conveyed in meeting minutes and
advice letters, only constitute recommendations and/or advice made to a sponsor and, as such, sponsors are not bound by such recommendations
and/or advice. Nonetheless, from a practical perspective, a sponsor’s failure to follow the FDA’s recommendations for design
of a clinical program may put the program at significant risk of failure.
Acceptance
of NDAs
Assuming
successful completion of the required clinical testing, the results of the preclinical studies and clinical trials, along with information
relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacturing, controls, safety updates, patent information, abuse information and proposed
labeling, are submitted to the FDA as part of an application requesting approval to market the clinical asset for one or more indications.
Data may come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and efficacy of a product’s use or from a number
of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. To support marketing approval, the data submitted must be sufficient
in quality and quantity to establish the safety and efficacy of a drug product. The fee required for the submission and review of an
application under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”) is substantial, and the sponsor of an approved application
is also subject to an annual program fee assessed based on eligible prescription drug products. These fees are typically adjusted annually,
and exemptions and waivers may be available under certain circumstances, such as where a waiver is necessary to protect the public health,
where the fee would present a significant barrier to innovation, or where the applicant is a small business submitting its first human
therapeutic application for review.
The
FDA conducts a preliminary review of all applications within 60 days of receipt and must inform the sponsor at that time or before whether
an application is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. In pertinent part, the FDA’s regulations provide that the
agency may refuse to file an application if the application does not include all pertinent information and data necessary for review
by the FDA. In the event that the FDA determines that an application does not satisfy this standard, it will issue a Refuse to File (“RTF”)
determination to the applicant. Typically, an RTF will be based on administrative incompleteness, such as clear omission of information
or sections of required information; scientific incompleteness, such as omission of critical data, information or analyses needed to
evaluate safety and efficacy or provide adequate directions for use; or inadequate content, presentation, or organization of information
such that substantive and meaningful review is precluded. The FDA may request additional information rather than accept an application
for filing. In this event, the application must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application is also subject
to review before the FDA accepts it for filing.
12
Review
of NDAs
After
the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review of the application. The FDA reviews the application
to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe and effective for its intended use, whether it has an acceptable
purity profile and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP.
Under
the goals and policies agreed to by the FDA under PDUFA, the FDA has 10 months from the filing date in which to complete its initial
review of a standard application that is a new molecular entity, and six months from the filing date for an application with “priority
review.” The review process may be extended by the FDA for three additional months to consider new information or in the case of
a clarification provided by the applicant to address an outstanding deficiency identified by the FDA following the original submission.
Despite these review goals, the NDA review process can be very lengthy, and it is not uncommon for FDA review of an application to extend
beyond the PDUFA target action date. Most innovative drug products (other than biological products) obtain FDA marketing approval pursuant
to an NDA submitted under Section 505(b)(1) of the FDCA, commonly referred to as a traditional or “full NDA.” In 1984, with
passage of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, informally known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, that established an
abbreviated regulatory scheme authorizing the FDA to approve generic drugs based on an innovator or “reference” product,
Congress also enacted Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA, which provides a hybrid pathway combining features of a traditional NDA and a generic
drug application. Section 505(b)(2) enables the applicant to rely, in part, on the FDA’s prior findings of safety and efficacy
data for an existing product, or published literature, in support of its application. Section 505(b)(2) NDAs may provide an alternate
path to FDA approval for new or improved formulations or new uses of previously approved products that would require new clinical data
to demonstrate safety or effectiveness. Section 505(b)(2) permits the filing of an NDA in which the applicant relies, at least in part,
on information from studies made to show whether a drug is safe or effective that were not conducted by or for the applicant and for
which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference or use. A Section 505(b)(2) applicant may eliminate or reduce the need to conduct
certain preclinical or clinical studies, if it can establish that reliance on studies conducted for a previously approved product is
scientifically appropriate. The FDA may also require companies to perform additional studies or measurements, including nonclinical and
clinical studies, to support the change from the approved product. The FDA may then approve the new clinical asset for all or some of
the labeled indications for which the referenced product has been approved, as well as for any new indication for which the Section 505(b)(2)
NDA applicant has submitted data.
In
connection with its review of an application, the FDA will typically submit information requests to the applicant and set deadlines for
responses thereto. The FDA will also conduct a pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facilities for the new product to determine
whether the manufacturing processes and facilities comply with GMPs. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that
the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and are adequate to assure consistent production
of the product within required specifications.
The
FDA also may inspect the sponsor and one or more clinical trial sites to assure compliance with IND and GCP requirements and the integrity
of the clinical data submitted to the FDA. To ensure cGMP and GCP compliance by its employees and third-party contractors, an applicant
may incur significant expenditure of time, money and effort in the areas of training, record keeping, production and quality control.
The FDA generally accepts data from foreign clinical trials in support of an NDA if the trials were conducted under an IND. If a foreign
clinical trial is not conducted under an IND, the FDA nevertheless may accept the data in support of an NDA if the study was conducted
in accordance with GCPs and the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection, if deemed necessary. Although the FDA
generally requests that marketing applications be supported by some data from domestic clinical trials, the FDA may accept foreign data
as the sole basis for marketing approval if (1) the foreign data are applicable to the United States population and United States medical
practice, (2) the studies were performed by clinical investigators with recognized competence, and (3) the data may be considered valid
without the need for an on-site inspection or, if the FDA considers the inspection to be necessary, the FDA is able to validate the data
through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means.
The
FDA may also refer an application, including applications for novel clinical asset which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy,
to an advisory committee for review, evaluation and recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions.
Typically, an advisory committee is a panel of independent experts, including clinicians and other scientific experts, that reviews,
evaluates and provides a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound
by the recommendation of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations when making final decisions on approval.
Data
from clinical trials are not always conclusive, and the FDA or its advisory committee may interpret data differently than the sponsor
interprets the same data. The FDA may also re-analyze the clinical trial data, which could result in extensive discussions between the
FDA and the applicant during the review process or delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. The FDA may not grant approval on a timely
basis or at all.
The
FDA also may require submission of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (“REMS”) if it determines that a REMS is necessary
to ensure that the benefits of the drug product outweigh its risks and to assure the safe use of the product. The REMS could include
medication guides, physician communication plans, assessment plans and/or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution
methods, patient registries or other risk minimization tools. The FDA determines the requirement for a REMS, as well as the specific
REMS provisions, on a case-by-case basis. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the application must submit a proposed
REMS and the FDA will not approve the application without a REMS.
13
Decisions
on NDAs
The
FDA reviews an application to determine, among other things, whether the product is safe and whether it is effective for its intended
use(s), with the latter determination being made on the basis of substantial evidence. The term “substantial evidence” is
defined under the FDCA as “evidence consisting of adequate and well-controlled investigations, including clinical investigations,
by experts qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug involved, on the basis of which
it could fairly and responsibly be concluded by such experts that the drug will have the effect it purports or is represented to have
under the conditions of use prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the labeling or proposed labeling thereof.”
The
FDA has interpreted this evidentiary standard to require at least two adequate and well-controlled clinical investigations to establish
effectiveness of a new product. Under certain circumstances, however, the FDA has indicated that a single trial with certain characteristics
and additional information may satisfy this standard. This approach was subsequently endorsed by Congress in 1998 with legislation providing,
in pertinent part, that “If [the FDA] determines, based on relevant science, that data from one adequate and well-controlled clinical
investigation and confirmatory evidence (obtained prior to or after such investigation) are sufficient to establish effectiveness, the
FDA may consider such data and evidence to constitute substantial evidence.” This modification to the law recognized the potential
for the FDA to find that one adequate and well controlled clinical investigation with confirmatory evidence, including supportive data
outside of a controlled trial, is sufficient to establish effectiveness. In December 2019, the FDA issued draft guidance further explaining
the studies that are needed to establish substantial evidence of effectiveness, and in September 2023 it issued a draft guidance that
complements the 2019 draft guidance. The FDA has not yet finalized either guidance.
After
evaluating the application and all related information, including the advisory committee recommendations, if any, and inspection reports
of manufacturing facilities and clinical trial sites, the FDA will issue either a Complete Response Letter (“CRL”) or an
approval letter. To approve the application, the FDA must determine that the drug is effective and that its expected benefits outweigh
its potential risks to patients. This “benefit-risk” assessment is informed by the extensive body of evidence about the product’s
safety and efficacy in the NDA. This assessment is also informed by other factors, including: the severity of the underlying condition
and how well patients’ medical needs are addressed by currently available therapies; uncertainty about how the premarket clinical
trial evidence will extrapolate to real-world use of the product in the post-market setting; and whether risk management tools are necessary
to manage specific risks. In connection with this assessment, the FDA review team will assemble all individual reviews and other documents
into an “action package,” which becomes the record for FDA review. The review team then issues a recommendation, and a senior
FDA official makes a decision.
A
CRL indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete, and the application will not be approved in its present form. A CRL
generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional testing or information in order for the
FDA to reconsider the application. The CRL may require additional clinical or other data, additional pivotal Phase III clinical trial(s)
and/or other significant and time-consuming requirements related to clinical trials, preclinical studies or manufacturing. If a CRL is
issued, the applicant will have one year to respond to the deficiencies identified by the FDA, at which time the FDA can deem the application
withdrawn or, in its discretion, grant the applicant an additional six-month extension to respond. The FDA has committed to reviewing
resubmissions in response to an issued CRL in either two or six months depending on the type of information included. Even with the submission
of this additional information, however, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria
for approval.
An
approval letter, on the other hand, authorizes commercial marketing of the product with specific prescribing information for specific
indications. That is, the approval will be limited to the conditions of use ( e.g. , patient population, indication) described in
the FDA-approved labeling. Further, depending on the specific risk(s) to be addressed, the FDA may require that contraindications, warnings
or precautions be included in the product labeling, require that post-approval trials, including Phase 4 clinical trials, be conducted
to further assess a product’s safety after approval, require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the product after commercialization
or impose other conditions, including distribution and use restrictions or other risk management mechanisms under a REMS which can materially
affect the potential market and profitability of the product. The FDA may prevent or limit further marketing of a product based on the
results of post-marketing trials or surveillance programs. After approval, some types of changes to the approved product, such as adding
new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further testing requirements and FDA review and
approval.
14
Special
FDA Expedited Review Programs
The
FDA is authorized to designate certain products for expedited development or review if they are intended to address an unmet medical
need in the treatment of a serious or life-threatening disease or condition. These programs include fast track designation, breakthrough
therapy designation, and priority review designation. The purpose of these programs is to provide important new drugs to patients earlier
than under standard FDA review procedures.
To
be eligible for a fast-track designation, the FDA must determine, based on the request of a sponsor, that a product is intended to treat
a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrates the potential to address an unmet medical need. The FDA will determine
that a product will fill an unmet medical need if it will provide a therapy where none exists or provide a therapy that may be potentially
superior to existing therapy based on efficacy or safety factors. Fast track designation provides additional opportunities for interaction
with the FDA’s review team and may allow for a rolling review of NDA components before the completed application is submitted. If the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the NDA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the NDA and determines
that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the NDA. In addition,
fast track designation may be withdrawn by the sponsor or rescinded by the FDA if the designation is no longer supported by data emerging
in the clinical trial process.
In
addition, with the enactment of the FDA Safety and Innovation Act (“FDASIA”) in 2012, Congress created a new regulatory program
for therapeutic candidates designated by FDA as “breakthrough therapies” upon a request made by the IND sponsors. A breakthrough
therapy is defined as a drug that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening
disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing
therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development.
The FDA must take certain actions with respect to breakthrough therapies, such as holding timely meetings with and providing advice to
the product sponsor, intended to expedite the development and review of an application for approval of a breakthrough therapy.
Finally,
the FDA may designate a product for priority review if it is a drug that treats a serious condition and, if approved, would provide a
significant improvement in safety or effectiveness. The FDA determines at the time that the marketing application is submitted, on a
case-by-case basis, whether the proposed drug represents a significant improvement in treatment, prevention or diagnosis of disease when
compared with other available therapies. Significant improvement may be illustrated by evidence of increased effectiveness in the treatment
of a condition, elimination or substantial reduction of a treatment-limiting drug reaction, documented enhancement of patient compliance
that may lead to improvement in serious outcomes, or evidence of safety and effectiveness in a new subpopulation. A priority review designation
is intended to direct overall attention and resources to the evaluation of such applications, and to shorten the FDA’s goal for
taking action on a marketing application from ten months to six months for an NDA for a new molecular entity from the date of filing.
Even
if a product qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for
qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened. Furthermore, fast track designation, breakthrough
therapy designation and priority review do not change the standards for approval and may not ultimately expedite the development or approval
process.
Accelerated
Approval Pathway
In
addition, a product studied for its safety and effectiveness in treating serious or life-threatening illnesses and that provide meaningful
therapeutic benefit over existing treatments may receive accelerated approval, meaning that it may be approved on (i) the basis of adequate
and well-controlled clinical trials establishing that the drug product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely
to predict clinical benefit, or (ii) on an intermediate clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or
mortality (“IMM”) and that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on IMM or other clinical benefits, taking into account
the severity, rarity or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of approval,
the FDA may require a sponsor of a drug receiving accelerated approval to perform post-marketing studies to verify and describe the predicted
effect on IMM or other clinical endpoints, and the drug may be subject to expedited withdrawal procedures. Drugs granted accelerated
approval must meet the same statutory standards for safety and effectiveness as those granted traditional approval.
The
accelerated approval pathway is usually contingent on a sponsor’s agreement to conduct, in a diligent manner, additional post-approval
confirmatory studies to verify and describe the drug’s clinical benefit. As a result, a therapeutic candidate approved on this
basis is subject to rigorous post-marketing compliance requirements, including the completion of Phase 4 or post-approval clinical trials
to confirm the effect on the clinical endpoint. Failure to conduct required post-approval studies, or to confirm the predicted clinical
benefit of the product during post-marketing studies, would allow the FDA to withdraw approval of the drug. All promotional materials
for drug products being considered and approved under the accelerated approval program are subject to prior review by the FDA. Lawmakers,
FDA officials, and other stakeholders continually evaluate the accelerated approval program which may lead to legislative and/or administrative
changes in the future.
15
Post-Approval
Requirements
Drugs
manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among
other things, requirements relating to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, advertising and promotion
and reporting of adverse experiences with the product. After approval, most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications
or other labeling claims, are subject to prior FDA review and approval. Certain modifications to the product, including changes in indications
or manufacturing processes or facilities, may require the applicant to develop additional data or conduct additional preclinical studies
and clinical trials to support the submission to FDA. As previously noted, there also are continuing, annual user fee requirements for
any marketed products, as well as new application fees for supplemental applications with clinical data.
The
FDA may impose a number of post-approval requirements as a condition of approval of an NDA. For example, the FDA may require post-marketing
testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness
after commercialization.
In
addition, FDA regulations require that products be manufactured in specific approved facilities and in accordance with cGMPs. The cGMP
regulations include requirements relating to the organization of personnel, buildings and facilities, equipment, control of components
and drug product containers and closures, production and process controls, packaging and labeling controls, holding and distribution,
laboratory controls, records and reports and returned or salvaged products. Drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture
and distribution of approved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA and some state agencies and are subject
to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA for compliance with cGMP requirements and other laws. Changes to the manufacturing process
are strictly regulated and, depending on the significance of the change, may require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA
regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP and impose reporting and documentation requirements
upon the sponsor and any third-party manufacturers. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in production
and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMP and other aspects of quality control and quality assurance.
The
FDA strictly regulates the marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of drug products that are placed on the market. A product cannot
be commercially promoted before it is approved, and approved drugs may generally be promoted only for their approved indications and
for use in patient populations described in the product’s approved labeling. Promotional claims must also be consistent with the
product’s FDA-approved label, including claims related to safety and effectiveness. The government closely scrutinizes the promotion
of prescription drugs in specific contexts such as direct-to-consumer advertising, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities,
and promotional activities involving the Internet and social media. Although physicians may prescribe legally available products for
off-label uses, manufacturers may not market or promote such uses.
Later
discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing
processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in mandatory revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety
information; imposition of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution or other
restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences of regulatory non-compliance include, among other things:
●
restrictions
on, or suspensions of, the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product
recalls;
●
interruption
of production processes, including the shutdown of manufacturing facilities or production lines or the imposition of new manufacturing
requirements;
●
fines,
warning letters or other enforcement letters or clinical holds on post-approval clinical trials;
●
mandated
modification of promotional materials and labeling and the issuance of corrective information;
●
refusal
of the FDA to approve pending NDAs or supplements to approved NDAs, or suspension or revocation of product approvals;
●
product
seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products;
●
injunctions
or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties; or
●
consent
decrees, corporate integrity agreements, debarment, or exclusion from federal healthcare programs.
16
In
addition, the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical products is subject to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act (“PDMA”)
which regulates the distribution of drugs and drug samples at the federal level and sets minimum standards for the registration and regulation
of drug distributors by the states. Both the PDMA and state laws limit the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical product samples
and impose requirements to ensure accountability in distribution. The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (the “DSCSA”), was enacted
with the aim of building an electronic system to identify and trace certain prescription drugs distributed in the United States. The
DSCSA mandated phased-in and resource-intensive obligations for pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesale distributors and dispensers by
November 2023, but so as not to disrupt supply chains, the FDA has granted certain exemptions from enhanced drug distribution security
requirements for eligible trading partners for particular periods of time. From time to time, new legislation and regulations may be
implemented that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the approval, manufacturing and marketing of products
regulated by the FDA. For example, the FDA released proposed regulations in February 2022 to amend the national standards for licensing
of wholesale drug distributors by the states; establish new minimum standards for state licensing third-party logistics providers; and
create a federal system for licensure for use in the absence of a state program, each of which is mandated by the DSCSA. It is impossible
to predict whether further legislative or regulatory changes will be enacted, or FDA regulations, guidance or interpretations will be
changed or what the impact of such potential changes, if any, may be.
Regulatory
Exclusivity and Approval of Follow-on Products
Hatch-Waxman
Exclusivity
In
addition to enacting Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA as part of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments to the FDCA, Congress also established an abbreviated
regulatory scheme authorizing the FDA to approve generic drugs that are shown to contain the same active ingredients as, and to be bioequivalent
to, drugs previously approved by the FDA pursuant to NDAs. To obtain approval of a generic drug, an applicant must submit an abbreviated
new drug application (“ANDA”) to the agency. An ANDA is a comprehensive submission that contains, among other things, data
and information pertaining to the active pharmaceutical ingredient, bioequivalence, drug product formulation, specifications and stability
of the generic drug, as well as analytical methods, manufacturing process validation data and quality control procedures. ANDAs are “abbreviated”
because they cannot include preclinical and clinical data to demonstrate safety and effectiveness. Instead, in support of such applications,
a generic manufacturer must rely on the preclinical and clinical testing previously conducted for a drug product previously approved
under an NDA, known as the reference listed drug (“RLD”).
In
order for an ANDA to be approved, the FDA must find that the generic version is identical to the RLD with respect to the active ingredients,
the route of administration, the dosage form, the strength of the drug and the conditions of use of the drug. At the same time, the FDA
must also determine that the generic drug is “bioequivalent” to the innovator drug. Under the statute, a generic drug is
bioequivalent to an RLD if “the rate and extent of absorption of the drug do not show a significant difference from the rate and
extent of absorption of the listed drug.” Unlike the 505(b)(2) NDA pathway that permits a follow-on applicant to conduct and submit
data from additional clinical trials or nonclinical studies in order to support the proposed change(s) to the reference product, the
ANDA regulatory pathway does not allow applicants to submit new clinical data other than bioavailability or bioequivalence data.
Upon
approval of an ANDA, the FDA indicates whether the generic product is “therapeutically equivalent” to the RLD in its publication
“Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations,” also referred to as the “Orange Book.” Physicians
and pharmacists consider a therapeutic equivalent generic drug to be fully substitutable for the RLD. In addition, by operation of certain
state laws and numerous health insurance programs, the FDA’s designation of therapeutic equivalence often results in substitution
of the generic drug without the knowledge or consent of either the prescribing physician or patient.
As
part of the NDA review and approval process, applicants are required to list with the FDA each patent that has claims that cover the
applicant’s product or method of therapeutic use. Upon approval of a new drug, each of the patents listed in the application for
the drug is then published in the Orange Book. Drugs listed in the Orange Book can, in turn, be cited by potential follow-on competitors
in support of approval of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA.
17
When
an ANDA applicant submits its application to the FDA, it is required to certify to the FDA concerning any patents listed for the reference
product in the FDA’s Orange Book. Specifically, the applicant must certify that: (i) the required patent information has not been
filed; (ii) the listed patent has expired; (iii) the listed patent has not expired but will expire on a particular date and approval
is sought after patent expiration; or (iv) the listed patent is invalid or will not be infringed by the new product. Moreover, to the
extent that the Section 505(b)(2) NDA applicant is relying on studies conducted for an already approved product, the applicant also is
required to certify to the FDA concerning any patents listed for the NDA-approved product in the Orange Book to the same extent that
an ANDA applicant would.
If
the follow-on applicant does not challenge the innovator’s listed patents, the FDA will not approve the ANDA or 505(b)(2) application
until all the listed patents claiming the referenced product have expired. A certification that the new product will not infringe the
already approved product’s listed patents, or that such patents are invalid, is called a Paragraph IV certification. If the follow-on
applicant has provided a Paragraph IV certification to the FDA, the applicant must also send notice of the Paragraph IV certification
to the NDA and patent holders once the ANDA has been accepted for filing by the FDA. The NDA and patent holders may then initiate a patent
infringement lawsuit in response to the notice of the Paragraph IV certification. The filing of a patent infringement lawsuit within
45 days of the receipt of a Paragraph IV certification automatically prevents the FDA from approving the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA until
the earlier of 30 months, expiration of the patent, settlement of the lawsuit, or a decision in the infringement case that is favorable
to the ANDA or 505(b)(2) applicant.
An
ANDA or 505(b)(2) application also will not be approved until any applicable non-patent exclusivities listed in the Orange Book for the
referenced product have expired. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments to the FDCA provided a five-year period of non-patent data exclusivity within
the United States to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity (“NCE”). For the purposes of
this provision, an NCE is a drug that contains no active moiety that has previously been approved by the FDA in any other NDA. An active
moiety is the molecule or ion responsible for the physiological or pharmacological action of the drug substance. In cases where such
NCE exclusivity has been granted, an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA may not be filed with the FDA until the expiration of five years unless the
submission is accompanied by a Paragraph IV certification, in which case the applicant may submit its application four years following
the original product approval.
The
FDCA also provides for a period of three years of data exclusivity if an NDA or NDA supplement includes reports of one or more new clinical
investigations, other than bioavailability or bioequivalence studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant are deemed by
the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application. This three-year exclusivity period often protects changes to a previously
approved drug product, such as new indications, dosage forms, route of administration or combination of ingredients. Three-year exclusivity
would be available for a drug product that contains a previously approved active moiety, provided the statutory requirement for a new
clinical investigation is satisfied. Unlike five-year NCE exclusivity, an award of three-year exclusivity does not block the FDA from
accepting ANDAs or 505(b)(2) NDAs seeking approval for generic versions of the drug as of the date of approval of the original drug product;
rather, this three-year exclusivity covers only the conditions of use associated with the new clinical investigations and, as a general
matter, does not prohibit the FDA from approving follow-on applications for drugs containing the original active ingredient.
Five-year
and three-year exclusivity also will not delay the submission or approval of a traditional NDA filed under Section 505(b)(1) of the FDCA;
however, an applicant submitting a traditional NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical
studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness.
Orphan
Drug Designation and Exclusivity
Under
the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan drug designation to a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally
a disease or condition that affects either (i) fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or (ii) more than 200,000 individuals
in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making available in the United
States a drug for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales in the United States for that drug. Legislative proposals
are currently being considered that would revise or revoke the second option available for a drug candidate to receive an orphan designation,
the so-called “cost recovery” pathway. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA. After the FDA
grants orphan drug designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use will be disclosed publicly by the
FDA; the posting will also indicate whether a drug is no longer designated as an orphan drug.
18
More
than one clinical asset may receive an orphan drug designation for the same indication, and the same clinical asset can be designated
for more than one qualified orphan indication. The benefits of orphan drug designation include research and development tax credits and
exemption from FDA prescription drug user fees. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the
regulatory review and approval process if or when an NDA for the drug candidate is filed.
If
a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the indication for which it has such designation,
the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that for seven years, the FDA may not approve any other marketing
applications for the same drug for the same indication, except under limited circumstances described further below. Orphan exclusivity
does not block the approval of a different drug for the same rare disease or condition, nor does it block the approval of the same drug
for different conditions. As a result, the FDA can still approve different drugs for use in treating the same indication or disease.
Additionally, if a drug designated as an orphan product receives marketing approval for an indication broader than what was designated,
it may not be entitled to orphan drug exclusivity.
Orphan
exclusivity will not bar approval of another product with the same drug for the same condition under certain circumstances, including
if a subsequent product with the same drug for the same condition is shown to be clinically superior to the approved product on the basis
of greater efficacy or safety or a major contribution to patient care, or if the company with orphan drug exclusivity cannot assure the
availability of sufficient quantities of the drug to meet the needs of persons with the disease or condition for which the drug was designated.
The FDA is now required to publish a summary of the clinical superiority findings when a drug is eligible for orphan product exclusivity
on the basis of a demonstration of clinical superiority.
Patent
Term Extension
A
patent claiming a prescription drug for which FDA approval is granted may be eligible for a limited patent term extension under the FDCA,
which permits a patent restoration of up to five years for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review
provided that certain statutory and regulatory requirements are met. The length of the patent term extension is related to the length
of time the drug is under regulatory review while the patent is in force. The restoration period granted on a patent covering a new FDA-regulated
medical product is typically one-half the time between the date a clinical investigation on human beings is begun and the submission
date of an application for premarket approval of the product, plus the time between the submission date of an application for approval
of the product and the ultimate approval date. Patent term restoration cannot be used to extend the remaining term of a patent past a
total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug product is eligible for the
extension, and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent in question. A patent that covers
multiple products for which approval is sought can only be extended in connection with one of the marketing approvals. The USPTO reviews
and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration in consultation with the FDA.
Other
U.S. Healthcare Laws and Regulations
Manufacturing,
sales, promotion, and other activities following product approval may also be subject to regulation by other regulatory authorities in
the United States in addition to the FDA. Depending on the nature of the product, those authorities may include the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), other divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department
of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and
state and local governments.
For
example, in the United States, sales and marketing for prescription biopharmaceutical products must comply with state and federal fraud
and abuse laws. These laws include the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which makes it illegal for any person, including a prescription
drug manufacturer (or a party acting on its behalf), to knowingly and willfully solicit, receive, offer or pay any remuneration that
is intended to induce or reward referrals, including the purchase, recommendation, order or prescription of a particular drug, for which
payment may be made under a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Violations of this law are punishable by up to
ten years in prison, criminal fines, administrative civil money penalties and exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs.
In addition, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, among other things, amended the intent requirement of the federal
Anti-Kickback Statute and two of the five criminal healthcare fraud statutes created by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996, or HIPAA. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of these two provisions in the statute or specific
intent to violate them; specifically with respect to the prohibition on executing or attempting to execute a scheme or artifice to defraud
or to fraudulently obtain money or property of any healthcare benefit program and the prohibition on disposing of assets to enable a
person to become eligible for Medicaid. Moreover, the government may now assert that a claim including items or services resulting from
a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act.
19
Pricing
and rebate programs must comply with the Medicaid rebate requirements of the U.S. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 and more
recent requirements in the ACA. If products are made available to authorized users of the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services
Administration, additional laws and requirements apply. There also are federal transparency requirements under the Physician Payments
Sunshine Act that require manufacturers of FDA-approved drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies covered by Medicare or Medicaid
to report, on an annual basis, to CMS information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians, teaching hospitals,
and certain advanced non-physician healthcare practitioners and physician ownership and investment interests. Prescription drug products
also must meet applicable child-resistant packaging requirements under the U.S. Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
Manufacturing,
sales, promotion, and other activities also are potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws.
Some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines,
or the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, in addition to requiring drug manufacturers to report information
related to payments to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures to the extent that those laws impose requirements
that are more stringent than the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. State and foreign laws also govern the privacy and security of health
information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus
complicating compliance efforts.
The
failure to comply with any of these laws or regulatory requirements subjects firms to possible legal or regulatory action. Depending
on the circumstances, failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements can result in criminal prosecution, fines or other penalties,
injunctions, requests for recall, seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of product approvals
or refusal to allow a firm to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts.
Government
Regulation Outside the U.S.
In
addition to regulations in the United States, we will be subject to a variety of foreign regulations that govern, among other things,
clinical trials and any commercial sales and distribution of our products, if approved, either directly or through distribution partners.
Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product candidate, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in
foreign countries or economic areas, such as the European Union and the United Kingdom, among other foreign countries, before we may
commence clinical trials or market products in those countries or areas. The foreign regulatory approval process includes all of the
risks associated with the FDA approval described above, and the time required to obtain approval in other countries and jurisdictions
might differ from and be longer than that required to obtain FDA approval. Some foreign jurisdictions have a drug product approval process
similar to that in the U.S., which requires the submission of a clinical trial application much like the IND prior to the commencement
of clinical studies. In Europe, for example, a clinical trial application, or CTA, must be submitted to each country’s national
health authority and an independent ethics committee, much like the FDA and IRB, respectively. Once the CTA is approved in accordance
with a country’s requirements, clinical trial development may proceed. To obtain regulatory approval of a medicinal product candidate
under European Union regulatory systems, we would be required to submit a Marketing Authorisation Application, or MAA, which is similar
to the NDA, except that, among other things, there are country-specific document requirements. For countries outside of the European
Union, such as countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America or Asia, and recently the United Kingdom, the requirements governing the conduct
of clinical trials, product approval, pricing and reimbursement vary from country to country. Regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction
does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction
may negatively impact the regulatory process in others. Moreover, some nations may not accept clinical studies performed for U.S. approval
to support approval in their countries or require that additional studies be performed on natives of their countries. In addition, in
certain foreign markets, the pricing of drug products is subject to government control and reimbursement may in some cases be unavailable
or insufficient. If we fail to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, we may be subject to, among other things, fines,
suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions, and criminal prosecution.
As
of January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom is no longer a member state of the European Union, and therefore a separate marketing authorization
application and approval will be required to market a medicinal product in the U.K. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency, or the MHRA, is the U.K.’s standalone pharmaceutical regulator.
20
Clinical
Trials and Regulation of Medicinal Products in Europe
As
in the United States, medicinal products can be marketed in the European Union only if a marketing authorization from the competent regulatory
agencies has been obtained. Similar to the United States, the various phases of preclinical and clinical research in the European Union
are subject to significant regulatory controls.
Pursuant
to the European Clinical Trials Directive, a system for the approval of clinical trials in the European Union has been implemented through
national legislation of the member states. Under this system, an applicant must obtain approval from the competent national authority
of a European Union member state in which the clinical trial is to be conducted. Furthermore, the applicant may only start a clinical
trial after a competent ethics committee has issued a favorable opinion. Clinical trial applications must be accompanied by an investigational
medicinal product dossier with supporting information prescribed by the European Clinical Trials Directive and corresponding national
laws of the member states and further detailed in applicable guidance documents. In April 2014, the new Clinical Trials Regulation, (EU)
No 536/2014 (Clinical Trials Regulation) was adopted and became effective on January 31, 2022. The Clinical Trials Regulation is directly
applicable in all the European Union Member States, repealing the prior Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC. The extent to which ongoing
clinical trials will be governed by the Clinical Trials Regulation will depend on the duration of the individual clinical trial; if a
clinical trial continues for more than three years from the day on which the Clinical Trials Regulation becomes applicable the Clinical
Trials Regulation will at that time begin to apply to the clinical trial.
The
new Clinical Trials Regulation aims to simplify and streamline the approval of clinical trials in the European Union. The main characteristics
of the regulation include: a streamlined application procedure via a single entry point; a single set of documents to be prepared and
submitted for the application as well as simplified reporting procedures for clinical trial sponsors; and a harmonized procedure for
the assessment of applications for clinical trials.
To
obtain marketing approval of a drug in the European Union, an applicant must submit a MAA either under a centralized or decentralized
procedure. The centralized procedure provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization by the European Commission that is valid
for all European Union member states, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. The centralized procedure is compulsory for specific products,
including for medicines produced by certain biotechnological processes, products designated as orphan medicinal products, advanced therapy
products (such as gene-therapy, somatic cell-therapy or tissue-engineered medicines) and products with a new active substance indicated
for the treatment of certain disorders. For products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of certain disorders and
products that are highly innovative or for which a centralized process is in the interest of patients, the centralized procedure may
be optional. Under the centralized procedure the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of an MAA by the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”)
is 210 days, excluding clock stops, when additional written or oral information is to be provided by the applicant in response to questions
asked by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (“CHMP”). Accelerated assessment might be granted by the CHMP
in exceptional cases, when a medicinal product is expected to be of a major public health interest, particularly from the point of view
of therapeutic innovation. The timeframe for the evaluation of an MAA under the accelerated assessment procedure is of 150 days, excluding
stop-clocks.
The
decentralized procedure is available to applicants who wish to market a product in specific European Union member states where such product
has not received marketing approval in any European Union member states before. The decentralized procedure provides for an applicant
to apply to one-member state to assess the application (the reference member state) and specifically list other member states in which
it wishes to obtain approval (concerned member states).
21
In
the European Union, only products for which marketing authorizations have been granted may be promoted. A marketing authorization is
valid for five years in principle and the marketing authorization may be renewed after five years on the basis of a re-evaluation of
the risk-benefit balance by the EMA or by the competent authority of the authorizing member state. To this end, the marketing authorization
holder must provide the EMA or the competent authority with a consolidated version of the file in respect of quality, safety and efficacy,
including all variations introduced since the marketing authorization was granted, at least six months before the marketing authorization
ceases to be valid. Once renewed, the marketing authorization is valid for an unlimited period, unless the European Commission or the
competent authority decides, on justified grounds relating to pharmacovigilance, to proceed with one additional five-year renewal. Any
authorization which is not followed by the actual placing of the drug on the European Union market (in case of centralized procedure)
or on the market of the authorizing member state within three years after authorization ceases to be valid (the so-called sunset clause).
Moreover,
even if authorized to be marketed in the European Union, prescription medicines may only be promoted to healthcare professionals, not
the general public. All promotion should be in accordance with the particulars listed in the summary of product characteristics. Promotional
materials must also comply with various laws, and codes of conduct developed by pharmaceutical industry bodies in the European Union
which govern (among other things) the training of sales staff, promotional claims and their justification, comparative advertising, misleading
advertising, endorsements, and (where permitted) advertising to the general public. Failure to comply with these requirements could lead
to the imposition of penalties by the competent authorities of the European Union member states. The penalties could include warnings,
orders to discontinue the promotion of the drug product, seizure of promotional materials, fines and possible imprisonment.
Regulation
of New Drugs in the United Kingdom
The
United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, 2020 (commonly referred to as “Brexit”), with a transitional period
that expired on December 31, 2020. The United Kingdom and the European Union entered into a trade agreement known as the Trade and Cooperation
Agreement, which went into effect on January 1, 2021. We are currently evaluating the potential impacts on our business of the Trade
and Cooperation Agreement and guidance issued to date by the United Kingdom’s MHRA regarding the requirements for licensing and
marketing medicinal products in the United Kingdom.
Since
the regulatory framework for pharmaceutical products in the United Kingdom covering the quality, safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical
products, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of medicinal products has only recently changed,
it is difficult to draw comparisons about the impact of the new regulatory regime and impact on the approval of product candidates in
the United Kingdom. In addition, even if a drug is licensed in the UK by the MHRA, it must further be approved by the National Institute
for Health & Care Excellence to ensure use within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Pharmaceutical
Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement, and Healthcare Reform
Sales
of our products, if approved for marketing, will depend, in part, on the availability and extent of coverage and reimbursement by third-party
payors, such as government health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations.
These third-party payors are increasingly challenging the price and limiting the coverage and reimbursement amounts for medical products
and services. There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for approved products, and coverage may be more
limited than the purposes for which the product is approved by the FDA or regulatory authorities in other countries. It is time-consuming
and expensive to seek reimbursement from third-party payors. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement does not imply that any product
will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution.
Interim payments for new products, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Payment
rates may vary according to the use of the product and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on payments allowed for
lower-cost products that are already reimbursed and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for products
may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by third-party payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict
imports of products from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. In the United States, third-party
payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies, but they also have
their own methods and approval process apart from Medicare coverage and reimbursement determinations. Accordingly, one third-party payor’s
determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage for the product.
22
In
addition, the containment of healthcare costs has become a priority for federal and state governments, and the prices of drugs have been
a focus in this effort. The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing
cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on coverage and reimbursement, and requirements for substitution of
generic products. Adoption of price controls and cost-containment measures, and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions
with existing controls and measures, could further limit our net revenue and results. Decreases in third-party reimbursement for our
clinical assets or a decision by a third-party payor to not cover our clinical assets could reduce physician usage of the clinical asset
and have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, there has been heightened governmental
scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries
and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review
the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug
products. Individual states in the United States have also increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control
pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access
and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and
bulk purchasing. In December 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that federal law does not preempt the states’ ability
to regulate pharmaceutical benefit managers (“PBMs”) and other members of the healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chain,
an important decision that has led to further and more aggressive efforts by states in this area.
On
August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into the law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or the IRA. Among other things, the IRA has
multiple provisions that can impact the prices of drug products that are both sold into the Medicare program and throughout the United
States. Beginning in 2023, a manufacturer of drugs covered by Medicare Parts B or D must pay a rebate to the federal government if their
drug product’s price increases faster than the rate of inflation. This calculation is made on a drug product by drug product basis
and the amount of the rebate owed to the federal government is directly dependent on the volume of a drug product that is paid for by
Medicare Parts B or D. Additionally, starting for payment year 2026, CMS will negotiate drug prices annually for a select number of single
source Part D drugs without generic or biosimilar competition. CMS will also negotiate drug prices for a select number of Part B drugs
starting for payment year 2028. If a drug product is selected by CMS for negotiation, it is expected that the revenue generated from
such drug will decrease.
In
addition, in some foreign countries, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements
governing drug pricing vary widely from country to country. For example, in the European Union, the sole legal instrument at the European
Union level governing the pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products is Council Directive 89/105/EEC (the “Price Transparency
Directive”). The aim of the Price Transparency Directive is to ensure that pricing and reimbursement mechanisms established in
the European Union Member States are transparent and objective, do not hinder the free movement of and trade in medicinal products in
the European Union, and do not hinder, prevent or distort competition on the market. The Price Transparency Directive does not provide
any guidance concerning the specific criteria on the basis of which pricing and reimbursement decisions are to be made in the individual
European Union Member States, nor does it have any direct consequence for pricing or reimbursement levels in the individual European
Union Member States. The European Union Member States are free to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health
insurance systems provide reimbursement, and to control the prices and/or reimbursement levels of medicinal products for human use. A
European Union Member State may approve a specific price or level of reimbursement for the medicinal product or alternatively adopt
a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company responsible for placing the medicinal product on the market,
including volume-based arrangements, caps and reference pricing mechanisms.
Health
Technology Assessment (“HTA”) of medicinal products is becoming an increasingly common part of the pricing and reimbursement
procedures in some European Union Member States, including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Sweden. The HTA process in the European
Union Member States is governed by the national laws of these countries. HTA is the procedure according to which the assessment of the
public health impact, therapeutic impact, and the economic and societal impact of the use of a given medicinal product in the national
healthcare systems of the individual country is conducted. HTA generally focuses on the clinical efficacy and effectiveness, safety,
cost, and cost-effectiveness of individual medicinal products as well as their potential implications for the healthcare system. Those
elements of medicinal products are compared with other treatment options available on the market. The outcome of HTA regarding specific
medicinal products will often influence the pricing and reimbursement status granted to these medicinal products by the competent authorities
of individual European Union Member States. The extent to which pricing and reimbursement decisions are influenced by the HTA of the
specific medicinal product vary between the European Union Member States. For example, European Union Member States that have not yet
developed HTA mechanisms could rely to some extent on the HTA performed in countries with a developed HTA framework when adopting decisions
concerning the pricing and reimbursement of a specific medicinal product.
Separately
from cost containment efforts, in the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there also have been, and continue to be, several
legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval
of product candidates or restrict or regulate post-approval activities. The FDA’s and other regulatory authorities’ policies
may change, and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our current
or future product candidates.
23
Data
Privacy and the Protection of Personal Information
We
are subject to laws and regulations governing data privacy and the protection of personal information including health information. The
legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve, and there has been an increasing focus on privacy
and data protection issues which will continue to affect our business. In the United States, we may be subject to state security breach
notification laws, state laws protecting the privacy of health and personal information and federal and state consumer protections laws
that regulate the collection, use, disclosure and transmission of personal information. These laws overlap and often conflict and each
of these laws is subject to varying interpretations by courts and government agencies, creating complex compliance issues. If we fail
to comply with applicable laws and regulations we could be subject to penalties or sanctions, including criminal penalties. Our customers
and research partners must comply with laws governing the privacy and security of health information, including HIPAA and state health
information privacy laws. If we knowingly obtain health information that is protected under HIPAA, called “protected health information,”
our customers or research collaborators may be subject to enforcement, and we may have direct liability for the unlawful receipt of protected
health information or for aiding and abetting a HIPAA violation.
State
laws protecting health and personal information are becoming increasingly stringent. For example, California has implemented the California
Confidentiality of Medical Information Act that imposes restrictive requirements regulating the use and disclosure of health information
and other personally identifiable information, and California has recently adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”).
The CCPA mirrors a number of the key provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) described below. The
CCPA establishes a new privacy framework for covered businesses by creating an expanded definition of personal information, establishing
new data privacy rights for consumers in the State of California, imposing special rules on the collection of consumer data from minors,
and creating a new and potentially severe statutory damages framework for violations of the CCPA and for businesses that fail to implement
reasonable security procedures and practices to prevent data breaches. Since passage of the CCPA, several other states (Connecticut,
Colorado, Virginia, and Utah) have also enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws that include key differences from California’s
law, further complicating compliance by industry and other stakeholders. Other states in the U.S. are considering privacy laws similar
to the CCPA.
In
Europe, the GDPR went into effect in May 2018, implementing a broad data protection framework that expanded the scope of European Union
data protection law, including to non- European Union entities that process, or control the processing of, personal data relating to
individuals located in the European Union, including clinical trial data. The GDPR sets out a number of requirements that must be complied
with when handling the personal data of European Union-based data subjects including: providing expanded disclosures about how their
personal data will be used; higher standards for organizations to demonstrate that they have obtained valid consent or have another legal
basis in place to justify their data processing activities; the obligation to appoint data protection officers in certain circumstances;
new rights for individuals to be “forgotten” and rights to data portability, as well as enhanced current rights (e.g. access
requests); the principal of accountability and demonstrating compliance through policies, procedures, training and audit; and a new mandatory
data breach regime. In particular, medical or health data, genetic data and biometric data where the latter is used to uniquely identify
an individual are all classified as “special category” data under the GDPR and afforded greater protection and require additional
compliance obligations. Further, European Union member states have a broad right to impose additional conditions – including restrictions
– on these data categories. This is because the GDPR allows European Union member states to derogate from the requirements of the
GDPR mainly in regard to specific processing situations (including special category data and processing for scientific or statistical
purposes). As the European Union states continue to reframe their national legislation to harmonize with the GDPR, we will need to monitor
compliance with all relevant European Union member states’ laws and regulations, including where permitted derogations from the
GDPR are introduced. We will also be subject to evolving European Union laws on data export, if we transfer data outside the European
Union to ourselves or third parties outside of the European Union.
The
EU GDPR is an EU Regulation and it no longer applies to the UK. If you operate inside the UK, you need to comply with the Data Protection
Act 2018 (DPA 2018). The provisions of the EU GDPR have been incorporated directly into UK law as the UK GDPR. On 28 June 2021, the EU
approved adequacy decisions for the EU GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive (LED). This means data can continue to flow freely from
the EU to the UK, in the majority of cases.
The
Cayman Islands Government enacted the Data Protection Act on May 18, 2017 (as amended, the “DPA”). The DPA regulates the
processing of personal data in the Cayman Islands. Under the DPA, the Company is a “data controller” and the Company’s
affiliates and/or its delegates may be “data processors” (or, in some circumstances, data controllers in their own right),
in respect of such personal data.
24
U.S.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Anti-bribery Regulations
In
general, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the FCPA, prohibits offering to pay, paying, promising to pay, or
authorizing the payment of money or anything of value to a foreign official in order to influence any act or decision of the foreign
official in his or her official capacity or to secure any other improper advantage in order to obtain or retain business for or with,
or in order to direct business to, any person. The prohibitions apply not only to payments made to “any foreign official,”
but also to those made to “any foreign political party or official thereof,” to “any candidate for foreign political
office” or to any person, while knowing that all or a portion of the payment will be offered, given, or promised to anyone in any
of the foregoing categories. “Foreign officials” under the FCPA include officers or employees of a department, agency, or
instrumentality of a foreign government. The term “instrumentality” is broad and can include state-owned or state-controlled
entities. Importantly, United States authorities deem most healthcare professionals and other employees of foreign hospitals, clinics,
research facilities and medical schools in countries with public healthcare and/or public education systems to be “foreign officials”
under the FCPA. When we interact with foreign healthcare professionals and researchers in testing and marketing our products abroad,
should any of our product candidates receive foreign regulatory approval in the future, we must have policies and procedures in place
sufficient to prevent us and agents acting on our behalf from providing any bribe, gift or gratuity, including excessive or lavish meals,
travel or entertainment in connection with marketing our products and services or securing required permits and approvals. The FCPA also
obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring us to maintain books
and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise
and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations.
We
are also subject to U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, which prohibits both domestic and international bribery, as well as bribery across both
private and public sectors. In addition, an organization that “fails to prevent bribery” committed by anyone associated with
the organization can be charged under the U.K. Bribery Act unless the organization can establish the defense of having implemented “adequate
procedures” to prevent bribery. As we expand our operations, we are likely to be subject to additional laws and restrictions relating
to anti-bribery.
Environmental,
Health, and Safety Regulation
We
are subject to numerous federal, state, and local environmental, health, and safety (“EHS”) laws and regulations relating
to, among other matters, safe working conditions, product stewardship, environmental protection, and handling or disposition of products,
including those governing the generation, storage, handling, use, transportation, release, and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous
materials, medical waste, and infectious materials that may be handled by our partner research laboratories. Some of these laws and regulations
also require us to obtain licenses or permits to conduct our operations. If we fail to comply with such laws or obtain and comply with
the applicable permits, we could face substantial fines or possible revocation of our permits or limitations on our ability to conduct
our operations. Certain of our development and manufacturing activities may involve, from time to time, use of hazardous materials, and
we believe we are in compliance with the applicable environmental laws, regulations, permits, and licenses. However, we cannot ensure
that EHS liabilities will not develop in the future. EHS laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become
more stringent over time. Although the costs to comply with applicable laws and regulations have not been material, we cannot predict
the impact on our business of new or amended laws or regulations or any changes in the way existing and future laws and regulations are
interpreted or enforced, nor can we ensure we will be able to obtain or maintain any required licenses or permits.
25
Employees
As
of December 31, 2025, we had a total of four full-time employees.
We
currently rely on several consultants who provide services to our Company. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or
covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good. We anticipate that the number
of employees will increase as we continue to develop the assets in our pipeline and other clinical assets that we seek to develop. Additionally,
we utilize and expect to continue to utilize clinical research organizations and third parties to perform our pre-clinical studies, clinical
studies, and manufacturing.
Corporate
Information
We
were incorporated under the name “Murphy Canyon Acquisition Corp.” in October 2021 under the laws of the State of Delaware
for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business
combination with one or more businesses. We changed our name to “Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc.” in connection with the completion
of the Business Combination in September 2023. Effective August 5, 2025, the Company changed its name from Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc.
to CDT Equity Inc. Our change to CDT Equity Inc. reflects the evolution of our strategy as a data-driven biotech development company
focused on identifying, enhancing, and advancing high-potential therapeutic assets through scientific innovation and strategic partnerships.
Our
principal executive offices are located at 4581 Tamiami Trail North, Suite 200 Naples, Florida. Our telephone number is +1 (646)-491-9132,
and our website can be found at https://www.cdtequity.com.
Item
1A. Risk Factors
An
investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Investors should carefully consider the risks described below before making
an investment decision. Our business, prospects, financial condition, or operating results could be harmed by any of these risks, as
well as other risks not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial. The trading price of our securities could decline
due to any of these risks, and, as a result, stockholders may lose all or part of their investment. Certain statements in “Risk
Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Risks
Related to Our Business and Industry
We
have incurred significant net losses since our inception and we anticipate future losses and negative cash flow. It is uncertain if or
when we will become profitable.
We have incurred net losses since our inception.
Our net losses were $39.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, and $17.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. As of
December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $68.3 million. We do not expect to generate any significant revenues, if any, until
we successfully complete adequate development of our first clinical asset. As of December 31, 2025, our clinical assets are still in development
and have not been approved by the FDA or any other regulatory body.
We
have not yet demonstrated our ability to generate revenue, and we may never be able to produce revenues or operate on a profitable basis.
We expect to experience operating losses and negative cash flow for the foreseeable future. Even if we are able to commercialize our
technology, which may include licensing, we may never recover our research and development expenses.
26
Our
business is dependent on the successful development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of our clinical assets, in particular
a glucokinase activator which we believe is active in a range of autoimmune disorders, which we refer to as AZD1656, and a potent, irreversible
inhibitor of human Myeloperoxidase that has the potential to treat idiopathic male infertility, which we refer to as AZD5904.
The
success of our business, including our ability to finance our operations and generate any revenue in the future, will primarily depend
on the successful development, regulatory approval, and commercialization or partnering of our clinical assets. In the future, we may
also become dependent on just one of our clinical assets or any future clinical assets that we may in-license, acquire, or develop. The
preclinical, clinical and commercial success of our clinical assets will depend on a number of factors, including the following:
●
the
ability to raise additional capital to fund our current pre-clinical and clinical plans on acceptable terms, or at all;
●
the
timely completion of our clinical trials, which may be significantly slower or cost more than we currently anticipate and will depend
substantially upon the performance of third-party contractors;
●
the
success that Manoira has in evaluating the CDT Assets’ applicability in animal health, explore veterinary market opportunities
related to AZD1656;
●
whether
we are required by the FDA or similar foreign regulatory agencies to conduct additional preclinical or clinical trials beyond those
planned to support the approval and commercialization of our clinical assets or any future clinical assets;
●
the
acceptance of our proposed indications and primary endpoint assessments relating to the proposed indications of our clinical assets
by the FDA or similar foreign regulatory authorities;
●
our
ability to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our clinical assets or any future clinical assets to the satisfaction of the FDA
and similar foreign regulatory authorities;
●
the
prevalence, duration, and severity of potential side effects experienced in connection with our clinical assets or future approved
products, if any;
●
the
timely receipt of necessary marketing approvals from the FDA and similar foreign regulatory authorities;
●
achieving
and maintaining, and, where applicable, ensuring that our third-party contractors achieve and maintain compliance with our contractual
obligations and with all regulatory requirements applicable to our clinical assets or any future clinical assets or approved products,
if any;
●
the
ability of third parties with whom we contract to manufacture clinical trial and commercial supplies of our clinical assets or any
future clinical assets, remain in good standing with regulatory agencies, and develop, validate, and maintain commercially viable
manufacturing processes that are compliant with cGMP;
●
a
continued acceptable safety profile during preclinical and clinical development and following approval of our clinical assets or
any future clinical assets;
●
our
ability to successfully commercialize our clinical assets or any future clinical assets in the U.S. and internationally, if approved
for marketing, sale, and distribution in such countries and territories, whether alone or in collaboration with others;
●
the
acceptance by physicians, patients, and payors of the benefits, safety, and efficacy of our clinical assets or any future clinical
assets, if approved, including relative to alternative and competing treatments;
●
our
ability to comply with numerous post-approval regulatory requirements;
●
our
and our partners’ ability to establish and enforce intellectual property rights in and to our clinical assets or any future
clinical assets;
●
our
and our partners’ ability to avoid third-party patent interference or intellectual property infringement claims; and
●
our
ability to in-license or acquire additional clinical assets or commercial-stage products that we believe can successfully
develop and commercialize.
If
we are unable to achieve one or more of the above factors, many of which are beyond our control, in a timely manner or at all, we could
experience significant delays and increased costs or an inability to obtain regulatory approvals or commercialize our clinical assets.
Even if regulatory approvals are obtained, we may never be able to successfully commercialize any of our clinical assets. Accordingly,
we cannot assure investors that we will be able to generate sufficient revenue through the sale of our clinical assets or any future
clinical assets to continue operations.
27
There
is substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. We will need to raise additional funding, which may not be
available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate
our commercial programs, product development efforts or other operations.
The
report of our independent registered public accounting firm on the Company’s financial statements as of and for the year ended
December 31, 2025, includes an explanatory paragraph indicating that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going
concern for at least one year from the date of filing. Through the date of the Business Combination, Old Conduit financed its working
capital requirements by raising capital through private placements of its ordinary shares and issuing of short-term and convertible notes.
The Company has financed its working capital requirements since the Business Combination primarily through the PIPE Financing (the “PIPE
Financing”) completed in September 2023, and through issuing of short-term and convertible notes, and via an at the market program
with A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners.
We
will need to raise additional funding, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital
when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our commercial programs, product development efforts or other operations. We do
not expect to generate meaningful product revenues in the foreseeable future. Based on our current business plan as of the date of our
consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, there is substantial doubt regarding our ability
to continue as a going concern. We will need to raise additional funding in order to execute on our current business plans and strategy,
including prior to becoming profitable.
Our
efforts to raise additional funding may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability
to develop our products. In addition, we cannot guarantee that financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable
to us, if at all. Moreover, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders and the issuance
of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares
to decline. The sale of additional equity or convertible securities would dilute all of our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness
would result in increased fixed payment obligations, and we may be required to agree to certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations
on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other
operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to seek funds through
arrangements with collaborative partners or otherwise at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable and we may be required to
relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us, any of which may have
a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects.
Moreover,
as a result of recent volatile market conditions, the cost and availability of capital has been and may continue to be adversely affected.
Concern about the stability of the banking sector has generally led many lenders and institutional investors to reduce, and in some cases,
cease to provide credit to businesses and consumers. Continued turbulence in the U.S. market and economy may adversely affect our liquidity
and financial condition, including our ability to access the capital markets to meet liquidity needs.
If
we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, or if revenues from collaboration arrangements are less than we have projected, we
may be required to further revise our business plan and strategy, which may result in us significantly curtailing, delaying or discontinuing
one or more of our research or development programs or may result in our being unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize
on our business opportunities. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected.
28
As
a result of our limited operating history, we may not be able to correctly estimate, operating expenses, need for investment capital,
or stability of operations, which could lead to cash shortfalls.
We
have a limited operating history from which to evaluate our business. As a result, our historical financial data is of limited value
in estimating future operating expenses. We have not obtained regulatory approvals for any of our clinical assets. Therefore, our budgeted
operating expense levels are based in part on our expectations concerning the FDA approval process and expenses related to development
of other clinical assets. Failing to reach our short-term developmental milestones within anticipated timelines due to serious adverse
or unacceptable side effects caused by our clinical assets, or other events, many of which may be beyond our control, may cause our financial
condition and operating results to continue to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year.
Preclinical
drug development for our clinical assets (AZD1656 and AZD5904) is expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain. Our preclinical trials may
fail to adequately demonstrate pharmacologic activity in therapeutic areas of interest; cause unintended short- or long-term effects
in other bodily systems; or produce unexpected toxicity that may alter or risk benefit assessment.
The
scientific discoveries that form the basis for our efforts to generate and develop our clinical assets are relatively recent. AZD1656
is a glucokinase activator that is in a number of Phase II ready autoimmune disorders including uveitis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis,
preterm labor, and renal transplant, and the successful development of AZD1656 may require additional studies and efforts to optimize
its therapeutic potential. In addition, our development pipeline includes what we believe to be a potent irreversible inhibitor of human
Myeloperoxidase (MPO) that has the potential to treat idiopathic male infertility, which we refer to as AZD5904. AZD5904 may not demonstrate
in patients the therapeutic properties ascribed to it in the laboratory or preclinical studies, and may interact with human biological
systems in unforeseen, ineffective, or even harmful ways. If we are not able to successfully develop and commercialize our clinical assets,
including AZD1656 and AZD5904, we may never become profitable and the value of our capital stock may decline. Additionally, Manoira may
not be successful in evaluating the CDT Assets’ applicability in animal health, explore veterinary market opportunities related
to AZD1656, and as such we may never develop and commercialize such assets.
We
may not be successful in our efforts to use and expand our development platform to build a pipeline of clinical assets.
A
key element of our strategy is to use our experienced management and scientific team to build a pipeline of clinical assets that address
a broad range of human diseases in order to treat unmet medical needs. Our current clinical assets and pipeline address the areas of
autoimmune disease and idiopathic male infertility. Although our research and development efforts to date have resulted in potential
clinical assets, we may not be able to continue to identify and develop additional clinical assets. Even if we are successful in continuing
to build our pipeline, the potential clinical assets that we identify may not be suitable for clinical development. For example, these
potential clinical assets may be shown to have harmful side effects or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to
receive marketing approval and achieve market acceptance. If we do not successfully develop and commercialize clinical assets based upon
our approach, we will not be able to obtain product revenue in future periods, which likely would result in significant harm to our financial
position. There is no assurance that we will be successful in our preclinical and clinical development of our current or future clinical
assets, and the process of obtaining regulatory approvals will, in any event, require the expenditure of substantial time and financial
resources.
29
Clinical
drug development for our clinical assets is very expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design and implement, and uncertain. Our clinical
trials may fail to adequately demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our clinical assets, which could prevent or delay regulatory approval
and commercialization.
Clinical
drug development for our clinical assets is very expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design and implement, and its outcome is inherently
uncertain. Before obtaining regulatory approval for the commercial sale of a clinical asset, we must demonstrate through clinical trials
that a clinical asset is both safe and effective for use in the target indication, which is impossible to predict. Most clinical assets
that commence clinical trials are never approved by regulatory authorities for commercialization. Our clinical assets are in various
stages of development and a failure of one more clinical trial can occur at any stage of testing or at any time during the trial process.
We expect that clinical trials for these clinical assets will continue for several years but may take significantly longer than expected
to complete. Not all of our clinical assets have been tested in humans and the first use in humans may reveal unexpected effects. We
have not completed all clinical trials for the approval of any of our clinical assets.
We
may experience delays in ongoing and future clinical trials for our clinical assets and we do not know if future clinical trials, if
any, will begin on time, need to be redesigned, enroll adequate number of patients on time or be completed on schedule, if at all. In
addition, the Company, any partner with which we currently or may in the future collaborate, the FDA, an IRB or other regulatory authorities,
including state and local agencies and counterpart agencies in foreign countries, may suspend, delay, require modifications to, or terminate
our clinical trials at any time, for various reasons, including:
●
discovery
of safety or tolerability concerns, such as serious or unexpected toxicities or side effects or exposure to otherwise unacceptable
health risks, experienced by study participants or other safety issues;
●
lack
of effectiveness of any clinical asset during clinical trials or the failure of our clinical assets to meet specified endpoints;
●
slower
than expected rates of subject recruitment and enrollment rates or inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients in clinical
trials resulting from numerous factors, including the prevalence of other companies’ clinical trials for their clinical assets
for the same indication, or clinical trials for indications for which patients do not as commonly seek treatment;
●
difficulty
in retaining subjects who have initiated a clinical trial but may withdraw at any time due to adverse side effects from the therapy,
insufficient efficacy, fatigue with the clinical trial process, or for any other reason;
●
difficulty
in obtaining IRB approval for studies to be conducted at each clinical trial site;
●
delays
in manufacturing or obtaining, or inability to manufacture or obtain, sufficient quantities of materials for use in clinical trials;
●
inadequacy
of or changes in our manufacturing process or the product formulation or method of delivery;
●
changes
in applicable laws, regulations, and regulatory policies;
●
delays
or failure in reaching agreement on acceptable terms in clinical trial contracts or protocols with prospective CROs, clinical trial
sites, and other third-party contractors;
●
inability
to add a sufficient number of clinical trial sites;
●
uncertainty
regarding proper formulation and dosing;
●
failure
by us, our employees, our CROs or their employees, or other third-party contractors to comply with contractual and applicable regulatory
requirements or to perform their services in a timely or acceptable manner;
●
failure
by us, our employees, our CROs or their employees, or any partner with which we may collaborate or their employees to comply with
applicable FDA or other regulatory requirements relating to the conduct of clinical trials or the handling, storage, security, and
recordkeeping for drug and biologic products;
●
scheduling
conflicts with participating clinicians and clinical institutions;
●
failure
to design appropriate clinical trial protocols;
●
insufficient
data to support regulatory approval;
●
inability
or unwillingness of medical investigators to follow our clinical trial protocols; or
●
difficulty
in maintaining contact with subjects during or after treatment, which may result in incomplete data.
We
or any partner with which we may collaborate may suffer significant setbacks in their clinical trials similar to the experience of a
number of other companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, even after receiving promising results in earlier trials.
In the event that we or our potential partners abandon or are delayed in the clinical development efforts related to our clinical assets,
we may not be able to execute on our business plan effectively and our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects
would be harmed.
30
We
may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for our early-stage clinical assets under applicable regulatory requirements. The FDA and
foreign regulatory bodies have substantial discretion in the approval process, including the ability to delay, limit, or deny approval
of clinical assets. The delay, limitation, or denial of any regulatory approval would adversely impact commercialization, our potential
to generate revenue, our business, and our operating results.
We
currently have no products approved for sale, and we may never obtain regulatory approval to commercialize any of our current or future
clinical assets. The research, testing, manufacturing, safety surveillance, efficacy, quality control, recordkeeping, labeling, packaging,
storage, approval, sale, marketing, distribution, import, export, and reporting of safety and other post-market information related to
our drug products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the U.S. and in foreign countries,
and such regulations differ from country to country. We are not permitted to market any of our current clinical assets in the U.S. until
we receive approval of an NDA, Biologics License Application (a “BLA”), or other applicable regulatory filing from the FDA.
We are also not permitted to market any of our current clinical assets in any foreign countries until we or our partners receive the
requisite approval from the applicable regulatory authorities of such countries. To gain approval to market a new drug such as AZD1656
and AZD5904, the FDA and/or foreign regulatory authorities must receive, among other things, preclinical and clinical data that adequately
demonstrate the safety, purity, potency, efficacy, and compliant manufacturing of the drug product for the intended indication applied
for in a NDA, BLA, or other applicable regulatory filing. The development and approval of new drug products involves a long, expensive,
and uncertain process, and delay or failure can occur at any stage. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical
industry have suffered significant setbacks in nonclinical development, clinical trials, including in Phase III clinical development,
even after promising results in earlier preclinical studies or clinical trials. These setbacks have been caused by, among other things,
findings made while clinical trials were underway and safety or efficacy observations made in clinical trials, including previously unreported
adverse events. Success in clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, or that nonclinical studies
will be successful. The results of clinical trials by other parties may not be indicative of the results in trials that we or our partners
may conduct.
The
FDA and foreign regulatory bodies have substantial discretion in the drug development and approval process, including the ability to
delay, limit drug development, or limit or deny approval of clinical assets for many reasons. The FDA or the applicable foreign regulatory
body may:
●
disagree
with the design or implementation of one or more clinical trials;
●
not
deem a clinical asset safe and effective for its proposed indication, or may deem a clinical asset’s safety or other perceived
risks to outweigh its clinical or other benefits;
●
not
find the data from preclinical studies and clinical trials sufficient to support approval, or the results of clinical trials may
not meet the level of statistical or clinical significance required by the FDA or the applicable foreign regulatory body for approval;
●
disagree
with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials performed by us or third parties, or with the interpretation
of any partner with which we may collaborate;
●
determine
the data collected from preclinical or clinical trials may not be sufficient to support the submission of an Investigational New
Drug Application (“IND”) or NDA, or other applicable regulatory filing;
●
require
additional preclinical studies or clinical trials;
●
identify
deficiencies in the formulation, quality control, labeling, or specifications of our current or future clinical assets;
●
require
clinical trials in pediatric patients in order to establish pharmacokinetics or safety for this more drug-sensitive population;
●
grant
approval contingent on the performance of costly additional post-approval clinical trials;
●
approve
our current or any future clinical assets for a more limited indication or a narrower patient population than we originally requested
or with strong warnings that may affect marketability;
●
not
approve the labeling that we believe is necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our clinical assets;
●
not
approve of the manufacturing processes, controls, or facilities of third-party manufacturers or testing labs with which we contract;
●
consider
our products a device instead of a drug requiring a different approval process and manufacturing needs;
●
consider
one of our products a combination product instead of a singular drug requiring additional clinical trials or increased number of
patients per study; or
●
change
its approval policies or adopt new regulations in a manner rendering our clinical data or regulatory filings insufficient for approval.
Any
delay, limitation, or denial in any applicable regulatory approval for any of our clinical assets would delay or adversely impact commercialization
of our clinical assets and would harm our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects.
31
We
have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to remedy these weaknesses or maintain
an effective system of internal controls, then our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable
regulations could be adversely affected. We may identify additional material weaknesses in our internal controls over financing reporting
which we may not be able to remedy in a timely manner.
In
connection with the preparation and audit of the financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024,
material weaknesses were identified in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination
of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement
of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. These material weaknesses primarily relate
to the following matters that are relevant to the preparation of our financial statements:
●
The segregation of duties is limited and heavily reliant on interim personnel and third-party consultants to perform
these activities, including the lack of timely review and approval of travel and entertainment expenses.
●
The Company lacks a formal process for review and approval of significant transactions and accounts on a contemporaneous basis and there have been numerous, recurring errors in account balances and disclosures.
●
The Company has not designed adequate and appropriate and internal controls under an appropriate internal control over financial reporting framework.
●
The Company did not appropriately review and evaluate the accounting implications of all material transactions that occurred during the period.
●
The review controls around certain related party transactions did not operate consistently and the review of such transactions was not always contemporaneously documented.
If
these material weaknesses are not remediated, it could result in a misstatement of account balances or disclosures that would result
in a material misstatement to the annual or interim financial statements that would not be prevented or detected. We are reviewing measures
designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate these material weaknesses, although they have not been
fully remediated as of the date of this filing. As a part of these measures, we also expect to engage an external advisor to assist with
evaluating and documenting the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls and assisting with the remediation of deficiencies
when funding and additional liquidity becomes available, as necessary. The primary costs associated with such measures are corresponding
recruiting and additional salary and consulting costs, which are difficult to estimate but which may be significant. These additional
resources and procedures are intended to enable us to broaden the scope and quality of our internal review of underlying information
related to financial reporting and to formalize and enhance our internal control procedures.
The
material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until a remediation plan has been fully implemented, the applicable controls operate
for a sufficient period of time, and we have concluded, through testing, that the newly implemented and enhanced controls are operating
effectively. A failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in our financial
statements that could result in a restatement of our financial statements and could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations,
any of which could diminish investor confidence in us and cause a decline in the price of our common stock.
Our
independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over
financial reporting until after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. At such time,
our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level
at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed, or operating.
32
There
is a risk that we will fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls and our ability to produce timely and accurate financial
statements or comply with applicable regulations could be adversely affected. We may identify material weaknesses in our internal controls
over financing reporting which we may not be able to remedy in a timely manner.
As
a public company, we operate in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, which requires us to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act, the regulations of Nasdaq, the rules and regulations of the SEC, expanded disclosure requirements, accelerated reporting requirements,
and more complex accounting rules. Responsibilities required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include establishing corporate oversight and adequate
internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to
produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent financial fraud.
We
may discover additional weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a
material misstatement of our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors
and all fraud. 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 met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls
can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud
will be detected.
If
we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain
proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If we cannot provide
reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and results of operations could be harmed, investors could lose confidence
in our reported financial information, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory
authorities.
If
we do not develop and implement all required accounting practices and policies, we may be unable to provide the financial information
required of a U.S. publicly traded company in a timely and reliable manner.
If
we fail to develop and maintain effective internal controls and procedures and disclosure procedures and controls, we may be unable to
provide financial information and required SEC reports that a U.S. publicly traded company is required to provide in a timely and reliable
fashion. Any such delays or deficiencies could penalize us, including by limiting our ability to obtain financing, either in the public
capital markets or from private sources and hurt our reputation and could thereby impede our ability to implement our growth strategy.
In addition, any such delays or deficiencies could result in our failure to meet the requirements for continued listing of our shares
of common stock on a national securities exchange.
We
may face product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability if our insurance
coverage for those claims is inadequate.
We
face an inherent risk of product liability as a result of the clinical testing of our clinical assets and will face an even greater risk
if we commercialize any products. This risk exists even if a product is approved for commercial sale by the FDA and manufactured in facilities
licensed and regulated by the FDA or an applicable foreign regulatory authority. Our products and clinical assets are designed to affect
important bodily functions and processes. Any side effects, manufacturing defects, misuse, or abuse associated with our clinical assets
could result in injury to a patient or even death. We cannot offer any assurance that we will not face product liability suits in the
future, nor can we assure investors that our insurance coverage will be sufficient to cover our liability under any such cases. In addition,
a liability claim may be brought against us even if our clinical assets merely appear to have caused an injury. Product liability claims
may be brought against us by consumers, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, or others selling or otherwise coming into contact
with our clinical assets, among others. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we will incur substantial
liabilities and reputational harm.
33
We
currently rely on, and expect to continue to rely on, third-party CROs and other third parties to conduct and oversee our clinical trials
and other aspects of product development. If these third parties do not meet our requirements or otherwise conduct the trials as required,
we may not be able to satisfy our contractual obligations or obtain regulatory approval for, or commercialize, our clinical assets when
expected or at all.
We
have in the past relied and expect to continue to rely on third-party CROs to conduct and oversee our clinical trials and other aspects
of product development. We also rely upon various medical institutions, clinical investigators, and contract laboratories to conduct
our trials in accordance with our clinical trial protocols and all applicable regulatory requirements, including the FDA’s regulations
and GCPs, which are an international standard meant to protect the rights and health of patients and to define the roles of clinical
trial sponsors, administrators and monitors, and state regulations governing the handling, storage, security, and recordkeeping for drug
and biologic products. These CROs and other third parties play a significant role in the conduct of these trials and the subsequent collection
and analysis of data from the clinical trials. We rely heavily on these parties for the execution of our clinical trials and preclinical
studies, and control only certain aspects of their activities. We, our CROs, and other third-party contractors are required to comply
with GCP, GLP, and GACP requirements, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities
for products in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these GCP, GLP, and GACP requirements through periodic inspections
of trial sponsors, principal investigators, and trial sites. If we or any of these third parties fail to comply with applicable GCP,
GLP, or GACP requirements, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or other regulatory
authority may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our or our partners’ marketing applications. We
cannot assure investors that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our
clinical or preclinical trials complies with applicable GCP and GLP requirements. In addition, our clinical trials must generally be
conducted with product produced under cGMP regulations. Our failure to comply with these regulations and policies may require us to repeat
clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.
Our
CROs are not our employees, and we do not control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our clinical trials. Our
CROs may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical
trials, or other drug development activities, which could harm our competitive position. We face the risk of potential unauthorized disclosure
or misappropriation of our intellectual property by CROs, which may reduce our trade secret protection and allow potential competitors
to access and exploit our proprietary technology. If our CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations,
fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to
adhere to our clinical trial protocols or regulatory requirements or for any other reason, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed,
or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize any clinical asset that we develop.
As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for any clinical asset that we develop would be harmed, our costs could
increase, and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.
If
any of our CROs or clinical trial sites terminate their involvement in one of our clinical trials for any reason, we may not be able
to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or clinical trial sites or do so on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, if our
relationship with clinical trial sites is terminated, we may experience the loss of follow-up information on patients enrolled in our
ongoing clinical trials unless we are able to transfer the care of those patients to another qualified clinical trial site. In addition,
principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and could receive
cash or equity compensation in connection with such services. If these relationships and any related compensation result in perceived
or actual conflicts of interest, the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site may be questioned by the FDA.
We
rely completely on third-party contractors to supply, manufacture, and distribute clinical drug supplies for our clinical assets, including
certain sole-source suppliers and manufacturers. We intend to rely on third parties for commercial supply, manufacturing, and distribution
if any of our clinical assets receive regulatory approval and we expect to rely on third parties for supply, manufacturing, and distribution
of preclinical, clinical, and commercial supplies of any future clinical assets.
With
the exception of our work at our Cambridge facilities, we do not currently have, nor do we plan to acquire, the infrastructure or capability
to supply, manufacture, or distribute preclinical, clinical, or commercial quantities of drug substances or products. Our ability to
develop our clinical assets depends and our ability to commercially supply our products will depend, in part, on our ability to successfully
obtain the raw materials and APIs and other substances and materials used in our clinical assets from third parties and to have finished
products manufactured by third parties in accordance with regulatory requirements and in sufficient quantities for preclinical and clinical
testing and commercialization. If we fail to develop and maintain supply relationships with these third parties, we may be unable to
continue to develop or commercialize our clinical assets.
34
We
rely and will continue to rely on certain third parties as the sole source of the materials they supply or the finished products they
manufacture. Any of our existing suppliers or manufacturers may:
●
fail
to supply us with product on a timely basis or in the requested amount due to unexpected damage to or destruction of facilities or
equipment or otherwise;
●
fail
to increase manufacturing capacity and produce drug product and components in larger quantities and at higher yields in a timely
or cost-effective manner, or at all, to sufficiently meet our commercial needs;
●
be
unable to meet our production demands due to issues related to their reliance on sole-source suppliers and manufacturers;
●
supply
us with product that fails to meet regulatory requirements;
●
become
unavailable through business interruption or financial insolvency;
●
lose
regulatory status as an approved source;
●
be
unable or unwilling to renew current supply agreements when such agreements expire on a timely basis, on acceptable terms or at all;
or
●
discontinue
production or manufacturing of necessary drug substances or products.
In
the event of any of the foregoing, if we do not have an alternative supplier or manufacturer in place, we would be required to expend
substantial management time and expense to identify, qualify, and transfer processes to alternative suppliers or manufacturers. Transferring
technology to other sites may require additional processes, technologies, and validation studies, which are costly, may take considerable
amounts of time, may not be successful and, in most cases, require review and approval by the FDA. Any need to find and qualify new suppliers
or manufacturers could significantly delay production of our clinical assets, adversely impact our ability to market our clinical assets,
and adversely affect our business. Replacements may not be available to us on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. Additionally,
we and our manufacturers do not currently maintain significant inventory of drug substances and other materials. Any interruption in
the supply of a drug substance or other material or in the manufacture of our clinical assets could have a material adverse effect on
our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects.
We
do not have direct control over the ability of our contract suppliers and manufacturers to maintain adequate capacity and capabilities
to serve our needs, including quality control, quality assurance, and qualified personnel. Although we are ultimately responsible for
ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements such as cGMPs and GACP, we are dependent on our contract suppliers and manufacturers
for day-to-day compliance with cGMPs or GACP for production of raw materials, APIs, and finished products. Facilities used by our contract
suppliers and manufacturers to produce the APIs and other substances and materials or finished products for commercial sale must pass
inspection and be approved by the FDA and other relevant regulatory authorities. Our contract suppliers and manufacturers must comply
with cGMP and GACP requirements enforced by the FDA through its facilities inspection program and review of submitted technical information.
If the safety of any product or clinical asset or component is compromised due to a failure to adhere to applicable laws or for other
reasons, we may not be able to successfully commercialize or obtain regulatory approval for the affected product or clinical asset, and
we may be held liable for injuries sustained as a result. Any of these factors could cause a delay or termination of preclinical studies,
clinical trials, or regulatory submissions or approvals of our clinical assets, and could entail higher costs or result in us being unable
to effectively commercialize our approved products on a timely basis, or at all.
In
addition, these contract manufacturers are engaged with other companies to supply and manufacture materials or products for such companies,
which also exposes our suppliers and manufacturers to regulatory risks for the production of such materials and products. As a result,
failure to meet the regulatory requirements for the production of those materials and products may also affect the regulatory clearance
of a contract supplier’s or manufacturer’s facility. If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory agency does not approve
these facilities for the supply or manufacture of our clinical assets, or if it withdraws its approval in the future, we may need to
find alternative supply or manufacturing facilities, which would negatively impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval
of, or market our clinical assets, if approved.
35
If
any of our third-party contractors terminate their involvement in the supply, manufacture, or distribution of clinical drug supplies
for us for any reason, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative third party-contractors, or do so on commercially
reasonable terms. In addition, if our relationship with such third-party contractors is terminated, we may experience a negative impact
to the respective licenses on which we rely and, therefore, on our ability to obtain regulatory approval for, or commercialize, our clinical
assets when expected or at all.
Our
reliance on contract manufacturers and suppliers further exposes us to the possibility that they, or third parties with access to their
facilities, will have access to and may misappropriate our trade secrets or other proprietary information.
In
addition, the manufacturing facilities of certain of our suppliers are located outside of the U.S. This may give rise to difficulties
in importing our products or clinical assets or their components into the U.S. or other countries as a result of, among other things,
regulatory agency approval requirements or import inspections, incomplete or inaccurate import documentation, or defective packaging.
We
may choose not to continue developing or commercializing any of our clinical assets at any time during development or after approval,
which would reduce or eliminate our potential return on investment for those clinical assets.
We
may decide to discontinue the development of any of our clinical assets or not to continue commercializing one or more of our approved
clinical assets for a variety of reasons, including the appearance of new technologies that make a product obsolete, competition from
a competing product, or changes in or failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements at any time. If we terminate a program
in which we have invested significant resources, we will not receive any return on our investment and we will have missed the opportunity
to have allocated those resources to potentially more productive uses.
If
we fail to attract and retain management and other key personnel, we may be unable to continue to successfully develop or commercialize
our clinical assets or otherwise implement our business plan.
Our
ability to compete in the highly competitive pharmaceuticals industry depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified
managerial, scientific, medical, sales, marketing, and other personnel. We are highly dependent on our management, including our Chief
Executive Officer, Andrew Regan. The loss of the services of any of these individuals could impede, delay, or prevent the successful
development of our product pipeline, completion of our planned clinical trials, commercialization of our clinical assets, or in-licensing
or acquisition of new assets and could negatively impact our ability to successfully implement our business plan. If we lose the services
of any of these individuals, we might not be able to find suitable replacements on a timely basis or at all, and our business could be
harmed as a result. We do not maintain “key man” insurance policies on the lives of these individuals or the lives of any
of our other employees. In order to retain valuable employees, in addition to salary and cash incentives, we provide stock options that
vest over time.
We
might not be able to attract or retain qualified management and other key personnel in the future due to the intense competition for
qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and other businesses. We could have difficulty attracting experienced personnel
to the Company and may be required to expend significant financial resources in our employee recruitment and retention efforts. Many
of the other pharmaceutical companies with whom we compete for qualified personnel have greater financial and other resources, different
risk profiles, and longer histories in the industry than we do. They also may provide more diverse opportunities and better chances for
career advancement. If we are not able to attract and retain the necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience
constraints that will harm our ability to implement our business strategy and achieve our business objectives.
In
addition, we have scientific and clinical advisors who assist us in formulating our development and clinical strategies. These advisors
are not our employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability
to us. In addition, our advisors may have arrangements with other companies to assist those companies in developing products or technologies
that may compete with those of the Company.
36
We
currently have limited marketing capabilities and no sales organization. If we do not establish sales and marketing capabilities on our
own or through third parties, we will be limited in our commercialization to license deals with third parties following successful Phase
II trials.
We
currently have limited marketing capabilities and no sales organization. If we do not establish sales and marketing capabilities on our
own or through third parties, we will be limited in our commercialization to license deals with third parties following successful Phase
II trials. To commercialize our clinical assets, if approved, in the U.S., Canada, the European Union, and other jurisdictions that we
seek to enter, we must build our marketing, sales, distribution, managerial, and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements
with third parties to perform these services, and we may not be successful in doing so. Although our management team has experience in
the marketing, sale, and distribution of pharmaceutical products from prior employment at other companies, we as a company have no prior
experience in the marketing, sale, and distribution of pharmaceutical products and there are significant risks involved in building and
managing a sales organization, including our ability to hire, retain, and incentivize qualified individuals, generate sufficient sales
leads, provide adequate training to sales and marketing personnel, and effectively manage a geographically dispersed sales and marketing
team. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities would adversely impact
the commercialization of these products. We may choose to collaborate with additional third parties that have direct sales forces and
established distribution systems, either to augment our own sales force and distribution systems or in lieu of its own sales force and
distribution systems. If we are unable to enter into such arrangements on acceptable terms or at all, we may not be able to successfully
commercialize our clinical assets. If we are unable to successfully commercialize our clinical assets, either on our own or through collaborations
with one or more third parties, our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects would suffer.
Our
failure to successfully in-license, acquire, develop, and market additional clinical assets or approved products would impair our ability
to grow our business.
We
intend to in-license, acquire, develop, and market additional products and clinical assets and we may in-license or acquire commercial-stage
products or engage in other strategic transactions. Because our internal research and development capabilities are limited, we may be
dependent upon pharmaceutical companies, academic scientists, and other researchers to sell or license products or technology to us.
The success of this strategy depends partly upon our ability to identify and select promising pharmaceutical clinical assets and products,
negotiate licensing or acquisition agreements with their current owners, and finance these arrangements.
The
process of proposing, negotiating, and implementing a license or acquisition of a clinical asset or approved product is lengthy and complex.
Other companies, including some with substantially greater financial, marketing, sales, and other resources, may compete with us for
the license or acquisition of clinical assets and approved products. We have limited resources to identify and execute the acquisition
or in-licensing of third-party products, businesses, and technologies and integrate them into our current infrastructure. Moreover, we
may devote resources to potential acquisitions or licensing opportunities that are never completed, or we may fail to realize the anticipated
benefits of such efforts. We may not be able to acquire the rights to additional clinical assets on terms that we find acceptable, or
at all.
Further,
any clinical asset that we acquire may require additional development efforts prior to commercial sale, including preclinical or clinical
testing and approval by the FDA and applicable foreign regulatory authorities. All clinical assets are prone to risks of failure typical
of pharmaceutical product development, including the possibility that a clinical asset will not be shown to be sufficiently safe and
effective for approval by regulatory authorities. In addition, we cannot provide assurance that any approved products that we acquire
will be manufactured or sold profitably or achieve market acceptance.
37
Additional
potential transactions that we may consider include a variety of different business arrangements, including spin-offs, strategic partnerships,
joint ventures, restructurings, divestitures, business combinations, and investments. Any such transaction may require us to incur non-recurring
or other charges, may increase our near- and long-term expenditures, and may pose significant integration challenges or disrupt our management
or business, which could adversely affect our operations and financial results. For example, these transactions entail numerous potential
operational and financial risks, including:
●
exposure
to unknown liabilities;
●
disruption
of our business and diversion of our management’s time and attention in order to develop acquired products, clinical assets,
or technologies;
●
incurrence
of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of equity securities to pay for acquisitions;
●
substantial
acquisition and integration costs;
●
write-downs
of assets or impairment charges;
●
increased
amortization expenses;
●
difficulty
and cost in combining the operations and personnel of any acquired businesses with our operations and personnel;
●
impairment
of relationships with key suppliers, partners, or customers of any acquired businesses due to changes in management and ownership;
and
●
inability
to retain our key employees or those of any acquired businesses.
Accordingly,
there can be no assurance that we will undertake or successfully complete any transactions of the nature described above, and any transaction
that we do complete could harm our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects.
Manufacturing
and supply of the APIs and other substances and materials used in our clinical assets is a complex and technically challenging undertaking,
and there is potential for failure at many points in the manufacturing, testing, quality assurance, and distribution supply chain, as
well as the potential for latent defects after products have been manufactured and distributed.
Manufacturing
and supply of APIs, other substances, and materials and finished drug products is technically challenging. Changes beyond our direct
control can impact the quality, volume, price, and successful delivery of our clinical assets and can impede, delay, limit, or prevent
the successful development and commercialization of our clinical assets. Mistakes and mishandling are not uncommon and can affect successful
production and supply. Some of these risks include:
●
failure
of our manufacturers to follow cGMP or GACP requirements or mishandling of product while in production or in preparation for transit;
●
inability
of our contract suppliers and manufacturers to efficiently and cost-effectively increase and maintain high yields and batch quality,
consistency, and stability;
●
our
inability to develop an FDA-approved bioassay for release of any future product;
●
difficulty
in establishing optimal drug delivery substances and techniques, production, and storage methods and packaging and shipment processes;
●
transportation
and import/export risk, particularly given the global nature of our supply chain;
●
delays
in analytical results or failure of analytical techniques that we depend on for quality control and release of any future product;
●
natural
disasters, pandemics, labor disputes, financial distress, lack of raw material supply, issues with facilities and equipment, or other
forms of disruption to business operations of our contract manufacturers and suppliers; and
●
latent
defects that may become apparent after the product has been released and which may result in recall and destruction of product.
Any
of these factors could result in delays or higher costs in connection with our clinical trials, regulatory submissions, required approvals,
or commercialization of our clinical assets, which could harm our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects.
38
Our
operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating
results to fall below expectations.
The
operations of the Company since the Business Combination and of Old Conduit prior to the Business Combination have been primarily limited
to researching and developing our clinical assets and undertaking preclinical studies and clinical trials of our clinical assets. We
have not yet obtained regulatory approvals for any of our clinical assets. Consequently, any predictions investors make about our future
success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or approved products on the market.
Furthermore, our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of other factors, many of which are outside of our control and may
be difficult to predict, including the following:
●
delays
in the commencement, enrollment, and the timing of clinical testing for our clinical assets;
●
the
timing and success or failure of clinical trials for our clinical assets or competing clinical assets, or any other change in the
competitive landscape of our industry, including consolidation among our competitors or partners;
●
any
delays in regulatory review and approval of clinical assets in clinical development;
●
the
timing and cost of, and level of investment in, research and development activities relating to our clinical assets, which may change
from time to time;
●
the
cost of manufacturing our clinical assets, which may vary depending on FDA guidelines and requirements, and the quantity of production;
●
our
ability to obtain additional funding to develop our clinical assets;
●
expenditures
that we will or may incur to acquire or develop additional clinical assets and technologies;
●
the
level of demand for our clinical assets, should they receive approval, which may vary significantly;
●
potential
side effects of our clinical assets that could delay or prevent commercialization or cause an approved drug to be taken off the market;
●
the
ability of patients or healthcare providers to obtain coverage of or sufficient reimbursement for our clinical assets, if approved;
●
our
dependency on third-party manufacturers to supply or manufacture our clinical assets;
●
our
ability to establish an effective sales, marketing, and distribution infrastructure in a timely manner;
●
market
acceptance of our clinical assets, if approved, and our ability to forecast demand for those clinical assets;
●
our
ability to receive approval and commercialize our clinical assets outside of the U.S.;
●
our
ability to establish and maintain collaborations, licensing, or other arrangements;
●
our
ability and third parties’ abilities to protect intellectual property rights;
●
costs
related to and outcomes of potential litigation or other disputes;
●
our
ability to adequately support future growth;
●
our
ability to attract and retain key personnel to manage our business effectively;
●
potential
liabilities associated with hazardous materials;
●
our
ability to maintain adequate insurance policies; and
●
future
accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies.
39
Fluctuations
in foreign currency could have an effect on our reported results of operations.
Our
exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency rates results primarily from the translation exposure associated with the preparation of
our consolidated financial statements, as well as from transaction exposure associated with transactions in currencies other than our
functional currency. While our consolidated financial statements are reported in U.S. dollars, our financial statements of foreign subsidiaries
are prepared using the British pound sterling as the functional currency and then translated into U.S. dollars. We cannot accurately
predict the nature or extent of future exchange rate variability of the British pound sterling or the exchange rate relative to the U.S.
dollar. Foreign exchange rates are sensitive to factors beyond our control. In addition, Brexit has caused, and may continue to cause,
significant volatility in currency exchange rates, especially between the U.S. dollar and the British pound sterling. These fluctuations
in foreign currency exchange rates could negatively affect our results of operations and impact reported financial results.
Our
operating results and liquidity needs could be negatively affected by market fluctuations and economic downturn.
Our
operating results and liquidity could be negatively affected by economic conditions generally, both in the U.S. and elsewhere around
the world. The market for discretionary medical products and procedures may be particularly vulnerable to unfavorable economic conditions.
Some patients may consider certain of our clinical assets to be discretionary, and if full reimbursement for such products is not available,
demand for these products may be tied to the discretionary spending levels of our targeted patient populations. Domestic and international
equity and debt markets have experienced and may continue to experience heightened volatility and turmoil based on domestic and international
economic conditions and concerns. In the event these economic conditions and concerns continue or worsen and the markets continue to
remain volatile, our operating results and liquidity could be adversely affected by those factors in many ways, including weakening demand
for certain of our products and making it more difficult for us to raise funds if necessary. Additionally, although we plan to market
our products primarily in the U.S., we could in the future have partners with extensive global operations, indirectly exposing us to
risk.
We
maintain our cash and cash equivalents with high quality, accredited financial institutions. However, some of these accounts exceed the
government-insured limits, and, while we believe that we are not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial strength of
these depository institutions or investments, the failure or collapse of one or more of these depository institutions or default on these
investments could materially adversely affect our ability to recover these assets and/or materially harm our financial condition.
We
are increasingly dependent on information technology, and our systems and infrastructure face certain risks, including cybersecurity
and data leakage risks.
Significant
disruptions to our information technology systems or breaches of information security could adversely affect our business. In the ordinary
course of business, we collect, store, and transmit large amounts of confidential information, and it is critical that we do so in a
secure manner to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of such confidential information. The size and complexity of our information
technology systems, and those of our third-party vendors with whom we contract, make such systems potentially vulnerable to service interruptions
and security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees, partners, or vendors, from attacks by malicious third
parties, or from intentional or accidental physical damage to our systems infrastructure maintained by us or by third parties. Maintaining
the secrecy of this confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information is important to our competitive business position. While we
have taken steps to protect such information and invested in information technology, there can be no assurance that our efforts will
prevent service interruptions or security breaches in our systems or the unauthorized or inadvertent wrongful use or disclosure of confidential
information that could adversely affect our business operations or result in the loss, dissemination, or misuse of critical or sensitive
information. A breach of our security measures or the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure, unapproved dissemination, misappropriation
or misuse of trade secrets, proprietary information, or other confidential information, whether as a result of theft, hacking, fraud,
trickery, or other forms of deception, or for any other reason, could enable others to produce competing products, use our proprietary
technology or information, or adversely affect our business or financial condition. Further, any such interruption, security breach,
loss, or disclosure of confidential information could result in financial, legal, business, and reputational harm to us and could have
a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations, or cash flow.
40
Our
business and operations would suffer in the event of failures in our internal computer systems.
Despite
the implementation of security measures, our computer systems and those of our current and any future partners, contractors, and consultants
are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and telecommunication and electrical
failures. While we have not experienced any such material system failure, accident, or security breach to date, if such an event were
to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our manufacturing activities, development
programs, and business operations. For example, the loss of manufacturing records or clinical trial data from completed or future clinical
trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data.
If we experienced a security breach, our online sources were hacked, or we experienced a data leak, it could result in confidential clinical
trial data being leaked to competitors and the market. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss
of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability
and the further commercialization and development of our products and clinical assets could be delayed.
Risks
Related to Intellectual Property
Failure
to adequately protect our intellectual property could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Our
business depends on our intellectual property and proprietary technology, the protection of which is crucial to the success of our business.
We rely on a combination of trademark, copyright, and trade secret laws, license agreements, intellectual property assignment agreements,
and confidentiality procedures to protect our intellectual property. Additionally, we rely on proprietary information (such as trade
secrets, know-how, and confidential information) to protect intellectual property that may not be patentable, or that we believe is best
protected by means that do not require public disclosure. We generally attempt to protect our intellectual property, technology, and
confidential information by requiring our employees and consultants who develop intellectual property on our behalf to enter into confidentiality
and invention assignment agreements and third parties that we share information with to enter into nondisclosure agreements. These agreements
may not effectively prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, intellectual property, or technology and
may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information or technology, or infringement
of our intellectual property. For example, we may fail to enter into the necessary agreements, and even if entered into, these agreements
may be willfully breached or may otherwise fail to prevent disclosure, third-party infringement, or misappropriation of our proprietary
information, may be limited as to their term, and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure or use of
proprietary information. In addition, our proprietary information may otherwise become known or be independently developed by our competitors
or other third parties. To the extent that our employees, consultants, contractors, and other third parties use intellectual property
owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions. Costly and
time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our intellectual property rights and other proprietary
rights, and failure to obtain or maintain protection for our proprietary information could adversely affect our competitive business
position.
Despite
our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, other parties may unintentionally or willfully disclose, obtain, or use our technologies
or systems, which may allow unauthorized parties to copy aspects of our platform or other software, technology, and functionality or
obtain and use information that we consider proprietary. In addition, unauthorized parties may also attempt, or successfully endeavor,
to obtain our intellectual property, confidential information, and trade secrets through various methods, including through scraping
of public data or other content from our website or mobile applications, cybersecurity attacks, and legal or other methods of protecting
this data may be inadequate. Monitoring unauthorized use and disclosures of our intellectual property, proprietary technology, or confidential
information can be difficult and expensive and we cannot be sure that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation or infringement
of our intellectual property or proprietary rights.
We
have registered the domain name for the website that we use in our business, which is www.cdtequity.com. The inclusion of the website
address in this Annual Report does not include or incorporate by reference the information on the Company’s website into this document.
41
Competitors
have and may continue to adopt service names similar to ours, thereby harming our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading
to user confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other trademarks
that are similar to our trademarks. Further, litigation or proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other governmental
authorities and administrative bodies in the U.S. and abroad may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights
and to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Any litigation initiated by us concerning the violation
by third parties of our intellectual property rights is likely to be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to the invalidation
of, or render unenforceable, our intellectual property, or could otherwise have negative consequences for us. Even when we sue other
parties for such infringement, that suit may have adverse consequences for our business. In addition, we may not timely or successfully
apply for a patent or register our trademarks or otherwise secure our intellectual property, which could result in negative effects to
our market share, financial condition, and results of operations. Our efforts to protect, maintain, or enforce our proprietary rights
may not be respected in the future or may be invalidated, circumvented, or challenged, and could result in substantial costs and diversion
of resources, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
We
may be unable to continue to use the domain name that we use in our business or prevent third parties from acquiring and using domain
names that infringe on, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of our brand, trademarks, or service marks.
We
have registered the domain name that we use in our business. If we lose the ability to use that domain name, whether due to trademark
claims, failure to renew the applicable registration, or any other cause, we may be forced to market our business under a new domain
name, which could cause us substantial harm, or to incur significant expense in order to purchase rights to the domain name in question.
We may not be able to obtain preferred domain names outside the U.S. due to a variety of reasons, including because they are already
held by others. In addition, our competitors and others could attempt to capitalize on our brand recognition by using domain names similar
to our domain name. We may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring and using domain names that infringe on, are similar to,
or otherwise decrease the value of our brand or our trademarks or service marks. Protecting, maintaining, and enforcing our rights in
our domain names may require litigation, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, which could in turn adversely
affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
We
may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
Filing,
prosecuting, and defending patents on our clinical assets in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. The
requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly developing countries. In addition, the laws of some foreign
countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as laws in the U.S. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent
third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the U.S. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions
where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to
territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement on infringing activities is inadequate. These products may compete with
our products, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Many
companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The
legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual
property protection, particularly those relating to pharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of
our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights
in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could
put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke
third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded,
if any, may not be commercially meaningful. In addition, certain countries in Europe and certain developing countries have compulsory
licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In those countries, we may have limited
remedies if our patents are infringed or if we are compelled to grant a license to our patents to a third party, which could materially
diminish the value of those patents. This could limit our potential revenue opportunities. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual
property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we
own or license. Our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights may also be adversely affected by unforeseen changes
in foreign intellectual property laws.
42
Obtaining
and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment, and other requirements
imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.
Periodic
maintenance and annuity fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”)
and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies
require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent application
process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable
rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting
in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or
lapse of a patent or patent application include failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of
fees, and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications
covering our clinical assets, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have an adverse effect on our business.
If
we fail to comply with our obligations under our intellectual property license agreements, we could lose license rights that are important
to our business.
We
are a party to certain license agreements that impose various diligence, milestone, royalty, insurance, and other obligations on us.
If we fail to comply with these obligations, the respective licensors may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we
may not be able to develop or market the affected clinical asset. Our business strategy depends on our ability to commercialize our clinical
assets and our ability to enter into license agreements relating to such clinical assets is critical to the success of our operations.
The loss of such rights could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects. For more
information about these license arrangements, see “Business — Principal Strategic Partnerships.”
If
we are sued for infringing intellectual property rights of third parties, it will be costly and time-consuming, and an unfavorable outcome
in that litigation could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our
commercial success depends upon its ability to develop, manufacture, market, and sell our clinical assets and use our proprietary technologies
without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. We cannot guarantee that marketing and selling such candidates and using
such technologies will not infringe existing or future patents. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications
owned by third parties exist in the fields relating to our clinical assets. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand
and more patents are issued, the risk increases that others may assert that our clinical assets, technologies, or methods of delivery
or use infringe their patent rights. Moreover, it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various
drugs, biologics, drug delivery systems, or their methods of use, and which of these patents may be valid and enforceable. Thus, because
of the large number of patents issued and patent applications filed in our fields, there may be a risk that third parties may allege
they have patent rights encompassing our clinical assets, technologies, or methods.
In
addition, there may be issued patents of third parties that are infringed or are alleged to be infringed by our clinical assets or proprietary
technologies. We cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our own and in-licensed issued
patents or our pending applications because some patent applications in the U.S. may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued,
patent applications in the U.S. and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until eighteen months after filing, and publications
in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent
applications covering our clinical assets or technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our own and
in-licensed patent applications or patents, which could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies.
If another party has filed a U.S. patent application on inventions similar to those owned or in-licensed to us, we or, in the case of
in-licensed technology, the licensor may have to participate, in the U.S., in an interference proceeding to determine priority of invention.
We
may be exposed to, or threatened with, future litigation by third parties having patent or other intellectual property rights alleging
that our clinical assets or proprietary technologies infringe such third parties’ intellectual property rights, including litigation.
These lawsuits could claim that there are existing patent rights for such drug and this type of litigation can be costly and could adversely
affect our operating results and divert the attention of managerial and technical personnel, even if we do not infringe such patents
or the patents asserted against us are ultimately established as invalid. There is a risk that a court would decide that we are infringing
the third party’s patents and would order us to stop the activities covered by the patents. In addition, there is a risk that a
court will order us to pay the other party damages for having violated the other party’s patents.
As
a result of patent infringement claims, or to avoid potential claims, we may choose or be required to seek licenses from third parties.
These licenses may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. Even if we are able to obtain a license, the license
would likely obligate us to pay license fees or royalties or both, and the rights granted to us might be nonexclusive, which could result
in our competitors gaining access to the same intellectual property, or such rights might be restrictive and limit our present and future
activities. Ultimately, we or a licensee could be prevented from commercializing a product or be forced to cease some aspect of our business
operations, if, as a result of actual or threatened patent infringement claims, we are unable to enter into licenses on acceptable terms.
In
addition to possible infringement claims against us, we may become a party to other patent litigation and other proceedings, including
interference, derivation, re-examination, or other post-grant proceedings declared or granted by the USPTO, and similar proceedings in
foreign countries, regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our current or future products.
43
There
is a substantial amount of litigation involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries generally. To date, no litigation asserting infringement claims has ever been brought against us. If a third-party claims
that we infringe its intellectual property rights, we may face a number of issues, including:
●
infringement
and other intellectual property claims which, regardless of merit, may be expensive and time-consuming to litigate and may divert
our management’s attention from our core business;
●
substantial
damages for infringement, which we may have to pay if a court decides that the product or technology at issue infringes or violates
the third party’s rights, and if the court finds that the infringement was willful, we could be ordered to pay treble damages
and the patent owner’s attorneys’ fees;
●
a
court prohibiting us from selling or licensing the product or using the technology unless the third party licenses its intellectual
property rights to us, which it is not required to do;
●
if
a license is available from a third party, we may have to pay substantial royalties or upfront fees or grant cross-licenses to intellectual
property rights for our products or technologies; and
●
redesigning
our products or processes so they do not infringe, which may not be possible or may require substantial monetary expenditures and
time.
Some
of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially
greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could harm our ability
to raise additional funds or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects.
Because
we rely on certain third-party licensors and partners, and will continue to do so in the future, if one of our licensors or partners
is sued for infringing a third party’s intellectual property rights, our business, financial condition, operating results, and
prospects could suffer in the same manner as if we were sued directly. In addition to facing litigation risks, we have agreed to indemnify
certain third-party licensors and partners against claims of infringement caused by our proprietary technologies, and we have entered
or may enter into cost-sharing agreements with some our licensors and partners that could require us to pay some of the costs of patent
litigation brought against those third parties whether or not the alleged infringement is caused by our proprietary technologies. In
certain instances, these cost-sharing agreements could also require us to assume greater responsibility for infringement damages than
would be assumed just on the basis of our technology.
The
occurrence of any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or operating results.
We
may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property or the patents of our licensors, or
other claims may be made against us, which could be expensive and time-consuming.
Competitors
may infringe our intellectual property, including our patents or the patents of our licensors. As a result, we may be required to file
infringement claims to stop third-party infringement or unauthorized use. This can be expensive and time-consuming, particularly for
a company of our size. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is not valid or is unenforceable
or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover its technology
or that the factors necessary to grant an injunction against an infringer are not satisfied. An adverse determination of any litigation
or other proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, interpreted narrowly, or amended such that they
do not cover our clinical assets. Moreover, such adverse determinations could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing or issuing
with limited and potentially inadequate scope to cover our clinical assets or to prevent others from marketing similar products.
Interference,
derivation, or other proceedings brought at the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority or patentability of inventions with
respect to our patent applications or those of our licensors or potential partners. Litigation or USPTO proceedings brought by us may
fail or may be invoked against us by third parties. Even if we are successful, domestic or foreign litigation or USPTO or foreign patent
office proceedings may result in substantial costs and distraction to our management. We may not be able, alone or with our licensors
or potential partners, to prevent misappropriation of our proprietary rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect
such rights as fully as in the U.S.
Furthermore,
because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation or other proceedings, there
is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation or other proceedings.
In addition, during the course of this kind of litigation or proceedings, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings,
motions, or other interim proceedings or developments or public access to related documents.
In November and December 2024, the Company received
a letter from St George Street Capital and formal complaints filed with the Intellectual Property Office claiming the Company was assigned
the US Application, and was not the sole owner, of the AZD 1656 co-crystal patent. In January 2025, Conduit issued a counter statement
to the Intellectual Property Office disputing the claim filed by St George Street Capital. As of December 31, 2025, the damages sought
by St George Street Capital are unknown and the potential contingency is not considered probable. As such, the Company has not accrued
a loss contingency in the accompanying financial statements. We intend to vigorously defend against these claims. Regardless of its outcome,
the litigation may impact our business due to, among other things, legal costs and the diversion of the attention of our management.
In addition, in August 2023, prior to the
Business Combination, our now wholly-owned subsidiary, Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited, received a letter from Strand Hanson Limited (“Strand”)
claiming it was owed advisory fees pursuant to a previously executed letter. Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited rejected and disputed the
substance of the letter in full. Following such rejection, on September 7, 2023, Strand filed a claim in the Business and Property Courts
of England and Wales claiming it is entitled to be paid the sum of $2 million and, as a result of the event the Business Combination is
completed, to be issued 21 shares of common stock. On December 16, 2025, the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England
and Wales, ultimately ruled in favor of Strand, with a judgment amount payable from CPL to Strand totaling $9.6 million.
44
Our
reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that our trade secrets will be misappropriated
or disclosed, and confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets
and protect other proprietary information.
We
consider proprietary trade secrets or confidential know-how and unpatented know-how to be important to our business. We may rely on trade
secrets or confidential know-how to protect our technology, especially where we believe that patent protection is of limited value.
To
protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by competitors, our policy is to require our employees, consultants,
collaborators, contractors, and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, consulting
agreements, or other similar agreements with us prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically
limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, including our trade secrets. However, current
or former employees, consultants, collaborators, contractors, and advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential
information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure
of confidential information. The need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets
become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation
of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery
of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have an adverse effect on
our business and results of operations. Enforcing a claim that a third party obtained illegally and is using trade secrets or confidential
know-how is expensive, time consuming, and unpredictable. The enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction
to jurisdiction.
In
addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability of our employees, consultants, collaborators, contractors, and advisors to
publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets, although our agreements may contain certain limited publication rights. Despite
our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of our agreements with
third parties, independent development, or publication of information by any of our third-party collaborators. A competitor’s discovery
of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business.
We
may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed to us alleged
trade secrets of their former employers or their former or current customers.
As
is common in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, certain of our employees were formerly employed by other biotechnology
or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Moreover, we engage the services of consultants to assist
it in the development of our products and clinical assets, many of whom were previously employed at or may have previously been or are
currently providing consulting services to, other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors.
We may be subject to claims that these employees and consultants or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets
or other proprietary information of their former employers or their former or current customers. Although we have no knowledge of any
such claims being alleged to date, if such claims were to arise, litigation may be necessary to defend against any such claims. Even
if we are successful in defending against any such claims, any such litigation could be protracted, expensive, a distraction to our management
team, not viewed favorably by investors and other third parties, and may potentially result in an unfavorable outcome.
45
If
our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest
and our business may be adversely affected.
Our
unregistered trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented, or declared generic or determined to be infringing
on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition
among potential collaborators or customers in our markets of interest. At times, competitors may adopt trade names or trademarks similar
to those of ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, there could
be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate
variations of our unregistered trademarks or trade names. Over the long term, if we are unable to successfully register its trademarks
and trade names and establish name recognition based on its trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively,
and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets,
domain names, copyrights, or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources
and could adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations.
Our
proprietary information may be lost, or we may suffer security breaches.
In
the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, clinical trial data, proprietary
business information, personal data, and personally identifiable information of our clinical trial subjects and employees, in our data
centers and on our networks. The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information is critical to our operations.
Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due
to employee error, malfeasance, or other disruptions. Although, to our knowledge, we have not experienced any such material security
breach to date, any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed,
lost, or stolen. Any such access, disclosure, or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under
laws that protect the privacy of personal information, significant regulatory penalties, disrupt our operations, damage our reputation,
and cause a loss of confidence in us and our ability to conduct clinical trials, which could adversely affect our reputation and delay
our clinical development of our clinical assets.
We
use artificial intelligence technology in our business, specifically, in relation to our Service Agreement with Sarborg and challenges
with properly managing such technology could result in reputational harm, competitive harm and legal liability, and adversely affect
our business, financial condition and results of operations.
On
December 12, 2024, we entered into the Sarborg Agreement with Sarborg. Under the terms of the Sarborg Agreement, Sarborg agreed to provide
algorithmic and cybernetic technology services to CDT, including the development of decision-support tools and advanced cybernetic
systems tailored to enhance CDT’s decision-making processes and maximize the value of its pharmaceutical asset portfolio.
Sarborg
agreed to perform the services to CDT comprised of three phases: the Initial Phase (0-24 weeks) focuses on establishing a foundation for
collaboration and aligning Sarborg’s services with CDT’s strategic goals; the Development Phase (24-36 weeks) involves
building technological infrastructure, including dashboards and predictive models; and the Ongoing Services Phase (36-52 weeks) ensures
the sustained functionality and relevance of Sarborg’s deliverables while supporting CDT’s growth through iterative improvements
and updates. Sarborg will create specific deliverables, including reports, computer programs, software applications, APIs, mobile applications,
source code, written technical specifications and designs, operating and maintenance manuals, and other recorded data and information
arising from or relating to the services. Sarborg will provide all necessary resources to perform the services and deliver the deliverables
in accordance with the Sarborg Agreement. To date, Sarborg has successfully completed all phases and has achieved all milestones provided for pursuant to the
Sarborg Agreement.
46
As
with many developing technologies, AI presents risks and challenges that could affect its further development, adoption, and use, and
therefore our business. AI algorithms may be flawed or biased. Datasets used to train or develop AI systems may be insufficient, of inferior
quality, or contain biased information. Additionally, the laws and regulations concerning the use of AI continue to evolve. If the use
or integration of AI systems, or the outputs generated by such systems, were determined to be non-compliant (e.g., in relation to intellectual
property or data privacy rights), this may result in liability, including legal liability, or adversely affect our business, reputation,
brand, financial condition and results of operations. It is possible that emerging regulations may limit or block the use of AI in our
business and solutions or otherwise impose other restrictions that may affect or impair the usability or efficiency of our business or
services for an extended period of time or indefinitely. Our competitors or other third parties may incorporate AI into their product
development, technology and infrastructure more quickly or more successfully than us, which could impair our ability to compete effectively
and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For more information on our dealings with Sarborg,
see “Business- Principal Strategic Partnerships Services Agreement – CDT and Sarborg Limited”.
Risks
Related to Securities Markets and Investment in Our Stock
If
we do not maintain our trading market’s listing requirements, Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange.
The
inability to comply with Nasdaq’s continued requirements or standards could result in the delisting of our common stock, which
could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and could cause the value of the common stock to decline.
We
do not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future.
The
current expectation is that we will retain our future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result,
capital appreciation, if any, of the shares of our common stock will be stockholders’ sole source of gain, if any, for the
foreseeable future.
Our
Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) provides, subject to limited
exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation
matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a chosen judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers,
employees, or stockholders.
Our
Certificate of Incorporation requires to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against
directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought in the Court of Chancery in the
State of Delaware or, if that court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, another federal or state court situated in the State of Delaware.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of
and consented to the forum provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation. In addition, our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide
that the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause
of action under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Neither the exclusive forum provisions nor the federal securities laws (and
the rules and regulations thereunder) may be waived by a stockholder.
In
March 2020, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a decision in Salzburg et al. v. Sciabacucchi , which found that an exclusive forum
provision providing for claims under the Securities Act to be brought in federal court is facially valid under Delaware law. We intend
to enforce this provision, but we do not know whether courts in other jurisdictions will agree with this decision or enforce it.
This
choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of its choosing for disputes with
us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims and,
if a stockholder were to bring such a claim, the choice of forum provision may result in the stockholder incurring increased costs in
connection with bring such a claim as such stockholder will be required to bring the claim in the state or federal courts located in
the State of Delaware. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our Certificate of Incorporation
to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions,
which could harm its business, operating results, and financial condition.
47
Our
charter documents and Delaware law could prevent a takeover that stockholders consider favorable and could also reduce the market price
of our common stock.
Our
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of the Company. These provisions
could also make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions. These provisions include:
●
authorizing
our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could discourage a takeover attempt
or delay changes in control;
●
prohibiting
cumulative voting in the election of directors;
●
providing
that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum;
●
prohibiting
stockholder action by written consent;
●
limiting
the persons who may call special meetings of stockholders; and
●
requiring
advance notification of stockholder nominations and proposals.
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. These
and other provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and under Delaware law could discourage potential takeover attempts,
reduce the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of common stock and result in the market price of common
stock being lower than it would be without these provisions.
If
securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business, or our market, or if they
adversely change their recommendations or publish negative reports regarding our business or our common stock, our share price and trading
volume could decline.
The
trading market for our common stock will depend on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us, our
business, or our market. Currently, we do not have any analyst coverage and may not obtain analyst coverage in the future. In the event
we obtain analyst coverage, we will not have any control over such analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade the
common stock or change their opinion of such shares, the share price of the common stock would likely decline. If one or more of these
analysts cease coverage of the Company or fail to regularly publish reports on the Company, we could lose visibility in the financial
markets, which could cause the share price or trading volume of the common stock to decline.
We
are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth
companies will make our securities less attractive to investors.
We
are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. Emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised
accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. As an emerging growth company, we are not required
to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we have reduced disclosure obligations
regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and we are exempt from the requirements of holding a nonbinding
advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot
predict if investors will find our stock less attractive because we may rely on these provisions. If some investors find our stock less
attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our shares and our stock price may be more volatile.
We
will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the end of the fiscal year in which the market value of our common stock
that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the second fiscal quarter, (ii) the end of the fiscal year in which
we have total annual gross revenues of $1.235 billion or more during such fiscal year, (iii) the date on which we issue more than $1
billion in non-convertible debt in a three-year period, or (iv) the end of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date
of the first sale of our common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement filed under the Securities Act.
48
Claims
for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us
and may reduce the amount of money available to us.
Our
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provides that we will indemnify our directors and officers, in each case to the fullest extent
permitted by Delaware law.
In
addition, as permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, our Bylaws and our indemnity agreements that we entered into with our directors and
officers provide that:
●
We
will indemnify our directors and officers for serving us in those capacities or for serving other business enterprises at our request,
to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that a corporation may indemnify such person if such person
acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the registrant
and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful;
●
We
may, in our discretion, indemnify employees and agents in those circumstances where indemnification is permitted by applicable law;
●
We
will be required to advance expenses, as incurred, to our directors and officers in connection with defending a proceeding, except
that such directors or officers shall undertake to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled
to indemnification;
●
We
will not be obligated pursuant to our Bylaws to indemnify a person with respect to proceedings initiated by that person against us
or our other indemnitees, except with respect to proceedings authorized by our board of directors;
●
the
rights conferred in our Bylaws are not exclusive, and we are authorized to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors,
officers, employees and agents and to obtain insurance to indemnify such persons; and
●
we
may not retroactively amend our Bylaw provisions to reduce our indemnification obligations to directors, officers, employees and
agents.
Risks
Related to Finances and Capital Requirements
We
will require substantial additional funding in the future, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all, and, if not
so available, may require us to delay, limit, reduce, or cease our operations.
Our
operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since our inception. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $68.3
million and our net loss was $39.2 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. We expect to continue to incur significant
expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. Our business will require substantial additional capital for implementation
of our long-term business plan and development of clinical assets. Our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by
potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to, and volatility in, the credit and financial markets in
the U.S. As we require additional funds, we may seek to fund our operations through the sale of additional equity securities, debt financing,
and/or strategic collaboration agreements. We cannot be sure that additional financing from any of these sources will be available when
needed or that, if available, the additional financing will be obtained on favorable terms.
49
Our
future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
●
the
progress, timing, scope, and costs of our clinical trials, including the ability to timely enroll patients in our potential future
clinical trials;
●
the
outcome, timing, and cost of regulatory approvals by the FDA and comparable regulatory authorities, including the potential that
the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities may require that we perform more studies than those that we currently expect;
●
the
amount of revenues, if any, from our current clinical assets or any future clinical assets;
●
the
terms and timing of any potential future collaborations, licensing, or other arrangements that we may establish;
●
cash
requirements of any future acquisitions and/or the development of other clinical assets;
●
the
costs of operating as a public company;
●
the
time and cost necessary to respond to technological and market developments;
●
any
disputes which may occur between us, employees, collaborators, or other prospective business partners; and
●
the
costs of filing, prosecuting, defending, and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights
On
April 15, 2026, the last quoted sale price for our common stock
as reported on Nasdaq was $4.88 per share. Currently, the exercise prices of the Company’s Public Warrants are significantly
greater than the current market price of our common stock. Accordingly, such Public Warrants are unlikely to be exercised and therefore
the Company does not expect to receive any proceeds from such exercise of the warrants in the near term. Whether any holders of Public
Warrants determine to exercise such Public Warrants, which would result in cash proceeds to the Company, will likely depend upon the market
price of our common stock at the time of any such holder’s determination.
If
we are unable to raise additional capital when needed, we may be required to curtail the development of our technology or materially
curtail or reduce our operations. We could be forced to sell or dispose of our rights or assets. Any inability to raise adequate funds
on commercially reasonable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition,
including the possibility that a lack of funds could cause our business to fail and our Company to dissolve and liquidate with little
or no return to investors.
50
We
will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required
to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.
As
a publicly traded company, we will incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses under the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. In addition, new and changing laws, regulations, and standards relating to
corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the rules and
regulations promulgated and to be promulgated thereunder, as well as under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the JOBS Act, and the rules and regulations
of the SEC and national securities exchanges have created uncertainty for public companies and increased the costs and the time that
our board of directors and management must devote to complying with these rules and regulations. We expect these rules and regulations
to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will divert management time and attention from revenue generating activities.
Furthermore,
the need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert management’s attention from implementing
our growth strategy, which could prevent us from improving our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We have made,
and will continue to make, changes to our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and accounting systems to meet our
reporting obligations as a publicly traded company. However, the measures we take may not be sufficient to satisfy our obligations as
a publicly traded company.
For
as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions
from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.”
We may remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (i) the last day of our fiscal year following February 7,
2027 (the fifth anniversary of the consummation of the SPAC IPO), (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which the market value of our
shares of common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of June 30 of that fiscal year, (iii) the last day of
the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of $1.235 billion or more during such fiscal year (as indexed for inflation)
or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt in the prior three-year period. Further, there
is no guarantee that the exemptions available to us under the JOBS Act will result in significant savings. To the extent we choose not
to use exemptions from various reporting requirements under the JOBS Act, we will incur additional compliance costs, which may impact
earnings.
We
may issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock, including issuances upon exercise of outstanding pre-funded warrants,
in connection with capital raising transactions and under an employee incentive plan or under our existing at the market offering
program, which would dilute the interest of our stockholders.
We
may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock pursuant to the exercise of previously issued
pre-funded warrants, under an employee incentive plan or under our ongoing at the market offering program. The issuance of
additional shares of common or preferred stock:
●
may
significantly dilute the equity interest of investors;
●
may
subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
●
could
cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things,
our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers
and directors; and
●
may
adversely affect prevailing market prices for the common stock.
Item
1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item
1C. Cybersecurity
We
operate in the biotechnology sector, which is subject to various cybersecurity risks that could adversely affect our business, financial
condition, and results of operations, including intellectual property theft; fraud; extortion; harm to employees or customers; violation
of privacy laws and other litigation and legal risk; and reputational risk. We have implemented a risk-based approach to identify and
assess the cybersecurity threats that could affect our business and information systems. We have implemented a risk-based approach to
identify and assess cybersecurity threats that could impact our business and information systems. As part of this strategy, the Company
has engaged a third-party service provider to implement comprehensive IT and cybersecurity policies, including Guardz, Cyber Essentials,
and others. These initiatives are supported by detailed policies, staff training programs, and the use of advanced tools such as firewalls
and VPNs to prevent cybersecurity incidents. Additionally, consultation with third-party experts has further strengthened the Company’s
IT framework and improved overall compliance. We require third-party service providers with access to personal, confidential or proprietary
information to implement and maintain comprehensive cybersecurity practices consistent with applicable legal standards and industry best
practices.
The
Company has engaged a third-party service provider to implement comprehensive IT and cybersecurity policies, including Guardz, Cyber
Essentials, and others. These initiatives are supported by detailed policies and staff training programs, which have strengthened the
Company’s IT framework and improved compliance.
51
In
light of the pervasive and increasing threat from cyberattacks, the Company’s Board of Directors and the Audit Committee, with
input from management, assess the Company’s cybersecurity threats and the measures implemented by the Company to mitigate and prevent
cyberattacks. The Audit Committee consults with management regarding ongoing cybersecurity initiatives, and requests management to report
to the Audit Committee or the full Board regularly on their assessment of the Company’s cybersecurity program and risks.
As
of the date of this Annual Report, the Company is not aware of any risks from cybersecurity threats that have materially affected or
are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company, including its business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition.
Item
2. Properties
We
currently operate as a virtual company, but also lease property in the United Kingdom. On March 7, 2024, we entered into a lease for
laboratory space at Cambridge Science Park. Rent is £92,925 per annum, the equivalent of approximately $10,000 per month. The lease
runs until January of 2027, and the laboratory space is intended to provide us with the ability to extend or develop proprietary solid-form
intellectual property for existing and future clinical assets.
Item
3. Legal Proceedings
In August 2023, prior to the Business Combination,
our now wholly-owned subsidiary, Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited (“CPL”), received a letter from Strand Hanson Limited (“Strand”)
claiming it was owed advisory fees pursuant to a previously executed letter. CDT rejected and disputes the substance of the letter in
full. Following such rejection, on September 7, 2023, Strand filed a claim in the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales claiming
it is entitled to be paid the sum of $2 million and, as a result of the completion of the Business Combination, to be issued 21 shares
of common stock. In 2024, the Company offered a $0.4 million settlement to Strand Hanson to avoid expensive litigation, thereby booking
an estimated liability of $0.4 million in the accompanying financial statements. On December 8, 2025, the Company and Corvus Capital Limited
(“Corvus”) entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) for the issuance of all of the outstanding
shares of CPL held of record by the Company to Corvus. The Company sold CPL, including the potential liability associated with the litigation,
to Corvus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer for a settlement amount of $7 million that was satisfied
through the issuance of shares and pre-funded warrants. On or about January 13, February 20, 2026 and March 4, 2026, CDT received correspondence
from Strand, in which, Strand seeks to recover from CDT a judgment it obtained against CPL from the High Court of England and Wales on
December 16, 2025 (the “Judgment”), in the amount of approximately $7 million, plus interest and repayment of a fraction of
Strand’s costs. CDT denies any and all liability.
On
December 18, 2024, Conduit UK Management Limited (“Conduit UK”) received a notification from the UK Intellectual Property
Office (“UK IPO”) notifying the company that St George Street Capital had initiated patent entitlement proceedings with
respect to patent application PCT/IB2022/00775 (“Patent Application”). Conduit UK refutes the claims made by St George
Street Capital and filed a counterstatement on February 26, 2025 with the UK IPO. In addition, each of the three inventors named in
the Patent Application filed simultaneous counterstatements fully supporting Conduit UK’s position, and assertions that the
claims are without merit. Further updates will be made following notification by the UK IPO.
Item
4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not
applicable.
52
PART
II
Item
5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
(a)
Market Information
Our
common stock and warrants are traded on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “CDT” and “CDTTW”, respectively.
Prior to the completion of the Business Combination, the securities of MURF were listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols
“MURFU,” “MURF,” and “MURFW”, all of which are no longer listed on The Nasdaq Global Market.
On
April 14, 2026, the last quoted sale price for our common stock as reported on Nasdaq was $4.77 per share.
(b)
Holders
As
of April 14, 2026, there were approximately 400 holders of record of our common stock. Such numbers do not include beneficial owners
holding our securities through nominee names.
(c)
Dividends
We
have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently intend to pay any cash dividends for the
foreseeable future. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Any future determination
to pay dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our
financial condition, operating results, current and anticipated cash needs, plans for expansion, and other factors that our board of
directors may deem relevant.
(d)
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
Reference
is made to the information contained in the Equity Compensation Plan table contained in Item 11 of this Annual Report.
(e)
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
There
were no unregistered sales of equity securities which have not been previously disclosed in a quarterly report on Form 10-Q or a current
report on Form 8-K since January 1, 2025.
(f)
Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
None.
(g)
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item
6. [Reserved].
53
Item
7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The
following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with the other
sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025,
together with related notes thereto, included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following discussion contains forward-looking
statements based upon current expectations that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results may differ
materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth
under the section titled “Risk Factors” or in other parts of this Annual Report and our other filings with the SEC. Our
historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any period in the future. CDT Equity Inc.
(formerly Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with
Murphy Canyon Acquisition Corp. (“MURF”) on November 8, 2022. The transaction contemplated by the terms of the Merger
Agreement was completed on September 22, 2023, in conjunction with which MURF changed its name to Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc.
(hereafter referred to, collectively with is subsidiaries as “CDT”, “CDT Equity”, the “Company”, “we”,
“us” or “our”, unless the context otherwise requires. All dollar amounts are expressed in thousands of
United States dollars (“$”), unless otherwise indicated.
Overview
On
September 22, 2023, a merger transaction (the “Business Combination”) between Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Old
Conduit”), Murphy Canyon Acquisition Corp (“MURF”) and Conduit Merger Sub, Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company
and a wholly owned subsidiary of MURF (“Merger Sub”), was completed pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated November
8, 2022, as amended, (the “Merger Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the closing, (i) Merger
Sub merged with and into Old Conduit, with Old Conduit surviving the Business Combination as a wholly-owned subsidiary of MURF, and (ii)
MURF changed its name from Murphy Canyon Acquisition Corp. to Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc. Effective August 5, 2025, the Company changed
its name from Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc. to CDT Equity Inc. Our change to CDT Equity Inc. reflects the evolution of our strategy as
a data-driven biotech development company focused on identifying, enhancing, and advancing high-potential therapeutic assets through
scientific innovation and strategic partnerships.
CDT
Equity is a data-driven biotech development company focused on identifying, enhancing, and advancing
high-potential therapeutic assets through scientific innovation and strategic partnerships. The Company has evolved into a broader, more
agile platform that leverages artificial intelligence, solid-form chemistry, and efficient asset repositioning to accelerate the development
of novel therapeutic treatments.
CDT
Equity’s strategy is centered on unlocking the untapped value of clinical-stage compounds, particularly those deprioritized by
larger pharmaceutical companies with strong, supporting Phase I safety data. Through advanced co-crystallization and solid-form technologies
developed at our Cambridge facility, we aim to improve drug properties and have successfully extended the patent life of certain drugs
by up to 20 years.
Our
current pipeline includes candidates targeting inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, as well as idiopathic male infertility,
dermatology, and animal health. The intellectual property portfolio comprises pending patent applications in several international
jurisdictions describing a solid-form compound, including the AZD1656 Cocrystal (a HK-4 Glucokinase Activator). Our pipeline
research includes a number of additional compounds that serve as promising alternatives to existing clinical assets currently
marketed and sold by large pharmaceutical companies, which we have identified as potential opportunities to develop further
intellectual property positions through solid-form technology.
Our
collaboration with Sarborg enables us to apply proprietary algorithms utilizing AI-powered disease mapping to identify novel re-purposing
opportunities across a database of more than 3,000 disease signatures. Sarborg’s insights have directly informed two new combination
patent filings, strengthening our intellectual property portfolio. In addition, CDT Equity has initiated pre-clinical in-vitro models
to explore new indications, guided by AI-insights without human intervention. We will seek an exit through third-party license deals
following successful in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical trials, entering into agreements with third parties to pursue further development,
FDA approval, commercialization, and marketing of our assets.
54
The
Sarborg Agreement entered into between the Company and Sarborg on December 12, 2024 is designed to address longstanding challenges in
the pharmaceutical sector, in particular by reducing human error in critical decision-making processes in both clinical development and
asset identification. By integrating Sarborg’s algorithmic AI/cybernetics technology, CDT Equity aims to enhance efficiency, lower
costs, and accelerate timelines by minimizing human intervention, ultimately optimizing the drug development cycle and giving CDT Equity
a competitive advantage in the sector.
Through
this relationship, CDT Equity will gain access to cutting-edge predictive models and dashboards, enabling the Company to evaluate drug
candidates, streamline clinical trials, and optimize asset management with real-time data. These tools will drive faster, more accurate
decisions, improving efficiency and reducing costs. By leveraging these insights, CDT Equity can differentiate itself in a competitive
sector and gain unique data-driven insights that position the Company for success across both its current and future asset portfolio.
A
further partnership with Manoira enables CDT Equity to expand the scope of its drug portfolio into the animal health market in a cost-efficient
manner. This collaboration allows us to accelerate the understanding of the mechanism of action, safety, and potential efficacy of its
portfolio across multiple species, while retaining 100% ownership of all data and intellectual property generated relating to human applications.
This is expected to enhance the core human therapeutic pipeline but also opens potential new revenue streams in the high-growth veterinary
market.
Repositioning
CDT Equity enables the Company to explore multiple opportunities in the healthcare, biotech, artificial intelligence and broader technology
innovation. The Board continues to evaluate an artificial intelligence led strategy, collaborating with consultants to best advise a
growing market which has seen significant recent activity and success for respective stakeholders. Long-term exposure to artificial intelligence
can present both strategic and financial benefits as part of a diversified capital management approach.
Operating
with a lean disease-agnostic model, CDT Equity prioritizes speed, adaptability, and capital efficiency. We avoid the cost burden of late-stage
clinical trials, focusing instead on high-leverage development strategies. Led by highly experienced executives: Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall,
former Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer Inc., the Chair of the Company’s Board; Dr. Andrew Regan, CEO and James Bligh, CFO. Our
management team includes active senior scientists who have an extensive understanding of the pharmaceuticals market, supporting our strategy
of developing clinical assets in a cost-efficient manner focused on therapeutic efficacy.
In
2024, AstraZeneca granted a license to the Company under certain intellectual property rights controlled by AstraZeneca related to HK-4
Glucokinase activators AZD1656 and AZD5658 in all indications and myeloperoxidase inhibitor AZD5904 for the treatment, prevention, and
prophylaxis of idiopathic male infertility. The Company will be responsible for development and commercialization of the Licensed Products
under the related License Agreement. The Company is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize the
Licensed Products.
AstraZeneca
has conducted initial pre-clinical and, in some instances, clinical trials on these assets, but has decided to license them for further
development. As the clinical assets have undergone initial pre-clinical and clinical testing conducted by AstraZeneca, we are able to
use the safety data generated in these clinical trials to assess which clinical assets to further develop and re-purpose.
Furthermore,
CDT Equity is well positioned to pursue, and intends to pursue additional relationships and/or partnerships with third parties to license
assets which are currently deprioritized. We plan to focus our efforts on developing clinical assets to address disorders that impact
large populations where there is no present treatment or the existing treatments carry significant unwanted side effects.
Reverse
Stock Split
During
the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company effected three reverse stock splits of its common stock pursuant to amendments to the Company’s
Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that were previously approved by the Company’s stockholders and authorized
by the Board of Directors. The reverse stock splits were implemented as follows: a 1-for-100 reverse stock split effective January 24,
2025, a 1-for-15 reverse stock split effective May 19, 2025, and a 1-for-8 reverse stock split effective October 10, 2025.
On
March 26, 2026, the company effected a 1-for-25 reverse stock split. No fractional shares were issued in connection with the reverse
stock splits. Stockholders who otherwise would have been entitled to receive fractional shares received cash in lieu of fractional shares
based on the applicable post-split trading price of the Company’s common stock. All references to numbers of shares of common stock
and per-share information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been adjusted retroactively, as appropriate, to reflect the reverse
stock split.
Reverse
stock splits were applied sequentially at their respective effective dates (resulting in a cumulative effect equivalent to an approximate
1-for-300,000 reverse stock split).
55
The
reverse stock splits automatically combined the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of common stock at the applicable ratios
without affecting the number of authorized shares of common stock or the par value of $0.0001 per share. No fractional shares were issued
in connection with the reverse stock splits. Stockholders who otherwise would have been entitled to receive fractional shares received
cash in lieu of fractional shares based on the applicable post-split trading price of the Company’s common stock.
As
a result of the aggregate of the reverse stock splits, every 300,000 shares
of our common stock issued or outstanding were automatically reclassified into and became one new share of common stock. The number of
our issued and outstanding shares of common stock, when accounting for the reverse stock splits, was 92,140 and 461 shares as of December
31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
In
accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share, all historical share and per-share amounts presented in the accompanying consolidated financial
statements and related notes have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the effect of the reverse stock splits for all periods presented.
Accordingly, all references to common stock share amounts and per-share information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been retroactively
adjusted, as applicable, to reflect the reverse stock splits.
Key
Component of Result of Operations
Operating
Expenses
Research
and Development Expenses
Research
and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred in connection with the research and development of our candidates and programs.
We expense research and development costs and intangible assets acquired that have no alternative future use as incurred. These expenses
include:
●
personnel-related
expenses, including salaries, bonuses, benefits and stock-based compensation for employees engaged in research and development functions;
●
expenses
incurred in connection with the clinical development and regulatory approval of our clinical assets, including under agreements with
third parties, such as consultants, contractors and CROs;
●
license
fees with no alternative use; and
●
other
expenses related to research and development.
We
expense research and development costs as incurred. Advance payments that we make for goods or services to be received in the future
for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses. The prepaid amounts are expensed as the benefits are
consumed.
Our
research and development activities have been wholly focused on developing co-crystals of AZD1656 to increase patent life. Some of this
work was completed by third-party CROs but all intellectual property is retained by us. We currently have one pending international patent
application and two pending national patent applications. The successful completion of clinical trials increases the value of clinical
assets and may lead to the commercialization and/or licensing of such assets to other pharmaceutical companies. There is no assurance
that any clinical trials on the assets owned or licensed by us will be successful.
General
and Administrative Expenses
General
and administrative expenses consist of salaries and other related costs, legal fees relating to intellectual property and corporate matters,
professional fees for accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services, insurance costs, travel, and other operating costs.
We
anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase substantially for the foreseeable future as we increase our administrative
headcount to operate as a public company and as we advance clinical assets through clinical development. We also will incur additional
expenses as a result of operating as a public company, including expenses related to compliance with the rules and regulations of the
SEC and the Nasdaq listing rules, additional insurance expenses, investor relations activities and other administrative and professional
services. In addition, if regulatory approval is obtained for clinical assets, we expect to incur expenses associated with building a
sales and marketing team.
56
Other
Income (Expenses)
Other
income (expenses), net
Other
income (expense), net consists of change in the fair value of options, change in fair value of convertible notes, and expense incurred
upon the issuance of warrants during the year.
Interest
expense, net
Interest
expense, net consists primarily of interest expense on convertible loan notes and promissory notes and interest expense on deferred commissions
payable to an advisor for fees related to the merger, as well as a small amount of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held
by the Company.
Results
of Operations
The
following table set forth our results of operations for the periods indicated:
Years ended
December 31,
Change
(Dollar amounts in thousands)
2025
2024
Amount
%
Research and development expenses
$ 5,054
$ 3,378
$ 1,676
50 %
Research
and development expenses increased by approximately $1.7 million, or 50%, to approximately $5.1 million for the year ended December 31,
2025, as compared to approximately $3.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily driven by an increase
of $4.2 million related to work performed under the Sarborg agreements, a $0.3 million increase related to Thesprogen, a $0.2 million
increase related to Charles River and a $0.1 million increase related to Manoira, partially offset by a $3.1 million decrease related
to an upfront payment to AstraZeneca with no comparable activity in 2025.
General
and administrative expenses
Years ended
December 31,
Change
(Dollar amounts in thousands)
2025
2024
Amount
%
General and administrative expenses
$ 31,703
$ 12,041
$ 19,662
163 %
General and administrative
expenses increased by $19.7 million, or 163%, to approximately $31.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to approximately
$12.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The $19.7 million increase was primarily driven by a $9.6 million increase in litigation
liability expense in relation to the Strand litigation, a $7.0 million increase in compensation expense associated with the issuance of
common stock and pre-funded warrants as consideration for the sale of CPL, a $2.4 million increase in legal fees, and a $0.9 million increase
in salaries and stock-based compensation, partially offset by a $0.2 million decrease in directors’ and officers’ (D&O)
insurance costs.
Other expense, net
Years ended
December 31,
Change
(Dollar amounts in thousands)
2025
2024
Amount
%
Other expense, net
$ (2,176 )
$ (890 )
$ (1,286 )
144 %
57
Activity
for the year ended December 31, 2025 consisted of a loss on the change in fair value of convertible notes of $2.7 million, a loss on
the disposition of digital assets of $0.4 million, partially offset by a gain on the waiver of accrued interest of $0.4 million ,
a gain on debt extinguishment of $0.3 million, and a gain on the change in the fair value of warrant liability of $0.2 million.
Activity for the
year ended December 31, 2024 consisted of a loss of debt extinguishment of $3.2 million and a loss on the issuance of warrants for lock-up of $2.7 million, partially offset by a gain on debt extinguishment of $2.5 million,
a gain on the change in fair value of
convertible notes of $2.0 million, a $0.3 million income tax refund and a gain on the change in the fair value of warrant liability of $0.2 million.
For
further details refer to Note 17, “Other income (expense), net,” in the consolidated financial statements as of December
31, 2025 and 2024 included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Interest
expense, net
Years ended
December 31,
Change
(Dollar amounts in thousands)
2025
2024
Amount
%
Interest expense, net
$ (319 )
$ (1,506 )
$ 1,187
(79 )%
Interest
expense, net changed by $1.2 million or 79%, to $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, from $1.5 million for the year ended
December 31, 2024. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $0.9 million decrease in the amortization of debt issuance costs, debt
discounts, and conversion costs, and a $0.4 million decrease in interest expense and conversion costs related to interest-bearing convertible
promissory notes, partially offset by a $0.1 million increase in loan settlement fees.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Management
assesses liquidity in terms of our ability to generate cash to fund operating, investing and financing activities. Since our inception,
and in line with our growth strategy, we have prepared our financial statements assuming we will continue as a going concern. Since our
inception, we have incurred net losses and experienced negative cash flows from operations. To date, our primary sources of capital have
been through private placements of equity securities and convertible debt and the Sales Agreement with A.G.P. During the years ended
December 31, 2025 and 2024, we incurred operating losses of $36.8 million and $15.4 million, respectively.
Our
primary uses of cash are to fund our operations as we continue to grow our business. We will require a significant amount of cash for
expenditures as we invest in ongoing research and development and business operations. Until such time we can generate significant revenue
from the successful approval and commercialization of a product candidate, we expect to finance our cash needs for ongoing research and
development and business operations through public or private equity or debt financings or other capital sources, including strategic
partnerships. However, we may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other arrangements, when needed, on favorable terms
or at all. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest
of our stockholders will be, or could be, diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that
adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Debt financing and equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that
include limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures
or declaring dividends. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required
to delay, limit, or substantially reduce research and development efforts all of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company
and its financial results.
While
the Company believes in the viability of its ability to raise additional funds, there can be no assurances to that effect. We have based
our estimates on assumptions of operating costs that may prove to be wrong. As a result, we could deplete our capital resources sooner
than we currently expect. If, for any reason, our expenses differ materially from our assumptions or we utilize our cash more quickly
than anticipated, or if we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis we may be required to revise our business plan and strategy,
which may result in significantly curtailing, delaying or discontinuing one or more of our research or development programs or the commercialization
of any product candidates or may result in our being unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities.
As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially affected.
Management
has concluded that there is substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months
from the date of the filing of this Annual Report. This is based on our analysis under applicable accounting principles. These financial
statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern and do not include adjustments to reflect the possible
effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from the
outcome of this uncertainty.
58
Cash
Requirements
Our
material cash requirements include the following contractual and other obligations.
A.G.P
Convertible Note
On
November 25, 2024, the Company issued to A.G.P. a convertible promissory note (the “A.G.P. Convertible Note”) in the principal
amount of $5.7 million to evidence the A.G.P.’s currently owed deferred commission payable. Unless earlier converted as specified
in the Convertible Note, the principal amount plus all accrued but unpaid interest is due on November 25, 2025 (the “Maturity Date”).
The A.G.P. Convertible Note accrues interest at 5.5% per annum.
At
any time prior to the full payment of the A.G.P. Convertible Note, provided that the A.G.P. has given at least three business days written
notice to the Company, A.G.P., in its sole discretion, may elect to have all or any portion of the outstanding principal amount and all
interest accrued converted into shares of the Company’s common stock, at the lower of the Reverse Split price and the market price
per share at the time of the conversion date, but in no event less than $1.00, subject to adjustment as provided therein and to take
into account any future share splits or reverse splits. However, the conversion of the A.G.P. Convertible Note may not occur prior to
the Company having sufficiently authorized shares of common stock to permit the entire conversion of the convertible promissory note.
Refer to Note 8 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
During
the year ended December 31, 2025, the holder of the A.G.P. Convertible Note converted $3.5 million of principal and interest into
18,711 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, respectively. As of December 31, 2025 and the date of filing the consolidated
financial statements, approximately $2.5 million and $1.2 million, respectively, of principal and interest remained outstanding
under the A.G.P. Convertible Note.
Working
Capital
We
currently anticipate that cash required for working capital for the next 12 months is approximately $10.0 million, which includes forecasted operating expenses of $6.3 million,
accrued expenses and other current liabilities of $2.5 million, the A.G.P. Convertible Promissory Note payable, if not converted prior to maturity
of $1.2 million and forecasted research and development costs of $60 thousand. We do anticipate being able to fund required working capital
for the next 12 months with cash and cash equivalents on hand and current borrowings. Management believes that we will be able to fund
cash required for the next 12 months through borrowings and equity raises. We have historically been able to access funds through the
issuance of debt, and more recently the at the market offering program agreement and believe we can continue to obtain funding through
such debt financing agreements and Sales agreement as needed to meet cash requirements for the next 12 months.
As
of December 31, 2025, we have raised the full $23.9 million (net of fees) out of the $23.9 million available to us through the Sales
agreement. We expect to raise additional funds from an updated at the market offering program agreement and ELOC over the next 12 months but can’t guarantee the
additional funding from the at the market offering program agreement, ELOC and other potential debt and equity raises will cover the required
cash required for working capital for the next 12 months.
59
Cash
Flows
The
following table set forth our cash flows for the period indicated (in thousands):
Years ended December 31,
2025
2024
Net cash (used in) provided by:
Operating Activities
$ (15,555 )
$ (9,682 )
Investing Activities
(808 )
(43 )
Financing Activities
17,422
6,067
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
(104 )
(16 )
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
$ 955
$ (3,674 )
Cash
Flows Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in
operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $15.6 million, resulting primarily from a net loss of $39.2 million, a
gain on the waiver of accrued interest of $0.4 million, a gain on debt extinguishment of $0.3 million and a gain on the change in
fair value of warrant liabilities of $0.1 million. This was partially offset by a $7.0 million compensation expense from the
issuance of shares and warrants upon the sale of a previously controlled subsidiary, $4.7 million cash inflow from operating assets
and liabilities, a $3.2 million cash inflow from the issuance of common stock for services, a $2.7 million loss on the change in
fair value of convertible notes payable, $2.4 million of amortization expense, $2.2 million cash outflow of stock-based
compensation, $1.4 million of amortization of directors and officers insurance, a $0.4 million loss on the change in fair value of
digital assets, $0.3 million of non-cash interest expense and $0.1 million of non-cash lease expense. The $4.7 million cash inflow
from operating assets and liabilities was primarily driven by a $9.6 million increase in accrued litigation liability, a $0.4
million cash inflow from accounts payable, partially offset by a $4.1 million cash outflow from prepaid expenses, $0.9 million cash
outflow from accrued expenses and other liabilities, and other current assets and a $0.1 million cash outflow from lease
liabilities.
Net
cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $9.7 million, resulting primarily from a net loss of
$17.8 million, a gain on the change in fair value of convertible notes payable of $2.0 million, a gain on change in fair value of
warrant liabilities of $0.2 million and a $0.1 million cash outflow from operating assets and liabilities. This was partially offset
by a $2.7 million loss on the issuance of warrants, $1.7 million of amortization of directors and officers insurance, a $1.6 million
outflow attributable to the issuance of common stock for licensing rights, $1.6 million of stock-based compensation, $0.9 million of
debt discount amortization, a $0.7 million loss on debt extinguishment, $0.5 million of non-cash interest expense, $0.4 million of
amortization expense, a $0.2 million share issuance for services and a $0.1 million of non-cash lease expense. The $0.1 million cash
outflow from operating assets and liabilities is primarily due to a $2.3 million cash outflow from prepaid expenses and other
current assets and a $0.1 million cash outflow from lease liabilities, partially offset by a cash inflow of $1.2 million from
accounts payable and a cash inflow of $1.0 million from accrued expenses and other current liabilities.
Cash
Flows Used in Investing Activities
Net
cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $0.8 million, consisting of $2.0 million of digital asset
purchases and $0.4 million of equipment and clinical assets, partially offset by proceeds of $1.6 million from digital asset disposals.
Net
cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $43 thousand, resulting from purchases of short-term investments
of $0.5 million and purchases of property, plant and equipment of $0.1 million, partially offset by sales of short-term investments of
$0.5 million.
60
Cash
Flows Provided by Financing Activities
Net
cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $17.4 million, resulting from $19.7 million of proceeds
from the issuance of common shares under the ATM program, partially offset by $2.2 million of debt repayments and $0.1 million of treasury
stock purchases.
Net
cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $6.1 million, resulting from proceeds from the
issuance of common shares under the ATM program of $3.3 million, proceeds from the issuance of notes payable of $3.2 million,
proceeds from the exercise of warrants of $0.2 million and proceeds from the issuance of warrants of $0.1 million, partially offset
by repayments of notes payable of $0.8 million.
Contractual
Obligations and Other Commitments
Laboratory
Lease
As
of December 31, 2025, we are the lessee under one laboratory space lease for a term of two years. The annual rent payments are $0.1 million
for the years ending December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2026. The laboratory space lease has a remaining lease term of approximately
one year.
Critical
Accounting Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect
the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements. These estimates, judgments and assumptions are evaluated on an ongoing
basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable at that time, the
results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent
from other sources. Actual results may differ materially from those estimates. The accounting policies that reflect our more significant
estimates, judgments and assumptions and which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported
financial results include the following:
Fair
Value of Convertible Notes
The
Company has elected the fair value measurement option for convertible debt with embedded derivatives that would otherwise require bifurcation,
and has recorded the entire hybrid financial instrument at fair value under the guidance in ASC 825, Financial Instruments. To value
the convertible debt, the Company utilizes Binomial Lattice Pricing Models. The Binomial Lattice Pricing Models involve the construction
of various intermediate lattices: stock price tree, conversion value tree, conversion probability tree, and discount rate tree. In doing
so, we assume the holders act rationally to maximize return and minimize cost at each decision point. We computed the notes payoff at
maturity and at intermediate decision nodes based upon the better of (i) conversion or (ii) repayment of principal and interest.
The
significant inputs and assumptions used to estimate the fair value include: (i) the Company’s stock price, (ii) the term of the
convertible debt, (iii) the sum of the notes’ principal and unpaid accrued interest, (iv) expected volatility, (v) risk-free interest
rate, (vi) the corporate bond yield, (vii) the credit spread, (viii) probability of default, and (ix) the estimated recovery upon default.
Any change to the unobservable inputs to estimate fair value could produce significantly higher or lower fair value measurements and
result in a material change within the financial statements.
The
convertible debt will subsequently be remeasured at fair value each reporting date until settled or converted.
Contingencies
In
the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various legal proceedings that are complex in nature and have outcomes that are difficult
to predict. We describe our legal proceedings and other matters that are significant or that we believe could become significant in Note
15 to the consolidated financial statements. We record accruals for loss contingencies to the extent that we conclude it is probable
that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the related loss can be reasonably estimated. We evaluate, on a quarterly basis,
developments in legal proceedings and other matters that could cause an increase or decrease in the amount of the liability that has
been accrued previously or modifications to contingency disclosures that are considered material.
61
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
A
discussion of recent accounting pronouncements is included in Note 3 - Basis of Presentation and Summary
of Significant Accounting Policies to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Emerging
Growth Company Status and Smaller Reporting Company Status
The
Company is an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). Under
the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of
the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period
for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the
earlier of the date that: (i) is no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opts out of the extended
transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, these financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with
the new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Upon
closing of the Merger, the surviving company remained an emerging growth company, as defined by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups act
of 2012, until the earliest of (i) the last day of the combined entity’s first fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the
completion of MURF’s initial public offering, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which the combined entity has total annual
gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, (iii) the last day of the fiscal year in which the combined entity is deemed to be a large
accelerated filer, which means the market value of the combined entity’s common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0
million as of the prior December 31st or (iv) the date on which the combined entity has issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible
debt securities during the prior three year period.
In
addition, CDT Equity is a smaller reporting company as defined in the Exchange Act. The Company may continue to be a smaller reporting
company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available
to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as (i) CDT’s voting
and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal
quarter or (ii) CDT’s annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and its voting
and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of its second fiscal
quarter.
Item
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
As
a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide the information required by this item.
Item
8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
This
information appears following Item 15 of this Annual Report and is included herein by reference.
Item
9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
62
Item
9A. Controls and Procedures
Controls
and Procedures
Disclosure
controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports
filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Annual Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period
specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such
information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as
appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current
chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure
controls and procedures as of December 31, 2025, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our
Certifying Officers concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2025.
We
do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and
procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the
disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there
are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure
controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all
our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain
assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated
goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s
Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined
in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our Management, including our Chief Executive Officer
and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In connection
with the preparation and audit of the financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, material
weaknesses were identified in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of
deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of
annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the system
of internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee
of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded our system of internal control
over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2025 due to the following material weaknesses:
●
The
segregation of duties is limited and heavily reliant on interim personnel and third-party consultants to perform these activities, including
the lack of timely review and approval of travel and entertainment expenses.
●
The
Company lacks a formal process for review and approval of significant transactions and accounts on a contemporaneous basis and there
have been numerous, recurring errors in account balances and disclosures.
●
The
Company has not designed adequate and appropriate internal controls under an appropriate internal control over financial reporting
framework.
●
The
Company did not appropriately review and evaluate the accounting implications of all material transactions that occurred in the audit
periods.
●
The
review controls around certain related party transactions did not operate consistently and the review of such transactions was not
always contemporaneously documented.
63
If
these material weaknesses are not remediated, it could result in a misstatement of account balances or disclosures that would result
in a material misstatement to the annual or interim financial statements that would not be prevented or detected. We are reviewing measures
designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate these material weaknesses, although they have not been
fully remediated as of the date of this filing. We anticipate hiring additional qualified accounting personnel with experience with complex
GAAP and SEC rules while, meanwhile, continuing to engage consultants to assist with our financial statement close process, segregating
duties among accounting personnel to enable adequate review controls, further developing and documenting our accounting policies, and
designing, implementing, and/or expanding IT systems and application controls in our systems relevant to the preparation of the consolidated
financial statements. We also expect to engage an external advisor to assist with evaluating and documenting the design and operating
effectiveness of internal controls and assisting with the remediation of deficiencies, as necessary if sufficient capital resources become
available.
The
ability to perform these remediation plans are dependent on our ability to enhance funding and liquidity. The primary costs associated
with such measures are corresponding recruiting and additional salary and consulting costs, which are difficult to estimate but which
may be significant. These additional resources and procedures are intended to enable us to broaden the scope and quality of our internal
review of underlying information related to financial reporting and to formalize and enhance our internal control procedures.
The
material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until a remediation plan has been fully implemented, the applicable controls operate
for a sufficient period of time, and we have concluded, through testing, that the newly implemented and enhanced controls, provided we
are able to obtain sufficient capital resources to cover the cost of our remediation plan, are operating effectively. A failure to implement
and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in our financial statements that could result
in a restatement of our financial statements and could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, any of which could diminish
investor confidence in us and cause a decline in the price of our common stock.
Our
independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over
financial reporting until after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. At such time,
our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level
at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed, or operating.
Changes
in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control
over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the quarter ended December
31, 2025 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item
9B. Other Information
During
the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2025, none of the Company’s directors or officers (as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) of the Exchange
Act) adopted or terminated any contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of Company securities that was intended
to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) or any “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement”.
Item
9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not
applicable.
64
PART
III
Item
10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Executive
Officers and Directors
The
following table sets forth certain information concerning our executive officers and directors as of April 15, 2026:
Name
Age
Position
Andrew
Regan
60
Chief
Executive Officer and Director
James
Bligh
38
Chief
Financial Officer and Director
Freda
Lewis-Hall
71
Chairperson
of the Board of Directors
Chele
Chiavacci Farley
59
Director
Simon
Fry
66
Director
Executive
Officers
Andrew
Regan. Dr. Andrew Regan, the founder and initial financial backer of Conduit Pharmaceuticals (now CDT Equity Inc.), was
appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Company on April 15, 2025. Dr. Regan succeeds Dr. David Tapolczay, who stepped down as CEO
and as a member of the Board of Directors for personal reasons, but will continue to serve the Company as Head of Strategy &
Licensing.
Dr.
Regan is a British born polar explorer and entrepreneur. He has served as a member of the Board since September 2023 and is a successful
entrepreneur with an extensive background in founding and scaling innovative companies across sectors. Dr. Regan was a co-founder of
Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Old Conduit”) and has served as a board member of Old Conduit since 2019. He also founded
Corvus Capital Limited (“Corvus Capital”), an investment vehicle that was listed on the London Stock Exchange prior to being
taken private in 2008 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since then, overseeing its continued investments across several industries.
Dr. Regan also has experience as an investor in a number of public and private companies, including ASOS.com Ltd, a global online fashion
and beauty retailer, Virtual Internet, an IT services company that specializes in hosting infrastructure such as VMWare cloud hosting
and Managed and Dedicated Servers, and Imperial Energy Corporation plc, an upstream oil and gas exploration and production company. Prior
to that, Dr. Regan was the Chief Executive Officer of Hobson Plc, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange, until its sale in 1996
through a cash takeover.
Dr.
Regan has a strong interest in the use of bio-inspired science to create solutions for present-day problems. In 2014, he was awarded
a PhD from Oxford Brookes University for his research in writing and developing a bio-inspired algorithm for forecasting the financial
markets. He is passionate about the polar regions and is an accomplished polar explorer having led a number of expeditions to both the
Arctic and Antarctica. Dr. Regan was selected to serve on the Board following the business combination based on his knowledge of Old
Conduit and his extensive experience in investing, financing, overseeing and developing companies.
Dr.
Regan sits on the board of directors of Sarborg Limited (“Sarborg”), a significant stockholder of the Company, with which
the Company, as previously disclosed, has entered into a Services Agreement (the “Sarborg Agreement”) with in December 2024.
Since the beginning of this fiscal year, as previously disclosed in a Current Report to Form 8-K filed on April 4, 2025, on March 31,
2025, the Company entered into an additional license and use agreement with Sarborg (the “Additional Agreement”) covering
certain additional deliverables and incorporating a new scope of work focused on analysis of CDT’s acquired AstraZeneca assets.
Dr. Regan does not have an equity or ownership interest in Sarborg. Except for the Sarborg Agreement and the Additional Agreement, Dr.
Regan has no direct or indirect material interest in any other transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation
S-K.
65
James
(“Jamie”) Bligh. Mr. Bligh has served as a member of our Board since September 2023. He served as the Company’s
Interim CFO from May 2024 until August 4, 2025, when he was appointed permanent Chief Financial Officer. He was a co-founder of Conduit
Pharmaceuticals Limited in 2019 and has served as a member of its board of directors since September 2023. From 2008 to 2019, Mr. Bligh
worked closely with investment vehicle Corvus Capital Limited, including as a Partner, where he led a number of reverse takeover transactions,
stock market listings, initial public offerings, secondary fundraisings, and merger transactions. Mr. Bligh’s prior transaction
experience includes advising several special purpose acquisition vehicles in listing on the London Stock Exchange, including the listing
of Bermele Plc, a special purpose acquisition vehicle, and the subsequent acquisition of Bermele by East Imperial Pte. Ltd., a global
purveyor of ultra-premium beverages, in June 2019; the listing of Leverett Plc, which subsequently acquired Nuformix Plc, a pharmaceutical
development company targeting unmet medical needs in fibrosis and oncology via drug repurposing; and Cizzle Biotechnology Holdings PLC,
a UK-based diagnostics developer. Jamie previously served as a director of Bermele Plc from June 2021 through February 2022; Mertz Plc
from January 2021 through March 2022. Jamie graduated from the University
of Bristol with a BSc in Economics & Finance. Mr. Bligh was selected to serve on our board of directors following the Business Combination
based on his past experience with business development, capital raising, financings, public offerings and other strategic transactions,
including mergers and acquisitions.
Directors
Freda
Lewis-Hall, M.D., DFAPA . Dr. Lewis-Hall has served as a member of our Board since September 2023. She served as Senior Medical
Advisor to the CEO of Pfizer Inc., or Pfizer, from December 2019 until her retirement in March 2020. Before assuming that responsibility,
beginning January 2019, Dr. Lewis-Hall served as Chief Patient Officer and Executive Vice President of Pfizer. Dr. Lewis-Hall served
as Pfizer’s Chief Medical Officer from 2009 to January 2019. Prior to joining Pfizer in 2009, Dr. Lewis-Hall held various senior
leadership positions including Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Medicines Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
from June 2008 to May 2009; Senior Vice President, U.S. Pharmaceuticals, Medical Affairs for Bristol-Myers Squibb Company from 2003 until
May 2008; Vice President Research and Development at Pharmacia Corporation from 2002-2003; Product Team Leader at Pharmacia and Eli Lilly
and Company from 1998 to 2002; Director of Lilly Center for Women’s Health from 1996-1999; and Clinical Research Physician at Eli
Lilly from 1994 through 1996. In October 2021, Dr. Lewis-Hall became a member of the board of directors for Pyxis Oncology (Nasdaq: PYXS),
(where she serves as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee); she serves as a member of the board of directors
for Milliken & Company since July 2019, as a member of the Audit and HR and Compensation Committees; and as a member of the board
of directors of SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq GS: SWTX) since 2017, where she serves as the chair of the Nominating and Governance
Committee and as a member of the audit committee. Dr. Lewis-Hall served as a member of the board of directors for Exact Sciences Corporation
(Nasdaq: EXAS) from April 2020 to June 2024 where she served as a member of the Human Capital and Innovation, Technology and Pipeline
Committees; a member of 1LifeHealthCare, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONEM) board from November 2019 to 2023, serving as a member of the Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee; she also served as a member of the board of directors for Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC)
from 2014 to 2017.
Dr.
Lewis-Hall holds an M.D. from Howard University College of Medicine and a B.A. in natural sciences from the Johns Hopkins University.
The Company believes Dr. Lewis-Hall is qualified to serve on the Board based on her expertise and experience in the biopharmaceutical
industry and her leadership experience as a senior executive at various biopharmaceutical companies.
Chele Chiavacci Farley .
Chele Chiavacci Farley. Ms. Chiavacci Farley has served on our board of directors since the closing of our initial public offering.
Ms. Farley currently serves as a Partner and Managing Director of Mistral Capital International, a middle-market private equity fund
that has invested over $1.6 billion since its inception and that she has been a part of since 1995, where she focuses on private
equity investments and strategic advisory across a range of sectors. During her tenure at Mistral Capital International, Ms. Farley
has completed transactions with Goldman Sachs, Starwood Capital and Royal Dutch Shell.
Ms. Farley is a Director of a Nasdaq-listed
special purpose acquisition company, General Purpose Acquisition Corp, where she is Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the WordPress Foundation, which supports open-source initiatives and
digital literacy worldwide, and a member of the Board of Directors of Palmilla San Jose Inmobiliara, a real estate resort
development in Cabo San Lucas. Earlier in her career, Ms. Farley held merchant banking and investment banking roles at UBS Capital
and Goldman Sachs, where she advised on capital markets transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
Ms. Farley graduated from Stanford University
with a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering. We believe Ms. Farley’s expansive financial background and past experience with
business development and capital raising make her well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Simon
Fry. Mr. Fry has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2024. Mr. Fry has over 30 years’ experience
in investment banking having held senior executive positions at various top-tier institutions, such as Nomura and Credit Suisse First
Boston. In 2003, Mr. Fry was appointed as Chief Executive Officer at Crosby Asset Management. He previously worked at Nomura, where he
was Managing Director and European Board member, as well as a member of the risk committee and credit committee. During his time at Nomura,
Mr. Fry initiated and built the Company’s Asset Investment Group, whose focus was to create specific product and strategy groups
within it to invest in mis-priced and undervalued credit and equity exposures. During this period, Mr. Fry was also responsible for building
Nomura’s highly regarded International Markets Division, which was responsible for all the European capital market activity in
equity, fixed income and derivatives including primary origination. Prior to this, Mr. Fry spent 14 years at Credit Suisse First Boston
(CSFB) trading a variety of securities including both fixed income and equities. From 1990, Mr. Fry developed CSFB’s Asset Trading
Group, and as Managing Director built a team that generated significant returns over a number of years for CSFB. Mr. Fry is based in
Los Angeles. His expertise in capital markets and strategic asset management is expected to contribute to CDT’s growth goals
as the company pursues development-ready assets and aims to enhance shareholder value.
66
Board
Composition
Our
business and affairs are organized under the direction of our board of directors. The board of directors will meet on a regular basis
and additionally as required. In accordance with the terms of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the board of directors
may establish the authorized number of directors from time to time by resolution. Our board of directors currently consists of seven
directors.
Director
Independence
Under
the Nasdaq listing standards, a majority of the members of our board of directors must qualify as “independent,” as affirmatively
determined by the board of directors. The Company’s board of directors affirmatively determined that all of the Company’s
directors, except for Messrs. Bligh and Regan are independent directors within the meaning of the applicable Nasdaq listing standards.
A majority of the members of the board of directors and all members of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee are independent directors under the applicable Nasdaq listing standards.
Board
Leadership Structure
The
board of directors is responsible for the control and direction of the Company. We separate the positions of Chairperson of the board
of directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Dr. Lewis-Hall serves as the Chairperson of the board of directors and Dr. Regan
serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and as a member of the board of directors. The board of directors believe that this
structure serves us well by maintaining a link between management, through Dr. Regan’s membership on the board of directors, and
the non-executive directors led by Dr. Lewis-Hall in her role as a non-executive Chairperson.
Board
Oversight of Risk
One
of the key functions of our board of directors is to conduct informed oversight of our risk management process. The board of directors
does not anticipate having a standing risk management committee, but rather administers this oversight function directly through the
board of directors as a whole, as well as through various standing committees of the board of directors that address risks inherent in
their respective areas of oversight. In particular, the board of directors will be responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic
risk exposure and the Audit Committee will have the responsibility to consider and discuss the Company’s major financial risk exposures
and the steps our management will take to monitor and control such exposures, including guidelines and policies to govern the process
by which risk assessment and management is undertaken. The Audit Committee also monitors compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
The Compensation Committee assesses and monitors whether our compensation plans, policies, and programs comply with applicable legal
and regulatory requirements.
Committees
of the Board of Directors
The
board of directors has formed the committees described below. Each of the committees operates pursuant to a written charter adopted by
the committee or our board of directors. Each charter sets forth the committee’s specific functions and responsibilities. The board
of directors may from time to time establish other committees.
Audit
Committee
The
Audit Committee assists the board of directors with its oversight of the integrity of the financial statements; the compliance with legal
and regulatory requirements; the qualifications, independence and performance of the independent registered public accounting firm; the
design and implementation of the financial risk assessment and risk management. Among other things, the Audit Committee is responsible
for reviewing and discussing with management the adequacy and effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures. The Audit Committee
also discusses with management and independent registered public accounting firm the annual audit plan and scope of audit activities,
scope, and timing of the annual audit of the financial statements, and the results of the audit, quarterly reviews of the financial statements
and, as appropriate, initiates inquiries into certain aspects of the financial affairs.
67
The
Audit Committee is responsible for establishing and overseeing procedures for the receipt, retention, and treatment of any complaints
regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, as well as for the confidential and anonymous submissions by
employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. In addition, the Audit Committee has direct responsibility
for the appointment, compensation, retention, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit
Committee has sole authority to approve the hiring and discharging of the independent registered public accounting firm, all audit engagement
terms and fees and all permissible non-audit engagements with the independent auditor. The Audit Committee reviews and oversees all related
party transactions in accordance with policies and procedures.
The
Audit Committee is comprised of three members: Ms. Farley (Chairperson), Dr. Lewis-Hall and Mr. Fry. Each member of the Audit Committee
meets the requirements for independence under the current Nasdaq and SEC rules and regulations and each member is financially literate.
In addition, the board of directors has determined that each of Ms. Farley and Mr. Fry is an “audit committee financial expert”
as defined in Item 407(d)(5)(ii) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act.
Compensation
Committee
The
Compensation Committee assists the board of directors with its oversight of the forms and amount of compensation for executive officers
(including officers reporting under Section 16 of the Exchange Act), the administration of equity and non-equity incentive plans for
employees and other service providers and certain other matters related to compensation programs. The Compensation Committee, among other
responsibilities, evaluates the performance of our Chief Executive Officer and, in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer, evaluates
the performance of other executive officers (including officers reporting under Section 16 of the Exchange Act).
The
Compensation Committee is comprised of two members: Dr. Lewis-Hall and Mr. Fry (chairperson). The composition of the Compensation Committee
meets the requirements for independence under the current Nasdaq and SEC rules and regulations. Each member of the Compensation Committee
is a “non-employee” director within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.
Nominating
and Governance Committee
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists the board of directors with its oversight of and identification of individuals
qualified to become members of the board of directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board of directors, and selects, or recommends
that the board of directors selects, director nominees; develops and recommends to the board of directors a set of corporate governance
guidelines; oversees the evaluation of the board of directors; and reviews the environmental, safety, sustainability, and corporate social
responsibility policies, objectives, and practices on a periodic basis.
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is comprised of three members: Dr. Lewis-Hall (Chairperson) Ms. Chiavacci Farley, and Mr.
Fry. The composition of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee meets the requirements for independence under the current Nasdaq
and SEC rules and regulations.
Compensation
Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
No
member of our Compensation Committee was at any time during fiscal year 2025, or at any other time, one of our officers or employees.
None of our executive officers have served as a director or member of a compensation committee (or other committee serving an equivalent
function) of any entity, one of whose executive officers served as a director of our board of directors or member of our Compensation
Committee.
Family
Relationships
There
are no family relationships among our directors and executive officers.
68
Code
of Conduct
We
adopted a written Code of Conduct applicable to all of our directors, officers, and employees, which is available on the Company’s
website at http://www.cdtequity.com. Our Internet website address is provided as an inactive textual reference only. The Code of
Conduct covers fundamental ethical and compliance-related principles and practices such as accurate accounting records and financial
reporting, avoiding conflicts of interest, the protection and use of property and information, and compliance with legal and regulatory
requirements. The Code of Conduct is a “code of ethics,” as defined in Item 406(b) of Regulation S-K. The Company will make
any legally required disclosures regarding amendments to, or waivers of, provisions of its Code of Conduct on its corporate website.
Director
and Officer Liability and Indemnification
We
have purchased directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and have entered into indemnification agreements with each of
directors and executive officers. The indemnification agreements and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended
and restated by laws require us to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law.
Insider
Trading Policy
The
use of material non-public information in securities transactions or the communication of such information to others who use it in securities
trading (“Tipping”) violates the federal securities laws. Such violations are likely to result in harsh consequences for
the individuals involved including exposure to investigations by the SEC, criminal and civil prosecution, disgorgement of any profits
realized or losses avoided through use of the non-public information and penalties equal to three times such profits or losses. Further,
insider trading violations expose the Company, its management, and other personnel acting in supervisory capacities to potential civil
liabilities and penalties for the actions of employees under their control who engage in Insider Trading violations.
Our
Insider Trading Policy (the “Insider Trading Policy”) prohibits our executive officers, the non-employee members of our board
of directors and certain other employees from engaging in the following transactions:
●
selling
any of our securities that they do not own at the time of the sale (referred to as a “short sale”);
●
passing
material nonpublic information on to others or recommending that another engage in transactions in any securities that they have
information on;
●
buying
or selling puts, calls, other derivative securities of the Company or any derivative securities that provide the economic equivalent
of ownership of any of our securities or an opportunity, direct or indirect, to profit from any change in the value of our securities
or engaging in any other hedging transaction with respect to our securities;
●
using
our securities as collateral in a margin account; and
●
pledging
our securities as collateral for a loan (or modifying an existing pledge).
While
the Company has not adopted a formal policy governing transactions by the Company in its securities, the Company will not engage in transactions
in Company securities, or adopt any securities repurchase plans, while in possession of material non-public information relating to the
Company or its securities other than in compliance with applicable law, subject to the policies and procedures adopted by the Company.
On
or around August 14, 2024, the Company was first made aware that one of its directors, through a wholly owned subsidiary, had previously
entered into certain collateral pledge agreements that resulted in the disposition of a substantial amount of shares in the Company pursuant
to those agreements without the Company’s knowledge. In addition, the Company also became aware that approximately 100
shares (or 31% of our then outstanding common stock as of August 14, 2024) were subject to a further third-party pledge arrangement with
a then significant stockholder of the Company. Upon learning of these transactions, the board of directors has appointed an independent
committee of the board of directors (the “Special Committee”) and delegated to the Special Committee the authority to review
these matters and determine action(s), if any, to be taken by the Company in response thereto. Additionally, the Company formed another
committee of the board of directors (the “Trading Review Committee”) and delegated to the Trading Review Committee the authority
to investigate and review the trading patterns of certain of the Company’s stockholders and determine action(s), if any, to be
taken by the Company in response thereto. The Company values its stockholders and wants to have all available data at its disposal to
act in its fiduciary capacity.
69
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section
16(a) of the Exchange Act requires that our directors and executive officers, and persons who own more than ten percent of a registered
class of our equity securities, to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of common stock
and other equity securities of the Company. Officers, directors and greater than ten percent stockholders are required by SEC regulation
to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.
To
our knowledge, based solely on a review of the copies of such reports furnished to us and written representations that no other
reports were required, during the year ended December 31, 2025, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to our officers,
directors and greater than ten percent beneficial owners were complied with, except for one Form 3, reporting one transaction, filed
by Sarborg Ltd. on May 7, 2025, two Form 4s filed by Andrew Regan, reporting two transactions as filed on June 13, 2025 and December 22, 2025, one Form 4
filed by Chele Chiavacci Farley, reporting one transaction, on August 26, 2025, one Form 4 filed by Freda C. Lewis-Hall, reporting one transaction, on August 26, 2025, and one Form 4 filed by
Simon Fry, reporting one transaction, on August 26, 2025. Late reports amounted to one for Sarborg Ltd, two for Andrew Regan, one
for Chele Chiavacci Farley, one for Freda C. Lewis-Hall, and one for Simon Fry.
Item
11. Executive Compensation
Fiscal
2025 Summary Compensation Table
The
following table summarizes the compensation earned by or paid to our principal executive officer, our former principal executive officer,
and our principal financial officer, who constitute all of our executive officers for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024. We have no defined
benefit or actuarial pension plan, and no deferred compensation plan.
NAME AND PRINCIPAL POSITION
FISCAL YEAR
SALARY
(1) ($)
Bonus (2) ($)
STOCK AWARDS
(3) ($)
OPTION AWARDS
(4) ($)
NONEQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN COMPENSATIONS
($)
ALL OTHER COMPENSATION
(5)
TOTAL
($)
Andrew Regan (6)
2025
$ -
$ 400,110
$ 768,686
$ -
$ -
$ 7,000,000
$ 8,168,796
David Tapolczay
2025
$ 391,506
$ 127,000
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ 518,506
Former Chief Executive Officer and Director and Current Head of Licensing & Strategy
2024
$ 558,578
$ -
$ 58,800
$ -
$ -
$ 617,378
James Bligh,
2025
$ 528,000
$ 345,840
$ 577,082
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ 1,450,922
Chief Financial Officer
2024
$ 438,060
-
$ 105,852
$ -
$ 132,300
$ 16,732
$ 692,944
(1)
Salaries converted from
British Pounds to US Dollars based on the following exchange rate in effect as of December 31, 2025: 1.35.
(2)
Reflects
a sign-on bonus of £100,000 for Dr. Tapolczay upon his appointment as Head of Licensing & Strategy. Reflects bonuses of
£160,000 and £102,000 awarded to James Bligh for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively; the 2025
bonus was accrued and paid within 2025, while the 2024 bonus was accrued in 2024 and paid during 2025. Reflects a one-time bonus of $0.4 million to Andrew Regan in lieu of a salary.
(3)
Reflects the grant date
fair value of fully vested stock awards granted to each of Dr. Regan and Mr. Bligh in 2025 computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic
718. See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion of the relevant assumptions
used in calculating the grant date fair value pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 718.
(4)
Reflects the grant date
fair value of stock option awards for the applicable year computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. See Note 11 to the consolidated
financial statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion of the relevant assumptions used in calculating the grant date
fair value pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 718. As required by SEC rules, the amounts shown exclude the impact of estimated forfeitures
related to service-based vesting conditions. Our named executive officers will only realize compensation to the extent the trading
price of our common stock is greater than the exercise price of such stock options.
(5)
The amounts shown for 2024 represent 401(k) matching contributions of $16,732
for Mr. Bligh and compensation expense of $7.0 million to Andrew Regan in connection with the transfer of CPL to Corvus.
(6)
Dr. Regan was appointed
as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company on April 15, 2025.
Compensation
Adjustments for 2025
Annual
Base Salaries
We
provide a base salary to retain and attract key executive talent and to align our compensation with market practices. Base salaries are
reviewed and established by the Compensation Committee and the board of directors on a competitive basis each year to align with market
levels.
Equity
Awards
The
Compensation Committee believes that a competitive long-term incentive program is an important component of the compensation of our named
executive officers because it: (i) enhances the retentive value of our compensation; (ii) rewards executives for increasing our stock
price and developing long-term value; and (iii) provides executives with an opportunity for stock ownership to align their interests
with those of our stockholders.
70
In
September 2025, the board of directors, conducted a review of the long-term incentive opportunities for our named executive officers.
Based on a review of each executive’s individual performance, having not provided a cash bonus to Mr. Bligh in two years, having
not provided a salary or bonus to Dr. Regan for his services, and the applicable market data, the board of directors approved the following
stock grants: (i) Dr. Regan received a fully vested stock award of 5,600 shares, and (ii) Mr. Bligh received a fully vested stock award of
2,400 shares. These grant levels have been adjusted to reflect the 1-for-25 reverse stock split on March 26, 2025.
Employment
Agreements
Dr.
Tapolczay
On
September 22, 2023, we entered into an employment agreement (the “Tapolczay Employment Agreement”) with Dr. Tapolczay, pursuant
to which he serves as our Chief Executive Officer of and a member of our board of directors.
Under
the Tapolczay Employment Agreement, Dr. Tapolczay was entitled to (i) an annual base salary of $550,000 increased to $566,500 effective
November 1, 2024, and (ii) a target annual bonus opportunity equal to 50% of his base salary, payable based on the achievement of performance
objectives as determined by our board of directors. In addition, the Tapolczay Employment Agreement provides that Dr. Tapolczay was entitled
to receive a sign-on stock option award to purchase 0.40% of the shares of our Common Stock pursuant to the terms of the 2023 Stock Incentive
Plan, which shall vest in equal annual installments over four years. The Tapolczay Employment Agreement provided for severance benefits
if he incurred certain terminations of employment.
On
April 12, 2025, Dr. Tapolczay notified the Board of the Company of his resignation from both the Board and his position as Chief Executive
Officer effective immediately. The Tapolczay Employment Agreement was terminated and he was not entitled to receive any severance benefits
under that agreement. However, Conduit UK Management LTD, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into an Employment Agreement
(the “Conduit UK Tapolczay Employment Agreement”) with Dr. Tapolczay pursuant to which Dr. Tapolczay provides strategic advisory
services as Head of Licensing & Strategy, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer. In exchange for Dr. Tapolczay’s services,
he received a sign-on bonus of £100,000 and an annual base salary of £240,000. Consistent with the terms of the Company’s
2023 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended, and subject to Dr. Tapolczay’s continued service pursuant to his Conduit UK Tapolczay Employment
Agreement, his outstanding equity awards he has previously received will remain outstanding and continue to vest based on the vesting
dates thereof. Dr. Tapolczay will provide the Company with a release of claims and will be subject to certain non-competition, non-solicitation,
non-disparagement, and confidentiality covenants.
James
Bligh
On November 15, 2024, Conduit Pharmaceuticals
Limited and Conduit UK Management LTD., wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company, entered into an amended and restated employment
agreement (the “Bligh Employment Agreement”) with James Bligh, pursuant to which Mr. Bligh will continue to be employed
by Conduit UK Management LTD. and continue to serve as the Interim Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President - Strategy
of the Company. Under the Bligh Employment Agreement, Mr. Bligh will receive an annual base salary of £400,000 (approximately
$500k), and will be entitled to a discretionary cash bonus of up to 40% of his base salary, subject to the achievement of certain milestones
that may be established by the Board of Directors or a committee thereof, from time to time. Mr. Bligh is also entitled to reimbursement
for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by him in the performance of his duties, subject to the terms of any expenses policy the
Company may have.
The
Bligh Employment Agreement requires at least six months’ advanced written notice for Mr. Bligh or Conduit UK Management
LTD. to terminate Mr. Bligh’s employment, except in the case of a summary dismissal (as described in the Bligh Employment
Agreement). However, Conduit UK Management LTD. may, at its sole discretion and by written notice, terminate Mr. Bligh’s employment
immediately and provide compensation to Mr. Bligh for the unexpired portion of such notice period. The Bligh Employment Agreement
replaces and supersedes the prior employment agreement between Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited and Mr. Bligh.
Effective
August 4, 2025, James Bligh, co-founder, director and Interim Chief Financial Officer had been appointed as the permanent Chief
Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Bligh will remain a member of the Company’s board of directors.
Andrew
Regan
On April 15, 2025, the Company appointed Andrew
Regan as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately (the “Appointment”). As a result of the Appointment, Dr. Regan will
serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company and will continue to serve as a director on the Board. Dr. Regan has not entered into
any compensation plans and will continue to waive all salary in connection with his service as Chief Executive Officer, and will be entitled
to reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with his role as Chief Executive Officer, although the Board may assess this determination
from time to time, resulting in the grant of one-time bonuses to Dr. Regan.
71
Outstanding
Equity Awards at 2025 Fiscal Year-End
The
following table summarizes all of the outstanding equity-based awards held by our named executive officers as of December 31, 2025, the
end of our fiscal year. The option shares reported below have been adjusted to reflect the 1-for-25 reverse stock split on March 26, 2026.
OPTION
AWARDS
NAME
OPTION
OR STOCK AWARD GRANT DATE
NUMBER
OF SECURITIES UNDERLYING UNEXERCISED OPTIONS (#) EXERCISABLE
NUMBER
OF SECURITIES UNDERLYING UNEXERCISED OPTIONS (#) UNEXERCISABLE
OPTION
EXERCISE PRICE
($)
OPTION
EXPIRATION DATE
David Tapolczay
11/18/2024
(2)
2
1
$
27,600
11/17/2034
12/1/2023
(1)
1
1
$
1,653,000
11/30/2033
James Bligh
11/18/2024
(2)
4
2
$
27,600
11/17/2034
12/01/2023
(1)
1
1
$
1,653,000
11/30/2033
Jo Holland
11/18/2024
(2)
1
1
$
27,600
11/17/2034
12/01/2023
(1)
1
1
$
1,653,000
11/30/2033
(1)
The stock option vests
as to 1/4 of the underlying shares on each of the first four anniversaries of the vesting commencement date
(2)
The stock options vests
50% of the grant date and 50% in three equal annual installments thereafter
Securities
Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
The
following table provides a summary of the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2025. The table reported below have been adjusted to reflect the 1-for-25
reverse stock split on March 26, 2026.
Plan category
Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights
Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options,
warrants and rights
Number of securities
remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))
(a)
(b)
(c)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
2023 Plan
242
$ 42,480
1,212
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
-
-
-
Total
242
$ 42,480
1,212
Director
Compensation
The
following table sets forth the compensation we paid to our non-employee directors during fiscal 2025 (The shares reported below have
been adjusted to reflect the 1-for-25 reverse stock split on March 26, 2026):
Name
Fees earned or
paid in cash
($)
Stock
awards
($) (1)
Option
awards
($) (2)
All Other
Compensation
TOTAL
($)
James Bligh
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
Faith L. Charles (3)
$ 30,000
$ 136,738
$ -
$ -
$ 166,738
Chele Chiavacci Farley
$ 55,375
$ 88,121
$ 28,350
$ -
$ 171,846
Freda Lewis-Hall
$ 61,750
$ 100,871
$ 28,350
$ -
$ 190,971
Simon Fry
$ 54,500
$ 84,371
$ 28,350
$ -
$ 167,221
Andrew Regan
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
$ -
(1)
Dr. Lewis-Hall elected to receive $40,250 of her cash fees in the form
of fully vested shares, Ms. Chiavacci Farley elected to receive $27,500 of her cash fees in the form of fully vested shares, Mr. Fry elected
to receive $23,750 of his cash fees in the form of fully vested shares, and Ms. Charles elected to receive $36,750 of her cash fees in
the form of fully vested shares.
(2)
Reflects the grant date fair value of fully vested stock awards granted
to each of Mr. Fry, Ms. Farley and Ms. Lewis-Hall in 2025 computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. See Note 11 to the consolidated
financial statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion of the relevant assumptions used in calculating the grant date fair
value pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 718.
(3)
On April 16, 2025, Ms.
Charles announced her resignation, due to personal reasons, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company and from all committees
on which she served, effective as of April 16, 2025. Ms. Charles’s resignation was not due to any disagreement with management
or the Company’s operations, policies or practices.
72
As
of December 31, 2025, our non-employee directors held the following stock options (the option shares reported below have been adjusted
to reflect the 1-for-25 reverse stock split on March 26, 2026):
OPTION
AWARDS
NAME
OPTION
OR
STOCK AWARD
GRANT DATE
NUMBER
OF
SECURITIES
UNDERLYING
UNEXERCISED
OPTIONS
(#)
EXERCISABLE
NUMBER
OF
SECURITIES
UNDERLYING
UNEXERCISED
OPTIONS
(#)
UNEXERCISABLE
OPTION
EXERCISE PRICE
($)
OPTION
EXPIRATION
DATE
Faith L. Charles
12/18/2024
(1)
1
1
$
21,000
12/18/2034
12/1/2023
(1)
1
1
$
1,653,000
11/30/2033
Chele Chiavacci Farley
08/05/2025
(2)
75
1
$
378
08/05/2035
12/18/2024
(1)
1
1
$
21,000
12/18/2034
12/1/2023
(1)
1
1
$
1,653,000
11/30/2033
Freda Lewis-Hall
08/05/2025
(2)
75
1
$
378
08/05/2035
12/18/2024
(1)
1
1
$
21,000
12/18/2034
12/1/2023
(1)
1
1
$
1,653,000
11/30/2033
Simon Fry
08/05/2025
(2)
75
1
$
378
08/05/2035
12/18/2024
(1)
1
1
$
21,000
12/18/2034
(1)
The stock option vests
as to 1/3 of the underlying shares on each of the first three anniversaries of the vesting commencement date.
(2)
The stock options vests
100% of the underlying shares on the vesting commencement date.
Compensation
Program for the Board of Directors
We
adopted a compensation program for our board of directors, which became effective upon completion of the Business Combination, and was
amended on September 15, 2025. Under the compensation program, the non-employee directors will receive the following
annual cash retainers for their service on the board of directors and its committees:
●
$100,000 for each non-employee
director;
●
$25,000 for the chair of
the Audit Committee and $12,500 for each of the other members of that committee;
●
$25,000 for the chair of
the Compensation Committee and $12,500 for each of the other members of that committee; and
●
$25,000 for the chair of
the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and $12,500 for each of the other members of that committee.
A non-employee director who is serving on the Board as of the date of any annual meeting after the effective date
of the program, and who will continue to serve as a non-employee director immediately following such meeting, will automatically be granted
on the date of such annual meeting a stock option to purchase 15,000 shares of our Common Stock, which amount is pro-rated for new directors
to reflect their service since the last annual meeting (the “Annual Award”). Each Annual Award will vest and become exercisable
on the earlier of (i) the first anniversary of the date of grant, or (ii) the date immediately prior to the next annual meeting of the
Company’s stockholders following the date of grant, subject to the non-employee director continuing in service on the Board through
such vesting date.
Board
members who are also employees of the Company, such as Dr. Regan and Mr. Bligh, are not eligible to participate in the non-employee director
compensation program described above and did not receive any compensation for service on the board of directors.
Our
2023 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended, provides that the sum of the grant date fair value of all equity-based awards and the maximum
amount of cash that may become payable to any individual for services as a non-employee director during any calendar year may not exceed
$750,000, increased to $1,000,000 in the calendar year of a non-employee director’s initial service as a non-employee director.
The plan administrator may make exceptions to this limit for individual non-employee directors in extraordinary circumstances, as the
plan administrator may determine in its discretion, provided that the non-employee director receiving such additional compensation may
not participate in the decision to award such compensation or in other contemporaneous compensation decisions involving non-employee
directors.
Item
12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The
following table sets forth beneficial ownership of the Company’s Common Stock as of April 15, 2026 by:
●
each
person known to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding Common Stock of the Company;
●
each
of the Company’s executive officers and directors; and
●
all
of the Company’s current executive officers and directors as a group.
Beneficial
ownership is determined according to the rules of the SEC, which generally provide that a person has beneficial ownership of a security
if he, she or it possesses sole or shared voting or investment power over that security. Under those rules, beneficial ownership includes
securities that the individual or entity has the right to acquire, such as through the exercise of warrants or stock options or the vesting
of restricted stock units, within 60 days of April 15, 2026. Shares subject to warrants or options that are currently
exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April 15, 2026 or subject to restricted stock units that vest within 60 days of April 15, 2026 are considered outstanding and beneficially owned by the person holding such warrants, options, or restricted stock units for the
purpose of computing the percentage ownership of that person but are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage
ownership of any other person.
Except
as noted by footnote, and subject to community property laws where applicable, based on the information provided to the Company, the
persons and entities named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares shown as beneficially
owned by them. Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each beneficial owner listed in the table below is c/o CDT Equity
Inc., 4581 Tamiami Trail North, Suite 200 Naples, Florida 34103.
73
The
beneficial ownership of our Common Stock is based on 4,858,417 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding as of April 15, 2026,
which number excludes the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that
all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of the shares shown to be beneficially
owned by them. The table reported below have been adjusted to reflect the 1-for-25 reverse stock split effected on March 26,
2026.
Name
and Address of Beneficial Owner (1)
Number
of
shares
of
Common
Stock
%
of
Common
Stock*
Directors and executive officers
James Bligh
2,405
(1)
*
Chele Chiavacci Farley
78,302
(2)
1.61%
Freda Lewis-Hall
278
(3)
*
Andrew Regan
162,866
(4)
3.35
%
Simon Fry
260
(5)
*
All directors and executive officers as a group
(5 individuals)
244,111
5.02
%
Mark Taylor
2,068,000
(6)
42.57
%
Craig Wigglesworth
433,543
(7)
8.92
%
Primary Development Fund (Cayman) SPC
416,728
(8)
8.58
%
Nirland Limited
346,834
(9)
7.14
%
*
Indicates
beneficial ownership of less than 1%.
(1)
Consists of (i) 2,400 shares of Common Stock, and (ii) options to purchase 5 shares of Common Stock that are currently
exercisable. Excludes 3 unvested options to purchase shares of Common Stock that are not exercisable within 60 days.
(2)
Consists of (i) 78,224 shares of Common Stock, (ii) warrants to purchase 1 shares of Common Stock and (iii) options
to purchase 77 shares of Common Stock that are currently exercisable. Excludes 2 unvested options to purchase shares of Common Stock that
are not exercisable within 60 days.
(3)
Consists of shares of Common Stock, of which (i) 192 are held directly by
Dr. Lewis-Hall, (ii) 6 were issued to Intelmed LLC, of which Dr. Lewis-Hall is the Managing Director, (iii) 1 share of Common Stock
was received by Mr. Emerson Hall, Jr., Dr. Lewis-Hall’s spouse, (iv) 77 are underlying options that are currently exercisable
and are held directly by Dr. Lewis-Hall, (v) warrants to purchase 1 share of Common Stock held directly by Dr. Lewis-Hall, and (vi) warrants
to purchase 1 share of Common Stock held by Intelmed LLC. By virtue of this relationship with both Intelmed LLC and her spouse, Dr. Lewis-Hall
may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the securities held of record by Intelmed LLC and Mr. Emerson Hall, Jr. Dr. Lewis-Hall
disclaims any such beneficial ownership except to the extent of her pecuniary interest therein. Excludes 2 unvested option to purchase
shares of Common Stock that are not exercisable within 60 days. The business address of Intelmed LLC is 11421 Golden Eagle Court Naples,
Florida 34120.
(4)
Consists of (i) 5,600 shares of Common Stock held directly by Dr. Regan,
(ii) 156,393 shares of Common Stock held by Corvus Capital Limited (“Corvus”), and (iii) 773 shares of Common Stock held by Manoira Corporation (“Manoira”). Corvus is
the owner of 99.0% of the equity interests of Manoira and Algo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Corvus, and, therefore, may also be deemed
to beneficially own the shares of Common Stock held of record by Manoira and Algo. Dr. Regan is the sole director of Manoira and the Chief
Executive Officer and sole shareholder of Corvus. By virtue of these relationships, Dr. Regan may be deemed to beneficially own the shares
of Common Stock held by Manoira, Algo and Corvus. Each of Corvus and Dr. Regan disclaims any such beneficial ownership except to the extent
of its or his pecuniary interest therein. Pursuant to a participation and inducement agreement with Nirland Limited, 100 shares of Common
Stock held by Corvus may, in certain circumstances, be subject to transfer to Nirland Limited and all such shares of Common Stock are
subject to a pledge agreement with respect to such arrangement. The business address of Corvus is Floor 2, Willow House, Cricket Square
PO Box 709 Grand Cayman KY1-1107, Cayman Islands.
(5)
Consists of 184 shares of Common Stock and options to purchase 76 shares
of Common Stock that are currently exercisable. Excludes 2 options to purchase shares of Common Stock that are not exercisable within
60 days.
(6)
Consists of shares issued pursuant to the February 2026 Sarborg Transaction
(defined below) comprising of (i) 1,469,711 shares of Common Stock held directly by Prospect Capital Securities Limited (“PCSL”);
and (ii) 598,289 shares of Common Stock held directly by Prospect Finance Limited (“PFL”). Mr. Taylor disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares of Common Stock
held by PCSL and PFL except to the extent of his pecuniary interest. The business address of each of Mark Taylor, PCSL, and PFL is Level
4, 16 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Auckland, New Zealand.
(7)
Consists of shares issued pursuant to the February 2026 Sarborg Transaction
(defined below). The address of Craig Wigglesworth is 264 Riddell Road, Glendowie, Auckland 1071, New Zealand.
(8)
Consists of shares issued pursuant to the February 2026 Sarborg Transaction
(defined below). The address of Primary Development Fund (Cayman) SPC is FOR SUB A/C OF E3 FUND SP, IFINA UK Ltd., Ifina House, 6 the
Court, Holywell Business Park, Northfield Road, Southam, Warwickshire, CV47 OFS United Kingdom.
(9)
Consists of shares issued pursuant to the February 2026 Sarborg Transaction
(defined below). The business address of Nirland Limited is The Old Stables Rue a L’Or, St Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 1QG.
74
Item
13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
In
addition to the compensation arrangements with directors and executive officers described under the sections titled “Executive
Compensation” and “Management,” the following is a description of each transaction since January 1, 2024 and each currently
proposed transaction, in which:
●
we
have been or are to be a participant;
●
the
amount involved exceeds or will exceed $120,000; and
●
any
of our directors, executive officers, or beneficial holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or any immediate family member
of, or person sharing the household with, any of these individuals (other than tenants or employees), had or will have a direct or
indirect material interest.
Policies
and Procedures for Related Party Transactions
Our
board of directors adopted a policy, at the closing of the Business Combination, with respect to the review, approval, and ratification
of related party transactions. Under the policy, the audit committee of the board of directors is responsible for reviewing and approving
related party transactions. In the course of its review and approval of related party transactions, the audit committee will consider
the relevant facts and circumstances to decide whether to approve such transactions. In particular, the policy requires the audit committee
to consider, among other factors it deems appropriate:
●
whether
the transaction was undertaken in the ordinary course of business of the Company;
●
whether
the related party transaction was initiated by the Company, a subsidiary, or the related party;
●
whether
the transaction with the related party is proposed to be, or was, entered into on terms no less favorable to the Company than terms
that could have been reached with an unrelated third party;
●
the
purpose of, and the potential benefits to the Company of, the related party transaction;
●
if
the approximate dollar value of the amount involved in the related party transaction, particularly as it relates to the related party;
●
the
related party’s interest in the related party transaction;
●
whether
the related party transaction would impair the independence of an otherwise independent director; and
●
any
other information regarding the related party transaction or the related party that would be material to investors in light of the
circumstances of the particular transaction
The
audit committee may approve the related party transaction only if the audit committee determines in good faith that, under all of the
circumstances, the transaction is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
Private
Units
Contemporaneously
with the closing of the IPO and the exercise of the overallotment option, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 2 private units
of MURF in a private placement at a price of $3,000,000 per private unit. Each private unit consists of one Private Share and one Private
Warrant (the “Private Warrant”). The private units are identical to the units sold in the IPO except that the (a) the placement
units and their component securities will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until October 22, 2023 except to permitted transferees
and (b) the warrants and rights included as a component of the placement units, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted
transferees, will be entitled to registration rights, respectively. Additionally, the warrants underlying the placement units contain
a cashless exercise provision and shall be non-redeemable while held by the initial purchasers thereof or their permitted assignees.
The Sponsor had agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private units and underlying securities (except in connection with
the same limited exceptions that the Private Shares may be transferred as described above) until after the Business Combination. In connection
with completion of the Business Combination, the Sponsor transferred placement units to each of Mrs. Knuettell and
Feinberg, former Directors of MURF, and Ms. Chiavacci Farley, former Director of MURF and current Director of CDT.
Sponsor
Support Agreement
Concurrently
with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Company entered into a support agreement with the Sponsor pursuant to which the Sponsor
agreed to, among other things, vote all of the shares of MURF common stock legally and beneficially owned by it in favor of the Business
Combination. On September 20, 2023, the Sponsor voted all of the shares of MURF common stock then legally and beneficially owned by it
in favor of the Business Combination.
75
PIPE
Subscription Agreement
In
September 2023, concurrently with the completion of the Business Combination, pursuant to the PIPE Subscription Agreement (the “PIPE
Subscription Agreement “) for an aggregate purchase price of $20.0 million, the Company issued an aggregate of 6 shares of
the Company’s Common Stock and PIPE Warrants (the “PIPE Warrants”) to purchase 6 shares of Company Common Stock.
In conjunction with the execution of the PIPE Subscription Agreement, Corvus Capital and its affiliates entered into a participation
and inducement agreement with the Private Placement Investor whereby Corvus agreed to provide certain payments and economic benefits
to such investor in the event Corvus Capital sold or pledged in a debt transaction any of the shares it was receiving in the Business
Combination. In certain circumstances, such investor may have a right to cause Corvus Capital to transfer certain of its shares to such
investor.
The
PIPE Subscription Agreement contains registration rights, pursuant to which within 15 business days after the closing of the PIPE Financing,
the Company was required to use reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement registering the resale of shares
of the Company’s common stock. On October 17, 2023, the Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 (SEC File No. 333-275056)
to satisfy that contractual requirement, which registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on December 15, 2023.
The
PIPE Warrants are exercisable until September 22, 2028 (five years after the completion of the Business Combination) and have an exercise
price of $3,450,000 per share, subject to adjustment as set forth in the PIPE Warrants for stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations
and similar customary adjustments. The Private Placement Investor may exercise each PIPE Warrant on a cashless basis if the shares underlying
the PIPE Warrants are not then registered for resale pursuant to an effective registration statement.
The
Company common stock and PIPE Warrants to purchase Company common stock issued pursuant to the PIPE Subscription Agreement were not registered
under the Securities Act and were issued in reliance upon the exemption provided under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation
D promulgated thereunder.
On
December 11, 2024, the warrants were modified to reduce the exercise price to $2,694,000 and the warrants were exercised on December 31,
2024.
Consulting
Agreement with Jack K. Heilbron
Jack
K. Heilbron, who served as the MURF’s Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chairman of the board of directors until September
22, 2023, has entered into a Consulting Agreement (the “Consulting Agreement”) with the Company, which became effective upon
the closing of the Business Combination. The Consulting Agreement provides that Mr. Heilbron will provide advisory and consulting services
from time to time to the Company until September 22, 2024. Pursuant to the terms of the Consulting Agreement, Mr. Heilbron is entitled
to rights as an observer to the Company’s board of directors. Mr. Heilbron is entitled to be paid $25,000 per calendar quarter
for his consulting services and is also entitled to a stock option to purchase the number of shares of Common Stock determined by dividing
(i) $300,000 by (ii) the per share Black-Scholes valuation as of the grant date, utilizing the same assumptions used in preparation
of the financial statements, with the resulting quotient rounded down to the nearest whole share. Mr. Heilbron was awarded stock options
to purchase 10 shares of Common Stock on December 1, 2023. As of December 31, 2024, and subsequent agreement between the parties,
the Company has paid Mr. Heilbron approximately $25,000 and granted Mr. Heilbron 2 shares of the Company’s common stock
76
Transactions
with Corvus Capital Limited
Corvus
Capital Limited (“Corvus”) is a significant investor in the Company through subscribing to 1 common shares prior to the
closing of the Merger on September 22, 2023. Shares held by Corvus on the closing date of the Merger were exchanged for shares of the
Company’s Common Stock. The Chief Executive Officer and principal owner of Corvus, Dr. Andrew Regan, is a member of the Board and
was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company on April 15, 2025. Dr. Regan has not entered into any compensation plans
and will continue to waive all compensation fees in connection with his service as Chief Executive Officer of the Company and is entitled
to reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with his role as Chief Executive Officer.
For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company incurred director
travel expenses payable to Dr. Regan of approximately $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively. Director fees were discontinued effective
upon the closing of the Merger, and no director’s fees were payable as of December 31, 2025 or 2024.
In
September 2023, concurrently with the completion of the Merger, pursuant
to the PIPE Subscription Agreement (the “PIPE Subscription Agreement “) for an aggregate purchase price of $20.0 million,
the Company issued an aggregate of 6 shares of the Company’s Common Stock and PIPE Warrants (the “PIPE Warrants”) to
purchase 6 shares of Company Common Stock. At the time of the execution of the PIPE Subscription Agreement, Corvus and its affiliates
entered into a participation and inducement agreement with Nirland whereby Corvus agreed to provide certain payments and economic benefits
to Nirland. In certain circumstances, Nirland may have a right to cause Corvus to transfer 100 shares held by Corvus to Nirland.
On
December 8, 2025, the Company and Corvus entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) for the issuance of
all of the outstanding shares of Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited (“CPL”) held of record by the Company (the “CPL Share”),
8,992 shares of Common Stock and 147,432 pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase shares of Common Stock
(the “Pre-Funded Warrant Shares”) collectively to Corvus. The issuance to Corvus was in connection with the sale of CPL,
a current subsidiary of the Company, that has been the subject of an ongoing litigation as previously disclosed. The Company sold CPL,
including the potential liability associated with the litigation, to Corvus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company’s Chief Executive
Officer for a settlement amount of $7,000,000 that was satisfied through the issuance of the Common Stock and Pre-Funded Warrants.
August
2024 Nirland Note
On
August 6, 2024, the Company entered into a Senior Secured Promissory Note (the “August 2024 Nirland Note”) with Nirland,
a related party of the Company, pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to Nirland the August 2024 Note in the original principal
amount of $2,650,000, inclusive of a $500,000 original issuance discount. Refer to Note 9 for additional details.
On
October 31, 2024, the Company and Nirland amended the August 2024 Nirland Note, whereby the August 2024 Nirland Note was amended to (i)
provide for the conversion of the August 2024 Nirland Note into shares of Common Stock, at Nirland’s discretion, in a multiple
of any unpaid amounts, if not otherwise previously paid, pursuant to the conversion rate contained therein, (ii) remove Nirland’s
Mandatory Prepayment Right, and (iii) remove Nirland’s right of first refusal to participate in any future equity or debt offerings
of the Company. The number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of any Conversion Amount pursuant to shall be determined
by dividing (x) such conversion amount by (y) the conversion price. Conversion amount means two and one quarter times the sum of (x)
portion of the principal to be converted, redeemed or otherwise with respect to which this determination is being made and (y) all accrued
and unpaid interest with respect to such portion of the principal amount, if any. Conversion price means, as of any conversion date or
other date of determination, $10, subject to adjustment as provided within the amended agreement.
77
October
2024 Nirland Note
On
October 28, 2024, the Company issued a promissory note (the “October 2024 Nirland Note”) to Nirland, a related party, in
the original principal amount of $600,000 in exchange for funds in such amount. In connection with the October 2024 Nirland Note, the
Company paid Nirland a 1% arrangement fee. The October 2024 Nirland Note bears interest at a rate of 12% per annum, is due and payable
semi-annually in arrears, and matures on October 31, 2025. Refer to Note 8 for additional details.
In
December 2024, the Company reduced the exercise price of the PIPE Warrants held by Nirland to $8.83, after which all such warrants were
exercised, resulting in proceeds of approximately $0.2 million. These proceeds were applied to reduce the outstanding balance of the
October 2024 Nirland Note.
The
Company made additional repayments of $0.1 million, $0.2 million, and $0.1 million on January 14, 2025, January 31, 2025, and February
7, 2025, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, the October 2024 Nirland Note had been fully repaid and no obligations remained outstanding.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recorded approximately
$9,000 of interest expense.
Sarborg
Service Agreement
On
December 12, 2024, the Company entered into a Services Agreement (the “Sarborg
Service Agreement”) with Sarborg Limited (“Sarborg”), a Cayman Islands company and related party of the Company. See
Note 16 for further reference to the relationship between the Company and Sarborg. Under the terms of the Sarborg Service Agreement, Sarborg
agreed to provide algorithmic and cybernetic technology services to CDT, including the development of decision-support tools and advanced
cybernetic systems tailored to enhance CDT’s decision-making processes and maximize the value of its pharmaceutical asset portfolio.
Sarborg agreed to perform the services to CDT comprised of three phases:
the Initial Phase (0-24 weeks) focuses on establishing a foundation for collaboration and aligning Sarborg’s services with CDT’s
strategic goals; the Development Phase (24-36 weeks) involves building technological infrastructure, including dashboards and predictive
models; and the Ongoing Services Phase (36-52 weeks) ensures the sustained functionality and relevance of Sarborg’s deliverables
while supporting CDT’s growth through iterative improvements and updates. Sarborg will create specific deliverables, including reports,
computer programs, software applications, APIs, mobile applications, source code, written technical specifications and designs, operating
and maintenance manuals, and other recorded data and information arising from or relating to the services. Sarborg will provide all necessary
resources to perform the services and deliver the deliverables in accordance with the Sarborg Agreement. To date, Sarborg has successfully
completed all phases and has achieved all milestones provided for pursuant to the Sarborg Agreement.
During
the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company incurred costs under the Sarborg Service agreement, including $1.8 million of
milestone payments related to the Services agreement and $0.4 million of ongoing service fees. Of the total costs
incurred, $0.4 million was capitalized as a diagnostic asset associated with the
dashboard, of which $0.2 million was amortized during the year and recorded within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations and
comprehensive loss. The remaining $2.2 million, consisting of milestone payments and related services (including signature mapping
reports), was expensed as incurred within research and development expenses. As of December 31, 2025, there were no outstanding payables
under the Sarborg Service Agreement.
78
Sarborg
Additional Agreement
Effective March 31, 2025,
the Company entered into an additional license and use agreement (the “Sarborg Additional Agreement”) with Sarborg, a related
party, covering certain additional deliverables and incorporating a new scope of work focused on analysis of the Company’s acquired
AstraZeneca assets. The term of the Sarborg Additional Agreement is for six months and provides for the payment, in aggregate, of $2.0
million, which includes an up-front license fee for the term of such agreement, in cash or stock at the Company’s election at the
closing price on the day preceding the effective date of such agreement. On March 31, 2025, the Company prepaid $1.65 million of the Sarborg
Additional Agreement through the issuance of 617 fully vested unregistered shares of Common Stock. The Company recorded the shares issued
under the Sarborg Additional Agreement at their fair value, as determined by the closing price of the Company’s Common Stock on
March 30, 2025, $2,670. Effective June 24, 2025, the term was extended to be 12 months from the effective date of the Sarborg Additional
Agreement at no additional cost to the Company. Effective October 1, 2025, the term
/stocks — the workspaceLOADING