Enveric Biosciences, Inc. 10-K

Item 1A. Risk factors Risks Related to Our Business and Financial Condition Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern as of December 31, 2022. We will be unable to continue to operate for the foreseeable future without additional capital. Our independent registered public accounting firm issued a report dated March 31, 2023 in connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2022, which included an explanatory paragraph describing the existence of conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern including our recurring losses, cash used in operations, and need to raise additional funds to meet our obligations and sustain our operations. In addition, the notes to our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, contain a disclosure describing the existence of conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us in the necessary timeframe, in the amounts we require, on terms that acceptable to us, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital our business, prospectus, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected and we may be unable to continue as a going concern. For example, we anticipate that our existing cash will enable us to maintain our current operations through December 31, 2023, but not beyond. If we are not able to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets and may receive less than the value at which those assets are carried on our consolidated financial statements and/or seek protection under federal bankruptcy law, and it is likely that holders of our common stock and holders of securities convertible into our common stock will lose all of their investment. If we seek additional financing to fund our business activities in the future and there remains substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, investors or other financing sources may be unwilling to provide additional funding on commercially reasonable terms or at all. As such, there is uncertainty regarding our ability to maintain liquidity sufficient to operate our business effectively, which raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. We are dependent on the success of our prospective product candidates, which are in early stages of development, and there can be no assurances that any such prospects will reach a particular stage in development, receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized. Our success will depend on our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our prospective product candidates through our development programs. We intend to develop at least two product candidates by undergoing the long, costly clinical-trial process for each candidate under an IND application and, eventually, obtaining FDA approval under an NDA before proceeding to market. In order to proceed with development of our pharmaceutical product candidates under the NDA pathway, we must obtain the FDA’s approval of our IND application and conduct preclinical and clinical trials in compliance with the applicable IND regulations, clinical-study protocols, and other applicable regulations and related requirements. We may never be able to develop products which are commercially viable or receive regulatory approval in the U.S. or elsewhere. There can be no assurance that the FDA or any other regulatory authority will approve of our current or future product candidates. In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, or “FDCA,” and implementing regulations. Drugs are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. The process required by the FDA before a new drug or biological product may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following: ● Completion of preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies, and formulation studies according to Good Laboratory Practices and other applicable regulations; ● Submission to the FDA of an IND application, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin in the United States; ● Performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials according to the FDA’s current good clinical practices, or GCPs, which sufficiently demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug or biologic for its intended uses; ● Submission to the FDA of a New Drug Application, or an NDA, for a new drug product; ● Satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the drug or biologic is to be produced to assess compliance with the FDA’s current good manufacturing practice standards, or cGMP, to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the drug’s or biologic’s identity, strength, quality and purity; ● Potential FDA audit of the nonclinical and clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the NDA or biologics license application; and ● FDA review and, potentially, approval of the NDA. The lengthy process of seeking required approvals and the continuing need for compliance with applicable statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial resources. There can be no certainty that approvals will be granted. 21 We may encounter difficulties that may delay, suspend or scale back our efforts to advance additional early research programs through preclinical development and IND application filings and into clinical development. We intend to advance early research programs through preclinical development and to file an IND application for human clinical trials evaluating the prospective product candidates in our pipeline. The preparation and submission of IND applications requires rigorous and time-consuming preclinical testing, the results of which must be sufficiently documented to establish, among other things, the toxicity, safety, manufacturing, chemistry and clinical protocol of the product candidates. We may experience unforeseen difficulties that could delay or otherwise prevent us from successfully executing our current development strategy. In addition, our ability to complete and file certain IND applications may depend on the support of our partners and the timely performance of their obligations under relevant collaboration agreements. If our relevant partners are not able to perform such obligations, or if they otherwise delay the progress, we may not be able to prepare and file the intended IND applications on a timely basis or at all. Any delay, suspension or reduction of our efforts to pursue our preclinical and IND strategy could have a material adverse effect on our business and cause our share price to decline. The novel coronavirus could adversely impact our business, including our current plans for product development, as well as any currently ongoing preclinical studies and clinical trials and any future studies or other development or commercialization activities. Since COVID-19 was initially reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China in December 2019, it has spread globally, including to countries in which we are currently, or have plans to, conduct preclinical or clinical studies or other development activities. There is significant uncertainty as to the likely effects of this pandemic. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we will likely experience disruptions that could severely impact our business, including, but not limited to, our current or future preclinical studies, clinical trials, regulatory progress, or any other development or commercialization activities, including (among others): ● delays or difficulties in enrolling patients in clinical trials, specifically since many of the patients are considered immunocompromised; ● delays or difficulties in clinical site initiation, including difficulties in recruiting clinical site investigators and clinical site staff; ● diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials; ● interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site monitoring, due to limitations on travel imposed or recommended by federal or state governments, employers and others; ● limitations in employee resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of our clinical trials, including because of sickness of employees or their families or the desire of employees to avoid contact with large groups of people; ● delays in receiving approval from local regulatory authorities to initiate our planned clinical trials; ● delays in clinical sites receiving the supplies and materials needed to conduct our clinical trials; ● interruption in global shipping that may affect the transport of clinical trial materials, such as investigational drug product used in our clinical trials ● changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 outbreak which may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or to discontinue the clinical trials altogether; ● delays in necessary interactions with local regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government employees; ● delay in the timing of interactions with the FDA due to absenteeism by federal employees or by the diversion of their efforts and attention to approval of other therapeutics or other activities related to COVID-19; and ● refusal of the FDA to accept data from clinical trials in affected geographies outside the United States. 22 In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic could disrupt our operations due to absenteeism by infected or ill members of management or other employees, or absenteeism by members of management and other employees who elect not to come to work due to the illness affecting others in our office or laboratory facilities, or due to quarantines. COVID-19 could also impact members of our board of directors, resulting in absenteeism from meetings of the directors or committees of directors, and making it more difficult to convene the quorums of the full board of directors or our committees needed to conduct meetings for the management of our affairs. The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which COVID-19 may impact our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions and social distancing in the United States and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and treat the disease. We have significant and increasing liquidity needs and may require additional funding. Research and development, management and administrative expenses and cash used for operations will continue to be significant and may increase substantially in the future in connection with new and continued research and development initiatives and our pursuit of IND authorization(s) for some or all of our product candidates, as is required to initiate clinical trials in human subjects in the United States. We will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations, continue to conduct clinical trials to support potential regulatory approval of marketing applications, and to fund commercialization of our current and future product candidates. 23 The amount and timing of our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to: ● the scope, number, initiation, progress, timing, costs, design, duration, delays (if any), and results of preclinical and clinical studies for our current or future product candidates; ● the outcome, timing and cost of regulatory reviews, approvals or other actions to meet regulatory requirements established by the FDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities; ● the timing and amount of revenue generated or received, including any revenue from grants or other sources; ● the rate of progress and cost of our clinical trials and other product development programs; ● costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights associated with our current and future product candidates; ● the effect of competing technological and market developments; ● personnel, facilities and equipment requirements; and ● the terms and timing of any additional collaborative, licensing, co-promotion or other arrangements that we may establish. While we expect to fund our future capital requirements from financing arrangements, we cannot assure you that any such financing arrangements will be available to it on favorable terms, or at all. The global spread of COVID-19 has created significant volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets and may reduce our ability to access capital and negatively affect our liquidity. Further, even if we can raise funds from financing arrangements, the amounts raised may not be sufficient to meet our future capital requirements. Additionally, the Company does not have sufficient unreserved, authorized shares to secure an equity investment of a sufficient amount, based on the Company’s currently traded price per share, and the Company will require shareholder approval to increase the amount of authorized shares. If we are not able to raise capital, we could be required to postpone, scale back or eliminate some, or all, of our development objectives or commercialization efforts. We depend on our current key personnel and our ability to attract and retain employees. Our future growth and success depends on our ability to recruit, retain, manage and motivate our employees. We are highly dependent on our current management and scientific personnel, including Joseph Tucker, Avani Kanubaddi, and Dr. Bob Dagher. The inability to hire or retain experienced management personnel could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan and harm our operating results. Due to the specialized scientific and managerial nature of our business, we rely heavily on our ability to attract and retain qualified scientific, technical and managerial personnel. The competition for qualified personnel in the pharmaceutical field is intense and we may be unable to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel necessary for the development of our business or to recruit suitable replacement personnel. There has been limited study on the effects of medical cannabinoids and psychedelics, and future clinical research studies may lead to conclusions that dispute or conflict with our understanding and belief regarding the medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, dosing, and social acceptance of cannabinoids and psychedelics. Research relating to the medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, and dosing of cannabinoids and psychedelics remains in relatively early stages. There have been few clinical trials on the benefits of cannabinoids and psychedelics conducted by us or by others. Future research and clinical trials may draw opposing conclusions to statements contained in the articles, reports and studies we have relied on, or could reach different or negative conclusions regarding the medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, dosing or other facts and perceptions related to cannabinoids and psychedelics, which could adversely affect social acceptance of cannabinoids and psychedelics and the demand for our product candidates. 24 Our limited resources may lead us to pursue a particular candidate and fail to capitalize on product candidates that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of medical and commercial success. As result of our limited financial, managerial and scientific leadership resources we focus on developing product candidates that we have identified as most likely to succeed. As such, we may have to forego or delay the development of other candidates that may prove to have greater potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable medical solutions, therapeutic enhancements and commercial potentials for viable markets when our spending on our current and future defined candidates with the indications specified therein may not yield any commercially viable products. Inaccurate evaluation of potential may result in relinquishment of valuable product candidate opportunity. We expect to face intense competition, often from companies with greater resources and experience than us. The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, with an emphasis on proprietary products and subject to rapid change. The industry continues to expand and evolve as an increasing number of competitors and potential competitors enter the market. Many of these competitors and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technological, managerial and research and development resources and experience than us. Some of these competitors and potential competitors have more experience than us in the development of pharmaceutical products, including validation procedures and regulatory matters. In addition, our future product candidates, if successfully developed, will compete with product offerings from large and well-established companies that have greater marketing and sales experience and capabilities than us or our collaboration partners have. Other companies with greater resources than we may announce similar plans in the future. In addition, there are other non-FDA approved CBD preparations being made available from other companies, which might attempt to compete with our future product candidates. In addition, small or early stage companies may prove to be competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. If we are unable to compete successfully, our commercial opportunities will be reduced and our business, results of operations and financial conditions may be materially harmed. In addition, we compete with these companies in recruiting and retaining scientific personnel as well as establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials. Our current and future preclinical and clinical studies may be conducted outside the United States, and the FDA may not accept data from such studies to support any NDAs we may submit after completing the applicable developmental and regulatory prerequisites. We are conducting, or may conduct, preclinical and/or clinical studies outside the United States. For example, we have conducted preclinical studies in Israel, and plan to conduct clinical studies for one or more product candidates in Israel or other non-U.S. countries. To the extent we do not conduct these clinical trials in accordance under an IND application, the FDA may not accept data from such trials. Although the FDA may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States that are not conducted under an IND application, the FDA’s acceptance of the data is subject to certain conditions. For example, the clinical trial must be well designed and conducted and performed by qualified investigators in accordance with ethical principles and all applicable FDA regulations. The trial population must also adequately represent the intended U.S. population, and the data must be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice in ways that the FDA deems clinically meaningful. In general, the patient population for any clinical trials conducted outside of the United States must be representative of the population for whom we intend to market the product candidate in the United States, if approved. In addition, while these clinical trials are subject to the applicable local laws, FDA acceptance of the data will be dependent upon our ability to verify the data and our determination that the trials also complied with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state and foreign statutes and regulations requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. We cannot guarantee that the FDA will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States. If the FDA does not accept the data from such clinical trials, we would likely result in the need for additional trials and the completion of additional regulatory steps, which would be costly and time-consuming and could delay or permanently halt our development of our product candidates. 25 Because the results of preclinical studies and earlier clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results, we may not have favorable results in our planned and future clinical trials. Successful development of therapeutic products is highly uncertain and is dependent on numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control. Drug development involves long lead times and involves many variables of uncertainty. Product candidates that appear promising in the early phases of development may fail to reach the market for several reasons including, without limitation: ● preclinical study results that may show the product to be less effective than desired (e.g., the study failed to meet our primary objectives) or to have harmful or problematic side effects; ● failure to receive the necessary regulatory approvals or a delay in receiving such approvals. Among other things, such delays may be caused by slow enrollment in clinical studies, length of time to achieve study endpoints, additional time requirements for data analysis or an IND and later NDA, preparation, discussions with the FDA, an FDA request for additional preclinical or clinical data or unexpected safety or manufacturing issues; ● manufacturing costs, pricing, or reimbursement issues or other factors that make the product not economical; and ● the proprietary rights of others and their competing products and technologies that may prevent the product from being commercialized. Any positive results from our preclinical testing of our prospective product candidates may not necessarily be predictive of the results from planned or future clinical trials for such product candidates. Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in clinical trials after achieving positive results in preclinical and early clinical development, and we cannot be certain that we will not face similar setbacks. These setbacks have been caused by, among other things, preclinical findings while clinical trials were underway or safety or efficacy observations in clinical trials, including adverse events. Moreover, our interpretation of clinical data or our conclusions based on the preclinical in vitro and in vivo models may prove inaccurate, as preclinical and clinical data can be susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials nonetheless failed to obtain FDA or other regulatory approvals. Similarly, undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to limit dosage in development or interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable foreign authorities. Restrictive label applications may include but are not limited to a Boxed Warning, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies, or REMS, or other limitations of use. Drug-related side effects during one clinical trial furthermore could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial, result in potential product liability claims or our ability to ensure enrollment for future trials. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly. Regulatory approval is limited by the FDA to those specific indications and conditions for which clinical safety and efficacy have been demonstrated, and we may be subject to fines, penalties or injunctions if we are determined to be promoting the use of our products for unapproved or “off-label” uses. When the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities issue regulatory approval for a product candidate, the regulatory approval is limited to those specific indications for which a product is approved. If we are not able to obtain FDA approval for any desired future indications for our products and product candidates, our ability to effectively market and sell our products may be reduced and our business may be adversely affected. While physicians may choose to prescribe drugs for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and for uses that differ from those tested in clinical studies and approved by the regulatory authorities, we are prohibited from marketing and promoting the products for indications that are not specifically approved by the FDA. 26 These “off-label” uses are common across medical specialties and may constitute an appropriate treatment for some patients in varied circumstances. Regulatory authorities in the United States generally do not restrict or regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatment within the practice of medicine. Regulatory authorities do, however, restrict communications by pharmaceutical companies on off-label use. If the FDA determines that our promotional activities constitute promotion of an off-label use, it could request that we modify our promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions by other agencies, including issuance of warning letters, suspension or withdraw an approved product from the market, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement, any of which could significantly harm our business. Business interruptions could delay us in the process of developing our product candidates. Loss of our stored materials or facilities through fire, theft, or other causes could have an adverse effect on our ability to continue product development activities and to conduct our business. Even if we obtain insurance coverage to compensate us for such business interruptions, such coverage may prove insufficient to fully compensate us for the damage to our business resulting from any significant property or casualty loss. Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and legal requirements. We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by employees could include intentional failures to comply with FDA, SEC or Office of Inspector General regulations, or regulations of any other applicable regulatory authority, failure to provide accurate information to the FDA or the SEC, comply with applicable manufacturing standards, other federal, state or foreign laws and regulations, report information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of confidential or protected information, including information obtained in the course of clinical trials, or illegal pre-approval promotion of drug candidates, which could result in government investigations, enforcement actions and serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a Corporate Code of Conduct and Ethics and Whistleblower Policy, but employee misconduct is not always possible to identify and deter. The precautions we take to detect and prevent these prohibited activities may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending our Company or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions. Our proprietary information, or that of our customers, suppliers and business partners, may be lost or we may suffer security breaches. In the ordinary course of our business, we expect to collect and store sensitive data, including valuable and commercially sensitive intellectual property, clinical trial data, our proprietary business information and that of our future customers, suppliers and business partners, and personally identifiable information of our customers, clinical trial subjects and employees, patients, 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. 27 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, regulatory penalties, disrupt our operations, damage our reputation, and cause a loss of confidence in our products and our ability to conduct clinical trials, which could adversely affect our business and reputation and lead to delays in gaining regulatory approvals for our future product candidates. Although we may obtain business interruption insurance coverage in the future, our insurance might not cover all losses from any future breaches of our systems. Failure of our information technology systems, including cybersecurity attacks or other data security incidents, could significantly disrupt the operation of our business. Our business depends on the use of information technologies. Our ability to execute our business plan and to comply with regulators’ requirements with respect to data control and data integrity, depends, in part, on the uninterrupted performance of our information technology systems, or IT systems and the IT systems supplied by third-party service providers. Our IT systems are vulnerable to damage from a variety of sources, including telecommunications or network failures, malicious human acts, natural disasters and more sophisticated and targeted cyber-related attacks that pose a risk to the security of our information systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of data and information. A successful cybersecurity attack or other data security incident could result in the misappropriation and/or loss of confidential or personal information, create system interruptions, or deploy malicious software that attacks our systems. It is also possible that a cybersecurity attack might not be noticed for some period of time. In addition, sustained or repeated system failures or problems arising during the upgrade of any of our IT systems that interrupt our ability to generate and maintain data could adversely affect our ability to operate our business. The occurrence of a cybersecurity attack or incident could result in business interruptions from the disruption of our IT systems, or negative publicity resulting in reputational damage with our shareholders and other stakeholders and/or increased costs to prevent, respond to or mitigate cybersecurity events. In addition, the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive personal information or proprietary or confidential information could expose us or other third-parties to regulatory fines or penalties, litigation and potential liability, or otherwise harm our business. Security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions could compromise sensitive information related to our business, prevent it from accessing critical information or expose it to liability, which could adversely affect our business and its reputation. In the ordinary course of our business, we expect to collect and store sensitive data, including legally protected patient health information, credit card information, personally identifiable information about our employees, intellectual property, and proprietary business information. We expect to manage and maintain this data utilizing on-site systems. This data includes a wide variety of business-critical information including research and development information, commercial information and business and financial information. The secure processing, storage, maintenance and transmission of this critical information is vital to our operations and business strategy, and we devote significant resources to protecting such information. Although we take measures to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access or disclosure, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers, or viruses, breaches or interruptions due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions, or lapses in compliance with privacy and security mandates. Any such virus, breach or interruption could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed by unauthorized parties, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. In the future, 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, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and European Union General Data Protection Regulation, government enforcement actions and regulatory penalties. Unauthorized access, loss or dissemination could also disrupt our operations, including our ability to process samples, provide test results, share and monitor safety data, bill payors or patients, provide customer support services, conduct research and development activities, process and prepare company financial information, manage various general and administrative aspects of our business and may damage our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. 28 Our operating results may vary significantly in future periods. We are in the early stages of product development and expect to focus substantial efforts for, at least, the next several years on preclinical and clinical trials and other research and development activities. We have not obtained regulatory approval for any product candidates. Our revenues, expenses and operating results are likely to fluctuate significantly in the future. We expect to incur substantial additional operating expenses over the next several years as our research, development, and preclinical and clinical study activities increase. Our financial results are unpredictable and may fluctuate, for among other reasons, due to: ● the scope, number, progress, duration, endpoints, cost, results, and timing of our preclinical testing and clinical studies of current or potential future product candidates; ● our ability to obtain additional funding to develop product candidates; and ● delays in the commencement, enrollment and timing of clinical studies. A high portion of our costs are predetermined on an annual basis, due in part to our significant research and development costs. Thus, small declines in revenue could disproportionately affect financial results in a quarter. Significant ongoing costs and obligations As a neuro-pharmaceutical drug discovery and development platform company, the Company expects to spend substantial funds on the research, development and testing of psychedelic molecular derivatives. In addition, the Company expects to incur significant ongoing costs and obligations related to its investment in infrastructure and growth and for regulatory compliance, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. The Company will also require significant additional funds if it expands the scope of current plans for research and development or if it were to acquire any other assets and advance their development. It is possible that future financing will not be available or, if available, may not be on favorable terms. The availability of financing will be affected by the achievement of the Company’s corporate goals, the results of scientific and clinical research, the need and ability to obtain regulatory approvals and the state of the capital markets generally. If adequate funding is not available, the Company may be required to delay, reduce or eliminate one or more of its research and development programs, or obtain funds through corporate partners or others who may require the Company to relinquish significant rights to its Psychedelic Derivatives or compounds or obtain funds on less favorable terms than the Company would otherwise accept. To the extent that external sources of capital become limited or unavailable or available on onerous terms, the Company’s intangible assets and its ability to continue its business plans may become impaired, and the Company’s assets, liabilities, business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially or adversely affected. In addition, future changes in regulations, changes in legal status of psychedelic products, more vigorous enforcement thereof or other unanticipated events could require extensive changes to the Company’s operations, increased compliance costs or give rise to material liabilities, which could have a material adverse effect on the business, results of operations and financial condition of the Company. The Company’s efforts to grow its business may be costlier than expected. 29 We may rely on third parties to plan and conduct preclinical and clinical trials We may rely on third parties to conduct preclinical development activities and intends to partner with third parties who may conduct clinical development activities with our Psychedelic Derivatives and other product candidates. Preclinical activities include “in vivo” studies providing access to specific disease models, pharmacology and toxicology studies, and assay development. Clinical development activities include trial design, regulatory submissions, clinical patient recruitment, clinical trial monitoring, clinical data management and analysis, safety monitoring and project management. If there is any dispute or disruption in its relationship with third parties, or if such third parties are unable to provide quality services in a timely manner and at a feasible cost, or if such third parties fail to meet certain development milestones, our active development programs may face delays. Further, if any of these third parties fails to perform as we expect or if their work fails to meet regulatory requirements, the testing and eventual development of viable Psychedelic Derivative drug candidates could be delayed, cancelled or rendered ineffective. Our reliance on third party contract manufacturers Upon our completion of the “in vitro” portion of the preclinical testing we intend to conduct, when only lab-grade and lab-scale psychedelic molecules are required, we intend to manufacture the required psychedelic molecules at our facilities in Calgary. However, when larger quantities and higher quality psychedelic molecules are required (e.g., for animal model testing), we intend to contract with appropriate third party contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) to, among other things, supply the active pharmaceutical ingredients (“API”) used in its Psychedelic Derivatives over which we may have limited control. We intend to rely on CMOs to supply APIs in compliance with local GMP regulations applicable to its Psychedelic Derivatives. All applicable jurisdictions, including Health Canada, and the FDA, ensure the quality of drug products by carefully monitoring drug manufacturers’ compliance with GMP regulations. The GMP regulations for drugs contain minimum requirements for the methods, facilities and controls used in manufacturing, processing and packing of a drug product. There can be no assurances that CMOs will be able to meet our timetable and requirements or carry out their contractual obligations in accordance with the applicable regulations. In addition, the API they supply to us may not meet our specifications and quality policies and procedures or they may not be able to supply the API in commercial quantities. If we are unable to arrange for alternative third-party supply sources on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner, it may delay the development of its Psychedelic Derivatives and could have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial condition. Further, the failure of CMOs to operate in compliance with GMP regulations could result in, among other things, certain product liability claims in the event such failure to comply results in defective products (containing our Psychedelic Derivatives) that caused injury or harm. In general, our dependence upon third parties for the supply of our APIs may adversely affect profit margins and our ability to develop and deliver viable Psychedelic Derivatives on a timely and competitive basis. Termination or non-renewal of key licenses and agreements Our business is highly dependent on a number of key licenses and agreements which expire in a short time period. Specifically, in conducting research and preclinical studies in compliance with current legislation, we substantially rely on: (i) the Facchini Drug License which expires on December 31, 2023; and (ii) the two material contracts with the Governors of the University of Calgary, which expire on November 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 (the “Calgary Agreements”). Health Canada renews drug licenses annually and Dr. Facchini has held the Facchini Drug License since October 5, 1995 and it has been renewed each year without issue. Until MagicMed obtains its own Dealer’s License or Section 56 Exemption necessary for its business, the termination, non-renewal or hinderance of use, as applicable of the Facchini Drug License or the Calgary Agreements would have a material adverse effect on MagicMed’s ability to develop Psychedelic Derivatives, conduct research or operate its business as it currently does. This could have a material adverse impact on MagicMed’s financial condition. 30 Negative results from clinical trials or studies of others and adverse safety events involving our Psychedelic Derivatives From time to time, studies or clinical trials on various aspects of biopharmaceutical or natural health products (“NHPs”) are conducted by academic researchers, competitors or others. The results of these studies or trials, when published, may have a significant effect on the market for the biopharmaceutical or NHP that is the subject of the study. The publication of negative results of studies or clinical trials or adverse safety events related to the psychedelic compounds used by us in the development of our Psychedelic Derivatives, or the therapeutic areas in which our Psychedelic Derivatives compete, could adversely affect our share price and our ability to finance future development of our Psychedelic Derivatives, and our business and financial results could be materially and adversely affected. Clinical trials of our Psychedelic Derivatives may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities or not otherwise produce positive results Before third parties are able to obtain marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of products containing our Psychedelic Derivatives, the completion of preclinical studies in animals and extensive clinical trials in humans to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the Psychedelic Derivatives will be required. Clinical testing is expensive and difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and has uncertain outcomes. The outcome of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not predict the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical, NHP and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or unacceptable safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. we do not know whether the clinical trials that third parties may conduct will demonstrate adequate efficacy and safety to result in regulatory approval to market any products containing our Psychedelic Derivatives in any jurisdiction. A product/compound candidate may fail for safety or efficacy reasons at any stage of the testing process. A major risk we face is the possibility that none of the products containing our Psychedelic Derivatives will successfully gain market approval from Health Canada, the FDA or other regulatory authorities, resulting in our inability to derive any royalty-based revenue from them. Raw materials requiring regulatory approval Some raw materials used by us will require regulatory approval by Health Canada and the FDA because the plant or fungi may contain a controlled substance. While we believe that we can acquire, or indirectly make use of, the requisite licenses to conduct our intended research and development activities, there is a risk that Health Canada and the FDA can either reject or require further action to approve the requisite licenses which would cause delays or result in losses for us and could result in the abandonment of a specific research programs. Raw materials and supplies are generally available in quantities to meet the needs of our business. An inability to obtain raw materials or product supply could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Possible increase in costs beyond what is currently expected as a result of regulatory review Health Canada and the FDA have not yet determined whether our Psychedelic Derivatives will be scheduled as controlled substances. In the event Health Canada or the FDA determine that these products are controlled substances and therefore, require regulatory approval, (a) our licensees will be required to obtain such approval; and (b) to the extent that we produce Psychedelic Derivatives, we will require similar regulatory approval. Such additional regulatory requirements may increase our costs and cause a delay in our operations. Further, if Health Canada or the FDA require that we perform additional preclinical studies, or if we determine that additional preclinical studies are required for our Psychedelic Derivatives, our expenses would further increase beyond what is currently expected and the anticipated timing of any potential approval of our Psychedelic Derivatives or licensing out agreements would likely be delayed. 31 We have never been profitable, have no products approved for commercial sale, and to date have not generated any revenue We have never been profitable and we do not expect to be profitable in the foreseeable future. Neither us, nor any third-party partner, have submitted any products containing our products for approval by regulatory authorities in Canada, the United States or elsewhere. Since inception, we have an accumulated deficit of $79.2 million and accumulated other comprehensive losses of $0.5 million. To date, we have devoted most of our financial resources to research and development, including drug discovery research, preclinical development activities, patent application filing and media relation efforts, as well as corporate overhead. We have not generated any revenues since inception, we expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and expect these losses to increase as we continue our product development activities. If our Psychedelic Derivatives and other products developed do not achieve market acceptance, we may never become profitable. As a result of the foregoing, we expect to continue to experience net losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future. These net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with drug development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to achieve profitability. In addition, our expenses could increase if we are required by the FDA or Health Canada to perform preclinical studies or trials in addition to those currently expected, or if there are any delays in completing our preclinical studies or the development of any of our Psychedelic Derivatives or other products. The amount of future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenues. We have no licensing, marketing or distribution experience and will have to invest significant resources to develop those capabilities or enter into acceptable third-party sales and marketing transactions We have no licensing, marketing or distribution experience. To develop licensing, distribution and marketing capabilities, we will have to invest significant amounts of financial and management resources, some of which will need to be committed prior to any confirmation that our Psychedelic Derivatives will be approved by the FDA and Health Canada for Psychedelic Derivatives where we decide to perform licensing, marketing and distribution functions itself or through third parties, we could face a number of additional risks, including that we or our third-party collaborators may not be able to build and maintain an effective marketing or sales force. If we use third parties to market and license our Psychedelic Derivatives, we may have limited or no control over our licensing, marketing and distribution activities on which our future revenues may depend. We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights We may from time to time seek to enforce our intellectual property rights against infringers when we determine that a successful outcome is probable and may lead to an increase in the value of the intellectual property. If we choose to enforce our patent rights against a party, then that individual or company has the right to ask the court to rule that such patents are invalid or should not be enforced. Additionally, the validity of our patents and the patents we have licensed may be challenged if a petition for post grant proceedings such as inter-partes review and post grant review is filed within the statutorily applicable time with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office or the United States Patent and Trademark Office. These lawsuits and proceedings are expensive and would consume time and resources and divert the attention of managerial and scientific personnel even if we were successful in stopping the infringement of such patents. In addition, there is a risk that the court will decide that such patents are not valid and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions. There is also the risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will refuse to stop the other party on the ground that such other party’s activities do not infringe our intellectual property rights. 32 Changes in patent law and its interpretation could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our Psychedelic Derivatives As is the case with other NHP, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property rights, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves technological and legal complexity, and obtaining and enforcing biopharmaceutical patents is costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. The Supreme Court of Canada and the U.S. Supreme Court have ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by the Canadian House of Representative, the Federal Court of Canada, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and international treaties entered into by these nations, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain patents or to enforce patents we may obtain in the future. Failure to manage growth As we advance our Psychedelic Derivatives through preclinical studies and seek business arrangements and partnerships with third parties to advance our Psychedelic Derivatives through clinical development, we will need to increase our preclinical development, scientific, management and administrative headcount to manage these programs and negotiate these arrangements. In addition, to meet obligations as a public company, we may need to increase our general and administrative capabilities and improve our operational and financial controls and reporting procedures. Our management, personnel and systems currently in place may not be adequate to support this future growth. In managing our growing operations, we are also subject to the risks of over-hiring and/or overcompensating our employees and over-expanding our operating infrastructure. As a result, we may be unable to manage our expenses effectively in the future, which may negatively impact our gross profit or operating expenses. Insurance and uninsured risks Our business is subject to a number of risks and hazards generally, including adverse preclinical trial results, accidents, labor disputes and changes in the regulatory environment. Such occurrences could result in damage to assets, personal injury or death, environmental damage, delays in operations, monetary losses and possible legal liability. Our insurance may not cover all the potential risks associated with our operations. We may also be unable to maintain insurance to cover these risks at economically feasible premiums. Insurance coverage may not be available or may not be adequate to cover any resulting liability. Moreover, insurance against risks such as environmental pollution or other hazards encountered in our operations is not generally available on acceptable terms. We might also become subject to liability for pollution or other hazards which may not be insured against or which we may elect not to insure against because of premium costs or other reasons. Losses from these events or any significant uninsured liability may require us to pay substantial amounts, which would adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. Litigation We may become party to litigation from time to time in the ordinary course of business which could adversely affect our business. Should any litigation in which we become involved be determined against us such a decision could adversely affect our ability to continue operating and the market price for our shares and could use significant resources. Even if we are involved in litigation and win, litigation can redirect significant company resources. 33 Conflicts of interest Certain of our directors and officers do not devote their full time to the affairs of the Company and certain of our directors and officers are also directors, officers and shareholders of other biotechnology and research and development companies or other public companies in general, and as a result they may find themselves in a position where their duty to another company conflicts with their duty to the Company. There is no assurance that any such conflicts will be resolved in favor of the Company. If any such conflicts are not resolved in our favor we may be adversely affected. The psychedelic therapy industry and market are relatively new and this industry and market may not continue to exist or grow as anticipated We operate our business in a relatively new industry and market. In addition to being subject to general business risks, we must continue to build brand awareness in this industry and market through significant investments in our strategy, our operational capacity, quality assurance and compliance with regulations. In addition, there is no assurance that the industry and market will continue to exist and grow as currently estimated or anticipated or function and evolve in the manner consistent with management’s expectations and assumptions. Any event or circumstance that adversely affects the psychedelic therapy industry and market could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and results of operations. The psychedelic medicine market will face specific marketing challenges given the products’ status as a controlled substance which resulted in past and current public perception that the products have negative health and lifestyle effects and have the potential to cause physical and social harm due to psychoactive and potentially addictive effects. Any marketing efforts by us would need to overcome this perception to build consumer confidence, brand recognition and goodwill. The psychedelics industry and market are relatively new, and the industry may not succeed in the long term. We operate our business in a relatively new industry and market. The use of psychedelics for medicinal purposes has shown promise in various studies and we believe that both regulators and the public have an increasing awareness and acceptance of this promising field. Nevertheless, psychedelics remain a controlled substance in the United States, Canada, and most other jurisdictions and their use for research and therapeutic purposes remains highly regulated and narrow in scope. There is no assurance that the industry and market will continue to grow as currently estimated or anticipated or function and evolve in the manner consistent with management’s expectations and assumptions. Any event or circumstance that adversely affects the psychedelic manufacturing and medicines industry and market could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have committed and expect to continue committing significant resources and capital to the development of psychedelic products for therapeutic uses. As a category of products, medical-grade psychedelics raw materials and psychedelic-derived APIs, and research into such substances, represent relatively untested offerings in the marketplace, and we cannot provide assurance that psychedelics as a category, or that our prospective products, in particular, will achieve market acceptance. Moreover, as a relatively new industry, there are not many established players in the psychedelic-based medicines industry whose business model we can emulate. Similarly, there is little information about comparable companies available for potential investors to review in making a decision about whether to invest in our common shares. Our psychedelic product candidates may generate public controversy. Adverse publicity or public perception regarding the psychedelic APIs we intend to utilize may negatively influence our success and that of our prospective investigational therapies. Our ability to establish and grow our business is substantially dependent on the success of the emerging market for psychedelics-based medicines, which will depend upon, among other matters, pronounced and rapidly changing public preferences, factors which are difficult to predict and over which we have little, if any, control. We and our clients will be highly dependent upon consumer perception of psychedelic-based therapies and other products. 34 Therapies containing controlled substances may generate public controversy. Political and social pressures and adverse publicity could lead to delays in approval of, and increased expenses for any future therapeutic candidates we may develop. Opponents of these therapies may seek restrictions on marketing and withdrawal of any regulatory approvals. In addition, these opponents may seek to generate negative publicity in an effort to persuade the medical community to reject these therapies. For example, we may face media-communicated criticism directed at our clinical development program. Adverse publicity from psilocybin misuse may adversely affect the commercial success or market penetration achievable by our product candidates. Anti-psychedelic protests have historically occurred and may occur in the future and generate media coverage. Political pressures and adverse publicity could lead to delays in, and increased expenses for, and limit or restrict the introduction and marketing of any future therapeutic candidates. The expansion of the use of psychedelics in the medical industry may require new clinical research into effective medical therapies Research in United States and internationally regarding the medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, addictiveness, dosing and social acceptance of psychedelic and psychoactive products remains in early stages. There have been relatively few clinical trials on the benefits of such products. Although we believe that the articles, reports and studies support our beliefs regarding the medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, dosing and social acceptance of psychedelic and psychoactive products, future research and clinical trials may prove such statements to be incorrect, or could raise concerns regarding, and perceptions relating to, psychedelic and psychoactive products. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, readers should not place undue reliance on such articles and reports. Future research studies and clinical trials may draw opposing conclusions to those stated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or reach negative conclusions regarding the medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, dosing, social acceptance or other facts and perceptions related to psychedelic and psychoactive products, which could have a material adverse effect on the demand for our Psychedelic Derivatives with the potential to lead to a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. The psychedelic therapy industry is difficult to quantify and investors will be reliant on their own estimates of the accuracy of market data Because the psychedelic therapy industry is in a nascent stage with uncertain boundaries, there is a lack of information about comparable companies available for potential investors to review in deciding about whether to invest in us and, few, if any, established companies whose business model we can follow or upon whose success we can build. Accordingly, investors will have to rely on their own estimates in deciding about whether to invest in us. There can be no assurance that our estimates are accurate or that the market size is sufficiently large for our business to grow as projected, which may negatively impact our financial results. The psychedelic therapy and biotechnology industries are experiencing rapid growth and increased competition The psychedelic therapy and biotechnology industries are undergoing rapid growth and substantial change, which has resulted in an increase in competitors, consolidation and formation of strategic relationships. Acquisitions or other consolidating transactions could harm us in a number of ways, including, without limitation, by losing strategic partners if they are acquired by or enter into relationships with a competitor, losing customers, revenue and market share, or forcing us to expend greater resources to meet new or additional competitive threats, all of which could harm our operating results. Additionally, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. We have competitors in Canada, the United States, Europe and other jurisdictions, including, without limitation, major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug companies and universities and other research institutions. Many of our competitors have greater financial and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and more experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations than we do. Large pharmaceutical companies, in particular, have extensive experience in, and substantial capital resources for, conducting research, molecular derivative development, obtaining regulatory approvals, obtaining intellectual property protection and establishing key relationships. These companies also have significantly greater sales and marketing capabilities and experience in completing collaborative transactions in our target markets with leading companies and research institutions. 35 Our competitors may introduce new Psychedelic Derivatives or develop technological advances that compete with us. We cannot predict the timing or impact of competitors introducing new Psychedelic Derivatives or technological advances. Such competing Psychedelic Derivatives may be safer, more effective, more effectively marketed, licensed or sold or have lower prices or superior performance features than our Psychedelic Derivatives, and this could negatively impact our business and results of operations. Established pharmaceutical companies may also invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to in-license novel compounds that could make the Psychedelic Derivatives that we develop obsolete. As a result of all of these factors, our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection or discovering, developing and commercializing Psychedelic Derivatives before we do or may develop Psychedelic Derivatives that are deemed to be more effective or gain greater market acceptance than those of the Company. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative transactions with large, established companies. In addition, many universities and private and public research institutes may become active in the development of novel compounds. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis, technologies and Psychedelic Derivatives that are more effective or less costly than any of the Psychedelic Derivatives that we are currently developing or that we may develop, which could render our Psychedelic Derivatives obsolete or non-competitive. If our competitors market Psychedelic Derivatives that are more effective, safer or less expensive or that reach the market sooner than our Psychedelic Derivatives, if any, we may not achieve commercial success. In addition, because of our limited resources, it may be difficult for us to stay abreast of the rapid changes in each technology. If we fail to stay at the forefront of technological change, we may be unable to compete effectively. Technological advances or products developed by our competitors may render our technologies or Psychedelic Derivatives obsolete, less competitive or not economical. Changes in legislation, regulations and guidelines Our operations are subject to various laws, regulations and guidelines relating to, among other things, drug research, development, marketing practices, health and safety, the conduct of operations and preclinical trials. In addition to FDA and Health Canada restrictions on the marketing of pharmaceutical products, several other types of state and federal laws have been applied to restrict certain marketing practices in the pharmaceutical and medical industries in recent years, as well as consulting or other service agreements with physicians or other potential referral sources. While to the knowledge of management, we are currently in compliance with all such laws, changes to applicable laws, regulations and guidelines may cause adverse effects to its operations. The risks to the business of the Company represented by this or similar risks are that they could significantly reduce the addressable market for our Psychedelic Derivatives and could materially and adversely affect the business, financial condition and results of our operations. Risks Related to Regulatory Matters Our current and prospective product candidates, and the development thereof, are or will be subject to the various federal and state laws and regulations relating to the safety and efficacy of health products, such as drugs and medical devices. We are in the process of developing investigational new drugs for which we intend to pursue FDA approval via the NDA process. In these product candidates, cannabinoid(s) and synthetic molecules based on psychedelics, such as psilocybin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline and MDMA, will be the active pharmaceutical ingredients. 36 In connection with our development and future commercialization (if applicable) of our prospective products, we, and each contemplated product candidate, are subject to the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The FDCA is intended to assure the consumer, in part, that drugs and devices are safe and effective for their intended uses and that all labeling and packaging is truthful, informative, and not deceptive. The FDCA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations define the term “drug,” in part, by reference to its intended use, as “articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” and “articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals.” The definition also includes components of drugs, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients. To be lawfully marketed in the United States, drugs must generally either receive premarket approval by FDA through the NDA process or conform to a “monograph” for a particular drug category, as established by FDA’s Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drug Review. If the FDA does not award premarket approval for our product candidates through the NDA process, this will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, the nature of the active ingredients we intend to utilize in our product candidates subjects us and our development and future commercialization (as applicable) activities to additional regulatory scrutiny and oversight. In connection with our development and future commercialization (if applicable) of psychedelic-based product candidates, we and each contemplated product candidate will be subject to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act in the United States and analogous state and foreign laws. Additionally, with regard to our cannabinoid pipeline, one or more product candidates will be developed using synthetic cannabidiol (CBD), which may subject such product candidates to increased regulatory scrutiny or uncertainty. While we currently believe that our candidates containing (or that will be developed using) synthetic CBD are not subject to the CSA because they are THC-free, this is an evolving regulatory area that is subject to uncertainty. The DEA may change its position or disagree with ours and classify any synthetic-CBD product candidates that we may develop as Schedule I controlled substances, in which case, additional regulatory authorizations may be needed (such as, for example, DEA registrations for facilities testing or otherwise handling Schedule I controlled substances), and there may be increased expenses and/or challenges in connection therewith. There is no guarantee that any of our investigational drugs will ever be approved as medicines in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates, as there are currently very few FDA-approved drugs containing the psychedelic ingredients we intend to utilize as active ingredients and only one FDA-approved drug containing CBD as the active ingredient (and three containing synthetic cannabinoids). And, the laws and regulations generally applicable to the industry in which the Company is involved are subject to constant evolution and may change in ways currently unforeseen. Any amendment to or replacement of existing laws or regulations, including the re-classification of the substances the Company is developing or with which it is working, which are matters beyond the Company’s control, may cause the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects to be adversely affected or may cause the Company to incur significant costs in complying with such changes or it may be unable to comply therewith. A violation of any applicable laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which the Company operates could result in significant fines, penalties, administrative sanctions, convictions or settlements arising from civil proceedings initiated by either government entities in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates, or private citizens or criminal charges. 37 The psychedelic-derived therapeutic candidates we are developing or may develop in the future are subject to controlled substance laws and regulations in the United States and other countries where the product will be marketed, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations, or the cost of compliance with these laws and regulations, may adversely affect the results of our business operations and our financial condition. In the United States, psychedelics, such as psilocybin (and its active metabolite, psilocin), DMT, mescaline and MDMA, are classified by the DEA as a Schedule I substances under the CSA. The DEA regulates chemical compounds as Schedule I, II, III, IV or V substances. Schedule I substances by-definition have a high potential for abuse, have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and may not be prescribed marketed or sold in the United States. Pharmaceutical products approved for use in the United States may be listed as Schedule II, III, IV or V, with Schedule II substances considered to present the highest potential for abuse or dependence and Schedule V substances the lowest relative risk of abuse among such substances. Schedule I and II substances are subject to the strictest controls under the CSA, including manufacturing and procurement quotas, security requirements and criteria for importation. In addition, dispensing of Schedule II substances is further restricted. For example, they may not be refilled without a new prescription and may have a black box warning. Further, most, if not all, state laws in the United States classify the psychedelic active ingredients we intend to utilize as Schedule I controlled substances. For any product containing active ingredients that are Schedule I controlled substances to be available for commercial marketing in the United States, the product must be scheduled by the DEA to Schedule II, III, IV or V, which requires scheduling-related legislative or administrative action, which can further delay the path to market. There can be no assurance that the DEA will make a favorable scheduling decision. Even assuming categorization as a Schedule II or lower controlled substance (i.e., Schedule III, IV or V), at the federal level, such substances would also require scheduling determinations under state laws and regulations. FDA approval is also a prerequisite to commercialization, and the controlled-substance status of our psychedelic APIs may negatively impact the FDA’s decision regarding whether to approve the applicable product candidates. During the pre-market review process, the FDA may determine that additional data is needed for one or more of our psychedelic candidates, either from non-clinical or clinical studies, including with respect to whether, or to what extent, the substance has abuse potential. This may introduce a delay into the approval and any potential rescheduling process. In addition, therapeutic candidates containing controlled substances are subject to DEA regulations relating to manufacturing, storage, distribution and physician prescription procedures, including: ● DEA registration and inspection of facilities. Facilities conducting research, manufacturing, distributing, importing or exporting, or dispensing controlled substances must be registered (licensed) to perform these activities and have the security, control, recordkeeping, reporting and inventory mechanisms required by the DEA to prevent drug loss and diversion. All these facilities must renew their registrations annually, except dispensing facilities, which must renew every three years. The DEA conducts periodic inspections of certain registered establishments that handle controlled substances. Obtaining and maintaining the necessary registrations may result in delay of the importation, manufacturing or distribution of product candidates. Furthermore, failure to maintain compliance with the CSA, particularly non-compliance resulting in loss or diversion, can result in regulatory action that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The DEA may seek civil penalties, refuse to renew necessary registrations, or initiate proceedings to restrict, suspend or revoke those registrations. In certain circumstances, violations could lead to criminal proceedings. ● State controlled-substances laws. Individual U.S. states have also established controlled substance laws and regulations. Though state-controlled substances laws often mirror federal law, because the states are separate jurisdictions, they may separately schedule product candidates. While some states automatically schedule a drug based on federal action, other states schedule drugs through rule making or a legislative action. State scheduling may delay commercial sale of any product for which we obtain federal regulatory approval and adverse scheduling could have a material adverse effect on the commercial attractiveness of such product. We or any partners must also obtain separate state registrations, permits or licenses in order to be able to obtain, handle, and distribute controlled substances for clinical trials or commercial sale, and failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements could lead to enforcement and sanctions by the states in addition to those from the DEA or otherwise arising under federal law. 38 ● Clinical trials. Because some of our current and future product candidates contain Schedule I controlled substances, to conduct clinical trials in the United States prior to approval, each of our research sites must submit a research protocol to the DEA and obtain and maintain a DEA researcher registration that will allow those sites to handle and dispense such product candidates and to obtain the product from our importer. If the DEA delays or denies the grant of a researcher registration to one or more research sites, the clinical trial could be significantly delayed, and we could lose clinical trial sites. ● Importation. If any of our product candidates is approved and classified as a Schedule II, III or IV substance, an importer can only import it for commercial purposes if it obtains an importer registration and files an application for an import permit for each import. The DEA provides annual assessments/estimates to the International Narcotics Control Board, which guides the DEA in the amounts of controlled substances that the DEA authorizes to be imported. The failure to identify an importer or obtain the necessary import authority, including specific quantities, could affect the availability of our product candidates and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, an application for a Schedule II importer registration must be published in the Federal Register, and there is a waiting period for third-party comments to be submitted. It is always possible that adverse comments may delay the grant of an importer registration. ● Manufacture. If, because of a Schedule II classification or voluntarily, we were to conduct manufacturing or repackaging/relabeling in the United States, our contract manufacturers would be subject to the DEA’s annual manufacturing and procurement quota requirements. ● Distribution. If any of our product candidates is approved for marketing and scheduled under Schedule II, III or IV, we would also need to identify wholesale distributors with the appropriate DEA registrations and authority to possess and distribute or dispense such products. The psychedelic APIs we intend to utilize are listed as Schedule I controlled substances under the CSA in the United States and under similar controlled-substance legislation in other countries, and any significant violations of these laws and regulations, or changes in the laws and regulations, may result in interruptions to our development activity or business continuity. The psychedelic APIs we intend to utilize are categorized as Schedule I controlled substances under the CSA and are similarly categorized by most states and foreign governments. Even assuming any future therapeutic candidates containing such APIs are approved and scheduled by regulatory authorities to allow their commercial marketing, the ingredients in such therapeutic candidates will likely continue to be listed under Schedule I, or the state or foreign equivalent and, thus, illegal without the requisite regulatory authorizations (e.g., to allow for the use of such substances in clinical trials under an IND and in compliance with all applicable FDA, DEA, and other regulatory requirements). Violations of any federal, state or foreign laws and regulations could result in significant fines, penalties, administrative sanctions, convictions or settlements arising from civil proceedings conducted by either the federal government or private citizens, or criminal charges and penalties, including, but not limited to, disgorgement of profits, cessation of business activities, divestiture or prison time. This could have a material adverse effect on us, including on our reputation and ability to conduct business, our financial position, operating results, profitability or liquidity, the potential listing of our shares or the market price of our shares. In addition, it is difficult for us to estimate the time or resources that would be needed for the investigation or defense of any such matters or our final resolution because, in part, the time and resources that may be needed are dependent on the nature and extent of any information requested by the applicable authorities involved, and such time or resources could be substantial. It is also illegal to aid or abet such activities or to conspire or attempt to engage in such activities. An investor’s contribution to and involvement in such activities may result in federal civil and/or criminal prosecution, including, but not limited to, forfeiture of his, her or its entire investment, fines and/or imprisonment. 39 Various federal, state, provincial and local laws govern our business in any jurisdictions in which we may operate, and to which we may export our products, including laws relating to health and safety, the conduct of our operations, and the production, storage, sale and distribution of our products. Complying with these laws requires that we comply concurrently with complex federal, state, provincial and/or local laws. These laws change frequently and may be difficult to interpret and apply. To ensure our compliance with these laws, we will need to invest significant financial and managerial resources. It is impossible for us to predict the cost of such laws or the effect they may have on our future operations. A failure to comply with these laws could negatively affect our business and harm our reputation. Changes to these laws could negatively affect our competitive position and the markets in which we operate, and there is no assurance that various levels of government in the jurisdictions in which we operate will not pass legislation or regulation that adversely impacts our business. In addition, even if we or third parties were to conduct activities in compliance with U.S. state or local laws or the laws of other countries and regions in which we conduct activities, potential enforcement proceedings could involve significant restrictions being imposed upon us or third parties, while diverting the attention of key executives. Such proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, operating results and financial condition as well as on our reputation and prospects, even if such proceedings conclude successfully in our favor. In the extreme case, such proceedings could ultimately involve the criminal prosecution of our key executives, the seizure of corporate assets, and consequently, our inability to continue business operations. Strict compliance with state and local laws with respect to psilocybin and psilocin does not absolve us of potential liability under U.S. federal law, the Canadian law or EU law, nor provide a defense to any proceeding which may be brought against us. Any such proceedings brought against us may adversely affect our operations and financial performance. Our prospective products will be subject to the various federal and state laws and regulations relating to health and safety. We are in the process of developing investigational new drugs for which we intend to pursue FDA approval via the NDA process. In these product candidates, cannabinoid(s) will be the active pharmaceutical ingredient. In connection with our development and future commercialization (if applicable) of the above-described prospective products, we and each contemplated product candidate are subject to the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The FDCA is intended to assure the consumer, in part, that drugs and devices are safe and effective for their intended uses and that all labeling and packaging is truthful, informative, and not deceptive. The FDCA and FDA regulations define the term “drug,” in part, by reference to its intended use, as “articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” and “articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals.” Therefore, almost any ingested or topical or injectable product that, through its label or labeling (including internet websites, promotional pamphlets, and other marketing material), that is claimed to be beneficial for such uses will be regulated by FDA as a drug. The definition also includes components of drugs, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients. Drugs must generally either receive premarket approval by FDA through the NDA process or conform to a “monograph” for a particular drug category, as established by FDA’s Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drug Review. If the FDA does not award premarket approval for our product candidates through the NDA process, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. 40 Clinical trials are expensive, time-consuming, uncertain and susceptible to change, delay or termination. The results of clinical trials are open to differing interpretations. We currently have two product candidates that are in preclinical development for indications such as Radiation Dermatitis and other side-effects of cancer, including anxiety. We intend to develop additional drug candidates targeting other indications, including, for example, pain and post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD). After completing the requisite preclinical testing, submissions to FDA (namely IND applications), internal review board (“IRB”) review, and any other applicable obligations that must be completed before clinical testing may begin in the United States, we must conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates. Clinical testing is expensive, time consuming, and uncertain as to outcome. We cannot guarantee that any clinical trials will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, or at all. Failures in connection with one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. The FDA and other applicable regulatory agencies may analyze or interpret the results of clinical trials differently than us. Even if the results of our clinical trials are favorable, the clinical trials for a number of our product candidates are expected to continue for several years and may take significantly longer to complete. Events that may prevent successful or timely completion of clinical development include (without limitation): ● delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory authorities on trial design; ● delays in reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective contract research organization (“CRO”) and clinical trial sites; ● delays in sourcing materials and research animals for preclinical testing and correlated testing windows at the appropriate CRO facilities; ● delays in opening clinical trial sites or obtaining required IRB or independent ethics committee approval at each clinical trial site; ● actual or perceived lack of effectiveness of any product candidate during clinical trials; ● discovery of serious or unexpected toxicities or side effects experienced by trial participants or other safety issues, such as drug interactions, including those which cause confounding changes to the levels of other concomitant medications; ● slower than expected rates of subject recruitment and enrollment rates in clinical trials; ● difficulty in retaining subjects for the entire duration of applicable clinical studies (as study subjects 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; ● delays or inability in manufacturing or obtaining sufficient quantities of materials for use in clinical trials due to regulatory and manufacturing constraints; ● inadequacy of or changes in our manufacturing process or product candidate formulation; ● delays in obtaining regulatory authorizations, such as INDs and any others that must be obtained, maintained, and/or satisfied to commence a clinical trial, including “clinical holds” or delays requiring suspension or termination of a trial by a regulatory agency, such as the FDA, before or after a trial is commenced; ● changes in applicable regulatory policies and regulation, including changes to requirements imposed on the extent, nature or timing of studies; ● delays or failure in reaching agreement on acceptable terms in clinical trial contracts or protocols with prospective clinical trial sites; ● uncertainty regarding proper dosing; ● delay or failure to supply product for use in clinical trials which conforms to regulatory specification; ● unfavorable results from ongoing preclinical studies and clinical trials; 41 ● failure of our CROs, or other third-party contractors to comply with all contractual requirements or to perform their services in a timely or acceptable manner; ● failure by us, our employees, our CROs or their employees to comply with all applicable FDA or other regulatory requirements relating to the conduct of clinical trials; ● scheduling conflicts with participating clinicians and clinical institutions; ● failure to design appropriate clinical trial protocols; ● regulatory concerns with cannabinoid products or psychedelics, generally, and the potential for abuse; ● insufficient data to support regulatory approval; ● inability or unwillingness of medical investigators to follow our clinical protocols; ● difficulty in maintaining contact with patients during or after treatment, which may result in incomplete data; ● any clinical holds placed on company by regulatory agencies during review process; ● delay or failure to supply psychedelic product for use in clinical trials due to cross-border or inter-continental shipment or customs handling and processing of controlled substances; or ● difficulty finding clinical trials sites whose investigators possess the requisite credentials to oversee clinical trials involving a Schedule I substance. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Certain third-parties we rely on to conduct our operations are subject to regulatory requirements We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and expect to use clinical studies in the future. We rely on CROs and clinical data management organizations to design, conduct, supervise and monitor our preclinical studies and clinical trials. We and our CROs are required to comply with various regulations, including GCP, which are enforced by regulatory agencies, to ensure that the health, safety and rights of patients are protected in clinical development and clinical trials, and that trial data integrity is assured. Regulatory authorities ensure compliance with these requirements through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. Our reliance on third parties that we do not control does not relieve us of these responsibilities and requirements. If we or any of our CROs fail to comply with applicable requirements, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. Because we rely on third parties, our internal capacity to perform these functions is limited. Outsourcing these functions involves risk that third parties may not perform to our standards, may not produce results in a timely manner or may fail to perform at all. We rely on third parties to supply the materials for, and manufacture, our research and development, and preclinical and clinical trial supplies and APIs, and we expect to continue to rely on third-party manufacturers if we receive regulatory approval for any product candidate. To the extent that we have existing, or enter into future, manufacturing arrangements with third parties, we will depend on these third parties to perform their obligations in a timely manner consistent with contractual and regulatory requirements, including those related to quality control and assurance. 42 Difficulty or delays in enrolling patients in clinical trials may result in delay or prevention of necessary regulatory approvals. If we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in our clinical trials for our product candidates as required by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States, we may not be able to initiate or conduct our trials. Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our trials would result in significant delays could require us to postpone or abandon clinical trials. Enrollment delays may result in increased development costs for our product candidates. Any failure by us to comply with existing regulations could harm our reputation and operating results. We are subject to extensive regulation by U.S. federal and state and foreign governments in each of the U.S., European and Canadian markets, in which we plan to sell our product candidates. We must adhere to all regulatory requirements, including FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice (“GLP”), GCP, and GMP requirements, pharmacovigilance requirements, advertising and promotion restrictions, reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and their European equivalents. If we or our suppliers fail to comply with applicable regulations, including FDA pre-or post-approval requirements, then the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities could sanction our Company. Even if a drug is approved by the FDA or other competent authorities, regulatory authorities may impose significant restrictions on a product’s indicated uses or marketing or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-marketing trials. Any of our product candidates which may be approved in the U.S. will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, import, export, advertising, promotion, sampling, recordkeeping and submission of safety and other post-market information, including both federal and state requirements. In addition, manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to GMP. As such, we and our contract manufacturers (in the event contract manufacturers are appointed in the future) are subject to continual review and periodic inspections to assess compliance with GMP. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work will have to spend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, quality control and quality assurance. We will also be required to report certain adverse reactions and production problems, if any, to the FDA, and to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drugs are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product’s approved label. Similar restrictions and requirements exist in the European Union and other markets where we operate. If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, or disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of the product, it may impose restrictions on that product or on us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency or enforcement authority may: ● issue warning letters; ● impose civil or criminal penalties; ● suspend regulatory approval; ● suspend any of our ongoing clinical trials; ● refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications submitted by us; ● impose restrictions on our operations, including by requiring us to enter in to a Corporate Integrity Agreement or closing our contract manufacturers’ facilities, if any; or ● seize or detain products or require a product recall. 43 We may be subject to federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations and implementation of or changes to such healthcare laws and regulations could adversely affect our business and results of operations. If we successfully complete the requisite preclinical and clinical testing, make the required regulatory submissions and obtain any corresponding authorizations or licenses (as applicable), fulfill all other applicable development-related regulatory obligations, and, eventually, obtain FDA approval to market one or more of our current or future product candidates in the United States, we may be subject to certain healthcare laws and regulations. In both the U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals to change the healthcare system in ways that could impact our ability to sell our future product candidates. If we are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other federal, state or foreign regulations, we may be subject to administrative, civil and/or criminal penalties, damages, fines, individual imprisonment, exclusion from federal health care programs and the restructuring of our operations. Any of these could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. Since many of these laws have not been fully interpreted by the courts, there is an increased risk that we may be found in violation of one or more of their provisions. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we are ultimately successful in our defense, will cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention away from the operation of our business. In addition, in many foreign countries, particularly the countries of the European Union, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to government control. 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, some European Union jurisdictions operate positive and negative list systems under which products may only be marketed once a reimbursement price has been agreed. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for medicines but monitor and control company profits. Such differences in national pricing regimes may create price differentials between European Union member states. There can be no assurance that any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products. Historically, products launched in the European Union do not follow price structures of the U.S.. In the European Union, the downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription medicines, has become intense. As a result, barriers to entry of new products are becoming increasingly high and patients are unlikely to use a drug product that is not reimbursed by their government. We may face competition from lower-priced products in foreign countries that have placed price controls on pharmaceutical products. In addition, the importation of foreign products may compete with any future product that we may market, which could negatively impact our profitability. Specifically in the U.S., we expect that the 2010 Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we may receive for any approved product. There have been judicial challenges to certain aspects of the ACA and numerous legislative attempts to repeal and/or replace the ACA in whole or in part, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. At this time, the full effect that the ACA will have on our business in the future remains unclear. An expansion in the government’s role in the U.S. healthcare industry may cause general downward pressure on the prices of prescription drug products, lower reimbursements or any other product for which we obtain regulatory approval, reduce product utilization and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. Several states have adopted or are considering adopting laws that require pharmaceutical companies to provide notice prior to raising prices and to justify price increases. We expect that additional healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, and in turn could significantly reduce the projected value of certain development projects and reduce our profitability. The implementation of such cost containment measures and other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize any of our future product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval. 44 There is a high rate of failure for drug candidates proceeding through clinical trials. We have no products on the market, and our new potential cannabinoid-based drug product candidates are currently either in preclinical development or the research and discovery phase. Accordingly, none of our prospective products or investigational candidates have ever been tested in a human subject. Our ability to achieve and sustain profitability with respect to our product candidates in which cannabinoids are featured as the active pharmaceutical ingredient depends on obtaining regulatory approvals for and, if approved, successfully commercializing our product candidates, either alone or with third parties. Before obtaining regulatory approval for the commercial distribution of our product candidates, we or an existing or future collaborator must conduct extensive preclinical tests and clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity and potency of our product candidates. Generally, there is a high rate of failure for drug candidates proceeding through clinical trials. We may suffer significant setbacks in our 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. Further, even if we view the results of a clinical trial to be positive, the FDA or other regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of the data. In the event that we obtain negative results from clinical trials for product candidates or other problems related to potential chemistry, manufacturing and control issues or other hurdles occur and our future product candidates are not approved, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue or obtain financing to continue our operations, our ability to execute on our current business plan may be materially impaired, and our reputation in the industry and in the investment community might be significantly damaged. In addition, our inability to properly design, commence and complete clinical trials may negatively impact the timing and results of our clinical trials and ability to seek approvals for our drug candidates. The testing, marketing and manufacturing of any new drug product for use in the United States will require approval from the FDA. We cannot predict with any certainty the amount of time necessary to obtain such FDA approval and whether any such approval will ultimately be granted. Preclinical and clinical trials may reveal that one or more products are ineffective or unsafe, in which event further development of such products could be seriously delayed or terminated. Moreover, obtaining approval for certain products may require testing on human subjects of substances whose effects on humans are not fully understood or documented. Delays in obtaining FDA or any other necessary regulatory approvals of any proposed drug and failure to receive such approvals would have an adverse effect on the drug’s potential commercial success and on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, it is possible that a proposed drug may be found to be ineffective or unsafe due to conditions or facts that arise after development has been completed and regulatory approvals have been obtained. In this event, we may be required to withdraw such proposed drug from the market. To the extent that our success will depend on any regulatory approvals from government authorities outside of the United States that perform roles similar to that of the FDA, uncertainties similar to those stated above will also exist. Serious adverse events or other safety risks could require us to abandon development and preclude, delay or limit approval of our prospective products or current or future product candidates, limit the scope of any approved label or market acceptance, or cause the recall or loss of marketing approval of products that are already marketed. If any of our prospective products or current or future product candidates, prior to or after any approval for commercial sale, cause serious or unexpected side effects, or are associated with other safety risks such as misuse, abuse or diversion, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including: ● regulatory authorities may interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials; ● regulatory authorities may deny regulatory approval of our future product candidates; 45 ● regulatory authorities may require certain labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications or limitations on the indications for use, and/or impose restrictions on distribution in the form of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (“REMS”) in connection with approval or post-approval; ● regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval, require more onerous labeling statements, impose a more restrictive REMS, or require it to recall any product that is approved; ● we may be required to change the way the product is administered or conduct additional clinical trials; ● our relationships with our collaboration partners may suffer; ● we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; or ● our reputation may suffer. The reputational risk is heightened with respect to those of our future product candidates that are being developed for pediatric indications. We may voluntarily suspend or terminate our clinical trials if at any time we believe that the product candidates present an unacceptable risk to participants, or if preliminary data demonstrates that our future product candidates are unlikely to receive regulatory approval or unlikely to be successfully commercialized. After completing preclinical testing and obtaining the requisite regulatory authorizations, as applicable, we may voluntarily suspend or terminate our clinical trials for any number of reasons, including if we believe that a product’s use, or a person’s exposure to it, may cause adverse health consequences or death. In addition, regulatory agencies, IRBs or data safety monitoring boards may at any time recommend the temporary or permanent discontinuation of our clinical trials or request that we cease using investigators in the clinical trials if they believe that the clinical trials are not being conducted in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements, or that they present an unacceptable safety risk to participants. Although we have never been asked by a regulatory agency, IRB or data safety monitoring board to temporarily or permanently discontinue a clinical trial, if we elect or are forced to suspend or terminate a clinical trial of any of our future product candidates, the commercial prospects for that product will be harmed and our ability to generate product revenue from that product may be delayed or eliminated. Furthermore, any of these events may result in labeling statements such as warnings or contraindications. In addition, such events or labeling could prevent us or our partners from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our future product candidates and impair our ability to generate revenue from the commercialization of these products either by us or by our collaboration partners. The success of our prospective product candidates and any naturally derived or synthetic cannabinoid-containing candidates we may develop or approved products we may market, if any, in the future, is subject to a number of constantly-evolving state and federal laws, regulations, and enforcement policies pertaining to CBD, THC, and/or cannabis more generally. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, or the “2018 Farm Bill,” was signed into law on December 20, 2018. This 2018 Farm Bill expressly excluded “hemp” from the federal CSA’s definition of marijuana and, accordingly, declassified substances derived from or containing any part(s) of the cannabis plant containing not more than 0.3% THC on a dry-weight basis from Schedule I. In effect, the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the cultivation and commercial sale of hemp in the United States, subject to applicable state laws and regulations and applicable FDCA provisions and regulations interpreted and enforced by the FDA. 46 Notwithstanding the removal of hemp from Schedule I of the CSA, the 2018 Farm Bill did not alter the FDA’s authority to regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds under the FDCA. Currently, any therapeutic product containing cannabidiol or other cannabinoids must demonstrate safety and efficacy for the applicable intended use(s) via the FDA’s new-drug approval process to be lawfully marketed in the United States. We currently intend to pursue FDA approval via the NDA pathway for all cannabinoid candidates we may develop. To date, the FDA has only approved one drug with a naturally derived cannabinoid as the active ingredient and three drugs containing synthetic cannabinoids. There can be no assurance that our product candidates containing cannabinoids (as the active drug ingredient(s)) will be similarly approved for commercialization in the United States at any time in the near or distant future. State and federal laws pertaining to cannabis, including those relating to hemp and CBD, as well as those governing marijuana for medical and/or recreational uses, as applicable, are broad in scope and subject to evolving interpretations, and we could ultimately incur substantial costs in connection with determining the applicability of the various, overlapping laws and regulations in this area and compliance. In addition, violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our operations. In addition, it is possible that regulations may be enacted in the future that will be directly applicable to our current or future cannabinoid-related operations. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations, or applications, pertaining to any cannabinoids with which we may work in connection with the development and/or marketing of any drug products we may develop and/or market. While we believe that the 2018 Farm Bill and analogous state legislation has reduced the amount of DEA oversight of hemp-derived cannabinoids, this is a rapidly evolving area of U.S. law and substantial uncertainty remains as to the future of federal and state regulation of cannabinoid products. Any regulations the FDA issues relating to the sale, marketing, and/or other activities involving cannabinoid or certain cannabinoid-containing products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. 47 Costs associated with compliance with numerous laws and regulations could impact our financial results. In addition, we could become subject to increased enforcement and/or litigation risks associated with the CBD industry. The manufacture, labeling and distribution of products containing CBD or other cannabinoids is governed by various federal, state and local agencies. To the extent we are able to successfully commercialize any of our currently contemplated product candidates via the FDA’s NDA approval pathway, the presence of cannabinoids as active or inactive ingredients, as applicable, may give rise to heightened regulatory scrutiny and greater risk of consumer litigation, either of which could further restrict the permissible scope of our marketing claims about such products or our ability to sell them in the United States at all. The shifting compliance environment and the need to build and maintain robust systems to comply with different hemp or CBD-related regulations in jurisdictions may increase costs and/or the risk that we may violate one or more applicable regulatory requirements. If our operations, or any of our activities or prospective products, are found to be in violation of any such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply to the manufacture, distribution, or sale of prescription drug products, generally, and to products containing hemp or CBD, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business or our financial results. Failure to comply with any applicable FDA requirements, relating to CBD or otherwise, may result in, among other things, injunctions, product withdrawals, recalls, product seizures, fines and criminal prosecutions. Our advertising is also subject to regulation by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Additionally, analogous state advertising and labeling laws are often enforced by state attorneys general, and any state or federal enforcement action based on potentially misleading or deceptive advertising is often followed by costly class-action complaints under state consumer-protection laws. The FDA, on its own and in collaboration with the FTC, has issued numerous warning letters to companies offering for sale of topical, oral, and other types of products containing CBD, which were not approved under the FDA’s NDA process, in response to their making unsubstantiated claims on product webpages, online stores, and social media websites about the products’ purported therapeutic or other drug-like benefits in connection with CBD or other cannabinoids. The FDA deemed that companies “used these online platforms to make unfounded, egregious claims about their products’ ability to limit, treat or cure cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, autoimmune diseases, opioid use disorder, and other serious diseases, without sufficient evidence and the legally required FDA approval.” The FDA has continuously demonstrated its commitment to taking action against companies making medical claims about products containing CBD (as the active ingredient), as selling unapproved products with unsubstantiated therapeutic claims can put patients and consumers at risk. The FDA does not believe CBD has been shown to be safe and effective for any therapeutic use, except as used in Epidiolex, the only new drug containing CBD that has been approved by FDA under the NDA process, which was approved for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome in patients 2 years of age and older. The agency’s principal concern with CBD products on the market that are unlawfully claiming to treat serious medical conditions is that deceptive marketing of unproven treatments may keep some patients from accessing appropriate, recognized therapies to treat serious and even fatal diseases. Additionally, because they are not evaluated by the FDA, there may be other ingredients that are not disclosed, which may be harmful. The FDA has pledged to continue to monitor the marketplace and take enforcement action as-needed to protect the public against companies illegally selling products containing CBD as the active ingredient, claiming to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure serious diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, psychiatric disorders and diabetes; illegally selling cannabis and cannabis-derived products that can put consumers at risk; and marketing and distributing such products in violation of the FDA’s authorities. 48 Negative public perception of hemp and cannabinoid-related businesses, misconceptions about the nature of our business and regulatory uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We believe the cannabinoid industry is highly dependent upon consumer perception regarding the safety, efficacy, quality, and legality of cannabinoid, whether derived from hemp or marijuana. Consumer perception of cannabinoid products can be significantly influenced by scientific research or findings, regulatory investigations, litigation, media attention, and other publicity regarding the consumption of cannabinoid products. There can be no assurance that future scientific research, findings, regulatory proceedings, litigation, media attention, or other research findings or publicity will be favorable to the cannabinoid market or any particular product, or consistent with earlier publicity. Our dependence upon consumer perceptions means that adverse scientific research reports, findings, regulatory proceedings, litigation, media attention, or other publicity relating to cannabinoid products, generally or any particular cannabinoid products or derivatives, in particular, regardless of merit or accuracy, could have a material adverse effect on our business, the demand for our product candidates or any products for which we obtain regulatory approval in the future. Such adverse publicity or other negative media attention could arise even if the adverse effects reportedly associated with such products resulted from consumers’ failure to consume such products appropriately or as directed. Any adverse publicity or other similar occurrences affecting consumer perception may have a material adverse impact on our reputation, perception of our product candidates, our ability to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for our product candidates, and the commercial viability of the products for which regulatory approval is obtained in the future, if any. Regulatory risks related to Psychedelic Derivatives Successful execution of our strategy is contingent, in part, upon compliance with regulatory requirements from time to time enacted by governmental authorities and obtaining all regulatory approvals, where necessary, for the development and license of our Psychedelic Derivatives. Health Canada and the FDA have not yet determined whether our Psychedelic Derivatives will be scheduled as controlled substances. The psychedelic therapy industry is a new and emerging industry with ambiguous existing regulations and uncertainty as to future regulations; We cannot predict the impact of the ever-evolving compliance regime in respect of this industry. In the event Health Canada or the FDA determine that our Psychedelic Derivatives are controlled substances and therefore, require regulatory approval, to the extent that we produce Psychedelic Derivatives, we will be required to obtain such regulatory approval. Further, we may not be able to predict the time required to secure all appropriate regulatory approvals for our Psychedelic Derivatives, or the extent of testing and documentation that may, from time to time, be required by governmental authorities. The impact of compliance regimes, any delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain regulatory approvals may significantly delay or impact the development of markets, our business and Psychedelic Derivatives, and licensing initiatives and could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results of the Company. We will incur ongoing costs and obligations related to regulatory compliance. Failure to comply with regulations may result in additional costs for corrective measures, penalties or result in restrictions on our operations. In addition, changes in regulations, more vigorous enforcement thereof or other unanticipated events could require extensive changes to our operations, increased compliance costs or give rise to material liabilities, which could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results of the Company. Our management will be required to devote a substantial time to comply with public company regulations. As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as well as rules implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq, impose various requirements on public companies, including those related to corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel must devote a substantial amount of time to these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time consuming and costly. 49 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our compliance with these requirements will require that we incur substantial accounting and related expenses and expend significant management efforts. We will likely need to hire additional accounting and financial staff to satisfy the ongoing requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The costs of hiring such staff may be material and there can be no assurance that such staff will be immediately available to us. Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or if we identify deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, investors could lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources. We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate the material weakness, or if we experience additional material weaknesses in the future, our business may be harmed. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and for evaluating and reporting on the effectiveness of our system of internal control. Internal control over financial reporting is a process used to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. As a public company, we are required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other rules that govern public companies. In particular, we are required to certify our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires us to furnish annually a report by management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management performed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 and concluded our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2022 due to the material weakness related to segregation of duties. As of December 31, 2022, there were control deficiencies which constituted a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. Management has taken, and is taking steps to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting: we have conducted evaluation of the material weakness to determine the appropriate remedy and have established procedures for documenting disclosures and disclosure controls. Due to the small size of our Company, we do not maintain sufficient segregation of duties to ensure the processing, review and authorization of all transactions including non-routine transactions. While we have taken certain actions to address the material weaknesses identified, additional measures may be necessary as we work to improve the overall effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. Remediation efforts place a significant burden on management and add increased pressure to our financial resources and processes. If we are unable to successfully remediate our existing material weakness or any additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that may be identified in the future in a timely manner, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected; our liquidity, our access to capital markets, the perceptions of our creditworthiness may be adversely affected; we may be unable to maintain or regain compliance with applicable securities laws, the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market; we may be subject to regulatory investigations and penalties; investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting; our reputation may be harmed; and our stock price may decline. Tax risk We are subject to various taxes in either the United States or Canada or both, including, without limitation, the following: income taxes, payroll taxes, workers compensation, goods and services tax, sales tax, and land transfer tax. Our tax filings will be subject to audit by various taxation authorities. While we intend to base its tax filings and compliance on the advice of our tax advisors, there can be no assurance that our tax filing positions will never be challenged by a relevant taxation authority resulting in a greater than anticipated tax liability. 50 Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property We may not be able to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, which could harm our competitive position. We currently hold full or limited rights to several patents as an in-licensee covering the use of CBD including with current cancer treatments, both broadly, as well as for specific cancer types. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain additional patents, protect our trade secrets and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection (i.e., know-how), and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property of our future product candidates. The strengths of patents in the pharmaceutical field involve complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. Where appropriate, we seek patent protection for certain aspects of our products and technology. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents globally can be prohibitively expensive. Our policy is to look to patent technologies with commercial potential in jurisdictions with significant commercial opportunities. However, patent protection may not be available for some of the products or technology we are developing. If we must spend significant time and money protecting, defending or enforcing our patents, designing around patents held by others or licensing, potentially for large fees, patents or other proprietary rights held by others, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be harmed. We may not develop additional proprietary products that are patentable. The patent positions of pharmaceutical products are complex and uncertain. The scope and extent of patent protection for our future product candidates are particularly uncertain. Our future product candidates will be based on medicinal chemistry instead of cannabis plants. While we have sought patent protection, where appropriate, directed to, among other things, composition-of-matter for our specific formulations, their methods of use, and methods of manufacture, we do not have and will not be able to obtain composition of matter protection on these previously known CBD derivatives per se. Although we have sought, and will continue to seek, patent protection in the U.S., Europe and other countries for our proprietary technologies, future product candidates, their methods of use, and methods of manufacture, any or all of them may not be subject to effective patent protection. If any of our products is approved and marketed for an indication for which we do not have an issued patent, our ability to use our patents to prevent a competitor from commercializing a non-branded version of our commercial products for that non-patented indication could be significantly impaired or even eliminated. Publication of information related to our future product candidates by us or others may prevent us from obtaining or enforcing patents relating to these products and product candidates. Furthermore, others may independently develop similar products, may duplicate our products, or may design around our patent rights. In addition, any of our issued patents may be opposed and/or declared invalid or unenforceable. If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property, we may face competition from companies who attempt to create a generic product to compete with our future product candidates. We may also face competition from companies who develop a substantially similar product to our future product candidates that is not covered by any of our patents. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting, defending and enforcing 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 rights, 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 cost and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business. 51 Our success depends on our ability to obtain additional intellectual property and operate without infringing the proprietary rights of others. Infringement claims by third parties may result in liability for damages or prevent or delay our developmental and commercialization efforts. Our success and ability to compete depend in part on our ability to obtain additional patents, protect our trade secrets, and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property, we may face competition from companies who develop a substantially similar product to our future product candidates that is not covered by any of our intellectual property. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting, defending, and enforcing 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 rights, particularly those relating to pharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our intellectual property and other proprietary rights. There is also a substantial amount of litigation, both within and outside the U.S., involving patient and other intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry. We may, from time to time, be notified of claims that we are infringing upon the proprietary rights of third parties, and we cannot provide assurances that other companies will not, in the future, pursue such infringement claims against it, our commercial partners, or any third-party proprietary technologies we have licensed. We may be unsuccessful in licensing additional intellectual property to develop new product candidates. We may in the future seek to in-license additional intellectual property that we believe could complement or expand our product candidates or otherwise offer growth opportunities. The pursuit of such licenses may cause us to incur various expenses in identifying, investigating and pursuing suitable intellectual property. If we acquire additional intellectual property to develop new therapeutic product candidates, we may not be able to realize anticipated cost savings or synergies. If third parties claim that intellectual property used by us infringes upon their intellectual property, our operating profits could be adversely affected. There is a substantial amount of litigation, both within and outside the U.S., involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry. We may, from time to time, be notified of claims that we are infringing upon patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property rights owned by third parties, and we cannot provide assurances that other companies will not, in the future, pursue such infringement claims against us, our commercial partners or any third-party proprietary technologies we have licensed. If we were found to infringe upon a patent or other intellectual property right, or if we failed to obtain or renew a license under a patent or other intellectual property right from a third party, or if a third party that we were licensing technologies from was found to infringe upon a patent or other intellectual property rights of another third party, we may be required to pay damages, including damages of up to three times the damages found or assessed, if the infringement is found to be willful, suspend the manufacture of certain products or reengineer or rebrand our products, if feasible, or we may be unable to enter certain new product markets. Any such claims could also be expensive and time-consuming to defend and divert management’s attention and resources. Our competitive position could suffer as a result. In addition, if we have declined or failed to enter into a valid non-disclosure or assignment agreement for any reason, we may not own the invention or our intellectual property, and our products may not be adequately protected. Thus, we cannot guarantee that any of our future product candidates, or our commercialization thereof, does not and will not infringe any third party’s intellectual property. 52 If we are not able to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information, the value of our technology and products could be significantly diminished. We rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technologies, especially where it does not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our current and former employees, consultants, outside scientific collaborators, sponsored researchers, contract manufacturers, vendors and other advisors to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, we cannot guarantee that we have executed these agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets. Any party with whom we or they have executed such an agreement may breach that agreement and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they disclose such trade secrets, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor or other third-party, our competitive position would be harmed. We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights effectively outside of the United States. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on all of our product candidates throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Therefore, we choose to file applications and/or obtained patents only in key markets. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may be able to export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products in jurisdictions where we do not have any issued patents and/or our patent claims 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 certain 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 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 certain foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial cost and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business and could be unsuccessful. Our financial condition would be adversely impacted if our intangible assets become impaired Intangibles are evaluated quarterly and are tested for impairment at least annually or when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of each segment, and collectively the Company taken as a whole, might exceed its fair value. If we determine that the value of our intangible assets is less than the amounts reflected on our balance sheet, we will be required to reflect an impairment of our intangible assets in the period in which such determination is made. An impairment of our intangible assets would result in our recognizing an expense in the amount of the impairment in the relevant period, which would also result in the reduction of our intangible assets and a corresponding reduction in our stockholders’ equity in the relevant period. 53 Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Common Stock The market price of our common stock may be subject to significant fluctuations and volatility, and our stockholders may be unable to resell their shares at a profit and incur losses. The market price our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuation. Market prices for securities of life sciences and biopharma companies in particular have historically been particularly volatile and have shown extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions or interest rate changes, may seriously affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include, without limitation,: ● investors react negatively to the effect on our business and prospects; ● the announcement of new products, new developments, services or technological innovations by us or our competitors; ● actual or anticipated quarterly increases or decreases in revenue, gross margin or earnings, and changes in our business, operations or prospects; ● announcements relating to strategic relationships, mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations, joint ventures, capital commitments, or other events by us or our competitors; ● conditions or trends in the life sciences and biopharma industries; ● changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other life sciences and biopharma companies; ● general market conditions or domestic or international macroeconomic and geopolitical factors unrelated to our performance or financial condition; ● sale of our common stock by stockholders, including executives and directors; ● volatility and limitations in trading volumes of our common stock; ● volatility in the market prices and trading volumes of companies in the life sciences and biopharma industries; ● our ability to finance our business; ● ability to secure resources and the necessary personnel to pursue our plans; ● failures to meet external expectations or management guidance; ● changes in our capital structure or dividend policy, future issuances of securities, sales or distributions of large blocks of common stock by stockholders; ● our cash position; ● announcements and events surrounding financing efforts, including debt and equity securities; ● analyst research reports, recommendation and changes in recommendations, price targets, and withdrawals of coverage; ● departures and additions of key personnel; ● disputes and litigation related to intellectual properties, proprietary rights, and contractual obligations; ● investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors; ● changes in applicable laws, rules, regulations, or accounting practices and other dynamics; and ● other events or factors, many of which may be out of our control. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market prices of particular companies’ securities, securities class action litigations have often been instituted against these companies. Litigation of this type, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources. Any adverse determination in any such litigation or any amounts paid to settle any such actual or threatened litigation could require that we make significant payments. 54 Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant financial market volatility and uncertainty in recent months. A continuation or worsening of the levels of market disruption and volatility seen in the recent past could have an adverse effect on our ability to access capital, on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and on the market price of our common stock. We may issue additional equity securities in the future, which may result in dilution to existing investors. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may, from time to time, sell additional equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine. If we sell additional equity securities, existing stockholders may be materially diluted. New investors could gain rights superior to existing stockholders, such as liquidation and other preferences. In addition, the number of shares available for future grant under our equity compensation plans may be increased in the future. Also, the exercise or conversion of outstanding options or warrants to purchase shares of capital stock may result in dilution to our stockholders upon any such exercise or conversion. Certain stockholders could attempt to influence changes within our Company which could adversely affect our operations, financial condition and the value of our common stock. Our stockholders may from time to time seek to acquire a controlling stake in our Company, engage in proxy solicitations, advance stockholder proposals or otherwise attempt to effect changes. Campaigns by stockholders to effect changes at publicly-traded companies are sometimes led by investors seeking to increase short-term stockholder value through actions such as financial restructuring, increased debt, special dividends, stock repurchases or sales of assets or the entire company. Responding to proxy contests and other actions by activist stockholders can be costly and time-consuming and could disrupt our operations and divert the attention of our board of directors and senior management from the operation of our business. These actions could adversely affect our operations, financial condition and the value of our common stock. If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they publish negative evaluations, the price of our common stock could decline. The trading market for our common stock will rely in part on the availability of research and reports that third-party industry or financial analysts publish about our Company. There are many large, publicly traded companies active in the life sciences and biopharma industries, which may mean it will be less likely that we receive widespread analyst coverage. Furthermore, if one or more of the analysts who do cover us downgrade our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our Company, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline. We may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges in connection with the Offer that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment. Although Ameri and Jay Pharma conducted due diligence on each other prior to the completion of the Offer, there can be no assurances that their diligence revealed all material issues that may be present in the other company’s business, that all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence will be uncovered, or that factors outside of our control will not later arise. As a result, we may be forced to write-down or write-off assets, restructure operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in losses. Even if due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise, and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with each company’s preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may make future financing difficult to obtain on favorable terms or at all. 55 Anti-takeover provisions under Delaware corporate law may make it difficult for our stockholders to replace or remove our board of directors and could deter or delay third parties from acquiring our Company, which may be beneficial to our stockholders. Under our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, we are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), including Section 203 of the DGCL. Under these provisions, if anyone becomes an “interested stockholder,” we may not enter into a “business combination” with that person for three (3) years without special approval, which could discourage a third party from making a takeover offer and could delay or prevent a change of control. For purposes of Section 203 of the DGCL, “interested stockholder” means, generally, someone owning fifteen percent (15%) or more of our outstanding voting stock or an affiliate of ours that owned fifteen percent (15%) or more of our outstanding voting stock during the past three (3) years, subject to certain exceptions as described in Section 203 of the DGCL. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The current expectation is that we will retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be our stockholders’ sole source of gain, if any, for the foreseeable future. In the event that we fail to satisfy any of the listing requirements of Nasdaq, our common stock may be delisted, which could affect our market price and liquidity. Our common stock is listed on Nasdaq. For continued listing on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with the continued listing requirements, including the minimum market capitalization standard, the corporate governance requirements and the minimum closing bid price requirement, among other requirements. On February 18, 2022, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq indicating that, based upon the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock for the 30 consecutive business day period between January 5, 2022, through February 17, 2022, the Company did not meet the minimum bid price of $1.00 per share required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). On July 29, 2022, we received a letter from the Nasdaq staff stating that for the last 10 consecutive business days, from July 15 to July 28, 2022, the closing bid price of our common stock had been at $1.00 per share or greater. Accordingly, we regained compliance with Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). In the event that we fail to satisfy any of the listing requirements of Nasdaq, our common stock may be delisted. If we are unable to list on Nasdaq, we would likely be more difficult to trade in or obtain accurate quotations as to the market price of our common stock. If our common stock is delisted from trading on Nasdaq, and we are not able to list our common stock on another exchange or to have it quoted on Nasdaq, our securities could be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board or on the “pink sheets.” As a result, we could face significant adverse consequences including, without limitation,: ● a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; ● a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; ● a limited amount of news and analyst coverage for our Company; and ● a decreased ability to issue additional securities (including pursuant to short-form registration statements on Form S-3 or obtain additional financing in the future). 56 We may not be able to maintain an active trading market for our common stock. The listing of our common stock on Nasdaq does not assure that a meaningful, consistent and liquid trading market exists. If an active market for our common stock does continue, it may be difficult for investors to sell their shares without depressing the market price for the shares or at all. We maintain our cash at financial institutions, often in balances that exceed federally insured limits. The majority of our cash is held in accounts at U.S. banking institutions that we believe are of high quality. Cash held in non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing operating accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we could lose all or a portion of those amounts held in excess of such insurance limitations. While the FDIC took control of one such banking institution, Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”), on March 10, 2023, and the FDIC also took control of Signature Bank (“Signature Bank”) on March 12, 2023, we did not have any accounts with SVB or Signature Bank and therefore did not experience any specific risk of loss. The FDIC also announced that account holders would be made whole. Thus, we do not view the risk as material to our financial condition. However, as the FDIC continues to address the situation with SVB, Signature Bank and other similarly situated banking institutions, the risk of loss in excess of insurance limitations has generally increased. Any material loss that we may experience in the future could have an adverse effect on our ability to pay our operational expenses or make other payments and may require us to move our accounts to other banks, which could cause a temporary delay in making payments to our vendors and employees and cause other operational inconveniences. There are risks associated with the completion of the planned spin-off of our cannabinoid clinical development business. As previously announced, we plan to conduct a Spin-Off of our cannabinoid clinical development business into Akos Biosciences, Inc., which will operate independently as a publicly listed company. There is no assurance we will be able to successfully complete the Spin-Off. In the event the Company does not complete the Spin-Off, it could incur write-offs related to the legal, tax and regulatory costs of the transaction. The put right we granted to the investor in Akos if the spin-off has not occurred by May 5, 2023 may have an adverse impact on us. On May 5, 2022, Akos issued 1,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock to an investor. The Akos Series A Preferred Certificate of Designations provides that upon the earlier of (i) the one-year anniversary of May 5, 2022, and only in the event that the Spin-Off has not occurred; or (ii) such time that Akos and the Company have abandoned the Spin-Off or the Company is no longer pursuing the Spin-Off in good faith, the holder of the Akos Series A Preferred Stock shall have the right (the “Put Right”), but not the obligation, to cause Akos to purchase all or a portion of the Akos Series A Preferred Stock for a purchase price equal to $1,000 per share, subject to certain adjustments as set forth in the Akos Series A Preferred Certificate of Designations, plus all the accrued but unpaid dividends per share. Pursuant to the Akos Purchase Agreement, the Company has guaranteed the payment of the purchase price for the shares purchased under the Put Right. If the Spin-Off does not occur by May 5, 2023, the Put Right will be in effect and if exercised, it could adversely impact our liquidity and capital resources. We may acquire businesses or products, or form strategic alliances, in the future, and may not realize the benefits of such acquisitions. We may acquire additional businesses or products, form strategic alliances, or create joint ventures with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our existing business. If we acquire businesses with promising markets or technologies, we may not be able to realize the benefit of acquiring such businesses if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. We may encounter numerous difficulties in developing, manufacturing, and marketing any new products resulting from a strategic alliance or acquisition that delay or prevent us from realizing their expected benefits or enhancing our business. There is no assurance that, following any such acquisition, we will achieve the synergies expected in order to justify the transaction, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business and prospects. The Reverse Stock Split may decrease the liquidity of the shares of our common stock. The liquidity of the shares of our common stock may be affected adversely by the Reverse Stock Split given the reduced number of shares that are outstanding following the Reverse Stock Split. In addition, the Reverse Stock Split would have increased the number of stockholders who own odd lots (less than 100 shares) of our common stock, creating the potential for such stockholders to experience an increase in the cost of selling their shares and greater difficulty effecting such sales. Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments Not applicable.