PAVmed Inc. 10-K

Item 1A. Risk Factors The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or we presently deem less significant may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected. Risks Related to Financial Position and Capital Resources We have incurred operating losses since our inception and may not be able to achieve profitability. We have incurred net losses since our inception. To date, since our inception in June 2014, we have financed our operations principally through issuances of common stock, preferred stock, warrants, and debt, in both private placements and underwritten public offerings of our securities. Our ability to generate sufficient revenue from any of our products in development, and to transition to profitability and generate consistent positive cash flows is dependent upon factors that may be outside of our control. We expect our operating expenses will continue to increase as we continue to build our commercial infrastructure, develop, enhance and commercialize new products and incur additional operational and reporting costs associated with being a public company. As a result, we expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future. 46 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business We may need substantial additional funding and may be unable to raise capital when needed, which could force us to delay, reduce, eliminate or abandon growth initiatives or product development programs. We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth. Because we have not generated any revenue or cash flow to date, we will require additional funds to: ● Continue our research and development; ● Pursue clinical trials; ● Commercialize our new products and services; ● Achieve market acceptance of our products and services; ● Establish and expand our sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities for our products and services; ● protect our intellectual property rights or defend, in litigation or otherwise, any claims we infringe third-party patents or other intellectual property rights; ● invest in businesses, products and technologies, although we currently have no commitments or agreements relating to do so. ● Otherwise fund our operations; If we do not have, or are not able to obtain, sufficient funds, we may have to delay product development initiatives or license to third parties the rights to commercialize products or technologies we would otherwise seek to market. We also may have to reduce marketing, customer support or other resources devoted to our products. Since we have a limited operating history, and have not generated any revenues, you will have little basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. Since we have a limited operating history, and have not generated any revenues, you will have little basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. We are subject to all of the problems, expenses, delays and other risks inherent in any new business, as well as problems inherent in establishing a name and business reputation. The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and we may not be able to effectively compete against other providers of medical devices, particularly those with greater resources. We face intense competition from companies with dominant market positions in the medical device industry. These competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we have and may be better able to: ● respond to new technologies or technical standards; ● react to changing customer requirements and expectations; ● acquire other companies to gain new technologies or products may displace our products; ● manufacture, market and sell products; ● acquire, prosecute, enforce and defend patents and other intellectual property; ● devote resources to the development, production, promotion, support and sale of products; and ● deliver a broad range of competitive products at lower prices. We expect competition in the markets in which we participate to continue to increase as existing competitors improve or expand their product offerings. 47 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued We have finite resources, which may restrict our success in commercializing our current products and other products we may develop, and we may be unsuccessful in entering into or maintaining third-party arrangements to support our internal efforts. To grow our business as planned, we must expand our sales, marketing and customer support capabilities, which will involve developing and administering our commercial infrastructure and/or collaborative commercial arrangements and partnerships. We must also maintain satisfactory arrangements for the manufacture and distribution of our tests and other products. Also, we partner with CLIA-certified lab facilities to process our tests and provide patient results. We have only three products, EsoGuard, EsoCheck and CarpX, that are commercially available for sale, and have not generated substantial revenue from product sales to date. We have limited experience managing a sales force, customer support operation, manufacturing and clinical laboratory operations for multiple products in multiple locations with divergent regulatory requirements. We may encounter difficulties retaining and managing the specialized workforce these activities require. We may seek to partner with others to assist us with any or all of these functions. Additionally, we may be unable to find appropriate third parties with whom to enter into these arrangements. Our sales efforts are growing in size and complexity including recruiting and hiring selling resources throughout the United States, supporting those efforts with marketing materials sufficient to attract physicians and patients to our products, and then duplicating those efforts outside the United States either with distributor relationships or hired employees. We must coordinate among our internal sales teams, as well as our partners’, to ensure that we are effectively marketing our tests and other products while being fully compliant with all relevant healthcare regulations. If we are unable to deploy and maintain effective sales, marketing and medical affairs capabilities, we will have difficulty achieving market awareness and selling our tests and other products. To achieve commercial success for our EsoGuard test and our EsoCheck and CarpX products, as well as any products we develop in the future, we must continue to develop and grow our sales, marketing and medical affairs organizations to effectively explain to healthcare providers the reliability, effectiveness and benefits of our current and future tests and other products as compared to alternatives. We may not be able to successfully manage our dispersed or inside sales forces or our sales force may not be effective. Because of the competition for their services, we may be unable to hire, partner with or retain additional qualified sales representatives or marketing or medical affairs personnel, either as our employees or independent contractors or through independent sales or other third-party organizations. Market competition for commercial, marketing and medical affairs talent is significant, and we may not be able to hire or retain such talent on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Establishing and maintaining sales, marketing and medical affairs capabilities will be expensive and time-consuming. Our expenses associated with maintaining our sales force may be disproportional compared to the revenues we may be able to generate on sales of our EsoGuard tests, our EsoCheck and CarpX products or any future tests or other products. We may be dependent on the sales and marketing efforts of third parties if we choose not to develop an extensive sales and marketing staff. Initially, we will depend on the efforts of third parties (including sales agents and distributors) to carry out the sales and marketing of our products. We anticipate that each third party will control the amount and timing of resources generally devoted to these activities. However, these third parties may not be able to generate demand for our products. In addition, there is a risk that these third parties will develop products competitive to ours, which would likely decrease their incentive to vigorously promote and sell our products. If we are unable to enter into co-promotion agreements or to arrange for third-party distribution of our products, we will be required to expend time and resources to develop an effective internal sales force. However, it may not be economical for us to market our own products or we may be unable to effectively market our products. Therefore, our business could be harmed if we fail to enter into arrangements with third parties for the sales and marketing of our products or otherwise fail to establish sufficient marketing capabilities. 48 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Our products may never achieve market acceptance. To date, we have not generated sales revenues from our products and services. Our ability to generate sales revenues from product and services, and to achieve profitability will depend upon our ability to successfully commercialize our products and services. As we only recently began to market our first product and service for sale, we have no basis to predict whether our current product and service (or potential future products and services) will achieve market acceptance. A number of factors may limit the market acceptance of any of our products, including: ● the timing of regulatory approvals of our products and services and market entry compared to competitive products; ● the effectiveness of our products and services, including any potential side effects, as compared to alternative treatments; ● the rate of adoption of our products and services by hospitals, doctors and nurses and acceptance by the health care community; ● the labeling and /or inserts required by regulatory authorities for each of our products and services; ● the competitive features of our products and services, including price, as compared to other similar products and services; ● the availability of insurance or other third-party reimbursement, such as Medicare, for patients using our products and services; ● the extent and success of our marketing efforts and those of our collaborators; and ● unfavorable publicity concerning our products and services or similar products and services. Recommendations, guidelines and quality metrics issued by various organizations may significantly affect payers’ willingness to cover, and healthcare providers’ willingness to prescribe, our products. Securing influential recommendations, inclusion in healthcare guidelines and inclusion in quality measures are keys to our healthcare provider and payer engagement strategies. These guidelines, recommendations and quality metrics may shape payers’ coverage decisions and healthcare providers’ cancer screening procedures. As an example, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (“USPSTF”), a panel of primary care providers and epidemiologists and other national experts funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, makes influential recommendations on clinical preventative services. We intend to seek a USPSTF recommendation in the future for our EsoGuard test. The process of USPSTF recommendation development is lengthy, requires high quality supporting evidence for a positive recommendation, and that the outcome of any USPSTF process is uncertain. A USPSTF recommendations may have the effect of reducing screening, may not include our test in a favorable manner, or may add new technologies could have a material adverse effect on our business. Failing to achieve a high USPSTF recommendation for our tests and other products may have certain other potentially significant collateral implications as well. For instance, the ACA mandates that certain non-grandfathered health insurers cover evidence-based items or services that have in effect a rating of “A” or “B” in the current recommendations of USPSTF without imposing any patient cost-sharing. Similarly, federal regulations require that Medicare Advantage plans cover “A” or “B” graded preventive services without patient cost-sharing. Furthermore, the healthcare industry in the United States has experienced a trend toward cost containment and value-based purchasing of healthcare services. Some government and private payers are adopting pay-for-performance programs that differentiate payments for healthcare services based on the achievement of documented quality metrics, cost efficiencies or patient outcomes. Payers may look to quality measures such as the National Committee for Quality Assurance (“NCQA”), Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (“HEDIS”) and the CMS Medicare Advantage Star Ratings to assess quality of care. These measures are intended to provide incentives to service providers to deliver the same or better results while consuming fewer resources. If our tests or other products are not included in HEDIS, the Star Ratings or other quality metrics, payers may be less inclined to reimburse our tests or other products at adequate levels, if at all, which could adversely impact our business. Additionally, if our tests or other products are not included in HEDIS, the Star Ratings or other quality metrics, healthcare providers may not earn quality credit for prescribing Cologuard and therefore may be less inclined to do so. 49 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued We or our third-party manufacturers may not have the manufacturing and processing capacity to meet the production requirements of clinical testing or consumer demand in a timely manner. Our capacity to conduct clinical trials and commercialize our products will depend in part on our ability to manufacture or provide our products on a large scale, at a competitive cost and in accordance with regulatory requirements. We must establish and maintain a commercial scale manufacturing process for all of our products to complete clinical trials. We or our third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties with these processes at any time that could result in delays in clinical trials, regulatory submissions or the commercialization of products. For some of our products, we or our third-party manufacturers will need to have sufficient production and processing capacity in order to conduct human clinical trials, to produce products for commercial sale at an acceptable cost. We have no experience in large-scale product manufacturing, nor do we have the resources or facilities to manufacture most of our products on a commercial scale. We cannot guarantee that we or our third-party manufacturers will be able to increase capacity in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all. Delays in providing or increasing production or processing capacity could result in additional expense or delays in our clinical trials, regulatory submissions and commercialization of our products. The manufacturing processes for our products have not yet been tested at commercial levels, and it may not be possible to manufacture or process these materials in a cost-effective manner. We will be dependent on third-party manufacturers since we will not initially directly manufacture our products. Initially, we will not directly manufacture our products and will rely on third parties to do so for us. If our manufacturing and distribution agreements are not satisfactory, we may not be able to develop or commercialize products as planned. In addition, we may not be able to contract with third parties to manufacture our products in an economical manner. Furthermore, third-party manufacturers may not adequately perform their obligations, may delay clinical development or submission of products for regulatory approval or otherwise may impair our competitive position. We may not be able to enter into or maintain relationships with manufacturers that comply with good manufacturing practices. If a product manufacturer fails to comply with good manufacturing practices, we could experience significant time delays or we may be unable to commercialize or continue to market the products. Changes in our manufacturers could require costly new product testing and facility compliance inspections. In the United States, failure to comply with good manufacturing practices or other applicable legal requirements can lead to federal seizure of violative products, injunctive actions brought by the federal government, and potential criminal and civil liability on the part of a company and its officers and employees. Because of these and other factors, we may not be able to replace our manufacturing capacity quickly or efficiently in the event that our manufacturers are unable to manufacture our products at one or more of their facilities. As a result, the sale and marketing of our products could be delayed or we could be forced to develop our own manufacturing capacity, which could require substantial additional funds and personnel and compliance with extensive regulations. 50 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued We currently expect to perform our EsoGuard test in one laboratory facility. If demand for our EsoGuard test grows, we may lack adequate facility space and capabilities to meet increased processing requirements. Moreover, if these or any future facilities or our equipment were damaged or destroyed, or if we experience a significant disruption in our operations for any reason, our ability to continue to operate our business could be materially harmed. We currently perform the EsoGuard test in a single laboratory facility in Irvine, California. The laboratory facility, without purchasing additional lab equipment applicable to our test, is expected to have an annual capacity of approximately 50,000 tests per year. If demand for the EsoGuard test outstrips this capacity, and the laboratory fails to add additional equipment and staff, or complete, or timely complete, an expansion of its available laboratory facilities, it may significantly delay our EsoGuard processing times and limit the volume of EsoGuard tests we can process, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation. In addition, our financial condition may be adversely affected if they are unable to complete these expansion projects on budget and otherwise on terms and conditions acceptable to us. Finally, our financial condition will be adversely affected if demand for our products and services does not materialize in line with our current expectations and if, as a result, we end up building excess capacity that does not yield a reasonable return on our investment. If our present, or any future, laboratory facilities were to be damaged, destroyed or otherwise unable to operate, whether due to fire, floods, storms, tornadoes, other inclement weather events or natural disasters, employee malfeasance, terrorist acts, power outages, or otherwise, our business could be severely disrupted. We may not be able to perform our EsoGuard test or generate test reports as promptly as patients and healthcare providers require or expect, or possibly not at all. If we are unable to perform our EsoGuard test or generate test reports within a timeframe that meets patient and healthcare provider expectations, our business, financial results and reputation could be materially harmed. We currently maintain insurance against damage to our property and equipment and against business interruption, subject to deductibles and other limitations. If we have underestimated our insurance needs with respect to an interruption, or if an interruption is not subject to coverage under our insurance policies, we may not be able to cover our losses. Our future performance will depend in part on the success of products we have not yet developed. Technology is an important component of our business and growth strategy, and our success depends on the development, implementation and acceptance of our products. To date, only our EsoCheck and EsoGuard products have reached the marketing stage. Commitments to develop new products must be made well in advance of any resulting sales, and technologies and standards may change during development, potentially rendering our products outdated or uncompetitive before their introduction. Our ability to develop products to meet evolving industry requirements and at prices acceptable to our customers will be significant factors in determining our competitiveness. We may expend considerable funds and other resources on the development of our products without any guarantee these products will be successful. If we are not successful in bringing one or more products to market, whether because we fail to address marketplace demand, fail to develop viable technologies or otherwise, we may not generate any revenues and our results of operations could be seriously harmed. 51 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Our products and services may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives, thereby harming our business. The regulations that govern marketing approvals, pricing and reimbursement for new products vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a product before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain regulatory approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product and negatively impact the revenue we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more other products we may develop, even if our other products we may develop obtain regulatory approval. Our ability to commercialize any products we may develop successfully also will depend in part on the extent to which reimbursement for these products and related treatments becomes available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. Government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which treatments they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. A primary trend in the U.S. healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Government authorities and these third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular treatments. We cannot be sure reimbursement will be available for any product we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any product for which we obtain marketing approval. If reimbursement is not available or is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any product we successfully develop. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement does not imply any product will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Payment rates may vary according to the use of the product and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on payments allowed for lower cost products that are already reimbursed and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for products may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of products from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the U.S. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and profitable payment rates from both government funded and private payors could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of our product to other available therapies. Our business could be materially harmed if reimbursement of any products we may develop, if any, is unavailable or limited in scope or amount or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels. 52 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Our products and services may cause serious adverse side effects or even death or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial desirability of an approved label or result in significant negative consequences following any marketing approval. The risk of failure of clinical development is high. It is impossible to predict when or if our current products and services or any we may develop will prove safe enough to receive regulatory approval. Undesirable side effects caused by our products and services or we may develop could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials. They could also result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authority. Additionally, even after receipt of marketing approval of our products and services, if we or others later identify undesirable side effects or even deaths caused by such product, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including: ● we may be forced to recall such product and suspend the marketing of such product; ● regulatory authorities may withdraw their approvals of such product; ● regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label that could diminish the usage or otherwise limit the commercial success of such products; ● the FDA or other regulatory bodies may issue safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases or other communications containing warnings about such product; ● the FDA may require the establishment or modification of Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategies or a comparable foreign regulatory authority may require the establishment or modification of a similar strategy that may, for instance, restrict distribution of our products and impose burdensome implementation requirements on us; ● we may be required to change the way the product is administered or conduct additional clinical trials; ● we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to subjects or patients; ● we may be subject to litigation or product liability claims; and ● our reputation may suffer. Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular product. Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit commercialization of any products that we may develop. We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the sale of any products we may develop. The marketing, sale and use of our current products and services and any we may additionally develop could lead to the filing of product liability claims against us if someone alleges product failures, product malfunctions, manufacturing flaws, or design defects, resulted in injury to patients. We may also be subject to liability for a misunderstanding of, or inappropriate reliance upon, the information we provide. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that any product, we may develop caused injuries, we may incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in: ● decreased demand for our products; ● injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention; ● withdrawal of patients from clinical studies or cancellation of studies; ● significant costs to defend the related litigation and distraction to our management team; ● substantial monetary awards to patients; ● loss of revenue; and ● the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop. In addition, insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise. 53 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued We may not be able to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, which could impair our competitive position. Our success depends significantly on our ability to protect our rights to the patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights and all the other intellectual property rights used, or expected to be used, in our products. Protecting intellectual property rights is costly and time consuming. We rely primarily on patent protection and trade secrets, as well as a combination of copyright and trademark laws and nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements to protect our technology and intellectual property rights. However, these legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or maintain any competitive advantage. Despite our intellectual property rights practices, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our technology without authorization, develop similar technology independently or design around our patents. We cannot be assured that any of our pending patent applications will result in the issuance of a patent to us. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or PTO, may deny or require significant narrowing of claims in our pending patent applications, and patents issued as a result of the pending patent applications, if any, may not provide us with significant commercial protection or be issued in a form that is advantageous to us. We could also incur substantial costs in proceedings before the PTO. Patents that may be issued to or licensed by us in the future may expire or may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, which could limit our ability to stop competitors from marketing related technologies. Upon expiration of our issued or licensed patents, we may lose some of our rights to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing products using the technology based on the expired patents. There is no assurance that competitors will not be able to design around our patents. Further, we may not be able to obtain patent protection or secure other intellectual property rights in all the countries in which we operate, and under the laws of such countries, patents and other intellectual property rights may be unavailable or limited in scope. If any of our patents fails to protect our technology, it would make it easier for our competitors to offer similar products. Our trade secrets may be vulnerable to disclosure or misappropriation by employees, contractors and other persons. Any inability on our part to adequately protect our intellectual property may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We also rely on unpatented proprietary technology. We cannot assure you that we can meaningfully protect all our rights in our unpatented proprietary technology or that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary products or processes or otherwise gain access to our unpatented proprietary technology. We seek to protect our know-how and other unpatented proprietary technology, as trade secrets or otherwise, with confidentiality agreements and/or intellectual property assignment agreements with our team members, independent distributors and consultants. However, such agreements may not be enforceable or may not provide meaningful protection for our proprietary information in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure or other breaches of the agreements or in the event that our competitors discover or independently develop similar or identical designs or other proprietary information. Our trade secrets may be vulnerable to disclosure or misappropriation by employees, contractors and other persons. In addition, we intend to rely on the use of registered and common law trademarks with respect to the brand names of some of our products. Common law trademarks provide less protection than registered trademarks. Loss of rights in our trademarks could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. 54 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims by third parties which could be costly to defend, divert management’s attention and resources, and may result in liability. The medical device industry is characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights. Companies in the medical device industry have used intellectual property litigation to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. From time to time, third parties may assert against us their patent, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights relating to technologies that are important to our business. Searching for existing intellectual property rights may not reveal important intellectual property and our competitors may also have filed for patent protection, which is not publicly-available information, or claimed trademark rights that have not been revealed through our availability searches. We may be subject to claims that our team members have disclosed, or that we have used, trade secrets or other proprietary information of our team members’ former employers. Our efforts to identify and avoid infringing on third parties’ intellectual property rights may not always be successful. Any claims that our products or processes infringe these rights, regardless of their merit or resolution, could be costly, time consuming and may divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel. In addition, we may not prevail in such proceedings given the complex technical issues and inherent uncertainties in intellectual property litigation. Any claims of patent or other intellectual property infringement against us, even those without merit, could: ● increase the cost of our products; ● be expensive and/or time consuming to defend; ● result in our being required to pay significant damages to third parties; ● force us to cease making or selling products that incorporate the challenged intellectual property; ● require us to redesign, reengineer or rebrand our products and technologies; ● require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property on terms that may not be favorable or acceptable to us; ● require us to develop alternative non-infringing technology, which could require significant effort and expense; ● require us to indemnify third parties pursuant to contracts in which we have agreed to provide indemnification for intellectual property infringement claims; and, ● result in our customers or potential customers deferring or limiting their purchase or use of the affected products impacted by the claims until the claims are resolved. Any of the foregoing could affect our ability to compete or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Competitors may violate our intellectual property rights, and we may bring litigation to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, which may result in substantial expense and may divert our attention from implementing our business strategy. We believe that the success of our business depends, in significant part, on obtaining patent protection for our products and technologies, defending our patents and preserving our trade secrets. Our failure to pursue any potential claim could result in the loss of our proprietary rights and harm our position in the marketplace. Therefore, we may be forced to pursue litigation to enforce our rights. Future litigation could result in significant costs and divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations and the implementation of our business strategy. 55 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Our business may suffer if we are unable to manage our growth. If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our ability to execute our business strategy could be impaired. The anticipated rapid growth of our business may place a strain on our management, operations and financial systems. We need to improve existing systems and controls or implement new systems and controls in response to anticipated growth. Our officers will allocate their time to other businesses thereby potentially limiting the amount of time they devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our operations. Our officers are not required to commit their full time to our affairs, which could create a conflict of interest when allocating their time between our operations and their other commitments. We presently expect each of our employees to devote such amount of time as they reasonably believe is necessary to our business. All of our officers are engaged in several other business endeavors and are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our affairs. If our officers’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to such affairs, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our operations. We cannot assure you these conflicts will be resolved in our favor. Our ability to be successful will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. Our ability to successfully carry out our business plan is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain with us for the immediate or foreseeable future. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us. We may also be unable to attract and retain additional key personnel in the future. An inability to do so may impact our ability to continue and grow our operations. Our officers have fiduciary obligations to other companies and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. Certain of our officers have fiduciary obligations to other companies engaged in medical device business activities, namely Saphena Medical, Kaleidoscope Medical and Cruzar Medsystems. Accordingly, they may participate in transactions and have obligations that may be in conflict or competition with our business. As a result, a potential business opportunity may be presented by certain members of our management team to another entity prior to its presentation to us and we may not be afforded the opportunity to engage in such a transaction. 56 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by the political and economic conditions of the countries in which we conduct business. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by the political and economic conditions of the countries in which we conduct business. These factors include: ● challenges associated with cultural differences, languages and distance; ● differences in clinical practices, needs, products, modalities and preferences; ● longer payment cycles in some countries; ● credit risks of many kinds; ● legal and regulatory differences and restrictions; ● currency exchange fluctuations; ● foreign exchange controls that might prevent us from repatriating cash earned in certain countries; ● political and economic instability and export restrictions; ● variability in sterilization requirements for multi-usage surgical devices; ● potential adverse tax consequences; ● higher cost associated with doing business internationally; ● challenges in implementing educational programs required by our approach to doing business; ● negative economic developments in economies around the world and the instability of governments, including the threat of war, terrorist attacks, epidemic or civil unrest; ● adverse changes in laws and governmental policies, especially those affecting trade and investment; ● health epidemics and /or pandemics, such as the epidemics resulting from the Ebola virus, or the enterovirus, or the avian influenza virus, or the pandemic resulting from a novel strain of a coronavirus designated “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” - or “SARS-CoV-2”, which may adversely affect our workforce as well as our local suppliers and customers; ● import or export licensing requirements imposed by governments; ● differing labor standards; ● differing levels of protection of intellectual property; ● the threat that our operations or property could be subject to nationalization and expropriation; ● varying practices of the regulatory, tax, judicial and administrative bodies in the jurisdictions where we operate; and ● potentially burdensome taxation and changes in foreign tax. 57 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Any future products or services we may develop may not be approved for sale in the U.S. or in any other country. Our only product for which we have obtained approval or clearance from the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority is our EsoCheck cell sample collection device and our CarpX minimally invasive surgical device. In certain limited circumstances, we also may market our products without such approval or clearance, as is the case for the EsoGuard LDT. Generally, however, neither we nor any future collaboration partner can commercialize any products we may develop in the U.S. or in any foreign country without first obtaining regulatory approval for the product from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The approval route in the U.S. for any products we may develop may be either via the PMA process, a de novo 510(k) pathway, or traditional 510(k). The PMA approval process is more complex, costly and time consuming than the 510(k) process. Additional randomized, controlled clinical trials may be necessary to obtain approval. The approval process may take several years to complete and may never be obtained. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any product we may develop in the U.S., we must demonstrate with substantial evidence, gathered in preclinical and well-controlled clinical studies, that the planned products are safe and effective for use for that target indication. We may not conduct such a trial or may not successfully enroll or complete any such trial. Any products we may develop may not achieve the required primary endpoint in the clinical trial and may not receive regulatory approval. We must also demonstrate that the manufacturing facilities, processes and controls for any products we may develop are adequate. Moreover, obtaining regulatory approval in one country for marketing of any products we may develop does not ensure we will be able to obtain regulatory approval in other countries, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in other countries. Even if we or any future collaboration partner were to successfully obtain a regulatory approval for any product we may develop, any approval might contain significant limitations related to use restrictions for specified age groups, warnings, precautions or contraindications, or may be subject to burdensome post-approval study or risk management requirements. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for any products, we may develop in one or more jurisdictions, or any approval contains significant limitations, we may not be able to obtain sufficient revenue to justify commercial launch. Also, any regulatory approval of a product, once obtained, may be withdrawn. If we are unable to successfully obtain regulatory approval to sell any products we may develop in the U.S. or other countries, our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects could be adversely affected. 58 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Our business may be adversely affected by health epidemics and or pandemics, including the pandemic resulting from the “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” - “SARS-CoV-2” - and the resulting illness of “Coronavirus Disease 2019” - “COVID-19”. Previously, in 2019, an outbreak of a novel strain of a coronavirus occurred, with such coronavirus designated by the United Nations (UN) World Health Organization (“WHO”) as the “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” - or “SARS-CoV-2” - which spread on a global basis to other countries, including the United States of America (“USA” “U.S.” or “United States”). On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared a pandemic resulting SARS-CoV-2, with such pandemic commonly referred to as the “COVID-19 pandemic” after the resulting illness of “coronavirus disease-2019” (“COVID-19”), and is thus referred to herein as the “COVID-19 pandemic”. The COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, and we continue to monitor the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the United States national economy, the global economy, and our business. The COVID-19 pandemic may have an adverse impact on our operations, supply chains, and distribution systems and /or those of our contractors of our laboratory partner, and increase our expenses, including as a result of impacts associated with preventive and precautionary measures being taken, restrictions on travel, quarantine polices, and social distancing. Such adverse impact may include, for example, the inability of our employees and /or those of our contractors or laboratory partner to perform their work or curtail their services provided to us. We expect the significance of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the extent of its effect on our consolidated financial condition and consolidated operational results and cash flows, to be dictated by the success of United States and global efforts to mitigate the spread of and /or to contain the SARS-CoV-2 and the impact of such efforts. In addition, the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 has disrupted the United States’ healthcare and healthcare regulatory systems which could divert healthcare resources away from, or materially delay United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval with respect to our products. Furthermore, our clinical trials have been and may be further affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as site initiation and patient enrollment may be delayed, for example, due to prioritization of hospital resources toward the virus and /or illness response, as well as travel restrictions imposed by governments, and the inability to access clinical test sites for initiation and monitoring. The COVID-19 pandemic may have an adverse impact on the economies and financial markets of many countries, including the USA, resulting in an economic downturn that could adversely affect demand for our products and services and /or our product candidates. Although we are continuing to monitor and assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (or a similar health epidemic) is highly uncertain and subject to change, and therefore, its impact on our consolidated financial condition, consolidated results of operations, and /or consolidated cash flows, the adverse impact could be material. 59 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Our Business - continued Failure in our information technology or storage systems could significantly disrupt our operations and our research and development efforts, which could adversely impact our revenues, as well as our research, development and commercialization efforts. Our ability to execute our business strategy depends, in part, on the continued and uninterrupted performance of our information technology (“IT”) systems that support our operations and our research and development efforts, and those IT systems within the control of our contract manufacturers and contract laboratories. The integrity and protection of our own data, and that of our customers and employees, is critical to our business. The regulatory environment governing information, security and privacy laws is increasingly demanding and continues to evolve. IT systems are vulnerable to damage from a variety of sources, including telecommunications or network failures, malicious human acts and natural disasters. Moreover, despite network security and back-up measures, some of our servers are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses and similar disruptive problems. Despite the precautionary measures we have taken to prevent unanticipated problems that could affect our IT systems, and the precautionary measures taken by our contract parties, sustained or repeated system failures that interrupt our ability to generate and maintain data, could adversely affect our ability to operate our business. Furthermore, any breach in our IT systems could lead to the unauthorized access, disclosure and use of non-public information, including protected health information, which is protected by HIPAA and other laws. 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, and damage to our reputation. System upgrades, enhancements and replacements, as well as new systems, are required from time to time, and require significant expenditures and allocation of valuable employee resources. Delays in integration or disruptions to our business from implementation of these new or upgraded systems could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and operating results. There can be no assurance that our process of improving existing systems, developing new systems to support our expanding operations, integrating new systems, protecting confidential patient information, and improving service levels will not be delayed or that additional systems issues will not arise in the future. Failure to adequately protect and maintain the integrity of our information systems issues and data may result in a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. We are and may become the subject of various claims, threats of litigation, litigation or investigations which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or price of our common stock. We are and may become subject to various claims, threats of litigation, litigation or investigations, including commercial disputes and employee claims, and from time to time may be involved in governmental or regulatory investigations or similar matters. Any claims asserted against us or our management, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, could harm our reputation and have an adverse impact on our relationship with our clients, distribution partners and other third parties and could lead to additional related claims. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in defending ourselves in pending or future litigation or similar matters under various laws. Any judgments or settlements in any pending litigation or future claims, litigation or investigation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and price of our common stock. 60 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation The regulatory approval process is expensive, time consuming and uncertain, and may prevent us or our partners from obtaining approval for the commercialization of any products we may develop. Approval of products in the U.S. or other territories may require that we, or a partner, conduct randomized, controlled clinical trials. For many of the products we are currently developing, the regulatory pathway in the U.S. for approval of the product has not been determined. However, it is possible the FDA will require us to file for approval via the PMA pathway for one or more of our planned products. In this case, the FDA is likely to require that randomized, controlled clinical trials be conducted before an application for approval can be filed. These are typically expensive and time consuming and require substantial commitment of financial and personnel resources from the sponsoring company. These clinical trials also entail significant risk, and the resulting data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA or other regulatory bodies. Furthermore, regulatory approval of a PMA or a 510(k) pathway is not guaranteed, and the filing and approval process itself is expensive and may take several years. The FDA also has substantial discretion in the approval process. Despite the time and expense exerted, failure may occur at any stage, and we could encounter problems that cause us to abandon or repeat clinical studies. The FDA can delay, limit, or deny approval of a future product for many reasons, including but not limited to: ● a future product may not be deemed to be safe and effective; ● FDA officials may not find the data from clinical and preclinical studies sufficient; ● the FDA may not approve our or our third-party manufacturer’s processes or facilities; or ● the FDA may change its approval policies or adopt new regulations. If any products we may develop fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy in further clinical studies may be required, or do not gain regulatory approval, our business and results of operations will be materially and adversely harmed. Even if we receive regulatory approval for any product we may develop, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and subject us to penalties if we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements. Once regulatory approval has been obtained, the approved product and its manufacturer are subject to continual review by the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities. Our regulatory approval for any products we may develop may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed. Future approvals may contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing follow-up studies to monitor the safety and efficacy of the approved product. In addition, we are subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements by the FDA and other regulatory authorities with regard to the labeling, packaging, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for our products. In addition, we are required to comply with cGMP regulations regarding the manufacture of any products we may develop, which include requirements related to quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation. Further, regulatory authorities must approve these manufacturing facilities before they can be used to manufacture drug products, and these facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP regulations. If we or a third party discover 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, a regulatory authority may impose restrictions on that product, the manufacturer or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing. 61 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued Failure to obtain regulatory approvals in foreign jurisdictions will prevent us from marketing our products internationally. We intend to seek distribution and marketing partners in foreign countries for our products and services and any we may develop in the future, if any. The approval procedures vary among countries and can involve additional clinical testing, and the time required to obtain approval may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. Moreover, clinical studies or manufacturing processes conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries, and approval by one or more foreign regulatory authorities does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. However, a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in others. The foreign regulatory approval process may include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. We may not obtain foreign regulatory approvals on a timely basis, if at all. We may not be able to file for regulatory approvals and even if we file, we may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our products in any market. Healthcare reform measures could hinder or prevent our products’ commercial success. In the U.S., there have been, and we expect there will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system in ways that could affect our future revenue and profitability and the future revenue and profitability of our potential customers. Federal and state lawmakers regularly propose and, at times, enact legislation that could result in significant changes to the healthcare system, some of which are intended to contain or reduce the costs of medical products and services. For example, one of the most significant healthcare reform measures in decades, the PPACA, was enacted in 2010. The PPACA contains a number of provisions, including those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement changes and fraud and abuse measures, all of which will impact existing government healthcare programs and will result in the development of new programs. The PPACA, among other things, could result in the imposition of injunctions. While the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most elements of the PPACA in June 2012, other legal challenges are still pending final adjudication in several jurisdictions. In addition, Congress has also proposed a number of legislative initiatives, including possible repeal of the PPACA. For instance, in December 2019, the 2.3% tax on sales of medical devices was repealed. At this time, it remains unclear whether there will be any changes made to the PPACA, whether to certain provisions or its entirety. We cannot assure you that the PPACA, as currently enacted or as amended in the future, will not adversely affect our business and financial results and we cannot predict how future federal or state legislative or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business. In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the PPACA was enacted. For example, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend proposals for spending reductions to Congress. The Joint Select Committee did not achieve a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, which triggered the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs, including aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2.0% per fiscal year, starting in 2013. In January 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, or the ATRA, which delayed for another two months the budget cuts mandated by the sequestration provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The ATRA, among other things, also reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. In March 2013, President Obama signed an executive order implementing sequestration, and in April 2013, the 2.0% Medicare reductions went into effect. We cannot predict whether any additional legislative changes will affect our business. 62 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued There likely will continue to be legislative and regulatory proposals at the federal and state levels directed at containing or lowering the cost of health care. We cannot predict the initiatives that may be adopted in the future or their full impact. The continuing efforts of the government, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of healthcare services to contain or reduce costs of health care may adversely affect: ● our ability to set a price that we believe is fair for our products; ● our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability; and ● the availability of capital. Further, changes in regulatory requirements and guidance may occur, both in the United States and in foreign countries, and we may need to amend clinical study protocols to reflect these changes. Amendments may require us to resubmit our clinical study protocols to IRB’s for reexamination, which may impact the costs, timing or successful completion of a clinical study. In light of widely publicized events concerning the safety risk of certain drug and medical device products, regulatory authorities, members of Congress, the Governmental Accounting Office, medical professionals and the general public have raised concerns about potential safety issues. These events have resulted in the recall and withdrawal of medical device products, revisions to product labeling that further limit use of products and establishment of risk management programs that may, for instance, restrict distribution of certain products or require safety surveillance or patient education. The increased attention to safety issues may result in a more cautious approach by the FDA or other regulatory authorities to clinical studies and the drug approval process. Data from clinical studies may receive greater scrutiny with respect to safety, which may make the FDA or other regulatory authorities more likely to terminate or suspend clinical studies before completion or require longer or additional clinical studies that may result in substantial additional expense and a delay or failure in obtaining approval or approval for a more limited indication than originally sought. Given the serious public health risks of high profile adverse safety events with certain products, the FDA or other regulatory authorities may require, as a condition of approval, costly risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, which may include safety surveillance, restricted distribution and use, patient education, enhanced labeling, special packaging or labeling, expedited reporting of certain adverse events, preapproval of promotional materials and restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising. 63 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued If we fail to comply with healthcare regulations, we could face substantial penalties and our business, operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. Even though we do not and will not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients’ rights are and will be applicable to our business. We could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse and patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, without limitation: ● the federal healthcare program Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, any person from knowingly and willfully offering, soliciting, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs; ● the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, which prohibits payments or the provision of anything of value to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business; ● the federal False Claims Act, or FCA, which prohibits, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false claims, or knowingly using false statements, to obtain payment from the federal government, and which may apply to entities like us which provide coding and billing advice to customers; ● federal criminal laws that prohibit executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters; ● the federal transparency requirements under the Health Care Reform Law requires manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to report to the Department of Health and Human Services information related to physician payments and other transfers of value and physician ownership and investment interests; ● the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which governs the conduct of certain electronic healthcare transactions and protects the security and privacy of protected health information; and ● state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers. The PPACA, among other things, amends the intent requirement of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and criminal healthcare fraud statutes. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it. In addition, the PPACA provides that the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Any penalties, damages, fines, curtailment or restructuring of our operations could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. Moreover, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable federal and state privacy, security and fraud laws may prove costly. 64 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued If required, clinical trials necessary to support a FDA 510(k) notice or PMA application will be expensive and will require the enrollment of large numbers of patients, and suitable patients may be difficult to identify and recruit. Delays or failures in our clinical trials will prevent us from commercializing any modified or new products and will adversely affect our business, operating results and prospects. Initiating and completing clinical trials necessary to support a FDA 510(k) notice or a PMA application will be time-consuming and expensive and the outcome uncertain. Moreover, the results of early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results, and any product the Company advances into clinical trials may not have favorable results in early or later clinical trials. Conducting successful clinical studies will require the enrollment of large numbers of patients, and suitable patients may be difficult to identify and recruit. Patient enrollment in clinical trials and completion of patient participation and follow-up depend on many factors, including the size of the patient population, the nature of the trial protocol, the attractiveness of, or the discomforts and risks associated with, the treatments received by patients enrolled as subjects, the availability of appropriate clinical trial investigators, support staff, and proximity of patients to clinical sites and ability to comply with the eligibility and exclusion criteria for participation in the clinical trial and patient compliance. For example, patients may be discouraged from enrolling in our clinical trials if the trial protocol requires them to undergo extensive post-treatment procedures or follow-up to assess the safety and effectiveness of our products or if they determine that the treatments received under the trial protocols are not attractive or involve unacceptable risks or discomforts. Patients may also not participate in our clinical trials if they choose to participate in contemporaneous clinical trials of competitive products. In addition, patients participating in clinical trials may die before completion of the trial or suffer adverse medical events unrelated to investigational products. Development of sufficient and appropriate clinical protocols to demonstrate safety and efficacy may be required and the Company may not adequately develop such protocols to support clearance and approval. Further, the FDA may require the Company to submit data on a greater number of patients than it originally anticipated and/or for a longer follow-up period or change the data collection requirements or data analysis for any clinical trials. Delays in patient enrollment or failure of patients to continue to participate in a clinical trial may cause an increase in costs and delays in the approval and attempted commercialization of our products or result in the failure of the clinical trial. The FDA may not consider our data adequate to demonstrate safety and efficacy. Such increased costs and delays or failures could adversely affect our business, operating results and prospects. The results of the Company’s clinical trials may not support our product candidate claims or may result in the discovery of adverse side effects. Even if any of the Company’s clinical trials are completed as planned, it cannot be certain that study results will support product candidate claims or that the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities will agree with our conclusions regarding them. Success in pre-clinical evaluation and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, and we cannot be sure that the later trials will replicate the results of prior trials and pre-clinical studies. The clinical trial process may fail to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe and effective for the proposed indicated uses, which could cause us to abandon a product candidate and may delay development of others. Any delay or termination of our clinical trials will delay the filing of our product submissions and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate revenues. It is also possible that patients enrolled in clinical trials will experience adverse side effects that are not currently part of the product candidate’s profile. 65 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued The Company’s medical products may in the future be subject to product recalls that could harm its reputation, business and financial results. The FDA has the authority to require the recall of commercialized medical device products in the event of material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture. In the case of the FDA, the authority to require a recall must be based on an FDA finding that there is a reasonable probability that the device would cause serious injury or death. Manufacturers may, under their own initiative, recall a product if any material deficiency in a device is found. A government-mandated or voluntary recall by the Company or one of its distributors could occur as a result of component failures, manufacturing errors, design or labeling defects or other deficiencies and issues. Recalls of any of the Company’s products would divert managerial and financial resources and have an adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations. The FDA requires that certain classifications of recalls be reported to the FDA within ten (10) working days after the recall is initiated. Companies are required to maintain certain records of recalls, even if they are not reportable to the FDA. The Company may initiate voluntary recalls involving its products in the future that the Company determines do not require notification of the FDA. If the FDA disagrees with the Company’s determinations, they could require the Company to report those actions as recalls. A future recall announcement could harm the Company’s reputation with customers and negatively affect its sales. In addition, the FDA could take enforcement action for failing to report the recalls when they were conducted. No recalls of the Company’s medical products have been reported to the FDA. If the Company’s medical products cause or contribute to a death or a serious injury, or malfunction in certain ways, we will be subject to medical device reporting regulations, which can result in voluntary corrective actions or agency enforcement actions. Under the FDA medical device reporting regulations, medical device manufacturers are required to report to the FDA information that a device has or may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or has malfunctioned in a way that would likely cause or contribute to death or serious injury if the malfunction of the device or one of our similar devices were to recur. If the Company fails to report these events to the FDA within the required timeframes, or at all, the FDA could take enforcement action against the Company. Any such adverse event involving its products also could result in future voluntary corrective actions, such as recalls or customer notifications, or agency action, such as inspection or enforcement action. Any corrective action, whether voluntary or involuntary, as well as defending ourselves in a lawsuit, will require the dedication of the Company’s time and capital, distract management from operating our business, and may harm its reputation and financial results. If the effectiveness and safety of the Company’s devices are not supported by long-term data, the Company’s future revenues could decline. The Company’s products may not be accepted in the market if the Company does not produce clinical data supported by the independent efforts of clinicians, and if that data indicates that treatment with the Company’s products does not provide patients with sustained benefits or that treatment with the Company’s products is less effective or less safe than the Company’s current data suggests, the Company’s future revenues could decline. In addition, the FDA could then bring legal or regulatory enforcement actions against the Company and/or its products including, but not limited to, recalls or requirements for pre-market 510(k) authorizations. The Company can give no assurance that its data will be substantiated in studies involving more patients. In such a case, the Company may never achieve significant revenues or profitability. 66 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued If the Company is found to be promoting the use of its devices for unapproved or “off-label” uses or engaging in other noncompliant activities, the Company may be subject to recalls, seizures, fines, penalties, injunctions, adverse publicity, prosecution, or other adverse actions, resulting in damage to its reputation and business. The Company’s labeling, advertising, promotional materials and user training materials must comply with the FDA and other applicable laws and regulations, including the prohibition of the promotion of a medical device for a use that has not been cleared or approved by the FDA. Obtaining 510(k) clearance or PMA approval only permits the Company to promote its products for the uses specifically cleared by the FDA. Use of a device outside its cleared or approved indications is known as “off-label” use. Physicians and consumers may use the Company’s products off-label because the FDA does not restrict or regulate a physician’s choice of treatment within the practice of medicine nor is there oversight on patient use of over-the-counter devices. Although the Company may request additional cleared indications for our current products, the FDA may deny those requests, require additional expensive clinical data to support any additional indications or impose limitations on the intended use of any cleared product as a condition of clearance. Even if regulatory clearance or approval of a product is granted, such clearance or approval may be subject to limitations on the intended uses for which the product may be marketed and reduce our potential to successfully commercialize the product and generate revenue from the product. If the FDA determines that the Company’s labeling, advertising, promotional materials, or user training materials, or representations made by Company personnel, include the promotion of an off-label use for the device, or that the Company has made false or misleading or inadequately substantiated promotional claims, or claims that could potentially change the regulatory status of the product, the agency could take the position that these materials have misbranded the Company’s devices and request that the Company modifies its labeling, advertising, or user training or promotional materials and/or subject the Company to regulatory or legal enforcement actions, including the issuance of an Untitled Letter or a Warning Letter, injunction, seizure, recall, adverse publicity, civil penalties, criminal penalties, or other adverse actions. It is also possible that other federal, state, or foreign enforcement authorities might take action if they consider the Company’s labeling, advertising, promotional, or user training materials to constitute promotion of an unapproved use, which could result in significant fines, penalties, or other adverse actions under other statutory authorities, such as laws prohibiting false claims for reimbursement. In that event, we would be subject to extensive fines and penalties and the Company’s reputation could be damaged and adoption of the products would be impaired. Although the Company intends to refrain from statements that could be considered off-label promotion of its products, the FDA or another regulatory agency could disagree and conclude that the Company has engaged in off-label promotion. For example, the Company has made statements regarding some of its devices that the FDA may view as off-label promotion. In addition, any such off-label use of the Company’s products may increase the risk of injury to patients, and, in turn, the risk of product liability claims, and such claims are expensive to defend and could divert the Company’s management’s attention and result in substantial damage awards against the Company. 67 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued The Company may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations and could face substantial penalties if the Company is unable to fully comply with such laws. While the Company does not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors, many healthcare laws and regulations apply to the Company’s business. For example, the Company could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse and patient privacy regulation and enforcement by both the federal government and the states in which the Company intends to conduct its business. The healthcare laws and regulations that may affect the Company’s ability to operate include: ● the federal healthcare programs’ Anti-Kickback Law, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from soliciting, receiving, offering or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in return for or to induce either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase order or recommendation of, any item or service for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs; ● federal false claims laws which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payors that are false or fraudulent, or are for items or services not provided as claimed and which may apply to entities like the Company to the extent that the Company’s interactions with customers may affect their billing or coding practices; ● the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which established new federal crimes for knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services, as well as leading to regulations imposing certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information; and ● state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers, and state laws governing the privacy of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts. Recently, the medical device industry has been under heightened scrutiny as the subject of government investigations and regulatory or legal enforcement actions involving manufacturers who allegedly offered unlawful inducements to potential or existing customers in an attempt to procure their business, including arrangements with physician consultants. If the Company’s operations or arrangements are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to the Company, the Company may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the curtailment or restructuring of its operations. Any penalties, damages, fines, exclusions, curtailment or restructuring of the Company’s operations could adversely affect its ability to operate its business and its financial results. The risk of the Company being found in violation of these laws is increased by the fact that many of these laws are broad and their provisions are open to a variety of interpretations. Any action against the Company for violation of these laws, even if the Company successfully defends against that action and the underlying alleged violations, could cause the Company to incur significant legal expenses and divert its management’s attention from the operation of its business. If the physicians or other providers or entities with whom the Company does business are found to be non-compliant with applicable laws, they may be subject to sanctions, which could also have a negative impact on the Company’s business. 68 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Related to Government Regulation - continued The Company or its subsidiaries’ failure to obtain or maintain necessary FDA clearances or approvals, or equivalents thereof in the U.S. and relevant foreign markets, could hurt our ability to distribute and market our products. In both the United States and foreign markets, the Company and its subsidiaries are affected by extensive laws, governmental regulations, administrative determinations, court decisions and similar constraints. Such laws, regulations and other constraints may exist at the federal, state or local levels in the United States and at analogous levels of government in foreign jurisdictions. For example, as discussed above, certain of the Company’s planned product candidates may fall under the regulatory purview of various centers at the FDA and in other countries by similar health and regulatory authorities. Each medical device that the Company wishes to market in the U.S. must first receive either 510(k) clearance or premarket approval from the FDA unless an exemption applies. Either process can be lengthy and expensive. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process may take from three to twelve months, or longer, and may or may not require human clinical data. The premarket approval process is much costlier and lengthier. It may take from eleven months to three years, or even longer, and will likely require significant supporting human clinical data. Delays in obtaining regulatory clearance or approval could adversely affect the Company’s revenues and profitability. Although the Company has obtained 510(k) clearance for EsoCheck, this clearance may be subject to revocation if post-marketing data demonstrates safety issues or lack of effectiveness. Similar clearance processes may apply in foreign countries. Further, more stringent regulatory requirements or safety and quality standards may be issued in the future with an adverse effect on the Company’s business. In addition, the formulation, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, distribution, importation, sale and storage of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ products are subject to extensive regulation by various federal agencies, including, but not limited to, the FDA, the FTC, State Attorneys General in the United States, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan, as well as by various other federal, state, local and international regulatory authorities in the countries in which its products are manufactured, distributed or sold. If the Company or its manufacturers fail to comply with those regulations, the Company and its subsidiaries could become subject to significant penalties or claims, which could harm its results of operations or its ability to conduct its business. In addition, the adoption of new regulations or changes in the interpretations of existing regulations may result in significant compliance costs or discontinuation of product sales and may impair the marketing of its products, resulting in significant loss of net sales. The Company’s failure to comply with federal or state regulations, or with regulations in foreign markets that cover its product claims and advertising, including direct claims and advertising by the Company or its subsidiaries, may result in enforcement actions and imposition of penalties or otherwise harm the distribution and sale of its products. Further, the Company and its subsidiaries’ businesses are subject to laws governing our accounting, tax and import and export activities. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in legal and/or financial consequences that might adversely affect its sales and profitability. 69 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock We may issue shares of our common and /or preferred stock in the future which could reduce the equity interest of our stockholders and might cause a change in control of our ownership. Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 150,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.001 per share, and 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.001 per share. We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of our common stock or preferred stock, or a combination of common and preferred stock, to raise additional funds or in connection with any strategic acquisition. The issuance of additional shares of our common stock or any number of shares of our preferred stock: ● may significantly reduce the equity interest of investors; ● may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded to our common stockholders; ● may cause a change in control if a substantial number of our shares of common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards, if any, and most likely also result in the resignation or removal of some or all of our present officers and directors; and ● may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. Our management and their affiliates control a substantial interest in us and thus may influence certain actions requiring a stockholder vote. As of December 31, 2020, our management and their affiliates collectively own approximately 10% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, these individuals would have considerable influence regarding the outcome of any transaction that requires stockholder approval. Furthermore, our Board of Directors is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. As a consequence of our “staggered” Board of Directors, only a minority of the Board of Directors will be considered for election in any given year and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. There can be no assurance that our common stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national securities exchange. There can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to meet Nasdaq Capital Market listing standards. If we are unable to maintain compliance with all applicable listing standards, our common stock may no longer be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national securities exchange and the liquidity and market price of our common stock may be adversely affected. A robust public market for our common stock may not be sustained, which could affect your ability to sell our common stock or depress the market price of our common stock. We are unable to predict whether an active trading market for our common stock will be sustained. If an active market is not sustained for any reason, it may be difficult for you to sell your securities at the time you wish to sell them, at a price that is attractive to you, or at all. 70 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock - continued Our stock price may be volatile, and purchasers of our securities could incur substantial losses. Our stock price is likely to be volatile. The stock market in general, and the market for life science companies, and medical device companies in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including the following: ● factors in the public trading market for our stock that may produce price movements that may or may not comport with macro, industry or company-specific fundamentals, including, without limitation, the sentiment of retail investors (including as may be expressed on financial trading and other social media sites and online forums), the direct access by retail investors to broadly available trading platforms, the amount and status of short interest in our securities, access to margin debt, trading in options and other derivatives on our common stock and any related hedging and other trading factors ● speculation in the press or investment community about our company or industry ● our ability to successfully commercialize, and realize revenues from sales of, any products we may develop; ● the performance, safety and side effects of any products we may develop; ● the success of competitive products or technologies; ● results of clinical studies of any products we may develop or those of our competitors; ● regulatory or legal developments in the U.S. and other countries, especially changes in laws or regulations applicable to any products we may develop; ● introductions and announcements of new products by us, our commercialization partners, or our competitors, and the timing of these introductions or announcements; ● actions taken by regulatory agencies with respect to our products, clinical studies, manufacturing process or sales and marketing terms; ● variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us; ● the success of our efforts to acquire or in-license additional products or other products we may develop; ● developments concerning our collaborations, including but not limited to those with our sources of manufacturing supply and our commercialization partners; ● developments concerning our ability to bring our manufacturing processes to scale in a cost-effective manner; ● announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments; ● developments or disputes concerning patents or other proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our products; ● our ability or inability to raise additional capital and the terms on which we raise it; ● the recruitment or departure of key personnel; ● changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems; ● market conditions in the medical device, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors; ● actual or anticipated changes in earnings estimates or changes in stock market analyst recommendations regarding our common stock, other comparable companies or our industry generally; ● trading volume of our common stock; ● sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders; ● general economic, industry and market conditions; and ● the other risks described in this “ Risk Factors ” section. These broad market and industry factors may seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. 71 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock - continued Our outstanding warrants and other convertible securities may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. As of March 12, 2021, in addition to 82,460,720 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, we had outstanding and reserved for issuance, but not subject to outstanding stock-based equity awards, as follows: (i) stock options to purchase 7,023,529 shares of our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $2.53 per share, under the PAVmed Inc. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Equity Plan (“PAVmed Inc. 2014 Equity Plan”);and 1,778,406 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance, but not subject to outstanding stock-based equity awards under the PAVmed Inc. 2014 Equity Plan; and 360,673 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under the PAVmed Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“PAVmed Inc. ESPP”) (ii) common stock purchase warrants to purchase 16,422,915 shares of our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $1.68 per share; (iii) unit purchase options to purchase 53,000 units at an exercise price of $5.50 per unit, with each unit consisting of one share of our common stock and one warrant, and each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one share of our common stock at an exercise price of $1.60 per share; (iv) Series B Convertible Preferred Stock of 1,252,273 shares, convertible, at the holders election, into a corresponding number of shares of our common stock; The issuance of these shares will dilute our other equity holders, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline. We do not intend to pay any dividends on our common stock at this time. We have not paid any cash dividends on our shares of common stock to date. The payment of cash dividends on our common stock in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition and will be within the discretion of our Board of Directors. It is the present intention of our Board of Directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our Board of Directors does not anticipate declaring any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. As a result, any gain you will realize on our common stock (including common stock obtained upon exercise of our warrants) will result solely from the appreciation of such shares. 72 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock - continued We are an “emerging growth company”, and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors. We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, which was enacted in April 2012. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of  (1) December 31, 2021, which is the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the first sale of our common stock pursuant to the effective SEC Registration Statement on Form S-1 in connection with our initial public offering (“IPO”) of our common stock on April 14, 2016; (2) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion; (3) the date on which we have, during a previous three year period, issued more than $1.07 billion in non-convertible debt; or (4) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer”, which means the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates (the “public float”) exceeds $700.0 million as of June 30 of the prior year; and We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may suffer or be more volatile. Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date we (i) are no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act. 73 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock - continued We incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to compliance initiatives. As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the other rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the rules and regulations of Nasdaq or any other national securities exchange on which our securities are then trading. Compliance with the various reporting and other requirements applicable to public companies requires considerable time and attention of management. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq have imposed various requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. These rules and regulations result in significant legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costlier. 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. In addition, we will be required to have our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting beginning with our annual report on Form 10-K following the date on which we are no longer an emerging growth company. Our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group, and as our business expands, we will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identify deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources. Our ability to successfully implement our business plan and comply with Section 404 requires us to be able to prepare timely and accurate financial statements. We expect that we will need to continue to improve existing, and implement new operational and financial systems, procedures and controls to manage our business effectively. Any delay in the implementation of, or disruption in the transition to, new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, may cause our operations to suffer and we may be unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective and to obtain an unqualified report on internal controls from our auditors if required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This, in turn, could have an adverse impact on trading prices for our common stock, and could adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets. 74 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock - continued We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, which we subsequently remediated. 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. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. 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. Management performed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 and concluded our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2019 due to the material weakness related to the level of precision of our control environment. Specifically, we did not maintain documentation with an appropriate level of precision of the identified key internal control risk areas to conclude on the operating effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. We performed remedial steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. As of February 19, 2021, we determined the material weakness had been remediated. For further discussion of the material weakness identified and our remedial efforts, see Item 9A. However, we may experience additional material weakness in the future. 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 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. If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline. The trading market for our common stock will depend, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If any analyst who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. In addition, if our operating results fail to meet the forecast of analysts, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline. 75 Item 1A. - Risk Factors - continued Risks Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock - continued Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management. Provisions in our corporate charter and our bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our Board of Directors. Because our Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team. Among others, these provisions include the following. ● our Board of Directors is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms which may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control; ● our Board of Directors has the right to elect directors to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of our Board of Directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which will prevent stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors; ● our certificate of incorporation prohibits cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates; ● our stockholders are required to provide advance notice and additional disclosures in order to nominate individuals for election to our Board of Directors or to propose matters that can be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company; and ● our Board of Directors is able to issue, without stockholder approval, shares of undesignated preferred stock, which makes it possible for our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to acquire us. Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15.0% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15.0% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner. 76